As we pulled back into Palmas from the airport our first reaction was we need to get out of this marina. The marina was super, Juano, Coco and Sylvie could not have made our stay any better but we were ready to be back on our own. The weather looked tolerable the next day so we prepared to leave. We really were going to go wherever the wind took us. If we got any south in the wind we would have jumped to Culebra but squalls in the morning and some slight north pointed us to the south coast of Vieques. 

We had heard good and bad things about Vieques, mostly mischief and petty theft and were going to play it by ear. We made the town of Esperanza and sailed into the bay just east based on the recommendations of Juano and some other cruisers. We could see the town but basically the beach was deserted except for some campers and another cruising sailboat. We opted for the western side and had to put the anchor down pretty quickly as the dusk was now turning to dark. There was no moon but the stars were magnificent.

We grilled on the back and had a nice dinner in the cockpit. Clean up turned into something entirely different! If you have read Kaylee’s journal you know that when Danielle started cleaning dishes on the stern she swished the spoons in the water and unleashed a stream of beautiful bioluminescence! There was no stopping them as Danielle and Kaylee stripped down and skinny dipped with the dinoflaginates (I know all my biological oriented friends wonder how an engineer knows what a dinoflaginate is!). It was great as they made “snow angels” in the water and were covered in the glowing planktons!

Both Kaylee and Danielle had a great time and I especially appreciated Kaylee’s commentary on the “coolest” thing she had ever done! I would say they were in the water for 45 minutes and the conditions were perfect as the moonless sky made for an extremely dark night that really allowed these little critters to glow!

We believed that we had seen what Vieques had to offer and we really wanted to spend some time in Culebra. Also, for the first time schedule began to matter as we needed to meet Fred and Kay and then the Conrad’s in Virgin Gorda, BVI. We had a little ways to go but time to do it.

The next day was overcast and windy but we were in the lee as we coasted up the southern coastline of Vieques. As soon as we turned the corner however we were rewarded with 15 kts on a beam reach. We seldom get anything but beating into the wind so when we turned the corner we raced to Culebra at 7 kts with sails wide open and no heel! Two hours later we sailed into the narrow channel into the center of Culebra check it out. Our first thought was to get way up in the bay near Dewey and there were a lot of boats up there but the bay was very rolly and did not look inviting. We made our way to the mouth where a very shallow reef was blocking the waves. We jumped on a ball and were pleasantly surprized at how flat it was. We had a 15 kt breeze with almost no rocking and a great view to the open ocean. The best possible sleeping conditions!

We enjoyed snorkeling and just hanging out two days then dropped the ball and did a 2 hour jump to Cubrelita, a little cay just east of Culebra. A number of people had told us that this was a highlight in the Culebra archipelago and they were right. We shared the beautiful anchorage with a couple of boats and spent the 2 days snorkeling and hiking.

​We were very happy to be leaving Salinas. Not that Salinas is a bad place, we found it very receptive to sailing cruisers and was a great place to leave the boat to explore Puerto Rico by land. Being the last to leave Salinas, however, the bird droppings and stillness of the anchorage made leaving easy. We had a pretty easy schedule to keep in order to meet my parents in Palmas del Mar, a nice resort community and marina in SE Puerto Rico.

First stop was Patilla, a nice little coastal town with a park on their beach. The sail was quick, only a few hours. The anchorage was pretty open and a bit rolly but picturesque. After anchoring and a swim we were treated to a rainstorm. Literally the first rain we had had in 3 months! And it came down, wind, rain, lightening for awhile as we holed up in the boat. The only good part was that the boat really needed the freshwater rinse. Talking to locals the next day we found that this was one of the largest rainfall events that they had had in years as the south coast was known for it’s dryer climate. They likened this event as something you would see in San Juan.

We stayed another day, Kaylee got out her skates and we wandered around the area finding a neat kiosk selling empanadas that we ate on a deck overlooking the bay. Nice snorkling, easy going atmosphere and good stop despite the rain.

