Caribbean
We Are Tourists Now
The last couple of days CoCo has been anchored outside the city of Fajardo on the north east corner of Puerto Rico. Because Puerto Rico is almost rectangular it is OK to say that the island has a corner. Fajardo is an important centre for yachting, sheltered from high seas by reefs and atolls, with the virgin islands close-by.
Alissa Czasonis, a girl from New England of polish decent, joined the rest of the crew on our second day here for a week in the Caribbean. Hopefully the main crew will be able to provide a nice vacation before she has to return to her fast-paced job in finance on Manhattan.
Alissa and Peter in the dinghy outside Fajardo.
Before picking Alissa up at San Juan airport, the guys decided to check out San Juan’s old town. Old San Juan was founded in 1508 by Juan Ponce de León on a peninsula sticking out in the ocean. The first settlement was originally called Caparra and the city got the name San Juan in 1521 after John the Baptist. The crew of CoCo found the old town to be an idyllic and colourful neighbourhood, full of small shops and cafes. The neighbourhood is one of the top attractions for tourists in Puerto Rico. In fact there were no less than three cruise ships docked on the peninsula while we were there.
The peninsula forms part of a natural harbour, which makes this location ideal for a large port and a prosperous city. The old town itself is surrounded by a wall more than three metres thick and additional protection is provided by two forts; Fort San Felipe del Morro to the west and Castillo de San Cristobal to the east.
Typical Old San Juan street.
Peter outside the oldest Starbucks in the new world (?).
Living the bench life in the old town.
Castillo de San Cristobal.
The following day we took our rental car for a drive westwards to Arecibo. Up in the hills 30 mins away from the city an awe-inspiring sight awaited – The Arecibo Observatory. The main attraction of the observatory is the William E. Gordon Telescope, named for the observatory’s founder. The Telescope does not look like what most people would consider a telescope, because it is a radio telescope and therefore looks like a gigantic “dish-style” antenna (I was tempted to write “parabolic antenna” but that would be incorrect, because the dish is actually spherical in shape).
The Arecibo dish is built in a valley and has a diameter of 305 metres. This makes it the largest single-aperture telescope in the world. A platform weighing 900 tons is suspended by wires between three concrete towers over the dish. On this platform there are two receivers: a linear antenna used for atmospheric studies, and a gregorian receiver used for radar- and radio astronomic studies.
The Arecibo Observatory was originally managed by Cornell University, but today it is a joint venture between SRI International (Stanford Research Institute), USRA (Universities Space Research Association) and Universidad Metropolitana. In 1993 Russel Alan Hulse and Joseph Hooton Taylor, Jr. won the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of a new type of pulsar star, using the William E. Gordon telescope. A movie lover will recognise the telescope from the motion pictures Goldeneye and Contact.
Arecibo Observatory, aerial view.
The Crew of CoCo with renewed interest in the atmosphere after a visit to the Arecibo Observatory.
Welcome Back to the Caribbean
Sorry for not keeping you updated lately, dear fans. That happens when the Internet is something quite illusive and we are trying our best to hide away from civilisation.
After our rather terrible encounter with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency we felt like we needed to get away from it all for a while. Therefore, in Ponce, we stacked up on a lot of provisions and anchored in what on the map seemed like somewhere that nobody would be. We were right! Among the mangroves on the southern coast of Puerto Rico we found calm water and a seabed that excellently clung to our anchor. Fortune smiled upon us ever so sweetly… We even caught some fish on the way there, which enables us to hide away for two more days than expected.
This anchorage proved an apt opportunity to explore the mangroves. Mangroves are a strange kind of trees or shrubbery that appear to be getting by on saline water. That is very interesting! Saline water usually kills everything… They actually have these long tendrils hanging down from the tops of their foliage which suck the sea water up, cleaning it on the way. On the down side, mangroves tend to leave a lot of plant material in the sea, which makes the water a bit filthy. The crew of S/Y CoCo set out on an expedition to learn more about the mangrove. Regrettably, of the three of us that embarked on this expedition, only three made it back.
Hardcore exploration
The rest of us also wore hats.
After spending some of our most relaxing days at this place, we eventually decided that it was time to head back to a place inhabited by something more than plants. Or perhaps we were running out of beer. I don’t really remember. Whatever the reason, we sooner or later set sail for the island of Vieques. Here we have been able to do some long overdue maintenance, like put new strings on the guitar.
