Decision Time

Gotta have coffee for those long crossings

We've been watching the weather for the last week and trying to make a decision about getting to Puerto Rico. To get there we will need to make a 48 hour crossing and the last 24 hours or so of that crossing will be the Mona Passage.  the Mona Passage is the body of water between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.  It's dreaded by most sailors because, if you don't pick the right weather, believe me, you will regret the decision to ever leave sight of land.  There are shoals and unpredictable currents everywhere.  The last two times that we crossed the Mona Passage we had no issues at all, and we are hoping for another uneventful crossing.

All weather sources indicated that we should leave Luperon on Wednesday and arrive in Boqueron, Puerto Rico on Friday morning.  As we have been watching, our weather window has shortened, making us contemplate leaving Luperon on Tuesday morning in order to arrive in Boqueron on Thursday morning. Another option is to sail for 24 hours and tuck into Samana, Domincan Republic on the east coast and wait there for a good weather window to cross the Mona Passage.  I think we will make a decision today because, if we plan to leave Tuesday morning we have lots of things to get done tomorrow.

We've also been doing some provisioning. We wanted to stock up on some things that are cheaper here than in the Virgin Islands.  We will do more provisioning once we get to Puerto Rico.  We are always excited to get back to the land of Home Depot, Walmart and Sam's Club.  Yes, I know, places that I always tried to avoid when I lived back in the states, but it's kind of exciting to shop there when you haven't been to Wally World in 6 months.

Anyway, stay tuned for our decision.  You can track Storyville by clicking on the "Where is Storyville" button on the right side of the page.

I chopped up some of those delicious Dominican peppers so that I can freeze them

Some of our favorite snacks for night time crossings

I love my Food Saver

We can't leave here without plenty of Bohemia

Most of us, I suppose, are a little nervous of the sea. No matter what its smiles may be, we doubt its friendship. ~H.M. Tomlinson

We're Back and We're Busy

We got back from Lifestyles Resort where we spent 5 days relaxing and eating and drinking and having fun. We had a great time and it's a good thing we got to chill a little because now that we are back in Luperon and watching the weather, it looks like we will move on next week. We are busying getting the last minute provisioning done and getting a few more projects done on Storyville.

Yesterday Troy removed the forward head in anticipation of getting our other Nature's Head. The Nature's Head is a composting, waterless toilet.  Read all about it by clicking the link. We liked our first one so much that we bought a new one for Troy's head. Yes, we each have our own head. It works out so much better for us that way. Unfortunately, we will be sharing for the next month or so until we meet up with Steve on s/v Alternate Latitude. He's such a great friend that he's sailing all the way to the Virgin Islands just to bring us a toilet!

In the next few days we will be watching the weather closely and deciding whether we will head straight to Boqueron, Puerto Rico, or stop in Samana, Dominican Republic, so check back to see where we are going. Heading to Boqueron would mean about a 48 hour sail. I say sail, but actually, we will be headed into the trade winds, which are always from the east. Since we need to go east, we will be motoring. It's doubtful that we will get to do any real sailing on this leg of the trip. We are definitely looking forward to getting to sail once we get on further down the Caribbean island chain and start to head in a more southerly direction.

We are also trying to keep up with a busy social calender here in Luperon. It's so hard to say goodbye to friends that we've made over the last year. We know that we will be sailing away and we don't know when the winds and tides will bring us back here. I do have a feeling that we will return one day, one way or another. We have come to love this beautiful island.

We had a great time and even celebrated Pat on Illusions birthday

 

Captain Troy getting some much needed rest (and doing it in style!)

Beautiful full moon

Are we ready?

