Where Is The Far Reach—Part II

[John Stone]

Your daughter is very pretty You are fortunate that she enjoys sailing and sailboats.

Roberto and Jim, very nice. Gayle is now a life member of your fan club.

[John Stone]

Latest post on our website...a summary of the last six weeks. Not really anything I haven’t posted on the forum already.

https://farreachvoyages.wordpress.com/2 ... sy-living/

The wx has been snotty the last two weeks. We are waiting for reasonable window to either run down to Culebra or beat up towards St John’s and the BVI.

Today we will grab a little ice and some more perishables between the squalls to make sure we are ready to go should the weather improve.

[John Stone]

Finally got away. Gayle and I sailed west 20nm to Culebra in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Sunshine and 18-20kts of easterly trade winds. All down wind. Cape Horn windvane steered the entire way except the last 1/2 mile of channel. It was a lovely day. It felt great to get back out on the water. We had 3’-5’ trade wind driven waves from the east and a northern ground swell. A little rolly at times. Once we anchored and got settled we tried to check in to Customs and Border Patrol with the new ROAM app. After it extracted all our personal and family data for the last 200 years it would not accept our report. Got hold of San Juan Customs office on the cell phone and they told me the online check-in portal was not working today. (Insert appropriate political comment here). So we have to go in tomorrow morning and check in to the customs office at the Culebra Airport. It’s just a walk from the dinghy dock.

It’s great to be in a new place. We are both looking forward to eating some legendary fish tacos and exploring the beaches on the north side of the islands. My magic carpet did her job perfectly.

[Jim Walsh]

Very cool John. Glad to hear the weather is cooperating and your wife can enjoy some sailing. I’m very envious but at least my season is now weeks away instead of months.
I never had any issues with the old SVRS system and found it very convenient. I’ve downloaded the CPB Roam app but won’t get to use it for a few weeks. Hopefully it performs as advertised and I can avoid chasing down customs officers.
BTW wahoo tacos are one of the highlights of sailing to Bermuda......

[John Stone]

We are enjoying ourselves in Culebra. It has a totally different feel than the USVI and BVI. Feels more like Mexico...of course it is part of Puerto Rico. Much cleaner than anyplace I have been in either the USVI or BVI.

We will explore the island in earnest soon. But at the moment...mañana.

[John Stone]

I have enjoyed looking at an absolutely gorgeous Alberg 35 on a mooring near us in Ensenada Honda Culebra. It’s a local boat, rebuilt by a guy named Nestor...born and raised on Culebra. The topside color is spectacular. He mixed and sprayed it himself. He calls it Stars and Stripes Blue. The boat looks meticulously maintained. I chatted with Nestor today and hope to get to know more about his beaufiful sailing machine.

[John Stone]

Gayle and I walked along a footpath through a forest for 20 min to find this fantastic deserted beach on the north shore of Culebra. That’s the Atlantic Ocean.

[Vincent]

John: Been following all of your posts, as usual. I am glad your girlfriend finally made it down there. My boss does a bit of charter sailing in the BVIs every few years and he got a kick out of seeing your most recent post. We both got a laugh at the taco stand hours. We are all wishing we were there. Have fun, you earned it. I’ll see you there in a couple of years.

[John Stone]

The day before yesterday we beat back against the trades from Culebra to St Thomas. The winds were ENE about 10-12 kts. We beat out the narrow coral fringed channel that protects Ensenada Honda. The winds held to about 15 knots for the first hour or so. Then, a series of squalls rolled down on us from the east. We kept the working jib pulling along with a double reefed main but dropped the staysail. The squall lasted about an hour with winds in the 30 to 35 kt range. Normally, I would have dropped the working jib and relied on the stays’l with the double reefed main but, with reefs to leeward of us we needed to keep driving upwind. The Far Reach was wonderfully behaved and knifed up wind with a perfectly balanced helm in a rising chop and 5-6’ swell. She maintained a steady 6 to 6.5 kts steered by our ever reliable Cape Horn windvane. It’s a wonderful experience to get one of Carl Alberg’s boats dialed in and see what she can do under sail when other boats are compelled to motor.

We reefed and shook out reefs many times over the next four hours. We would have 15-18 kts of wind then get blasted with 25-30 and a big wind shift. Then the squall would pass and suck all the air out with it and we would wallow for 20-30 min and the cycle would start over. We matched the sail combinations to the conditions to give the Far Reach the best horse power we could.

As we closed on the West Gregerie Channel I foolishly though I could slip between Water Island and Porpoise Rock on a close reach then beat up channel in protected waters to our mooring. But as we closed on the gap the wind just flat died from 15 kts to about 3 kts in less than a minute. We were left wallowing in a sloppy swell and drifting towards Porpoise Rocks. I got the Far Reach turned around and we drift-sailed back out into the Caribbean. While I would not characterize it as a “close call” it was a valuable reminder that engineless sailing (our 9.9 Honda would have been instantly swamped had we tried to employ it) requires constant vigilance and sound decision making. We worked our way east and sure enough the squall cycles continued for another round or two. Eventually, we entered the East Gregerie Channel reaching NW behind Hassle Island. We gybed, and ran downwind. We entered the mooring field where Gayle snagged the pendant on the first attempt.

