Yesterday, at 1400 hrs (UTC -4) we dropped the hook in Puerto Real. The anchor ground is sand; depth around 3 m.

We arrived here in 7 h from Bahia de Guanica.

There we spent a day exploring what is around us. First we went by dinghi to the tiny Island Gilligan. It’s basically was ca y with a lot of mangroves on it and surrounding it. When we arrived at the long wooden pier. We found 2 things. A nice couple, which arrived by standing paddle boards trying snorkeling and fishing, and 2 big sign boards saying don’t go beyond the point because it is dangerous. As we estimated that it is not possible that big, wild dragons are hiding in the mangrove trees, we decided to go beyond the point and look for the dangers ourselves. We found ruins of a wooden house which, according to an old signpost, was once built for tourists but it’s not used anymore for very many years. Remains of grills built from bricks showed that, in good days, there were many people enjoying a barbeque. Fish? Meat?

At the backside of the island between a large shoal or reef, there it is said that manatees can be seen. We very slowly went with our dinghi in this area. Due to the waves and the swell we did not stay long. Spray was carried inside the boat, thus on us.

Thereafter we went to the other side of the bay and around a peninsula, to look what is there on local business. Before we could even dock or dinghi on the only available pier somebody from, what looked like a restaurant told us already, the restaurant is closed today. A pity for the restaurant or a pity for us?

We went to another pier a bit away. It was immediately clear to us that it belonged to the resort covering about a quarter of the shoreline. As soon as we arrived a young man came to us. I thought that this is the end of docking the dinghi. I was wrong. He only asked us to move our dinghi a bit to another place because where we wanted to dock, boats of the resort are docking. It goes without saying, we moved the boat. When he heard us speaking Japanese, he also spoke some Japanese. He knows a few sentences, which he learned from Japanese guests.

In the resort we found a nice open air restaurant and had a light lunch and a mujito. Mujito became our favorite drink in Puerto Rico.

The resort had also a playground for children and I watched a maybe 4 year old boy who was brought there by his mother. I would have taken the boy to the sandy beach being just 20 m away. I felt sorry for the boy being forced to play and “enjoy” playing without being allowed to use his fantasy while playing with sand and water.

Then we walked until the end of the beach. Outside of the resort area, there are public toilets, showers, tables for picnic, and a few grills for barbecues. Looked good and well visited for a Wednesday. Under a palm tree we found 2 coconuts with coconuts milk inside. We took them back home to MaRe. There we opened it – I don’t described how we did it – sipped the coconuts milk and started to eat the fruit. We will eat it when we are sailing blue water again.

This morning, we lifted the anchor again at 0700, carefully followed our route between cays, corals, and shoals out into the open water. Then gennaker up and we sailed with a nice speed into westerly direction. When the wind got too strong we downed the gennaker and used just the genoa. A change in direction required setting the mainsail and we sailed with AWA from 120 deg PRT to about 70 deg PRT. However, suddenly the wind dropped to 1 – 2 Bft. As it was only 4 NM into the bay, we just put all sails down and motored into the bay and dropped the anchor.

1. Apr, after completing our provisioning and re-fueling, we make outbound clearance over the phone, and we soon was we got the form “1300”, we will take off for a nonstop sail to Cuba. It should take us 4 – 5 days.

The anchorage where we dropped the hook for last night was an interesting place. Completely surrounded by mangrove covered islands and cays. The wind was pretty weak and the dense mangrove trees are a good wind protection, so we had only small ripples on the sea surface. Well protect from the island and cays, no swell rolled to our anchorage. I don’t recall when I had such an anchorage last time. It felt like MaRe is on the hard.

The only noise came from an industrial area about 3 – 5 km away. Because of this nose we left again at 0700. It took us a while to carefully get through the many islands and cays into the open water. A quite different route planning compared to the Atlantic Ocean crossing. 6 carefully positioned WPT were needed. The longest distance between 2 WPT was only about 150 m.

