Our boat has spent a significant amount of time in Luperon. However, at that time we were not the owners, and her name was Miss Teak. In fact, Luperon was the farthest the previous owners made it on their quest to reach Brazil. Additionally, they lived on the boat, in Luperon, for several years before a health emergency forced them to return to the U.S., and leave the boat there. They tried to sell her from Luperon, but eventually gave up and hired a captain and crew to bring her back to Florida…where we found her in 2013.
This is the story we were told, by Captain Al himself. He always dreamt of cruising to Brazil on his own boat. Apparently, his wife was not very keen on this idea. Finally, he laid out the ultimatum that he was going with or without her (as it had been his dream his whole life). She reluctantly agreed, and they started south. Everything seemed to be going well…until their crossing to Luperon.
Whatever happened in the ocean was such a bad experience that they both were in fear for their lives. Once in Luperon she declared that she would never go anywhere on the boat again, and this time he didn’t fight her. The boat remained tied to a dock in Luperon for about 5 years😳
I tell you this story, before sharing our experience, because this seed planted in my brain certainly played a role in our decision making for this crossing.
On February 27 (one day before our cruising permit and visas expired in the Bahamas) we left Great Inagua at 4:30 a.m. for a 200 mile crossing to Luperon. The forecasted conditions were pretty good with 3-4 foot waves at a 7 second period. If those conditions held true, we could easily make this passage in 30 hours (at 7 mph) and arrive in Luperon around 10:00 a.m.
The first few hours went well, but conditions rapidly deteriorated and we found ourselves in 5-6 foot waves (with a very short period). These waves were steep and stacked, and right on our nose. It’s similar to jumping over a curb to smash into a Jersey wall…over and over, and over again. Our original plan was to navigate the yellow line to Luperon. However, these conditions slowed our speed to 5 mph or less, and caused us to change course, to be able to ride over the waves at a longer angle (minimizing the crashing), which would add miles! Looking at these numbers, it was very possible that our arrival would be after dark, which would require us to endure a second night in these conditions, as entering Luperon in the dark, for the first time, was not an option. Also, conditions were forecast to get worse on the afternoon of the 28th…so we could very well be setting ourselves up for a Captain Al scenario😳
Time to weigh our options…we were 55 miles from Cuba(red line) not an option…65 miles from Haiti(purple line) NOT an option! We could return to Bahamas, but this wasn’t a great option, because extending all of our permits would cost $900 dollars, and we would have made no progress, at all. So the winner…we were 90 miles from Turks & Caicos, and the direction change gave us a nice angle to ride over the waves. It cost a total of $155 for us to check into, and out of T&C, with a 7 day cruising permit. This worked out perfectly, because the next weather window was three days out.
We were anchor down in Sapodillo Bay (star on left/west) around 11:30 p.m. on February 27. On the morning of the 28th, Keith went ashore to check us into the country, which was a horrible 6 hour experience…to make matter worse, he had to return the next day to check us out, because you had to check out within 24 hours of leaving, and we weren’t leaving until March 2.
On March 1, after a slow check out process, we had a glorious cruise for 50 miles across Caicos Bank. We anchored at Six Hills Cay (the star on the right/east) in preparation for our departure the next day. This time we were only facing a 120 mile crossing, and the conditions were MUCH better!
Three humpback whales swam parallel to us for about 15 minutes!
During this trip we had trouble going slow enough, and arrived well before dawn. We had to stay offshore until it was light enough for us to see the entrance.
It was a fantastic feeling to enter this harbour after a fairly easy passage! I was certain we made the right decisions when we changed course! After being in the Bahamas for three months, the green was explosive, and there were sweet floral smells coming off the land…so exciting!
We picked up a mooring (which looked questionable) in the derelict section of the harbor🤣
Luperon is a poor fishing town that depends a great deal on the money cruising boats contribute! The people were wonderful, and for the most part very honest. One morning Keith and I took a walk through the side streets. Many houses set up a little window shop to sell candy, muffins, coffee…etc. we stopped to get two corn muffins. I didn’t understand how much money the man was asking for, as 328 days of Duolingo does not prepare you for all of the possible number combinations🤣. I placed a 100 peso bill (equivalent to $1.60 US) with a questioning look, and he held up two fingers. That seemed expensive for two muffins, but I didn’t want to insult him so I placed a second 100 peso bill on the table. He openly laughed and shook his head. He pushed the second bill back to me, took the first and returned 80 pesos in change😂 two muffins actually cost 32 cents. After that experience I used my phone opened to the calculator app and asked them to enter the amount…this was a perfect solution!
There are always ruins to explore
Plantains are everywhere…in fact, it is difficult to find bananas. It looks like people have been picking the fruit from the lowest part of this bunch, which hangs over the sidewalk. This was the first time we noticed the flower.
People here use motorcycles to move everything!
It became apparent that a few men were working on Miss Belkis. We aren’t sure if they are trying to make her sea worthy, or just livable, but they carried quite a bit of lumber out to this boat.
Eggs are super cheap! This flat of 30 costs less that $2.50
This is a common taxi option here, and I was excited to try it out. We decided to take a trip to La Isabela, a town about 8 miles away.
This was a great way to see the countryside!
Small homesteads milk their cows, in the morning, and put the milk cans out on the street. Motorcycles drive by and pick up the milk cans😮
Traffic jams are rare, but they do happen😂
This is the site of the first settlement of the ‘New World’ established by Christopher Columbus.
After the initial discovery, Columbus returned with 17 ships, 1,500 people, livestock, seeds, and tools to establish the first settlement.
The thatch structure currently protects the original foundation of Columbus’ personal residence.
Like most first settlements they were challenged by hurricanes, crop failures, mutinous sailors, and indigenous hostilities. This settlement was abandoned after five years, when Santo Domingo was established. We were told, in later history, a government official told the mayor of the area to clean up the site to prepare for a tour by dignitaries. The mayor misunderstood the instructions and bulldozed all stone structures. This mistake cost the mayor his life😮
This is a burrowing owl. It lives in the hole under those rocks.
There are many original roof tiles that remain at the site. The tiles were made by using the upper thigh to mold the clay…clever!
This was the view from Columbus’ home.
A few days later, we rented a car for a trip to Puerta Plata…
Again, the countryside was amazingly beautiful.
We did all of the ‘tourist’ stuff, but didn’t fall for the ridiculous prices they are apparently getting from cruise ship passengers!
🤷♀️ I have no words for this
There was a nice garden, and we did pay a guide to tell us about all of the plants…interesting!
Our real reason for traveling to Puerta Plata was to visit the 27 Charcos (waterfalls). While this is definitely a huge tourist attraction, we timed our arrival when there were no cruise ships at port. You had to hike up to the top (only 7 falls were open on the day we were there) and ‘ride’ down by way of slides and pools.
It was GREAT fun!!
The next leg of our journey included another overnight passage from Luperon to Samana. I look forward to giving you those highlights in the next blog post…
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