​The next day brought the the threat of more rain in the afternoon so we upped anchor and headed for the marina at Palmas Del Mar early. We got in after a nice reefed down sail around 11 am, a stop at the fuel dock and a long back down a large fairway to our slip. Just in time as the skies opened up again.

Palmas Del Mar offered us everything we could have hoped for as a staging point for my parents. Juano, the marina Manager, Coco, the dock master and Salvie, where friendly, helpful and made our stay here wonderful. They treated Kaylee like a princess and she soon had the run of the docks. The facility was substantial in it’s construction with the only drawback being the swell that would enter and rebound within the basin and forced us to put chafe guards on all of our docklines to keep them from rubbing through the rough concrete. Coco and Salvie entertained Kaylee while keeping a professional attitude and doing their work. They were always there when we needed anything.

M​y parents flew in the next day and we rented car to meet them at the airport. It was getting dark and they were tired so we stopped on the way back to the boat at a traditional Puerto Rican restaurant, “Chilis”. Oh well, lets break them in easy.

My parents were very game and the five of us took up residence on the boat. We were a little worried about the need for some level of agility to get on and off the boat as we were either stuffed against the finger dock or 4 feet off. A jump for any of us. After they got used to the rhythm of the boat and the swell they became very adept at climbing on and off.

We had kept the rental car to do some touring and with the threat of rain we spent the next 2 days covering the country side. We took a run to Old Town San Juan and drove the blue cobble stone streets with all the other tourists. We tried to get a look at the fort but fortune was not on our side as the skies opened us and with elevators not working in the parking garage we were stymied. We bolted on the idea of the tour of the fort and grounds and made our way down to the waterfront where the hills were not so formidable and stopped in a local restaurant for lunch. Kaylee and Danielle went up to the Butterfly Shop and we walked down to a park on the bay.

Weather seemed to be clearing up so we foraged out of Palmas for a nice day sail to see how everyone would handle to wind and waves. We enjoyed a beautiful day sailing up almost to Humacao and about a third of the way to Vieques. All and all a successful day and a good test for the overnight planned for the next day.

We set off fairly early and had pretty strong winds. We reefed the main and headsail for a little more comfortable ride. We still managed over 6 kt and were heeled over as we shot through the water. A thunderstorm began forming over Vieques so we dropped sails and motored the last couple of miles. Retreat, the better part of valor when the threat of heavy downdrafts are a potential. The rain passed us quickly and we anchored on Green’s Beach and enjoyed a nice swim, cookout and great night on the hook, steaks and all!

The sail home the next morning was very calming with 15+kts on the stern and a nice swell. Mom and Dad enjoyed the movement of the boat as we made the 11 miles home in under 2 hours without touching the sails or the wheel.

I believe everyone was a little apprehensive about my parents week on the boat. They were great sports, willing to do just about anything and I believe really enjoyed their time with us (or were polite enough to not say anything). I think that once people begin to see how we live, get along on the boat and enjoy ourselves on our journey they appreciate why we do this. I also believe that if they did not really have a good time I would have heard about it in no uncertain terms from my sister!

The only real stress was getting them back to the airport as we were only 2 hours ahead of schedule and I missed a turn at the airport which delayed us 10 minutes! Dad was beginning to get tense. They made the plane and by all accounts had a good trip home.

​One chore that I could not put off anymore was the replacement of the packing material in the gland that the propellor shaft runs through. After the engine rebuild  in Carrabbelle the shaft had been pushed in and out of the gland a couple of times and though it was ok when we left, the gland began leaking more and more as we moved south. I had tightened it a couple of times but now it was tightened as tight as it could go and as we pulled into Salinas the water was now spraying a fine mist through the gland into the engine compartment so it was time to get it replaced in this calm anchorage.

The packing gland is an interesting part of the boat as the propellor shaft is rotating at a lot of rpm’s though this bearing. They have solved the friction/heating problem by allowing the bearing to “leak”, passing a small amount of water from the outside through the bearing to cool the shaft of the friction. Normally the gland is supposed to leak at a rate of 3 drops per minute. Hard to imagine that this would cool the bearing, but whatever! This water eventually makes it way to the bilge where it is pumped out by the bilge pump. 

