Salimas Bay Dominican Republic
Malua
Harry Watson Smith
Wed 27 Mar 2013 02:04
I left Boca Chico knowing that I had 65 nm to travel and I may have to enter in the dark but from all reports and the charts It looked easy. I sailed most of the way with the wind behind but as the sun set the wind dropped. I had plotted a course all the way into the bay with a heads up to look out for the unmarked fish farm.
Captain Bob at the Marine Rescue has always insisted that when you plot your course you stand off any headland no matter if it is the one you know very well, by about a mile, just in case something goes wrong. I listened and have to this day stayed more than a mile off any headland no matter the conditions. Well! I was motoring past this headland before turning to starboard to get into its lee and enter the channel when bang bang..... the fan belt on the engine broke. Stop the engine. No wind to sail and a slight current but Malua was adrift BUT I was more than a mile off the headland. It only took me 10 minutes to get the new belt fit, it tested and to restart the engine and Malua was heading away from the rocky shore of the headland. No danger, no stress but a lesson well learnt. Stand off the shore no matter how well you know it or how deep it is.
The channel was not well lit but there are a few marker buoys which the radar picked up plus the chart was spot on. I moved cautiously in towards what appeared to be a few anchored yachts and dropped the anchor about a half mile off shore.
The next day I moved closer on shore and re-anchored before the Coast Guard appeared in a small fishing boat. He came aboard and insisted in looking around but did not even opening a cupboard. He took the dispatchio then asked for some grog. I took him to the fridge and offered him some beer in a plastic bottle which he refused. I indicated I wanted to leave the next day at 8:00 and I required a new dispatchio. I then took a long walk along the bay shore towards what I though was a town. After more than two hours no it was a very large naval base with dry dock and cadets on the parade ground. Not a great exertion.
There is essentially no village at Salinas only a run down hotel Salinas which was having a party that night. The waterfront is clean and so are the houses but it is poor. A few houses had shops with not much to offer. The fisherman’s coop seemed to be the place to be.
The next day I expected to see the Coast Guard appear on the dot of 8:00 by 9:00 still no sign so I got in the dinghy and went to the fisherman's coop with my intentions on a piece of paper. Having names written down helps with my poor pronunciation. I was informed I would have to go to the Coast Guard base at the end of the peninsular and get the dispatchio. Get a lift on the back of a motorbike with a young fellow. Down the road we went, through the less than secure gates right into the guard house of the Coast Guard. They seemed to know what I wanted but had to wait for someone. The original fellow appeared, did not say a word to me but one of the fellows started the torturous process of filling out the form. He could hardly write and for him to copy from my form to the new one was a challenge but as always I have the patience of Job in these circumstances. Finally it was complete although I did say I was stopping at Barahona but had no intentions. I just wanted to leave. Which I did by 10:30.
I had plotted a course to round Capo Rojo some time during the night. The total distance to my next destination was 220 nm a two nighter at the current wind and speed.
That afternoon the wind came up and blew Malua along my intended route which was a run. More importantly the swell came up because that part of the coast is a lee shore for the swell to come along the south of Puerto Rico and the DR. And did the swell build. It was the biggest swell I have seen since the Souther Ocean! At sun set the wind was well over the 25 knot range, I had taken in two reefs and no headsail and was surfing down the long swell reaching speeds well over 8 knots. The top speed reached was 10.4 knots as I surfed down a wave in the near darkness. It was exciting and a bit scary but Malua and I handled it well. I was hand steering for more than five hours because I could not depend on the auto-pilot handeling the conditions. My shoulders were sore when I finally switched on the auto-pilot again. I can tell you I gave Capo Rojo more than 5 miles distance as I rounded it just after 2 am.
The wind started to drop as did the swell so I was able to open up the foresail and settle into a pleasant sail down wind. I also set the Watch Commander for a few 27 minute sleeps. I took a few before the sun rose and we moved down the coast by which time the wind had dropped off.
Now the challenge was to enter the Baie des Cayes on my way to Ille a Vache. I knew I would not make it by sun set so I set myself an anchorage some way along the island NW coast hopefully out of the swell. I had been warned about the many fishing nets in that area so as I reached the shallower water I slowed Malua down to about 2 knots put on all the forward lights and hoped I would be able to see the plastic bottles of the buoys before I hit one. With a bit of luck and good vigilance I dropped the anchor on the NW corner of the island well into the large bay but not far enough in to get out of the swell. Fortunately the wind was against the swell so Malua sat quite calmly as I had a great meal and a god sleep.
A magical moment on Malua