Well, it's getting down to it. Time to sail away and we are really getting excited about the plans that we have shaping up for the next several months.  Before we can cut loose from our mooring here in Luperon Storyville is demanding a little of our attention.  When we leave here our first planned stop in is Samana, along the east coast of the Dominican.  It will be a 24 hour trip and Storyville has been sitting here since July.  We've both been busy checking things off the list but Troy has been especially busy and deserves some kudos.  Just a few of his recent adventures:

• Repaired the pump on the water maker
• Installed the new Pro Charge Ultra batter charger
• Installed the new Nature's Head toilet
• Changed the oil in the main engine
• Changed the oil in the generator
• Tuned up and changed the oil in the dinghy motor
• Fixed a pesky little salt water leak
• Purchased fuel
• Painted the engine room
• Re-arranged his tool locker about 100 times

I'm sure I'm leaving out something, but it just makes me realize that Troy is doing so much to make living our dream into reality. And, he's a great singer and guitar player. We do have it pretty good.  In the words of my friend Donna:

Hmmmm...let me get this straight....you live on a big beautiful sailboat, you wake up when you just do and its always warm, you sail to fantastic destinations many off the touristy path and blessed with Gods hands, your wardrobe consists of shorts T's and swim suits, shoes are a second thought and you fall asleep every night in a faithful, loving, devoted, guitar playing, talented singers arms, and then you get to do it all over again every day...You my dear friend are the reason why I will believe in fairytales....blessingsxxxooo. ~Donna Lee

While this quote certainly describes much of our life, as you can tell, there is plenty of work to go around as well. I must agree though, we certainly are blessed to be living this adventure with each other!

Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own. ~Robert Heinlein

Charter Alternate Latitude and sail the Virgin Islands!

Have you ever dreamed about sailing in the US or British Virgin Islands? The islands are beautiful and relaxing and the water is cool, refreshing and so blue that words can't do it justice. We did lots of snorkeling while we were there and saw incredible fish, turtles, rays, cuttlefish and more. The beaches are world class with palm trees ringing white sand beaches. It really is picture postcard perfect. It's an experience that we will never forget, and of course, for those of you who know us, you know that we are planning more sailing in this area early next year. 

If you have followed our blog from the beginning of our cruising experience, then you will remember our friend Captain Steve Schlosser. Steve left Texas with us in December of 2010 on his Tayana 37, s/v Anchor Management. We had a great time in the Bahamas and were really sad when Steve left us to continue on down to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. There, he made a decision to sell Anchor Management and buy a bigger catamaran with plans to charter in the Virgin Islands. He found a Voyage 440 cataraman with 4 separate cabins, each with it's own head. His new boat, s/v Alternate Latitude is big and beautiful and Steve is ready to start booking charters in the Virgin Islands.

For our friends Steve has agreed to give a 10% discount on any charters in the Virgin Islands! Just use discount code "Storyville". So, tell all your friends and be sure to click this link to check out his web site and read all about Alternate Latitude and book your next vacation today! - Alternate Latitude

If you want to experience offshore sailing, or spend a few days in the Bahamas aboard Alternate Latitude, check out the web site for opportunities to sail with Steve on his way down to the islands.

This summer Alternate Latitude will be available for charter in and around Galveston Bay.

Whether you want to sail, party, shop, eat great food, snorkel beautiful reefs, experience the Baths, or take quiet walks on the beach, you can do it all in the US and British Virgin Islands.

CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE A FUN FILLED VACATION - ALTERNATE LATUTIDE - and don't forget to use your discount code "Storyville".

Blog Work

If you've been a follower of my blog you might have noticed that I haven't always been right on top of things in the world of Storyville's blog. Since we've had some fairly reliable internet on the boat this summer (a first for us since we left Kemah) I've been trying to make up for my laxness. Is that a word? I'm pretty sure it is and it seems to describe my blogging attitude for the last couple of years.

We purchased a long range wifi system and we couldn't be happier. It's called THE WIRIE and so far, we're very impressed. Click the link to go to their web site and learn all about it. We've only had the chance to use it in Luperon but we're looking forward to tying it out in other harbors and anchorages soon. We have high hopes that we will have better access to the internet as we cruise down island.  So, fingers crossed, I will be able to keep the blog updated with more regularity.

