Passage to Turks and Caicos

We have 177nm to travel to the Turtle Cove Marina in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. We opt to leave early evening in order to make an early arrival on Sunday morning. We know we must have planned the weather right as every other boat leaves during the day.

We have to check out and again Roberto, the concierge arranges all this for us. We leave him our passports and he arranges for the immigration officer to stamp them and for the navy and drug agency officials to come by just before we leave.

We have been dreading the moment of departure for sometime as the wind is still very gusty and for some reason we have been put in a triangular shaped end berth opposite a powerboat too long for it’s berth. It is going to be very tight and it is, I give a push with the boat hook to get the bowsprit round the edge of the dock as we are tight against the far side of the channel to turn.

The swell crashes all the way along the channel out from the marina as the water shelves from 200m to 20m within half a mile and we just have to pound our way through it. We get the sails up and breath a sigh of relief when we finally put the wind and swell on the aft quarter, turn off the motor and start to sail. It is still a lumpy crossed sea, we are receiving the full fetch of the Atlantic until we get behind the reef of the Turks and Caicos so we settle in for a long night. There is quite a bit of big ship traffic, one which is on an almost reciprocal course to us, he is going SE and I am going NW, he doesn’t deviate his course at all but we are converging all the time. His lights are confusing because all though he is a 50m plus vessel his lights are close together and forward and with the lack of sleep I can’t work out where he is going. I call him on the radio eventually he replies without giving his ship name, yes he has seen us, doesn’t answer to if we are clear (their radars and tracking are far more advanced than ours) and just gives his course, not wanting to fight him I turn us round his stern.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Another day at the marina, we discover that disaster has struck that morning, one of my beloved Crocks flip flops has blown off the dock (we take our shoes off before coming on board). We instigate a search downwind across the marina and to the opposite beach. We do not manage to find the escapee, but do find literally dozens of odd shoes which makes me feel a bit better that it is not just me that has made that error!

I go to do the laundry at the gleaming brand new on site facility. There is an attendant there for service washes, but this would I think be rather extravagant when we are sat there on the boat 4oo yards away not very busy. My Spanish is very rusty and his English nonexistent, so we settle for nods and smiles and he sings loudly to the radio instead whilst I read my book.

Kevin has been looking at the weather and it looks like we can leave tomorrow. We make up the bunks etc in the afternoon and continue with some more planning. We decide to head outside the complex for a last drink in Dominican Republic in the evening. We are a little disappointed to have seen so little of the island as it is one of our favourites so far, but vow to return another time to tour more extensively.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Today is another windy day, we decide on a long walk and head along the long beach past all the resorts. There are a few holiday makers on the beach making the most of their vacation despite the crashing surf and howling wind.

We spend the rest of the day pouring over the charts and pilot books trying to put a schedule together for the coming weeks as we have a bit more of a timetable ahead with visitors, visa appointments and hurricane season to think of. We know we need to be in Florida in July which is officially hurricane season but cruising can be possible if you watch the forecasts as hurricanes can be well predicted these days, with up to 4 days warning there is time to get out of the way, especially early season when they are far less frequent. We do have to have a rigorous plan in place though of where to run to from each place visited. As we haven’t actually planned where we are going in the Bahamas before hurricane season starts yet we have a lot to do.

In the evening, we pop over to see Mark and Mimi for a tour of the boat that they are operating, it is a luxurious 72ft monohull with all the gadgets and luxuries. We enjoy seeing how the other half live but are still happy with Invincible. We talk to Mark and Mimi a bit more about hurricane strategies, Mark has been a delivery skipper on the east coast of US for years and is a mine of information. We say our farewells early as it is Mark and Mimi’s first night off in sometime as the owners of the boat have been on board for an extended cruise.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

I do some research into Dominican Republic on the internet, but even Lonely Planet can’t suggest anything much for this area except the beach and the humpback whales which come each year to Semana Bay to mate in March, we we have missed. We decide from the scary state of the traffic, particularly the helmetless fearless moped riders that we don’t want to rent a car and a taxi ride to the capital is 4 hours each way and costs $230. So, we decide to relax and use the marina facilities instead. We are watching the weather to make our way to Turks and Caicos daily but it is really windy and it looks like it will be Friday or Saturday before we can go.

