Juanjo arrived this morning to tell us that the diver would be here by 10:00. Craig made us blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Yum.
Julian, the diver, arrived and got right to work. We hired him to scrub the boat bottom (to get rid of those nasty barnacles and sea slime) and to check our zinc anode. He did just that.
Apparently, our zinc anode is totally gone. Only the screws are left. Yikes! The sacrificial zinc anode helps to prevent or deter galvanic corrosion in the rest of the boat. The zinc corrodes first, hence the 'sacrifice.' We need that! Julian offered to pick one up for us in Fajardo if we could come up with a part number. Hmmmmm, that's the next trick. I went online and found the info we needed and then asked Glenda in the office to send the info to him. Done.
While we were doing that, Jo and Craig filled our water tanks this morning and I did a load of laundry. Then, a large 65 foot power boat arrived next to us. This meant that we had to rejig our dock and spile lines at the last second. Lots of running around (e.g., Juanjo leaped on board and lassoed a spile with our dock line in one throw, then retied us), but all was accomplished without incident. Phew! Always some excitement.
I made pizza for lunch and then we walked to the Plaza to show Jo around.
Later, we went for dinner at La Ristorante Italiano. My spaghetti alioli was exceptional, but it was only a side dish to Chicken Marsala. Craig had gnocchi and meatballs, Carey had skirt steak and shrimp with a side of pomodoro spaghetti, and Jo had mussels and a salad. All of our food was deliciosa!
Thursday, March 2, 2017
In the morning, Julian came by to report that he couldn't find us a zinc anywhere. He had one more place to check, but he wasn't hopeful. We can't seem to find a replacement zinc in Puerto Rico. Aaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhh! I decided to go online and order one to be airmailed in from the States. It cost three times the price to get it delivered here by Friday, but it'll be worth it if we can get it replaced before we leave here.
In the meantime, Marcel and Diana, a couple from a trawler named The Laurel, offered to pick us up whatever we needed at West Marine in Fajardo. Bonus! I wrote down exactly what we needed, handed over some cash, and sent them shopping. Fellow boaters are so kind to us!
Throughout the week, we've been chatting with our neighbours, Mike and Camille, on Ca Va. They have provided lots of good info about the marina and the area. Today, their daughter and her family were leaving, so they gave us some Tostitos, and jars of salsa, cheese, and spinach dip. Carey and I dug in right away. MmmmmMmmmm.
While here we met a man (Larry, on S/Y Southern Girl) last night that we had first met in Nanny Cay, so we had a nice chat with him. Friendly people.
We relaxed for a while in the afternoon, some of us on the boat, some at the pool. When Marcel and Diana returned with our gear oil, we invited them for drinks. We had a nice visit and they told us about places to cruise on our way through the Dominican Republic. People are so friendly and great about sharing information around here.
We are enjoying our stay here but are ready to move on when we can.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Craig made poached eggs for breakfast today. Then, we all did little jobs around the boat. Carey's back is still very sore, so he's taking it easy.
We are still in Palmas del Mar in Puerto Rico. The winds are still quite high and the swells are pounding in here. We are hoping to get out on Sunday. Fingers crossed.
Diana, from M/V The Laurel, stopped by and offered to take us into Fajardo shopping today. We declined, but once again, so nice.
A huge 142 foot motor yacht called Arête is leaving today to go to St. Martin, so we are very interested in seeing it go out. We spoke to the engineer and some of the crew and they are a bit nervous, because the swells are still very big and the winds haven't calmed down yet. It will take them 16-20 hours and a very uncomfortable ride. When they finally left, around 5:00, they cut off a Jeanneau (like ours) just coming in. Luckily the sailboat saw the big guy coming and turned off, which was very dangerous in these swells. Grrrrr. I guess when you're that big you think you own the road.
Larry, from S/Y Southern Girl, just stopped by to offer us a ride to Walmart later this afternoon. We don't need anything today, though.
Craig and Carey decided to change the gear oil. Woohoo, I don't have to do it! To celebrate, I went to the pool with Jo. While we were there a catamaran came in and then a monohull. The monohull was floundering badly in the waves, but both vessels made it in safely. Crazy to be out in this.
Saturday, March 4, 2017
Well, it looks like we'll be staying here at Palmas del Mar in Puerto Rico for a while longer. The winds are creating huge swells so we can't really get out.
Also, we are having a part (zinc anode) installed underwater on our saildrive (propeller). We were thrilled that the part arrived last night (at great expense). Unfortunately, Julian, the diver, went down today and found out that it was the wrong part. Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! I now have had to order another part to be shipped from the States and am returning the wrong one. We won't get the new one until Tuesday.
Before he left, Julian gave us some tips about where to go in Puerto Rico. He brought us a map and had circled some of his favourite spots. He especially loves the interior of the island up in the
mountains, and suggested a resort called Casa Grande Mountain Retreat & Restaurant. We'll look into doing some touring here perhaps.
In the meantime, we are hanging around this lovely resort marina. The people are great and I'm practising a little bit of my Spanish when possible. We are eating very well, Mom.
Sunday, March 5, 2017
After breakfast, Mike and Camille drove us to Fajardo to go to the West Marine and the CVS drug store. I was looking for a Dominican Republic courtesy flag, among other things, but they didn't have one. I can't believe how tough it is to find a DR flag!
Later, we took Mike and Camille for lunch at the Tiki Bar and had delicious quesadillas and homemade salsa (finely chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, oil), which Omar whipped up in seconds upon my request. Their motto here is "we aim to please" and they sure do!
After they left, Marcel and Diana stopped to chat for a while, and Diana sold me their old Dominican Republican flag. Since they'll be staying here for another month, she ordered herself a replacement from Amazon. Perfect solution! Then Mark, from S/Y Passage came over. He's sailing alone and he wanted to know what we thought about him leaving tomorrow morning to go to Isla de Muertos (Coffin Island--doesn't that sound lovely?). We chatted for awhile and then we returned to RC Wings for Craig's famous tuna casserole.
Monday, March 6, 2017
We have discovered Puerto Rican coffee! Yum! Yaucono's "exquisite flavour enlivens and cheers you". It's true. I'm always cheered by good coffee...and the caffeine certainly enlivens us.
Today was hairdo day. Jo did my hair and then I cut Carey's hair. So handy to let the wind take the clippings away and to sweep the remainder off the back of the boat. We now look clipped and ready to go. Now, if we could only go!
The winds were howling most of the day with periodic rainfalls, so we stuck close to the boat and had a very relaxing day. Carey's back is still quite sore, so he's still taking it easy. Mark, from S/Y Passage, sent me several updates throughout the day about his location and the sea conditions. He left here at 6:30 this morning and was heading west along the south side of Puerto Rico. I think he wants someone to know where he is, so we were tracking him. He made it safely to Ponce today, but he said it wasn't for the faint of heart. Good to know.
Craig barbecued a delicious London Broil for supper. Food is always a highlight of our day.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Happy birthday, Chris!
All night we had intermittent rain and high winds, enough to push the boat around. We woke up to overcast skies and more rain. It looks like this might be the trend for the whole day, unfortunately.
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