While writing about the weak wind and the southerly swell. My eyes but the wind speed meter and I saw 3 Bft. Looking more precise at TWS in knots, there 10 KN to be seen. Enough to set the gennaker. While seeing the gennaker on PRT side wind increased to 4 Bft. So we are now sailing with around 6 KN comfortably to the next WPT, about 8 NM ahead.

After breakfast, wind became too strong for the gennaker, thus we replaced it by the genoa, sailed until the upcoming WPT, jibed, and got the wind from 170 deg STB, we set the storm jib on STB and sail now a butterfly with 2 head sails comfortably with around 5 KN.

Will the wind stay like this for the next 20 NM until Bahia de Guanica?

We left the anchorage at Vieques Island at 0700. A bit early, to arrive during daylight at Bahia del Jobos. An area at the south coast of Puerto Rico with many small islands and cays. And there are also mangrove forests.

I learned about this anchorage from an Instagram contact. Gary Felton, a professional photographer, maybe already my age, who sails won’t his wife since years in the Caribbean and knows and loves Puerto Rico.

The problem of the day: Someone, in charge of the wind, forgot to switch it on. We had winds from W, which turned around to E and even went to NE. Partially we had almost glassy sea. The worst thing for someone, who wants to sail.

At about 1330 I felt the wind is increasing, blowing with 3 – 4 Bft from SE. Time to set the gennaker! We hoisted the gennaker and finally sail in the weak winds with around 4 KN. The engines sleep, after they worked for some 6 h. The gennaker pulls MaRe forward, a gentle wind flows through the cockpit making it very pleasant. The gurgling sound of the wake attributes you to the relaxed atmosphere on board. Sailing!

And S prepared his cold pumpkin soup and a light, Japanese rice dish. What else do I want?

The only wish left is my OBM coming back on board again. It will be in Havana.

Yesterday we went by taxi to San Juan to experience the old part of the city, is people, and life. We also wanted to a look at the old castle or maybe better called fortress.

The taxi driver was a very friendly guy who helped when my vet broken Spanish was not enough. Although he speaks fluent English, like all Puerto Ricans, he enjoyed that I tried my best in Spanish.

The old part of the city is immediately connected to the fortress’ eastern and western part. We went into the eastern part because there is a museum inside. It was all about the fortress’ and city’s history. But mainly about the battles and wars fought with this fortress. The fortress was built in the 16th century and all the wars fought did not stop people from fighting another war.

WW II never really stopped. Currently it continuous in Ukraine because there is always someone, calling himself a leader, making the people of another country bad, and promises the best to the people of his own country. Such leaders stay at home, sleeping in a warm and soft bed, eating caviar, and sipping champagne, while people, whose leader he calls himself, simply die en mass. And so do the people of the “bad” country also call the enemies’ country.

The walk through the busy streets was interesting, because we could see and feel the Caribbean culture, the different life from life in Germany and Japan.

Today, we went again by the same taxi company – looks like an occasional 2 man company – but different driver to a supermarket for provisioning. Back to our boat, we prepared for departure to Vieques Island.

After having been already on the way, I called CBP to inform them that we are leaving for Puerto Real at the west side of Puerto Rico, where we will arrive in a view days. The ROAM app, we were supposed to use, doesn’t function well at all. Green banana. But the officers with whom we had to deal with, were extremely friendly and helpful. I’ll miss them when we leave Puerto Rico in few days.

Today no wind at all. Sometimes even glassy sea. However, considering the z ick-zack course we needed today to avoid rocks, and shallow parts, the no-wind was not too bad. We could just run from WPT to WPT using the precise steering of the @raymarine autopilot.

While uploading this narration, we are approaching Vieques and expect to drop the hook at 4 – 5 m into sand

Despite the lower winds we had yesterday we reached only a bit later than scheduled Puerto Rico.

The entrance in the bay of Fajardo is as bit tricky. GPS is very helpful but a good look out is crucial as well. Several reefs are just below water level and only the breaking waves give clue on where they are. I would never go in by night.