I use the pool this afternoon which wraps around the cafe bar and must be 50m long. I had been put off using such a public pool, but in the afternoon it was deserted so I ventured in. It had been a really hot day and it was fantastic to get into the cool water, which due to the strong winds was very well ventilated, the return lap was rather harder against the wind! I alternate a bit of reading and swimming for a couple of hours before returning to tidy up the boat before Mark and Mimi join us a drink later.

Mark and Mimi come over slightly late as they have some extra duties on board to take care of, but Mark drops round with some charts he has of Florida and the Intercoastal canal where we are heading and a pilot book for the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos for us to look at until they arrive. We have a few drinks together later and Mark gives us some very useful advice on the hurricane season.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

We did a few boat jobs in the morning, cleaning out the bilges and I was hoisted twice up the mast to try and and resolve the problem with our steaming light which is not currently working. I even attempted to go to the gym, having found out that it was in the marina office building. However, when we got there we found that it consisted of two treadmills, one marked out of order and a free weights machine. I tried to switch on the other treadmill but found it wasn’t working either, Roberto said he would call maintenance. At least I tried!

Ocean World Casino

A few new boats arrived today, so at least we weren’t the only visiting yachts in the marina. We went to have a look at a couple of catamarans that had come in, amused to see the new arrivals subjected to the large official boarding party too, when the officials saw us again the smiled and waved at us, we just couldn’t get used to the friendliness from officials and the reports of baksheesh (backhanders) expected as a standard in the Dominican Republic is not at all true in our experience.

We spoke to my parents on Skype in the afternoon who had enjoyed their first weekend aboard their new boat touring Staffordshire. They’d had a great weekend and reported a number of real ale experiences, which went to prove it’s the boating life that leads you to the pub, it’s not just us!

We decided to have a walk along the beach we’d seen on our way to Puerto Plata in the afternoon. We were amazed to see it was packed with people again as it was a Monday, though we later found out it was a Bank Holiday here too. We went for a drink at a bar on the beach front and enjoyed some people watching of the happy families enjoying their day off in a way that we always seem to talk about doing in the UK and never do but they obviously do here as a matter of course. To prove my theory about drinking and the boating life, the next table to us was entirely occupied by marina residents, identified by the All-Inclusive type fluorescent wrist bands we are made to wear.

Busy family day on the beach

We got talking to a couple from the US, Mark & Mimi who are skipper and hostess of a boat on the same dock as us in the marina. We had a pleasant hour or two exchanging our experiences of life aboard and we left them to get some food agreeing to meet up the next day.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

We awoke refreshed on Sunday and decided that we really should go to the shops. We went to see Roberto the concierge to ask directions to the nearest minimarket and were told instead that if we wanted to go to a supermarket instead, one from Puerto Plata, the nearest town would provide a free pickup and return service. Ever doubtful of gift horses, I asked is there a minimum purchase for this, no he said, all free and could be here in 15 minutes. We thought that this would be a good free sightseeing trip, we decided to go and asked Roberto to book it for us.

Juan arrived promptly in his delivery truck with a second row of seats in the cabin which we duly got into. We enjoyed the trip there and were impressed with the good roads here, better than anywhere we have seen so far in the Caribbean except perhaps the French islands, though here they have pavements which is almost unheard of. A couple of minutes along the road from the marina we approach a beach, there are cars parked everywhere and literally hundreds of people on the beach or having picnics on the grass behind it. They are all local families and the children and adults too are playing in the surf. Juan tells us it is the same every Sunday. Everyone looks happy to be enjoying the sunshine together and there is a great sense of community. We decide we like the Dominican Republic already!

