October 2006




	*Click below to view a photo gallery* Rio Dulce, Guatemala to Puerto Cortez, Honduras Laguna el Diamante to Utila October 8, 2006 Location: Rio Dulce, Guatemala Nautical Miles Traveled: 0 While David remains back on the boat finishing up the provisioning I am headed back to California tomorrow for a week to take care of some last minute business, and of course bring a few boat parts back. The boat is packed, we’re excited and hope to be out of the marina in about 12 days. Some of the projects we got done over the last couple weeks were done with our upcoming cruising grounds in mind. Once we leave Monkey Bay Marina we probably won’t see another marina for quite some time, maybe a year or more. So some projects were done with that in mind. For example David made a rain catcher to collect rain water to fill our water tanks. Not having a hose available anytime we run out of water will mean supplementing our water with other sources. Rain water is a great source and we will see plenty of that down towards Panama. The water maker is another source of fresh water for us, though it has a small output. Since we’ll be at anchor where it is know to rain a lot during the rainy season we will need to deal with ventilation and keeping the boat dry. Here at the dock we keep all the ports and hatches closed and run the air conditioner, not so at anchor. When it rains at anchor we have to close all the ports and hatches, that makes for a very uncomfortable interior when it’s hot an humid outside. So David is making awnings for the hatches that will allow us to keep them open for ventilation but keep the rain out. We’ve been testing the temperature inside our refrigerator and have been a bit surprised. While the temperature towards the bottom of the refrigerator is 35 degrees the temperature towards the top is 54. We put in a small battery operated fan sold at west marine and it dropped the temperature at the top by 5 degrees. So I ordered a 12vdc computer fan that draws .2 amps. That will be installed in the refrigerator to draw cold air from the bottom of the refrigerator and blow it to the top. Ideally this will keep the inside temperature consistent. We’ve also heard from other cruisers who have done this that it will also reduce the the cycling time of the compressor, thus reducing amps used (battery usage). So it’s little things like this that have been keeping us busy. Most everything else that is left are things we can do while we are under way. Once I get back from California we’ll wrap up and leave the marina. If the weather is not so good offshore we’ll hang out on Lago Izabal or sail down to Livingston and wait for a good weather window. Our initial plan was to head to Roatan direct, an over night sail. The plan now is to hop along the coast of mainland Honduras, taking three or four days to get to Roatan. We’ll make one last update just prior to departing the marina, then our next internet access probably won’t be until Roatan! October 12, 2006 Location: Rio Dulce, Guatemala Nautical Miles Traveled: 0 With three tropical waves in the Caribbean Sea right now we’re wondering if we’ll be able to leave for Honduras next week, but we’ll continue to keep an eye on the weather. I leave California and head back to Guatemala on Saturday, so we’re hoping to be out of the marina by Tuesday. With one suitcase full of boat stuff we’ll be busy with a couple last minute projects. We had a chance to sit with Bob and Judy (Amazing Grace) and took many notes including waypoints. They had spent three years cruising Panama and filled our brains with lots of good information. David is taking care of last minute provisioning. Since we heard provisions were considerably more expensive in Roatan we decided to take on additional provisions in Guatemala where it’s so much cheaper. The last few projects we’ll do after we get underway, such as ensuring the lazarette is packed safely and the last of the waypoints are uploaded to the chart plotter. It’ll be sad to say goodbye to so many friends as many will not be including Panama in their plans, but there are a few friends that we plan on seeing somewhere down the road. And with new adventures on the horizon we know there will be new friends, but those we have now will not be forgotten. So we’ll head out of the slip next week and while we’re waiting for weather there will be plenty of good sailing on Lago Izabal and in Gringo Bay. We’ll also stage ourselves at Livingston where we’ll have to check out of Guatemala before continuing to Honduras. More than likely we will not have any internet access until we reach Roatan, so updates won’t be posted until we arrive. That could be a week or a few weeks but be sure to check back to see when we arrive. During our voyage we’ll continue to add notes to our ship’s log