We are now in Puerto Rico!
Bucking sailor superstition, we left Bahia Luperon on Friday, November 10th at 6:30pm. That morning, after comparing all weather data, we determined that we had a window opening for us and it was an easy decision to jump on it. We checked out of DR customs and immigration that afternoon, paying all fees – most legitimate and some questionable – and prepared Lucky Peek for our journey eastward. The winds were already light and they would get lighter in the night as the “night lee” set in. The night lee is an effect where the land cools faster than the sea, thereby creating a thermal effect that further diminishes the strength of the trade winds near the shoreline. Very favorable for a sailboat with a small engine that needs to travel directly into the trade winds to get where it wants to go.
This method of taking advantage of night lees to sail the northern coast of the Dominican Republic is discussed in great detail in Bruce Van Sant’s book “ The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South: The Thornless Path to Windward”. Van Sant has several decades of sailing experience under his belt and his methodologies are highly regarded in Caribbean sailing circles. He’s now retired from cruising and lives full-time in Luperon, where we had an opportunity to meet him and get first-hand advice.
Following his Thornless Path advice, we motored eastward along the coast during the night. We deviated from his advice in that instead of stopping during the day and waiting until nightfall to continue, we just kept on going. The winds were light enough to make this possible, but also there was a slight northerly swell which made any anchorages along the north coast untenable. Stopping to anchor would not be a comfortable option. Better to keep going. Plus, after spending six months in the DR we were excited about moving on and had plenty of energy to just keep going. And so we did.
Thirty-six hours after leaving Luperon we were on the east coast of the Dominican Republic and were making a turn out to open ocean to begin a crossing that many cruisers talk about — the Mona Passage. The Mona Passage does not have a favorable reputation, to say the least, but a comfortable crossing is possible in the right weather window, which is exactly what we had. Light easterly winds <10 knots and a swell that was very gentle and was actually diminishing as the day progressed. As the DR skyline faded into the mist off our stern we looked ahead to one more night underway. After a beautiful sunset that evening we could already see the glowing lights of the western coast of Puerto Rico! At 8pm we had enough wind to give Forrest a break and we were able to make way under sail alone for the next four hours, until we had to change our heading and were pointed right into the winds again.
The remainder of the night we traveled quite slow so we could arrive in Mayaguez in daylight. At 6am we were on approach and by 7am (60 hours after leaving Luperon) we were anchoring just off the Customs dock in Mayaguez harbor. Clearing into Puerto Rico was fast and easy and best of all, it was free! No time to relax yet, though. Our real destination for the day was Boqueron, which was another 10 miles south. We continued on our way, at a slow pace, and finally relaxed that afternoon after settling into the anchorage at Boqueron. We were excited to see two other boats from Luperon in the harbor and very happy to see Magus arrive just a few hours after us. Receta would arrive the following morning since they made an overnight stop in Samana.
A summary of our route and timeline:
Friday, Nov. 10: 6:30pm, pulling up anchor and leaving Luperon. Adios!
Saturday, Nov. 11: 4:30pm, checked out anchorage at Escondido. WAY too much swell. Continued on.
Sunday, Nov. 12: 7:30am, making turn at Punta Macao to begin Mona Passage crossing
Sunday, Nov. 12: 11:30pm, sailing past Isla Dececheo. In the starlight this tiny island looked so close!
Monday, Nov. 13: 2:00am, the lights of Mayaguez are very bright and the rising moon is illuminating the outline of the western shore.
Monday, Nov. 13: 7:00am, anchoring in Mayaguez to clear in with customs. We made it!!!
We plan to stay in Boqueron for a few days – possibly through the weekend, as this is a popular weekend destination with the locals. Then we will work our way along the southern coast in short hops. We are excited to have a new country and culture to explore and experience! Stay tuned for PR updates.
