Instalment 21 - February 28th 1997 - Luperon, Dominican Republic

•High temperature this period 34.6 Celsius
•Lowest temperature this period 18.0 Celsius

Just before we left George Town, we had the pleasure of going about twenty miles by school bus to a road side food stand called "Karleen's". We'd heard about the deal on the radio net, for $ 6.00 they picked you up, fed you a fish lunch, and gave you a mini tour of the island between the Exuma Markets and the stand.

The trip began with a lengthy wait in front of the Exuma Markets, because the bus was late, but once we were on our way it was apparent that we were also going to get a tour of the island too! Our first stop was at the "air crash". A few days ago, a DC3, loaded with people from church mission, were heading to Haiti when they nearly got to meet Jesus and Elvis earlier than they'd planned when the pilot skidded the plane up a hill three miles short of the George Town Airport. The weather was very nasty and the The aircraft came to a stop facing backwards down the hill with a very pretty view of surrounding countryside and of near by Elizabeth Harbour. The contents of the plane (the missionaries) were (remarkably when you saw what a mess the plane was) spared and all lived to tell the tale, only one with injuries!

The guys from the FAA, or whatever agency checks out air crashes, were there taking pieces off the plane and cataloguing the bits before wrapping them up and stashing them in canvas bags. A couple of the FAA guys were chatting with a few locals and I asked the head FAA guy why the plane crashed. With a straight face he told me it was "Because it stopped flying".

The lunch was great! A huge red snapper with rice and peas, desert, plantain and a Kalik. On the way back the driver took us to the farmers market where everyone stocked up of fresh produce for 1/4 what the Exuma Markets sold it for. We also stopped to pick up anybody who was walking down the road and who needed a lift. I tipped the driver a couple of bucks and reserved my spot for next year.

The sailing through the "Far Out Islands" went great! We choose the weather so well that it was calm for half of the journey! A total of three over night sails brought us from George Town to Luperon in the Dominican Republic, a distance of over 440 miles!

The islands down here get few visitors compared to the Bahamas north of George Town. In George Town many boaters are simply completely unable to cope with the idea of being out of sight of land and away from a supermarket for any length of time. "GT Regulars" slur that George Town is the end of the world and that there is no reason to head further south. I am glad that so many listen, because as much as I enjoyed George Town, the real trip stared when Destiny Calls left Elizabeth Harbour for Conception Island.

Conception is an uninhabited island about 40 miles east of George Town. It is surrounded by some of the most unbelievable coral reefs in the world. Elk horn coral, 20 feet tall, brain coral the size of busses! There's a beautiful series of creeks in the inside of the island that you can take your dinghy through. Hundreds of sea turtles linger here in the deeper green holes, and giant conch litter the white sandy shallows. All around the island the water is so clear that you can see 100 feet to the bottom!

Unfortunately for a Haitian freighter just before Christmas, he spotted the bottom too late and wound up on the east shore, a short walk from where we anchored. I salvaged a few things off the boat, a garden hose, some switches, and a whistle, but one of the other boats got the real prize! A huge brass compass!!

After spending a few days at Conception, pot lucking it with other cruisers, and diving with Rick from Outrageous, we headed to Rum Cay, 20 miles east.

Fewer than a hundred people live in Rum cay so it is possible to meet them all in the space of a typical visit. I unfortunately missed a few folks who were out fishing and after three days a weather window to head to the Turks and Caicos opened and we were off!!! Our first over night sail of the trip!

In fact, it turned into two nights with a brief rest stop at Mayaguana. There are five times as many stars here as there are at home. The phosphoresce in the water adds even more sparkles of light as the bow parts the waves so it's as if the whole boat is floating in space! Nothing is better than sailing down here, alone and far from land, in 80 degree waters before a 12 knot breeze! This is why I came all this way!

We reached Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos after sailing almost 38 hours (plus an eight hour rest stop off Mayaguana Island).

"Provo" is a bustling little tourist town, and frankly I didn't really care for the anchorage. It was miles from anywhere, had poor swimming and we even managed to impale a 150 lb ship ladder on our anchor when we hauled up the hook to go to a marina for a couple of nights of bad weather.

We only stayed at the marina, located in a dusty construction zone, 2,876,000 miles from anywhere, a couple of nights but met a bunch of other boats who were heading south. On the first evening there was a dock party and we met Bruce Van Sant, author of the book "The Gentleman's Guide to Passages South". Bruce's book is the "bible" for those like us island hopping to the Caribbean. I doubt that there is one boat down here without it. I got Bruce to sign my copy but I can't really tell you anything about Bruce, other than that he is a tall man. All evening he was busy fielding questions fired at him by the circle of yachters entrapping him. His wife Rosa is a real treat! Joni and Rosa chatted for much of the evening about everything and nothing. Rosa is one of the people that make cruising look so appealing.

We crossed the Caicos Bank and headed through the Turks Passage towards the Dominican Republic on February 25th. A pod of about 8 Humpback whales treated us to an unforgettable display of breaching, fluking and spouting. It went on and on until they disappeared past the horizon. I even got a few photos when they were close, about 1000 yards or so away.

That evening we got even closer to a bunch of suicidal flying fish who threw themselves onto the deck at Mach 4. A few even hid behind the dodger where they died terrible fishy deaths, becoming bait for the next day. (Dolphin fish 34 / Don the Fisherman 0)

The Island of Hispaniola appeared as if from a dream at sunrise on the 26th. Her tall mountains kissed the clouds and the smell of the rain forest wafted down steep green slopes to our bow. After three months of flat coral islands it was quite a sight and one that you will simply have to see for your self from the deck of a small boat to truly understand.

By coincidence, we arrived on the day of a solar eclipse, (80% coverage here, 100% just a few miles east) and the day before Dominican Independence day! Both good omens we believe.

We dropped hook in the beautiful harbour of Porto Blanco, in about 16 murky feet of water just off the Luperon town dock. Even though we were the last to arrive in our group, we were the first to get cleared in since the t-shirt clothed officials had to row past us first anyway. Mik scared the crap out of the customs guy, who almost fell into the water when Mik barked at him as he boarded. I was a little concerned that he was pissed off, but the guy who rowed him out laughed so hard that the humour of the moment became infectious enough to bring a big Dominican smile to Mr customs man's face.