Once we had we set sail from Bonaire, we found early in our voyage that the wind direction combined with the sea currents would not allow us to sail to the BVI’s on this occasion. Our best hope was to make landfall in Puerto Rico, which in itself is not a bad destination. In addition, our Mahe-Mahe friends suggested that the port of Salinas was a great destination and they had a local contact, “Ronnie” who was very kind, helpful and happy to show us around.
Considering that the numerous cold fronts forecast on our “Weather App” which were expected to bring strong winds and big waves from the USA towards Puerto Rico (north to south), the southern side of Puerto Rico was an excellent safe haven. And with this understanding we fixed our course for Salinas.
The winds and waves were reasonable for our voyage, though we seemed to be followed by
some ominous clouds that spoke of heavy rain and strong winds. Fortunately, we managed to stay ahead of them and we avoided a few small squalls that were picked up on our radar. Our fishing was finally successful with a good sized blue fin tuna that kept us fed for 4 days.
Arriving comfortably in the morning, after 3 nights and 412 nm of good sailing conditions (and with a little motoring), Salinas and Puerto Rico were in sight. The morning was beautiful and the sea was almost flat as we entered in the wind shadow of the island. The “normal” spectacle of flying fish, boobies, pelicans and frigate birds were our welcome as we arrived on the oily waters with a low but bright yellow sun that warmed our bodies after the cool night.
Arriving in the USA at a regular port with a sailing boat obliges us to have a B2 visa, a US cruising license and a completed application on CPT ROAM - a software platform that lets US Customs and Border Protection know we have arrived. The cruising license and B2 visa were already uploaded onto the system and all we had to do was use the platform to announce our arrival. Ingrid filled in the form and sent it off, only to be refused entry almost immediately. Somewhat puzzled as we were not more than 3 nm away from the bay of Salinas, maybe we were not close enough after all. Getting closer to the bay a second application was again refused and we were told to report to the nearest official port of entry. Unfortunately, Salinas is not a port of entry and the closest one is Ponce – another 20 nm to the west. Still puzzled we managed a phone call with the head office in San Juan and were once again instructed that we MUST arrive in a port of entry, drop anchor and then apply again via CPT ROAM. No room for discussions here, henced we changed our course for Ponce which added an extra 3,5 hours to the journey. Not what we had planned nor wanted, but we cannot ignore the instructions from the US Customs and Border Protection !
So, we arrived in Ponce around midday, dropped our anchor in front of the Ponce Yacht & Fishing Club (where we were not allowed entry last year!). We hoped that this time we would be welcome. Once the anchor had set (we picked up some stainless steel tubing during the anchoring process – a remnant of some destruction by the last hurricane) we were happy that our CPT ROAM application was finally accepted and all we needed to do was to keep our yellow Quarantine flag up, until we had been processed.
We planned to head for the customs office but fortunately we saw custom officers at the fuel dock, clearing in another boat. Armed with passports, cruising license and the standard boat papers, we were efficiently stamped in and cleared through customs. We were “Welcome” and were safe from the storms around us – we just had to make sure we did not dispose of any non US origin food waste or contaminated packaging.
From our new anchorage, we were near S/Y Elsa who was crewed by long term liveaboards Elisse and Christ; the have been cruising around the Caribbean for the last 30 years. We met them in Curacao the year before and they have often been a great source of suggestions and information about different ports, anchorages and sailing conditions. The great pleasure of the cruising lifestyle is the diverse people we meet and so it was an opportune moment to share a dinner and glass of wine in place of just a WhatsApp message.
The private yacht club looked really nice and was not too expensive, so we opted to take a mooring at the end of a jetty to replace our anchorage, as we had not been connected to land for almost 2 months. There was fresh water to wash the boat as well as electricity, should we need it. The water was welcome, but our solar panels continue to keep our batteries filled, so shore power was not necessary.
Here we were, Ponce, Puerto Rico; last time we were here, it was raining and a little miserable. This time the sun was shining and things were looking good. The yacht club is a private club and is mainly filled with powerful motor boats, probably owned by powerful local people. During the week it is quiet here with mainly staff that take care of the shiny white boats and even on the weekends it is not so busy. We have a spot on the hammer head with boats on one side only and we can stretch out on our large and wide jetty, breath in our space, do exercises and feel very relaxed. There is a bar where it is always “Happy Hour” for Heineken Beer, a restaurant, wash rooms, beach and a sit-down picnic area where we can watch the sun go down.