I had not done this before and spent a little time on You-tube and other media formats to get a better idea on how to complete this job without sinking the boat.  You see, when you back off the gland bolt you open up a hole in the bottom of the boat where the shaft runs through and you do your work while the boat is sinking (kind of). I had been doing everything I could to avoid dealing with this problem.

I was able to get Sim from Wandering Star to come over to help me. I bought the packing from West Marine, got a tank from Vagabond and went under the boat to try to block up as much of the opening from the outside as possible. I cleared the back room and rear engine compartment to give us all the room I could and we began to undo the packing gland bolt. Luckily Sim was a marine engineer (a real one, not one like me!) and spent years in the lower decks of all kinds of major vessels from tankers to large training sailboats. We began pulling the gland and found that my exercise of blocking the flow from the outside was for naught as water began gushing (a technical term) into the engine compartment. Sim calmly took a tee shirt and some zip ties and we wrapped the shaft and slowed the onslaught to a dribble, our bilge pump began it’s job and now easily kept up with this small flow (a side bar on the bilge pump to follow).

It seems that there is a special tool to remove the old packing, a corkscrew like device that you screw into the old material to yank it out. I certainly did not have one but Sim had brought over the tool that he got from Scott on Symbiosis who knew I was going to be doing this work and had dropped it off on Sim’s boat. It takes a Village!

With a little effort we were able to remove and clean out the old material and gland and using a trick (it seems there is always a trick) of hammering one face of the packing material to make it thinner and and easier to install into the packing gland we were able to get the new material into the gland. We undid the teeshirt and with water streaming into the boat again (somehow this does not feel like a good way to do this kind of work) were were able to rethread the gland.

This seem like it should be the end of the story however….. Over the next day or so we had exercised the engine and put some load on the propellor shaft by running it at anchor, mostly in reverse. We had adjusted the gland and it seemed everything was working as it should. The next day a sailboat anchored very close to us as while we were ashore. We worried that we could swing into each other but the anchorage was protected, there was no wind and none expected so we let it go. At about 1 am we heard this terrible crash and rushed on deck to see the bow sprint of this boat rake across our stern! We later found that they had done some minor damage to our stern rail and a fishing pole, fortunately that was all. We tried to talk to the other boat with a “we don’t speak english” response. We pulled anchor to move out of “their way” and as we set the anchor upwind in a clear spot in the harbor Danielle asked why is the bilge on, a quick examination and we found that the gland had backed off the shaft and water was now again flowing into the bilge. Danielle and I worked together get the gland back on and tightened on the threads to avert the pending catastrophe. Nothing like an anchor drill in the middle of the night to get your heart racing and adrenaline up. Needless to say we sat up for the next couple of hours.

With daylight we surmised that the locking ring was not tightened completely and while the shaft was going in reverse it was putting pressure in the correct direction to keep the gland screwed tight. When we went into forward to reset the anchor the motion of the shaft slowly unwound the gland and it unscrewed itself away from the locking ring that was not tight enough and then off the shaft. Needless to say we spent the morning retightening the shaft and motoring out of the anchorage to test the connection and the locking ring! All has been well since leaving Salinas last month.

Side bar - Sometimes your actions are predicated premonition and this repair scenario was just such a case. As I knew that we would be changing the packing I tested the bilge pump system including the float switch. Now the float switch and pump had been working fine since we bought the boat in 2012 so there was no real reason to expect a problem however when I tested the switch it did not engage the pump. I filled the bilge with water and the switch lifted (floated) but did not engage the bilge….. The manual button on the console worked just fine so we knew the pump was working. Sim happened by the boat to look at the transmission gland prior to beginning that work and saw me struggling. We tested all the components and found each component in order so I thought it was just a bad connection. As I began putting the system all back together, testing each new connection I was not able to get the switch to engage the pump. I cut out old line and rewired the entire run, still nothing. Three hours later and I still did not have a functioning bilge and Sim was now sitting in the cockpit laughing at me. “I left you with a 10 minute job and you are still at it”. Seems that the switch worked but the wires were so bad that they could not carry the electrical load anymore. I had bought a replacement switch and pump before the trip and when I installed the new switch it worked perfectly…. whew! I can just imagine what would have happened if the bilge pump switch was not working when we began changed the packing gland. Sometimes I think you just know that something is wrong ahead of time.