It was a great week. Culebra was fun and interesting. Easily worthy of more visits. Gayle, ever the wonderful companion, showed her sailing skills and metal in a wide variety of conditions. We are cleaning up the Far Reach, taking on water, and reprovisioning for the next adventure.

For a more detailed version of this post to include additional photos as well as highlights of our trip to the El Yunque Rain Forest please visit our website by clicking on the below link.

https://farreachvoyages.wordpress.com/2 ... st-thomas/

[John Stone]

St Thomas to St John—
Weighed anchor at 0830. Sailed out the East Gregerie Channel and then beat east up the south coast of St Thomas in 15-18 kts of wind and a 3-4’ swell. The wind had an unusual coolness which made for delightful sailing. Racked around Dog Island just as the wind backed NE. Thus, we beat north across Pillsbury Sound between St Thomas and St John. Entered a tacking dual with two larger fin keeled sailboats. Gayle took the tiller and I called windshifts and handled the jib. The Far Reach left both boats behind.

Sailed along the south side of Johnson Reef and picked up a mooring in Francis Bay, St John Island. Total distance about 20 NM.

Nothing like a gorgeous day of sailing with the one you love. And having your wife on board is pretty great too. Hahahahaha. Kidding.

[John Stone]

Thursday 14 March we sailed off the mooring in Francis Bay in a light breeze and beat up the Narrows tack upon tack between St. John and the Thatch Islands. The wind increased like it does in the Narrows as it gets compressed. It was a short sail as we worked our way in Waterlemon Bay on the north coast of St John and picked up the required mooring in the National Park.

After lunch we snorkeled around Waterlemon Cay a short 25 yards away. Just gorgeous. The water was very clear. Maybe 100’ visibility on the north side of the Cay that fronts the Narrows. Best looking healthy coral I have seen here. Lots of variety of fish from rays to big parrot fish to trumpet fish, ballyhoo, flounder, and grouper, etc. We watched an electric neon blue flounder swim past five feet away and cling to a piece of coral and instantly change to sand color literally vanishing in front of our eyes. Fantastic.

The weather is great. The boat is performing beautifully. We took a nice long row around the bay in Sweet Pea just after sunset. Beautiful starry night.

MTF.

[sloopjohnl]

John,
Great pics. Spent a week in the USVI/BVI aboard a crewed charter 57' catamaran in Feb. My first time there on a big cat; island hopping to Virgin Gorda (all motoring upwind) and back to St. Thomas. The cats sure are comfy and roomy, but boy are they lousy upwind. This cat was poorly rigged for upwind work and although the vacation and weather was outstanding, the sailing left a lot to be desired. If i get back for a bareboat charter, it will definitely be in a monohull! Enjoy your time there and keep sending those great pics.

[John Stone]

I was beginning to think no one was reading these posts....

Sloopjohn
I agree. It’s a common discussion on the FR. But the thing that I have come to appreciate is most folks are not chartering in the BVI these days for the great sailing. They are chartering to have fun with family and friends in a place that is by any account, spectacular. And, as you pointed out, nothing can beat a cat for accommodating four couples, in relative luxury, for an extended family with room for everyone to have privacy and at the same time provide a huge common area for social gathering. Thus, the cats have a little bit of sail for the sailors in the crew to play with and enough engine power to not spend all day beating upwind...got to beat everyone else to the mooring field so you can pick the best mooring.

Having said all that, which I sincerely believe of by the way, it means we just have to carve a little space for ourselves on the FR and enjoy the water and scenery best we can. I enjoy meeting other sailors—charter types or blue water cruisers just the same. But, the charter sailors don’t often engage with the cruisers...they are focused on their family and friends and of course the always present schedule. Can’t blame ‘em.

I always seem to get stuck here cause the crew loves it. I can think of worse fates to suffer....

[mgphl52]

I always seem to get stuck here cause the family loves it. I can think of worse fates to suffer....

I sure hope you're not expecting any sympathy...

[Jim Walsh]

I was beginning to think no one was reading these posts.....

Hah...this is the stuff that gets me through the off-season. I never tire of the stunning hues of the water and the interesting cruising boats. Seeing firsthand the choices other cruisers have made fascinates me. Some are all high-tech solutions (money is no object) and others are a mixture of robust and creature comforts. I feel I have the best of both worlds. I could strip Orion down to the basics and she would still be a seaworthy cruiser. Anything I’ve added just fits my criteria for comfortable cruising. If every modern amenity I have aboard were to give up the ghost I’d still be able to make whatever destination I have before me. I’ve never compromised seaworthiness at the expense of a nautical nicety.