Unwinding in Utila ….. Jan 2013

06 – 12 January 2013: East Harbour, Utila, Honduras  16  05N 86 53W

Lively Downwind Sailing to Move Further West
We knocked off the 30 miles downwind from Roatan to Utila in under 5 hours with just our headsail flying.  Rather a rolly trip with plenty of wind but the forecast was promising more of the same with gusts even higher over the following days, so we took the chance to move on while we could.  Tackling another reef entrance wasn’t looking too daunting with clear skies overhead, but wouldn’t you know it just as we made our final approaches a cloud formed from nowhere and visibility dropped considerably.  We made it safely into the huge bay, found a sandy spot to drop the hook and declared it a suitable home for the next few days.

Wind, Wind and more Wind
For the next 6 days there was little let up from the wind.  Accelerated trade winds were reported all over the Caribbean, with the squash zone off the top of Colombia producing gale force and 5 – 6 metre seas.  Even tucked away in the farthest western corner of the Gulf of Honduras we could not escape, although we rarely saw gusts over 30 knots, the seas were flat, our anchorage comfortable and our water tanks full to overflowing with a few downpours.

What a Funky Little Place
It was no hardship staying a few days.  Ashore was quite a delight, old wooden buildings lined the main street, some had been updated and renovated, others lay in their original condition adding a definite “Take me as I am” flavour to the town.  The mainly backpacking diving clientele fitted in well and the town survives by servicing their needs.  There were plenty of “cruisy joints” (see the zany gardens above at one of the cafes) to while away a few hours offering inexpensive drinks and food , great sunset bars on stilts over the water, hammocks slung between swaying palms ~ certainly a laid back place.

Interesting Health and Safety Standards
Lunchtime entertainment was provided one day by the local power company (just as well as lunch took nearly an hour to materialize!).  There obviously weren’t quite enough wires attached to this power pole, so it was time to install some more.  We watched as the van blocked the road for several minutes (it’s only one lane wide) and unloaded tools, electrical connection boxes, rolls of wires, 3 employees  ~ but no ladder.  Then we noticed one of them walking with considerable difficultly and everything well into place.  He had special shoes on with big hooks coming out of the heels (imagine a Captain Hook hand), he made his way slowly to the pole, which luckily was wooden!, and started climbing it, sticking his hooks in as he went.  We were pleased to see that he did clip himself on when he got to the right spot, but he sure provided quite some entertainment for all the tourists going by.  

A Hike to The Other Side

Cabin fever had us going ashore daily for a walk, we went left as far as we could, right as far as we could and then we decided to do the suggested hike in the Lonely Planet across the island to Pumpkin Hill, a pirates hideaway in another time.  There is only one road across the island, and only one hill ~ how could we not find it??  Still, it was a hot sunny morning so maybe climbing a hill wasn’t such a good idea anyway!  We kept going north, along the paved road, past dozens of lots for sale, some of the for sale signs were so old and faded, another developers dream gone wrong.  A couple of houses were nestled in the trees, we wondered if this was quite what they had bought into originally.  Eventually we found the sea on the northern coast, the rocky shoreline certainly didn’t look to be welcoming to pirate ships we definitely weren’t at the correct destination but it was an interesting excursion , great to stretch the legs and see some more of the island.
 

The good, the bad and the downright ugly – how can we clean up all this plastic?

Our Last Time to Head West
At last the winds eased enough to start thinking about doing our final westward passage for this season.  We needed to cover around 80 miles to get us to the bottom entrance of the Belize Reef, second only in size to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.  We needed to leave in good light to get through the shallows off the end of Utila and we needed to arrive in good light to enter the reef and anchor in the southern Sapodilla Cays of Belize.  In company with Bandit we left early afternoon and sailed as slow as we could in very wobbly seas headed for Belize.  It was an uneventful night, the highlight being the most amazing night sky we have seen in a very long time, the stars penetrated the ink black sky for millions of miles, it was stunning canvas to occupy us through the night.  Daylight broke as we approached the reef.
 

First impressions – Another Paradise Discovered

For reef entry waypoints, anchorage and checking out info click here to view our Cruising Info Blog 

Rendezvous in Roatan ….. Dec 2012/Jan 2013

28 December 2012 – 06 January 2013: French Cay Harbour, Roatan, Honduras  16.21N  86.26W

Nice Day for a Sail? 

We picked what looked like a perfect weather window for exiting Guanaja through the reefs and sailing off downwind to the next Honduran Bay Island of Roatan.  Samarang and Passport left before us, and then we were amazed to see 5 more yachts leave behind us, certainly a mass exodus.  Light winds, clear blue skies, sparkling waters, even some playful dolphins to accompany us on our way, but not a fish to be caught, guess we have used up all our luck on that one.  By mid afternoon conditions had changed dramatically, we were barrelling downwind doing 8 knots with freshening winds and seas rising very quickly.  The reef entrance to French Cay on Roatan had no protection from the building seas so when we turned to windward to drop the mainsail we got more salt water over the boat in 5 minutes than in the previous month since leaving Panama, oh well.  We picked our way in through the narrow passage, over the shoal area and into flat water, what a relief.

