Dominican Republic

Anchorage behind Hotel Salinas

Anchorage at Club Nautico el Manati, Barahona

Las Calderas (Salinas).

Barahona was my port of entry into the Domincan Republic. I found the people to be friendly and patient with my very limited grasp of the Spanish language.  The town center with all its attractions is a short walk from the yacht club. There are numerous hardware stores and supermarkets to shop at. No "big box" stores here, they are all different. If they don't have what you are looking for you will be sent to another store that may have it. And then there is the Market, an incredible shopping area with an amazing selection of  produce, beans, spices and everything else from clothes to shoe repairs and music.

I stayed here nearly a month working on the boat and enjoying the local culture before sailing 30 miles to Salinas for a change of pace. It was only a short distance, but a huge change from the city life to a small town at the end of the road. Barahona is at the base of lush green mountains and the anchorage is behind a wall of buggy mangroves, Salinas is in a large basin with desert mountains and cactus. The katabatic winds blow off the mountains daily at 20-30 knots keeping the boat cool and bug-free. The water is clear enough to see you anchor on the bottom.  There are several nice cafes in Salinas and some limited groceries available but for restocking the boat it is best to go into Bani, a large city about an hour away by bus.

Dominican details:

Clearing in at Barahona the cost was immigration$10 USD for a 30 day visa and renewed once for the same cost, boat $43USD and $25USD for the despacho. and of course a small tip for all those who cleared me in. There was no charge for the despacho to sail either way between Barahona and Salinas and no charge upon re entering Barahona. To clear for a foreign port, it is $20 for the despacho and $10 for exit stamp from immigration.  Docking at the yacht club in Barahona is about $20 USD a day or $175USD a month. Dock space at Hotel Salinas is by the foot 20 peso$0.47USD a day, no monthly rate given. Propane is about $11USD to fill a twenty pound can and diesel is around $5.00 USD per gallon. Motorcycle rides around town to the marina are 50 pesos and double that hauling propane and diesel jugs  to be filled. The water in Salinas  is clear and there are no bugs at anchor. In the harbor at Barahona, the water will foul you bottom and anchor chain quickly and screens are a necessity to keep the flies out. Mosquitoes can be a problem ashore at sunrise and sunset but few make it out to the boat at anchor- stay out away from the mangroves for a better breeze too. In Barahona there is a coal ship that comes in about once a month to resupply the powerplant and all boats anchored in the turning basin have to move outside the channel until the ship is docked and then can return to the basin as it takes a week to unload the coal.  The anchorage near the park is  great place to watch the ship make the dock but it is only calm in the morning, when the picks up in the afternoon it can get a bit uncomfortable with the tradewinds blowing straight in and the chop breaking on the beach a couple hundred feet behind you.

Ile A Vache, Haiti

The inner bay , below the Port Morgan resort

Loading up to head home from the market

Market day at Madame Bernard

On the beach at Caille Coq

 Ile a Vache Haiti is like no other place in the Caribbean. Or Haiti for that matter, as the local population  is trying to keep their island from being overdeveloped with resorts which do little for the local population even though their clientele pay European rates to stay here.

There is no easing into the local scene here.When you are sighted sailing into the bay, everybody who can get on something that floats- dugout canoes, pieces of surfboards, old patched up dinghies,etc- race out to meet you. And it is a race, it is the local custom that you hire the first one to get to the boat as your local guide/helper. I had about 12 people hanging on the boat before the anchor was dropped. The first one out was a young man of about 15 years named Corby.  I thought he may be a bit  young so with his agreement I split the work between him and an older man named Mckendy. Their help was invaluable in shopping at the market, procuring fuel, cleaning the bottom and replacing all the bamboo in my sails.

