House Sitting

Aquadilla Puerto Rico



I am house sitting this week for Bill and Kelly. Here they are getting ready to launch into the surf for a secession. Not sure who the photographer is but it is a nice shot of the two and wilderness beach.

I spent some time at Bill and Kelly's house when I first arrived in PR. Quite the adventurous pair. Bill is the only Coast Guard Dental Officer on the island and is responsible for the quality of the active forces grin. Kelly is a pharmacist and they both met years ago while they worked on a Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona. The twosome are off to the states for weddings, camping, rock climbing and pretty much doing the Moab thing. So I jumped at the chance when they asked if I'd watch their two aging dogs, Small Pups and Wiley.

Just as a quick aside, it really is not abnormal for cruising sailors to end up house sitting. In fact Doug and Cheryl from SV Prudence have been doing just that on Culebra and also our goods friends on Snark, Kim and Dan did the same thing in St. Croix. The danger really is that it is the first step in growing roots. Let your heart not be troubled, Christa and company will be sailing east toward the end of next month. Besides we have a date with Janina in the Virgin Islands in mid December.

So anyway as I indicated in my blog posts last March/April the west coast of Puerto Rico is a whole different universe compared to Salinas. First off the house that Kelly and Bill have bought and improved upon is really cool. I have a love for small cottage type homes. But here is some quick history. Here in Aquadilla is Coast Guard Airstation Borinquen and Bill being a Coast Guard Officer is attached to the Air Station. But the whole area is dominated by what used to be Ramey Air Force Base. The CG Air Station is in but one hanger on the former air base. A commercial airport is also on the base being served by Jet Blue and some other carriers. The base was opened in 1936 by the Army Air Corp and evolved into a Strategic Bomber Base during the Big One and post WW11. Mostly B-52's and Aerial Re-fueling aircraft. The base was closed up in 1973 as per a reduction in force program during the Vietnam era. Two years prior the Coast Guard had moved its island aviation program to Ramey. Once Ramey went away, Borinquen was born. So the left over infrastructure is substantial. Hundreds of small concrete homes were built creating old school neighborhoods. One neighborhood is fenced and is the Coast Guard housing area with the movie theater and exchange. Most of the other Air Force homes were put out on the market and were bought up by locals. The homes for the most part are well maintained. The place does not look like a dump. Bill and Kelly bought one of these homes which flanks the CG housing area and is perched near the cliff with sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea. Their home is really cool, painted in the desert SW motif. Key for me is that it is off the grid. They have a solar array and also a solar hot water system. Very cool indeed.

What I would like to stress is the area is world famous for its great surf breaks and surf culture. Aquadilla faces west looking toward the Mona Passage and Dominican Republic. The beaches are lined with coconut palms, beautiful sand and clear water. Most of the year, when the east trades blow the west coast is sheltered. So I will enjoy my week or so living on terra firma.

Weather. I barely made it out of Salinas two days ago with the flooding. I had to drive to San Juan and then head along the north coast to get to Aquadilla, a bit out of the way to say the least. It poured with squalls all day yesterday. I spoke with the troops back in Salinas and learned of a line of squalls that racked through the anchorage after I had left. 50 knots for 30 minutes. Aye chiwawa. Christa is such a good boat, she rode out the storm and didn't budge. So I have been worried about the anchor moving, now I'm worried it's set so well I won't be able to raise her when the time comes! Anyway for the time being the scope is clear to my east and southeast. Sorry so long winded on this post.

Capt Chris