ההפלגה דרך הרפובליקה הדומיניקנית מרץ 2006
33 Days Sailing aboard the sailing vessel “My Dream” across the Caribbean’s II.
We set sail aboard the sailing vessel “My Dream” – Eli, Steve and me – across the Caribbean’s From River Bend Marina in Fort Lauderdale. We planned to arrive to San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Our first stop was at Free Port at Grand Bahamas Island.
Then pass the tip of Great Abaco Is, Eleuthera Is., Cat Is., and Stoped at San Salvador Is. This is the first spot that Columbus hit land at what he thought was India. Than we passed Crooked Is., Rum Cay Is, and from than to make it to San Juan looked easy.
Big mistake.
We should read the Sailor Manual before.
We met on our way strong nose wind and swells. So we make tacks just opposite the shore of Haiti, without making any progress.
On my shift in that pitch black dark could see no boat around, when suddenly from nowhere big lights flash our deck, with sirens and flushing red & blue lights. And we got a very laud loud speaker call that they presented themselves as US Coast Guard – and told us to continue in the same speed and direction.
So we all got to the cockpit and let Steve do the talking and handle the communication. After they verified the registration of the boat that sails under an American flag, our identity of each man on board and asking if we carry guns or drugs. Then asked our permition to board our boat. They were very polite and business like, that melted when they saw us. They told us that we raise a lot of suspicion wondering this way oposit the Haiti’s shore. I explained this is because that this French made boat and so is very poor in sailing into the wind. They liked this.
After few beers, and wondering why the hell we did not look at the Manual. If we did we should take the sail above the Turks and Caicos Is. We just choose the thorny way.
They say that we should go to The pepillo Salcedo bay at the Dominican Republic, just over the border of Haiti.
Actually that was the best and only solution.
We spent at this lovely heavenly bay few days and discovered that Columbus also landed here. He Had his sailors to row n tow out his ships from the bay by boats.
Well we waited for few days for the right wind and with full power of our Diesel engine, we make it out. Than we sailed to another lovely marina in a quiet bay just out of Puerto Plate.
We toured the Dominican Republic and there we left the boat.
