Log Date: December 16, 2004

Location: Port Antonio, Jamaica

We have a good weather window coming up in front of us. Looks like we will be heading out tomorrow. We should be in the San Blas Islands, Panama by X-mas.  What a place to spend the holiday!  We are both anxious/excited to finish the first leg of this journey.  

The trip from Florida was good.  Within 3 miles from shore we picked up the infamous Gulf Stream.  The winds and waves over the Gulf Stream can be very intense - it virtually has its own weather system. Anyway, at this point the "Stream" is about 35 miles wide (the width varies from where you actually decide to cross).   The strong northerly current makes the trip much longer since you are "crabbing" across the Stream.  It is impossible to make a straight shot because of the 2-3K current pushing you north.  We made it across with only one small squall in about 12 hours. We had to motor most of the way because of the light winds.  

We had some more interesting weather and a lot of freighter and cruise ship traffic all through the Windward Passage (channel between Cuba and Haiti).  The cruise ships show up as a huge white glow on the horizon (15 miles +/- away).  As they get closer and closer the more individual lights you pick up.  By the time they are passing you (hopefully a couple miles away!) they look like x-mas trees and are humongous!  The freighters look like a light bulb on the horizon and are much harder to see until they get closer. We have radar that monitors their relative position to us, which helps us to know which way they are heading. We certainly stay out of their way.  

We had a dolphin show one afternoon.  We were sailing along and a school of "Atlantic Spotted Dolphin" came to bow ride.  There were mothers and calves swimming in unison right next to the bow.  The water was so clear I could see their every movement like I was watching them under glass.  The clear nights offered spectacular star shows with shooting stars one after another.  One night there was a lighting storm about 150 miles away with fantastic explosions of light on the horizon. Just call us the "nature girls". 

We are anchored in the Bight of Acklin Island - you could call it a harbor but is really open shallow water surrounded by "curved coastline" on three sides.  There is very little protection from wind and waves and it has been blowing 20-25K's for the past few days and we are rocking and rolling.  We tucked in here to get out the weather and large 8' plus seas that are "out there". Believe me, this is better.  The Acklins are relatively remote islands.  Since our dinghy was packed away we didn't go on shore. However, we are the only boat anchored and have only seen only one small (16') fishing boat since we arrived.  

The passage between Cuba and Haiti was busy with traffic.  We changed our course a number of times to avoid the freighters. For some reason the Captains actually responded when we hailed them. One even wished me a “good day dear”. 

We diverted into Port Antonio, Jamaica because the forecast was for 16 foot seas.  We were in no real hurry and heck why not stop in Jamaica for a few days of R&R ‘mon’.  We tried to anchor but had a problem with our windlass so we ended up at the dock.  It was cheap in US$ and they had laundry facilities – clean sheets tonight! 

Jamaica is beautiful rolling green mountains, with a rain forest, blue mountain coffee and deep seas right up to land. It rained for part of most of the days and there was usually a haze over the mountains. Clearing in was easy as the officials all came to the boat.

Port Antonio is not a tourist town – the two white girls stuck out like a sore thumb.  We were escorted by a local named John who was hustling to make a buck and actually we were grateful for his assistance.  This was our first attempt at buying fruits and veggies in an outdoor market.  I am certain John brought us to all his buddies so they could make the most off of us two gringos.

We had no idea that the exchange rate was 60/1 so when the woman at the market told us it was 50 Jamaican dollars for two cucumbers and I exclaimed “what!” She quickly saw that I was a savvy shopper that knew my prices and reduced hers to 40.  I was thinking in US$ and didn’t really have a clue. Susan says to me later good negotiating – I just chuckled to myself. Sometimes we luck out.  But mostly we just overpay.

We were surprised to smell ganja and find some Rastafarians smoking at one end of the market – I believe it is even illegal there ‘mon’. 

Enjoying Life Onboard.

Laura and Susan

SV Mystic Traveler