Well all we need now is the right weather window and it looks like Monday or Tuesday may be it...
The fuel and water tanks are full, we are just doing a bit of provisioning. The charts are ready the route entered in the GPS. All the laundry is up to date.
I have been checking entry requirements for the USA and hope(!) I have them right.
So farewell again for a couple of weeks until we ready land again, somewhere in Florida we anticipate.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Shake, rattle and roll.
Well we are waiting for a weather window in order to continue our voyage north. Of course as soon as you think the time is right in comes the wind- from the wrong direction!
A couple of nights ago a really nasty Southerly swell came rolling in to our anchorage making life onboard very unpleasant. Almost putting the rail in the water on each roll. We took to the sea berths and spent an uncomfortable and sleepless night trying to brace ourselves against each lurch whilst listening to the contents of each cupboard clatter wildly in the movement.
It was a little scary too as our mooring buoy was in pretty shallow water and the beach was rather closer than we would have liked. And just to add a little spice there was an old wreck close by too. It didn't make for comforting thoughts! As soon as the sun rose we were off, notified 'Port security' the all seeing movement authority here, and headed to the other side of the peninsula.
Actually it turned out to be more of a trip than we had thought, winds up to 20 knots and then a shallow entrance through the reef. It certainly was worth it though. We are now quietly at anchor in a very exclusive neighbourhood. All multi million dollar homes coming down to the waterfront that now have a wonderful view of our knickers dying in the rigging! Ah well we like to think that we bring a little realism to these folks lives...
Today we have walked over to the nearest mall.let me just say that there is a Sotheby's real estate office here and a La Prairie beauty salon and you'll realise that this place is well out of our league! Still it's nice to look....
Forgot to bring the camera to the coffee shop so you'll have to wait for pictures, some of them are great. The water quality here is superb. Best we have ever seen.
A couple of nights ago a really nasty Southerly swell came rolling in to our anchorage making life onboard very unpleasant. Almost putting the rail in the water on each roll. We took to the sea berths and spent an uncomfortable and sleepless night trying to brace ourselves against each lurch whilst listening to the contents of each cupboard clatter wildly in the movement.
It was a little scary too as our mooring buoy was in pretty shallow water and the beach was rather closer than we would have liked. And just to add a little spice there was an old wreck close by too. It didn't make for comforting thoughts! As soon as the sun rose we were off, notified 'Port security' the all seeing movement authority here, and headed to the other side of the peninsula.
Actually it turned out to be more of a trip than we had thought, winds up to 20 knots and then a shallow entrance through the reef. It certainly was worth it though. We are now quietly at anchor in a very exclusive neighbourhood. All multi million dollar homes coming down to the waterfront that now have a wonderful view of our knickers dying in the rigging! Ah well we like to think that we bring a little realism to these folks lives...
Today we have walked over to the nearest mall.let me just say that there is a Sotheby's real estate office here and a La Prairie beauty salon and you'll realise that this place is well out of our league! Still it's nice to look....
Forgot to bring the camera to the coffee shop so you'll have to wait for pictures, some of them are great. The water quality here is superb. Best we have ever seen.
Thursday, 21 April 2011
The Land of Stuff.
The Caymans appears to be the ultimate consumers paradise and it has left me gasping for breath!
Just a short walk from where we dock the dinghy (free of charge on the Government Wharf) is a large USA style supermarket. It actually makes me go all hot and faint the moment we walk inside. Thank goodness that there is air conditioning or I expect that I would be lying on the floor at regular intervals. So much to choose from that usually we come away with very little. It is fascinating how so many years in central America has altered our buying habits!
As we woke this morning there were 5 cruise liners anchored just behind us. Their passengers already being ferried, at 8am, ashore so that they could spend, spend, spend. From the jewellers to the production line diver experiences to the pirate ship tour of the bay. Most of the occupants of these ships don't seem to know what to do when they get ashore, they wander aimlessly from store to bar and back again.... Sad really.
The water here is wonderfully clear and on a quiet morning, wave wise, it is possible to look directly to the ocean floor some 12 feet below the boat and see the individual fish swimming around. It is mesmerizing and on those days breakfast tends to be a little late. Yesterday 12 black and yellow cuttlefish drifted past and there were a couple of lovely blue fish swimming around the anchor. It is very impressive that the quality of the water here is so good with a town just ashore and many liners visiting every day.