Dinghy dock in Vieques.
Tourists
Victim of a Hurricane?
Esperanza, Vieques.
Captain Peter on a typical Viequan street corner.
Trouble with the US Customs and Border Protection Agency
or how Sebastian celebrated his birthday.
The only picture taken in the last couple of days. Just before all hell broke loose on the way from Casa de Campo. Sebastian at the helm.
Sebastian awoke on his birthday the 10th of March to a lot of yelling in a language that he chose to call “Spanglish” on the VHF (Very High Frequency) radio, after a good three hours of sleep. It was around eight o’clock in the morning and CoCo was off the coast of Puerto en route to the island of Vieques. Approximately two days before, S/Y CoCo had left port in Casa de Campo. Conditions had been rough with waves up to 3 m (10 ft) and wind well above 20 knots. Both wind and waves were coming from the east, in the opposite direction that CoCo was going. Needless to say, sleep had been sparse. The crew had even decided to make an emergency stop in a bay behind a reef to get a few hours of decent sleep.
After a brief mind battle with his fatigue, Sebastian eventually got dressed and climbed the ladder up on deck to find the source of the radio ruckus. A Puerto Rican police boat was bouncing in the waves on CoCo’s starboard side. It was difficult to make out any of the Spanglish, but it was evident that they wanted us to change course towards the shore. The police boat escorted us into a bay that would have been quite lovely if not for a giant concrete pier and a bulk carrier feeding system. We were asked to make fast our vessel to a tug boat which was docked there. Aboard this tug boat were no less than a dozen policemen and other civil officers waiting for us.
The entire crew was detained on the deck of the tug after the officer-in-charge of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), had inspected our passports. We were informed that we did not have visas to visit the United States or its territories and therefore was going to be fined $ 5000. What!? Norwegian citizens does not need visas to visit the US. It appears that there were exceptions to this rule. If you come to the US aboard a private boat, you DO need a visa. Moreover, we were charged with entering US territory illegally the day before (the few hours of decent sleep mentioned above).
How were we going to get out of this one? Peter, the highly esteemed captain of S/Y CoCo, calmly (holding his anger and frustration contained) explained to the chief that he had contacted the US Coast Guard before entering Puerto Rican waters and that he had been referred to an office of the CBP. When we dropped anchor Peter immediately rang up the CBP office to say that they we had arrived. We were informed that we could anchor where we were but we were not allowed to go ashore before clearing in properly. Considering this information, how could we have done anything if not in good faith?
The chief promptly rang up the CBP office in question to confirm our story and we were informed that we had not entered Puerto Rican water illegally, as we had been incorrectly informed. Consequently, the CBP officer that Peter spoke with on the phone the day before was fired immediately. If he was prosecuted or not, we do not know.
Following a thorough questioning of the crew on the deck of the tug, CoCo was inspected. The CBP crew opened up any compartment they could find and made quite a mess of the yacht’s interior. As a final touch, a canine was brought onboard. After a good couple of hours we were informed that the officers did not find anything illegal, and neither did the canine smell anything it shouldn’t smell. Taking our good cooperation and the results of inspection into consideration, the chief chose to show us some mercy by allowing us a once-in-a-lifetime visa waiver for a cost of $ 585 per person. The catch was that we had to proceed to Ponce that same day.
Having no choice, the crew got aboard CoCo again, quickly tidied up the CBD mess and proceeded sailed westwards as fast as CoColy possible (which can be quite fast). We arrived in Ponce around five o’clock in the afternoon and docked on the customs dock. The wind was incredibly strong and the swell in the harbour was like nothing we had ever experienced before. The chief and one of his subordinates was waiting for us on the dock and we were informed that we had to do the process the next morning at ten o’clock instead because the office was not willing to pay the officers overtime. Not a minute too soon! Almost at that precise moment our bowline snapped and CoCo was flying uncontrollably around. Peter quickly jumped aboard with Sebastian while Henrik stayed ashore to remove all other tethers. Unscathed, but with Henrik left on the dock, CoCo proceeded further out in the harbour.
