Jamaica
We always considered Jamaica as something of a bridge island on our way from Antigua. The plan was to visit Monsteratt, St.Kitts and Nevis, plus the Dominican Republic along the way however, once again our plans were thwarted. In the end we undertook a fairly long passage of over 850 nm to sail directly to Port Antonio on the North East corner of Jamaica.
Rule number one, check your Sat phone software can still download weather information! En route we ended up using the Sat phone to call Lynne's parents who kindly resolved what turned out to be a password issue.
It took us a total of 8 days on what was at times a frustrating passage. Our sea berth was as cosy as ever, and for the most part we really enjoyed it. Even finding time to make some bread.
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| Proving time |
It did get a little frustrating at times as even the forecasts we got from passing ships turned out not to be that accurate. The issue was simply not much wind for most of the time. Also being almost dead down wind, we only had one sail plan option and that was to use the whisker pole to pole out the genoa in the light airs. This worked pretty well for much of the time, but we still ended up motoring for over 48 hours.
Not really knowing what to expect we nosed into the Western Bay of Port Antonio, and called up Errol Flynn Marina for instructions regarding clearing in. We were directed to come along side and within a couple of hours had completed our entry requirements, having had Customs, Immigration and even the Coastguard on board. No cupboards opened or floorboards lifted, just a few questions and a raft of form filling.
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| Errol Flynn Marina |
Jamaica has a strange to us system whereby you need to notify Customs and Immigration each time you arrive or leave one of the Ports of Entry, even if you have coast-wide clearance. No clue as to why, but rules are rules.
We had not planned to stay in the marina as it would have worked out at over $45 US a night, but the staff told us we could pick up a mooring buoy for just $25 per night. We could also anchor free of charge in the bay around the corner, but would have to pay $25 dollars to use the dinghy dock! We decided on a mooring buoy. On the plus side we did get to use the excellent facilities, and loved the hot showers.
Our first foray into the nearby town on foot was interesting. It was hard to walk too far without being asked if we needed help. Of course if we had taken up the offer, our friendly entrepreneur would then want paying. Instead we followed our senses, found an ATM, mobile phone shop for a wifi data SIM card, and a supermarket of sorts. The marina staff advised us not to venture forth into the town at night, which is probably good advice. We should mention that the oranges in Jamaica are the best yet!
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| Best fresh orange juice in the Caribbean |
It was during our short stay in Port Antonio that we met the captain and crew of the yacht Tandemeer. Tandemeer is one of the yachts owned by the International Rescue Group (IRG), carrying out disaster relief throughout the Caribbean. Captain Sequoia Sun and his volunteer crew recently provided aid to Ile a Vache in Haiti, that was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. One of their projects has been to build a water distribution system to pump water from a community well, up over a steep hill to one village half a mile away, where the women and children still have to carry water by hand. We were invited to join them for dinner on our second night in Jamaica and learned more about the excellent work they do. Well done Sequoia, John, Mike, Sky, Anais and Pooch for giving up your time to help others in need. If you would like to know more about the International Rescue Group, or would like to donate, click on one of the following links:-
After a really pleasant stay in Port Antonio, we set sail on a 44 nm passage to Ocho Rios where we would rendezvous with Lynne's brother Phill. He would be flying out to meet us for a two week vacation. It turned out to be a relaxed downwind sail until the last hour, when the wind died off and we popped the engine on. We anchored in the bay not far from the beach and the Cruise Ship dock. We had been a little apprehensive about anchoring here as we had read or been told that the music would be over powering from the hotels, and jet skis would pester us all day long. We are pleased to report first hand that this was one of the nicest anchorages we had been in for a very long time. What music we could hear was very agreeable, not too loud and not played into the early hours. If we did see a jet ski we can't recall.
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| Azzy dwarfed by Cruise Ship |
Before Phill arrived we asked one of the dive schools if they could clean the growth from the rudder and propeller as we couldn't reach these. To our amazement, they managed to do so without the use of scuba tanks and just wore snorkel masks.
Jamaica is known as 'The Land of Wood and Water', but would be more aptly named 'The Land of Weed!' Our first trip into town was a little more full on than in Port Antonio. It was nearly impossible to walk more than 100 metres without being asked if we wanted a taxi and or some weed. If not weed then something a little stronger! There is a cruise ship in nearly every day, and sometimes two, so we were taken for being wealthy passengers off one of these.
