I arrived in Puerto Rico on December 8 at 4am, the day Soul de La Mar splashed back into the water, and on December 17 I was finally able to pull away from the dock in Puerto Rico after 4 months of setbacks and planning. In mid-July I had found her and was supposed to visit around the 10th of August, which is when I hit my first setback; Covid. I got Covid and was unable to fly down to meet the current owners of my boat and do the sea trial. I was lucky enough that two weeks later the owner was still happy to fly down again.
I truly believe that everything is always in God’s timing. I flew down with the anticipation of sailing away with my boat only days after meeting her. I believe everything would have been fine, but I hadn’t done any in-depth research on the route I was about to take and I would have had a rude awakening.
During the sea trial, the engine stopped on our way into the channel and the owner proposed tacking to the directly upwind dock. It wasn’t a very large channel and there were boats moored everywhere. The boat ended up hitting a dock and we were towed in. On the positive side, the second the engine stopped, dolphins had shown up.
There were already upgrades I had wanted to make to this boat; the windlass and adding bow thrusters. The windlass was manual when released, and the owner had to hit it with a hammer to release it. My goal with this boat was to single hand it, and eventually, I wanted it wired to my helm so I wouldn’t have to walk to the bow to drop and raise anchor every time, as I’m driving simultaneously. I also wanted to add bow thrusters; I am not a fan of them, but there are quite a few times I have docked, especially with one engine, when I have been happy to have them. I put myself in the worst docking conditions I’ve had while considering that I will likely be alone, and decided to do it.
After this situation, the boat was going to need a lot more work. Due to the bow, the boat was going to need to be hauled out. This worked in my favor as I could do the bow thrusters at the same time. The only problem is, the marina had evacuated boats from the dock due to a storm and now all of the boats were either on the hard or anchored and there was no room to haul my boat out until hurricane season was over.
This was devastating, but my goal the entire time was to be ready for my friends coming for New Years Eve. A few weeks later, the mechanics determined the engine had thrown a rod. The owner’s plan was to rebuild, however, after talking with a few mechanically inclined friends, I decided to replace the engine. I was changing the brand of the engine, and it took a few months to figure out what was compatible and what was even in stock. I am grateful to my friend Stefan, who took control of this and found me the best engine I could ask for. One of my primary concerns was having an engine that was not computerized so I would be able to fix most things that break. I ended up with a Nanni 4.115 and have been happy with it thus far (cruising at 8-9 knots, even upwind).
While I was waiting for the boat to be hauled out, I was also doing research on bow thrusters and the windlass. I ordered the windlass and bow thruster from MauriPro, which has saved my life. Between the price and the customer service, everything is so easy with them.
The boat was supposed to be hauled out October 1, but ended up getting hauled out November 1st. Luis, my fiberglass person, did the bow thruster tunnels first then continued on with the bow work. Jesus, my mechanic, and his team started 2 weeks later with the removal of the engine and the installation of the bow thruster itself. The week before Thanksgiving I had checked in with both people and gave a deadline of December 5, hoping to leave December 10. Jesus had said he hadn’t taken the engine out and it would be impossible. I told him I appreciated his work and it would mean a lot to me; the next day the old was out and the new was in. He ended up having a few more complications along the way and we had to order stuff last minute, so I am grateful he started when I texted him. I had also found out that week there was another person working on my stainless steel that hadn’t started. This was the longest hold-up, but should have been done first as the boat didn’t need to be out of the water and was only finished the night before I left Puerto Rico.
My original windlass had been back ordered so I changed the shipping to Florida, but then it came early. I took the windlass down in my suitcases and started that project 5 days into being there (December 12). That day, a Sunday, with the help of neighbors, I found out this windlass wouldn’t work with the space I had. Sunday morning I called MauriPro and had my new windlass there on Tuesday evening (lifesavers again). Jesus and his team installed it for me and my bow was almost complete.
Another thing I had to fix was my dinghy. I noticed in the pictures of the boat getting hauled out that one side was completely deflated. Some other sailors and I spent an hour every day while I was in Puerto Rico finding leaks and sealing them, hoping the next morning it was holding air. I solved one of the leaks, but halfway through the crossing, the side was completely deflated again. This was a little bit of stress for me as a dinghy is a little bit vital to a sailor as its our main mode of transportation anywhere close (land, spearfishing, sightseeing, friends boats).
To cross back, I was planning on having two great friends who had just sold their catamaran and were waiting on their new one, but due to delays they weren’t able to make it. David came to help me at the last minute which was a huge relief as up to this point I had only sailed monohulls with him and I trust him in any weather and with anything that could go wrong.
Thursday and Friday morning, we fixed the bilge pump, got Covid tests, and finished getting the boat ready to begin the 6.5 day sail. I would be dropping him off in the Exumas on my way to Florida, also making a few days of this trip my first solo sail. At 12pm on Friday, December 17th, the moment I had been waiting for for 4 months finally happened; I was finally leaving the dock in Ponce, Puerto Rico headed to Florida.
The 10 days I was in Puerto Rico had been exciting, fun, and trying. I was motivated to fix everything that was breaking, although disappointed as it was a new boat to me. The times that tested me most were when the windlass didn’t work and my friends couldn’t come, only because I was stressed about time. Without my support network, this life would be nearly impossible, but I am so grateful for every supporting text, call, guest, and other sailors I have met along the way who have helped and encouraged me.
Love the detail and storytelling here!