Luckily, we came in contact with the skipper of Infinity Beta, another sailing yacht close-by at anchor. He said he was willing to fetch us our stranded deckhand in his dinghy. The rest of the crew aboard CoCo quickly responded in the affirmative with great thanks and praise.
After six tries, the anchor finally found good hold. Peter took the dinghy ashore and returned with take-away! Thusly, Sebastian’s birthday was celebrated in front of the TV with quesadillas and caramel pudding.
The next morning, CoCo proceeded to dock at the nearby yacht club and four hours waited her crew at the local CBD office with further questioning, the taking of fingerprints and forms that needed to be filled out. The result? A $ 585 stamp in our passports.
Casa de Campo: a Playground for Wealthy Americans
After two days of some of the roughest sailing yet, northwards across the Caribbean Sea from Aruba to The Dominican Republic, we arrived in Casa de Campo Marina. We first thought we might have taken a wrong turn at some point, because on approach the marina looked more like something you might expect to see on the French Riviera. Upon further investigation, the marina turned out to be part of a much larger complex; in fact one of the largest resorts in the world.
Piazza Portofino, Casa de Campo Marina.
Caso de Campo used to be the site of a sugar mill owned by the Gulf+Western conglomerate, a company perhaps best known for it’s movie studio subsidiary known as Paramount Pictures today. In 1975 Gulf+Western founder and CEO, Charles Bluhdorn a.k.a. The Mad Austrian of Wall Street, developed this 7000 acre (28 sq. km) La Romana lot into the Casa de Campo (country house) resort. Famous golf course architect Pete Dye was hired to design the now well-renowned “Teeth of the Dog” golf course, while famous designer and close friend of Bluhdorn, Oscar de la Renta, did the interior of the first hotel. Today the complex includes more than 1700 private villas, four (!) 18-hole golf courses, a shooting range, several tennis courts, three polo fields and it’s own international airport.
A Casa de Campo villa of average size.
The marina, where S/Y CoCo is currently berthed, has been designed by Italian architects to look like the Italian fishing village of Portofino. The marina has more than 400 berths and around 70 boutiques and eateries. What is more, former Paramount Pictures set designer, Robert Copa, was hired to design a medieval-style village, overlooking the Chavon river on the eastern edge of the resort. Here one can find a large amphitheatre, a school of design, several art studios, restaurants, night clubs and a monastery.
Altos de Chavon, medieval mountain village replica.
One of the most interesting aspects of Casa de Campo, and a testimony to it’s size, is that everyone drives golf carts in order to get around. From the main entrance of the resort to the marina, where I am sitting now and sipping an ice cold Presidente beer while watching the sport fishers arrive with their catch of the day, it is almost 10 km! You could (and we have!) spend a whole day just driving around in a golf cart trying to get your bearings. Along the way you will pass hundreds and hundreds of the largest and most lavish villas imaginable. Luckily, the marina office was nice enough to supply us with a map.
Speeding about in a golf cart, sipping Presidente. We are far from home, but we’re so happy.
Charles Bluhdorn is considered the inventor of tourism in the Domincan Republic. We have yet to see more of the Dominican Republic, but Casa de Campo is a world of itself; a playground for wealthy americans.
Peter brushing up on the affairs of the world after a 60 minute massage at the Casa de Campo Spa centre.
A Letter from Our Number One Fan
Guest entry by Elise Møvik.
Ever since the guys left home to go on this trip, I’ve been looking forward to visiting them just after the Atlantic crossing. I landed on St. Lucia the 15th of December, five days after the guys had crossed the finish line and just in time to join the cheering crowd when the crew learned that CoCo won the ARC’s cruising class A.
Peter and Elise on the Beach in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia.
I arrived at Hewanorra International Airport . On my customs sheet I wrote down one thing – caramel cheese from Norway. I found myself to get surprisingly nervous when we had to write down if we were bringing any food in to the country, so I figured I’d just write it down, although it felt a bit weird to think of the eccentric, brown, Norwegian cheese as something to clear through customs.
Dinghy ride ashore.
