Today we got up early and hand stitched the main sail batten pockets back together.  Two of them had about a 1 inch tear in the very front from where the load was applied when the halyard failed.

Second we applied a repair to the head of the main sail.  There was a piece of webbing that held the halyard.  I attemped to repair this piece but with little to work with other than hand tools it was hard.  With the temporary repair I also used the hot knife to add a second hole where some load could be applied.  Here we inserted a small lenght of line and made a secondary loop to hold the sail if the repair failed.  With over 800 miles to sail we wanted to be sure the repair was good for the duration.

 Later in the day we headed over to the Punat Salinas beach.  At one point this was a nice beach, but at this point the trash is piled up 8 inches deep all along the road to the beach and on the grounds.  The beach is nice but there is a reef just in the water with plenty of sea urchins.... 

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Today we left Boca Chica and sailed to Salinas. This is a long sail if you try to do it in one day but is down wind. Out early from Boca Chica we passed Santo Domingo mid day and turned into the Salinas entrance around 4 pm. Upon entering the Salinas Bay all hell broke loose on the boat. Just as we were getting ready to furl up the main sail, it collapsed. At first I did not know what had went wrong, I was looking at all of the clutches and lines trying to figure out what I did wrong... well... not a operator error, the halyard attachment to the headsail had failed. This had caused the sail to start to fall of course but it was loaded when it fell, this stressed a couple of the batten pockets creating a problem with the stitching. After getting on into the bay and getting the main sail down completely the damage was looked at and repair plans started.

After all the stress we went out for dinner to a small local restaunt and toured the area. The marina here is wonderful, small and quaint, the owner very nice and helpful.

The anchorage in Boca Chica is wonderful.  Although a bit on the commercial side, there is a great area to anchor in and plenty of beach front and city to explore.  Early in the morning we went for a bike ride down the local beach area and through the city market to an all inclusive resort.  We were snooping gyms to work out in and figured this would be the only place in Boca Chica with a good gym.  Well.. needless to say we did not have arm bands and were kicked out quickly.  Later in the day we went for a mango collection trip and purchased 5 large mangos and a few passion fruit.  The trip highlight was the two of us on a 125cc moto scooter with a driver... yes 3 aboard.  That evening we headed out to a local place just behind the marina.  Loud music (but where in the DR does not have loud music) and cheap beer!

Yesterday early we left Ponce, Puerto Rico and made the overnight sail  to the DR.  We arrived today early around 0800.  Snooping out the Casa De Campo Marina the staff was so friendly we decided to stay for a day to clear customs etc.  The never ending stream of officials started about an hour after we arrived and did not stop for a good 4 hours.  About $150 US lighter in the wallet we (and Wally) were cleared into the country.  Later we explored the local area and rested from the passage.

Yesterday early in the morning we left Green Beach headed down the south shore of Puerto Rico.  The going was slow with little to no wind at times.  Seas were flat but we were not making much distance.  We arrived Ponce just before sun down.  As we got out of Conquistador a few days late we were dodging a tropical wave that was crossing the area and needed to find an anchorage.  The evening and night were predicted to be gusty and rainy, thus we wanted to be in a good anchorage by the mid evening, depending upon our speed I had targeted Ponce or Salinas.  Today we stayed around Ponce and did some boat maintenance, cooking, biking, and cleaning.