and make the update soon. So the excitement continues to be high, the anticipation of new adventures keep our minds occupied. October 18, 2006 Location: Rio Dulce to Livingston, Guatemala Nautical Miles Traveled: 21 Bruadair and her crew are now under way!! We left Monkey Bay Marina and had a great four hour trip down river to the port town of Livingston. After anchoring I took the dingy into town with the small 3.3hp outboard we purchased from some friends. Unfortunately the outboard seized up on my way to town and I had to drift into a dock at El Delfin Restaurant and Hotel. After locking the dingy up I made a trip to see the Customs Officer, Immigration and the Port Captain, and in less than an hour we were officially checked out of Guatemala. After finding a launcha driver to tow me and the dingy back to Bruadair David and I called it an early evening as we wanted to be up and ready for an early departure Thursday morning. What a day, new adventures are over the horizon! Dinner tonight was Tadka Dal (Indian lentils and spices) and basmati rice. October 19, 2006 Location: Livingston to Ox Tongue Bight, Guatemala Nautical Miles Traveled: 14 We weighed anchor at 0625 this morning and crossed the shallow sandbar with a high tide at 0645. Even at high tide we had as little as 4 inches under our keel. Once we safely made it over the sand bar and into the deeper waters of the Caribbean Sea David and I broke out a bottle of cold champagne, and with an appropriate toast to Neptune we were ready to begin new adventures. The trip to Ox Tongue Bight was basically uneventful. The lack of wind meant we had to motor the entire way. Through out the day we had periodic sightings of dolphins and about 5 miles from land we were surrounded by dozens of large black dragon flies. Once anchored at Ox Tongue Bight we opened all the ports and hatches and put up the wind scoop. We forgot how hot it can be out here with out air conditioning. In the evening it was an impressive sight to see the lights of Puerto Barrios and Livingston. It was also kind of sad knowing this would be our last night in Guatemala. For dinner we had Cajun red beans and rice! October 20, 2006 Location: Ox Tongue Bight, Guatemala to Puerto Cortez, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 50 Our first stop in Honduras is in the moderately protected bay of Puerto Cortez. We had a long day of motor sailing, seems the winds are relatively light and mostly on the nose. That was to be expected as we are traveling into the trade winds. As we left Ox Tongue Bight and approached Cabos Tres Puntas we were witness to one of the most magnificent water spouts we had ever seen. Off to our port side at 6 miles we watched as the water spout formed and touched the ocean, it remained for almost ten minutes. Fortunately we were able to track it on our radar and were in no danger of being in it’s way. We anchored right off Coca Cola Beach in Puerto Cortez. Puerto Cortez is a commercial port with many large frieghters coming and going. It is also home to a naval base and resort community. Coca Cola Beach is lined with hotels, restaurants and night clubs, most of the visitors are Hondurans vacationing from San Pedro Sula. Though it’s a beautiful anchorage we found it to be quite noisy once the sun went down. The echo of the salsa music from a lot of the night clubs was so loud that we actually thought our boat was actually the club. It lasted until three in the morning. Dinner tonight was skillet pasta. October 21, 2006 Location: Puerto Cortez, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 1 We weighed anchor this morning at 0830 and headed out of the bay. While motoring I was at the helm and noticed a dramatic decrease in power. Knowing something with the engine was not right, and being on the edge of the shipping lane with these large freighters David and I decided it was best to nurse our boat back to shallow water and re-anchor. Once anchored we broke out our mechanical book and began following directions on what to look for when experiencing “unexpected loss of power”. We checked the Racor fuel filters for water and blockage, they were good. We checked the air filter, good. We inspected the water impeller, checked good but we changed it anyway. Checked the Yanmar fuel filter on the engine, checked good but changed it anyway. So now the only thing left to do was check to see if our prop was fouled. We broke out the snuba system that Bob and Judy (sv Amazing Grace) was kind enough to let us aquire and I got ready to go into the water. The snuba system is a dive tank, 50 feet of hose and an air regulator. It allows us to go underwater with an air supply. Once in the water I put on my mask and put the regulator in my mouth, it didn’t take a second to realize what the problem was when my face