Moored Naples Florida
Weather is really cold, below freezing this morning
Enjoy the video. I continue to compile pictures and video from this passed falls sail north. Don't forget to surf on over to My Youtube Channel where I now have 70 videos.
Occasionally I change the picture atop the blog. This latest picture was my last sunset observed sailing north. I landed in Naples the very next morning. It was a bit cold, but the colors were different than what you normally see further south. I like the picture, hope you do to.
Please don't forget to check out my picture in Picasa and to keep up with the latest word you can sign up with the RSS feed. I use Google Reader and love that I can aggregate in one spot all the websites I check out on a regular basis. A real time saver.
Capt Chris
Showing posts with label Luperon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Luperon. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Waiting On Weather
Anchored Luperon Dominican Republic
Deciding when to leave is tough for anyone, but for me it really is difficult. I believe part of my endless what ifing derives from my Coast Guard experience. We always thought things through exhaustively and played out each foreseeable situation and then made a go no go call. I've carried this habit forward with me and has likely served me well, but is not quantifiable.
My penchant for waiting for the best weather situation is still strong. The only downside to this is I have to wait and do alot of what ifing. Some sailors will go with marginal conditions and take some pain along the way. I avoid marginal when I can. My current situation in Luperon is stable and am enjoying the expat and cruiser community and the cheap food. I had planned on leaving this evening for Mayaguana, 186 nm to the north and arrive ahead of the next two cold fronts. But, I would just have to sit and wait several days in Mayaguana to advance further toward Florida. Mayaguana is remote, with few supplies, no bank, 260 people, but from what I understand endless beauty and fantastic fishing. But if I'm going to be stuck somewhere I prefer a place with cheap food and access to other supplies. If I was not alone or cruising with a bunch of other boats, I'd go to Mayaguana prior to the fronts.
So it looks like at least another five days in Luperon. No big deal, but my chances of making it home for Christmas is quickly dwindling. But still possible. With good, steady weather I can make very rapid progress. I also could sail along the north coast of Cuba and be in Key West in five days. But that track has its own set of perils.
So that is that. Please check out the view of Luperon harbor for Chrsta's deck. And don't forget to leave comments. I'd love to know how you like or dislike the videos.
Capt Chris
PS: If anyone is able to get Chris Parker's Bahamas text forecasts and pass it on, that would be great. The east Caribbean is available on his website, the Bahamas is not. And I'm looking for Tide Table for Galliot Cut in the Exumas in the Bahamas if anyone had a resource for that. Sanks.
Deciding when to leave is tough for anyone, but for me it really is difficult. I believe part of my endless what ifing derives from my Coast Guard experience. We always thought things through exhaustively and played out each foreseeable situation and then made a go no go call. I've carried this habit forward with me and has likely served me well, but is not quantifiable.
My penchant for waiting for the best weather situation is still strong. The only downside to this is I have to wait and do alot of what ifing. Some sailors will go with marginal conditions and take some pain along the way. I avoid marginal when I can. My current situation in Luperon is stable and am enjoying the expat and cruiser community and the cheap food. I had planned on leaving this evening for Mayaguana, 186 nm to the north and arrive ahead of the next two cold fronts. But, I would just have to sit and wait several days in Mayaguana to advance further toward Florida. Mayaguana is remote, with few supplies, no bank, 260 people, but from what I understand endless beauty and fantastic fishing. But if I'm going to be stuck somewhere I prefer a place with cheap food and access to other supplies. If I was not alone or cruising with a bunch of other boats, I'd go to Mayaguana prior to the fronts.
So it looks like at least another five days in Luperon. No big deal, but my chances of making it home for Christmas is quickly dwindling. But still possible. With good, steady weather I can make very rapid progress. I also could sail along the north coast of Cuba and be in Key West in five days. But that track has its own set of perils.
So that is that. Please check out the view of Luperon harbor for Chrsta's deck. And don't forget to leave comments. I'd love to know how you like or dislike the videos.
Capt Chris
PS: If anyone is able to get Chris Parker's Bahamas text forecasts and pass it on, that would be great. The east Caribbean is available on his website, the Bahamas is not. And I'm looking for Tide Table for Galliot Cut in the Exumas in the Bahamas if anyone had a resource for that. Sanks.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving From Dominican Republic
Anchored Luperon Dominican Republic
As usual I have much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. I won't go into all the minutia of my blessings, but you can check out where I was last Thanksgiving where I account for my good fortune. Click here. Don't forget to come back though.
What am I doing? Well the large cruising and expat community is putting on a full on Turkey dinner at the Luperon Yacht Club. The above picture was taken from the Yacht Club, and obviously it is a nice venue. In a day or two I hope to put together a blog entry about my observations of Luperon, where there really exists to communities that mingle comfortably. I have been no other place on earth that is quite like Luperon.
Now the sail to what I had hoped would be Mayaguana, but turned out to be the Dom Rep was fine. I now consider just about anything that is not to windward a "fine trip." First off the weather was thankfully squall free. However on the evening of the first night, I watched magnificient anvil like cumulonimbus clouds come off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. I was 60 miles away, but the lightening and immensity of the storms were really impressive. As I noted before the wind stayed ESE at about 15 to 20 knots which made the sailing alot of work. So far off the wind it becomes difficult to keep air in the sails as it rocks back and forth back and forth. I poled out the jib with the whisker pole which mitigated some of the snapping of the sails, but not all. Sometimes Christa would roll heavily to one side and with a bang the jib would snap to with air and the whole rig would shake. I don't like putting that kind of shock load on the standing rigging, so I would pinch a little more to windward to keep air in the sails. Of course this points me in a direction I don't want to go. Over about 3 days I had sailed many more miles than I had intended. I was aware of a cold front coming off the east coast before I left and felt comfortable I could arrive in the Bahamas with plenty of time before it's arrival. But since I chewed up more water than intended and armed with the knowledge that these "tweener" seasons can produce strong gales in the Bahamas, I decided to hole up in Luperon.
