We pointed motor yacht Aura east, passing the Haitian coast. We did manage a little sail time however if we persisted tacking it would have taken almost double the time. As we rounded Isla Beata (that’s part of the Dominican Republic coast) we were on lookout for fish traps. Oh no, we didn’t see a float but we could see a line in the water. We crossed over it but it didn’t pass behind us. We’re trapped…..Kim instantly had the engine in neutral so not to wrap the line around our propeller. I grabbed my dive mask and I was over the stern before Kim could protest.. The water was crystal clear, the sun was high and the sea was calm. I couldn’t ask for better conditions for an offshore swim. Fortunately the line was only around our keel, I was able to pull it off and before Kim realised, I was back on-board. No damage done, we just lost a little antifoul paint.

As Kim was on a lookout for fish traps, she noticed something in the water a couple of meters away from Aura. At first glance she thought it was just debris until a big head of a sperm whale popped up…presumably after being woken up from his slumber. I am not sure who got the biggest fright but Kim did yell at me to “come here now!”, which probably scared the poor whale off. By the time I came on deck all I saw was the bubbles where he dived down and then a big splash of his tail breaking the surface. Close encounters like that always make me nervous as substantial damage would be done to both the whale and Aura if we had connected.

As is always the way with ocean passages, we were working to another weather window. A strong northerly front was forecast that was expected to bring big swells to the north coast of Puerto Rico (PR). We had to get across the Mona Passage before that hit. After many hours of motoring we had a little breeze that strengthened from the North West. A Westerly wind is unusual as it’s opposite to the prevailing trades. We had a great sail to finish the trip, crossed back into US waters and safely entered Puerto Real. We had a marina slip booked so it was easier to spend time ashore to celebrate Kim’s second birthday. Her actual birthday was on passage.

Once we’d docked Aura we found the Apperol and the celebration commenced. We did wander the town looking for a suitable venue and we decided on the restaurant at the marina. We then enjoyed the best ever Mojitos (big call) followed by the final bottle of Penfolds red to accompany a yummy Spanish Mexican American meal.

We returned to Aura and found her bouncing in the pen (slip). A surge had entered the bay and all the boats in the marina were rolling. Aura was well secured but we had to endure a night of squeaking warps (lines) and the odd roll that felt like being back at sea…not happy. The next day we did consider anchoring however our slip was undersized for Aura. We docked Aura with 30cm space on each side but now our fenders are being compressed with the surge. We couldn’t leave as we risked damage exiting the pile type slip. Fortunately no damage was done, just a few nights of broken sleep.

Jose the marina manager felt bad as his staff had put us in the undersized slip. He’s a great guy and organised a taxi to take us to Customs and the shopping. I should point out that Puerto Rico is a US territory, it’s just like being back in the States however Spanish is the spoken language. Anyway, Jose also gave us his ute (sorry we’re in the USA that’s a pickup) so we could run a few errands. Also just to add a little history, Puerto Rico translates to Rich Port obviously it was originally Spanish and discovered by Christopher Columbus. The USA acquired it in 1989 following the Spanish-American war.

We met a few other cruisers, notably David and Balbina (Ondine Blue) plus Paddy (crew) and Lola (a Hungarian Wizler) who knew a few of our other cruising friends. The swell dropped and we exited the brown water bay in search of clear water cays on the south coast.

We motored eastward along the south coast and navigated our way through the cays to Punta Montalva (La Pagera). The cay was protected by a coral reef, a popular weekend spot for the locals. We explored and enjoyed a few nights before needing to find better protection from the forecast wind.

La Pagera (iPhone)

La Pagera

We then moved on to explore Gilligan’s Island. No one could tell us why it was named such. We waited until Monday when all the locals were back at work and then we explored the sandy mangrove with Ondine Blue and Tourterelle. Steve from La Mischief finally caught up (new crew member but minus Dee, she’ll be back soon). We hadn’t seen Steve since the 2nd November birthday event. They left Norfolf before us and slowly made their way to Florida while we moved further south before they arrived in the Bahamas. Naturally we had a bit of catching up to do over a few rums and wines.

Gilligan’s Island – Chat & Chill

Gilligan’s Island – Li Lo Time

Gilligan’s Island – The Wild Life

As always, we had a new plan, so we pushed eastward. We anchored out the front of Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club with a view of the container port. A little exploring of the old Spanish town was in order plus we took the opportunity to refuel (motor yacht Aura) and do some provisioning.

The 1882 Ponce fire station has a unique exterior painting, the colourful pavilion related to sponsorship of a fare and the building later become the home of the fire department. The city emblem is a Lion and dates back to the founder. The historic centro area of Ponce features Spanish architecture of a time well past, it was well weathered especially since the city had been badly affected by the recent hurricane Irma. We enjoyed walking though the city although it was suffering a little economic and hurricane damage.

Ponce – Old Fire Station

Ponce – Lions

Ponce – Street Views

It was time to say goodbye to the Puerto Rico mainland as we set off for the 7 mile motor to Coffin Island (aka Isla Caja De Muerto). Irma really hit this place hard, the ferry dock is a mess and the cultural museum is closed. Little remains of the sandy beach. There was a roll in the main anchorage so we moved further north towards the old lighthouse dock. The water was clear and we watched many turtle’s diving near our stern…perfect. We had a BBQ with Steve. He is waiting for Dee to fly into San Jan then will catch us up in Culebra. We had a mission to see the island of Vieques and meet Monique (repeat Aura crew member) and the kids in Isla de Culebra so we set the alarm for midnight and headed east once again.

AURA with La Mischief & Tourterelle

Coffin Island