hit the water. There was a huge garbage back wrapped around our propeller. After freeing the bag from the propeller I decided to take a quick look at the bottom of the boat. Everything looked clean and good. The water was so refreshing that I decided to stay in for a while. So with the boat cleaned up and everything stowed again we decided it was time for our morning coffee. Considering it was already 1030 we made the decision to wait until tomorrow morning before continuing on to Laguna del Diamonte. We’ll take the rest of the day today and enjoy some time at anchor. Oh, if you’re wondering how we got the web site updated it was pretty easy. I turned on the computer and was actually able to pick up a wireless internet signal. Cool! During our travels we did have one breakdown. We use our Ham radio to communicate with other boaters and to check in with the NW Caribbean Net. The net provides boaters with weather and other important information as well as allowing boats underway to check in and be monitored. We also use the ham radio for receiving weather updates/faxes. Unfortunately the radio is no longer transmitting so we have not been able to check in with our friends or the the net. Hal, one friend on the Rio Dulce, actually put out a Health and Welfare check on us since he hadn’t heard from us for a few days. It’s nice to know there are people out there concerned about us. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do to fix our radio so we will probably continue to cruise without it. Once we get to a location where we’ll be for a while I’ll have to see if it’s a problem that can be easily fixed. Well, it’s time for another swim, then we have to start the water maker and see if it still works. Our next update should be sometime next week after we get to Roatan. October 22, 2006 Location: Puerto Cortez to Puerto Escondido, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 28 We left Puerto Cortez this morning and luckily did not foul our prop on our way out of the port. It was a nice sunny day with seas at 2 feet and a 1 knot current in our favor. Unfortunately there was no wind so it was 6 hours of motoring today. When we arrived at Punta Sal we made our way in through the narrow and shallow channel for Laguna el Diamante. After being anchored in seven feet of water for half an hour we decided to raise anchor and try another lagoon as Diamante was so sheltered there was not a bit of breeze in the stifling heat. Aside from no breeze there was an unbelievable amount of debris floating all around us from sticks to full size trees. When it was time to raise anchor I went to start the motor, and nothing happened. The starter wouldn’t. even make a clicking noise. An hour of trouble shooting resulted in finding a bad connection from the start button to the solenoid, and once the connection was repaired the motor started right up. We exited Diamante and proceeded up Punta Sal to Puerto Escondido. Though much smaller it was deeper and easier to enter, had a great breeze and the shoreline was mostly beaches. In the distance we could hear the parrots and howler monkeys greet us as we searched for a suitable spot to anchor. The rest of the day was filled with naps, reading and dinner (soup). October 23, 2006 Location: Puerto Escondido to East Bay, Utila, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 53 It was another day of motoring as there just wasn’t any wind. As we motored towards Utila we altered course 10 miles to the East to avoid a squall line. According to the radar the squall was about 10 miles long and four miles deep, and we could see lots of lightening within it. Not that we’re not afraid of a little rain, but to be the only stick on the ocean for miles doesn’t seem to go well with lightening. And since we had plenty of daylight it only made sense to alter course. In due time we were able to out run and make our way around the squall. With a favorable current we were able to average 6.4 knots all day. Utila is a very small island off the coast of Honduras and we were pleased that the entrance into East Bay was easy to navigate. Though we would have liked to spend more time here exploring the island it is currently under boycott from the boating community due the alarming amount of theft against boaters. We decided to stay on the boat and enjoy the island from our anchorage. Dinner tonight was a Mexican casserole from scratch and went well with the few episodes of season 2 of 24. October 24, 2006 Location: Utila to French Caye Harbor, Roatan, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 35 We’re finally here! After an uneventful day of motoring we are now anchored off Fantasy Island in French Caye Harbor, Roatan. Roatan is the largest of the three Bay Islands of Honduras and a popular diving destination. We maneuvered