Since we have been here, we have seen 5 green flashes as the last part of the sun disappears over the horizon. Some have been quite bright and every time we think they are awesome and we are so privileged to be here for this experience. I have not managed to ever capture a green flash on photo or video. So far, I am always too excited to see it with my own eyes and not risk missing it by looking through a lens.
Just on the other side of the marina is a large car park, a park, a “street” with food trucks and a police station. This recreational area seems to be used by the local population for walking, running and gatherings that include sitting, talking, eating, drinking, making live music, karaoke, political rallies, radio station broadcasts and gospel services. The different groups compete with sound systems that range in size from hand held ghetto blasters to ones that are transported on the back of a truck ! The cacophony of Latin music mix and live music seems to blend well together and not be too disturbing. The good thing is that most of it quietens down by early evening and is finished by 10.00 pm.
We find it amusing to see all the cars parked on the yellow no parking lines in front of the police station, while the car park area that the road leads to is never full. In Europe we would never risk such flagrant disobedience beside the Police Station, but here it just does not seem important enough to make a fuss.
One part of the recreational area includes a part of the waterfront where small private motor boats and fishing boats are moored. Again, there is music, food and Sardines ! Now, the sardines at $1/bag are not for human consumption but for the feeding of the resident fish and birds. In the sky there are a multitude of pelicans, herons and terns and in the water are hungry tarpons; they are all waiting for their Sunday treats of sardines that are provided by the parents and children of the visiting families. What is lovely are the smiles and laughter of everyone, doing their best to feed, be filmed and not get their fingers caught in the beaks of these surprisingly large birds. The show goes on all all day, the sardine seller gets richer by the hour and the birds find it more and more difficult to take off with the weight of fish in their bellies. For $1/bag, everyone is happy.
One of the reasons we wanted to go to Salinas was that we heard that manatees could be seen quite frequently and we saw videos of manatees enjoying freshwater from a water hose. Manatees were common in the area around Ponce, but they were reportedly moved on since the last hurricane (2017) and earthquake (2020). One morning, we were sitting on the deck, enjoying the sunshine and drinking our morning coffee and tea. I saw a large brown object, something like a tree floating towards us. This tree like object came to the surface, blew out some air and then dived down to the depths with a splash of a whale like tail fin – yes the manatees were back in the bay to welcome us officially to the Yacht & Fishing Club. This manatee came back about 10 minutes later with a repeat performance and Ingrid has seen it one more time since. So, each time we are on deck, we scan the waters for the next possible sighting.
We contacted Ronnie at Salinas and explained that we were obliged to come to Ponce and therefore could not meet him in Salinas as we had hoped. He is typically Puerto Rican, very kind, “mi casa es su casa”, “come and join us for pot luck and dominos” – though we had never met. We had a lovely visit with him where he showed us the waterfront work he had done amongst the mangroves. 80 years old and bursting with energy and enthusiasm, with no end of stories to tell and if we need him for anything – just let him know.
We are (I am) not really very excited about dominos, so we declined his offer but opted for a walk around Salinas Marina and took a roast chicken from a highly recommended food truck and a hopeful encounter with a manatee, which was not to be.
Ronnie did invite us to join him for a tour of the Ponce “Castle” where he is one of the trustees. He happily disrupted the “official” guide with his information and stories and the guide almost let “Don Ronnie” take over as she struggled to keep control of the tour !
As ever, maintenance of the boat continues to be a large part of our activity. Troubleshooting of our aft depth display, which was reading zero in 7.7m of water resulted in replacing the display module with a new one from Raymarine. Deck cleaning, steel polishing and keeping things tidy seem to be a major consumer of our time as we slowly prepare for our last weeks on the boat before shipment back to Europe.
We took a few days out with a hire car to see some more of this lush Island. The weather was good and the clouds were high, so we could drive along the Panoramic Route of narrow roads, hairpin bends and beautiful views.
We ended up in Rincon again (on the west coast) and boringly took the same hotel as last year, walked along the same beach and ate at the same restaurant – 2 times (which we would consider as one of the best in the Caribbean – Taste Gastrobar, which is Spanish Tapas at its heart).
The sandy beach was just lovely, clean, calm and undeveloped. We walked, swam and enjoyed a thoroughly relaxing 2 days.
Returning back to Ponce and our Ocean Deva, it was time to make a next plan of what to do. Next door of course, The Dominican Republic, but not by boat but by plane... DR here we come!
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