18th February 2026 | Odometer: 1109nm | Puerto Rico
We were finally free of the marina! All the last minute jobs done, the boat was clean and we were full of fuel and water. Ready to go exploring again!
We pushed out of the marina on a beautifully calm morning, no dramas at all and headed south round the the south-east end of Puerto Rico. We were headed to a very popular bay – Salinas. The passage here was downwind and a lovely day for a six hour cruise. We arrived into the bay, did a long slow loop through to find a nice spot, and realised that the water was getting murkier the further in we went! So we headed back out to the mouth of the bay where the water was clear and inviting – anchoring was easy and we immediately took a swim to cool off.
We had a rest then set out on our dinghy to explore. There are so many boats here, and so many of them are absolutely decrepit (or sunk) boats. This bay definitely has a big contingent of parked-here-to-die boats and owners.
There are a number of cute little mangrove islands around the entrance and we pulled onto one of these as part of our dinghysploring.
On the way back to the boat we were treated to a very showy flock of pelicans diving for their dinner. But more surprisingly, amongst the pelicans we saw a large school of big fish (we suspect tarpon) surfacing to catch the small fish and bugs the pelicans were going for. We haven’t seen them schooling like that before so that was pretty cool!
Later that evening we were sitting on the roof enjoying the sunset when we heard the distinctive “whoosh” breathing noise of a manatee! Quick as a flash we were onto the roof and looking around – there! We spent the next hour or so watching the manatees in the bay surface all around us while the evening cooled off. So cool!
Wingfoil Tow Trouble
We continued making our way west along the south coast of Puerto Rico. It’s so beautiful through here with long sections of barrier reef all along the coastline. Yes, you have to dodge the reefs and pay attention while driving along, but the protected waters inside are gorgeous and the mountains on the mainland behind are stunning. This entire coastline was an absolutely surprising delight to us!
After the easy downwind cruise we entered between some shallow reefs into a wide bay protected on all sides by mangroves. After the calm passage, we were both full of energy and Ryan decided to pull out his wingfoiling gear to go through it all, get all the serial numbers and registrations done and to have a go of course!
He did really well for his first attempt but obviously knew he would wind up further and further downwind. We had organised for him to whistle (he has a super loud whistle) when he is ready for me to come get him and tow him back upwind to the boat.
Three flaws in this great plan.
- You can’t hear someone downwind of you whistling.
- We don’t have a tow rope.
- I have no idea how to tow someone.
Ensue, chaos. 😂
I never heard him whistling (which apparently he had been doing for a while) but eventually I was like, wow, he is really far away I better go get him!
So I set out on the dinghy and took a random line we had spare with me. I had it tied onto the back of the dinghy already but unfortunately this line was the sinky type – you throw it in the water… it immediately sinks. So you can’t grab it, and it’s right next to the prop of the dinghy. 😰
So I finally catch up to him, by which point he is nearly run aground onto the shallow mangroves at the back of the bay. I threw him the line and he caught it, all good. And off I went! Sideways. Then more sideways! Then MORE SIDEWAYS! ARGGGH!
Driving the dinghy with the weight of Ryan’s board, wing and him dragging on one side – I had no idea how to get the boat to turn upwind and it kept not doing what I expected! The handling was completely different to what I was used to! In my attempts to turn upwind, I was getting more desperate and then accidentally floored it and managed to spin a full 360 in the dinghy. Meanwhile, Ryan let go of the the rope and was just like what on earth are you doing!? Hahahahah oh my god. So stressful. In the process I had also inadvertently pulled him even closer and nearly over the mangroves! Errrrrk!
Through all this, I was freaking out about the line potentially getting caught in the prop, I had no idea how much pressure the back of the dinghy prop shaft could take, or how fast I was meant to be going.
Anyway, eventually I got the dinghy in the right direction, with Ryan holding the other end of the line. We made it back to the boat, no damage, no lines caught and both still alive. Don’t worry – we’re still married. 😂😂😂
So, lessons learnt. We need to do towing lessons haha. Having had a childhood doing water sports like skiing it hadn’t even occurred to Ryan that I might need to learn how to be a towboat driver. I had no idea how different it would be to normal!
Second lesson learnt – we need the right tow rope! After a bit of scrounging we remembered we did have one floating line that was tucked way away which we pulled out for next time. Another improvement made was having a bridle across the back of the dinghy that will distribute the load more reasonably across the boat. Meaning towing is about a thousand times easier! So we sorted one out for the next attempt!
And lastly, we came up with some hand / body signals for sorting out the pickups and faster/slower haha. Again, I didn’t even realise these were things that are “known” amongst the wakeboarding / skiing folks out there hahahhaha. Anyway, it was exciting!
Sunset Recovery
We continued our sunset ritual of sitting on the roof with a sundowner, and looking west the sky was truly stunning. One of the better sunset skies. We were enjoying it when we noticed some local fisherman nearby were scrambling to pack up quickly and hightailed it outta there! We turned around to the east and saw this enormous storm coming right for us – we quickly ducked back inside and closed everything up – always a bit exciting when a big storm comes through! It was dramatic and intense, and thankfully short, and we were able to emerge once more to enjoy the final stages of the sunset. Absolutely gorgeous.
You must be logged in to post a comment.