I put out a call for crew to help me sail
Dakota Rose directly from Providenciales,
Turks and Caicos, to the Virgin Islands,
bypassing the normal route of sailing south
to the Dominican Republic then along its
north coast, crossing the infamous Mona
Passage to Puerto Rico, then battling the
trade winds along the south coast of Puerto
Rico. My friend Pam Lendzion, from St.
Augustine, once again came through for us,
assembling a peerless crew: Captain
Presleigh King, semi-retired charter and
delivery skipper, who’s made this same
voyage countless times; Dr. George
Radimer, retired dermatologist and active
Dakota Rose directly from Providenciales,
Turks and Caicos, to the Virgin Islands,
bypassing the normal route of sailing south
to the Dominican Republic then along its
north coast, crossing the infamous Mona
Passage to Puerto Rico, then battling the
trade winds along the south coast of Puerto
Rico. My friend Pam Lendzion, from St.
Augustine, once again came through for us,
assembling a peerless crew: Captain
Presleigh King, semi-retired charter and
delivery skipper, who’s made this same
voyage countless times; Dr. George
Radimer, retired dermatologist and active
sailor who’s done several deliveries from the Virgin Islands up to Florida; and Captain Steve Dobkins, Sea Tow
skipper, professional diver, Navy reservist, firefighter and EMT, movie stuntman, and entrepreneur.
It would be hard to imagine an easier 500 mile ocean sail than the one we did. The weather cooperated perfectly. We
left Provo with a front moving through behind us, and we rode that front for four days. The wind clocked around to the
northwest as we sailed northeast to clear the Caicos Bank. We tended to the east and then gradually turned
southeast as the wind continued to move around to the north, then the northeast, then back to its prevailing easterly
direction as we got far enough south to enter the trade winds.
skipper, professional diver, Navy reservist, firefighter and EMT, movie stuntman, and entrepreneur.
It would be hard to imagine an easier 500 mile ocean sail than the one we did. The weather cooperated perfectly. We
left Provo with a front moving through behind us, and we rode that front for four days. The wind clocked around to the
northwest as we sailed northeast to clear the Caicos Bank. We tended to the east and then gradually turned
southeast as the wind continued to move around to the north, then the northeast, then back to its prevailing easterly
direction as we got far enough south to enter the trade winds.
Steve and Steve at Soper's Hole
We hadn’t been at the mooring in Caneel Bay for
more than 20 minutes when I heard yelling from
above: “Dakota Rose … Dakota Rose … Steve … is
that you?!” I poked my head out of the
companionway hatch and, who did I see, but Glenn
Welch our partner in Jabberwock back at the
Coronado Yacht Club. Glenn had emailed me that
they were planning to be bareboat chartering in the
BVI with some other friends in mid-March, but I hadn’t
been able to connect back up with him. They’d just
pulled into Caneel Bay for lunch, on their way from
Jost Van Dyke to Cane Garden Bay, and it was a
total coincidence that he happened to spot our boat,
recognize the name and hail us! Glenn and Sue were
sharing a chartered 50 foot Beneteau with two-and-a-
half other couples and, I hate to say this, but after
only five or so days on their boat they seemed quite
as relaxed and laid back as I am after almost three
months of sailing. Clearly, I need to work harder at
this whole relaxation thing.
After clearing in at Cruz Bay, we moved the boat over
to American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook Bay, at the east
end of St. Thomas. Here, my family rejoined me from
Puerto Rico, to start our voyages through the
Caribbean.
| Glenn and Steve in Caneel Bay, Dakota Rose in the background |
Provo to Tortola and Saint Thomas
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Leaving Provo at 1600, we established a 4 hours
on, 8 hours off watch. I took the 12 – 4 watch,
Presleigh and the other Steve shared the 4 – 8
watch, and George took the 8 – 12 watch. We relied
heavily on our autopilot for the entire trip to enable
us to handle the long watches; hand steering on this
schedule would have been exhausting.
