March 4-7 Vieques

Thursday, March 4th we picked up a few provisions from the local market which for its size had a surprisingly good selection and meat counter. We left for the island of Vieques around 11am, expecting a short 2 hour hop. Not the case! As we approached the northeastern shore of Vieques, we heard Vieques Range Control hail another boat over the radio. They never responded to the call but we thought we should investigate since we were on a similar path. Two-thirds of Vieques is owned by the US Navy, and although aerial bombing practice ceased several years ago, the island is still used for range and artillery practice. Guess what, the men and women in blue are practicing this week. They were very friendly to us on the radio since we had proactively contacted them and requested instruction. They directed us to a bay on the other side of the island. Only 25 miles away! Unfortunately this meant a long haul around the island and that we would not arrive to the anchorage until 4pm or so, giving the restricted zone and ample cushion.
Midway through our new and improved voyage, we spotted our first whale! We were in about 90 feet of water and he was about 200 yards off our port beam. He breached the water twice, waving his tail and flipper in the air. He blew out his blow hole a couple of times for effect and then was gone into the deep. It was a spectacular sight to see but we are sort of glad he appears to have gone another direction as we keep a close eye on the depth sounder lest he pass under us. Although it is a rare occurrence, whales and boats do collide, and with the hole they can make in the side of a fiberglass boat, the whale always wins.
Another lagniappe was that the bay to which we were directed by the Range Control, Puerto Ferro, is one of the bioluminescent coves that I really wanted to see. I found myself in a quandary. According to the cruising guides, the thing to do here is dive in the water from the deck of the boat and experience thousands of sparklies on your body. Well. The water is only 8 feet deep and being completely surrounded by mangroves, it looks murky in the daylight and is surely filled will all kinds of unseen biting and stinging things that are attracted to mangrove coves. We waited for the night after making the decision that neither of us is going in this water. We contented ourselves to splash the ladder up and down and to agitate the water by hanging our feet off the ladder and splashing around. It was quite a sight but not enough to make me want to jump in it. Of note is that I had talked to my parents as it got dark (great cell reception but no internet available except military and it is encrypted) and my mom suggested an excellent experiment. I hung off the back of the boat and filled an empty rum bottle with the water, capped it and shook it up. No luck, but it did luminesce when I poured it back in the water.
On Saturday we went around the corner to Esperanza Sun Bay and took a mooring ball. It was the last day before the arrival of another front which was predicted to switch the winds from south to north and hopefully reverse the swell that makes us roll. We snorkeled and made a long dinghy run into town for a few bits. We pulled into Esperanza on Sunday hoping the anchorage would have wireless internet. Not so. The front that blew in last night is here. Winds now from the north (brrrr!) but it has been windy, cloudy and misty/rainy all day.

Puerto Ferro:

Esperanza:

We were trying to find a market to get some bread and a bottle of rum. "Go to Graffiti Rock and turn left." We figured it out.

Before:

After.

"The skies are charcoal gray. It's a dreary downtown day."

Date yourself and finish the verse. In English. Smartypants.