We won't be staying here very long for a couple of reasons, one is that it's VERY expensive and the second is that the hurricane season is fast approaching. We need to head north before that starts in earnest, 1st June. So we are currently looking at the weather ready to depart for the USA. Another world of stuff!
Cooking is a joy with wonderful ingredients to buy. Fabulous beef from the USA at good prices so we are working hard to rectify the lack of red meat in our diets and gorging on steaks and beef. Sunday we had a real english roast. Roast beef with yorkshire puddings, roast parsnips(our first in 6 years), roast potatoes, broccolli and carrots with rich brown gravy. Slurp, sorry that's the sound of me dribbling!
Just a short walk from where we dock the dinghy (free of charge on the Government Wharf) is a large USA style supermarket. It actually makes me go all hot and faint the moment we walk inside. Thank goodness that there is air conditioning or I expect that I would be lying on the floor at regular intervals. So much to choose from that usually we come away with very little. It is fascinating how so many years in central America has altered our buying habits!
As we woke this morning there were 5 cruise liners anchored just behind us. Their passengers already being ferried, at 8am, ashore so that they could spend, spend, spend. From the jewellers to the production line diver experiences to the pirate ship tour of the bay. Most of the occupants of these ships don't seem to know what to do when they get ashore, they wander aimlessly from store to bar and back again.... Sad really.
The water here is wonderfully clear and on a quiet morning, wave wise, it is possible to look directly to the ocean floor some 12 feet below the boat and see the individual fish swimming around. It is mesmerizing and on those days breakfast tends to be a little late. Yesterday 12 black and yellow cuttlefish drifted past and there were a couple of lovely blue fish swimming around the anchor. It is very impressive that the quality of the water here is so good with a town just ashore and many liners visiting every day.
We won't be staying here very long for a couple of reasons, one is that it's VERY expensive and the second is that the hurricane season is fast approaching. We need to head north before that starts in earnest, 1st June. So we are currently looking at the weather ready to depart for the USA. Another world of stuff!
Cooking is a joy with wonderful ingredients to buy. Fabulous beef from the USA at good prices so we are working hard to rectify the lack of red meat in our diets and gorging on steaks and beef. Sunday we had a real english roast. Roast beef with yorkshire puddings, roast parsnips(our first in 6 years), roast potatoes, broccolli and carrots with rich brown gravy. Slurp, sorry that's the sound of me dribbling!
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Hello sailor!
I can finally say that again as we have completed our first ocean passage for rather a long time. And it was hell!!!
I demanded a helicopter to take me off the boat at regular intervals and gave the boat away a number of times until....we got here. and then like childbirth it was quickly forgotten in the euphoria of land fall.
But I get ahead of myself. We left Guatemala on the 22nd march the first time, yup that's right, the first time.
Everything prepared for a 500 mile passage to windward and off we went. Straight into a nasty storm of over 35 knots straight on the nose. We were expecting 20k from the SE and got 35 from the NE. Ah well such is sailing!
It was OK until the engine ground to a shuddering halt with a lot of cursing from below decks from TBH, I was on watch, we switched everything off and looked at each other with resigned despair. Oh well it's a sail boat we'll just have to do a whole lot more tacking.
That proved to be easier said than done. The wind continued to rise. We now had two reefs in the main and just the staysail up. The waves were short, steep with no back on them which meant that we were slamming into the water on every 3-4 waves. Really nasty stuff. It's like tobogganing down a concrete mogul run, yucky!
By now we were only 20 miles off the barrier reef of Belize and getting concerned about our safety.
TBH went below to get some sleep and as I picked up the next weather forecast, deteriorating conditions, I decided that we needed to turn back. I gnawed on my nails as I waited the four hours for him to get some sleep. Finally he woke and immediately agreed with my decision. In light of the forecast, our position and lack of engine the wise decision was to return to the safety of the anchorage we had left from 3 days previously. We could repair the engine, get some rest and then set out again. The relief was tangible i can tell you.
We turned the boat around, reset the sails and settled back for a 36 hour run to safety. then of course the wind died! Totally and utterly! Not a breathe from any direction!
We wallowed in the swell, tried to be laid back, read, cooked, ate, talked, slept and then as TBH looked over the side he saw a BIG yellow fished net and rope, all around us! So that had been the cause of the engine failure, the whole boat was wearing the marine equivalent of a fishnet stocking. Doh!
