October 2007
Hi everyone! As usual, I had a hard time finding internet at our last few stops, so I apologize that it has been a while since we have caught you up. Anyway, here is an update of our travels and adventures over the last couple of months!
We left the Rio Chagres and after a quick stop in Colon to get our zarpes (exit paperwork) we sailed about 5 hours to Isla Linton. Here we met up with friends Paul and Maureen on Calypso whom we had met a couple of months previous in Cocos Banderos,San Blas. They are spending some time on land here in Isla Linton taking care of two dogs, a cat and three sloths for a while so the owners Binnie and Rodger can do some traveling. We walk up to visit their home that sits on the top of a hill overlooking the bay and surrounding mountains. Maureen walks out onto the patio to greet us with a smile. She has a small furry animal hanging from her neck. "This is Bandito", she says, lifting him up and wrapping his long arms around my own neck. "He is a six month old three toed sloth." He looks up at me with a sleepy little smile and half closed eyes, nuzzles my neck and fallsback to sleep. He has a patch of darker fur across his eyes that looks like a bandit's mask, hence his name. He is the cutest thing I have ever seen!
The day after we arrived, Jeremy got quite sick. Luckily we had stocked up on antibiotics in Guatemala and within a few days he was all better- just in time for his birthday on October 20th! We celebrated together on the boat, eating and drinking and swimming the day away. We spent the next several days hanging out with Paul, Maureen, Binnie and Bandito- playing ping pong, feeding the sloths bright red hibiscus flowers and mango, and enjoying Paul's delicious BB-Q chicken! At one point Jeremy and I even took the dinghy back to the island with the killer spider monkeys, hoping to get a better video of them walking around and stuff this time- while keeping my distance. I was expecting them to be timid and stand-offish at first just like before, but it wasn't so. They remembered us and actually came right onto the tiny pier to greet us when we arrived- sending me airborne, leaping right back into the dinghy without my shoes! After looking into their little monkey eyes I was now convinced that they remembered our little brawl last time and were determined to sink their teeth into more than just my hair this time! Jeremy insisted that their eyes were in reality cute and sincere, but I wasn't fooled this time. We soon left once he realized that I was not setting foot back on to that island with them so close.
During our last few days in Linton we were joined in the anchorage by "Blow Me Away" and "Kaija's Song". It was great to see them one last time and we all spent an evening on "Blow Me Away" drinking wine and playing sailing trivia the night before we left...and Max won! We also had a little visitor on the boat. I am not sure who had the ruder awakening, me when I was awakened by a bat flying into my head at 1am or Jeremy who was awakened by my frightened shriek. Either way we were both wide awake and staring down the dark companion way where the animal had just retreated to, wondering who would have the nerve to go first. It was Jeremy, but I was close behind. We turned the lights on and found a little leaf-nosed bat clinging onto our fruit hammock, loudly chowing down on a huge plantain. Upon closer inspection we realized that he was being so loud because now his head was stuck in one of the loops of the hammock. Jeremy picked up the hammock and took it into the cockpit. With the little guy scared and gnashing it's sharp little fangs the entire time, Jeremy lifted the loop with a pair of tongs and gently pushed it'shead through with the end of the flashlight. It stayed outside the rest of the night and in the morning half of a plantain four times it's size was completely devoured!
Well, as the time to leave approaches we are forced to make a decision as to wether we are going to be responsible and begin our journey back north from here, or go back to San Blas where we are supposed to pick up a tiny sailboat boat that one of our Kuna friends has carved out of a special rainforest wood and is painting for us and where other Kuna friends are expecting us back to spend the very end of hurricane season as planned. After much thought, we reluctantly choose to be responsible, as we do not know how much longer our transmission hold out. So, after a quick weather check via sat phone (thanks again Larry!) we say our goodbyes and head out for the two day crossing back to Providencia, one of the Columbian islands off the coast of Nicaragua. Our plan is to stop here briefly on the way to the Bay Islands. The 30 hour crossing is perfect and as the mountainsof Providencia become prominent on the horizon we check our stores, diesel, and the weather once again. We have plenty of stores and diesel, and Larry informs us that though there are a couple of depressions out there, none appear to contain over twenty knots of wind. Fine. We decide to bypass Providencia and go straight to the Bay Islands, meaning one less time the transmission has to be put drive and possibly the longer it will last. This turns out to be a big mistake...
