Sailing on the Caribbean sea to Dominican Republic

The sun was going down. St Kitts was on our port side about 5 miles away. The lights of the island were begining to show as darkness was quietly arriving. The warm breeze from the trade winds were gently blowing from our starboard quarter in the calm Caribbean Sea as we made our way west. There were some clouds over St. Kitts making the sunset particularly spectactular. It was one of those moments where it felt great to be there on the open waters in a small sailboat and to experience the beauty and wonder of life as a sailor. It’s not surprising that so many of us cannot resist the lure of the ocean to feel the gentle motion of the sea and to experience what it is like to see the beautiful leeward island of St. Kitts as it prepares for the night.

The flight back to Antigua from Toronto was somewhat in doubt when I arrived at Pearson Airport on that cold February morning because there was a snow storm making it’s way across southern Ontario. The plane had to be the de-iced before it could take off and we were about 1 ½ hours late in taking off. The taxi that I had arranged to meet me in St. John’s Antigua did not turn up but I was easily able to find another taxi to get me to Jolly harbor, where I had left my boat S/V Ileana. There were a couple of other Canadians in the taxi escaping the cold Ontarian winter so it was a somewhat festive atmophere as they had been traveling since 0100h that morning to make all the flight connections. They were excited at their prospect of spending time in the warm sun, They had just come from the Ottawa area where it was minus 25 degrees Celsius. They asked me for advice about things to do, so it felt good to be treated like a local Antiguan…. I had already spent 2 months on my boat on the island of Antigua and I was planning on leaving the following morning for the Dominican Replublic some 480 miles away. I calculated that it would take about 3 days

Robert and Roger were at the marine office to greet me when I arrived. They had volunteered to help me sail the boat to Samana in the Dominican Republic and had arrived a few days earlier. They were both professional sailboat riggers, so they had done some work on
the boat. There were a few things that needed fixing before we could leave the following morning. My weather router Chris Parker had sent me an e-mail saying the winds were going to be light and we would probably have to motor there the whole way. However, Robert and Roger had flights leaving from Dominican Republic in seven days time so we did have somewhat of a deadline to make it there. They had filled up the extra fuel tanks so if we did have to motor, we would be able to make the distance. We went to the grocery store and stocked up on supplies before heading to bed early.

I walked over to the customs office at 8:00 o’clock the following morning. From every country that is visited by a sailboat, it is necessary to check out. That way it can be determined that the skipper of the boat has paid the necessary cruising permit fees, and other taxes and fees. When arriving at a new island, it is necessary to show the exit papers from the previous port before you are allowed into the country. To me, it seemed like a money making scam and I have stopped asking what the fees are for as it seems to piss them off. I didn’t want to risk them adding a few more unnecessary fees…. When I was greeted by a nice lady she told me that I first had to get cleared from the harbour master. They were to open at 8:00 o’clock in the morning. At 8:45, there was still no one there. It was a good thing we were not in a rush…sailors are used to waiting 2 weeks for a weather window so a few hours delay was nothing. I refected on how different my life was when I was working as a surgeon when an unexpected cancellation in surgery would leave an hour gap in my schedule. This would seriously annoy me and get me thinking how I would make up the lost time…. I reflect on how much energy I spent on my time management issues as a surgeon, all the while not recognizing the time that was quietly slipping away……

By this time there were three other sailors lined up outside Customs all looking to leave the country. One of the sailors was from Barcelona. Whenever sailors have some extra time on their hands they tell sailing stories. He had sailed from Barcelona to Antigua in November. His brother Raoul, who was supposed to sail with him fell through a port hatch after scaling the mast shortly after leaving Barcelona. When they were 15 minutes out at sea, they had something minor to fix on the mast and being the younger brother, Raoul was the one who went up the mast. The minor problem was fixed and then he was lowered down. When he was lowered to the deck, he slipped through an open port and hurt his shoulder. He thought maybe it could just be dislocated. The older brother not wishing to delay the trip any more than it had already been delayed, gave it a pull. A loud crunching noise eminated from the injured shoulder which was followed after a second of silence by a blood curdling scream from the younger brother. He had a massive fracture which had to be repaired with urgent surgery in Barcelona. Six months later, the injured brother was still not right. I made a note to myself – make sure all hatches are closed before sending someone other that myself up the mast…..

Things eventually got sorted out with Customs and I was able to leave Jolly Harbour at around noon. I felt that I didn’t get hit for too many extra fees this time, so I was in a great mood, looking forward to the excitement of the high seas. We untied the docking lines and headed out of the harbour in the bright caribbean sun.