Back with Bandit
Our kiwi friends David and Brenda were there to greet us.  We had said our farewells to Bandit last April in Santa Marta, Colombia when they carried on west to Guatemala and Balvenie turned south down the Colombian coast and onto Panama.  It was great to catch up with them again.  In French Cay there is quite a sailing community, daily activities were announced on a morning radio net ~ evening potlucks, pizza nights, yoga classes, games afternoons ~ the list went on.  We decided against the US$50 pp “Bash on the Beach” for New Years Eve (but did enjoy their fireworks display) and instead we had a potluck gourmet meal on board Balvenie with Bandit and Samarang and popped open a bottle of Vevue Clicquot Champagne to celebrate in style the arrival of a New Year.



New Years Holidays
We spent several days in the protected anchorage sitting out some very gusty winds.   We kept ourselves busy while the wind howled through.  Snorkelling on the fringing reef was rewarding, the variety of fish quite good although low in numbers, some of the coral was alive and vibrant with exquisite purple fan corals swaying with the underwater current.  Inside the reef within the marine park area the seabed was teeming with lobsters, some not at all shy and savvy enough to come out from under their rocks to be hand fed, they know they are safe here.  One afternoon we visited the nearby Iguana Farm home to hundreds of Iguanas of various ages and sizes.  These reptiles are truly prehistoric looking, hard to imagine what our planet must have been like with creatures that look this scary in monster sizes roaming around freely millions of years ago.  Some of the residents here are over 25 years old ~ they all looked ancient.  Like the lobsters, they just seem to laze about waiting to be fed by another tourist – not a bad life!



We took a day tour of the island on a day when the winds had eased. We drove up along the spine of the island with 360 degrees panoramic views.  The brightness of the green land colours against the many shades of blue across the reef and out to sea backed by steely grey storm clouds made a spectacular vista.  We ventured east to the settlement of Oak Ridge, a small harbour side village that tourism hasn’t yet touched, basic wooden houses perch over the water on wobbly looking wooden piles, dilapidated verandas with peeling paint completed the picture, time appears to have stood still at Oak Ridge.  

It’s quite the opposite at the other end of the island,  West Beach is the main tourist destination, white sandy cove, very cute waterfront road lined with tastefully restored and colourfully painted wooden buildings, verandas framed with overflowing flower baskets, all housing bars and cafes, chic clothing stores, tourist and dive shops ~ quite a contrast to Oak Ridge, but it really did have a laid back restful holiday feel to it.  A little further south west is West Bay, a couple of large generic resort properties have the monopoly on the beachfront real estate, looking around you could be in any number of beach holiday spots worldwide, pleasant enough but not much local character.
We had seen all on offer on this island paradise, so waited another couple of days for the squally weather to settle down, then we lifted anchor, tiptoed out of the anchorage, pointed the bow west once again and flew off downwind.

Time to move on – next stop Utila

For details on waypoints, the anchorage and what to do ashore click here to view our Cruising Info Blog  

Another Year Slips under the Keel ….. 31 Dec 2012

French Cay Harbour,  Roatan,  Honduras  16.21N  86.26W

Its New Years Eve and another year has slipped on by.

We have some minutes to use up on the satphone before the month end so I am just practicing again with sending through blog updates with shrunk photos, this time I’m sending 2 photos and we will see how long it takes to upload the email.  Its just a short update.  (It didn’t work, I have uploaded this normally!!)

All is well here, the sun is now shining after a very murky and squally morning.  We have finally caught up with our kiwi friends David and Brenda on Bandit who we spent much of last season in the Caribbean with.  We are having a potluck dinner onboard Balvenie tonight with Bandit and Samarang, we might just bring midnight forward to “cruisers midnight” of 9pm so we are all still awake.

Yesterday afternoon we went out onto the reef snorkelling and although the reef quality and fish were very poor we have never seen so many lobsters.  It’s a Marine Park here and the lobsters are on to it, they come out from under the rocks to get fed and just wander around happily as they have no predators here.  There are some seriously big lobsters here.

This afternoons planned activity is a trip into the Iguana Farm where there are rumoured to be 3,500 thousand iguanas.  Guess there will be iguana photos in the next update!  

