Tuesday, 9 May 2017

166. Ile A Vache

Storm clouds over Haiti

It was an exhausting sail to Ile a Vaches, beating against the wind and waves, and the worst – current. I suffered more damage: my main sail ripped again – the same spot as last time; and my mast winch broke. I will have to fix that before I leave Ile a Vaches, or else I’ll have to hoist sail using a winch in the cockpit.

Dodging rain

The best way I’ve found to go east is to motor sail at night, using the katabatic winds coming off the land. Eventually (24 hours to do 66 miles), I managed to anchor in Baie a Feret. It’s an old pirate base, Henry Morgan used to stay here. Overlooking the bay is Port Morgan Hotel.

Port Morgan Hotel

Port Morgan Hotel was an absolute oasis; very laid back, lovely pool, horses (not cows) roamed around the beautiful gardens. I went for breakfast – eggs, toast, pancakes, juice, coffee, and some free Wi-Fi.

Port Morgan Hotel pool

I met the owner, the lady who opened the hotel in the 1980s. It was fun to listen to all her stories, of how she and her husband sailed across the Atlantic with no GPS, came to Haiti and built the hotel. And tales of hurricane Mathew, which sat on Ile a Vaches for days. They also gave me some bread, eggs and drinking water (I was very low on supplies) for my onward journey.

Sonic Boom anchored in Baie a Feret, Ile a Vaches











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