Caille Coq from the anchorage in the outer part of Baie de Feret

The inner bay was very protected and calm, but it was a bit small for my comfort level with other boats anchored in it. The outer part of the bay offers much more anchoring space and less bugs.
The weekly market at Madame Bernard is an experience not to be missed. This is where the assistance of your guide is essential. Corby led me on a nearly 2 hour cross country hike over the island and through some spectacular beach villages. There were two shops there where dollars can be exchanged  for gourdes. From make shift shops to just piled on the ground the selection of produce was impressive. It was a chaotic place with a random layout, people leading donkeys around with loads of goods, women walking around with large loads balanced on their head, animals being butchered on the ground, piles of produce and other goods everywhere. After stuffing my backpack with a weeks worth of produce  and a few more items in hand Corby suggested that we take a boat back to Caille Coq instead of walking. He set that up for me and then we retired to the shade of a small shop to enjoy a cold soda while awaiting departure.  After many bags of charcoal were loaded on the boat it was time for the people with all their food for the week to wade out and climb aboard. There were 15 of us sitting wherever we could. The boat was slightly overloaded and had to be bailed every time a wave lapped over the side, but with very careful boat handling we all made it home without getting too wet. Haiti is not an expensive place to visit. That entire shopping trip for a weeks worth of produce including the guide and the boat ride cost about $20 USD.
 As for the Port Morgan resort , I never went in there having been told it was very expensive. The best place to eat out is Jean Jean's cafe where he lives with his family. It is a few hundred feet down the beach from the internet cafe run by Mckendy's brother. A huge plate of fresh lobsters with beans,  plantains and rice for $12. Order the day before so dinner can be caught.
It takes more than a few days to learn your way around here and meet the people and for them to get used to you. After the first week, the constant visits by people in dugout canoes selling everything and looking for handouts slows down to a more manageable handful per day.
 If you are planning to visit here, bring items to trade or donate. Rope, sails, computers, vhf radios, lights and more are all needed here. There is no electric or  piped water supply. It is all handled on an individual basis with generators and solar panels being very common

Off to a rough start

First voyage of the year: Houston to Panama City, FL. Winter in the Gulf  of Mexico can be  a bit tedious. Due to the vagaries of the weather, the entire 11 day trip was spent close hauled, tacking with every wind shift.  There were a few light air days, but the wind was predominately 15-30kts out of the NE  even in between cold fronts.  Decided to motor the last 130 miles in very light wind to avoid bashing through a third cold front approaching from the west. The photo shows the usual sail plan for this trip: jib and three panels up on the main and fore.
Panama City FL notes:
Rented a slip at Sun Harbor Marina, near the Hathaway bridge for a few weeks. Cost was $330 per month and credit given for part of month not used, electric included. Docking is a little tight for a long boat, but manageable during calm conditions. Friendly, helpful staff here and reportedly the best fuel price on the bay-$3.90/ gallon last week.  There is not much protection from wakes or waves in the marina, so particular attention is needed when adjusting dock lines. After checking out of the marina, I anchored out front and the marina is allowing me to land the dinghy on their beach and use the laundry, etc. Also can land on beach behind the No Name Bar. No food there but good rum and nice bartenders.  Not much accessible without a long walk, but with a bike there is shopping for anything you may need within 3-5 miles on either side of the bay.
Seeking a more peaceful anchorage, I moved about 6 miles up the bay towards Lynn Haven to work on the boat for a week. Quiet up by the powerplant, but no shore access. Tall boats beware! The overhead cables crossing from the powerplant have an authorized clearance of 45'.
Enjoyed a brisk downwind sail in 25kts returning to the anchorage in front of Sun Harbor Marina to get mail and prepare for the next voyage.

Last construction post for awhile

November 2013, the galley gets a much needed improvement. Meganite countertops installed throughout and in the head. Construction will be ongoing, but the blog is supposed to be Nomad's travels, not Nomad's construction. It is time for some sailing, no major projects planned for the summer. There are parts onboard for a multitude of small projects and insulation for the engine room and aft cabin. The insulation will get done before heading north and anything else will be as time permits to make some small progress on "the Project"

There was not much to work with in the beginning

Let the fun begin, step one of restoring an old steel boat. Note snow on tire and timbers.

Reconstruction begins after the boatyard; here the subfloor is in and fitting the first bulkhead. Living conditions onboard were very primitive at this time!

Engine out to remove old rusted out fuel tank. old fuel and tar mixture in bilge under the tank. Yuck!

Rust removal in bilge; ultimately replaced 16' of hull plating and associated frames on both sides of the keel.

Building the forward cabin

Bulkhead and furring strips installed, hull scrubbed and paint touched up.

Spray in fire retardant polyurethane foam insulation.

Foam trimmed flush to furring strips and all stray bits of foam cleaned up.

Overhead and bunk base in place, cherry strips going in.

Walls completed

Seat and bunk completed

Construction in the galley continues, November/December 2012

New drawers and a large spice rack....google, will you let me post pictures right side up??

Ready for lockers and shelf on the starboard 

Starboard lockers  and shelf over sink done

Port side ready

Port side done

Every little project done makes a big improvement in life onboard. Although this looks quick and easy, it actually entailed several weeks of work to complete.  Still to come: finish the corner on the port side where it joins the settee, counter tops, and finish the raw plywood edges with some kind of cherry molding.

Sailing at last

Nine years to get this project from semi-derelict to hoisting the sails for the first time. Much yet to be done, but nothing to keep from traveling under her own power now. This is from May 2011, five days after her first sail.