I wonder a lot about what Kaylee may be sacrificing while I (We) are doing what we want to do. This sailing trip is obviously my dream that Danielle has bought into and Kaylee is here because she has to be. While I truly believe that what Kaylee gains by being on this trip will make her a better, more assured person with a huge cache of experiences I also admit Kaylee puts up with a lot. Getting sea sick on rolly passages, missing her friends, being around adults all the time and not enough time with other kids her age etc.

I was overjoyed with both our friends and Kaylee’s response for her 8th birthday. To be fair, she has been celebrating all month. My parents came down the first week of May, Danielle’s parents last week, friends from Tallahassee also came through and all contributed to her birthday month! However on the actual day we found that none of her kid friends were around. We texted and called Vagabond and Pepper and ran into Exit Stage Left and all agreed to attend Kaylee’s birthday party.

As we sailed from Cane Garden Bay to Leverick Bay to meet up with the other boats, Dan on Vagabond was busy baking a chocolate cake while Trent and Monica (Pepper) and Todd and Rachelle (Vagabonds guests) and Tony and Deb (Exit Stage Left) all put together small gifts, cards and fun things for Kaylee to open. It was quite a party and while I am eternally grateful to the friendship that our traveling friends have provided us on Aqua Vida I am also sure that Kaylee felt that this was one of her best Birthdays ever!

Thanks to everyone that contributed over the month and especially on Kaylee’s day!
Cheers

​We probably knew the least about what to expect in Puerto Rico. We had been to San Juan and I had traveled to Fajardo and Ceiba (by plane) for work but the south shore was totally foreign and so was arriving by boat. We spent so much time getting here and thinking about the Virgin Islands and beyond we were not really prepared for what there was to do in PR. But first we needed to check back into the US, a simple process, right?

We had landed in Boqueron around 10 pm, on the SW corner of PR, a pretty large bay with a lot of anchorage area. The town is known as a local weekend beach destination. The guide books said we could anchor here and call into immigration and customs (now Customs and Border Control, CBP). A chore for the next morning.

We found out that Exit Stage Left and Wandering Star had called in and had to taxi to the port at Mayaquez, but they were Canadian and English. Frank from Utopia called in and was checked in over the phone so we had some basis of knowledge. I called the 800 number in San Juan and began the check in process; name, passport number, vessel registration etc. They asked if I had a 'decal' and we did not so they said I had to go to Mayaquez. Since I knew Frank didn't have to go I started quizzing and soon found that if we had the CBP decal, which costs $28, we could have just cleared in by phone. CBP asked if there was a hardship in going to Mayaquez and I responded that I didn't want to taxi to the Port. Their response was taxi? No, you have to take your boat to Mayaquez for inspection. What?!! This was not a trivial exercise, sailing 15 miles back out around the reefs and in again in 20 kt winds. I said thank you and could I have the direct number for CBP in Mayaquez and began thinking of our next moves.

We began discussing with others and their calls with different CBP officers and their interpretation. Sailacious was from the Czech Republic so we knew they had to travel as well as Dan (Canadian) from Vagabond who shared a taxi with Pepper. Yarika and Symbiosis (US) jumped in a taxi with Luca (Czech Republic) and we got on the internet and bought a US decal. We then called the local CBP and began the check in again. He of course had all the previous information on his computer and said we needed to come in because I needed to get the decal. When I informed him I had a confirmation number for a decal purchase he asked when I had gotten the decal. I said, ‘recently’. He asked how recently and I responded 10 minutes ago! He laughed and said why didn't you say so and then asked if I had a pen to write down a entrance number and we were in!

With the specifics over with I quizzed him on the requirement to bring my boat to Mayaquez, he laughed, “who told you that?” San Juan CBP I responded.... “Next time someone from CBP tells you to do something that is plain stupid tell him you are not going to do it. There is no place for you to put your boat in Mayaquez and no way for us to inspect it”.... I am sure I'll take his advice next time an officer tells me to do something stupid.

