Bonus Trip: Dominican Republic

On the night before we left for Nassau, I received a call from Steve and Ross with some bad/good news regarding our trip. The alleged bad news was that the sailboat was still sitting in the sling at the boatyard awaiting additional paint and work. It would be sailable before we left the Bahamas; however, there would be no sailing immediately upon our arrival. In addition, weather forecasts for the weekend were not looking to good (highs only in the 70’s and strong winds ) which made the prospect of any water sports unlikely.

The good news was that Ross had to deliver a 58’ Hatteras motor yahct from Harbor Island (Bahamas) down to the Domincan Republic and was in need of a mate. I was offered the job which included airfare back to Nassau and a salary which would be enough to cover Catherine’s flight back with me. The trip would take about 5 days and include passage through the beautiful southern Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and ultimately Dominican Republic.

I got off the phone and relayed this offer to Catherine as we continued putting together a meal of jerked chicken for Fred and Debbie. It didn’t take long for us both to decide we were definitely up for this bonus adventure. I emailed Ross back that night and told him no need to look for a mate—I would happily assume that role.
We are both really excited about this trip and feel good that we are sinking our teeth deep into the promised “adventure” associated with our travel plans. I can not wait to spend 5 days working on my seamanship and nautical skills with Ross and hopefully lending a helpful had along the way. Couple that with seeing some of the most remote and beautiful islands in the Carribean and I call that a good job. Catherine is also extremely enthused to have a entire week to take in the scenary, work on her tan before Key West and…..become semi- fluent in Spanish!? Yes that’s right folks, she’s planning to conquer that Rosetta Stone (quick shout out to V&M for an awesome gift!) and practice her new talents in DR.

So for now the plan is to take the ferry on Sunday over to Harbor Island, spend the afternoon provisioning and making ready our vessel for an early morning departure on Monday. Ross tells us that our path will take to Cat Island, Rum Cay, Turks and Caicos, and then an overnight steam to DR. As these details firm up, we will keep everyone posted. But for now, we are off to change clothes and check out an art opening in downtown Nassau.

-Y