GUATEMALA TO EL SALVADOR
18th June saw an early morning departure from Guatemala – having received our paperwork later than expected, we decided to spend another night – expecting to get away early, and therefore without paying for it – WRONG. One thing you can’t fault at the marina Pez Vela in Guatemala is the tenacity of the security guards!!! So 0700 saw us head out to sea for our 48 hour passage to El Salvador. An uneventful passage with a little sailing and a lot of engining, arriving with Liberty Call off the Bahia Jiquilisco (Hi-ki-lis-co), awaiting the arrival of the Pilot panga that will guide us in and over the bar, past the shoals where the breakers are scary and nine miles up the river into paradise – baring the mosquito’s. Barillas marina is in fact mooring buoys ($11-20) per day in the river, surrounded by mangroves and alongside a very nice resort with pool, spa bath, bar, restaurant, hammocks swung in palm trees, all in all, a nice little stop. Here we find Maverick!!! Who we thought was in Costa Rica by now, but they arrived and 35 days later, where still here. They have in fact decided to leave their boat here – excellent shelter and great security – and fly back to Germany for 4 weeks. Three other cruising boats with people on board are still here (it’s now very out of season), and a handful of boats have been left here to shelter for the duration of hurricane season. We are still not quite out of the possible hurricane area, but El Salvador has never been hit to date. This is a fabulous place to relax. A 20 minute walk from the resort takes you into the forest where you will find partially tame – enough that they will come and take your banana’s – Spider monkeys swinging in the trees.
El Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America and also the only once without both a Caribbean and Pacific coast. It is still however chiefly remembered for its vicious civil war in the 1980’s and although Peace Accords were signed in 1992 Peace Accords, the country still doesn’t attract the tourism enjoyed by its neighbours, Guatemala and Nicaragua. We took a ride into San Salvador, the capital, with Kurt and Agatha then they left for the airport, but returned back to Barillas later that day pretty uninspired. For me the city was bland and had no soul, the only redeeming feature I found was an amazing church, which from the outside looked like a solid concrete semi-circle without a single window, it was only on entering that it became apparent that concrete was inter-laced with the most beautiful abstract stain glass windows. The botanical gardens where not the best, but an oasis in what is otherwise a fairly ugly city.
So here we are, still in Barillas, making the most of the pool, the hammocks and the general air of relaxation. We will probably leave later in the week for Fonseca, where we hope to anchor at the islands for a few days snorkelling, before continuing on to Costa Rica.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
CROSSING THE GULF AND LEAVING MEXICO
Huatulco is the last recreational destination on Mexico’s Pacific coast and when heading south, cruisers have to negotiate the Gulf of Tehuantepec, infamous for its sudden gales. The bay is 260 miles across and is relatively shallow. The weather in the Gulf is dominated by the weather in the Caribbean and leads to approximately 180 days per year experiencing Force 8 winds or higher. A Tehuantepec gale, or T-pecker, is capable of blowing a 120 foot coastal freighter 350 miles off shore into horrendously steep seas. Each year a number of smaller boats are caught out by the T-peckers, with disastrous results. . They are impossible to predict from local cloud observation and onboard barometer readings. They strike suddenly and last from a few hours to several days, However, because the Gulf is so notorious, a great deal of resources have been poured into the forecasting of these storms, so we sit and wait with daily visits to the internet café, scanning every piece of weather information we can get. We want a five day passage. The Gulf is 260 miles and we then have a further 108 miles to the next tenable anchorage/marina in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. So, 9th June and, with a decent 5 day forecast we – Aphrodite, Liberty Call, Anna Lee and Xochitl - head out of Huatulco with light winds, as per the forecast, of around 8-10 knots. In fact the forecast shows nothing in the next 5 days over 14 knots. We turn the corner at the north western end of the Gulf and are hit by 25 knots on the nose!!! We are the first to turn back, swiftly followed by the other three boats. These winds continue for the next 24 hours and so on 11th June we all set out once more. This time we have more luck and, in fact, don’t have enough wind. We originally intended to by-pass Guatemala, making our first landfall in El Salvador, but four days later, and with dwindling diesel supplies – having engined the entire way, due to lack of wind, barring a 3 hour slot where we had 20 knots and a great sail – we decide to pull in to Puerto Quetzal. Liberty Call and Xochitl had had to stop and re-fuel in Puerto Madero, which is the last port in Mexico, and one that we wanted to bypass. We had checked out in Huatulco and obtained our Zarpe to leave the country. Going into Puerto Madero meant having to re-do the paperwork and a potential delay of 1 or 2 days. As it happens they weren’t required to obtain a new Zarpe and were therefore only held up for a few hours.