In the middle of the night day two I was approached by a Canadian Navy Frigate. She never came up on AIS but I had been tracking the vessel for awhile and was becoming distressed at the constant bearing and decreasing range. Just as I was getting ready to call them on the radio, they called me. They asked a bunch of questions and went on their merry way.
One other funny little story. Each day I would find flying fishing dead on deck. These suckers actually fly through the air, hit the top of a wave and like an Olympic Ski jumper launch. Over the passed 3 days I have been noticing an increasingly terrible smell originating somewhere up in the V- berth. Sometime a critter can cling the anchor chain and when the chain is aboard, in the anchor locker, it can stink a little. I pretty much chalked it up to that. But today was horrible. Upon further investigation I found a dead flying fish rotting between my mattress and the bulk head. Apparently he flew through the open hatch! That is crazy! I disposed of the carcas this morning.
Eat well!
Capt Chris
As usual I have much to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. I won't go into all the minutia of my blessings, but you can check out where I was last Thanksgiving where I account for my good fortune. Click here. Don't forget to come back though.
What am I doing? Well the large cruising and expat community is putting on a full on Turkey dinner at the Luperon Yacht Club. The above picture was taken from the Yacht Club, and obviously it is a nice venue. In a day or two I hope to put together a blog entry about my observations of Luperon, where there really exists to communities that mingle comfortably. I have been no other place on earth that is quite like Luperon.
Now the sail to what I had hoped would be Mayaguana, but turned out to be the Dom Rep was fine. I now consider just about anything that is not to windward a "fine trip." First off the weather was thankfully squall free. However on the evening of the first night, I watched magnificient anvil like cumulonimbus clouds come off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico. I was 60 miles away, but the lightening and immensity of the storms were really impressive. As I noted before the wind stayed ESE at about 15 to 20 knots which made the sailing alot of work. So far off the wind it becomes difficult to keep air in the sails as it rocks back and forth back and forth. I poled out the jib with the whisker pole which mitigated some of the snapping of the sails, but not all. Sometimes Christa would roll heavily to one side and with a bang the jib would snap to with air and the whole rig would shake. I don't like putting that kind of shock load on the standing rigging, so I would pinch a little more to windward to keep air in the sails. Of course this points me in a direction I don't want to go. Over about 3 days I had sailed many more miles than I had intended. I was aware of a cold front coming off the east coast before I left and felt comfortable I could arrive in the Bahamas with plenty of time before it's arrival. But since I chewed up more water than intended and armed with the knowledge that these "tweener" seasons can produce strong gales in the Bahamas, I decided to hole up in Luperon.
In the middle of the night day two I was approached by a Canadian Navy Frigate. She never came up on AIS but I had been tracking the vessel for awhile and was becoming distressed at the constant bearing and decreasing range. Just as I was getting ready to call them on the radio, they called me. They asked a bunch of questions and went on their merry way.
One other funny little story. Each day I would find flying fishing dead on deck. These suckers actually fly through the air, hit the top of a wave and like an Olympic Ski jumper launch. Over the passed 3 days I have been noticing an increasingly terrible smell originating somewhere up in the V- berth. Sometime a critter can cling the anchor chain and when the chain is aboard, in the anchor locker, it can stink a little. I pretty much chalked it up to that. But today was horrible. Upon further investigation I found a dead flying fish rotting between my mattress and the bulk head. Apparently he flew through the open hatch! That is crazy! I disposed of the carcas this morning.
Eat well!
Capt Chris
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Luperon Dominican Republic......What the Hell?
On the Hook, Luperon Dominican Republic
I'll keep this short as my internet connection is choking. But, all is well and Christa and I diverted to Luperon due to a cold front that has come off Florida and is advancing on the Bahamas. A cold front will bring north winds, north swell and possible squalls.
I'll write some more details on the sail from St Thomas to Luperon later. But generally it was fine, but the wind was east south east and my heading was west north west. I simply cannot sail straight down wind. So I had to gybe the boat back and forth. First I'd sail north north west, then gybe and sail south south east, and so on. This tacked on my more miles and was going to jack up my ETA to Mayaguana. I didn't want to stress about this as it was important that I arrive in Mayaguana with good sun light to thread the reef. So as I was mulling all this over looking at the charts, there was Luperon, only 35 miles south of me. A no brainer, only 35 miles out of the way, not to windward and when leaving Luperon, I'll have a great angle on the wind.
Believe me, no one is more surprised than I to be back in Luperon. Luperon holds many memories for me.
More Later!
Capt Chris
PS: The above shot was taken the morning I departed St. Thomas
I'll keep this short as my internet connection is choking. But, all is well and Christa and I diverted to Luperon due to a cold front that has come off Florida and is advancing on the Bahamas. A cold front will bring north winds, north swell and possible squalls.
I'll write some more details on the sail from St Thomas to Luperon later. But generally it was fine, but the wind was east south east and my heading was west north west. I simply cannot sail straight down wind. So I had to gybe the boat back and forth. First I'd sail north north west, then gybe and sail south south east, and so on. This tacked on my more miles and was going to jack up my ETA to Mayaguana. I didn't want to stress about this as it was important that I arrive in Mayaguana with good sun light to thread the reef. So as I was mulling all this over looking at the charts, there was Luperon, only 35 miles south of me. A no brainer, only 35 miles out of the way, not to windward and when leaving Luperon, I'll have a great angle on the wind.
Believe me, no one is more surprised than I to be back in Luperon. Luperon holds many memories for me.
More Later!
Capt Chris
PS: The above shot was taken the morning I departed St. Thomas
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