I previously wrote about the pet import process while cruising from the Bahamas to the British Virgin Islands. Click here to see how we got ready to cruise with the pups before we set sail. This season we continued cruising south down through the Leeward Islands. Just like last season, we had three documents for each pooch:
Tag: Sailing With Dogs
The Pet Import Process: Our Experience So Far
Before starting this adventure, we were a little nervous about sailing with our two pooches. It wasn’t living in a small space or on water that worried us. We knew our pups would adapt to their new home with us by their sides. It was navigating the pet import process in each country that made me uneasy. We researched and worked with our vet prior to setting sail to ensure we had our ducks in a row. We gathered the following paper work:
A Day in the Life of a Boat Dog: Jaela
Baxter and Jaela are best friends, but they couldn’t be more different. Baxter is very intelligent and extremely moody. Jaela doesn’t share Baxter’s intellect, but she is loving and sweet and always happy. She also has some killer hunting instincts. A day in Jaela’s life looks a little different than Baxter’s.
A Day in the Life of a Boat Dog: Baxter
We get a lot of questions when people discover we are sailing with our two pooches. How are they adjusting to life on the boat? How do they exercise? Where do they do their business? Where are they while we are underway? Boat dogs are intriguing. When we meet new people, half of our conversation ends up being about our two furry anchors.
Cruising Life Revealed: Answers to Our 10 Most Frequently Asked Questions
When we first revealed our cruising plan to our friends and families, they were full of questions. Regardless of how we phrased it, explaining that we were quitting our jobs and selling our house so we could sail the Caribbean with our two dogs made us sound crazy. A cruising lifestyle can be strange and has its own challenges. For us, it’s all a part of the adventure. Below are the answers to our 10 most frequently asked questions.
Adios Puerto Rico
We spent a fabulous four weeks in Puerto Rico filled with street food, lighthouses, sandy beaches, and amazing snorkeling. Puerto Rico really has it all and we are looking forward to returning in a month for hurricane season. After our weekend get-a-way in San Juan, we were ready to leave Salinas behind and sail to Culebra, PR. However, mother nature had a different plan for us. The trade winds were blowing strong, creating the choppiest seas we’ve seen yet. So instead of a 75 mile sail to Culebra, we broke the journey up into three legs, stopping in Puerto Patillas and Palmas Del Mar.
Puerto Patillas
Our first leg was the roughest. The wind was once again blowing fiercely on the nose of our boat. Kairos’s bow smacked hard into each wave. For the first time ever, she couldn’t exceed 4 knots. We had the wind, the waves, and a dirty boat bottom all working against us. Our 20 mile sail turned into a 5 hour slog. We were all relieved to take refuge in the well protected Puerto Patillas anchorage.
The town at the anchorage is cute with a handful of restaurants and a cute park development along the waterfront. However, we arrived on a Monday and like all the other coastal Puerto Rico town’s we’ve visited, Puerto Patillas is dead during the week. We stayed 3 nights and spent our time playing on the beach with the pups or panicking in the park.
Palmas Del Mar
On Thursday, May 19th we pulled up our anchor and set sail for Palmas Del Mar. The trade winds were still up, so we opted for another short leg. The wind chop was less than our previous sail, but the swell was greater. Baxter, Jaela, and I felt pretty nauseous the entire trip. But luckily, Rob was able to clean the bottom of the boat while we were anchored and Kairos was cruising through the waves at 5+ kts. We made it to the marina in just four hours.
We spent two nights at the marina cleaning Kairos and prepping for our time in the Spanish Virgin Islands. After knocking out some boat work, we rewarded ourselves with frozen drinks, a soak in the fresh water pool, and hot showers. After two rough sailing legs, it was just what we needed.
Culebra
We set sail for Culebra on Saturday. Once again the trade winds were blowing, but the seas weren’t nearly as choppy as what we saw on the south side of Puerto Rico. Five and a half hours later, we arrived at Carlos Rosarion Beach in Culebra. I’ve been looking forward to visiting Culebra ever since we started this journey. Fabulous snorkeling, Bahamas-like water, and pristine beaches—Culebra is known to be the Bee’s Knees and Carlos Rosarion Beach did not disappoint.
