127: The DREADED MONA PASSAGE between PUERTO RICO & DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Did we pick a good window?

Any sailor traveling across Southern Puerto Rico and heading West has to cross the dreaded Mona Passage; this is the body of water between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and is considered treacherous due to a massive amount of water from the Atlantic Ocean pouring into a small funnel between the islands. Sailors have been known to face 40-50' waves in this passage when winds and swell kick up as well as afternoon thunderstorms. To safely cross the passage, it's essential to pick a favorable weather window, one that has good winds (direction and strength), low wave heights and long wave lengths. To help us choose our window, we hired Chris Parker, renowned meteorologist. He forecasts the weather and suggests the pros and cons of leaving on any particular day. You are in the best position if you have flexibility. A schedule is the downfall of a sailor. The window we chose happened to have very low winds so we knew it would be more of a motor, which was fine by us. It turned out that the sea was like glass the whole way across. It could not have been more beautiful. But, when we hit the coast of the DR, the winds and swell turned Northern and we pounded against them for a long time. The northern swell and winds were not forecasted and took us by surprise. But, after 50 hours, we safetly dropped anchor in Luperon, the staging area to prepare for the Bahamas. Luperon is an amazing place with beautiful landscapes and kind and friendly locals. It was fun to get to use my Spanish and converse with the locals. The clearing process was interesting and long. We checked in with the navy first on our boat, then with Customs, then the bay, then immigration, then agriculture. Once the process was completed, we were free to roam the town and enjoy the local cuisine, flora and fauna. We hope you enjoy the video and we highly recommend a visit to Luperon if you are in the area. #sailing #sailboat #sailingprojects #puertorico #monapassage #dominicanrepublic #luperon NEW TO OUR CHANNEL? We are Eileen and Brown Councill. Welcome to our channel and a glimpse into our life adventure! 2020 was a year of uncertainty and change (for all of us, right?), but we overcame the challenges and decided it was time to chase our dream, to sail around the world! Did I mention that we had very NO sailing experience? Before leaving Qingdao, China, our home of 4 years, we sold almost all of our earthly possessions and started our international search to find the right sailboat that we would call "home." After 5 months of unanticipated twists and turns, we found what we were looking for, a used Leopard 44' Catamaran located in St. Lucia. So, here begins our journey, filled with unmatched excitement and honestly, a bit of trepidation as well. We have much to learn as we travel the world on our floating home and we intend to document that journey and share it with you. We are so glad you have decided to join us, and we hope that you will find our story so compelling that it will inspire you to chase your dreams too! As a viewer, we consider you to be part of our family and look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to comment on our videos and ask questions. We will do our best to answer every correspondence! All we ask is that you have patience with us as we work really hard to improve our camera/video techniques and ability to tell a story. Hopefully, you will be as BLOWN AWAY from watching, as we are in experiencing and producing our adventures! HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT US? If you wish to support our video efforts, all we ask is that you SUBSCRIBE, give a THUMBS UP, SHARE our videos with your friends, AND COMMENT! WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET TO KNOW US MORE DEEPLY? It would be an honor and pleasure to deepen our relationship with you as a Patron. Please click on the following link to see how: https://www.patreon.com/sailingblownaway WOULD YOU LIKE TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY? https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/6040796987916288 WHERE CAN YOU FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Instagram - @sailingblownaway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/SailingBlownAway Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/eileen.dietrich/ YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/sailingblownaway