I'm getting the hang of single handing. With all systems working again I left Salinas for Vieques, the first Spanish Virgin Island for for sailors heading east. Typically the calm morning of tacking in light winds turned into a motor-sail in a freshening breeze in the face. I saw a couple of boats ahead of me and so I radioed them about their plans. They were headed for the same anchorage in Viequez, Green Beach. The US Navy used to bomb the crap out of the island for target practice, but that has stopped, however land access is restricted due to unexploded ordinance.
The wind was picking up right in the face of course and rather than bash through it I checked the chart and saw a small village with some protection from the building seas. There was a bit of reef dodging, no problem in the clear Caribbean water, so the anchor went down and I watched the world.
I do alot of watching of the world when sailing alone. I sit in the cockpit with a drink and just watch. This is a new experience for me as I fill my time with tasks normally. It is part of what I call the new normal. The new normal is waking about 6, getting the boat ready to be tossed about in the wind and waves, storing the dinghy and outboard, closing the hatches tight, closing all lockers so stuff isn't falling out. I listen on the SSB radio for the weather report for any changes from the night before. I start the engine, watching it run for a bit then pull the anchor up with the electric windlass and head out of the harbor. Using the chart plotter screen I plan a coarse, raise the sails, set the auto-pilot and then think about fishing. I have 2 heavy duty fishing rigs with a variety of lures. The problem recently is that I'm fishing in water 60 to 80 feet. Baracudas are the kings of the shallow water and I hate catching them. They have big teeth and extra slime. I pull them out of the water and while they hang over the side I use pliers to exticate the hook thereby keeping them off the boat. Once I catch one I lose the desire to redeploy the lure. Then one of my friends tells me they caught some big Jack in the same water and out come the lures again.
The next morning I vowed to sail the 10 miles to Green Beach no matter the conditions. With the wind building I set the sails and turned off the engine and deployed the lures. The reel sang an hour later and I pulled up a nice Spanish Mackerel, good for 3 meals. Green Beach was beautiful as advertized. I found a large conch right under the boat so had a feast of stewed conch and the mackerel with brown rice and a mango salsa.
The next morning the wind was blowing and small craft warnings announced on the radio. I decided to find some better protection and sailed to a Navy owned little island called Isla Pineros. I was the only person anchored there behind a some Mangroves and I needed to wait out the rain storms and strong winds so out came the fishing gear and some remnants of the conch. Good sized grunts bit all day so with the fish coffers full (no freezer) I had to relax and watch the world with occasional rain showers.
The rain stopped the next day but the wind and small craft warnings continued. With all my friends at Culebra, 20 miles to the east I chose to go for it despite the sea state. As I've said before Top O' The World loves bashing through seas and wind but this was the most I've dealt with to date. Tacking between the tiny islands bordering Vieques Sound the waves came constantly over the bow. A solid stream of water drained out the scuppers. When I tacked and the boat leaned the other way I notices water streaming across the floor inside the boat, a leaky hull to deck joint. A really large wave came at me and I had to yell like riding on a roller coaster. The 35,000 pound boat was weightless for a second as the steep wave passed and then what a splash!
WoW, Jim, you're making me more & more envious of the life of a sailor! God speed!
ReplyDeleteLeslie