Dominican Republic

We left the south coast of Puerto Rico with 20kts behind us with the 2 headsails up sailing very well......until we got to Cape Cabo Rojo. There had been a fair bit of wind and swell around for most of the week and as soon as we passed the Cape into Mona Passage we got a slight headwind as we were in the lee of the mainland so on went the engine, no worries it won't be for long, well it ended up being on for 25nm! With a decent swell from the north coming from the Atlantic and then waves also from the Caribbean Sea coming from the SE we have never seen Sunflower roll so much, everything was going everywhere!!! It really wasn't good until bang.....the wind. Our 20+ kts was back and we had a very fast overnight passage to the SE corner of DR to an island called Saona where we anchored for a night. The wind flattened the seas off so it ended up being a pretty good sail after all.

Saona Island is a nature reserve. Think beautiful beaches, palm trees swinging, just perfect.....We anchored there not long after day break and then around 10am the serenity was over, an armada of tourist fast boats and sailing catamarans hit!! Was a sight to see alright, pure chaos but they were all friendly enough and by mid afternoon they were gone. Then we sailed 10 odd miles to Bayhibe were we are getting married. My heart sank, I knew this place would be touristy but sailing past these massive resorts (the biggest we are booked in) and then into the bay with a million boats anchored I thought what have we done?!?! I think we had just been away from the touristy parts for a few months too long. After a few beers in town, finding a possible beach bar to have our wedding party things cheered up and then the next day we sailed to Casa De Campo Marina to check in and do the official formalities. This joint is amazing, has to be seen to be believed. Owned Im sure by Italian Mafia and just dripping with money, super yachts and massive mansions, it's not for people like us. The DR is famed for corrupt officials and doing the formalities causes a problem with cruisers so this place provides an easy option....you pay probably three times the price but no bribes and is done in an hour. Yep $175  later we were out of there, bitter but out of there. We have a lot of things to do so it was either this or sail 40nm west and then back to here, but like I say we have a LOT to organise with the wedding and pile paperwork they ask for here.

We have been anchored here for 5 days now and really are liking this place. My inicial shock is over and it's really good fun. The locals are great, most of them a little crazy in a funny kind of way but really good fun. It's going to be a great place for the wedding with something for everyone of our guests that are coming from all over the planet :)

Goodbye Puerto Rico

3 weeks I've been back in Puerto Rico and they've flown by, we love this place. For me it's the one place we have stopped so far on our travels that I think I could live in. It's safe, beautiful, people are all super friendly/love a chat, great sailing, civilised, you can work and most likely make half decent money and sail relatively easy to anywhere in the Caribbean Sea....it's a good place.

When I arrived back from working in Aus to Isla Culebra we fixed the autopilot and a few other things then headed over to Vieques Island for a couple of nights then onto Salinas, both are very nice places. In Salinas we hired a car for 3 days and headed north to San Juan then around to the west coast spending a Saturday night in Boqueron, great spot. Had a fun night out with good live music and lots of cheap beer seeing how the locals live and enjoy life here. After Salinas we sailed to Coffin Island where we hung for a week, fishing and doing boat jobs. We built a new awning for the cockpit which turned out great and managed to do quite well fishing from the dinghy so had a few fish BBQs with our friends on "Ever After" which was great fun also. From there onto Ponce which is a big city, not a bad anchorage but not so nice a place to be, so we just did a big stock up at the supermarket then checked out with the Authorities and now we are waiting for the weather to change at Punta Ballena on the west coast of PR. Hopefully tomorrow we will cross the Mona passage and leave for Dominican Republic. All good aboard Sunflower :)

We literally have taken 3 photos in the last few weeks so nothing too exciting to show!

Culebra

The last 2 weeks have been great, New Years was awesome and we have loved the people and culture here since. There's a lot to do on a boat depending on the weather there are all sorts of options for anchorages and other islands close by. We went over to Isla Culebrita and the beach is a stunner and very popular place for the local boaters on the weekends with loads of music and beer drinking going on, great fun. Then on the west side of Culebra we went to a couple of different anchorages including Luis Pena island but the weather has to be good, and we finally managed to paint the deck (had paint since Brazil). Then just 10 miles away is Isla De Vieques, we anchored for a couple of nights in Ensanada Honda in the mangroves completely shelterd spot but near the entrance close to the reef for snorkelling. The snorkelling was the best I have seen in Caribbean so far, we saw a decent size shark, turtles, manta ray, sting rays lots of different reef fish and got a couple of Crays.
Puerto Rico is a little different than I expected, it's very American in a lot of ways but still very Latino. Lots of music going on and a very happy friendly bunch of people. They speak Spanish as their main language but most also speak English so it's very handy for me and great to be able to communicate properly unlike the French islands were it's near impossible if you don't speak French. Culebra is quiet with mainly tourists from the main island coming over on the ferry which is just $2.50 and also MANY have their own boats, this was a real shock there is some serious money. Lots of 40+ foot flash flybridge sports fishing new luxury boats and surprisingly a lot of Rivieras imported from Australia as well as there Bertram's with all the bling, bit like going to Rottnest island in west Australia. When they see the Aussie flag it's all smiles and waves and they love having a chat which is really nice.
Julie's going to have a great time there while I'm back at work, no worries about that!
Meanwhile I'm at the airport now after a slight fuck up. Had a 4 am flight from San Juan and after being there all night, checking in but then fell asleep at the gate! Catastrophe!! So instead of going to Boston I ended up in Orlando for 28 hours and now waiting for a flight to Dubai were I will spend another 22 hours!! So basically leave Sunflower Wednesday afternoon and get to perth early Monday morning, think I'm not kicking myself?!

