We arrived at 4am in the morning and have been waiting for the US customs agents to come clear us in. It is 13:29 locoal time so I guess they are busy doing other things. Sorry its just a little annoying that you cant get off the but till your passport gets stamped and I have been at the dock for 8 hours. Anyway as I am sitting hear I posted some pictures of the Dominican Landscape as we left.

Sunset Over the DR as we sailed away

A Man trolling for fish out on the ocean

Thanks,

Jacques

Day three out on the ocean I am beginning to believe that the world is no longer level. For the last 72 hours and counting the boat has been on a 20 degree plus angle which make everything more challenging to do. For example as the boat bounces up, down, back, fourth the simple task of walking around is accompanied by smacking yourself into the boat. I fell like I am trapped in a human size pin ball machine and I am the ball.

Few other notes I saw a group of 5 whales that came very close to hitting our boat, but where cool to watch. For fun last night a passenger cruise liner came within half nautical mile of me and cut me off forcing me off course. I didn’t understand why he had to be right on top of me. I guess to get some good picture opportunities for the guest, what a A-HOLE. Anyway we have good sunny weather, but the wind is now south east and we won’t make landfall till tomorrow morning.

Current Position: 18deg 57.02min N, 66deg 1.75min W

Thanks,

Jacques

Good morning everybody hope all is well. We are currently working our way north east so we can turn and make landfall on the east end of the island. I am hoping by tomorrow afternoon we will be there. On a side note as I was typing this post a big wave went over the entire boat and the top rear deck window was open. Guess what it took me 20min of mopping up water ad drying this computer off to finish this post. O well its the ocean and sometimes it gets you wet when you don’t want to be.

current location: 19deg 7.99min N, 67deg 21.25min w

Thanks,

Jacques

After having to go through immigration, and customs from the DR navy stamping, our boat searched again, and our papers in order we are on our way to Puerto Rico Fajardo. Our voyage should take 2 days hopefully and cover 210 nautical miles if the wind will stay out of the north. So far the wind is once again right in our face and as a sailor knows that is not good. But I am trying to stay positive and will the wind to my favor.

Current position: 18deg 59,06min N, 68deg 42.82min W

Thanks,

Jacques

First off I broke all my rules on world travel and was foolish in thinking the area I was docked was like the town Samana, I know better then to think that.

What our Marina Looks Like from Dragonsbane

We traveled 5 miles from the Marina by grabbing a ride from the staff truck which was a one way ride to Samana. As soon as we turned onto the local road it was very obvious I was dropped into a 3^rd world country. I saw houses or shacks constructed of what ever a person could build a house with and saw kids running around in dirty cloths and people working on cars and whatever they could sell to make a living. As we drove along the roads they where very step and mountainous with lots of water rushing by in the deep red clay gutters. The trees where all palm trees and reminded me of the Jungle. Every man walking the road had on big rubber boats covered in red mud and carried a machete and the women where all carrying water jugs.  I even saw a women carrying a cactus plant on her head in a coffee can, not sure what that was about. Maybe she was the local nut or just walking home , who knows. I also saw people riding horses and mules along the road.

When we entered the city of Samana it was congested with traffic coming from all over the place. No road signs, stop signs, signals, or anything that would indicate order. The streets where packet with motorcycles, and scooter from the 1960’s and 70’s which traveled at any speed and went where ever. Cars parked anywhere there was space and no real order to anything.

We where given a few tips about taxi or scooter transportation and dropped off. Our instruction where in a mix mash of English and Spanish words. We walked the streets and found a nice restaurant, so we had a great lunch for a very cheap price. I had a pasta dish with lobster, muscles, and shrimp covered in a taste garlic red sauce for $12. Topped off with the only beer that you can get in the DR Presidenta, at least its cold. As I ate my lunch I looked out at the city and saw roosters running around and a huge one up on a building top.

We then walked down the street and where badgered by ever shop owner to come in and take a look at what they had for sale. After the 4^th time of being nice and looking at a bunch of random things mostly tourist crap I just said “No Se” over and over until they gave up “Thanks Adam”. Luckily I did buy Romeo Juliet cigars for 2 bucks a piece after 20 minutes of negotiating a price. They are very tasty cigars and now my supplies are restored.

After dealing with the store owners we wondered down some side streets and found a city block filled with pallets of cloths that came off a ship. They where cloths that people had donated to good will or other charities, I always wondered where those cloths went to. People where going through the stacks of cloths and where very excited to have them.