We quickly found our anchorage and dropped the hook at 5 m in emerald green water. I use almost 40 m of chain to be on the safe side in shallow water.

Am attempt to go on land the same evening failed; we could not find a dinghi dock and didn’t want to go to close to the shore as we could see into the water.

On the way back to MaRe we got some higher waves and we were spoiled with saltwater shower (very warm water!!!) while riding the dinghi.

Dinner on board with freshly baked bread and sleep.

Today we want to find out how we can go from Fajardo to San Juan by bus or taxi.

We really got a lot of rain today. That much, that we even closed the cockpit at stern part and on port side the aft part of the cockpit enclosure.

Then the sky got blue again, oilskin got too warm and we went back to T-shirts and shorts.

However, about a bit less then an hour later, another squall came and we had to jump back into our oilskins. To not arrive at the next waypoint with too much wind, we put the storm jib down and a reef into the genoa.

Now the squall passed and it looks better. For how long?

The entry into the harbor/bay or Fajardo is a bit tricky so I try to avoid having to go in with too much wind.

Constant 20 kn wind was forecasted this morning at around 0500. However, until now we see such winds only in the be many squalls we had so far.

But still we are making good progress. With an speed of 5 on so far. Top speed was something above 7 kn.

First time – I don’t know since when – we had breakfast inside. The last squall how too much rain into the cockpit.

CBP, the agency to protect the US borders has an app called ROAM. According to their homepage you need to use it when you want to enter US waters by a vessel with non commercial, thus “pleasure” activities. Already in Sint Maarten I wanted to get permission to enter St Thomas, but could not submit my application with the message that I’m still to far away. I sent a message and a helpful officer informed me that the app is geo-fenced this can be used only in US borders. At the end, I sailed into St Thomas, and made inbound clearance just by going to the office and filled in one paper form.

When I checked the CBP homepage for the PoE (port of entry) Fajardo, Puerto Rico, it states that a permission is needed in advance to enter this PoE but no further information. I called CBP. The answer I got was to use the ROAM app. This app requires always a security code which is sent by SMS. Originally I used the phone number of my Caribbean SIM card. This card I cannot use in the USVI. As I have now a USVI SIM card I wanted to replace the phone numbers and got the message that I need to delete my account and create a new one. Fine, I thought, I have to re-enter all information again.

This is no surprise because in times of internet. All administrations around the world shift the work to the people who need to apply for something. This must have let to lay off of millions of people in administrative offices. However, I never read such news. Why???

When I started deleting my account, I got an email saying that I have to wait for 24 h before I received an email with a link that deletes the account. “Change what to don’t accept and accept what you don’t change.” I waited.

24 h later I had the email. As I had 24 h to deeply think and re-think and think and re-think my decision to delete my account, I simply clicked “delete”. When I wanted to enter my USVI SIM card phone number, the system told me that this number cannot be used. My satellite phone number cannot be used a well. I used S’s Japanese phone number. After I filled in my personal data and the system recovered my boat data. So much about deleting an account.

After I got all in, I pushed the “Submit” button to get within minutes the answer that I’m not allowed to enter US waters, while I’m sitting on a boat fully cleared in into St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, thus US waters. “Don’t try logically to understand that” I told myself. I simply re-sent my application. That time a friendly officer told me by email , that he can see – how? – that I’m still in the USVI, and I have to submit my request to enter Fajardo when I’m in Fajardo.
So I will get permission to enter Fajardo after I arrived in Fajardo. “Don’t understand logically to understand that” I told myself again.

Sailing around the world means spending days in beautiful bays to fill in web based forms and apps to get permission to enter a country. Internet is really a great invention for all kind of administrative work!!!

After all this was done, we sailed around the corner and dropped the hook for a night in the Perseverance Bay, a quite bay where we are the only boat.

On 20Mar, I got up a bit earlier because I wanted to have an underwater look at the underwater parts of our boat. Ask is ok. But this inspection was accompanied by a small who kept circling a few meets below me. It was my first encounter with a shark in the Caribbean. It is incredible to watch this fish with its speed optimized body shape and it’s fins for propulsion and direction control.