Be sure to check out all the changes that I've made recently.  There are more options on the left side of the blog for you to use to keep up with us and to stay in touch.  I've joined a couple of blog sharing sites and I would love it if my followers would check them out.  Click the "Top Sailing Blogs" badge and give Storvyille a "boost" or start following us on "Network Blogs".  Some of the other cool things to do:

• Find out where we are with the "Where is Storyville" button
• Become a follower on Google
• Check out the list of our friends sailing/cruising blogs
• Subscribe to RSS feed
• Follow us by email
• Share posts of Facebook and Twitter
• Leave a comment at the bottom of posts
• 
  

So don't be shy.  We really love to hear from everyone.  

Beach photo - enjoy!

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. ~Bill Gates

National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway. ~Tim May

A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click. ~Author Unknown

Luperon

Luperon will always hold a place in our hearts.  We have spent almost a year here when you add up the months we were here last summer/fall/winter and this summer.  We have made so many friends, between locals, cruisers and other gringos from all over the world that have settled here and now call it home. The cost of living is very reasonable and the Dominican people are so very friendly.  You can't walk down the street without everyone you pass calling out "hola, hola".  And, yes, you must stay it twice.   And between the mountain ranges and the mangrove harbor the protection for Storville and our other cruising friends during hurricane season is unbeatable.

I realize that the word on the interwebs amongst cruisers is that it's not safe here. We love this country, for all the reasons listed above and many more.  In our opinion, having done a little cruising and having visited several different countries, there is theft everywhere. What we see here is mostly petty theft of gasoline, although some of the boats that are in the harbor with no one on board are obvious targets for thieves, and there has been several instances of break ins on those boats.   The frustrating part is that most cruisers are of the opinion that the authorities don't do enough to prevent these type of robberies and, we don't always understand the justice system here. We try to take the normal precautions and we always lock our dinghy when leaving it at the dock and our motorcycle when we are out and about. Of course, we use common sense and pay attention to our surroundings and stay out of any area that might be dangerous, especially at night.  Just like you would anywhere else. Having said that, I want to encourage cruisers to consider Luperon as a "hurricane hole" for the summer if it fits into your plans.  I don't think you will regret it.

As much as we love this place, we are getting really excited about moving on. Storyville's plans, which are carved in jello, are to head out of here in November and sail down the Caribbean to Grenada where we will spend next hurricane season.  Some times we will be sailing with our friends on Pipe Muh Bligh (Rene and Stacy), Island Dream (Pat and Darnell), Illusions (Pat and Lucy) and several others, sometimes we will be on our own.  We are hoping to catch up with other cruising friends that we have met along the way and we are sure that we will meet new friends as we go.  It always works out that way. We will definitely do lots of exploring and snorkeling and swimming.  I just can't wait!

Laundry day in Luperon

Chicharones - I won't miss those!

Naked moto riding - who wouldn't miss that?

The veggie market - definitely will miss that every Tuesday

My favorite veggie market guy

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home. ~James Michener

The Blow Holes

The entrance to Luperon Harbor can be tricky.  One reason is the rocky shoreline, especially to the east of the entrance.  One cool thing about that rocky shoreline though is the blow holes.  Natural holes in the limestone that create blow holes, especially when there is a northern swell, as we have had for the last couple of days.  It's a nice, easy hike out to the blow holes and we decided that with the north swell, it would be a good idea to see if the blow holes were blowing.  Our hiking party consisted of Rene and Stacy (Pipe Muh Bligh), Pat and Darnell (Island Dream), Pat and Lucy (Illusions) and myself (Storyville).  We were rewarded with some spectacular displays......

The beach on the way over to the blow holes

Darnell and Pat (Island Dreams)

Pat and Lucy (Illusions)

This is a sad sight.  A hermit crab living in the top of a wine bottle.

Darnell and Pat

Shoreline

I don't know what kind of fruit this is, but it looks really cool

Papayas!