Tag: The Mona Passage

Our First Weekend in Puerto Rico

Our First Weekend in Puerto Rico: Thursday, April 25th – Sunday, April 28th

Puerto Rico is great! We are eating delicious food, drinking multiple fruit flavored mojitos and meeting interesting people. Plus, we are visiting unique places and speaking Spanish whenever possible. Our first weekend in Puerto Rico was a success!

The sailing here is challenging, hence the name “The Thorny Path.” Winds are strong and waves high most of the day. We’ve adopted the popular cruiser tactic of beginning to sail at or before the break of dawn. By doing this and making short passages of less than 20 miles at a time, we can avoid the worst of the elements. Overnight the sea dies down but by mid morning it roars again.

In between sailing, we enjoy downtime at the different ports and the company of fellow cruisers. Here’s a recap of our first weekend in Puerto Rico!

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Why We Love Autopilot

It’s nice to post about good news, and we are so happy that Brian got the autopilot working! It’s been a long upwind slog without it. Read on for more reasons why we love autopilot.

The Mona Passage

The trip we just took is considered a tough one. Known as The Mona Passage, it is infamous in sailing circles, which I’ve just recently learned. This is because of the trade winds and variable tidal currents, both of which can kick up huge waves. We stayed in Samaná almost 2 weeks waiting for the perfect weather window, and we got it!

Samana to Puerto Real
Samaná to Puerto Real by boat

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Sailing Overnight Alone (and together)

Part of the reason we hired Jeff, the captain who came with us from Provo to Luperón, was that we were nervous about our first night sail. While that passage was not easy, and a few things went wrong, we made it fine. Next up: getting to the south of the D.R, by sailing overnight alone.

Long Passage For Two Sailing Overnight

The next passage, from Luperon to Samaná, was almost the same distance. And we knew we had to do it with just the two of us. Sailing at night is challenging, especially when the auto pilot isn’t working, which ours wasn’t at the time. Someone has to be at the wheel the entire time. So shift work is required.