RETREAT!
The weather is fine for the next 160 miles or so (1 1/2 days), until about 4pm when we begin our turn west around the massive point of land that jutts out right where Nicaragua and Honduras meet. Slowly the wind begins to strengthen from the North. Jeremy layers on the foul weather gear and goes up into the cockpit to battle the elements while I try to get some sleep below so that I am ready to be his releif. We expect that this should pass soon as is usually the way, but four hours later things have only gotten worse with the wind increasing to a steady 30 knots and Max being pounded by waves as big as 15 feet high. We are no longer making headway but only barely holding our ground against the wind and waves. Jeremy takes a champion watch of another four hours, at the end of which the windspeed is a steady 40 knots (almost 50 MPH) and the waves worse as well. I climb into the cockpit and clip in with a harness as waves are now crashing into the cockpit. Only thirty minutes go by before the engine suddenly dies. Upon careful inspection on the roller coaster of a bow Jeremy realizes that the heavy anchor rhode has been shaken loose and blown overboard only to become wrapped up in the propellor. The only way to get it out is to dive- impossible before the seas calm down. We are lucky at this point that the wind has shifted slightly and is now pushing us parallel to the exposed reef several miles away and not into it. Still, we decide to try sailing with a reef in the Jib and mainsail (meaning that afraction of the sail stays rolled up so that it has a smaller surface area). After about 1/2 hour of pounding into the wavesand getting throughly beat up without making headway, we decide that this is only making things worse. But the problem now is that the rollerfurling unit for the jib is stuck and 1/3 of our jib sail is left flapping in the wind making a noise like a gunshot, eventually beating itself to death. There is nothing I can do but watch as pieces of canvas are swept away at 4o knots. Now we have a sea anchor out (like a small underwater parachute used to create drag) but it is small and only slows us down a bit. With nothing else to be done at the moment, Jeremy tries to get some sleep, completely exhausted after a solid 11 hours of action. It is after 3am. As the sun comes up at 6:30am the wind is considering letting up, but still blowing at gale force strength. Around 7am I spot a local looking boat pop up on a 15 foot wave. It just so happens that here off the coast of Nicaragua is one of the very few places in the Western Carribean where there have been more recent incidents with pirates- of course! Now, I am having a hard time believing that there is a fishing boat out here in 16 foot waves and gale force winds- so I pick up the satellite phone and call my mom. Just in case we are boarded I want someone to know exactly where we are and the situation we are in. The boat passes by very close, but continues on it's way. After we drift for another 7 hours the wind is down around 20 knots and the seas are in the 10 ft. range. Jeremy hops in the water with his snorkel gear and a safety line tied around his waist. It was wrapped up good, but 15 minutes later he has succeded and we are finally on our way!
At this point we decide to forget about Guanaja for now and turn back towards Providencia. With the elements now pushing us we are flying at 8 knots (about 3 knots faster that our average!) and by noon the next day we are safely anchored in Providencia- where our transmission promptly dies! We are lucky that it got us here safely, though. We are also extremely lucky when we find a mechanic who actually has it fixed in less than two days (Thank you Barnnaby!!). Although we are ancy to be on our way at this point, we do our best to relax and enjoy Providencia. This really isn't so hard since it is an incredibly scenic island with very friendly locals. After almost a week of waiting for a good weather window (we are not making that mistake again!) we have a comparatively uneventful crossingto the island of Guanaja in Honduras' Bays Islands. Here it is great to see Hansito and other friends from our last visit. If you have to be stuck, this is a great place to do it!
We have been here almost a week now and those Northers still won't give us the break we need to get us back to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. From there it is only another 300 miles to Key West!
I probably won't be able to update again until we are at the end of this journey, safe and sound in Key West. Until then wishus luck & as always, thanks for checking in on us!!
