Wednesday, May 25, 2022
92-foot Viking Sports Fish Yacht
Before departure from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, six customs officials, and department heads came on board the boat. Coca-Cola and chips went a long way, and we were on our way.
The Dominican Republic, at least in the Punta Cana area, has been an interesting experience. There is a 28% resort and service tax on every bill. The resort is run down and has been here for 20+ years. There are many beautiful houses, but for each one, there’s another that is completely neglected and rundown.
The vast majority of storefronts in the enormous resort are shuttered tight. It seems that the entire island at least in the Punta Cana region, is set up to extract as much money as possible. There are hidden fees around every corner. The locals seem incredibly pushy, and their hassles know no bounds. They will not go away, and no is not taken seriously.
All that aside, we are underway with stiff easterly Tradewinds behind us. After 20 minutes, we enter the Mona passage. This is an especially rough section of the ocean that’s like a washing machine. Towing a 30-foot Center console behind the 92-foot sports fish boat through this area is a dangerous act. The tow pitched and yawled back and forth. The nose of the tow rose to what seemed vertical on the steeper waves. The ocean was full of Saragossa weed, making fishing a difficult experience, but we put a few lines in the water.
The bridge of a 92’ Viking is like a spaceship. With five large screens showing just about any information on any system, you could want. You can also access a night vision camera that can spin 360°. There are cameras placed all over the boat. You can zoom in with the camera to read the gauges in the engine room. There is a big difference from the sailing trip I did last week, where the radar was useless, and we used our own eyes and the feeling of the wind to navigate the vessel and stay safe. My watch schedule is pretty cushy, 6 PM-10 PM and 6 AM-10 AM.
The eastern side of the Dominican Republic seems largely flat. As you go west, mountains rise, and it appears to be more forested. I would like to see this part of the island someday.
Friday, May 27
We stopped along the way at the Crooked Island Group, Bahamas. A group of islands on the very southern end of the Exuma‘s. It’s one of the most remote areas of the Bahamas. The crew took the center consul out to some of the fringing reefs to try our hand at a little spearfishing.
One of the most amazing things happened when five dolphins swam up to the boat. This group of five dolphins hung out with us for the next 20 minutes. They came in close enough to reach out and touch them on several occasions, diving down and racing over to the boat whenever the engines were engaged. It was the most magical dolphin experience I’ve ever experienced.
We speared five fish, including one grouper, three snappers, and one trigger. They made fantastic fish tacos underway that evening.
Saturday, May 28
We hit Bahama banks as planned at 10 AM. With great light, we passed through Highbourne Cay. This area is beautiful, with tiny islands and blue water straight out of a travel brochure. The water rips through the cut between the two islands right at High Born Key, causing the boat to yaw left and right, especially with the tow behind.
After passing through the cut, we hit the banks. It’s 10 to 15 feet of water for the duration of the trip. We pumped up the speed to give the engines a good burn. I’ll never get used to towing boats at 25 knots.
May 29
Always fun at Atlantis. We had a great sushi dinner for the crew and came up with a few dollars on the craps table. Another successful delivery in the books.