around one squall today and because we didn’t see lightening in the second we decided to go though it. The fresh water rain was nice and plentiful so David and I took a shower on deck while the autopilot kept us on course. Today was also the day we started our water maker making 5 gallons today. We decided that though we like our water maker it’s capacity is not sufficient for our needs. We’re going to look into upgrading to a larger water maker when the timing is right. After checking at the office on Fantasy Island I found out it’s a $50 taxi ride to Coxen Hole where we need to check in with the Port Captain, Immigration and Customs. But the hotel did say that there was an agent that could check us in for a total cost of $50 so we decided to do that. Unfortunately it involved sending copies of our paperwork and our passports by bus to the agent. We’ve been reassured that it is very safe to do, we sure hope so! We’ll stay here in French Harbor for a few days or a week or so. There is some bad weather coming and now that we’re in Roatan we’re going to take some time and enjoy the sights and relax a bit. There are a lot of anchorages and small towns along the coast of Roatan so we will take some time to visit a few as we make our way east to Guanaja, the Easterly most island in this chain. The people at Fantasy Island Resort and Dive Center have been kind enough to let us use their internet access while we stay anchored here so we’ll see if we can add more updates later after we get settled in. Maybe a few more pictures too. October 26, 2006 Location: French Caye Harbor, Roatan, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 0 We’re still here in French Harbor. Had a chance to dingy around yesterday and see what’s here. In Old French Harbor we found the Royal Yacht Club with very reasonable rates but it is in a small little lagoon, very dirty and surrounded by shanties with outhouses over the water. This is probably the poorest we’ve seen since traveling, even more so than Guatemala. It’s kinda sad. Most people here speak English which has made it real nice to get information. Today we dingied over to the commercial side of French Harbor, a lot of restaurants, couple grocery stores and a bank. Also found the fuel dock, lots of shrimp boats and two hardware/marine stores. Since we left the Rio Dulce we have been having issues with our batteries not holding a charge like they used to. It’s been disappointing since we spend so much money on what was supposed to be the best batteries, Lifeline 6v AGM batteries. They’re supposed to have a life expectancy of seven to 10 years, we’ve only had them three and a half years. They’re just not holding a charge anymore and we’re having to run the portable generator twice a day, in Mexico and Belize we could go three or four days without charging. So while at Dixon Marine we ordered six 6vdc batteries to replace the ones we have. After many tests and unanswered e-mails to Lifeline Batteries we are pretty sure our batteries are bad. And after spending $800 on new batteries now I’m second guessing myself, but that was to be expected. The folks here at Fantasy Island have been kind enough to let us pull up to the dock for a few hours Saturday morning when the batteries will be delivered to let us load them and unload the old. The swimming has been great, clarity of the water around the reefs is absolutely amazing and in areas we can see the bottom in 30 feet of water. Lots of fish jumping around too. We’ll stay through the weekend and then move down the coast to Hogs Pen Bight, just east of Jonesville where we’ll stay for a few days. Most of the time has been spent relaxing on the boat, haven’t gone out to eat or needed to get provisions yet. Just nice and relaxing. October 28, 2006 Location: French Caye Harbor to Jonesville Bight, Roatan, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 9 At 0630 we raised anchor and moved the boat to the docks at Fantasy Island Resort as the batteries we ordered from Dixon Marine was supposed to be delivered at 0800. We waited until noon and still no batteries and with the store closed today we had little hope of seeing them. So after some deliberation we decided to move on and see the rest of Roatan. Winds were light and of course on the nose but we still made our way East along the coast to Jonesville Bight. According to the chart there should have been four buoys marking the channel but only one red buoy was found. Because both sides of the channel are lined with very shallow reefs we took our time going in, and fortunately a call came on the vhf radio from a man watching us in his house, he gave us very detailed instructions and we made our way in safely. Jonesville Bight is a small bay with some nice homes and a shrimp boat community. It was challenging