A Fishing Tale – Return to the Bahamas

By, Michael Daubenberger

We exited the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas and put away the poles as we entered the Dominican Republic (DR).  Not with one last bit of excitement however.  It was early morning and we were making our last 120 mile push across the Windward Passage to the DR.  Our course had us skirting the banks of the Turks and Caicos as we headed south.  I was at the helm and Sara was manning the lines when the fish struck.  Zing the line went and down goes the pole tip.  It’s a big one.  Sara grabs the pole as I ease the boat into the wind and slow her down from 6.5 knots to a more manageable 3.  Sara fights the fish and gets her up to the boat.  It looks like our biggest Mahi yet.  At least 55 inches head to tail.  I reach down and grab the line right before the leader.  The fish shakes and the line breaks.   What luck after we had already announced dinner for all on the VHF.  Sara is disgusted that I didn’t grab the leader and I am also. 

Two weeks in the DR without a line in the water sure seemed like a long time and we were getting the fishing itch long before we left.  The first leg was a long one and a nasty one.  We set out at night in a heavy sea with a stiff breeze and quickly found ourselves rolled into a state of constant queasiness.  It was no time to be fishing and we couldn’t muster the energy to toss out the lines during the whole 20 hour trip.  Not the most heroic return to the seas!!

We arrived in the Turks and Caicos after fishing a 50 mile passage without a single strike.  Time to slip in the water and try some hands on fishing.  Success came quickly when Sara spotted a spanish lobster only minutes after entering the water.  Dinner was ours!!  The spanish lobster looks like a huge cockroach and was known to me growing up as a “Cockaroacha Del Mar” a name coined by my father.  It didn’t taste like a cockroach!!

Our next leg of the trip was from Mayaguana to Acklins Island.  Another 70 mile passage and another passage with no success.  The fish were waiting for something and that something came in the form of Matt and Cindy.  Our first trip with our new guests was a short one.  5 miles between Lovely Bay and Attwood Harbor.  The winds were light and our speed slow.  Hardly the best conditions for picking up a nice catch.  I had forgot we were fishing when I saw the line run.  In an instant it was all hands on deck.  Cindy grabbed the pole, I grabbed the wheel, Sara secured the cockpit, and Matt rolled in the jib.  From the looks of it this fish was a fighter and it was going deep.  A good sign as far as we were concerned.  Fish that dive deep are typically wahoo or tuna.  Two of our favorites!  Cindy was battling hard to keep the pole tip up and get the fish in before it got off or a shark got it.  She did it!! Our first keeper blackfin Tuna!! 

Next up Matt’s tune.  It didn’t take long.  Our next trip was from Attwood harbor to Landrail point.  30 miles.  About 15 miles in the line started running and Matt grabbed it.  We slowed the boat as Matt reeled her in.  This time a 37 inch Mahi.  The perfect compliment to our tuna resting in the fridge!!

Our trip to landrail was highlighted by another fishing trip with some of the local guys Jeffery, Woody, and Lorenzo.  We headed south to long cay to stir up some grouper.  The weather was bad but the spearfishing was great.  All told we took 5 Hogfish, 2 Yellowfin grouper, and 5 Nassau grouper.  The Carcasses were fed to the sharks.  A great chance to test out our new GoPro.

The trip to Rum Cay was another success.  About 14 miles from our destination we hooked into a fighter.  Sara grabbed the pole and I grabbed the helm as Matt and Cindy rolled in the jib.  The fight was on!  Sara worked him in and he worked his way under the boat dragging the pole tip into the water with him.  Time for a tack, and then a jibe to keep him from getting tangled.  Sara got the fish to the boat.  It was a nice Yellowfin Tuna!  The prize jewel of our culinary catch!  We bled him out over the side and attracted the attention of and 8 foot oceanic white tip shark.  Everyone was careful to stay on the boat!

With the fish cleaned, it was time to dispose of the body.  Over the side he went.  Again we attracted a shark.  This time a 10 foot Hammerhead!!  He circled our boat for the next hour.  