So, 0600 hours, Friday 15th June we arrive in Guatemala. Guatemala’s Pacific coast is only 132 nautical miles long and is dramatic, its volcano peaks, some 10 to 20 miles inland, rise abruptly from the coastal plane, Volcan Fuego at 13,000 feet being the highest active one. Also nearby is Volcan Pocaya, both of which can be seen at night spewing smoke and molten lava – a majestic coastline. We pull into Marina Pez Vela – the only option here as both anchorages have been closed – and are met by Miguel the paperwork agent. We had been lead to believe that you can manage your own entry here, but it transpires that you can’t, and are therefore obliged to pay the $165-00 entry/exit fee to the agent, who in fact probably only sees around $15. The Pez Vela marina is also staggeringly expensive $2.50 per foot per day – to be avoided if at all possible. However, if you wish to visit Guatemala, this is the only option. My Rough Guide tells me that “…spread across a verdant and mountainous chunk of land, Guatemala is endowed with simply staggering natural, historical and cultural interest. Though the giant Maya temples and rainforest cities have been long abandoned, ancient traditions remain very much alive. And, all over the country you’ll come across remnants of Guatemalas colonial past, nowhere more so that in the graceful former capital of Antigua.” ….. so we head to Antigua. But not before heading into town – San Jose – to try to obtain some local currency on my visa card. I forgot to mention that when we were in Huatulco my purse was stolen, not much money, but the huge inconvenience of losing credit and bank cards. The battle of the banks that followed, resulted in me obtaining one replacement card in Mexico – thank you so much Visa, nil points to HSBC and Citibank who both gave it their best shot to make a bad situation much worse. Anyway, we headed in to San Jose – which made the OK Coral look like Sunday school. Guns everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. Bank doors opened just enough for a hand to appear through the crack and beckon you in. Once inside you were surrounded by guards toting pump-action shotguns – a legacy of the bitter conflict that has dogged Guatemala. Rough Guide …”But with the signing of the 1996 peace accords between the government and the ex-guerrillas, Latin America’s longest running civil war ceased though many of the countries deep-rooted inequalities persist.”
On returning to the marina we made VHF contact with Daryl of Liberty Call, who, despite the outrageous marina charges, decided that he was going to come in for a break. A few minutes later and we raised Xochitl who for 15 excited minutes thought that they too would be coming in and ending a five day passage, only to find that the charges were beyond their budget and so turned around and headed back out to sea.
The only other sailboat in the marina was the Elizabeth with Paul and Charlene on board. They gave us the details for an excellent local taxi driver who would take us to the city of Antigua. The following day Paul, myself, Daryl and Charlene made our way inland, taking the opportunity to see, sadly, only a small portion of this beautiful country.
I was going to write lots of information here about the Mayan ruins in Guatemala, but can’t get on line to down-load it, but suggest that you take a look at it for yourself.
We went to Antigua, a beautiful city and the former capital of Guatemala. On the way we passed through the town of ……………………… and it was our fortune that that day they were celebrating their town’s anniversary. Virtually everyone in the town was gathered at the church for a service of thanksgiving. The town is famed for its fabric factory (the gracefully arched building in the photographs, not looking the least bit like a factory) where it weaves the beautiful multi-coloured cloths worn by all the local women, old and young. On arrival in Antigua we went to the jade museum, Guatemala and Burma being the only two countries in the world producing jade. A fascinating visit with as much information about the Mayan history of Guatemala as the history of jade. A very beautiful city that deserved more time.
