Voyage to the Hog Islands

2-(19-24)-91 - Floyd - Cayos Cochinos

Wow! a fast passage 4 hr 10 min to Cayos - wind 20-25 knots, even kept up to Fomalhaut. Zoomed into the lee of the island and hooked the mooring. Blasts of wind over the mountain pick up the dingy and send it flyin over the life lines everyonce in awhile, glad we are not on the hook.

2-21-91 - Floyd

Hike over to deserted beach, picnic and rum. Play nude beachball in the crystallyne water, the nicest since Gomez, beautiful white sand.

2-(24 to 28)-91 - Floyd

Back at Lime Cay - 30 deg course takes us all the way from Cayos and thru the pass, what a shot! Lots to do and hate to think about leaving. Time does go by to fast. Meet Barney and Susan on "Albotross" from Germany. The next morning we say goodby to Dad and along with Suzy we head for Trujillo.

3-(1 to 7)-91 - Floyd - Trujillo

Arrive at the Bahia Bar - takes 4 tries to anchor decide finally it is loose sand and go in for a brew and to meet everyone. Hit town the next day and at night we walk 8 miles round trip to the Hotel, I believe that Suzy is seeing a side of Maggie and Charles that she never suspected, but is enjoying the hell out of it. Hike up to the falls, fantastic pools and solitude. We laze in the sun and get covered with ticks. I lost count of the ones I pulled off of me at around 30.

We ride the Norther

Weather reports that a Norther is coming in, contrary to local knowledge that we don’t have any more northers this time of year, hah. Jim Mcdonald says get out the storm anchor your’e doomed, and Horton says he has never seen the barometer so loow... No place to be right here in Trujillo but nobody but me seems to be very excited about it. So on Sunday we do move over to the North side of the bay and hook on down in about 10 ft of water by the dry dock, should be okay if the wind doesn’t come out of the west. 0130 the weather hits right out of the West, Great! 3 to 4 ft swells with 20 to 25 knot winds for 18 hrs. We hang in there feeling like a washing machine. Continuely I am on deck checking and replacing the chaffing gear on the windlass, so my line snubber doesn’t part and put the whole shock of the waves on the bowsprit thru the chain.

Finally the weather breaks and we go ashore and spend the day on the oceanside beach until the swells subside and it is livable once again on Palantir. Are we having fun yet?

The real terror is the feeling of helplessness, no place to run and wondering just what to do if the situation becomes so bad that it is impossible. This time wasn’t such a time but pretty close. Still alot of strain on the boat and gear - we should have left for Guanaja when we had a chance.

Have a nice sail back to the Bahia Bar, the girls take Fomalhaut and Charles and I on Palantir. Nice to sit back and have someone else do the work and enjoy the sailing without the worries. Charles is now determined to walk up to the radar installation, 4000 ft up and 15-20 miles round trip to see the sun rise. So fools that we are, not being able to get any sleep we are heading up the hill at midnight, my legs are already sore but I am determined to keep up. The moon comes up ½ and the sounds and the lights way below are pretty but each step of angoney kinda zaps any enjoyment, it is too cold to stop and too tired to walk. We give up 1 ½ miles from the top as the road turns even more steep.

Jan and I get a catnap on the cold cold pavement and we do see the sun pop up, a beautiful sight playing on the still bay waters below. We get a ride going back about half way down from one of the guys at the station. We stop at the Hotel and Peggy takes pity on us and treats us to breakfast and a ride back to the bar. Back at the boat, Zzzzz.....

3-9-91 - Floyd - Trujillo

Another Norther coming down, life in Trujillo I guess. Decide to leave tomarrow for Lime Cay - Jan and Maggie go off to shop when the wind picks up hard from the West and the swell starts building, sound familiar? By the time Jan is back she is barely able to make it back to the boat thru the breakers in little Pal with Maggie and all the groceries, it is howling. A real struggle to get the anchor up in these waves, almost had to ditch our chain, but finally manage to get it up and we are off. To where? no place to go, it is noon and nowhere we could be before dark. A hard beat out of the bay, takes us 3 hrs to go 9 miles

but then we round the point and head off the wind, we are flying toward Guanaja, what a sail! Averaging 6.1 knots we acually make the entrance just after the sun has set and we follow Charles in thru the cut and past Dunbar Rock and tuck into Sandy Bight, bright under the stars. Now this is the place to have a Norther.

3-11-91 - Floyd

Back at Lime Cay - the first downwinder that we’ve had since mexico. Accedently run over a hawkbill turtle (huge) but he was okay. After we arrive it was the start of many windless days - but we have to leave pretty soon just the same.

The Trip to the Rio Dulce

3-15-91 - Floyd

No wind so we motor to Cayos, meet up with Havalah - last supper with Maggie and Charles.

3-17-91 - Floyd

Day sail to Utila lost the wind by 0900 but it picks up again at 1400 just as we arrive at Water Cay. Make it in thru the reefs with no problems and anchor in about 7 ft of crystal clear water, looks like we are suspended in air. All night the wind Howls and growls out of the East and we think we’ll have it good tomarrow for our push to the river.

3-18-91 - Floyd

The wind has switched to the West and is piling the waves into our anchorage, no choice but to stick it out and head on. 10 hrs of tacking we make 20 miles. Havalah calls and says he is not feeling well and heads back to Utilia, he is singlehanding, we offer to stay but he assures us to go on. Then the wind dies completely and we motor on thru the night making good but noisy time of it. The wind gods just won’t give us a chance.

As dawn breaks we are rounding the point and a little wind springs up to help us along the last 10 miles. In sight of the Livingston bouy we spy C-Jay, Sea Lady and Shadow headed out for Belize, long enough to say Hello and Goodbye.

The fuel pump fails again

Disaster, oil pressure is zero and there is oil in the crankcase again, well that lasted 40 hrs. I change the oil and we motor on in over the bar. 20 minutes later we are snug at anchor but also another gallon of deseil in the oil - we are screwed big time.

3-19-90 - Floyd

Livingston pretty much Garafuna town, clean and bustling. Talk to Havalah, he is a day behind and will tow us up river, good deal.