Log of Sea Wings

May 25, 2008

At Anchor

La Parguera, Puerto Rico

17 – 58.25 N

67 – 67.03.11 W

Good People Behaving Badly………..

The Channel 68 Nazis of George Town Harbor

We are currently in a quiet anchorage at La Parguera, a small town on the south coast of Puerto Rico . One thing we have promised ourselves is that we will not have a schedule to pressure us into sailing when the weather says we should not. But, as with many promises, things happen that put you on a schedule, in our case the marriage of a very good friend’s daughter in St Maarten in late July. So as we had spent so much time in Georgetown , Great Exuma we felt we needed to make up some time. Fortunately, we hit some fantastic weather windows so we have been pushing south and east as fast a possible over the past two weeks. We are now less than 200 nm from St Maarten, so we feel comfortable in slowing down and enjoying Puerto Rico and the Virgins for a while. As you are due a new log entry, we thought to update you on what has been happening from Georgetown to here.

Most people contemplating full time cruising do a lot of prep work before they go and much of this is simply reading books and articles by people already ‘out there’ to gain a little of their experience. In all our reading about the Bahamas , there was a recurring theme concerning Georgetown and Marsh Harbor …..’real cruisers don’t go there. Bboth locations are gathering points for people cruising the Bahamas and many people just sit in either of the two harbors for the whole 5-6 month season and then go back to the east coast during hurricane season, then back, then up, then back, etc for many years. Those authors who have gone before us seemed to avoid these locations as being too crowded and with too much party activity. We of course thought the authors must be old fuddy duddies, after all, isn't partying one of the best parts of cruising???? So we headed for Georgetown with our party hats on.

When we arrived, there were only about 175 boats in the harbor as many had already left for their trip north. We quickly discovered that the harbor was organized around events announced daily on channel 68 VHF. There was a Georgetown net every morning which announced events of the day and allowed folks in the harbor to request or sell anything needed. The events were normally poker night, church services, taxi shares (split a cab to the airport), when Mom’s Bakery would have their van in town, when the propane truck would be in town, etc. Also noted every day were the many and varied ‘rules’ of the harbor. At all other times, channel 68 was reserved for hailing within the harbor. In effect, channel 68 operated just like an old time party line operator, every call goes through one point and everyone can listen in on your conversation, and does. So the channel becomes, for all practical purposes, the major source of entertainment for the whole harbor, everyone listening in on other folk’s conversations. All day one can listen in to sundowner invitations from boat to boat, who is having what problem with their boat, who won at bridge last night, recipe exchanges, etc, etc, all very important stuff. There are, however, some problems with this. First is the number of boats using the channel (300-400) and second that channel 68 is used in the US and in international waters as a ship to ship conversation channel and 16 is used for hailing. In order to deal with the first, folks in the harbor used an abbreviated hailing method to reduce time on the air. Dealing with the second, and overseeing the first is a problem, but the harbor has developed an effective method of dealing with it.

As may be imagined, when someone is sailing into the harbor for the first time, and doesn’t know the radio ‘rules’, they may be chatting away to another boat at sea, totally unaware that they are interfering with the lifeline of the harbor. These scum of the earth are interfering with the flow of invitations and taxi shares and this certainly can not be tolerated. Likewise, those who do not use the harbor hailing shorthand, or, heavens forbid, forget to change to another channel before beginning their conversations must be dealt with immediately and severely. And so developed the ‘Channel 68 Nazis of Georgetown Harbor ’.

Should some poor newbie, or worse someone in the harbor who should know better, break the channel rules, they are met immediately by a resounding chorus of “click, click, click, Break, Break, Break” as the Nazis queue their mikes or shout “Break” which effectively prevents the interloper from carrying on their conversation. And this barrage comes not in moments, or seconds, it comes in milliseconds. Often the poor uninformed one resists this attack and states that 68 is a conversation channel and demands to know who the clicker breakers are. Oddly, they never identify themselves, merely continue the ‘click, click, click’.

Now think about this. Suppose you are relaxing with a cold one, or reading a book, or doing boat maintenance, how long would it take you to put down your drink/book/tools, get up, walk to wherever in the boat your radio is located, pick up the mike and queue in? Maybe 45 seconds? 30? Say maybe 10 if you are young and lithe? These clicks come in milliseconds and the only way this can happen is if someone is sitting with mike in hand ready to jump into the fray and boldly defend the flow of bridge invitations through the harbor. You never know who they are but I just can’t help having a vision of them. A determined little fat, grey haired fellow, sitting behind the wheel of his Island Packet in his overstuffed leather captain’s chair, replete with Hawaiian shirt and “I’m Retired” ball cap emblazoned with captain quality scrambled eggs on the brim, with mike in hand, ready to defend the honor of the harbor.

And rules? The harbor sitters have developed rules for everything from when you can run your genset, to garbage collection, to how to talk on the net, to how many times one team must hit the volleyball before it can go over the net, to dinghy speed, to who has right of way under the bridge to the pond, etc, etc, etc. Isn’t one reason we are cruising to get away from rules?