We returned to the marina and awaited the arrival of Miguel who was bringing our Zarpe’s for our departure later that evening.
Huatulco is the last recreational destination on Mexico’s Pacific coast and when heading south, cruisers have to negotiate the Gulf of Tehuantepec, infamous for its sudden gales. The bay is 260 miles across and is relatively shallow. The weather in the Gulf is dominated by the weather in the Caribbean and leads to approximately 180 days per year experiencing Force 8 winds or higher. A Tehuantepec gale, or T-pecker, is capable of blowing a 120 foot coastal freighter 350 miles off shore into horrendously steep seas. Each year a number of smaller boats are caught out by the T-peckers, with disastrous results. . They are impossible to predict from local cloud observation and onboard barometer readings. They strike suddenly and last from a few hours to several days, However, because the Gulf is so notorious, a great deal of resources have been poured into the forecasting of these storms, so we sit and wait with daily visits to the internet café, scanning every piece of weather information we can get. We want a five day passage. The Gulf is 260 miles and we then have a further 108 miles to the next tenable anchorage/marina in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. So, 9th June and, with a decent 5 day forecast we – Aphrodite, Liberty Call, Anna Lee and Xochitl - head out of Huatulco with light winds, as per the forecast, of around 8-10 knots. In fact the forecast shows nothing in the next 5 days over 14 knots. We turn the corner at the north western end of the Gulf and are hit by 25 knots on the nose!!! We are the first to turn back, swiftly followed by the other three boats. These winds continue for the next 24 hours and so on 11th June we all set out once more. This time we have more luck and, in fact, don’t have enough wind. We originally intended to by-pass Guatemala, making our first landfall in El Salvador, but four days later, and with dwindling diesel supplies – having engined the entire way, due to lack of wind, barring a 3 hour slot where we had 20 knots and a great sail – we decide to pull in to Puerto Quetzal. Liberty Call and Xochitl had had to stop and re-fuel in Puerto Madero, which is the last port in Mexico, and one that we wanted to bypass. We had checked out in Huatulco and obtained our Zarpe to leave the country. Going into Puerto Madero meant having to re-do the paperwork and a potential delay of 1 or 2 days. As it happens they weren’t required to obtain a new Zarpe and were therefore only held up for a few hours.
So, 0600 hours, Friday 15th June we arrive in Guatemala. Guatemala’s Pacific coast is only 132 nautical miles long and is dramatic, its volcano peaks, some 10 to 20 miles inland, rise abruptly from the coastal plane, Volcan Fuego at 13,000 feet being the highest active one. Also nearby is Volcan Pocaya, both of which can be seen at night spewing smoke and molten lava – a majestic coastline. We pull into Marina Pez Vela – the only option here as both anchorages have been closed – and are met by Miguel the paperwork agent. We had been lead to believe that you can manage your own entry here, but it transpires that you can’t, and are therefore obliged to pay the $165-00 entry/exit fee to the agent, who in fact probably only sees around $15. The Pez Vela marina is also staggeringly expensive $2.50 per foot per day – to be avoided if at all possible. However, if you wish to visit Guatemala, this is the only option. My Rough Guide tells me that “…spread across a verdant and mountainous chunk of land, Guatemala is endowed with simply staggering natural, historical and cultural interest. Though the giant Maya temples and rainforest cities have been long abandoned, ancient traditions remain very much alive. And, all over the country you’ll come across remnants of Guatemalas colonial past, nowhere more so that in the graceful former capital of Antigua.” ….. so we head to Antigua. But not before heading into town – San Jose – to try to obtain some local currency on my visa card. I forgot to mention that when we were in Huatulco my purse was stolen, not much money, but the huge inconvenience of losing credit and bank cards. The battle of the banks that followed, resulted in me obtaining one replacement card in Mexico – thank you so much Visa, nil points to HSBC and Citibank who both gave it their best shot to make a bad situation much worse. Anyway, we headed in to San Jose – which made the OK Coral look like Sunday school. Guns everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. Bank doors opened just enough for a hand to appear through the crack and beckon you in. Once inside you were surrounded by guards toting pump-action shotguns – a legacy of the bitter conflict that has dogged Guatemala. Rough Guide …”But with the signing of the 1996 peace accords between the government and the ex-guerrillas, Latin America’s longest running civil war ceased though many of the countries deep-rooted inequalities persist.”
