Barahona not Boca Chica

One route to Barhona in the Dominican Republic

One route to Barhona in the Dominican Republic

It took almost 4 days to reach Barahona in the Dominican Republic from Ile a Vache, averaging approximately 50 nautical miles a day. Not a “Speedy Gonzales” effort, but fast enough to have my new friends (Andy and Trudy in the catamaran “Manureva”), when I met them again in Boca Chica (two days later), wondering about their boats performance.

Well my friends, I was cheating!

Without the aid of my little 10HP Beta Marine diesel, not only would I have taken much longer, but I might have found myself wrecked upon the eastern side of Cabo Beata.

After a night fighting a loosing battling for that all important “sea-room”, I voted on a “special dispensation” to start the motor. Despite the fact that my fuel reserves running worryingly low. While many sailors believe it is a cardinal sin to motor-sail, I’ve never claimed to be one of these “purists” and believe that if I have to lug an engine around in my boat, I might as well get some use from it. Especially when the alternative is running aground on a lee shore.

So you can see why I made such rapid progress and why I decided it might be prudent for me to make an unscheduled stop to stock up on more fuel.

The tiny marina in Barahona

The tiny marina in Barahona

Besides, Barahona is an interesting town and while I only stayed long enough to check-in with the authorities, I’d recommend it to other sailors as an agreeable port of call.

I had fun riding on the back of a motor scooter carrying my jerry-cans to the service station, listening to bachata music and having an informal beer with the immigration officer (out of office hours of course)!