We grabbed a mooring ball just a stone’s throw away from the reef. No need to take the dinghy out searching for a snorkeling spot; we jumped in right off our boat. The reef was huge and in great shape. The DRNA (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental) added mooring balls to protect the reef from boats anchoring and it was obviously working. We loved exploring all of the beautiful coral and spotting eagle rays. Even the pups spent their free time in the water, swimming to and from shore.
From Isolation to the Big City: Coffin Island and San Juan
Coffin Island
Leaving the party towns of Boqueron and La Parguera, we set out for Isla Caja de Muertos (translation: Coffin Island) on May 8th. It was Mother’s Day, so we both called our moms while in route despite the choppy seas.
If it wasn’t for the lush green hills, it would have felt like the Bahamas. The clear turquoise water was so inviting and once again we were the only ones on the island. We anchored so close to a white sand beach that we could almost swim to shore. In fact, Baxter actually tried to swim to the boat once when Rob left him on the beach in order to pick me up from the boat. The pups were ecstatic to play on a beach again and it was nice for us to be able to leave the leashes behind. We had the place to ourselves and the dogs were free to romp.
We anchored here for two nights. We enjoyed beach time with the pups in the morning and evenings and snorkeled in the afternoons. This time our hunting proved successful and we bagged two large lobsters. It’s days and anchorages like this that we envisioned when we first set out on this adventure.
San Juan
We could have stayed at Coffin Island for weeks, but we were nearly out of water and we had some business to take care of in the city. In order to travel to the BVI’s, the dogs require an international health certificate endorsed by the USDA. This is in addition to the FAVN titer testing and rabies certificates, which we already had.
On May 10th, we pulled into the Salinas anchorage before lunch time. We had been chatting with Monday Never over email and I instantly recognized their boat, Paradox, in the anchorage. We had watched their first few sailing videos before we even left Denver. Later that evening they invited us over for drinks and we swapped sailing stories. They are the first young couple we’ve met traveling north, so we were eager to pick their brains about their experiences down island. As it turned out, they were also making plans to visit San Juan for a few days.
The next day we rented a car and headed an hour and a half north to San Juan. The green mountainous landscape is still surprising to see. We had about an hour to kill before the pup’s veterinarian appointment, so we stopped for some street food. We had some amazing arepas—we were off to a good start in San Juan.
After the vet appointment, we checked into our studio apartment. It wasn’t much, but it was still a lot bigger than our boat. It was clean, had a comfy bed, and a large hot shower. The first thing we did was close the windows and crank up the AC. It felt like Heaven. I honestly think we could have laid in bed in an air conditioned room for three days and had the most amazing time. But we were also excited to explore the city, so we dragged ourselves out of bed and walked to a nice dinner.
After the last 5 months of living on the boat, we had nearly forgotten all of the conveniences of living in a city. We could walk to EVERYTHING. We didn’t have to worry about how to dispose of trash or where our water was going to come from. We hadn’t realized it when we booked the apartment, but 3 days away from the boat was like a vacation itself.
Our time in San Juan was a mixture of play and work. We got the USDA endorsement we needed for the dogs, picked up marine parts at West Marine, and provisioned for the BVI’s. While food is more readily available than in the Bahamas, we hear it’s expensive. Therefore, we wanted to stock up before leaving Puerto Rico. We also got to explore charming Old San Juan and had a night out on the town with our new friends.
We loved San Juan so much and felt so refreshed being back in a city that we have decided to return. We’re going to explore the Virgin Islands and then haul our boat out in Puerto Rico at the beginning of July. With our boat secured on land, we’re going to rent a place in San Juan. We hope to learn to salsa, improve our Spanish, and find work to replenish the cruising kitty. We were sad to say goodbye to San Juan, but now we’re even more excited to return.
Passagemaking: The Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage
In order to travel from Luperon to Puerto Rico, we had to cross 300 miles of some of the most grueling and unforgiving seas. It’s the thorniest part of The Thorny Path to Windward. Bruce Van Sant provides excellent instructions on how to sail these waters under prevailing conditions. However, we decided to wait for weather windows with light winds and motor sail across as quickly as we could. We broke the journey up into two long overnight passages.
The Northern Coast of the Dominican Republic (Luperon to Samana)
We read tons of horror stories about sailing the Northern Coast of the DR. Sailing along the coast line into 20+knt winds and 8 foot seas is suicidal. So we waited for a window of light winds and calm seas. We detached Kairos from the grimy mooring ball in Luperon and left the anchorage at 7:00am on April 24th. Our friends on Westwind and Imagine2 had left just a couple of hours earlier. The water was like glass as we motored out the channel into the Atlantic Ocean.