As the rope cutter did it's stuff we gingerly fired up the engine again and voila! Off we went.
Two days later we left again this time clawing our way along the Honduran coast into the wind in an attempt to get as far East as we could. I cannot say that it was an enjoyable trip, on the nose winds again, short steep seas. Not pleasant. We even had rain showers. That's just not on I thought!
We stopped for the night to shelter from a strong East wind only to find that the bloody thing swung to the west at 1am leaving us on a dangerous lee shore. So...off we went again. Finally arriving 24 hours later in the shelter of French harbour on the island of Roatan.
We refueled, re-provisioned, topped off the water, met up with some old mates and set off again. Determined to make our destination this time come he;ll or high water. 330 miles to Georgetown, Grand Cayman. And we did make it. Even though we had to motor sail ALL the way. A big blow to our diesel budget, we have used a years supply to make this trip, not a good carbon footprint.
We made a dramatic entrance into the bay here in 25 knot winds, reefed down and dodging the dollops of spray that were crashing over the boat. What a relief to hear the sonorous voice of the Port authority welcoming us in dulcet English tones.
What bliss! And now we are kicking back, enjoying the well stocked supermarkets, the restaurants, the bars and sorting out the post voyage mess.
It's great to be here in the Caymans!
I demanded a helicopter to take me off the boat at regular intervals and gave the boat away a number of times until....we got here. and then like childbirth it was quickly forgotten in the euphoria of land fall.
But I get ahead of myself. We left Guatemala on the 22nd march the first time, yup that's right, the first time.
Everything prepared for a 500 mile passage to windward and off we went. Straight into a nasty storm of over 35 knots straight on the nose. We were expecting 20k from the SE and got 35 from the NE. Ah well such is sailing!
It was OK until the engine ground to a shuddering halt with a lot of cursing from below decks from TBH, I was on watch, we switched everything off and looked at each other with resigned despair. Oh well it's a sail boat we'll just have to do a whole lot more tacking.
That proved to be easier said than done. The wind continued to rise. We now had two reefs in the main and just the staysail up. The waves were short, steep with no back on them which meant that we were slamming into the water on every 3-4 waves. Really nasty stuff. It's like tobogganing down a concrete mogul run, yucky!
By now we were only 20 miles off the barrier reef of Belize and getting concerned about our safety.
TBH went below to get some sleep and as I picked up the next weather forecast, deteriorating conditions, I decided that we needed to turn back. I gnawed on my nails as I waited the four hours for him to get some sleep. Finally he woke and immediately agreed with my decision. In light of the forecast, our position and lack of engine the wise decision was to return to the safety of the anchorage we had left from 3 days previously. We could repair the engine, get some rest and then set out again. The relief was tangible i can tell you.
We turned the boat around, reset the sails and settled back for a 36 hour run to safety. then of course the wind died! Totally and utterly! Not a breathe from any direction!
We wallowed in the swell, tried to be laid back, read, cooked, ate, talked, slept and then as TBH looked over the side he saw a BIG yellow fished net and rope, all around us! So that had been the cause of the engine failure, the whole boat was wearing the marine equivalent of a fishnet stocking. Doh!
As the rope cutter did it's stuff we gingerly fired up the engine again and voila! Off we went.
Two days later we left again this time clawing our way along the Honduran coast into the wind in an attempt to get as far East as we could. I cannot say that it was an enjoyable trip, on the nose winds again, short steep seas. Not pleasant. We even had rain showers. That's just not on I thought!
We stopped for the night to shelter from a strong East wind only to find that the bloody thing swung to the west at 1am leaving us on a dangerous lee shore. So...off we went again. Finally arriving 24 hours later in the shelter of French harbour on the island of Roatan.
We refueled, re-provisioned, topped off the water, met up with some old mates and set off again. Determined to make our destination this time come he;ll or high water. 330 miles to Georgetown, Grand Cayman. And we did make it. Even though we had to motor sail ALL the way. A big blow to our diesel budget, we have used a years supply to make this trip, not a good carbon footprint.
We made a dramatic entrance into the bay here in 25 knot winds, reefed down and dodging the dollops of spray that were crashing over the boat. What a relief to hear the sonorous voice of the Port authority welcoming us in dulcet English tones.
