ANOTHER ALL-NIGHTER .....................

It has taken us just on three years to sail from Jacksonville, FLORIDA all the way around the Caribbean and past Venezuela to Curacao then back up to PUERTO RICO ...... Now you probably remember that crate with all the goodies in it for our new yacht SOUTHERN COMFORT, well, it was put on board a ship in Jacksonville late friday afternoon and was sitting in a warehouse in San Juan, PUERTO RICO, by Monday afternoon ready for collection........ Now that is just disgustingly efficient ....... Three days what has taken us three years ..... We've chosen the island of CULEBRA in the 'Spanish Virgins' to do our refit and change-over to the new boat ..... A little out of the way, being about 18 miles east of FAJARDO, but the laid-back island has wonderful clear, blue water with sandy beaches and a delightful ambience ....... You will see SALINAS on the map above, low down and in the middle ...... That's where we left ARITA when we rented a car to drive across the mountains to SAN JUAN ........ Parked it and rented a box truck ...... You have to understand that in PUERTO RICO a three-lane highway has therefore enough space to fit five cars ...... And they do ...... Driving a box truck means four and a half cars ...... And they do ..... We found that industrial park where our crate was located, but not before marveling at the semi-trailer drivers and their dexterity in putting trailers alongside each other with only inches to spare ......



We will soon be putting our beloved yacht "ARITA" on the market ....... Really sad and hard to do but no-one can sail two yachts, and the idea of making a large Polynesian catamaran out of both of them is out .......



We have trouble just backing up a small garden trailer, let alone a 'big box' like these containers ..... And these drivers seem to do it so easily .......



And here's another thing ........ We walked into the warehouse office and the lady at the desk said "Is this you?" ..... Showing me the packing slip ...... "Sign here" and hands me the pen, and tells me to take it to one of the forklift drivers ............. Now anywhere else in the Caribbean it takes a ton of paperwork, a full day of running around and several days for Customs to release it, after hefty payments, of course .... We love PUERTO RICO .....



This is all self-explanatory ....... This is a normal disaster in the making ..... The pallet idea is soon abandoned, and a second forklift pushes the crate into the box-truck .............. Mind you, at the other end we will only have ONE forklift .... We'll cross that bridge when we come to it .....



We ring through to the ferry service and book the truck for the crossing to CULEBRA ....... They tell us that loading starts at 3AM ..... Pointless in getting a room for the night ...... We drive through to FAJARDO, have an early dinner and then hit Walmart ..... We see they have a new security guard on watch in the parking lot ..... They'll do anything to keep the prices down ....... We do every single aisle in the store, up and down, and buy nothing ...... We have six hours to kill, WALMART is open 24 hours and we are sure that we are being watched on the security cameras ........ We picture the conversation they must be having ..... " Two hours fifty minutes and still the cart is empty? ..... "Keep watching them" ..... "Something is going down" ...... By midnight we return to the truck and wait out the last three hours at the dock ..... Then the real fun begins ..... Backing up the little truck in the dark onto the ferry ......



We drive off the ferry at CULEBRA still in the dark, but the sun soon rises and at 9AM we are outside our new warehouse where the box will be stored ............ The ONE forklift has longer prongs and is just able to lift and balance the crate while I move the box truck forward ........ We are at our destination and all is intact ...... WHOOOPEEE ... By midday we return on the ferry to FAJARDO and back to San Juan ..... Return the truck, pick up the car and drive back to SALINAS ........ A very worthwhile ALL-NIGHTER ......



The crate contains good anchors and navigation equipment, as well as a new generator and solar panels for on-board electricity ........ This is what happens if you don't pay attention or have good ground tackle ....... Someone has rescued what remains of this steel yacht and tied it to the dock..... And back in SALINAS when we reach ARITA, the rain is coming down in sheets ..... A gentle reminder that hurricane season is far from finished ....... But while it is raining outside, down below on "ARITA" it is wonderfully cozy ...... Not sure if 'cozy' is the right word when it's 90 degrees and suffocatingly hot ....... At least we have the tent over the open forward hatch that allows the breeze through ....