Families at the beach on a Sunday

The landscape is very green and unusually there are lots of grassy areas which again you don’t usually see in the Caribbean. There are lots of local businesses and especially as we approached Puerto Plata, traffic. Almost the majority of traffic was people on scooters, not wearing helmets usually with at least 2 and up to 4 people on board and children from toddler age upwards usually balanced on laps. We were also intrigued to see people apparently filling their own propane gas cylinders at petrol stations. Although, I think the following photo taken through the window of the delivery truck on the main dual carriageway, combining the two of these extremes demonstrates this the best and is I think our favorite photo we have taken so far… if you click on to enlarge you will see he even appears to have his eyes shut. We have been amusing ourselves with captions ever since it was taken and our best appear below – please feel free to contribute suggestions using the comments facility (click on COMMENTS at the bottom of this post).

1. It won’t hurt so much if I close my eyes

2. Impact collision tests at the University of Technology

3. Dominican Republic University of Technology unveils gas-powered bike

The scooters were all over the place when we got to the main cross roads and we both said in unison that we wouldn’t want to rent a car. We have a good natured chat with friendly Juan the delivery driver who tells us what a nuisance the scooters are. He drops us at the front of the supermarket into a space reserved by cones moved as we got there by security, it was like being a VIP.

We are thrilled to be able to buy what we want to buy rather than what is for sale and fill the trolley. The prices are very reasonable, possibly some the cheapest so far in the Caribbean. Juan arrives outside bang on time and we get a short tour of the city as he makes some deliveries on the way. There is a mixture of large plush villas and more normal sized apartments, but even in the poorer areas we visit there are none of the wooden shack houses we have seen elsewhere and there seems to be a good general standard of living. There is a good atmosphere about the place and the town is sprawling with lots of busy shops, not just for the tourists but mostly for locals.

We were amazed yet again by the excellent service here when Juan dropped us off. I said to Kevin I would go into the Marina Office to see if they would give us a ride back to the boat in one of the marina golf carts. However, when I asked inside I was told Roberto was already on his way round, from as soon as he had seen us pull up and sure enough I looked round and found he was already loading up the cart. He insisted on both of us riding up front even though this meant he had to drive with one leg hanging out! Bags delivered to the side of the boat, rating this as the easiest shopping trip we have ever had whilst living onboard. Those who have not had to deliver shopping back to a boat from a surging dingy dock after a long walk with all your shopping in the heat of the day followed by a wet ride back trying to keep perishables dry will not appreciate our pleasure at this experience, but I assure you, it made my day!

We enjoyed a lovely meal of gnochi and fresh mahi mahi in a tomato garlic sauce when we returned before an early night.

Ocean World Marina, Cofresi, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

 

After a bit of a false start due to worse than predicted weather, we finally arrived in Dominican Republic today after a long passage from the British Virgin Islands of 354 miles. We did take the “scenic route” by passing south of Puerto Rico in order to minimise the time sailing along a lee shore and to gain some shelter from the swell. This also gave us a sight seeing tour of the Spanish Virgin islands. Our ultimate destination was for Turks and Caicos (seen on the map below in the top left, obscured) and we had planned to do the journey in one trip, as we have no US visa to visit Puerto Rico and our insurance excluded us for visiting the Dominican Republic it had to be all or nothing. However, we contacted our insurance before we left to ask is a waiver would be granted in the event of emergency or bad weather, as it was going a long trip without possible shelter. Luckily, they replied with the usual quick efficiency to say they had written to us already to say all exclusions were now lifted, so not only could we visit Dominican Republic but also Cuba which we both really wanted to see but did not think we would be able and the planning started straightaway about when we might fit that in.

We were still not sure we would stop in Dominican Republic as it doesn’t get a great press in some ways in the UK, because the main visitors visit All Inclusive resorts and are told that the surrounding area is so dangerous you should not leave. We therefore took recorded the waypoints of a couple of large marinas with security to be on the safe side and left.