Our plan had been simple. Visit the bank to use an ATM, and go to the supermarket. Both of which we had been given directions by a fellow yachtie. Along the way we got accosted by a tall wiry local man who not quite forcibly, but not far off, insisted that we visit his nearby vegetable market stall. Reluctantly with the assurance of 'no charge, just helping the tourists', we arrived at the vegetable stall and tall wiry local man started to pick up a selection of vegetables to play some sort of guessing game. Sadly for him, having spent a season in the Caribbean, we are accustomed to what a Yam, Dasheen and Plantain look like, although we could have guessed banana for the plantain as they look nearly identical. Tall wiry local man (TWLM) seemed now to be on the back foot. Also it was clearly not his stall, nor we think did he know the owner who looked on a little perplexed at the guess the vegetable game. Next up TWLM took us up the street to a hotel about half a mile away, and in the opposite direction we wanted to go in. We then strolled through the foyer to see the reef we can see from the boat, to be told that a James Bond film was filmed here. We said our thank yous and started to walk back in the direction we wanted to go, but TWLM caught us up and said he had been such a good guide we should give him a good tip!! We did, but it was a verbal one and we don't think he liked it.
A couple of days later Phill arrived early evening to the nearby little marina. He had been held up at the airport as he had declared on his landing card that he was staying on 'yacht Aztec Dream in Ocho Rios'. The Immigration staff could find no record of us being there, so after Phill called Lynne on her mobile, we visited the Port Police in the marina and got them to speak to Immigration at the airport. Within minutes, all was sorted and he was on his way. He had missed his booked coach transfer so the tour rep at the airport organised a separate mini bus just for him.
We had a few boat related jobs to do. The priority was the windlass which needed a good clean on the top side and below deck we installed a new set of brushes on the motor. The old ones were not bad at all so we kept those as spares.
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| Windlass Motor |
Lynne and Phill did a trip just along the coast to the famous Dunn's River Falls. They had waited for a day when no cruise ship was in, but it was still packed with tourists.
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| Dunns River Falls |
In our planning, which we don't know why we bother with, the intention was to spend a night in Discovery Bay, then Falmouth Bay, before arriving at Montego Bay. We ended up staying an extra day in Ocho Rios, as it was not so straightforward to get our coast-wide cruising clearance whilst a cruise ship was in town! With this in mind Plan B was to skip Discovery Bay, but still stay in Falmouth. We quite liked Ocho Rios. It was interesting watching the huge cruise ships come and go, and one or two street vendors started to recognise us when we walked past most days. Instead of the usual tourist banter it was 'hello, good to see you again'. Lynne befriended one seller and bought a T-shirt of one of her idols... Bob Marley. Also, the reef kept the swell out of the anchorage so it was as calm as could be. It might have been a different story if the wind had backed to the North though.
The sail to Falmouth was a feisty downwinder in a huge swell. Fair play to Phill for braving the conditions, and somehow still managing to smoke! We attempted to enter Falmouth Bay, but even with no sails and the engine in idle, we were doing 4 knots bare poled in the 30 plus knots of wind. As our anchoring spot was inside a narrow and very shallow reef, we aborted and carried on to Montego Bay. It was disappointing not to be able to stay in Falmouth as we had a few trips planned from there, but safety must always come first and we were all agreed that the anchorage was just too dangerous in those conditions.
We arrived in 'Mo Bay' as the locals know it, late afternoon, and found a spot recommended to us by a lovely and very funny Dutch couple Loud and Marlene, who we met in Ocho Rios. Loud is pronounced Lud by the way. The spot was just off Pier 1, a well known and highly rated restaurant. A couple of days later we enjoyed a lovely meal there to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary.
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| Lynnes shirt was LOUD |
The problem with being in Mo Bay is twofold. Firstly, there is really not a lot to do. It is just a very busy, dirty and noisy city, and secondly, it is very exposed to the North wind and associated swell, as we found out a few days later. Now no one likes a rolly anchorage, it just gets weary, and for our visiting non-sailor family member it just got too much. Phill ended up booking into a hotel on his penultimate night. Neither of us could blame him as it was uncomfortable, even for us. The ironic thing was, about two hours after he bade us farewell, the swell had all but disappeared.
The next day was time to get Ship Shape again. We removed the bedding from Phill's cabin and bagged it up with the rest of the laundry. We redistributed the contents of the port cabin for balance, and cleaned Phill's heads from top to bottom. After that we took the laundry to the yacht club, about a half mile rib ride away, and took over 4 empty 20 litre jerry cans to fill with diesel.
We picked up the laundry the next day, and whilst ashore arranged for Customs and Immigration to visit us the day before our intended departure for Cuba at the end of the week, so they could clear us out of the country. We also managed to fit in a final provision shop at the Mega Mart.
Next up, Cuba!
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