Well
another day, another country. We left Boquerón, Puerto Rico early Monday
morning for Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. Two dolphins were swimming
around the boat before we left which for me, is quite a reassuring sight.
To sail to
the DR from Puerto Rico, we would be sailing across the Mona Passage, but along
the bottom/south part of the passage unlike when we crossed from the NE coast
of the DR to Puerto Rico in April/May 2014. The passage is notorious due to tidal
currents and is one of the main shipping channels between the North Atlantic
Ocean and Panama Canal. The Puerto Rico Trench, just north of the passage, is 800
kilometres (497 mi) long and has a maximum depth of 8,648 metres
(28,373 ft) or 5.373 miles at Milwaukee
Deep, which is the deepest point in the
Atlantic Ocean. Much of this west-flowing water pushes through the Mona
Passage, which has an area that is less than 100m deep, resulting in enormous
seas at times. (Info from Wikipedia).
As we were
leaving Boquerón, we noticed a US Coast Guard ship close to where we were
heading and thought that there was a strong possibility they would be paying us
a visit. At one stage they were pointing straight for us but then changed angle
and went behind us.
Much of the
time while sailing, we have the fishing rod out hoping to catch a Mahi Mahi/
Dorado. In 2014, we caught quite a few fish and we had issues with the seaweed
called Sargassum or commonly referred to as sargasso. This time round, we are
having no such luck catching fish, due to the increase in the amount of the
seaweed, which accumulates around the fishing line.
Sargasso has
been washing up on beaches in the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico, according to a report in the April edition of the Caribbean Compass. It
is posing some health risks as well, due to the build-up of hydrogen sulphide
gas, along with environmental issues as turtle nesting beaches are being
covered with thick layers of the seaweed, trapping the turtle hatchings and
adult turtles. Well, it certainly smells and there is so much around. More
later.
We arrived off
Isla de Mona at 11.00 am and eventually passed her at 4.00pm. Isla de Mona is almost right in the
middle between Puerto Rico and the D.R. It belongs to Puerto Rico (U.S) and only
rangers and biologists from Puerto Rico's Department
of Natural and Environmental Resources reside on
the island. The island
is recognized as one of the main sites for hawksbill nesting in the Caribbean.
The rest of
our sail went well although during the night we did see quite a few
cargo/container ships and tankers. I can never quite get over just how big
these ships can be. The closest one passed us at 2 nmiles distance but still
looked enormous!
The wind
started to die on us with still about 30 nmiles to go and it looked like
another very long day or possible night until we reached Boca Chica in the DR.
We wanted to arrive in Boca Chica in good light as we knew there was a large
reef near the entrance and the charts on our plot charter are not as detailed
as what we have become accustomed to. Any place in the Caribbean where LOTS of
American frequent, the charts are detailed. Supply and demand I suppose.
At about
7.00am, Mel went back on watch as I needed just another hour’s sleep, when
crash, bang, something ‘hit’ the boat. The boom had fallen onto the deck as the
main pin’s cotter pin, which secures the boom pin, had broken. We were
extremely lucky that nothing was damaged. Mel tied the boom securely onto the
deck and we continued to sail with the genoa although the winds were down to 3
knots and we were going less than 2 nmiles per hour. We decided to motor, not
something that we enjoy doing but at the rate we were going, we would only be
arriving at the entrance to the harbour at Boca Chica after midnight!
The
immigrations and customs formalities in the D.R. are quite onerous. Like most
things in life, if you want to do or go somewhere, there is no point in
complaining about it. One must just smile and go through the procedures or
don’t sail to the D.R. We knew from our previous time in the D.R. – April 2014,
that it’s best to ask the marina to organise the formalities. It costs, of
course, but with our EXTREMELY limited knowledge of Spanish (we get by) we
asked for assistance. The coast guard does not like you anchoring off just
anywhere! Wherever you go in the D.R., you must get a “despacho” for leaving an
anchorage/marina to sail to the new area. There is meant to be a one-off fee
for entry and exist, however, like in certain countries around the world,
‘tipping’ or some under hand payment is always expected. This can become
extremely annoying and tiresome.
Boca Chica
is approximately 50kms east of the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo
Domingo. It is a seaside resort for tourists and locals who want to enjoy the
lovely clear and beautiful waters behind La Piedra Island and the Reef. When we
went for a walk from the Marina (Marina Zar Par) to the centre of Boca Chica,
it was interesting to see who frequented the small town – lots of people
enjoying a DW with the local working girls.
