Bloody Sunset Compliments of Hurricane Ike

I snapped this picture at sunset. The clouds have been thickening all day as Ike nears the Islands. Ike should pass about 290 miles to the north of San Juan, so tack on a smooth 50 miles and that gives me 340 miles of cushion, thankfully. I really really feel for the folks that are in the path. I am very gratefully that Ike is tight and compact. Not sure if we'll see thunderstorms from the outer bands or not. Hopefully nothing like the outer bands of Hanna which were just brutal and relentless.

Capt Chris

Microburst in Salinas Anchorage

I was aboard Wandering Dolphin enjoying some tasty pancakes. Kristopher was giving me the brief on his new Home Depot bought awning and how the grommets were holding up surprisingly well. It was then I noticed black clouds streaming just overhead very very rapidly. It was time to head home. Not three minutes later I was glancing over my shoulder as I piloted the dink in an incredible burst of energy from mother nature. The grommets were not doing so hot, in fact the awning was just about gone. At that point I was in instant swells in the anchorage. As I passed large center cockpit boat named Psyche the blast of wind hit it and she went on her beam with the entire keel exposed. I felt what I can only describe as a shock wave. The wind splayed out in all directions, the temperature dropped dramatically and by the time I got back to Christa I was shivering.

When I watched SV Psyche go over on her side I knew something very abnormal was happening. I believe that the initial blast of wind was 60 to 65 knots. It took me about a minute to get back to Christa. I struggled in the wind and sea in the dink to aim her so I could land on Christa. The blue kayak parted its bow line and hovered in the air, attached only by the stern line, then crashed alongside just as I was making my crash landing in the dink. I watched Christa go over on her beams end several times as she came taut on the anchor line. I remember yelling "hold on Christa hold on." I barely made it aboard. The cabin was a mess as everything slide and crashed that wasn't stowed. I got the engine fire up and the screeching wind generator off. I then rigged a secondary snubber as I was worried that the snubber would part and the strain would jerk square onto the windlass which I feared would have been ripped out of the deck. I engaged the engine to try and alleviate the strain on the ground tackle. The rain was driving but I could see that the boats in my immediate vicinity thankfully were not dragging, most were on two anchors. Just then I noticed poor Don on Sunshine dragging his mooring rapidly and heading for someone's docks and then front yard. He with help of a couple of other cruisers were able to get a hook down. Amazingly no damage was done to anyone. I am amazed that my tackle held up so well. I was on a 6 to 1 scope, all chain with the 44lbs Deltaset anchor. I think I may have moved up to five feet. Hard to say exactly, but if I did move it was not by much. I think the wind was steady in the 45 to 50 knot range with the higher gusts. The initial blast was like a bomb. Kristopher watch a waterspout knock several boats over. The weather service reported several known waterspouts in the area. Just crazy.

What is ever crazier is all of this was spawned by a tropical storm many hundreds of miles away. The feeder bands yesterday brought in wave after wave of torrential rain and thunderstorms. Thankfully only one microburst. So in other news were all keeping an eye on Ike which should pass more than 300 miles to the north of Puerto Rico. A very powerful but compact storm. At current track I'm not sure we will feeling any effects. Lets hope not!

Capt Chris

Squalls Spawned by Tropical Storm Hanna

Somthing to Be Concerned About

The month of September is always the most active time for hurricane development. Right on schedule a spasm of tropical activity is cooking to the east of my neighborhood. You can see Tropical Storm Ike bearing down on the island chain. Things can be very tricky in the forecasting department. As shown in Gustav forecasting, the hurricane specialists were good at forecasting storm tracks but shaky on intensity. What can you do. Science is pretty good but still anything passed 72 hour forecasts are highly suspect. Ike is forecast to pass from 100 to 300 miles north of Puerto Rico. The forecasters have a high degree of confidence with this track. When confusion exists, such as with Hannah, which took a 90 degree turn to the south, the forecasters will say ambiguity exists. So far so good, plus Salinas sits about 90 miles from the north shore of PR, with large mountains in between. This provides a little more cushion. As always, Semper Paratus, I'm ready to move to the mangroves as needed.

Tropical Storm Josephine formed this morning near the Cape Verde Islands. It is very far away and has some cooler patches of water and windshear to deal with in a few days which could slow it up. However the track appears to be following a similar path as Ike. So I won't be doing much over the next couple of weeks except watching and discussing weather with my fellow cruisers. We spend alot of time speculating. So far I feel fortunate, Puerto Rico has been spared and am optimistic we'll get through this season unscathed. Although I have learned about myself that I may not be geared to be in the hurricane belt during hurricane season regardless of the availability of mangroves. I think next h-season next year will be spent outside the hurricane belt. More later.

