French Harbour- Sun, Wind and Company coming
Today, Thursday, the weather was settled just enough to dive the famous "Mary's place" dive site which is about a 1.5 mile offshore dinghy ride west of here. It's a fault line that has caused large crackes in the reef going down over 100ft that you can swim through with vibrant coral on the walls. We took the video camera and about halfway through the dive discovered the lens had fogged up making the shots too cloudy for use. It was a very unique dive and hopefully we get enough chores completed Friday to dive it again as this was one of our favorite dives of the trip.
Richard and his buddy Charlie are coming down Saturday for two weeks, and we plan to do a ton of diving for a week then sail west to Guatemala's Rio Dulce, the most popular cruisers area of Western Caribbean. We are all looking forward to the adventure, and Liesel and I have been busy getting ahead on boat maintence and chores so we can maximize our fun in the sun while they're here. Samson even got an impromtue furcut!
Today is Wednesday the 24th of March and its "blowing like stink" as they say; the front is long gone and the trades have filled in strongly with sustained 27-30 knots out of the East, South-East. After scuba diving almost every day for this week we were in the routine of rigging up and going out, but with both passageweather and my "grib weather" file stating strong wind in the afternoon we made the wise decision to skip it for toady.
In the process of doing a small project I discovered that our waterpump was leaking again, knowing that I had changed the gasket in the Bahamas I feared it was something more major. After closer inspection I discovered the cast aluminum housing had a large crack in it. This was a bit frustrating as this pump is supposed to be a higher quality and more expensive water pump, but it has given us nothing but trouble this whole trip. Part after part has been replaced on what is a relativly simple and reliable diaphragm pump. Luckily, after the trouble in the Bahamas sprung the thought of life without a waterpump for a while, I had my cousin Marc bring down a cheap replacment as a spare. I was patting myself on the back for investing in this spare part when I finished up what turned out to be an easy swap out and was impressed to see the pressure was adequite and the new pump very quiet.
In other news, what Samson might be doing if he had been raised in Hollywood and then moved to Central America...
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Perro Amor is a spanish soap opera about a guy who uses his border collie to pick up women, we think. The first lines of the promo are "He is the dog, and I too are dog", a fluent panish speaker may have a better translation but that is pretty much the premise. He is a ladies man so to speak. Everywhere we go the local kid say Perro Amor as Samson, like the dog in the show can do many tricks and is very responisive to direction.
Retreat to French Harbour for the front
3/22/2010 Arriving back in Old French Harbor, the hub-bub of Roatan's cruising scene, we made the right and left around the reef and entered the bay using some way points passed around by cruisers, as we did a few weeks ago. This time there were 50 boats in an anchorage big enough for 40. So, after doing "our look-about" as I call it, motoring in between and around boat looking for a hole for us, we picked one and dropped. This one didn't give us enough room as I realized two of the boats where on makeshift mooring balls, causing them to not swing like the other boats with the wind shift. You see, to the non-cruiser they see an anchorage that's not big enough, but almost always boats shift and swing together, except when strong current is involved making all the rules change. So, we picked up again and found a hole but this one was in 45ft of water, too deep, we could have dropped the hook in 30ft and float over the 45 but we would have to put out tons of chain and line to get the scope I needed and if I dragged a bit it would go down the hill to even deeper water causing less scope and worse holding. Luckily, Liesel is used to this as I have no problem pulling and re-dropping hooks for a spot with just the right amount of depth and room, in return we have had a really good history of not dragging and being in good spots once settled (knocking on wood). One German boat to the side of us pulled up and dropped a small danforth, didn't even set it and took off to shore in his dink, well some other cruisers saw that and the boat behind him, who was there first had to pick up and find a new spot in the now, even more crowded anchorage. It paid off for him as that same German boat did drag about 300ft to a reef, right through where s/v Christiana had been anchored! When we dropped hook our anchor set right away and then I set it harder than usual, 2300rpm for almost half a min, as there was another boat that would be right behind us for the blow, closer than I would like. But we were set good, that I knew for sure, or as sure as one can know. Often the boat behind you looks closer than he is so in this situation I often go over with a GPS and take a way point off there bow and put it in my GPS If i have 100ft of distance I know I'm good and I can monitor my distance to them all night because I have there coordinates on my gizmo. (This blew some Germans and Frenchmans away in Jamaica when I did this before the night of the squall, "an American use good seamanship... incredible!" paid off then too and earned some respect of other cruisers and a few points for American cruisers). When I went over I realized it was another boat I knew from Coxen hole, and they saw me set the hook and knew what I thought, I was good to go. We chatted a while and they said they were rapped around a rock, which means it will usually take a hurricane to break you loose. Well about 0500 a voice on the vhf came on and said "the boat with the two girls, your dragging" well the ladies must have unwrapped the rock some how and had to go re-set in a new spot.