Sailing conditions ranged from a couple of days
doing 8+ knots on a broad reach with 10-foot
following swells to a couple of days doing 6 knots on
the engine with glassy seas. We saw whales
spouting. Presleigh hooked a dolphin fish on his
hand line, but it got away; I hooked a wahoo, on my
pole, but it also got away. Presleigh did catch a
flying fish that bounced off the dodger into his
stomach, but we practiced catch-and-release …
actually, we turned it into bait. On our third night, we
watched as the Southern Cross constellation came
into view on the horizon.
on, 8 hours off watch. I took the 12 – 4 watch,
Presleigh and the other Steve shared the 4 – 8
watch, and George took the 8 – 12 watch. We relied
heavily on our autopilot for the entire trip to enable
us to handle the long watches; hand steering on this
schedule would have been exhausting.
Sailing conditions ranged from a couple of days
doing 8+ knots on a broad reach with 10-foot
following swells to a couple of days doing 6 knots on
the engine with glassy seas. We saw whales
spouting. Presleigh hooked a dolphin fish on his
hand line, but it got away; I hooked a wahoo, on my
pole, but it also got away. Presleigh did catch a
flying fish that bounced off the dodger into his
stomach, but we practiced catch-and-release …
actually, we turned it into bait. On our third night, we
watched as the Southern Cross constellation came
into view on the horizon.
We had only one bit of technical difficulty, as the belt on the engine broke (again!) at about 0500 on our second day
out. I’d become convinced that the reason the belt broke previously stemmed from when I’d installed the new
alternator back in Staniel Cay. Because the new alternator housing was bigger than the old one, the stock belt wasn’
t long enough and was over tensioned. Luckily, while in Provo, I’d bought a couple of longer belts against this
eventuality, and was able to install one and get the engine back up and running in 15 minutes. So far, the fix seems
to be working.
On our last night, the lights from St. Thomas were visible from miles out to sea. That U.S island was lit up like a
Christmas tree, much more so than the adjacent British Virgin Islands, an early indicator of the completely different
characters of the U.S. and British territories. We sailed past St. Thomas and St. John to arrive at West End, Tortola,
BVI at 0200, and picked up a mooring ball. The next morning we cleared through BVI Customs and Immigration and
pulled into a slip at the Soper’s Hole Marina.
An Unbelievable Coincidence
After a day to clean up the boat, fill up fuel and water tanks and rest up, we cleared out of BVI and sailed over to the
U.S. Virgin Islands. From West End, Tortola to Caneel Bay in St. Johns, USVI, was less than a two hour sail. We
picked up a mooring, with plans to take the dinghy about a half mile around the point to Cruz Bay to clear into U.S.
Customs and Immigration; it’s a whole lot easier to clear into the U.S. in St. Johns than it is in the crowded, cruise-
ship-infested St. Thomas.
out. I’d become convinced that the reason the belt broke previously stemmed from when I’d installed the new
alternator back in Staniel Cay. Because the new alternator housing was bigger than the old one, the stock belt wasn’
t long enough and was over tensioned. Luckily, while in Provo, I’d bought a couple of longer belts against this
eventuality, and was able to install one and get the engine back up and running in 15 minutes. So far, the fix seems
to be working.
On our last night, the lights from St. Thomas were visible from miles out to sea. That U.S island was lit up like a
Christmas tree, much more so than the adjacent British Virgin Islands, an early indicator of the completely different
characters of the U.S. and British territories. We sailed past St. Thomas and St. John to arrive at West End, Tortola,
BVI at 0200, and picked up a mooring ball. The next morning we cleared through BVI Customs and Immigration and
pulled into a slip at the Soper’s Hole Marina.
An Unbelievable Coincidence
After a day to clean up the boat, fill up fuel and water tanks and rest up, we cleared out of BVI and sailed over to the
U.S. Virgin Islands. From West End, Tortola to Caneel Bay in St. Johns, USVI, was less than a two hour sail. We
picked up a mooring, with plans to take the dinghy about a half mile around the point to Cruz Bay to clear into U.S.
Customs and Immigration; it’s a whole lot easier to clear into the U.S. in St. Johns than it is in the crowded, cruise-
ship-infested St. Thomas.