If you sit among the cruisers who congregate nightly at the mangrove-canopied Marina de Salinas snack bar--and do a little obvious journalistic questioning--you'll hear that Puerto Rico's south coast town of Salinas is a bad place to be.
         "Lots of crime," they say. But eyes disprove ears. What boaters really mean is that this port is so peacefully safe, snug, and mariner-friendly that they want to keep it a secret--and assure that its character is preserved.
         Salinas dots nearly the midpoint on Puerto Rico's south coast. Coming from the north, cruisers follow the north shore of the Dominican Republic, across the turbulent Mona Passage to Puerto Rico's west coast town of Boquerón.
         From there, they round to the south at the point of the centuries-old Spanish- built Cabo Rojo lighthouse, then beat to weather eight or nine hours to Salinas.
         Sailing in from the Virgins, cruisers usually jump off from the offshore island of Vieques or eastern town of Fajardo and make the eight to ten hour sail into Salinas with the wind at their backs. The western approach passes Ponce, Puerto Rico's second largest city (the first largest and capitol is San Juan). Ponce Harbor's selection as the host site for the 1999 Sunfish Worlds owes to its nearly constant blustery conditions, created when the dry desert wind hits the open seas. This situation is echoed all along Puerto Rico's south coast, and is the reason why wind-and-wave-weary cruisers find the calm harbor of Salinas so attractive.
         Eight miles of natural barrier mangrove cays--usually three to four deep--make Salinas one of the best hurricane holes in the Caribbean. Cruisers tend to settle in during the August to November storm season and some linger through the winter into February.
         "People who come here, tend to stay for a while," said Howie Raber, a cruiser who calls Salinas home. "The winds are such that people don't day trip except maybe to Coffin Island (eight miles offshore Ponce to the west) or Bahia de Jobos (fingers of inlets close to the east by Guayama)."
         Daytime raft-ups, however, or overnight camping, picnicking, and partying on the nearby Cayos Ratones are popular on weekends. True to their name, says Miguel Mejia, an 18-year-old who lives aboard his family's 35-footer, Taoaloa, the islands are infested with rats, necessitating that campers lock up their food as if protecting it from bears and raccoons in a northern clime. Many opt to sleep on their boats and only use the island's mangrove branches as makeshift diving boards into the crystal clear waters. Lucky swimmers like Mejia get to swim with manatees and dolphin as well as spot giant tarpon.
         What Salinas is perfect for any time of year is sitting sails down, resting, relaxing, and making those ever-necessary boat repairs. Some cruisers anchor in the harbor while others tie up at the docks at the Marina de Salinas and Posada el Nautico.
         The marina has 103 slips equipped with electricity and water. Facilities include ice, gas, diesel, a parking area for vessel owners, convenience store, private showers, laundro-mat, 33-room hotel with air-conditioning and in-room refrigerators, kayaks and bicycles for rent, and a restaurant. Next to the pool and a playground well equipped with Little Tyke toys is the open-air snack bar, site of Monday night potlucks--a cruiser institution.