Thursday, March 12 – 13
| Start: Puerto Bahía Marina, Samaná, Dominican Republic (dock) | Miles: 146 nm |
| End: Bahía De Mayaguez, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico (anchor) | Time: 28hr 55m |
| Weather: Warm, occasional rain, moderate winds until the wind shadow of Puerto Rico | Waves: 4-5 ft coming straight at us. Uncomfortable and lumpy |
Oof. We left with about 12 boats all seeing a moderately good weather window from Samaná. We were the last of the boats because it looked like the seas would calm down later on.
Leaving the bay started with very calm conditions that grew quickly. In one hour we went from ripples at the marina to lumpy 4-ft swells at the mouth of the bay. The sun was setting behind us as we left one of our favorite places. And after 4 weeks of stability, we were reacquainting ourselves with seasickness. Rainier tossed his cookies, and Leanne was similarly disquieted. Corban and I didn’t feel much better.
We had 70 miles to go on this heading, and our speed was terrible. I had estimated that we’d make 5-5.5 knots (hoping for 6). I slowed us down to 4-4.5 knots for a little more comfort and to keep the boat from crashing into too many waves. But that meant we’d be in these conditions for an extra 3-4 hours. Not a bright start to our trip, but we put on the Harry Potter audiobook and lolled in the cockpit.
Night brought some slackening in the waves, but it’s difficult to recover from seasickness once it hits. I started feeling better in the morning, and the boys did as well. Leanne never quite recovered.
Our speed improved as the seas calmed down. We hit our turn around 11am (averaging just 4.5 knots!), before winds were forecasted to increase. Once we turned, the wind came at an angle allowing us to put up sails, which provided even more relief. We hit the lee of Puerto Rico around sunset, and the waves disappeared while the mountainous outline of Puerto Rico rose from the horizon. We changed plans and bailed out as early as we could – Mayaguez Bay. It was an incredibly easy approach with no hazards. We anchored at 10:30pm next to the nightlife sounds of Mayaguez, and slept like a family of rocks. Corban had actually fallen asleep at 5 pm and didn’t rouse until 7 the next morning.
The next day we made a short trip to Puerto Real to spend time with our friends aboard Tropicalia. We had no waves, gentle winds, and only needed to go 2 hours. It was a good reminder that sailing can be fun!