When strong fronts are coming it's always fun to watch everybody come get settled in, prepare for the blow, and watch all the chaos that comes at 3 in the morning when boats start dragging and swinging where they shouldn't be, along with frantic naked foreigners running on deck trying to pull hooks and maneuver in the dark of night with 30kt winds to avoid hitting that other boat or shoal. With a strong blow I am usually waking up checking the gps, other boats, and the anchor snubber at least a few times in the night. It's like Russian roulette with a handicap, do everything you should do and one day it could still happen to you.
I always set anchor alarms, which mostly go off as false alarms due to swinging with wind shifts, but I'm sure the one time you set a large distance drag alarm in a crowded anchorage, that will be the time you drag and it doesn't go off till its too late. Wide open anchorages are great as you can set an alarm big enough for both circular swing and have room to drag if you do. One of the easiest things to do is to look at you chart plotter and when you swing on anchor it makes a smiley face. if your alarm goes off and you are still on the smiley face tracks your ok. I also set a MOB way point once where settled in.
Return to West End for diving
After 5 days in Utila we had a chance to get back east to Roatan so, we had to take it. You see, down here the trade winds blow anywhere from the southeast to east, unless a cold front comes, which brings strong north winds, often making it too rough to go offshore. So, going west with the trade winds is easy, going east is often difficult and when you have a window to go east, you have to take it.
After a 4 hour motorsail, we found ourselves back in sunny West End with two options, go diving (free) or go to shore, which inevitably means spending money, the choice was clear. Once we got settled into our mooring the dive gear was rigged up, and we were off for a dive at the gin clear West End Reef. I took some underwater video and after some practice holding the camera still and slow, we had a bit of amateur video of the reef. Unfortunately, uploading large high definition files to the internet is nearly impossible here, so the videos will be in poor resolution until I can get a hard copy to the States and have someone upload the high def video for me.
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Utila: backpackers, divers, and whale sharks?
Liesel writes:
3/14-3/15 After one more night in Coxen Hole, we headed out for a nice sail to Utila. Mark is particularly excited about this Bay Island because it is one of the best places in the world to see the whale shark. Apparently, Mark has "swimming with a whale shark" on his bucket list. Their frequency here is thought to be due in part to the proximity of the Cayman Trench to Utila. We are headed back to Roatan on Friday, so if this happens, Richard and Mark will probably experience it together. I'm not altogether sure yet what my involvement will be if any.
When we checked out the town, we were pleased to find several inexpensive dining options. And despite the still all too memorable digestive discomfort we had all been experiencing, the decision was made to have street tacos for dinner. While they were delicious, they were not a good idea. So, I decided I would be cooking on the boat more. In that spirit, I bought some syrup (12 fl. oz.), little smokies, lettuce, a small sprite, and grated mozzarella at the grocery store and my total was about $30! We still had the remains of some syrup from the Bahamas with a $3.25 price tag on it. This syrup was even more expensive at about $4.25. Aunt Jemima is making a killing out here. Since it is cheaper to eat out, we are just going to have to choose more wisely. After having pancakes and calzones on the boat, we gave it another whirl. At a place called Munchies, Mark had a bacon cheeseburger($4), and I had the chicken nachos ($3).
3/16 The next day diving was on Mark's mind, but not on mine. I tried not to complain the whole time..., Mark can't dive alone. So, I squeezed into my wetsuit which is getting a little tight from all the vacation weight I've gained, donned my gear while we bounced around from the choppy water, and jumped in with my semi-patient husband. Now I admit my goggles were a little leaky and quite foggy, but I feel like we had seen way better reef at French Harbour and Cayos Cochinos- all with just snorkel gear. Nonetheless, I'm glad Mark got me out there, but I need to work on the comfort of my gear.
