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Published: January 23rd 2011
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From Ponce, we made a leisurely passage of about 25 miles to an absolutely lovely anchorage in Salinas. We arrived in plenty of time for a restful afternoon of reading and relaxation. We anchored out a bit so that we would have easy access out early in the morning. We awoke at 5:00am to find that things had shifted around such that it looked like our anchor was quite close to a neighboring boat! But, as we started hauling in, it became clear that we had plenty of room. The passage out to open water was a bit scary in the dark, but we had a nearly full moon and a recording of our track in on the chart plotter. I haven't said anything about this device. For those not familiar with them, it is the nautical equivalent of the GPS guidance systems in a car (although with out the lovely voice giving you directions!) As you travel along, you can set various waypoints (sort of like addresses) and it will show you graphically where to head. It also, shows the nautical chart of the area you are in and where your boat is on the chart. Coupled with the autopilot,
getting the boat from point to point is quite straight forward. Of course, the helmsman still needs to periodically tweak things and monitor the actual heading. Not to mention keeping a sharp look out for other boats, fish traps, uncharted rocks, coral heads, etc. Another indispensable tool was the radar which we mostly used at night.
In any event, we made our way out of Salinas harbor and started working our way eastward and then norteastward along the southern coast. This passage of 56 miles had the potential to be difficult only because as we started heading north, the prevailing seas and winds would be off our starboard side and that can mean very uncomfortable rolling. But, once again, the sea gods and weather nymphs smiled upon us and conditions stayed very moderate. (maybe it is those chickens we keep sacrificing). We arrived at Puerto Del Rey Marina at about 4:00pm, a bit ahead of our projected ETA.
There is no adequate description of the feelings which swept over both of us. Partly relief, partly a sense of accomplishment, partly a sense of sadness that the odyssey is almost over. Let's just say we are happy to be
here! We got the boat in order, showered and headed into the local restaurant for a couple of drinks and a truly wonderful meal.
This is likely to be the last entry in the blog. Though we are technically about 60 miles short of our goal of Nanny Cay in the BVI, Eagles nest is going to take a short break in the yard at Puerto Del Rey Marina. As I have mentioned along the way, we have had some minor prop damage and it appears that the port engine motor mounts are damaged. None of this is serious but, Terry has wisely decided to have the boat hauled and thoroughly checked out. Puerto Del Rey is a first class boat yard with state of the art repair services and a far cry from anything that can be found in the BVI. So, while the boat is being taken care of, Terry will head back to MN and I will move on St. Thomas where I have a week of work commitments. Terry will return in a couple of weeks and probably hire someone to help him transit the last 60 miles.
Neither Terry nor I are the
kind of men who get overly emotional about things. But, I think I am speaking for both of us when I say that this was truly an adventure of a lifetime!
Thank you all for sharing it with us.
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