Sailing Katarina-Rincon, Puerto Rico
Expecting who knows what; booked it over the phone sight unseen. His name was Billy and he sounded just like you would think, “don’t worry about anything, just bring yourselves and a towel. We’ll take care of the rest”, is what he said. You are probably thinking the same thing that I thought “never trust anyone that says don’t worry.”
The whole group could have escaped from Shawshank but who am I to judge. It was a beautiful day. This is going to sound cliché but I don’t know of another way to describe it; the sun was bright and peeking above the palm trees. The water was like smooth pieces of ice. There she was sitting in the middle of the lagoon waiting to bring a new experience. “Katarina” Neither of my kids has ever been sailing before and now they are about to experience the open sea.
We jump into this little red boat with a 15 horsepower motor. We literality jumped from the water into the boat. The motor bogged down and stalled. Bryan is the Captain of the sail boat and he is ridding out with us. He comments, “I guess that 100 dollar fix only got us one ride out.” And the other guy replied, “yea, but at least the throttle is working.” Makes you wonder?
Bryan had been in Puerto Rico for ten years and for most of those ten years he has spent it sailing the Katarina. Imagine a surfer dude from Southern California and you will have Captain Bryan pegged. Funny part is that he was born in Atlanta, Georgia. When he wasn’t sailing he was surfing. He told of stories about how he broke board after board. He had to stop doing tricks because he couldn’t afford the boards.
The first mate was Angelo. First mate is aka for bar tender, waiter, the guy who brought the drinks. Those that were drinking the $5 all you can drink pina coladas became his best friend. Angelo was an interesting character; he told the story about how he came to Puerto Rico. You’ve heard it in the news before. He and four friends tied three inner tubes together and floated.
The question was asked about the tattoo of the two dolphins on his arm. As most know there is a story attached to each tattoo. It may be a drunken story but there is a story, like Nikki on my flight to Minneapolis. I’ll save that for another time. Angelo said that there were two dolphins in the ocean that saved his life. He and four friends had tied three inner tubes together to flee Cuba. They set sail headed toward the Florida Keys. They found themselves in this endless circle. I’m not sure how they knew they were going in circles because I would never be able recognize the same wave. They knew and had a fear that they needed to get in the jet stream. Similar to airplanes the ocean has a jet stream. They needed to find that current that would take them to land. And it didn’t need to be the land that they had recently left. At the horizon they spotted two dolphins. You know the rest of the story; they made there way to the dolphins and pursued them hoping that they could find the current. They did and now Angelo is first mate on a sailing charter in Puerto Rico. Did he capture the American dream in Puerto Rico? He serves others with a smile and lives where summer is winter and summer is summer, you tell me.
We stopped at one of the only marine reserves in Puerto Rico; Tres Palmas. When I dawned my snorkel gear and put my face in the water, my first expression was “oh my gosh!” It was amazing! For those that enjoy classical music, think of a conductor that leads a symphony. With every stroke of his arm there is the sweetest purest sound. In this case it’s visual. It is the movement of the coral beneath the ocean. The fish were performing in tune with every sway of the reef; back, forth, left, right. Each slash of the baton brought another brilliant view. What do you say? “Thank you God!”
Angelo living the “American Dream” helped my wife and little girl experience the sounds of symphony. He encouraged (tricked) them into snorkeling. They both were afraid of the idea. But once he had them in the water and showed them the ease of being a participant in one of the greatest shows, they loved it. I’m thankful for those two dolphins that led Angelo and his three friends to Puerto Rico. He did something I could never do.
What an amazing delight. We sailed to where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean. We knew this because Captain Bryan said so. The two oceans meet at the most western tip of Puerto Rico which is designated by “El Faro” the Rincon Lighthouse. But what a change! From smooth as glass to choppy as a boxing match. Once we entered the Atlantic Ocean, up and down, splash. It was a different kind of fun. My son and two other young boys sitting on the front of the boat laughing all they could. What a trophy to be so wet from the water splashing over the bow.
We end the day waiting for our ride. But Mr. red boat driver is no where to be found. It is suspected and joked that he has made his way to the local bar. Angelo once again comes through. He swims just over 100 yards to retrieve our red dingy. We finish the day the same way we started by jumping out into the water.