Seasickness Leaving the Dominican Republic

Tropical flower

We had a fabulous two weeks in the Dominican Republic.  Enjoying the fruit and vegetables.  Eating out for under $10 for both of us.  Enjoying the $1.50 22 oz. beers - Presidente and Bohemia.  And touring around the island by land, taking several day trips to Puerta Plata, Sosua and Santiago.  We also made several great friends in Luperon, other cruisers, who we were sad to say good-bye to when the time came to leave.

At the dock in Luperon

Our return voyage back to the Bahamas from the Dominican Republic differed in two ways from the arrival:  seasickness and speed.  We left Luperon harbor just before sunset and had little time to adjust to the high, jolting seas before the horizon disappeared into the darkness.  Having the horizon to focus your eyes on is key in preventing seasickness when vigorously rolling back and forth in a boat.  Also, being on land and a very calm, still anchorage for 2 weeks, you begin to lose some of that sea tolerance to motion sickness.

Tanqueray anchored in Luperon

On land for a night in our $25 hotel room in Luperon

We both had spent the past week recovering from a cold that we picked up while taking public transportation through the island.  Public transportation in the Dominican Republic consists of jumping in a Toyota Corolla (taxi) with 6 other people already in the car.  When you are use to being alone at sea, void of all germs, and then are suddenly thrown into a packed car where people are lapping up, germs are your worst enemy.  That being said, we had a rough voyage leaving the Dominican Republic.

Country side in the Dominican Repulic (view from taxi)

Beach in Sosua

Catholic church in Puerta Plata

Visiting the Big City - Santiago

Museum in Santiago

About an hour into the trip, Mike said he wasn’t feeling too well.  I thought I was fine, but little did I know that I was getting seasick too.  In the end, I beat him to it, and threw up.  I thought I’d feel much better after puking, but quite the opposite happened.  I couldn’t stop throwing up and I was not much help to Mike at the helm.  At this point, Mike didn’t have many options, so he continued to steer the boat along with trusty Otto (our electric auto-helm; we treat as a crew member) through the night.  Meanwhile, I lay in misery on the floor with no strength to grab a pillow, still in my foulies, a puke bucket by my side and my head resting questionably close to Nelly’s rancid litter box that was way over due for a cleaning. 

Our mechanic, Marino, who fixed out
outboard for $9, in the DR

Thank you Mike for taking this
lovely picture of me seasick.

Yes, I did consider death.  It was a horrible feeling and I thought I’d be much better off dead than seasick!  I finally feel asleep and awoke in the Turks and Caicos a little after sunrise.  Mike was exhausted at this point, so I took over at the helm, feeling much better.  I’m glad seasickness is a rare occasion for me, it would be tough to travel feeling that sickly. 

Market in the DR

The rough seas were subsiding as we entered into the banks of the Turks and Caicos.   We arrived early afternoon to French Cay and anchored for the night.  We were overwhelmed with the beautiful crystal clear blue waters as we entered the anchorage.  It’s good to be on our way home to the Bahamas!

Mango's and avocado's!

Anchorage in Luperon

For my BPA friends.  Transmission towers in the Dominican Republic.

Mike in the bosun's chair about to be hoisted up the mast

Mike going up a friends mast to do some work

Mike at a restaurant in Luperon 

Waterfalls

Going down the natural waterslide

Beyond Bahamas

Travel day!  We cleared out of the Bahamas the previous day and are heading to the Dominican Republic.  We leave Abraham’s Bay, Mayaguana around 7am the 29^th of March.  After an hour of motor sailing, we shut down the engine and sail 3-4 knots.  The wind begins to shift and we pick up speed to 5-6-7 knots.  Smooth seas, sun out, music on, what more can I say, it’s a great day out on the water.  We’re comfortable and cruising fast towards our destination, French Cay, located in the Turks and Caicos.  We plan to spend the night there and then continue on to the Dominican Republic the next morning.