3/17 We had been planning to attend some St. Patrick's festivities or a movie on shore, but it's been rainy all day. (There's a movie theater in Utila which is the first we have seen since the Bahamas.) So, then we invited some fellow cruising Texans for a snorkel. As the rain increased, it became understood we wouldn't be snorkeling. But, I took advantage of the rain and gave the boat a much needed soap scrub down. Which was good timing because after I was done scrubbing, it really came down. We haven't seen rain like that since Port Antonio, Jamaica.
Cayos Cochinos to Coxen Hole Roatan 3/12/2010
After dropping our mooring at the scenic Cochino Grande, we started motoring north in little to no wind, changing our course back and forth to French Harbor (the cruisers mecca), West end (the scuba mecca) and Coxen Hole (big town in between with no tourist). Well, as you can tell from the title we are in a nice commercial type harbour and are very pleased with what we found ashore. Clean streets and decent prices on handcrafts etc has made Coxen Hole a stop we are glad we didn't skip, like so many other cruisers. Fortunately for Samson, there is also a small group of children that gathers nearby. Mark would dinghy Samson over in the evenings for 30 minutes or so to get some exercise. After the first time, the kids wanted to know when Samson would be back.
The airport was close by, and we soon had to send Bronc and Laura back to Texas to recover from all the fun as well as the occasional skin rash and Montezuma's revenge. We wish them a speedy recovery, though we were pleased because we felt they got a good taste of the cruising experience; things like unparalleled scenery and cultural experiences occasionally intruded by intermittent discomfort to extreme discomfort.
3/10 - 3/12 Though there was an unexpected bought of seasickness in store for Laura on the way, the Cayos Cochinos turned out not only to be picture perfect but in addition, most of the time we where the only boat there, having the pristine reefs and hiking trails all to ourselves. We picked up a mooring ball in the protected harbour and it wasn't long before the ranger and two marines came over from another island to check us in and collect our park fees. This area is a marine park and the only inhabitants are Garifuna Indians in the local village on Lower Monitor Cay called Chachauate. There are also 9 houses and a small dive resort on Cochino Grande connected by only jungle trails.
Mark entertained some of the children by letting them wear our straw hats (they said, "Soy Americano" upon placement of the hats), taking them on a dinghy ride, and spinning them in circles through the water. The cheers of the children and the lapping of the waves were the predominate sounds as we took in all of our surroundings.
Then, we headed back to the boat to snorkel in "our back yard" which turned out to be the best reef we have seen yet. It was like swimming through an aquarium teaming with life: Brain coral with Christmas Tree Worms, endless fans, Staghorn Coral, invertebrates, schools of varying sizes of fish. The next order of business quickly became lunch. So, what better than to we grill up some lobsters we bought in the village.
After all the water play, it was time to head to land again for further exploration. We wanted to take a trail that leads up to a lighthouse and make it back before dark. With only our cameras, a machete, and some water, we headed out trying to maintain awareness of the height of the sun so that we didn't get stuck in the jungle at night. Along the way, we had a scare with a fast moving iguana and a local rarity only found on Cochino Grande, the pink boa. Soon after, we found ourselves at the base of the lighthouse that the boys soon climbed into with little trepidation.
West End Roatan, divers mecca 3/9/2010
We have spent a few days here in West End Roatan where most of the tourism is due to the world renowned diving. We explored the island via scooter, stopping for scenic overlooks, the local iguana farm, and cocktails on the beach. For lunch we ventured to find the highly recommended "Hole in the Wall". After scootering, then walking, then awaiting a water taxi we finally arrived to the Hole in the Wall (only accessible by water) where we dined buffet style on lobster, steak and all the fixings. To wash it all down, we enjoyed our share of lemon butter and Salva Vidas. After it was time to turn in the scooters and the weather turned nice and hot, we turned to the turquoise waters for snorkeling. We preferred the snorkeling in French Harbour, but it was still a good way to cool off and relax. Not soon after we had gotten wet, here comes Samson doggy-paddling over from the boat-not a short distance! After a good scolding and a failed effort to keep him in the dinghy, he swam around with us and posed for some pictures.