Motor sailing at 7 knots, we quickly caught up to the other boats. About 3 hours into our uneventful sail, we spotted an Endevour 40 off our starboard side. We hailed the boat on the VHF, and just as we suspected, it was our friends, s/v Delancey, that we had met back in Turks and Caicos. They had just left Ocean World Marina (15 miles east of Luperon) and were also heading to Samana. For the first time, we’d be crossing a passage with multiple buddy boats nearby. This gave us a warm and fuzzy feeling as the sun was setting.
Except for our dolphin visitors, the entire passage was pretty uneventful. We did run into one squall at night, which s/v Delancey was kind enough to warn us about since we couldn’t see the clouds approaching. With their warning, we were able to get the pups below deck and put away the cockpit cushions. The storm brought heavy rains, but the seas remained calm. The squall also brought 20 to 25 knot winds aft of the beam allowing us to sail on a broad reach. While motor sailing during the squall we were able to maintain a speed of about 8.5 knots!
We made great time and arrived in Samana at 4:30am in the dark. The marina didn’t open until 8:00am, so we decided to anchor in the harbor and get a few hours of much needed sleep. We were abruptly awoken at 8:00am on the dot by 2 men knocking on our boat. The man wearing a camouflage uniform was the Commandante (DR navy officer) and the other man was the harbor master. In the DR you must travel with a despacho, which is a form that the Commandante issues to your boat stating your departure port and your destination port. We quickly presented him with our despacho and explained that we were just resting until the marina opened. He wanted to search our boat, but after meeting our two viscous boat dogs, he decided against it. Despite all of the local strays, people in the Dominican Republic are still scared of large dogs. The pooches earned their dinner that day. After giving us some grief about not staying in the harbor, the men left and we booked it straight for the marina.
The Puerto Bahia Marina is located in a fabulously luxurious resort with infinity pools, nice restaurants, and upscale bars. The marina was well kept and incredibly clean. It was a nice change from Luperon. People can vacation at this all-inclusive resort and relax in the sterile environment without ever experiencing the Dominican Republic culture.
We stayed at the marina for four nights. We hired some locals to clean our hull, deck, and stainless steel. Kairos looked as good as new. We rented a car to explore Samana and the nearby waterfall. We also got caught up on laundry and soaked in the infinity pools with frozen drinks. It was a relaxing time, but anxiety about the upcoming Mona Passage was in the back of our heads.
The Mona Passage (Samana to Boqueron)
Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park
We left Palm Cay Marina in Nassau on Sunday March 6th and headed to the Exumas Cays. The Exumas are arguably the best cruising in the world and we couldn’t wait to get there. The first places we visited are inside the Exumas Cays Land and Sea Park. These islands are all uninhabited and are protected by the Bahamas National Trust. It’s considered a NO TAKE ZONE, so fishing and lobstering are not permitted. You aren’t even allowed to take shells out of the park. These are absolutely gorgeous islands and the Trust does a great job of protecting and managing them—so we were happy to obey the rules. Not to mention we still had a freezer stocked with mahi mahi to consume.
Shroud Cay
Even our sail to the Exumas was magical. We were soaking up the sun’s rays when we had another visitor. Baxter really loves all of the wildlife in the sea. Dolphins are his favorite and I thought he might go overboard trying to get this one.
When we arrived at Shroud Cay around 2:30, it was obvious that the Exumas would not disappoint. Holy crap is this place beautiful. We packed a cooler with a few beers, grabbed Baxter’s frisbee and went straight to the beach—which we had all to ourselves. We made it! This is paradise.
And then the wind shifted. It was now coming from the south and we didn’t have any land to protect us. From the beach we could see Kairos bobbing up and now and we knew it was going to be a bumpy and wet dinghy ride back to the boat. It was one for the record books. We arrived back to the boat soaking wet and I was already feeling nauseous. We struggled, but managed to get the pups on the boat and rinsed off. We both goggled down some Dramamine.
It was by far the rockiest night we’ve had on the boat. We had planned on eating mahi mahi (of course), but neither of us could stay standing, let alone prepare a meal. We ate some salad and let the Dramamine put us to sleep. This is the one time I actually welcomed the drowsiness.