Sara at Luperon bay

By 6pm, we arrive at the south-end of West Caicos, only 16-miles to go.  We turn the corner and beat (this is when the wind is on the nose of the boat, a hard point of sail) across the banks the last 16-miles, elongating our trip another 6 hours.  Navigating into the anchorage by midnight, we drop the anchor and crash out.  Tomorrow will be longer yet.

Lind sighted - West Caicos

West Caicos sailing by

Nelly wedge against the starboard side

Six hours of sleep, if that, we wake up to the weather forecast.  Not sounding good for our original plan to cross the banks to east Turks and cross to the Dominican Republic from there.  Mike hails the other sailboats in the anchorage to see if anyone is heading to the DR.  Lucky us, two are heading straight there and two are heading across the banks.  We leave shortly with Wayward Wind and Spray, both heading in the same direction.  This is great news, to have other sailors within radio contact for a long crossing, one of the toughest in the Caribbean chain.  We head southeast to the Dominican Republic. 

Food along the way

Mike at the helm

The wind direction starts in the northeast, shifting to the east later in the day.  We start out flying, sailing 7 knots, close to our maximum hull speed, but eventually slow down as the wind shifts more out of the east.  In total, we sailed 35 hours from French Cay to reach our destination of Luperon, Dominican Republic by 6pm the following day.

Nelly learned to switch bunks for each tack

By nightfall, our progress slowed and we reefed in the sails to feel more comfortable while traveling in the dark.  We motor sailed on and off as needed for speed and battery charging, a total of 14 hours with the engine on.  By 9pm, we were ready to begin actual shifts at the helm (steering the boat).  I took the first shift from 9pm to midnight, while Mike napped below.  Mike took over from 12am - 3:30am and then I picked up from 3:30am-sunrise (6:30am).  At sunrise, I spotted LAND!   The beautiful green, jutting mountains of the Dominican Republic were a drastic difference from the flat and barren islands of the Bahamas, which don’t peak above 300 feet.

Sunrise at sea

Land sighted

We were so close to somewhere new and exciting!  I go down below and nap until 9:30am at which time I go into the aft cabin to get some drinking water before heading up to the cockpit with Mike.  To my unpleasant surprise, I see a couple inches of water on the floor and the water jugs floating.  For those that have a hard time waking up in the mornings, this will do it – the rush of adrenaline that the boat may be sinking is not a good one.  I call up to Mike that there is water in the back room and he says, “Of course there is, that’s where the water is kept”.  I relay, not that type of water and he comes jumping down below.

To our good fortune it was a simple fix.  We could see land, but were still 9 miles north of getting there and 23 miles from Luperon further east.  Mike identifies the problem, a leak in the cooling line to the engine.  I shut off the engine, while Mike goes below to repair the leak. 

Entering Luperon harbor

During this time, there is not the slightest breeze, so the Tanqueray is left bouncing around in the sea, getting closer and closer to Haiti than the DR.  Once the engine is fixed, we turn it on and start to make some headway towards our destination, very slowly.

Nelly at anchorage in Luperon

Luperon harbor - boats at anchor

Egrets at anchorage

Tack in, tack out, we work our way up the coast trying to lay the Luperon entrance with the wind on our nose.  Finally we get close enough to lay the entrance with the engine on.  We’re heading in.  It’s the most beautiful, calmest entrance we have seen, and maybe we are biased after being at sea for 35 hours, but we already love it here.  Granted the water is not crystal clear, as in the Bahamas, but the tall green mountains and cliffs dropping into the sea are a stark contrast to the sandy, flat Bahamas. 

We see fisherman at work, in wooden canoes, as we enter the harbor and then a multitude of sailboats, mostly blue water cruisers, while we enter in our 32-foot weekend warrior, as Mike calls her.

In town in Luperon

We have arrived, 193 miles from the Bahamas!  We have about 2 weeks to explore the Dominican Republic before we need to head back to Crooked Island to pick up our guests, Cindy and Matt.  The food is great here, fresh fruits and vegetables, the people are amazingly friendly, the scenery is beautiful and it is HOT.

Mike celebrating arrival to the DR