We embark on a bouncy 800 nautical mile sail across the Caribbean Sea from Panama to the Dominican Republic with a quick stopover in Colombia to wait for better weather.
After departing Puerto Obaldia, Panama, we headed northeast towards the northern tip of Colombia. The weather forecast looked promising as a small rotating weather pattern was building along the east coast of Panama. We hoped to use the momentum of the spinning to push us up the Colombian coast and then across the Caribbean Sea. Unfortunately, despite downloading up to date weather data every day on our crossing, the forecast did not turn out to be quite accurate.
A pit stop in Colombia
We made fast progress along the Columbian coast, though mostly across or against the wind, but with a series of helpful following currents. After four days, we approached Cabo de la Vela and faced strong gusty winds, stacked waves and countering currents in our path to the northeast. Instead of getting beat up, we tucked in behind the bare hills of the cape to wait for milder conditions. Such a strange view that reminded us of the landscape in Mexico’s Baja California. No trees or major vegetation, just cacti and rocky outcrops, despite still being in the tropics.
Two days later, the forecast called for a lull in the east winds around the cape and we set out for the crossing. Since the rotating weather system never materialized, we had to motor to get around the point at Cabo de la Vela, then set sail very close to the east wind and make our way toward the Dominican Republic. The winds and currents we encountered on the crossing didn’t allow us to make any eastward progress which was unfortunate since our goal was actually to reach Puerto Rico directly.
Arrival in the Dominican Republic
We reached Neiba Bay late at night in 20+ knots of east wind and decided to heave too (drifting the boat without anchoring) and wait until sunrise to motor into the anchorage in front of the town of Barahona. At sunrise, the wind had diminished and we easily made our way into the harbor. After raising the yellow Q flag (quarantine, when newly arriving in a country) and dropping the anchor, we waited for the officials to arrive to check us into the Dominican Republic. Three officials visited us on board and looked through all our cabinets. Soon thereafter we went to the Immigration Office to have our passports stamped.
Our first impression of the Dominican Republic was that everything is very relaxed. Unfortunately, the shorelines were littered with plastic waste and the water was murky, but all of the locals in town seemed cheery and helpful. After stocking up on much needed groceries, we settled in to wait until the east winds eased to continue on to the west coast of Puerto Rico.