After night fell, I had to start the motor because the wind died. I furled the code 0 sail to prevent it from flogging in the light winds. Roger and Robert had retired into their cabins for a few hours to catch up on some sleep. We were making good speed, about 8 knots on relatively flat seas. It was beautiful night. We went past Saint Kitts, Statia, St. Barts. and Sint Maarten. Each time we could see the lights from the Island. I couldn’t help but wonder about all those who had come to the islands for a few weeks of reprieve from their lives while they enjoyed the comfort and happiness in the Caribbean trying to make memories to last until they could come again. I felt lucky to have all the time in the world to enjoy life in the islands. This truly was a beautiful part of the world.

We have a shift schedule on board so that at night we are up for three hours and then another takes over. It is important to have someone on deck at all times to keep watch for other boats and changes in the wind that might necessitate a sail change. At any one time we get at least six hours of rest. My shift the first night was between 10:00 PM until 1:00 AM. We have AIS (Automatic Identification System) on board. That way, we can see other vessels and they can see us to avoid collisions. It is comforting to radio other vessels to get updates on weather and where they are heading and to see if they have heard of any dangers. We usually end up wishing each other fair winds and safe passages as we head in different directions. Perhaps we’ll see each other in an exotic port one day? I crawled into my berth at 1 AM while Roger took over the helm. I fell asleep immediately.

When I woke up on the second day of sailing, there was a slight breeze of about 8 knots. We put up our code 0 sail and we re making about six knots. I sent Roger down to his bunk to have some rest. Before long, the wind picked up to 12 knots and the boat was screaming along at 8 knots. It was a beam reach. It was perfect sailing conditions. I could feel the power of the wind in the sails as S/V Ileana gracefully sliced through the brilliant blue waters. I could see virgin Gorda, one of the islands in the British Virgin Islands in the distance.

We started to get into the sailing watch routine by the 2nd day at sea. At night it was especially wonderful being on deck by yourself watching the constellation of stars. I was always looking for falling stars so as to make a wish as they always come true! There was an endless view of layers and layers of stars. After some time my mind would wonder at the massiveness of the universe and how tiny our little sailboat in comparison. Thank goodness we only opted for 3 hour shifts. There is no telling where my wandering mind would have taken me….

We were watching a sailboat in the distance. Our AIS told us that it was S/V San Guilio. Our image stabilizing binoculars told us they were Salty Dawgs as the Salty Dawg flag was flying high on their spreaders. They were pulling away from us. It was blowing about 12 knots from the east…. we were going west…..Roger, Robert and myself all being avid sailboat racers could not stand the thought of another sailboat going faster than us, so we discussed launching the Gennaker. The Gennaker is like a spinnaker, but rather than being fixed by a spinnaker pole, is fastened to the bow sprit at the front of the boat. It is 2000 square feet, the size of a small house, so there is plenty that could go wrong. We reminded ourselves that we were in the middle of the ocean and there would be no one to help us if the massive sail got tangled in the forestay, or fell in the water and got wrapped around the keel. On the other hand San Giulio was pulling away from us…. We launched the Gennaker. We very quickly caught up to them and radioed them. They were on their way to Great Iguana in the Bahamas another 300 miles away. They were a little bit concerned about the winds that would be building in 2 days and considered coming to Samana to wait it out. We wished them fair winds and a safe passage.

We arrived in Samana Bay in the morning after 72 hours at sea. We were greeted by the spouts from 2 humpback whales about 300 meteres from our boat. They were huge. It was morning and we were mindful of the reefs to the south and stayed in the channel between the markers. The dock hands from Puerto Bahia Marina were ther to help us dock the boat.

This is a warm and welcoming place. The people are friendly and helpful. I asked the mechanico to look at my bowthruster which was in bits and pieces from the previous attempt at repair. It had been broken for over a year. It needed new brushes and in Antigua, they were waiting for 6 weeks for them to be shipped. The Mechanico here shipped the bowthruster to Santo Domingo 2 1/2 hours away and had the bowthruster up and running installed in 48 hours! For only $150.00! I have spent thousands on this bow thruster up until this time. I guess that you have to know the right people…… and if it takes a sailor 3 days to get there to meet the right people, well I feel very priveleged to know that they exist. Help is possible in the most unlikly places and I feel very lucky to be here.

I have been to the town of Samana by dinghy and then by taxi. Dinghy is better and faster. I went to the farmers market and bought fresh fruit and vegetables. Food is about 1/3 the price of other places I have been in the caribbean. There are only a few tourists. It has been warm during the day and it cools down at night. Tomorrow, Roger and Robert are flying back to Toronto. They were great sailors to have on the passage and my rigging is in “ship shape” thanks to them. I am looking forward to my wife Ileana arriving in a few weeks. In the mean time, I’ll start tackling the list of things to do on the boat so I will be ready to bring S/V Ileana home to Toronto in the spring.