On returning to the marina we made VHF contact with Daryl of Liberty Call, who, despite the outrageous marina charges, decided that he was going to come in for a break. A few minutes later and we raised Xochitl who for 15 excited minutes thought that they too would be coming in and ending a five day passage, only to find that the charges were beyond their budget and so turned around and headed back out to sea.
The only other sailboat in the marina was the Elizabeth with Paul and Charlene on board. They gave us the details for an excellent local taxi driver who would take us to the city of Antigua. The following day Paul, myself, Daryl and Charlene made our way inland, taking the opportunity to see, sadly, only a small portion of this beautiful country.
I was going to write lots of information here about the Mayan ruins in Guatemala, but can’t get on line to down-load it, but suggest that you take a look at it for yourself.
We went to Antigua, a beautiful city and the former capital of Guatemala. On the way we passed through the town of ……………………… and it was our fortune that that day they were celebrating their town’s anniversary. Virtually everyone in the town was gathered at the church for a service of thanksgiving. The town is famed for its fabric factory (the gracefully arched building in the photographs, not looking the least bit like a factory) where it weaves the beautiful multi-coloured cloths worn by all the local women, old and young. On arrival in Antigua we went to the jade museum, Guatemala and Burma being the only two countries in the world producing jade. A fascinating visit with as much information about the Mayan history of Guatemala as the history of jade. A very beautiful city that deserved more time.
We returned to the marina and awaited the arrival of Miguel who was bringing our Zarpe’s for our departure later that evening.
PUERTO ANGEL TO HUATULCO
17th May we headed out for a day sail to Marina Chahue (chow-Way) with very little wind. We had decided that since adding our second new electronic fuel pump in Puerto Angel, that we would engine all the way there just to check that we could ! We arrived without incident late afternoon, and, unable to raise anyone on the VHF, made our way into the marina, chose a slip and tied alongside.
Our time in Chahue passed quickly, Paul spending the first 3 days fitting the autohelm that has become our 4th crew member. Because we have a wooden wheel, the fitting wasn’t that simple, and so he spent hours in lockers and under floors while I relaxed at the pool by the beach and checked the weather. Southern Mexico isn’t clear of the Pacific hurricane belt and in order to be safe, all cruising boats are advised to be in Northern Costa Rica by the middle to end of May. It was now May 20th and on checking the weather that particular day I, along with the crew of another boat that had arrived in Chahue just a few hours before we did - Rusty and John on the Anna Lee – noted a tropical depression forming approximately 150 miles due west of Huatulco. This became a conversation stopper in the marina and by the next day it had been named as Tropical Storm Barbara (later to develop into hurricane Barbara), and was forecast to make landfall in approximately three days time with predicted wind speeds of 180 kph. So, what to do? Batten down and have a party! We avidly tracked the storm, hoping that it would follow the regular track of all such hurricanes, and head off north west, out into the Pacific. Contrary to all known weather models, it actually turned and headed south east, and into the Gulf of Tehuantepec, making its landfall between Salina Cruz and Puerto Madero, approximately 150 miles south east of Huatulco. The only effects felt by the boats in Chahue was a few hours of heavier winds, but nothing significant. The boys on Anna Lee and Xochitl decided that these winds would make for great surfing conditions and took off for the beach, to return several hours later battered.