What bliss! And now we are kicking back, enjoying the well stocked supermarkets, the restaurants, the bars and sorting out the post voyage mess.
It's great to be here in the Caymans!
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Ants and anticipation.
I find my emotions oscillating quite wildly this week. Perhaps I can put it down to my 'age'!
As we prepare to sail to pastures new I begin to experience the nervous anticipation of the passage. It's not that I am fearful but rather that I have a VERY vivid imagination...quite honestly I do think it's a bit of a woman thing.
TBH is relentlessly masculine(thank goodness, no pink crocs on this boat) and is busy changing oil, running repairs and gleeful anticipating offshore life.
I, on the other hand, find myself distracted by the awful situation in Japan, thoughts of mortality, will the ants take over the boat and so forth. To explain-we have discovered an infestation of ants in the aft cabin and heads. I am assured by those wot know about these things that it is not a serious problem. We have removed and are currently replacing one piece of headlining, hope we have staunched the leaks that ensued and are poisoning the shit out of the little bastards but still I worry....I can be found late at night patrolling the boat with a flashlight and can of ant WMD (weapon of mass destruction) a can of Raid! Certainly the numbers are massively reduced but I can't get over the fact that I feel I have 'let the boat down' Sigh.
We are provisioned, the tanks are full of fuel, the propane bottles full, charts prepared. Today I checked the lifejackets, prepared the safety harnesses and started scrutinizing the weather charts to look for the next window. Gulp!
As we prepare to sail to pastures new I begin to experience the nervous anticipation of the passage. It's not that I am fearful but rather that I have a VERY vivid imagination...quite honestly I do think it's a bit of a woman thing.
TBH is relentlessly masculine(thank goodness, no pink crocs on this boat) and is busy changing oil, running repairs and gleeful anticipating offshore life.
I, on the other hand, find myself distracted by the awful situation in Japan, thoughts of mortality, will the ants take over the boat and so forth. To explain-we have discovered an infestation of ants in the aft cabin and heads. I am assured by those wot know about these things that it is not a serious problem. We have removed and are currently replacing one piece of headlining, hope we have staunched the leaks that ensued and are poisoning the shit out of the little bastards but still I worry....I can be found late at night patrolling the boat with a flashlight and can of ant WMD (weapon of mass destruction) a can of Raid! Certainly the numbers are massively reduced but I can't get over the fact that I feel I have 'let the boat down' Sigh.
We are provisioned, the tanks are full of fuel, the propane bottles full, charts prepared. Today I checked the lifejackets, prepared the safety harnesses and started scrutinizing the weather charts to look for the next window. Gulp!
Friday, 11 March 2011
The power of water.
Yesterday we were sailing up river, coming across a lake, when totally out of the blue, well murky grey, a squall caught us with all the canvas up. We lurched over, nasty moment! fortunately everything was well stowed and after furling the yankee off we went again.
Looking over my shoulder 10 minutes later I saw one of those evil black systems that make you gulp.
Get the main down I suggested to TBH,
You sure he said.
Absolutely I replied!
Within another 10 minutes the system was on us. From a 10 knot head wind we had some 40 knots up the bum, driving rain and zero visibility.
Thank goodness we had the dinghy on top of the boat. I am a bit obsessive about that, we never tow it anywhere. I have seen far too many nasty moments to risk it and boy was I right yesterday.
We crept slowly along the river bank, fortunately I know it well after all this time but it still amazes me how quickly you can become disorientated in low visibility.
The wind howled, the rain was like needles through my shirt. Good old TBH dashed below and got the oilies. A gods send as I was beginning to get pretty cold.
The whole thing lasted about an hour . Nasty and chastening. It really caught us with our knickers down,
..and then we woke this morning to the dreadful news from Japan. How do you begin to cope in a situation like that?
Our daughter was in Tokyo at Christmas staying with her boyfriends sister. I gave thanks that she was not there now. Her hosts had flown out from Japan just yesterday for a holiday.. in Hawaii! They telephoned home this morning to say they had been evacuated to high ground in preparation for a tsunami. What can you say?
Mother Nature is a powerful force.
Looking over my shoulder 10 minutes later I saw one of those evil black systems that make you gulp.
Get the main down I suggested to TBH,
You sure he said.