Happy New Year

Christmas Time at Guanaja ….. Dec 2012

23 – 28 December 2012:  Sandy Bay, Guanaja, Honduras  16.27N 85.52W

Tiny Bonacca with Guanaja in the background, a beautiful sunny start to our stay in Honduras

Checking In and Moving On
The lush and hilly island of Guanaja in the Bay Islands Group is sparsely populated, just a few houses at the fishing port and a handful of small properties dotted around the bays, its a sleepy place.  All the action happens on the adjacent teeny island of Bonacca, its about the size of a postage stamp, the shops, cafes, markets, bank and official offices are all squeezed in here, along with the housing for the population of over 8,000.  It reminded us of some of  the overcrowded villages in the San Blas, where houses were built millimetres apart and not an inch of the island was unused. But it was a quirky little place, well kept and clean, most of the buildings were on stilts, canals dissected some of the pathways – the locals were very friendly and welcoming.

Our arrival ashore to check into Honduras timed perfectly with the unloading of the supply boat from the mainland.  Hand pushed laden carts and trolleys were going in all directions, the paths (no roads) were awash with street vendors selling all manor of things in the build up to Christmas,  there was a real buzz.  We relaxed over lunch while the produce all got unpacked then we hit the fruit and vegetable stalls.  This was the best selection and quality of produce we had seen since Santa Marta in Colombia….. just left Panama for dead.  Our nomadic life requires us to grab whatever fresh produce is available locally, and sometimes the quality is not great,  so we get very excited when faced with a reasonable selection that has not already gone limp or rotten!!. 

At anchor off the town had us feeling like we were a centrepiece on a roundabout.  All manor of small craft were whizzing past us in various directions, ferrying people and goods to unknown destinations.  After an overnight passage we always need to catch up on sleep, so our small flotilla of 5 new arrivals relocated a couple of miles away to the very picturesque, peaceful and well protected anchorage of Sandy Bay.  Pine trees lined the hills right to the waters edge; a few timber homes built on poles nestled between them, the occasional palm added a touch of the tropics but at first glance we would have easily said we were back in New Zealand anchored in an inlet in our very own Bay of Islands – all we needed was to hear tui’s or bellbirds to complete the picture.

Hiking – Honduran Style 
We took the opportunity to get some serious exercise one day and joined IB and Rebecca off Passport and Gar off My Way to do a hike up and over the island to one of the beaches on the Northeast coast.  Gar has been living around these parts a while and knew the island like the back of his hand, just as well as the path signs soon disappeared, as did the track in certain places!  It was 3 1/2 hours steady uphill climbing, luckily there was plenty of tree cover as it was another stunner of a day.  The views from the top across to neighbouring Roatan were excellent but the mainland lay hidden behind an invisible mist.
 


Down to the Beach for a Well Earned Rest
The half hour descent to sea level was short but steep, my legs feeling like jelly at the bottom.  The reward was a pristine white sandy beach and the shacky Green Flash Restaurant built on stilts over the waters edge, magic – time for some very well deserved lunch and a quick siesta.  It was a great day out and not only did we get some much needed exercise we also got to see so much of the island by foot and then completed it with a water taxi boat trip back via a cove that Christopher Columbus sailed into on his 4th voyage to the New World when he discovered Guanaja, then we transited a canal dug through the mangrove swampland on the island back to our side.  We were home on the boats just in time for a cooling dip, shower and happy hour – phew, big day.

And So This is Christmas …..
Has it really been a whole year since we had last Christmas in the Cape Verde Islands, one day before departing on our Atlantic Crossing and heading for the Caribbean.  So many miles have gone under the keel since then, oceans and seas crossed and now we have ended up for this Christmas in Honduras, who would have thought!  I wonder where next Christmas will be?


There was no rest for skipper Christmas morning though, the dinghy outboard had developed a fuel leak overnight so it was fixing that instead of playing with new toys before we went ashore for lunch.  Manati Restaurant in the bay organised a Christmas Lunch, they supplied two huge bar-b-qued turkeys. Members of the expat community and all cruising boats were welcome and we all took a main course side dish and a dessert.  It was another gorgeous day and a great time was had by all.
 

 Christmas Day 2012 – Mark, Amanda: Lindy and Barry off Samarang: Nicky and Phil off Ajaya

 

**********Feliz Navidad**********

For more info on arrival procedure, waypoints and the anchorages click here to view our Cruising Info Blog

Heading to Honduras ….. December 2012

15 – 22 December 2012: Providencia, Colombia to Guanaja, Honduras  16.27N 85.52W

An Easy Start from Providencia
We left our favourite Caribbean island of Providencia and had an easy start just a short motor 10 miles north inside the fringing reef system up to Low Cay.  We were in company with our English friends Barry and Lindy on Samarang and American boat Passport with IB and Rebecca who we had just met.  Sadly the anchorage didn’t quite live up to our expectations,  there was a considerable amount of wave action coming over the reef making the anchorage quite choppy, deploying the dinghy extremely difficult, the water clarity quite disturbed and keeping the snorkel above the waves quite a feat!  Oh well, been there ~ done that.