So, having fitted the autohelm, Paul then had to get to the bottom of the engine problem, once and for all. He thought that we may have had some bad fuel which was now the cause of our problems, so decided to empty both fuel tanks and clean them. We had noticed that the problems seemed to occur when we were using the starboard fuel tank. The port tank was emptied and cleaned with nothing evident. Paul re filtered the fuel before returning it to the clean tank. Next the starboard tank which still had around 45 gallons of diesel in it, and so, with a siphon pipe, he set about emptying the tank. Long story short, the starboard tank had a very large amount of water in the diesel, the most disconcerting thing being that we still don’t know how it got in there. Three days later Paul had filtered, re-filtered and re-re-filtered the diesel, cleaned both tanks and, crossed fingers, we may now have got to the bottom of our engine problems. !!??!!
Although the majority of ‘traffic’ had gone through this marina for the season, there were still another couple of boats around, the Vrouwe Christina, an immaculate and beautiful dutch barge, crewed by Ari and Hillier, and waiting for a window to head north, which is just as difficult at this time of year as heading south, and Kim, another single hander, waiting to go south. We’d only been in the marina a day when a large catamaran came in, enroute from Panama to Puerto Vallarta, with engine problems. There was a delivery crew on board who jumped ship the following day to return to the States, but not before emptying out their fridge, freezer and cupboard contents to us, supplying 9 of us with enough food to eat for the next 5 nights!!!! Every night in Chahue was a BBQ and party, we needed to leave soon to get some rest!!! We were just waiting for a good window to cross the dreaded Gulf of Tehuantepec (T-peck).
17th May we headed out for a day sail to Marina Chahue (chow-Way) with very little wind. We had decided that since adding our second new electronic fuel pump in Puerto Angel, that we would engine all the way there just to check that we could ! We arrived without incident late afternoon, and, unable to raise anyone on the VHF, made our way into the marina, chose a slip and tied alongside.
Our time in Chahue passed quickly, Paul spending the first 3 days fitting the autohelm that has become our 4th crew member. Because we have a wooden wheel, the fitting wasn’t that simple, and so he spent hours in lockers and under floors while I relaxed at the pool by the beach and checked the weather. Southern Mexico isn’t clear of the Pacific hurricane belt and in order to be safe, all cruising boats are advised to be in Northern Costa Rica by the middle to end of May. It was now May 20th and on checking the weather that particular day I, along with the crew of another boat that had arrived in Chahue just a few hours before we did - Rusty and John on the Anna Lee – noted a tropical depression forming approximately 150 miles due west of Huatulco. This became a conversation stopper in the marina and by the next day it had been named as Tropical Storm Barbara (later to develop into hurricane Barbara), and was forecast to make landfall in approximately three days time with predicted wind speeds of 180 kph. So, what to do? Batten down and have a party! We avidly tracked the storm, hoping that it would follow the regular track of all such hurricanes, and head off north west, out into the Pacific. Contrary to all known weather models, it actually turned and headed south east, and into the Gulf of Tehuantepec, making its landfall between Salina Cruz and Puerto Madero, approximately 150 miles south east of Huatulco. The only effects felt by the boats in Chahue was a few hours of heavier winds, but nothing significant. The boys on Anna Lee and Xochitl decided that these winds would make for great surfing conditions and took off for the beach, to return several hours later battered.
So, having fitted the autohelm, Paul then had to get to the bottom of the engine problem, once and for all. He thought that we may have had some bad fuel which was now the cause of our problems, so decided to empty both fuel tanks and clean them. We had noticed that the problems seemed to occur when we were using the starboard fuel tank. The port tank was emptied and cleaned with nothing evident. Paul re filtered the fuel before returning it to the clean tank. Next the starboard tank which still had around 45 gallons of diesel in it, and so, with a siphon pipe, he set about emptying the tank. Long story short, the starboard tank had a very large amount of water in the diesel, the most disconcerting thing being that we still don’t know how it got in there. Three days later Paul had filtered, re-filtered and re-re-filtered the diesel, cleaned both tanks and, crossed fingers, we may now have got to the bottom of our engine problems. !!??!!