Absolutely I replied!
Within another 10 minutes the system was on us. From a 10 knot head wind we had some 40 knots up the bum, driving rain and zero visibility.
Thank goodness we had the dinghy on top of the boat. I am a bit obsessive about that, we never tow it anywhere. I have seen far too many nasty moments to risk it and boy was I right yesterday.
We crept slowly along the river bank, fortunately I know it well after all this time but it still amazes me how quickly you can become disorientated in low visibility.
The wind howled, the rain was like needles through my shirt. Good old TBH dashed below and got the oilies. A gods send as I was beginning to get pretty cold.
The whole thing lasted about an hour . Nasty and chastening. It really caught us with our knickers down,
..and then we woke this morning to the dreadful news from Japan. How do you begin to cope in a situation like that?
Our daughter was in Tokyo at Christmas staying with her boyfriends sister. I gave thanks that she was not there now. Her hosts had flown out from Japan just yesterday for a holiday.. in Hawaii! They telephoned home this morning to say they had been evacuated to high ground in preparation for a tsunami. What can you say?
Mother Nature is a powerful force.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Lovely Piratey story from the Daily Mail
The REAL pirates of the Caribbean: Divers recover 17th Century cannons belonging to bloodthirsty buccaneer Henry Morgan
- Six guns possibly from The Satisfaction found off in river in Panama
- Notorious Welshman's flagship sunk in 1671 by the Spanish
Swashbuckling adventurer Morgan sent three ships and a crew of 470 men to capture the Castillo de San Lorenzo el Real de Chagres, a fort that guarded the approach to Panama City, the capital, in 1671.
But the notorious buccaneer and his men were sailing up the Chagres River to join them when his flagship, The Satisfaction, and at least three other vessels crashed on Lajas Reef, sinking in shallow water.
Fire power: Archaeologists examine the decayed cannons that are believed to have come from fearsome bucaneer Henry Morgan's ship, the Satisfaction, which sank in Panama in 1671
Now a group of Panamanian and foreign archaeologists say that cannons found at the mouth of Panama's Chagres River, the site where Morgan's flagship was wrecked, may have belonged to the pirate.
'Every school kid learns about Morgan's activities, but we have never seen any of his materials,' archaeologist Tomas Mendizibal told the Los Angeles Times.
Swashbuckling: Morgan was born in a small Welsh village and went on to become a notorious pirate
Henry Morgan was born in the small village of Llanrumney in south Wales and went on to become legendary buccaneer who battled the Spanish for control of the Caribbean.
Although he is said to be a pirate he was actually working for the English Commonwealth to secure trade routes to the New World.
The wreckage in Panama in 1671 proved a personal setback as the city was later burned down and looted in violation of a peace treaty between England and Spain.
Morgan was forgiven by King Charles II was later sent to Jamaica where he became a planter and respected member of the ruling class before he fell ill and died in 1688.
But in Panama, the legend of the swashbuckling buccaneer has lived on and he has become one of the best known pirates in the region.
Divers led by top archaeologists have mapped the site of the wreckage on the the banks of the Rio Chagres since 2008.
The cannons were measured and photographed in 2008 and studied by Dr. Ruth Brown, formerly with the Royal Armouries in the UK and an internationally renowned early cannon expert.
Weapons: Experts said the size and shape of the cannons appear to be a close match with the characteristics of small iron cannon of the Seventeenth Century
Last week they finally confirmed that they had recovered the cannons from a shallow reef damaged by treasure hunters, whose blasting and dredging had exposed the fragile iron cannons to possible damage and loss. This led to the decision to recover the cannons.
Mission: Henry Morgan sent three ships and a crew of 470 men along the Chagres River to capture a fort guarding the approach to Panama City
Mr. Raul Castro Zachrisson, Secretary General of Panama's Instituto Nacional de Cultura said: 'Panama's National Institute of Culture (INAC) is committed to the preservation of our cultural heritage. We strive to maintain it in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations.
'I am honored to be a part of this important historical find and look forward to a continuous working relationship with all the institutions and professionals involved in the conservation of our sub aquatic cultural and natural resource
We have been to Panama, anchored under some of the old forts, read the tales of pirates, and privateers so a lovely story to bring home the history of the place.Not too sure of the accuracy of the map of where these were found though! Still damn the facts lets go with the romance...
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