Cruising

Jeredam - Christmas in the Dominican Republic

Postcards

Article published on 31/03/2023

By Gilles Ruffet

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published inn°189may / june

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Last time we caught up with Jeredam, they were in the Las Aves archipelago. Since then, the crew of the big Nautitech had crossed the Caribbean Sea and had just arrived in the Dominican Republic.

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Who: Sabine and Christophe
Multihull: Nautitech 542
Where: Dominican Republic
Facebook: @Jeredam

We have arrived in the Dominican Republic, after having shared some great moments in Bonaire with our boating friends. We took the opportunity to do some diving. The sailing went very well but we sailed upwind from the beginning to the end. Everyone knows that it is rather uncomfortable, and dreadful for those who are prone to seasickness, like my captain. From the start, we took two reefs, so as not to go too fast and wait for friends who were leaving at the same time as us but with a slower boat. We did watches of a few hours at a time, so that we could both take turns sleeping. In spite of the two reefs, we got away from our friends, so we sailed separately, but kept in touch thanks to our satellite phones. When the wind picked up, we were glad to have reduced it before, as it was blowing at 30 knots and the waves kept crashing onto the hulls. But what a pleasure to sail on board Jeredam and to always feel safe! We had hoped to keep these wind conditions in order to arrive early enough to avoid spending a third night at sea. During these crossings, we both always stay outside, and sleep on the outside benches. Even if we can’t complain about the level of comfort, it’s still not like a good night’s sleep in our own bed. Almost the whole crossing was done under sail, even though we used the engine at the end, to be sure to arrive before nightfall. We have been in the Dominican Republic for a few days now, at a marina in Punta Cana, and we have started to settle in. Yesterday, we had the chance to attend the annual parade of illuminated boats to celebrate the arrival of Christmas.

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