When I arrived in Marigot Bay a few hours later, I immediately recognised someone that I had been waiting to see for about three months. Peter showed me down to the bay, where CoCo was moored just next to a charming restaurant. This beautiful little bay, with its palm trees and blue waters, astonished me. We went inside the boat where I was greeted by Sebastian and Henrik who was working on a failing water pump. I would later learn that one cannot be anything but incredibly impressed by the skills shown by these three guys, when it comes to fixing whatever problem that presents itself on board. I would also learn that Peter has the coolest friends, and that this crew works well together. Henrik and Sebastian is also two guys that has patience enough to let me learn and join in when we are sailing around, and the two of them plus Peter has taught me a lot about sailing. I can hardly wait until the next sailing vacation! After a nice dinner in Marigot Bay we sailed north to Rodney Bay, where the price-giving ceremony and celebrations would take place. The guys met up with some of the crews they knew from the ARC and I was introduced to some truly wonderful people. The whole night different people came up to the guys, congratulating them and telling them how impressed they were. I couldn’t do anything but smile from ear to ear the whole night, as I was so insanely proud of the CoCo crew. It was really cool to be there.
Elise showed tremendous skill as a deckhand and managed to perform her duties with exceptional grace.
After having spent the first week on St. Lucia, we were looking forward to setting sails towards Bequia, where we would spend Christmas. Taking a morning bath in the warm ocean and sunbathing on the deck didn’t exactly give us the Christmas spirit like were all use to. Nevertheless, I found it very exciting to experience something new, and one couldn’t pick a better place, or greater people to spend this time with away from home. We spent Christmas Eve on a beach with our feet in the sand, and were served delicious food, wine and even GLØGG, as the owner of the restaurant was Swedish. After Christmas, we set sail for towards Tobago Cays. I have never seen such clear water and white sand in my life. Here we snorkelled with turtles, and we also saw a huge stingray and some beautiful fish near the great coral reefs. Additionally, Peter prepared a feast for us in the evening, with fresh lobsters on the grill. I almost had to pinch my arm to realise that I got to have this amazing experience.
The mandatory Wallilabou coffin pose.
After having spent the second week around the Grenadines, we made our way back to St. Lucia to pick up a friend of Sebastian, Hanna, who would be joining us for the next twelve days. After quickly getting to know Hanna – she is one lovely, sociable and outgoing person! – CoCo set its course towards Martinique to celebrate the coming new year. Here we got to see a great fireworks show, we went to a concert in town and had a delightful three course dinner with the crew of Spinnvill at what is most likely the slowest restaurant in town. The spirit on board was as always very high, and after celebrating New Year’s we were ready to see some more of Martinique. For almost two more weeks we sailed around seeing bays like Anse Noire and Grande Anse d’Arlet. Here we snorkelled, drank beer, laughed and simply enjoyed life. As visitors, Hanna and I discussed how we never wanted to leave this paradise, as it is just incredible to be here together with the guys. When the time came for Hanna to leave for home, I realised that I was leaving in a week myself. Never has a vacation gone faster, even if this one actually was five weeks long. This last week included having ice cream in Wallilabou bay, where some of the scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean films were shot. And as a big sucker for these things, I naturally loved this place, and I do believe the guys also enjoyed it. We then went back to Bequia, where we enjoyed sundowners out of holed-out pineapples. From there we headed back to St. Lucia where I went on a final adventure with Peter, zip-lining through the jungle. Needless to say, this was a cool experience to finish off this trip with, and I now feel that I have been through everything that I could’ve hope for on this five week voyage in the Caribbean.
Docked in Wallilabou. Elise looks excited.
All thanks to Sebastian, Henrik and Peter for putting such an effort into every day, sailing to the best bays, telling thrilling stories, playing music to set the good mood, making the best-ever-tasting drinks for our own happy hour on board, and in general making me feel as part of the crew. This vacation has truly been the most magnificent and enjoyable one yet! I wish the guys all the best, and a fantastic trip further on. Safe sailing! Elise.
The underwater ballet.
VLOG Episode 04: Cruising in the Caribbean
Vacation in France
December 29. saw the embarkment of Hanna which increased the number of souls on board to five. The day after Hanna was entered into the ship’s manifest we departed Rodney Bay for Antigua. However, when we were halfway to the french island of Martinique it was decided that sailing for more than 24 hours with less-than-weathered guests was unwise. Furthermore, Hanna was flying back to Europe in just over a week and we didn’t want to rush south.