Next, we're off to Cayos Cochinos, a group of islands off the mainland of Honduras, about 20 miles from here. We plan to do some snorkeling and diving and head back to Roatan at the end of the week. There won't be any internet for us there so we will update upon our return. I'm sure we will have plenty of pictures and video when we return so check back in a week or so.
Passage west to Central America and Roatan
2/26 - 3/1/2010 We have been busy since we arrived to Honduras and the Bay Islands. After 84 hours and 480 nautical miles we arrived to the town of Bonnaca on Isla Guanaja Honduras, a small island just east of the well known Roatan island. The passage from Jamaica was certainly the roughest we had made yet. 6-8ft seas and 25kt winds, along with a 6 second period on the waves during a cold front made the passage very tiring and difficult, but CoolBreeze showed her true colors and handled it much better than we did. We didn't have a single mechanical malfunction, which is rare for sailboats in those conditions. We checked in with customs and immigration, who happily informed us that Samson could go to shore and no documentation would be needed for him. Being very tired and hungry, we went into town for a hot local meal. It wasn't long before Samson had gained the attention of almost every local kid in town and was happily performing some of his parlor tricks for their amusement. After we pulled Samson away, purchased a Honduran courtesy flag for the boat, and purchased a few provisions, we where off to El Bight to ride out a mild cold front. After spending two days cleaning the boat up from the bouncy passage, we gave out some much appreciated coloring books from Rich and Betty to the local kids and sailed west to the island of Roatan to pick up our good friends Bronc and Laura.
3/5 Roatan is a dive mecca, being 35 miles long and surrounded by pristine coral reef, tourism is definitely the driving economic force here. Our first anchorage on the island was French Harbour. Much to our enjoyment, it is not overrun with tourists. We found it modern and clean for a Central American country, and we even bought an aircard for the computer for a month of internet at a very reasonable rate. The aircard place was across the street from an Applebees and Wendy's of all places.
Once we were settled into our new surroundings and sent the laundry off, we decided to go for a dive. While setting up the gear, I got a phone call from Bronc asking where we were. "Roatan", I replied. "Me too" he said. The only problem was that Mark had settled into the cruising life so well and affectively that he has lost track of not only hours but days as well. He wasn't expecting Bronc and Laura until tomorrow, the 5th. However, it turns out, today was the 5th! With a no worries attitude, he consulted their taxi driver as to our whereabouts and took off in the dinghy to pick them up. After getting settled with Bronc and Laura and apologizing for the confusion, we indulged in some cold Coronas and headed out in the dinghy for some georgeous snorkeling. The next day, West End was the name of the game, so we picked up our laundry, topped up our water jugs and sailed west to the West End anchorage, famous for some of the best snorkeling and diving to be found. As we we were sailing around the tip of the island in over a thousand feet of water I was caught of guard by a safety sausage sticking out of the water off our port bow. Being almost three quarters of a mile from any divable reef and encountering over a knot of side current I knew they had drifted away from the dive site. I ran up to the bow and saw that it was a group of 7 divers staying together and slowly drifting out to sea. I pointed to them and gave the international distress signal (waving arms across the top of your head back and forth), basiclly asking them if they needed help. Their dive master then signaled back with the distress signal. We jumped into action and Liesel and Laura dropped the main sail on deck while Bronc furled in the jib and I started the motor and came about. As we motored up to them Samson ran to the bow to see if they wanted to play with his tennis ball. The dive master then informed me they had drifted away from the reef when they surfaced and asked if we could get there dive boat on the VHF. We hailed the boat a few times and after making contact I asked him if he was looking for a group of divers, he replies nonchalantly "yea, I got a group out there on a drift dive somewhere." I informed him they where here with us and that we would stay with them until he had a visual on them. About 10 min later he arrived and we set off again with many thanks from the divers. Lesson here to all you divers out there is always carry a safety sausage when doing an open water dive. We have four onboard and if needed have even taken them with us in the dinghy or when snorkling. Without a sausage or us stumbling opon them, these divers may have been drifting for many more hours in thousands of feet of water before getting picked up.
3/7 We rented scooters for today in order to explore the island and we will update you of how the day of shore based exploration goes. Monday will be a day of snorkling and scuba diving as we are all anxious to do more snorkling here in West End.