Another thing that becomes apparent is that, outside of a 3-4 block area of George Town , February Point and the Four Seasons resort at Emerald Bay , you won’t see any cruisers. None at Fish Fry Village , or Williams Town or Rolle Town . They are all on their boats or on the beach at Hamburger, Monument, Volleyball or Sand Dollar where the only black folks are there to serve you. Doubt it? Count the white faces in our last pictures of the Family Island Regatta, one of the biggest and most fun happenings on the island.

Keep in mind that these observations are a generality and that there are those in the harbor that abhor all of this. They just don’t stay too long. And the folks who do spend the entire season are usually good, friendly, warm people and many of those we have met we have liked and enjoyed very much. But when looking at the harbor full of 300 boats what we have is a large group of retired white folks, with time on their hands, whose lives revolve around what their neighbors are doing, games of bridge and poker, the newest dip recipe, classes from how to make a horn to announce sundown from a conch shell to studying for the ham radio exam, sundowners every day with their friends and neighbors, organized activities, and protection from those “not like us”. Doesn’t it sound just like Sunnyside Retirement Home of George Town Harbor? One cruiser in Luperon described Volleyball Beach as “Old Folks Day Care”. After way too long a stay in the harbor, we have changed our perceptions. It would appear that the fuddy duddies are not bypassing George Town after all, they are firmly entrenched there.

Having escaped George Town , we were anxious to be on the move and continue south. We sailed to Callabash Bay on the north tip of Long Island and the next day down to the southern end at Clarence Town where we spent three nights and had a chance to explore the island. The next leg took us to Crooked Island where we just anchored for the night then took off the next day for Mayaguez Island . In route we decided to keep going as the weather window was excellent and we sailed overnight to and across the Caicos Bank and anchored at Big Ambergris Cay. We crossed the Caicos Bank in a dead calm and it was like motoring 40 nm through a swimming pool. We saw the shadow of the boat on the bottom in 15 – 20 ft of water almost all the way, Fantastic. We took off the next day for another overnight sail across to Luperon on the north coast of the Dominican Republic .

As nearly all the boats in the Bahamas head north and very few south, we expected to find few boats in the bay at Luperon. Not so as we motored past the reef and into the harbor we had to hunt for a place to anchor as there were over a hundred boats there. But most of these were either derelict, parked there for hurricane season, or permanent residents. The number actually passing through was relatively small. We were immediately reminded that DR is a different country as we were met by an armed Naval officer before our anchor even hit bottom. We were boarded, paperwork reviewed, and ordered to proceed to shore where we would be processed by Customs, Immigration, Agriculture and by the local Commandante. After clearing in and depositing a wad-o-cash with the authorities, we could proceed to enjoy downtown Luperon.

All of the cruising guides for the Dominican Republic will tell you that while the country has several larger, modern cities, Luperon is not one of them and is nearly third world. This is all well and good but when you walk down the government muelle and stare it in the face for the first time, it is still a bit of a shock. There is trash everywhere, many of the buildings are little more than wooden shacks, everyone is out on the streets or in doorways as there is little air conditioning, herds of goats roam the streets and most of the transportation is by small, smoky motorcycles, many of which double as motoconchos a major form of transportation for hire (you ride on the back, he drives). I think that most people experiencing Luperon for the first time are a bit apprehensive about those first steps into town.

But by the first block or two you discover that while poor, the people of Luperon are warm and friendly and you are welcomed by smiles and olas as you walk into the city. They are clean and well dressed and while the streets are full of trash, peering past the open doors of their homes reveals clean, neat, and well kept interiors. There are no beggars, few pestering peddlers and after a little exploring you will find most anything you need except that it will be on a small scale. One of the few new buildings in town is Captain Steve’s restaurant and bar featuring good inexpensive food, cheap beer, wifi service and a small swimming pool, both free if you buy a meal. Needless to say, most of the cruisers hang out at Steve’s. Along the bay you will find Puerto Blanco Marina (see Puerto Blanco Mac for wifi) and the Luperon Yacht Club which is where the rest of the cruisers hang out. Puerto Blanco Marina is also where Rosa VanZant does business. She is the wife of the famous Bruce VanZant, author of Passages South the cruising bible for anyone traveling south against the trade winds, who now lives on a hill overlooking the bahia.

With these newer, cruiser oriented businesses, and the adjacent resort hotels completely enclosed by walls and razor wire, one could easily get the impression that Luperon is just like so many other locations with the haves separated and protected from the have nots either by walls and wire or economic barriers. But when you start talking to people you find a big difference. More and more cruisers are buying property, building houses and becoming part of the community. Certainly part of this is the cost of living, but it is also the natural beauty of the DR and the warmth of the people. And they are not building palaces surrounded by walls and wire, but more modest houses, more appropriate to the community.