Although the majority of ‘traffic’ had gone through this marina for the season, there were still another couple of boats around, the Vrouwe Christina, an immaculate and beautiful dutch barge, crewed by Ari and Hillier, and waiting for a window to head north, which is just as difficult at this time of year as heading south, and Kim, another single hander, waiting to go south. We’d only been in the marina a day when a large catamaran came in, enroute from Panama to Puerto Vallarta, with engine problems. There was a delivery crew on board who jumped ship the following day to return to the States, but not before emptying out their fridge, freezer and cupboard contents to us, supplying 9 of us with enough food to eat for the next 5 nights!!!! Every night in Chahue was a BBQ and party, we needed to leave soon to get some rest!!! We were just waiting for a good window to cross the dreaded Gulf of Tehuantepec (T-peck).
MANZANILLO, LAS HADAS TO ZIHUATANEJO (Zee-what-a-nay-o)
6th May we left the lovely harbour of Las Hadas, Manzanillo, and headed out for Zihuatanejo. On passage we received our first visit from the Mexican navy who came along side but didn’t board us. Fortunately we had actually brought our paperwork up to date in Las Hadas. Up to this point, we had not reported in or out of any of our anchorages or harbours since Ensenada and had a crew list showing four persons. This we amended in Las Hadas, and were grateful that we had. We were able to sail at least 50% of this leg but as soon as we started engining, the hand steering recommenced. Although we have had many dolphins before, on this leg we were surrounded from one horizon to the other by thousands of dolphins that stayed with us for several hours. They were incredibly entertaining – porpoising and dancing on their tails, their entire bodies waving around above the water – quite amazing, and not a single photo to prove it!
We arrived in Zihuatanejo to find Maverick and Susurru at anchor in the bay, and were joined later by Liberty Call (Daryl) and Xochitl (pron. So-chi) with Ben and Ava. Zihuatanejo is the greatest town – probably my favourite so far. A little touristy but still very Mexican and certainly we could have spent more time, however, due to the increasing number of hours spent at the helm, rather than spent reading or sleeping, I decided that we weren’t going to go any further south until we had an auto helm on the boat. Denis, our windvane, is great and steers the boat for us when we have wind (which in recent experience isn’t often), however he cannot steer the boat when we are under engine; for this we need an autohelm. So within a couple of hours of arriving in Z-town, I have located a Ray Marine autohelm in San Diego and have booked my flight. I was very excited about returning to San Diego and Chula Vista, an unexpected opportunity to visit with our lovely friends there, albeit for 2 days! The next day I flew out, via Houston, where we were grounded by an enormous storm. At one point the Tower was evacuated as it started to rock in 69 mph winds!!!! I arrived late Thursday night in San Diego to be met by 4 friends from Chula Vista, Jim and Heidi in the terminal, and Glen and Kent driving around outside! I was thrilled to see them all again, and although the delay meant I had arrived too late for my party, it was still great to be ‘home’ Friday I raced around San Diego, chauffeured by Glen and with my own ’private shopper’ Terry, at West Marine who soon had my trolley overflowing with most of the items from my list and that of Liberty Call and Sotchi. Friday night Penny and Charlie threw a party at the houseboat and it really was just like old times, except for the fact that Paul had stayed with the boat and had left Z-town along with Liberty Call and Xochitl and headed for Acapulco, where I was too meet them the next day. So 5.a.m. Saturday morning saw me on my way back to the airport and heading back to Mexico. We anchored in a small bay just southwest of Acapulco and so it was relatively easy to locate the boat and Paul on my return. Acapulco was somewhat of a let-down, not at all what we expected, but just a large dirty city with a dirtier bay in front of it. I arrived back on Paul’s birthday (May 16th), and just as we were settling down that evening, we were boarded by ‘pirates’ (Daryl, Ava and Ben) who had baked up a birthday cake for Paul (who they have christened ‘Salty’), baked by Ava on Daryl’s boat (Xochitl having no oven), just late enough to make it unbearable for Daryl to sleep down below on his boat that night! We were now in the tropics and temperatures below were not often less that 90 degrees plus. Oh, almost forgot to mention Paul’s ‘one that got away’ Enroute from Zihuatanejo to Acapulco he set his hand trolling line with the hydrovane in-line. Some time later, having forgotten that the line was out he heard an enormous splash behind him and startled, jumped up just in time to see the 10 foot sail fish, with sail fin flying, jump twice more out of water before snapping the line and taking most of the kit with it. We were quite lucky that it didn’t take the pushpit too. He still can’t believe that he hooked this enormous fish on a trolling line and medium sized hook, but was quite relieved that it got away.