The next day we decided to go exploring a bit. It was still very rocky out, but this time we were prepared. We put our raincoats on and loaded the pups in the dinghy. We found a creek through the mangroves that took us to a gorgeous beach on the sound side of the island. Again, we had it all to ourselves. By the time we returned to the boat, the wind had shifted back to the east and the waves had died down. We knew what we would be eating for dinner…mahi mahi!
Waderick Wells
Our next stop in the park was Waderick Wells. While there were more cruisers in the anchorage, this island has no shortage of beaches. Pick one and have it all to yourself. The island has several hiking trails, with the most popular being Boo Boo Hill. It is a tradition for cruisers to paint their boat name on a piece of driftwood and leave it at the top. We didn’t want Kairos to miss out. When we walked the dogs, we were looking for some wood on the beach and found this colorful gem. I went to work customizing it with a black sharpie and white paint pen that we had on the boat. The next day we were able to add Kairos’s name to the pile of other cruising boats that had come before her.
Jaela has now replaced her love of squirrels with lizards. While Baxter was obsessing over his frisbee on the beach, Jaela was off hunting lizards. She raced off into the brush after one. We called and called and called for her and when she didn’t return after a few minutes I began to panic. I ran back to the dinghy to grab our shoes and we went in looking for her. We never have to worry about Baxter running away. He knows he is helpless and never wanders far. But when Jaela is in hunt mode, her instincts take over and staying near us is an afterthought. 30 very long minutes later, a very exhausted, thirsty, and scared Jaela emerged from the brush. We made sure to let her know what she did was bad, but we could tell that she was just as scared as we were and we were all just happy that she was back (even grumpy Baxter).
Cambridge Cay
We limped into Cambridge Cay. The braided hose that connects the fuel pump to the filter failed and we were leaking diesel. This isn’t a spare part that we carry and while wonderfully beautiful, Cabridge Cay is not the place you want to have engine issues. The island is uninhabited and doesn’t even have cell phone service, let alone Yanmar engine parts. But we did have some rescue tape on aboard. This stuff is awesome and will have to plug the leak until we can pick up our new hose in Georgetown.
Cambridge Cay was my favorite anchorage. It’s very well protected, so the lack of waves made it nice for us to explore in the dinghy. The waters are stocked full of rays and turtles. The snorkeling was superb! Check out the video below.
Here our morning walk with the pups turned into a half day hike around the island on the sound side. Our Coloradan instincts kicked in and we hiked to the highest point on the island for some jaw dropping views.
Before we left for Staniel Cay, we stopped by Compass Cay for a morning swim in Rachel’s Bubble Bath. It’s a beautiful swimming hole and when the waves crash over the rocks, the water bubbles up like a jacuzzi. And yep, you guessed it…we had it all to ourselves.
Our time in the park was truly special. Island hopping, snorkeling, and beautiful beaches is exactly what we envisioned when we began this journey. If you want to get a tan and get away from it all, this is the place to go. And when I say get away from it all, I mean everything. No cell phone service, no grocery stores, no souvenir shops, no bathrooms, no ice, no fresh water, no bar, no trash cans, nothing. You survive on what you brought with you on the boat. While we greatly enjoyed the solitude and pristine views, we are also looking forward to returning to civilization. We need to fill up our water tanks, throw out some trash, check email, and buy some meat and vegetables. After a solid week of mahi mahi for dinner, we finally finished it and have been cooking vegetarian dinners. Staniel Cay will have all of these services as well as swimming pigs!
One Step Forward…Two Steps Back
Well, we’ve had our boat for a week now and we’ve already learned that owning a sailboat is HARDWORK. We’ve been working very long days. The good news is that we are becoming very familiar with our boat’s systems. The bad news is that every time we fix something, we discover two more things that require maintenance in the process. We were testing the hot water heater, when our fresh water pump failed. We cleaned out the anchor chain locker only to find that the windlass and raw water wash down pump weren’t working. Thus, our to-do list is growing faster than we can cross items off.
I was really hoping to have our to-do list knocked out before we start cruising, so we can spend our time diving and drinking cocktails with mini umbrellas in the cockpit. But I’m quickly learning that a large amount of our time living aboard will be spent fixing things. We just need to prioritize projects and make sure we also make time for fun and cocktails in the cockpit (and mini umbrellas). We (Rob) did manage to get our dinghy cleaned up and on the davits. We have a vehicle!