Boqueron, as I said was ok, but nothing really to do, we ate dinner at a nice Mexican Restaurant and bought bread and a few things from a local grocery. By the next morning we were ready to leave. Exit Stage Left and Wandering Star had already left and the rest of the boats had decided to hang out for another day or two. While this loose alliance had pretty much stayed together over the last month we could see that the group was beginning to break up as the fear of the unknown as well as the need for the comfort of the pack diminished with the DR and the Mona behind us. Individual goals and objectives, including ours, were now taking priority over the desire for safety in numbers on passages. 

​The Thornless Path by Van Sant and Active Captain (a crowd sourced set of data similar to trip advisor, but for anchorages, marinas and other cruising info) became our near term reading as we plotted our course along the south coast of PR. Paguera was our first stop, a small coastal town next to a national park with clear water and mangrove islands.

The sail from Bogueron to Paguera was nice, we rounded the cape at the SW corner (Cabo Rojo) and began moving east in a nice breeze. We sailed right along the reefs, too close in one case as the Navionics and Garmin charts were not in sync and we hit a shallow spot. That got us back into the coastal mode pretty quick! Later inspection showed no damage but the “bump” was a good wake up call.

Paguera was a nice little town, a lot cleaner and better set up as a coastal destination. The water was warm, the bottom had grasses and coral heads and we could snorkel and shower off the back of the boat again. It was the weekend. The area was full of speed boats blaring latin music, hanging out on the sand and mangrove islands, not too unlike a huge white trash bash for those that remember the Memorial Day festivities at Dog Island! 

We stayed pretty much on our own with dinner on the boat. Probably the nicest benefit was the ability to take a shower on the back of the boat, jumping into the clean clear waters to rinse off before the final freshwater rinse with no one looking into our cockpit from 50’ or less away. We had not had this luxury since leaving Conception Island in the Bahamas over a month ago!

​The next morning we raised the anchor and headed east while the winds were still relatively benign. Next stop Gilligan’s Island, a 12 mile jump to a little resort cove with a mangrove island offshore that someone believed looked like Gilligan’s Island from the TV show. Didn’t see the resemblance but a very picturesque lagoon. It was Saturday the so the place was packed but we were able to anchor out in the lagoon, pretty much on our own. We were greeted by a huge Manatee that was probably also trying to keep away from the fast boats and parties on the island. Lot’s of music so we swam into the island to check it out, hung out in the water for awhile then made our way back to the boat. 

We got a recommendation about a happy hour at the beach bar so we made our way into the resort for a drink, they were going to show movies for the kids on a large sheet on the beach later in the evening so we hightailed it over to a local kiosk for some fish and french fries (the resort fare was very expensive) and then back so that Kaylee could watch the films with the kids staying at the resort! Danielle and I enjoyed a quiet hour by the pool people watching until Kaylee walked over crying…. All the kids had left (she had not noticed as she was focused on the movies) and found herself alone, in the dark with us no where to be found! 

Winds continued to be favorable but we could not bring ourselves to go into Ponce and the busy port regardless of the availability of provisioning. We decided we could wait until Salinas. The rest of the fleet were behind us and were looking to the cheap shopping and other boat related services in Ponce but we opted for Caja de Muertos or Coffin Island which was about 5 miles off the mainland. This island is part of the park system. We had a good sail from Gilligans even though we were forced to tack quite a bit. It was Sunday and the island was very busy as we pulled in around 3. The boats soon began to leave and the ferry took the majority of the people off the island at 4. By 5 there were only 4 live aboard sailboats left. Kaylee and I had a great snorkel along the rocky shoreline.

After a rolly night and a forecast for winds to pick up the next day we decided to leave Muertos. Although we wanted to spend a couple of days here we did not want to be caught in an unprotected location with 25 kt winds forecasted for that night. We did take the time for a nice hike to the top of the island to see the old lighthouse. The island is very dry and had some of the largest cacti I have seen. A swim, lunch and we were off for Salinas.