Thursday, February 23, 2012

Anse d'Hainaut

I left Ile a Vache, after I got all my expectations crushed and not knowing whether Frank would join me at Pestel to recover the equipment recovered by the authorities of Anse d'Hainaut. I was able to sail almost half of the way before turning the corner at Cape Tiburon. I went almost too fast, and since I had told the mayor that I would arrive after sunrise, I had to slow down.
In Anse d'Hainaut, I received visits from various authorities, not to check on anything but to greet me welcome. Then the mayor, who happens to be the brother of an excellent friend of mine in Port au Prince, came to the boat, and within minutes, the equipment lost by the german boat a few days ago was loaded on my boat, up to me to return it to its rightful owner.
Today is Carnival here, like everywhere else in the Country. In the Haitian culture, Carnival celebration is a priority and everything else is closed during those five days. So, I was able to walk through the village and take a few pictures, but short of enjoying a cold beer in one of the two restaurants here (Restaurant Nana), there was not much else I could do. Back on the boat, quiet dinner and got ready to leave at sunrise for Pestel.
Anse d'Hainaut is on the way from the Bahamas to the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, and it could be a convenient stop to drop the hook and have a quiet night. However, make sure before you do that to communicate with people ashore and tell them where you are. In many places in Haiti, your security will be provided by the community, as long as they know where you are and who you are.
And by the way, as long as you got a local G3 USB modem from Digicel or Natcom, there is an excellent internet connection there.
So, I left on the 21st morning for Pestel with 51 miles to go. However, thanks to the north east wind, the 51 miles became 85 and I arrived at 9:30 p.m. in complete darkness, the night being a black moon night. Fortunately, I know the area very well and managed to get into the Pestel lagoon where I anchored for an excellent night sleep.


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