The front cabin ......... Yes, we do use bed sheets but they we all rumpled, so we took them off for the photo ........ In fact, we moved most of the "stuff" from one place to another in order to take these shots ...... They do the same things for all fashion shoots, don't they ...... OK, you caught me doing the blog entry at the chart table ....... Aren't laptops and wifi just awesome .........



It is a wonderful front cabin with 6" foam mattresses and storage lockers underneath and just under the book shelfs are these swing-out pieces on which sits the portable TV or the laptop to watch movies in bed, just like normal people ..... Last night we watched "Catch and Release" with Jennifer Garner ..... Very cute ....



Plenty of reading lights and plenty of fans on both sides and there is a 9000BTU air conditioner installed that keeps us cool on the worst nights in the summer if there's no breeze at all ....



The 'nav' station and the 'head' ....... That would be the 'chart table' and the 'bathroom' for the non-nautical types ...... Most of the voyage planning takes place in either of these two areas .......



This is the middle cabin and is also used for storage ........ Beneath the double bunk is where most of our dry goods and food tins are stored ....... Again there's lots of storage higher up and space for more books ...... Sailing and cruising gives you ample time for reading .......




Opposite the middle cabin is the galley ....... Double deep sink, instant hot-water system, a two burner stove with broiler and oven and a top-opening freezer and fridge ...... And underneath is storage for pots and pans .......



And the salon or as some would say, the 'saloon' ....... OK, Laurie, let me help you put all the 'stuff' back where we normally put it .......



But rain soon gives way to sunshine and we head for the 'Marina de Salinas' to fill 'ARITA' with diesel fuel and water and to top up the dinghy tanks with gasoline ....... And then we're off, first to CULEBRA by yacht this time, and then on to St. THOMAS in the USVI and then to VIRGIN GORDA in the British Virgin Islands to begin work on prepping 'SOUTHERN COMFORT' for the voyage back to CULEBRA ....... It's got all the hallmarks of 'going back to work' ....... Fun work ...... And in the tropics ....... Ok, forget I mentioned 'WORK' ....



But not before the rain returns with a golden bit of sunshine thrown in for good measure ................

By leaving early in the morning from SALINAS and motor sailing all day long we made it to CULEBRA and 'Ensenada Honda' by 7pm that night ........... A wonderful journey along half of Puerto Rico island ....... The 'green' island ...... And just before entering the harbour on the Spanish Virgin island of CULEBRA, we were treated to this magnificent sunset formation with an almost full moon ........ This will be our new 'workplace' for many months to come ......

And somewhere under those clouds is VIRGIN GORDA in the BVIs, where "SOUTHERN COMFORT" is waiting for us ....... But now that the anchor is down, we'll just have a little 'southern comfort' of our own, with coke and ice of course .... Goodnight ... Or as they say here .......Buenos Noches .....

ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN SEA ...........

And out of nowhere appeared this beautiful 'weather window' with winds predicted to come out of the west, which in CURACAO is more or less unheard of ....... With hurricane season almost at a close, we made the decision to 'grab' that window with both hands ....... Just too good to be true ....... Our computer weather programs allow us to download wind strength and direction, rain precipitation, barometric pressure, wave height and cloud cover some seven days in advance, and generally it is fairly accurate .....



Our friend TIMO has been busy getting the frames of his new yacht built on his floating workshop ..... If you recall he lost his beautiful yacht " BLUE MARLIN " in the Venezuelan islands of Los Aves ....... But with guts and determination he is moving forward ....... ANNEMIEKE, his artist wife, is equally busy doing her magnificent driftwood sculptures for an exhibition to be called "WOOD FOR WOOD" ..... She will sell her painted driftwood sculptures and buy plywood to build their new yacht ...... The ultimate creative 'win-win' with a sad touch of recycling thrown in ......



It is wonderful to see TIMO at work in this open-air workshop with million dollar views of this enclosed harbour of 'Spanish Waters' in CURACAO ....... His little homemade runabout holds a portable generator that allows him to use table saws, jigsaws, and drills, but mostly it is all hand made glue and screw stuff .....



