Quietly at anchor. We awoke early on the day we had scheduled to leave Marina Pescaderia. There is a lot to get done when your vessel has been stationary for a long time. A sailboat has to be many things to its owners. A sailboat must be well built to withstand the high seas. A sailboat must be self-sufficient for the times when you are off-grid for days, weeks, or months at a time. A sailboat must also be comfortable when moored and at sea. Many times all these things contradict each other in the real world. No matter how much money is thrown at a vessel all liveaboard sailboats are a compromise. So they need to be transformers to get close to making all these requirements a reality. At a marina, your boat is hooked to power similar to your home. You have unlimited fresh water. It is as simple as stepping off your vessel to get to the store. No tender ride required. Unwritten Timeline was sitting comfortably in a marina so we needed to get up early to ensure she was ready to safely take us on the open ocean. We topped off our fuel and water tanks. We disconnected the shore power cords. We removed all the covers from our enclosure so we could see 360 degrees around the vessel. We checked the navigation systems. We ensured all our lights worked. We started the engines. Once we were confident our vessel was safe and ready we started cutting the lines holding her snuggly to the marina. Lisa was at the helm while Dave managed the lines and maintained lookout on the bow as we slowly departed Marina Pescaderia. It was a great stay but ports farther East were calling our name and it was high time we listened.
We wanted to ease back into sailing and being on the move so our first stop was just around the corner of Puerto Rico. It was 26 nautical miles or about 5 hours to Bahia Fosforesente. This tiny bay is protected on all sides with a narrow channel from the South West. We wanted to see the marine life at night. The bay is named because of the bioluminescent marine life. At night if you jump into the water and splash around thousands of tiny sea creatures illuminate the area around you. It is similar to being surrounded by stars while you are floating in the blackness of space. Swimming at night was just as amazing as it sounds. We stayed at anchor for a few days enjoying the seclusion and slow pace of our new home on the water. During the days pelicans were busy diving on fish. There seemed to be an almost constant splash. The pelicans would circle an area looking for fish. When they were ready they folded their wings back and careened headfirst under the water to get their meal. We even had a couple of dolphins swim by the boat to check us out. There wasn’t much in the way of a sandy beach in the bay but we did take the tender out for a little exploring through the mangroves.
This was a great leisurely start to our Caribbean tour. Check back next time when we continue on along the Southside of Puerto Rico.
We wanted to ease back into sailing and being on the move so our first stop was just around the corner of Puerto Rico. It was 26 nautical miles or about 5 hours to Bahia Fosforesente. This tiny bay is protected on all sides with a narrow channel from the South West. We wanted to see the marine life at night. The bay is named because of the bioluminescent marine life. At night if you jump into the water and splash around thousands of tiny sea creatures illuminate the area around you. It is similar to being surrounded by stars while you are floating in the blackness of space. Swimming at night was just as amazing as it sounds. We stayed at anchor for a few days enjoying the seclusion and slow pace of our new home on the water. During the days pelicans were busy diving on fish. There seemed to be an almost constant splash. The pelicans would circle an area looking for fish. When they were ready they folded their wings back and careened headfirst under the water to get their meal. We even had a couple of dolphins swim by the boat to check us out. There wasn’t much in the way of a sandy beach in the bay but we did take the tender out for a little exploring through the mangroves.
This was a great leisurely start to our Caribbean tour. Check back next time when we continue on along the Southside of Puerto Rico.
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