Due to its shifting currents and unpredictable weather patterns, the dreaded "Mona Passage" is
one of the most difficult passages in the Caribbean. This 80 mile
stretch of water separates the islands of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico and
connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
We
found "The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South" by Bruce Van Sant to be
flawed in that the whole point is to not get beat up by the trade winds
while in the Mona Passage. It is possible to sail the
night lee of the Dominican Republic one night and the night lee of
Puerto Rico the next; however, this puts you crossing the Mona Passage
during the day, which is when the trade winds kick up. Bruce, you can't
have your cake and eat it too.
All
in all, we had a good passage. We were met with some 6 foot seas and
20 knot winds, but there were times when the southern flowing current
allowed us to hit 7+ knots.
All
was good, until about 20 miles out from Boqueron, Puerto Rico, when Les on s/v
Golightly went to crank up his motor and got nothing. He had a spare
starter, which he tried to replace without any luck. The Coast Guard directed him to Seatow in Puerto Rico and, thankfully, they were able to assist with a tow. But, it would be 3-1/2 hours before they could reach him. Once Seatow was enroute, Jim and I made the run through the reefs, pulling into Boqueron to await Golightly's arrival. It is always a little daunting when entering an unknown bay at night when surrounded by reefs, but we reached the harbor, found good anchorage and dropped the hook somewhere around 3:00 a.m., grateful to have arrived without incident.
Well done on Mona but 20 kts and 6 ft seas are the absolute norm in tradewind areas of the Caribbean, better get used to it. The southern Caribbean on the way to Panama is much harder. Starving dogs are an island phenomenon...called potcakes in Bahamas and pothounds further south. Cabo Rojo is your entry from Atlantic to Caribbean. As much as you might discount Van Sante's advise, he's absolutely correct about the Caribbean twostep when sailing east along the south coast of P.R.
ReplyDeleteEntering a strange anchorage in the dark isn't the safest thing to do. Why not coast offshore and slow down to enable landfalls in first light?
Silverheels III... Thanks for the comments. Yeah, we are understanding the sea state for further down.. it was mainly just a comment on the passage. I agree with Bruce's take on the twostep for the Southern Coast of Puerto Rico. My thoughts were more on the Mona Passage, which requires a night lee sail on the DR and then a night lee sail on PR... but if you do a night and night, that means your crossing during the day, unless you wait on the edge of the DR till nightfall to actually cross. I absolutely agree with not anchoring at night... LOL, I much more prefer to do it at first light, then spend the day relaxing!
ReplyDeleteThanks again,
Jim and Sherry