Instead of sailing for well over a day we sailed a little less than four hours and anchored outside Martinique’s capital Fort-de-France. On Martinique, it turns out that the New Year celebration starts the day before the actual day. Public fireworks and a free concert was a very nice arrival treat! New Years Eve was spent wining and dining at a hotel in the capital in the company of the crew of S/Y Spinnvill, another Norwegian yacht.
Fort-de-France was larger than any other town we had visited yet in the Caribbean, so we were able to stack up on enough “tea and biscuits” to last us for a long time. A very smart thing to do, as the last week has been spent doing almost nothing. It is safe to say that the last week has been amongst the most relaxing weeks aboard S/Y CoCo so far.
We have visited several places, never more than an hour or two of sailing apart. First we visited Anse Noire and Anse Dufour. Sebastian had read about these two twin bays before departing Oslo. The entire crew enjoyed some excellent snorkelling and Cpt. Peter even managed too harpoon us some fresh fish for dinner one night. The second place we visited after Fort-de-France was Grand Anse d’Arlet. As the name not very subtly gives away if one knows a bit of french, this is a large bay. We enjoyed many a cup of rum punch in this large bay. Finally, we are currently anchored just off Cul-de-Sac du Marin.
Even at it’s most relaxing, life aboard can be challenging. The last week’s challenge has been a leaking toilet. To understand what has happened, one needs a bit of background information. You see, the toilets aboard S/Y CoCo are a bit special compared to the typical sailing yacht. When CoCo was new it was delivered with very nice Baby Blake toilets in real porcelain with hand-operated pumps for flushing. The standard today is plastic toilets from Jabsco with electrical pumps for flushing. During a thorough overhaul in Finland the toilets aboard CoCo was modernised. As the owners wanted to keep the nice porcelain toilets, a special adapter was fashioned to make the vintage Blake toilets fit a Jabsco base. This is the source of our worries. So far we have regrettably not found a way to remedy our leaking toilet (luckily only one of them are broken!). Regardless, the spirit aboard remains, as always, positive.
Happy guys in the dinghy during transport to or from a beach bar. Location unknown. From left: Henrik, Peter.
Hanna was thoroughly thrilled with the table decoration on New Years Eve.
Henrik enjoying one of the last Pitons from St. Lucia.
Fireworks in Fort-de-France.
Elise found a diving mask very handy when chopping onions in the galley.
The photographer found some time to experiment. Peter was the victim.
Elise has not been complaining while aboard CoCo.
All smiles from Henrik.
Captain Peter battling the toilet trouble.
Some sailing yachts apparently come without sails. And mast!
Hanna and Elise (from left) enjoying a rum punch.
Caribbean Christmas
With temperatures well above freezing, and with a lack of snow, it was difficult to get into the christmas spirit for the crew of S/Y CoCo. In a brave Norwegian manner and with positive spirit, we managed to enjoy ourselves nevertheless!
The last couple of days have seen the arrival of Elise Møvik, a die-hard fan of the guys from Norway, who just had to be there for the ARC price-giving ceremony. If you didn’t catch the latest episode of our internet TV programme, we are proud to announce, yet again, that S/Y CoCo won cruising class A of the ARC. Out newfound fame has also brought us some coverage in the media, namely and article in the Norwegian sailing magazine Seilas.
After a thorough victory celebration, it was time to settle into the holiday spirit. Christmas Eve was spent on Bequia, a somewhat larger island in the Grenadines. It is tradition for Norwegians who are cruising the Caribbean to gather here for Christmas. We had our Christmas dinner on the beach, with our feet in the sand, together with some 30-odd Norwegian sailors.
On Christmas Day we set sail for Tobago Cays, an archipelago comprising five small uninhabited Islands. One of the Islands, Petit Tabac, is where Jack Sparrow and Elisabeth swan is stranded in Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl. Boxing Day was spent snorkelling amongst fish, corals and sea turtles – a truly amazing experience! In the evening Captain Peter Jr. cooked up a delicious surf and turf dinner comprising freshly caught lobster and some lamb we had left over from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
As I am writing this we are anchored outside Canouan, on our way back to Saint Lucia to pick up another guest for New Years!
Christmas Eve. So many dinghies and ropes, so few fastening points.
Christmas Dinner. From left: Sebastian, Peter, Elise and Henrik
Tobago Cays in sight!
Snorkelling time!
Assorted fish.
Lobster killing, before grilling
Caribbean Expedition 2015 