In addition to boat repairs, operation cushion update is in full swing. I’ve been staying home working on the cushions, while the pups lounge around. Honestly, if I knew sewing new cushions would be so difficult, I don’t think I would have accepted the task. I could sew pillows for days, but cushions are back breaking! Not to mention, I’m using sunbrella fabric which is very sturdy and thus, very rigid. It’s been frustrating and very time consuming, but I’m making progress. I’ve finished the bottom salon cushions (no joke…I opened a bottle of champagne after reaching this milestone, because I felt so accomplished)–so I’m half way done! I hope to complete the job next week. Jaela, who is terrified of the sewing machine, will be just as relieved as me to get this project behind us.
Our first week of ownership wasn’t only spent fixing and breaking things. As our dock neighbor likes to say, we also “took the boat out for a walk.” Our new home currently resides in slip C2 in the Regatta Pointe Marina. The marina is great and we are really looking forward to living there full time. However, our slip is in a very difficult location. We are the first boat on the dock and are parked next to a large concrete wall to leeward (aka…The Concrete Wall of Death). This means we can only back in and pull out in one direction. As you can imagine, concrete + boat = no bueno! It’s like having your driver’s permit and trying to parallel park a 40 foot truck next to a river of lava.
As you can imagine, we aren’t comfortable enough yet to take the boat out on our own. So when Rob’s dad flew into town last Friday, we jumped at the chance of taking the boat out with his help. The weekend was beautiful and the shakedown sail went really well. We practiced some man over board drills and we saw 7 knot speeds while under sail in mild winds. The boat sails like a dream. We fell in love.
She’s a great boat that has just been a little neglected. The next couple of months will be hard work as we get her back in shape. But she is our new home and like all other home projects…it will be so worth it in the end.
Goodbye House
Okay, so that blizzard I wrote about in the last post WAS a joke. We didn’t get the 12 inches that was predicted…heck…I don’t think we got more than an inch. But it’s the last snow the dogs will see for awhile, so we went to the park to play.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Florida (well…Palmetto to be exact)…Rob was enjoying 80F weather. He and his dad traveled there for the sea trial and survey of the Pearson 39-2 we have under contract.
The boys got lucky with 15-25 knot winds and sunny skies. They were able to get a feel for how she handles in good winds. They sailed from the Manatee River out into the Tampa Bay.
While we have a long to-do list to tackle before we start cruising, overall the boat surveyed well. After some negotiating, we are moving forward with the sailboat purchase. Hopefully this time next week we will be the proud owners of our first sailboat.
Turns out that buying a sailboat is a lot like buying a house. During the boat buying process, the buyer and seller often work with a broker (realtor). Once the buyer makes an offer and it is accepted, the boat is under contract. The buyer’s deposit (10%) goes into escrow. Because the contract is contingent on the sea trial and survey, the buyer can still back out of the purchase at this time without losing their deposit. After the sea trial (test drive) and survey (inspection/appraisal), the buyer gets a second bite at the apple. The buyer can negotiate a lower price or ask that deficiencies found during the survey be fixed prior to closing. Once this negotiation is complete, the buyer and seller sign a Conditional Acceptance of the Vessel agreement. At this time, the buyer can no longer back out of the contract without losing their deposit (assuming the seller completes their end of the deal). This is where we currently are in this process. Finally, the seller and buyer close the transaction and ownership is transferred. If you have ever bought a house, then this process should sound pretty familiar.
When Rob returned from the sea trail and survey, it was almost time to say goodbye to our Denver home. We moved the last of our things into storage and said our final goodbyes. We packed up the car and left our Denver home for the last time on Saturday morning (Nov 21st). It was freezing!
Despite only living in that home for 2.5 years, it was difficult to say goodbye. It was our first home together and we have many memories there. We got engaged while living there, we adopted Jaela while living there, we planned a wedding there, we spent our first days as newlyweds there, and we planned this adventure while living there…But home is wherever the four of us make it. Last week it was in Indiana, while we were visiting family. And now it is in St. Pete Beach, FL. We have rented a small apartment here for the next month so we can fix up the boat while not living on it. This will also give the dogs a transition period (and let’s face it-us too). All of our lives look very different than they did two weeks ago. It’s time for our adventure to begin.