So the following day saw us all heading out of Acapulco for Puerto Angel; Aphrodite towing Xochitl out of the anchorage following their recurring engine problems. Approximately 2 hours later the wind filled in we dropped Xochitl off the tow, telling them to call us at any time, should they need taking back in tow. We all managed to maintain our sail until around 10pm that evening when, as seems to be the pattern along this coast, the wind died and we all went for the ‘iron’ sail. Xochitl’s engine problems appeared to be resolved and so they were no longer reliant on us for a tow, which was quite fortunate, as our engine, once again, cut out on us. Paul spent the entire night with his head in the engine bay, trying a number of fixes, including fitting an electronic pump into the fuel line, as at one point he thought that it was the mechanical lift pump that wasn’t working. Thankfully we were fortunate enough to get some late wind which gave us just enough to ghost along at around 2.8 knots – just not quite enough for Denis to steer, so while Paul spent his night in the engine, I spent the night, once again, hand steering (we needed to be at a clock to fit the autohelm, which was therefore, still in it’s box). Without the engine we made a slow passage through the night but the following day got enough wind to actually sail at around 5 knots, putting us approximately 8 miles off Puerto Angel with around an hour and a half’s day light left, which was essential to make the entrance into this tiny bay, and the wind died, completely. Our friends from Xochitl and Liberty Call had arrived earlier in the day and where way up on the hill at the lighthouse when they call us up on the VHF – Daryl having the foresight to take his hand-held ashore with him. We asked them to check out the possibility of organising a panga to come and tow us in once they returned to the bay, but in the meantime we decided that we should try forcing the engine to run by hand-pumping the ‘squeeze ball’ that pushes diesel around the engine for bleeding, etc. We were relieved to find that it worked, but God, what a job. Paul took the first hour while I steered. His moans and groans seemed somewhat excessive to me until we switched over so that Paul could take the boat in (it was now virtually dark). We were just dousing our sail when Ava and Ben appeared in a panga alongside, but decided that we would continue under our own way for as long as we could, with them standing by to take us in tow, should the engine cut out. The entrance into the small bay was narrow and very rocky on both headlands. So with me now hanging over the incredibly hot, noisy engine bay, pumping for all I’m worth, having to use both hands as the grip from one wasn’t sufficient, I now completely understood Paul’s occasional grunt as I wailed and moaned, as we made our way in to the bay. What a huge relief to get the anchor down.
Puerto Angel is a beautiful little bay, but open to any swell from the south which makes it very uncomfortable. We had swell, but not too much, although the anchorage was somewhat rocky-rolly. It’s a very pretty bay and worth stopping into, although it is only just over 30 miles from Huatulco, the stop to wait and see what is happening in Tehuantepec, anchorage and marina.
We spent 3 days in Puerto Angel, visiting Pochutla – a small market town inland, where we bought another electronic fuel pump, having established that the one Paul had fitted, actually didn’t work. Ava, Ben and Daryl had discovered a deserted hotel at the top of the hill with an even more deserted swimming pool where we spent a great afternoon, and which also gave us an amazing view of the bay. The day before our departure a local fisherman named Luis gave us all a number of fishing lures he had hand-carved from bone, wood and metal. Paul says they are too special to actually use!!! However, I’m going to try at least one of them. So, next stop marina Chahue (chow-Way) where we will sit and await a window in the weather to cross Tehuantepec.