Puerto Rico!

What a spot this place is, we arrived in the afternoon and after checking in with a very friendly customs fella we were good to go, well after a siesta anyway. Great little town here and they put on full on party all for free with a big stage at the waterfront with bands playing salsa and other Latino music to the early hours, everyone dancing and having a ball, it was full on good fun and managed to keep going until 5am which I haven't done for a while;) think I slept till 5pm yesterday though!

BVI's what were we thinking??!

After a fast downwind sail having to hand steer for the 185 miles we  arrived after 31 hours and knackered. It's chaos, charter boats absolutely everywhere so we find a spot drop anchor and decide to clear customs in the morning. We get in there and say we arrived the evening before and he starts, why didn't you announce your arrival on the radio? Ok sorry sir it won't happen again, he keeps on and saying he will fine us $10000 and can confiscate our boat... Ok mate we are sorry won't happen again!!! He keeps on and takes us aside to read aloud the regulations from his big book, an absolute arsehole...keeps on and finally brings us out a declaration to sign basically saying we were idiots and didn't know. Then immigration, well she wasn't much friendlier but all good lets have a couple of beers and forget about it. After a couple it didn't seem to get much better so Julie says lets go....cool lets get outa here! Back to customs less than an hour later and they are like what's wrong???? Not for us this place!! We didn't really meet any friendly locals, I think they are just sick of the thousands of tourists but hey it's there job and what brings them their money right??? I don't know maybe the other islands are different, I hope so anyway. The Brits can keep these islands and the biggest Caribbean New Years party anyway!!

 Back at the boat an Aussie fella came over and said g'day and we went for dinner with him and his Canadian partner and had a really fun night anyway. They had chartered a boat  and were having a ball. They also introduced us to a drink at the help yourself bar called a "Painkiller" yea I need a couple of painkillers thank you this morning I can tell you. So now we are sailing for Puerto Rico to an island  called Culebra to celebrate New Years tonight and hopefully customs will be a bit more friendly and and more our scene:)

Happy New Years to all our family and friends!

Antigua

We have had the best sailing yet on Sunflower for most of the Caribbean with the wind on the beam and plenty of it but now we are at the top of the chain and it's all downhill sailing for a while heading west once again. Antigua would be one of my favourite islands. I had always wanted to come and see the mega yachts but thought a day or 2 would be enough of the glitz and glamour but it was nothing like. Yea a lot of seriously bloody serious yachts in Falmouth and English harbours with lots of Perini Navi's 50+m, Old Americas cup J boats and everything  in between plus the disgusting white boats but then where we have been mostly anchored in Deep Bay on the other side of the island there's hardly a one yet a beautiful anchorage. Antigua is blessed with beautiful anchorages all over with protected bays everywhere but then there are also the "Christmas Winds", it's like Fremantle in the summer with a non stop screaming easterly that stirs up the water with a bit of groundswell so snorkelling is out of the question but it's all good;) the people are all very friendly and it's the most English islands we have been to they even have a rasta style English accent and play reggae Xmas tunes such as my favourite "does santa come to the getto", no joke heaps of reggae Xmas songs! 

A couple of days before Xmas our Finnish friends on "Everafter" and "KasteHelmi" and also Luis our Argentinian friend arrived here in Deep Bay and it has been great fun, bit of a rum overdose but great fun! Xmas on the beach with loads of great Finnish food, Ham ect and a Seafood BBQ was a serious feast for sure, good times! Really happy we got to meet up with them to share the day. 

Now that the hangover has almost passed it's time to get Sunflower ready for the 180 mile sail to the BVI's. There is a small island called Jast Van Dyke with normally 200 people on it but they put on a massive 3 day party for New Years that brings a few thousand people, will be crazy for sure. So tomorrow we leave and should arrive on the 29th and then it's just a 30 mile sail to Culebra where I fly back to Australia mid Jan for work. 

Guadaloupe

Our original plan was to miss the French islands but I'm glad we stopped here that's for sure. Completely different vibe, nothing like any of the other islands we have visited. Obviously French, very French and they have made a very good influence. It's the first island we have seen with good organisation with the farming, great crops everywhere of all sorts including massive banana plantations. And the food.... While in the rest of the Caribbean we see massive obesity problems with loads of fried take away places here in Guadaloupe the people are actually skinny! Well maybe not skinny but not massive either :) is a shame though we can't speak French which does make it seriously hard but they are very chilled out bunch.

We stayed up the top of the island on the west in Dashaies, a beautiful little sheltered bay with loads of free really good moorings. We hired a car and took a trip around the island and it's absolutely beautiful and lush, rainforest everywhere and a hikers paridise although we only did a couple of short walks in the national park.

Some tips for cruisers- there's drinking water available from a tap near the showers in harbour for free, supermarkets are really good and although it's in euros seemed no more expensive and our search for cheap beer we found cases for €18,great steaks and awesome cheeses and of course French wine from €3. Check in super easy on a computer at a little shop you can do every day of the week for €4.