The man's got a plan ....... Drop the lead-filled keel in the water first, then float a platform over the top of it on which he will construct the hull with its frames .... When that's done, sink the float down over the keel and bolt the hull and keel together ..... Yes you have to hand it to him for ingenuity ..... TIMO is definitely a one of a kind 'hombre' ....



Meantime back at 'our ranch' we have an engine running hotter than normal ..... Which we thought was due to the intake being blocked with all the weed scum, but now that we are clean it still stays hot ...... By disconnecting the outlet hose from the exhaust system we notice that there is no appreciable difference in the salt water pressure when the engine is run momentarily ...... That means the the water pump's rubber impeller is 'kaput' ....."Not good", as they say .... The impeller is in an impossible position under the engine and to get it out is simply unprintable ......... Laurie took this photo from an angle where you cannot lip-read ...... But once you know what the problem is, it is no longer a problem, not so? ..... And shortly after it was replaced, we took off to begin the 400-mile crossing to PUERTO RICO (see that black line on the map above) ..... We motor-sailed till the middle of the Caribbean Sea when the wind finally filled in ........ Filled in from the East again, which meant hard sailing, and hard on the wind, hoping we could still lay our course for at least the middle of the island, and not get pushed West into the waters of the Dominican Republic .....



Really beautiful sailing with the winds somewhere between ten and twenty knots and fortunately with a very flat sea left over from the oil-like calms of the previous days .... No ground swell, no waves, a good six knots and in the right direction .........



Smooth sailing and the 'Queen of Florida' down below learning how to do 'crochet' now that she has a brand new grand-daughter "Sophie" who used to put her fingers in her eyes and nose, but is now in the bassinet making 'gangster' signs .....



This is probably boring, but days like these, with trade-wind clouds and smooth seas are a rarity during the Caribbean hurricane season which is not finished yet .... We just downloaded the weather on our satellite phone and there's 'welcome to two more in the making' picture out there ....... Another day or so and we'll be in Puerto Rico if the wind holds steady .......



We arrive in SALINAS at 0600, having done the journey in just under three days ..... We crash and sleep for a few hours, before making the call to Customs and Immigration ..... We need to get to PONCE to do the clearance and we rent a car at a wonderful $20/day to do clearance, shopping, sightseeing and getting a new phone, but not before coming to terms with this screeching green parrot with a nest full of young screechers in a palm tree ..... Incredible the noise they make ...... Way worse that Sophie with a nasty diaper ....



CULTURE SHOCK ....... As we drive into San Juan in the early morning with lanes and lanes of traffic at a standstill ...... If there is a depressed economy out there, we must have missed it ....... Every man and his dog is out there buying, selling, shopping and having a good time ...... The malls are packed and business is thriving ..... Oh, and everybody is driving .......



But the anchorage at Salinas is peaceful enough ...... Beautiful mornings with a magnificent mountain backdrop ....... The surrounding mangroves provide ample protection even if a late hurricane was to give us a passing blow ......



School curriculum also involves paddling a canoe, for on Friday we saw a bunch of school kids on the water doing paddling exercises, while at the same time learning about eco-systems and estuary habitats ..... Wouldn't mind going back to school just for that, but it is all in Spanish ....... Fast rapid Spanish .....



And when class is done, well, just hook on and the teacher will tow you back to shore ...... Oh, and we also discovered this secret door in a breakfast restaurant that leads to the kitchen ..... If you can't find it, just look for the door handle ......

Coming back to PUERTO RICO is also a 'culture shock' in another sense, for here Spanish is spoken with such volume, passion and speed, as to leave you reeling ...... Ask somoeone "Is this the way to SAN JUAN" and back comes this torrent of Spanish, with arm and hand gestures and comical facial expressions, which if you are smart like we are, means "YES" ................. Now this is completely different from, say, Northern Scandinavia, where very few words are ever spoken for fear of freezing your tongue to your gums ...... One reindeer herder was heard to say to another "I love my wife so much, I almost told her" ..........