Boca Chica
also has a huge container port called Port of Andres and this is the entrance
to the marina as well. When you are up close to a container ship, you feel
rather vulnerable as they are the giants of the sea. I am often extremely
grateful that we have AIS (Automatic Identification System) so we are alerted
to any ships that we might cross paths with. They are also able to see us on
their AIS.
We were
fortunate to meet up with many interesting people who were also staying at the
marina:
Bill (from Alaska, U.S.A.) and Lisanne (originally from Holland) – on
their boat Rocinante. Bill is a writer – Bill Streever and has published
several books, Lisanne is a marine biologist.
Grete and
Fred Vithen – on their boat Sans Peur (French for ‘Without Fear’) Grete is originally
from Denmark and Fred is from Sweden. Have they travelled and seen the world.
Wow!!
Bill and
Lisanne are heading east, then south down to the ABC islands, while Grete and
Fred are heading our way. Fred and Grete were also interested in going into
Santo Domingo, particularly the Colonial City, so on Friday 4 May 2018, we
caught a taxi into the main area of the Colonial City, Santo Domingo called El
Conde.
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| Catedral Primada de America. |
Santo
Domingo is the oldest city in the New World. It was founded in August 1496 by
Bartholomew Columbus Esq. It is a mixture of old and modern plus a blend of
different cultures within the Caribbean. Calle El Conde is the central walkway
starting in the west at Altar de la Patria/ Parque Independencia and ending in
the east at the Catedral Primada de America.
I was keen
to see the oldest and the first cathedral in the Americas, Catedral Primada de
America. We went inside to have a look and to walk around the cathedral. I am
always in awe of how people built such a beautiful and elaborate structure with
the basics of building machinery, unlike today.
Information
taken from Eyewitness Caribbean (2013) – the first foundation stone for the
cathedral was laid by Diego Columbus in 1514. Alonso de Rodrigues was the
architecture and was inspired by the cathedral in Seville, Spain. In 1541 it
was completed, and additions made to it throughout the 18th century.
It was elevated to the status of Basilica Menor de la Virgen de la Anunciation
by Pope Benedict XV, in 1920. The floor of the cathedral is black and white
checkered marble, with 14 columns supporting the structure.
We walked
around the Colonial Zone, admiring all the old buildings, visiting a rum
distillery (of course) and a chocolate factory – Mel had fun enjoying all the
samples; a cigar shop where we saw cigars being made by hand, had lunch in a
quaint restaurant over looking the El Conde. We walked around the Parque
Grete and
Fred are from Sweden and were keen to buy a few things for their boat (so was
I) and to have IKEA’ s famous meatballs. It also gave us the opportunity to see
a part of Santo Domingo that we wouldn’t have the opportunity to see as it was
out in the suburbs.
We had fun
walking around IKEA and buying the odd thing for the galley and heads/bathrooms
– well I did and so did Grete. Mel went to an electrical/hardware store that
was close by and then met us in the IKEA restaurant for lunch/early supper.
We spent
the next couple of days at Marina Zar Par preparing for the next stage of our
journey west. Over the weekend and early evening, the jet ski’s and motor boats
came out to play. It’s total madness (my opinion of course) – with the wakes
that the boats and jet skis made, in what is meant to be the main channel,
which has a speed limit of 5 – 8 knots. Bill, the writer referred to the jet
ski’s as ‘mosquitoes’ and how right he was! They would whizz between the moored
boats and cause such a wake that all the boats tied up in the marina would rock
and roll. Thank goodness we have fenders as they were being squashed and bashed
against the deck and the boat. The fender covers have been ripped due to the
constant movement. We were looking forward to leaving Boca Chica, which we did
on late Monday afternoon.
As is usual
in the DR, we obtained our despacho and left by 4.30pm for Las Salinas, in the
Bay of Calderas. Leaving the channel around the La Piedra Island and into the
bay where Port of Andres is situated, was an extremely challenging ride, as the
swell was up and we were fighting against it. The surfers were out in force as
they were enjoying the swell. We knew once we were away from the main land and
further out to sea, everything would settle down which it did, although I still
did not enjoy the swell. It was running slightly aft of us but the intervals
between them were quite close, which made for a corking screwing motion.
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| Las Salinas. |
Sans Peur –
Grete and Fred, left with us. Their engine came to a halt just as they made it
clear of the entrance channel, where the swells were close to breaking. Thank
goodness they managed to get out of the channel and start sailing, as we shudder
to think what might have happened if their engine had stopped in the channel.