Going North – Destination Unknown
Next morning it was all ears tuned to the weather forecast.  Our weather window was shortening as a cold front formed in the Gulf of Mexico.  The stronger winds should only just brush us down here but it would set a 3–4 metre swell on the northern Honduran coast by the weekend.  That gave us plenty of time to get to the Bay Islands but little time to explore the other cays and reefs along the way, still the weather is always changeable so we left in ideal conditions and with no fixed plans.  All day we had light winds just on the beam, almost flat seas, and blue skies, magic.  The three of us ran with different sail plans, us with a double reefed main, Samarang just one reef and Passport with full sail.  It was a great combination and we sailed closely together all day and throughout the brilliantly starlit night. 

Someone Is Watching Us
On my watch in the wee small hours with only our small flotilla both in sight and on radar Balvenie was suddenly “illuminated”.  I immediately thought of sci-fi movies where the aliens swoop down and scoop up everything in their path then spirit it away to planets unknown, never to be seen again!  But luckily nothing quite so dramatic was happening.  I followed the immensely bright beam of a search light miles across to the horizon and then watched as it pinpointed and tracked the other two yachts close by.  I can only assume it was a distant Navy or Coastguard vessel and they were checking we were not fishing illegally or drug running boats, sure gave me a fright though.
  
Early Morning Wakeup Call
The pre dawn sky aroused my attention, the sky was lightening up but from the west and not from the east – and no we hadn’t turned around and were now heading in the wrong direction!!  Mark had joined me on watch as the wind had dropped and we were slopping about, the boom was banging and there was talk of shaking the reefs out and running with the full main.  As the sky lightened more we could see the cause of the reverse sunrise, an intensely heavy band of cloud had formed to the east and was heading our way.  A quick check on the radar showed rain with it so we started zipping in the windows, big mistake we should have furled in the headsail first as within seconds it hit. 

From 8 knots of wind to over 30 knots in a second, with just our double reefed main and full headsail we were still way overpowered.  For the first time since owning Balvenie we were laid over and rounded up, sails flogging, Mark was struggling with the immense power on the helm as I tried desperately to ease the mainsheet which we had a bungy wrapped round to act as a shock absorber in the rolly seas.  We managed to regain control and run with the wind for a few more minutes then it was over as quickly as it arrived.  The weather cleared and we had a good run all day in light winds until dusk when we were very weary of approaching squalls.  This time we were ready for them but they brought only rain and no wind, typical!

A Brief Pitstop in Vivorillos Cays
Around 8pm we were abeam of the small group of reefs and islands called the Vivorillos.  With 160 miles still to run to Guanaja we calculated that we would have a night time arrival there.  As Guanaja has outer reefs and surrounding shallows we did not want to arrive in the dark so ourselves and Samarang decided instead to anchor overnight in the protection of the reef at the Vivorillos.  Passport carried on.  It was a straightforward approach, we had a half moon glowing to light our way in and by 8.3pm it was anchor down, rum poured and passage meal bubbling away.

We listened to the morning weather forecast, hopeful that the low may have dissipated which would allow us to have time to spend and explore, but sadly no, we had 36 hours to get to Guanaja before winds increased and swells built to 3-4 metres.  So it was anchor up and off we went following Samarang and new joiner Moonsong from Alaska.

If Cruising were a Box of Chocolates
The 25 hour run from Vivorillos to Guanaja would be one of those yummy strawberry cream centres covered in milk chocolate, absolutely my favourite.  We set the sails upon leaving and didn’t need to touch them until a mile out of Guanaja.  We had about 15 knots from behind, reasonably flat water, and the huge bonus was catching a beautiful Mahi Mahi.  The weather behaved, clear sunny skies all day and a spectacular starry sky, thankfully not a squall in sight.  We passed Samarang and shortly after we reigned in Moonsong too.  Then we heard Ajaya on the radio, they had left Providencia behind us but had sailed straight through.  We plotted their position and skippers goal was to catch them before sunset, once a racer – always a racer.  We waved at them at 5pm and on we went.
  

The Sweet Smell of Land
Dawn broke and I spotted Passport a little to the north of us, they had slowed down to arrive in daylight, we had preferred our option of a good nights sleep.  We both headed towards the reef entrance into Guanaja, the furthermost east island in the Bay Islands of Honduras chain, located around 20 miles north of the Honduran mainland.  As the sun rose higher in the sky we had good visibility to enter so in we went.  Since leaving Shelter Bay Marina in Panama this had been our first real goal for this seasons cruising.  There would be no more overnighters for a while, yippee!

Time to kick back and cruise!

For all the info on waypoints, anchoring, checking in/out etc to Providenica and more details on the passages click here to view our Cruising Info Blog then click on the left hand labels for Providencia and Honduras to get info on either