The journey itself was not our most enjoyable yet, the lee of Puerto Rico was nice and sheltered, but so sheltered we had to motor for 8 hours. We were visited by a US Border Control and Coastguard vessel as soon as we were within 6 miles of the island to record our boat name and remind us politely that would be required to check in if we stopped. We decided we wouldn’t be messing with them in their super fast patrol boat with four large outboards astern and carried on along the coast as planned.

We both thought we saw shaped like whales just touching the surface along the south coast of Puerto Rico through the afternoon, but never a clear enough sighting to be absolutely clear. By daybreak we were turning north up the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic, so wide you cannot see both sides at the same time. We now felt the full force of the 25 knot tradewinds some over the shelving west coast of Puerto Rico making short steep and unpleasant beam seas regularly drenching us. Kevin did manage to catch a good sized tuna but with the pitching of the boat we decided that we would not be able to prepare it and so we let him go and pulled in the rods.

View Larger Map

We turned off to the west keeping a respectful distance off the lee shore of Dominican Republic, now pretty much decided we would stop in despite the £100 customs / immigration /port /navy fees as we were cold and tired and the thought of a secure mooring in a marina and a long hot shower was too much! This would be the first night in a marina since February and that for our visitors. Luckily, by Saturday morning the weather had calmed considerably and Kevin could even get his fishing rods out again as the signs of fish had been all around us tormenting him all the way. He was rewarded within an hour with a large Mahi Mahi / Dorado, the fish fought valiantly spectacularly jumping clear of the water 2 or 3 times in his attempts to escape but Kevin wasn’t giving him up. My job is to get the other rods in whilst this was all happening, which caused me a bit of when the rod I was reeling in suddenly got a bite too. Dorados are famous for travelling in pairs and this was obviously the mate biting too, I was quite relieved though when it got off again soon after.

Kevin proudly demonstrating his latest catch

We finally approached the marina at 12.30pm and were pleasantly surprised when the actually answered the VHF. Ocean World is a big complex with a cinema and large dolphin pools, sea lions etc theme park alongside. We were met by at the very substantial concrete slip by three attendants after some excellent directions given to get us in. Unfortunately the attendants didn’t seem too skilled in actually tying boats up running back and forth with lines apparently unclear where to put it until we gave some very direct instructions and we were tied up. Roberto the concierge introduced himself straightway in perfect English and explained that the authorities would be here soon to clear us in, as in Dominican Republic they visit you on your boat.

 

Very smart marina office complex

We were however quite surprised when 6 people then turned up to board the boat! They were however all very friendly and smiled frequently (almost unknown in officials until now). We had representatives of customs (x2, one per form to be completed), the drug enforcement agency, the navy, the agriculture dept and the other concierge from the marina to assist! I sat them round the saloon table and passed the documents required as they filled the forms in themselves, which was nice for a change. I was really pleased to practice my Spanish speaking again and they seemed genuinely thrilled I was trying although I had forgotten so much already my attempts were pitiful. Kevin tactically found lots of line and fender adjustments to do during this time, turning up just in time to provide his Captain’s signature.

Invincible in the shadow of the casino (right) and sea lion show (left)

We were still awaiting our Immigrations clearance but were assured that we were ok to leave the boat and that the official would try and find us when he could over the next couple of days. It was almost worth the fees to have everything so much at our convenience for a change.

We headed straight for the showers, which were hot and had a good pressure, also a rare treat! The marina office building, like the rest of the marina is pristine being newly built although the marina itself is almost empty. We discovered one of the potential reasons for that when we got back to the boat and the one of the sea lion shows had started behind the boat, where they clap and balance balls, stand on their fins etc. The music was loud and repetitive, but it was actually quite amusing to be able to watch the show from the boat.

We went for a beer and food at the restaurant and realised we didn’t even know the exchange rate or have any currency. Like everywhere we have been to though they were happy to take US dollars. We asked the waiter and he said 7.37 which would make Kevin’s beef burger £25! We thought we must have misunderstood and asked the waitress too, her calculation made it £5. We were hungry and so risked it anyway and in the end, 4 drinks and 2 meals cost £30. We then retired to the boat even though it was barely dark and slept very very soundly.