After breakfast we lifted the hook and salted in about 2 h nach to St Thomas. We sailed
broad reach, running, and at the end for about 1 1/2 NM a beam reach course. Very comfortable sailing in a swell a bit lower than 2 m.

In the eastern part of St Thomas harbor we set anchor about 0.2 NM from the Coast Guard station. Here I want to drop off the friend who sailed with me for a week and pick up my friend S. from Japan, who will sail with me all the way to Cuba.

21Mar, we dropped off our friends for their flight back home. S and I are preparing for the next leg to Puerto Rico. Yesterday we could already refill the empty propane gas bottle.

Yesterday we also got from Puerto Rico the information that in respect to COVID-19, we are considered as domestic travelers in the USA, this no special protocol is needed.

However, concerning sailing with our own boat to Puerto Rico, requires clearance via the ROAM app. The funny thing is that the change of the 2nd identification system, a phone number which can receive SMS, requires more than 24 h because my satellite phone number is not accepted and the Caribbean SIM card doesn’t work in the USVI anymore. So now I need to store a US phone number. Extremely efficient system if you are not a US citizen with a US mobile phone.

We hope we get clearance within today so we can depart tomorrow at dawn after doing last shopping today.

Some people say that sailing around the world is repairing the boat in the most beautiful bays of the world, I say now that it is fighting with entry permissions in the internet and getting always new locally working SIM cards.

We needed some food and decided we just sail around the corner, drop the hook there, and dinghi in to the beach. Combining food shopping with a look into another bay.

Sailing around the corner was quickly done. Maybe 20 mins. The bay was full of boats. All hanging on a mooring buoy. We didn’t see an empty one and just dropped the hook at the last spot at the mouth of the bay. Wind and swell almost perpendicular to each other; not the best anchorage.

When reaching the beach, we had to use a stern anchor for the tender and thighed the bow up to a rope at the beach. Walking along the shore to find somewhere the way out to the street, we walked for about half an hour through The Westin’s buildings and park areas. The Westin has a huge resort in the bay covering the entire head shore of the bay. Nothing to be seen, which looked like Caribbean. What a contrast to Jost van Dijk. Finally we reached the road and found a shop.

Prices were in the shop were hefty. Things are more expansive than in Tokyo. How can local people pay for food?

As we did not see a restaurant, the friends decided to have dinner in a restaurant in The Westin. After a while we found one; it was even closer to the beach. We ordered Black Beans Burger at 19 USD. Everything on the port looking menu had a price tag which let’s Tokyo’s restaurants be cheap places.

Water came in a plastic cups; use and throw away. Ketchup from a famous American brand came in a one person portion in a glass bottle sealed in plastic. Mayonnaise and mustard in plastic-aluminum wrapping. Use and throw away. The burger was nothing exciting. It just filled our stomach and added a lot of trash.

Why do people go in such restaurant and why do they spent their vacations in such a sterile environment? Where do the guests come from?

I was pretty disappointed and happy to be back on board of MaRe.

Next morning, after our early morning cup of tea, we lifted the hook to go back to Rendezvous Bay. With the engines we sailed back against the wind and waves up to 2 m. It was a very short around the corner to the bay we had good time before.

On our way we passed another smaller bay and had a look from outside. The head of the bay looked occupied by another hotel chain. Not a place we would like to spent a day there.

After being secured at anchor, we had another relaxed day in Rendezvous Bay. We saw several sea turtles close by to MaRe and enjoyed looking at the turquoise colored water of the bay.

A major intellectual achievement of the day was an excellent idea to suspend the bow part of the tender. For making this suspension we need to put the tender on the hard somewhere to be able to remove the tender’s bottom to fix the new suspension under the front bottom plate. Somewhere I will find the needed place.

After an delicious dinner, made of plantanas, onions, a bit cubed chicken meat pieces and a scrambled egg, we talked until last 2200, took a shower and went to bed.