finding a suitable place to drop the anchor as the water was 60 feet throughout. One of the guys at the Hole In The Wall bar and restaurant came out in his launcha to show us the way into another small inlet, of course he wanted us to anchor in front of his establishment, which we did. I was a bit nervous getting into this narrow bight as the water was full of shoals and we had to go under some power lines that were only 60 feet above water, our mast if 50’ above water. Not much room for error but we made it safely and anchored in 15 feet. After getting the boat settled David and I went to the Hole In The Wall, had a couple sodas and lunch. The burgers were quite good and David was pleased not to have to cook October 31, 2006 Location: Jonesville Bight, Roatan, Honduras Nautical Miles Traveled: 0 It’s been raining non stop for a couple days but today was nice, though cloudy. We’ve been having some challenges since leaving the Rio Dulce. The batteries in our house bank need to be replaced, we’ll do that in Panama where we can get some name brand batteries at a better price. Until then we’ll have to charge the batteries daily with the engine or the generator. We haven’t had luck being able to get money at the ATMs since they only accept ATM cards with the Visa logo, not the Mastercard logo like we have. We have a small reserve and have decided to save that for fuel and checking in/out of countries. There isn’t enough in our reserve for eating out or provisioning but David did such a good job in provisioning in Guatemala that we’re set for a couple months. Good thing. The engine has been suffering from low oil pressure and we’re still troubleshooting that. The lack of resources such as parts and a good mechanic doesn’t help the situation much. We’re thinking that we might try to make it to La Ceiba on the mainland or even head back to the Rio Dulce where we might have better resources to help. What we’ve been able to do is check engine oil levels, change the oil and filter, check the oil pressure gauge and a few other things. What we’re down to now is either a bad oil pressure sending unit, but we don’t have a spare to check and can’t find one on the island yet. Other possibilities include a bad oil pump or bearings, the later requiring an engine over haul. Casey at Mocking Bird Marine, Bob on s/v Amazing Grace and Dino on s/v Delphinus and my younger brother (a Honda mechanic) have all been very helpful and supportive via email. Hopefully the problem will resolve itself soon. The SSB radio is receiving fine as usual but now it doesn’t transmit. Have checked ever connection and found no issues there. Nothing else has changed so we’re not sure what’s wrong. It’s possible that our microphone went bad, but we don’t have access to another to be sure. Or it could be the radio or tuner. So for the time being we’ll continue without the radio. When time permits we’ll check our ground plane and a few other connections. During our next refit which will be right before our Panama Canal transit we’ll redo the coaxial cable from the radio to the tuner and add onto our ground plane, but until then the radio is going on the back burner. Our Avon 310 Lite inflatable RIB dingy needs to be replaced, the wood transom rotted out. We can’t put the 15 hp outboard on it as the transom buckles a lot and we’re afraid the motor will fall of and go snorkeling. So right now we don’t use the dingy much, just hang out on the boat a lot. When we do need to get someplace we use the 3.3 as it’s much lighter and easier to retrieve should it go swimming. The dingy is only three and a half years old so it’s within the 5 year warranty period, but Avon wants us to ship it to them then wait to have it shipped back. Two months of wait time and shipping costs equal to half the original cost of the dingy so we’ll just have to look for a good used one. Needless to say David and I are a bit disappointed and stressed, but at the same time glad to at least be here and still floating. Our priorities at this point is to continue addressing the engine issues as we really depend on it for getting into and out of anchorages and narrow channels. Second priority is the dingy as it’s our only means of transportation off the boat, third priority is to find an ATM that takes our card. The SSB radio would be nice to stay in contact while underway especially when going through areas prone to piracy, but with the other priorities we’ve decided to put this on the back burner. Good news is there is still time in the day for fishing and snorkeling, reading and napping. Though we’re use to having challenges during our cruise we’re not used to having them pile up on us. Hopefully all of these will work out and ideally no engine overhauls are over the horizon.

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