Well, having left Samana at 5PM we headed out across the Mona Passage - feared and dreaded due to the daily buildup of thunderstorms and squalls off the coast of Puerto Rico. We had a fairly good ride along the north coast of the DR and at sunrise we decided to cross to the Isla de Mona, a small island mid-way between DR and PR.
It’s a beautiful spot, however the anchorage is reached via a cut through the reef. We arrived right at low tide and had 7+ feet going in, however, Rock ‘n Roll didn’t quite manage the swell timing and hit pretty hard. Yipes, a horrible thing to watch (it could be you next time!)… they powered off the reef and into the anchorage with the next swell, so it was OK. Next up, a boarding by the U.S. Coast Guard - while I was cooking dinner. They (4 of them) came aboard and did a safety inspection plus chemically swiped for drugs. They found no violations and were soon on their way. BTW, another boarding party was attending to Rock ‘n Roll at the same time.
Conditions in the bay at Mayaguez were atrocious and we declined launching the dinghy in favor of staying healthy and not breaking any gear. Luckily the cell phone worked as PR is a US territory, so we called customs and cleared in via the cell phone and a visual made by the immigration officer as we passed by under power. I guess they have done that before.
The next day we headed over to Ponce to fuel up and meet up with Scott Free and Diesel Duck as they were headed out to shop. We picked up anchor and headed out to Coffin Island to stage for our next run to Salinas, further east along the south coast. The trades really pick up by 9AM so we started out at 4:30AM and made the harbor around 8:30AM after motorsailing. Rented a car and drove over to Ponce to hit the Sam’s Club - unfortunately they didn’t stock the wonderful Hormel precooked bacon like the Florida Sam's Club.
The next day we planned an outing with Scott and Heather to have a early picnic supper on a deserted beach then dinghy into the (famous) bioluminescent bay. Fantastic time, moonless night too! Heather & I declined a swim but the guys got in after dark. It was so cool the way they were “outlined” when barely moving and made incredibly bright trails through the water when agitating. Fish zooming out of the way leaving their own trails too. Lots of fun, highlight of the trip so far.