You will find Karaoke Dave an Oklahoman (his boat is Carry Okie get it?) who parked his boat here several years ago and is now building a house of less than 1,000 sf (designed by an architect anchored in the bay) and building it with his wife, four Haitian workers he treats like family and sometimes other cruisers. He runs the Karaoke on Friday nights at Puerto Blanco Marina and is a player/cheerleader/recruiter for the weekly Saturday baseball game with the cruisers teamed against the local community. He apparently organized this game several years ago and when the first couple of games were won by the cruisers he informed the locals that the losers had to buy the winners a beer after the game. He says the cruisers have only won one game since.

And there is Doug, a Canadian who, when asked, gives a briefing on passages south from Luperon for cruisers passing through. He is in the process of buying land and hopes to start his house soon. Or Puerto Blanco Mac who has moved off his boat and into an apartment with his Dominican girl friend. It was these people that introduced us to the Luperon outside of the normal cruiser haunts and we were so glad they did. We found ourselves in restaurants and bars and stores more off the beaten path that were friendly, inexpensive and gave us the opportunity to meet more of the local population. It was also national election and we got to see the passion of the people for presidential politics. We were told that over seventy percent of the nation votes for president. Our favorite bar was a little shelter on a quiet street with three bar stools, two small tables and ice cold 22oz Bohemia or Presidente for 70 pesos, about $2.12………………a far cry from the $4.50 to $6 12 oz beers in the Bahamas. By the way, we calculate the cost of living of any location by the price of beer, it is known as Beeronomy.

Seriously, Beeronomy (invented by Bruce VanZant) is actually pretty accurate. How does it work? Let’s say that in the Bahamas a beer costs $4.50 and a burger costs $9 or two beers. In another country a beer costs $2. Therefore, a burger should cost two beers or $4. Following this logic, if a burger in the second country is much more than $4 it is overpriced and you should stay away from it. Believe it or not, this really works pretty well as a general guide to what you should expect to pay for any item in a new country. Just calculate what you would pay for something back home, divide it by the price of a beer back home, and then multiply it by the price of a beer in a new country and viola you instantly know how much that item should cost. This is a very practical method as we all know the first thing you will buy in any new port is a beer and you instantly know the price of everything else.

We would have liked to stay in Luperon a little longer and enjoy new friends like Graham and Jo on Long Reach, but we were presented with a weather window too good to pass up just four days after our arrival. It appeared to be the last window where we could make the 250 nm trip to Puerto Rico in one hop for at least two weeks so we jumped on it and sailed one day and two nights to arrive in the early morning at Mayaguez , Puerto Rico . It was a good window but we still got tossed around a lot in the Mona Passage, the open water route from the east tip of DR to the west side of PR. It is notorious for rough seas and daily storms (actually they hit the Mona at night) that build over Puerto Rico and move west into the Mona in late afternoon and let go later at night. Mayaguez is not a destination, per se, but is a great place to clear in (just arrive before or after the daily ferry from the DR or you will be delayed several hours) and then head down the west coast to Boqueron.

Boqueron is hailed as the “ Key West ” of Puerto Rico as it has a great beach, several colleges nearby, and a large anchorage with good protection. So we spent a few days there and got our mailing done (USPS here), got haircuts (first one since early February for Lew) and got to know the local economy. This is actually somewhat complicated as the local beer is Medalla. These cost about two bucks in Boqueron but are only 10 oz. Therefore, one must calculate the 10 oz to the 12 oz cost when computing one burger for the cost of two beers. Therefore, 12 oz divided by 10 oz equals 1.2 times $2 or $2.40. You then multiply times two to get the cost of a burger, about $4.80. A burger in Boqueron costs $5 to $6 bucks including fries. Isn’t economics simple???

We moved on to La Parguera on the south cost a few days ago and are enjoying the Memorial Day weekend here. There is a little park on the waterfront that is filled with vendors and live music at night, many small waterfront houses and is a weekend destination for college students and families. Many of these have small boats which they take out to many outlying islands located behind a protective reef. Unfortunately, they zoom back and forth from island to island and the anchorage becomes Interstate 95 for the weekend. So it is a little bumpy but we haven’t been hit yet and they quit relatively early in the evening so we can get a quiet evening. One bar here has Medalla beer for only a dollar (we frequent this bar) and a burger is still $5 so it makes the economy a little whacky but it is cold so who cares?

We expect to be moving east down the coast in a few days going to several small locations and to Ponce to refuel and provision. Ponce is the cruisers friend as it has a WalMart, Sam’s Club and we think a Cosco as well so everyone provisions there. Then it will be on to the Spanish Virgin Islands of Viequez and Culebra. We have heard great things about these islands and are really looking forward to being there. Then it will be on to the USVI and we are hoping to see Richard Skinner (Lew’s boss) in the BVI in early July when he is chartering there. Then it will be the first available weather window to make the jump to St Maarten for the wedding. We will keep you posted along the way.

Fair Winds,

Lew and Lyn

s/v Sea Wings