S/V Koinonia Weekly Sailing Log - Puerto Real, PR and Boat Projects (Wed May 24 - Tue May 30, 2023)
Weekly Sailing Blog Highlights for this Week:
arriving in Puerto Rico; exploring Puerto Real and getting provisions at a real grocery store again, exploring Cabo Rojo, the salt flats, and the lighthouse and cliffs; Ben completes some boat projects; kids are on a rom-com movie kick; preparing to head to Ponce, PR.
Wed 5/24 - approaching the NE corner of the notorious hourglass shoal in the Mona Passage at daybreak. Beautiful day but the sea state is a bit unpleasant as we beat upwind and sail against the current; wind is shifting between 150 and 180 deg. Arrived in Puerto Real at about 6:30pm AST, almost exactly 24 hours after our departure from Samaná.
Thu 5/25 - Amber woke up with a migraine (probably lack of sleep); Ben and the girls picked up anchor and moved the boat to the fuel dock to top up water and fuel and wash the boat down, then re-anchored. Ben cleaned all the isinglass panels in the cockpit and all the hatches. Went ashore to get showers and had a delicious dinner at 9 Barrios; the best brick oven pizza we’ve eaten in a very, very long time (maybe ever); wasn't expecting to find awesome pizza in Puerto Rico!
Fri 5/26 - breakfast and kids do school; Amber, Ben and Aliza go ashore to do laundry and search for a nearby marine store. Met a sailor named Neftali in the marina office who was in the process of renting a car to go to West Marine in San Juan (the car was conveniently available at the marina), so we decided to share the car. It was a truly divine appointment! We had a nice drive to San Juan and excellent conversation about life, work, faith, the Bible, and, of course, sailing. The countryside in Central Puerto Rico is very scenic. We found all of our needs and a few wants at West Marine; had a nice lunch at a local Puerto Rican restaurant; Amber and the kids finished school and all of the laundry; they had a nice lunch at Antares, which is a very nice restaurant at the marina. Family game night back on the boat; no wind and scoring hot so we fired up the generator and the A/C. We don't feel bad about the noise from running the generator since the anchorage is pretty empty.
Sat 5/27 - worked on fairing the starboard side deck to prepare for painting and re-bedding the jib track. Rented a car and went to a nearby Walgreens to stock up on medical supplies and other necessities as well as items we haven’t seen in a while, like the kids favorite candies. Had a delicious lunch at Brisas Del Mar a short walk from the marina with fried fish bites, grouper with garlic sauce, rice and beans, and a side of mofongo. Drove about 30 mins to visit the salt flats and the seaside cliffs at the SW tip of Cabo Rojo; stopped to buy ice cream from a roadside vendor on the way back. Went to a grocery store called 100% Supermarket y Frigorífico; it was like a small Sam’s without a membership; awesome store! Leftovers for dinner. Kids wanted to watch “You’ve Got Mail.” Ben made mango lassis for dessert.
Sun 5/28 - beautiful day today. Ben took the car and went to three more stores trying to finish our provisioning list before we had to return the rental car. Amber made French Toast for breakfast. Said goodbye to our new friend Neftali before he left with his boat for Punta Cana, DR. Showers ashore then went back to the boat to have a time of worship streaming the service from our home church, Bethany Place. Amber made Chicken Tinga for dinner with tostadas. Kids are on a rom-com kick so we watched, “Return to Me.” No dry eyes.
Mon 5/29 - kids do school. Ben continues working on the starboard Genoa track and fairing out small imperfections on deck to prep for paint. In the afternoon, took laundry ashore and hired a taxi to take us to look for acetone, denatured alcohol, etc; went to three stores but only found half the items we needed. Grilled Mahi (fish we caught), broccoli, and mac-n-cheese for dinner.
Tue 5/30 - kids do school. Ben contacted the surveyor and the yard at Ponce Yacht and Fishing Club to finalize logistics for hauling out and survey in Ponce, which we need to do to renew our boat insurance. Applied the first coat of epoxy primer on the starboard jib track and a few other minor paint dings on deck. Weather is cooperating and everything is working out nicely! Took the crew ashore for showers; the girls found a breadfruit tree so we picked a few and brought them home to try. Amber made deconstructed beef egg rolls for dinner. Ben marinated and fried the breadfruit — it was good but not great; definitely more trouble than it’s worth. Watched the movie “Leap Year” as rom com kick the girls are on continues…
God Bless,
S/V Koinonia
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