Our sail to
Las Salinas was uneventful. We arrived in Las Salinas just after 8.00am and
waited for the officials to contact us, so we could become official once again.
Sans Peur managed to anchor under sail.
By
mid-morning we were all official after ‘tipping’ the officials. Mel went across
to Sans Peur to assist Fred with his engine. By the afternoon, it was all
sorted and the engine running once again.
Las Salinas’
claim to fame is the large salt lakes and salt production, otherwise there
wasn’t much else in the town other than a few elaborate homes which looked like
holiday homes for the wealthy and small shops with the very basic of food
stuff.
We stayed
in Las Salinas for two nights – the anchorage was well protected, and it was a
good change from the hustle and bustle of Boca Chica.
We left Las
Salinas and headed west to Barahona. Once again, the fishing rod went out, but
still no fish, just seaweed. It’s such a pity that the seaweed is so prolific, as
all sorts of foreign bodies, plastics, rubbish, etc, get trapped in the seaweed.
When we arrived in Barahona, we were planning on anchoring in front of the
small marina, but we couldn’t as the entire small bay was covered with the sargasso
seaweed. We managed to anchor just outside of the main channel but even then,
as the tide came in, we were surrounded by sargasso seaweed. The smell is awful
as we it smells like rotten eggs!
Barahona was
founded in 1802 by a Haitian general by the name Toussaint L’Ouverture. Sugar
cane production played a significant part in its development in the 20th
century.
The
following day at 7.00am, we (Mel, Grete, Fred and I) tied up the dinghy at the
main commercial dock and met our tour guide. In the D.R. nothing is without
some form of payment. Even tying up at the commercial dock one must ‘pay’
someone to do this and they will ‘look after’ your dinghy for you.
Like
always, it’s interesting to see different parts of the visiting city and
surrounding country side, instead of just seeing what is around the anchorage.
On our way to the lake, we stopped at some pools which are fed by the
underlying streams of water from the surrounding mountains. We also went
through several police/security check points as we were about 3kms from the
Haitian border.
We arrived
at Lago Enriquillo just after 10.00am. In the carpark, when you arrive, iguanas
scurry to
While on
the boat, we saw a mother crocodile protecting her babies, a few crocodiles were
sunning themselves under logs. There were plenty of birds’ nests and trees
encrusted with salt after the lake rose and then receded to its present level a
few years back.
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| Mother crocodile protecting her babies. |
After
visiting the lake, we headed back to Barahona – circling the entire lake,
passing rock formations, some of which contained pre–Columbian petroglyphs and
many different vegetation from thick forest areas to dry sparse vegetation.
In the city
centre is the market which isn’t for the faint hearted as it’s crowded, smelly
but vibrant and the availability and cost of the fruit and vegetables is
amazing. The produce is so fresh and cheap, it’s a pity one can’t store more on
a boat. I must always be very careful not to buy too much as the fruit ripens
very quickly in the heat and I have, on a few occasions, been forced to throw
some of the produce away, as it has gone off before we have had a chance to eat
it.
Mel and I
bought a HUGE pineapple and paw papaya for less than $4. In Australia I am sure
I would have paid well over $10 just for the papaya. The fruit is so tasty and
juicy!
When we
arrived in Barahona, we informed the Customs and Immigration Officials that we
would be leaving the D.R. early Saturday morning (12 May 2018) for Jamaica and
asked if they could have all the necessary paper work (despacho) ready for
collection at 4.00pm on the Friday afternoon. Naturally, the paper work was not
ready for us after visiting the lake and markets and naturally we had to ‘tip’
the officials. It can become rather tiring, as they want US dollar tips, so it’s $10 here, $20 there, with
it all mounting up. Anyway by 5.00pm on
Friday 11 May 2018, we had all the necessary papers to say we could officially
leave the D.R.
Our plans
were to sail to Jamaica from Barahona which would be a 2 -3 days sail. We had
been told
Several
times along the way, we attempted to put the fishing rod out but sadly we were
only catching sagrasso seaweed. There is so much seaweed around that it looks
like an oil slick.
So until
next time when I’ll write all about Ile A Vache and the boat boys - Keep
well and safe.
Bye for now.
Mel and Caryn
sv Passages
If you want to see where we are, go to:
top right corner – search for Passages
with the Australian flag – that’s us!
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| Making cigars |
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| Santo Domingo. |