We decided that it was getting late and we wanted to get back to the boat before it was dark. We happened to be outside the Police station so we asked one of the officers holding a pistol grip shotgun where to get a taxi and they said wait here. I watched the officer dress in camouflage and his 9mm gun stuck in his belt band like a gangster put his hand up and stopped a not to happy scooter cab. He told him to take us to the Marina or so I thought. Apparently having a conversation in charades and pictionary is not a good way to explain where you want to go. I wish we had written down the marina name because my Spanish pronunciation was not understood “umm! LA Marinaooo?”. So unknowingly we hopped into this wagon cart pulled by a Honda 125 cc two stoke motorcycle that sounded like a bee on steroids. I thought it was going to explode with me and my dad being pulled up the mountain or the brake would fail on the roller coaster ride down the hills.

As we where pulled in our radio flyer wagon up the mountains the driver stopped at the top of hill 15 minutes later and pointed to a shack and said here. Ummmmm “NO SE” nope not it buddy! So our game of charades began again and I kept saying Samana so in frustration the driver turned around and stopped ever person we saw until we found some old man with only one tooth in his mouth that new some English. We where able to fill in the missing words to get us home. I thought for sure when we got to that hill top and stopped I was going to be shot and robbed! So I told myself o well there is nothing I can do, at least I have a great view of the ocean from the top of this mountain and felt at peace with the warm sun on my face.

Thanks,

Jacques

After 4 long days and many hours of bashing through waves we made landfall at 5pm which is 1 hour ahead of eastern time zone at Samana DR.  So far I had the best shower which I got to stand in full height and let the water run the whole time. The marina we are at is very cheap and is amazing to say the least. So now after accomplishing a voyage that should have been 225 nautical miles 2 days it turned into 550 nautical miles 4 days, let say “SON OF A B!!”

The list of damaged equipment, lost a life line shackle, shredded the roller furling line/rope again, lost a chimney vent, flooded the anchor locker, and made my hands so raw from the salt. So not a bad list and can all be fixed quickly and cheap.

Now Some Pictures!

The beauty before the wall of rain and wind hits us in a squall.

First Site Of Land breaking through the haze!

I thought the DR was a little less rockery then this! Very Cool to see!

Thanks

Jacques

Well the wind is still right out of the east and the direction like always I am trying to go is east. So we tack back and fourth working are way to our final destination. We still have about 80 nautical miles to go straight east so that should take us about 20 hours do to the wind direation. O well this part of the adventure. On a good note I caught a Tuna which we ate for supper and I am stuffed. On a bad note a whole bunch of little things broke do to windy squalls and ropes wiping all over, but repairs where made at sea. Hope you all have a good night!

Our Location: 20deg 4.19min N, 70deg 8.56min W
Current weather: wind east@10 to 27 knots, Waves 5 to 10 feet

Thanks,

Jacques

We left yesterday and are on our way to the DR but the wind is in the wrong direction. Once again the weather reports are wrong and we are bashing our way to our next destination. Good thing is that I catch a fish yesterday evening, which was fun. I didn’t know what it was so I tossed it back.

The wind is blow 22 to 26 knots and the wave height is about 7 feet. Our location is 20deg 50.81min N, 71deg 28,77min W

Thanks,

Jacques

Cleaning the bottom and replacing the prop

Today we replaced the prop from a 4 blade Max prop to a 3 blade in hope that our issues or odd noises will be resolved. We also took the time to scrub the bottom and replace the zincs on the drive shaft. It took all day but we where able to get it done and not have to pay additional fees for leaving Dragonbane on land over night.

Hopefully if the weather is in our favor we will set sail tomorrow for the “DR” aka Dominican Republic.  It is about 160 nautical miles from our current location at the ship yard in Turks and Caicos. I will try and post my sailing progress as we go via SSB radio and let you all know how it is going out in the ocean. Also I found out that the hump back whales are in birthing season down here and we should be seeing a lot of them as we go. I will try and get some pictures if we do.

Thanks,

Jacques

I am so happy to inform you that after 27 days of repairs, cleaning, and being bored out of mind we will be living Turtle Cove Marina. Unfortunately we will be travelling only 37  miles to a ship yards to pull the prop off the boat and replacing it. I will also get to wash the underside of Dragonsbane without holding my breath for 3 hours. After this hopefully simple repair we will be on our way to Dominican Republic and then Porto Rico!

Thanks,

Jacques