Capt Chris

My trip to PR

Sorry everyone for not writing any sooner. Ever since coming back from Puerto Rico I have been busy. I have been working working, preparing for my dive certification, and preparing for my next three month adventure on American Cruise Line. I will be moving up to Bangor, ME and traveling down the inner coastal waterway of the East Coast.

Thank goodness I took off a week to visit my sailor man Chris in Salinas, Puerto Rico. My arrival to Puerto Rico last Tuesday was not all pleasant. Due to Fay there was a lot of turbulence on my flight. You could imagine once I made it to land how pleased I was. Even better when I saw Chris. Chris took me to an amazing hang out called Pinky's. Pinky's menu was simple and healthy. I had a turkey wrap with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes. Chris had a bagel with cream cheese and lox. After our luncheon we headed back to Salinas. Being back in Salinas brought back some memories from my last visit in March of 08.

After settling in with Chris and S/V Christa, I felted relaxed. We headed to the Cruisers Galley and I met an amazing family from Wondering Dolphin. "Mrs. Sandra" from Wondering Dolphin had prepared an amazing dinner at the Cruisers Galley for her customers. On Tuesday night she prepares meat loaf, on Thursday she has movie night with pasta, and on Sunday she puts out a spectacular brunch of fresh fruits and Eggs Benedict with a side of potato hash. Believe it or not, but this was my first Eggs Benedict. I love to cook so I now it's all about the Hollendase sauce. Now I see why this is one of Chris's favorite dishes. Thank you "Mrs. Sandra" and your side kick husband for an amazing time at the Cruisers Galley.

My trip did not just consist of food of course, even though I don't mind. Chris and I did have a chance to sight see a little around Puerto Rico. We got to visit Coamo, Ponce, Patillas, San Juan, and Old San Juan. We spent a day in Coamo visiting a hot springs pool believed to be the fountain of youth. This particular spring was discovered by Ponce de Leon. I could say that Chris and I looked 10 years younger after dipping into the steaming hot springs. Boy am I lucky! :-) Even though the hot springs were not well kept, the place still had charm with a rustic feel to it. There were lush green mountains and an abundance of one of my favorite colorful plants the bougainvillea.

After our trip to Coamo, we took out another adventure to Patillas to check out the beach and Chris's next possible anchorage. On our way to Patillas we stop at a local restaurant called "Tranquil". The restaurants ambiance was awesome. Its patio faces the big blue waters of the ocean. While waiting for our food we decided to relax under two huge trees in a hammock. There was a nice breeze and Latin beats playing in the background. We would of loved to stay longer at the restaurant but we had a city to discover.

On another sunny day we headed over to Ponce. Downtown Ponce was a mission to find. We ended up asking at least two people for direction before we stroke gold. Downtown Ponce reminded us of Old San Juan. Ponce is the second largest city to San Juan. Also, the first Fire Station for Puerto Rico was establish in Ponce. You want to experience full history Ponce is the place to go. The City is not overwhelmed with tourist so you will have more of a better chance to socialize with the locals.

My last day in Puerto Rico was spent in San Juan. Chris and I visited the two famous Forts, El Morro (covers 200 acres) and San Cristobal(covers 27 acres). To our surprise, admission to both Forts was only $5.00. What a deal to visit a little piece of history. The Forts admission welcomes you back within the week again (up to 7 days). I suggest for those who pass through this area pack a picnic and enjoy the surroundings. Old San Juan is filled with a variety of restaurants and shops. Once again we would of loved to walk around the city more, but we were drenched by the heavy rain and we were hungry. We headed back to the hotel to change to warm cloths so that we could have a nice dinner. It was a nice dinner for Chris since he was desiring to have some sushi. I on the other hand had curry chicken. Not such a great idea to eat chicken in a Chinese restaurant. The next day my stomach was turning and you could imagine the rest. It took me two days to recover after I left Puerto Rico.

Even though my last day in Puerto Rico was not all pleasant, I was glad to have visited Chris in Salinas, Puerto Rico. I got to get to know him a little more. Over all we laughed at each others silliness and just relaxed. Hopefully if all goes well, I will join Chris on his next journey this winter.

Talk to you all soon

Janina