6th May we left the lovely harbour of Las Hadas, Manzanillo, and headed out for Zihuatanejo. On passage we received our first visit from the Mexican navy who came along side but didn’t board us. Fortunately we had actually brought our paperwork up to date in Las Hadas. Up to this point, we had not reported in or out of any of our anchorages or harbours since Ensenada and had a crew list showing four persons. This we amended in Las Hadas, and were grateful that we had. We were able to sail at least 50% of this leg but as soon as we started engining, the hand steering recommenced. Although we have had many dolphins before, on this leg we were surrounded from one horizon to the other by thousands of dolphins that stayed with us for several hours. They were incredibly entertaining – porpoising and dancing on their tails, their entire bodies waving around above the water – quite amazing, and not a single photo to prove it!
We arrived in Zihuatanejo to find Maverick and Susurru at anchor in the bay, and were joined later by Liberty Call (Daryl) and Xochitl (pron. So-chi) with Ben and Ava. Zihuatanejo is the greatest town – probably my favourite so far. A little touristy but still very Mexican and certainly we could have spent more time, however, due to the increasing number of hours spent at the helm, rather than spent reading or sleeping, I decided that we weren’t going to go any further south until we had an auto helm on the boat. Denis, our windvane, is great and steers the boat for us when we have wind (which in recent experience isn’t often), however he cannot steer the boat when we are under engine; for this we need an autohelm. So within a couple of hours of arriving in Z-town, I have located a Ray Marine autohelm in San Diego and have booked my flight. I was very excited about returning to San Diego and Chula Vista, an unexpected opportunity to visit with our lovely friends there, albeit for 2 days! The next day I flew out, via Houston, where we were grounded by an enormous storm. At one point the Tower was evacuated as it started to rock in 69 mph winds!!!! I arrived late Thursday night in San Diego to be met by 4 friends from Chula Vista, Jim and Heidi in the terminal, and Glen and Kent driving around outside! I was thrilled to see them all again, and although the delay meant I had arrived too late for my party, it was still great to be ‘home’ Friday I raced around San Diego, chauffeured by Glen and with my own ’private shopper’ Terry, at West Marine who soon had my trolley overflowing with most of the items from my list and that of Liberty Call and Sotchi. Friday night Penny and Charlie threw a party at the houseboat and it really was just like old times, except for the fact that Paul had stayed with the boat and had left Z-town along with Liberty Call and Xochitl and headed for Acapulco, where I was too meet them the next day. So 5.a.m. Saturday morning saw me on my way back to the airport and heading back to Mexico. We anchored in a small bay just southwest of Acapulco and so it was relatively easy to locate the boat and Paul on my return. Acapulco was somewhat of a let-down, not at all what we expected, but just a large dirty city with a dirtier bay in front of it. I arrived back on Paul’s birthday (May 16th), and just as we were settling down that evening, we were boarded by ‘pirates’ (Daryl, Ava and Ben) who had baked up a birthday cake for Paul (who they have christened ‘Salty’), baked by Ava on Daryl’s boat (Xochitl having no oven), just late enough to make it unbearable for Daryl to sleep down below on his boat that night! We were now in the tropics and temperatures below were not often less that 90 degrees plus. Oh, almost forgot to mention Paul’s ‘one that got away’ Enroute from Zihuatanejo to Acapulco he set his hand trolling line with the hydrovane in-line. Some time later, having forgotten that the line was out he heard an enormous splash behind him and startled, jumped up just in time to see the 10 foot sail fish, with sail fin flying, jump twice more out of water before snapping the line and taking most of the kit with it. We were quite lucky that it didn’t take the pushpit too. He still can’t believe that he hooked this enormous fish on a trolling line and medium sized hook, but was quite relieved that it got away.
So the following day saw us all heading out of Acapulco for Puerto Angel; Aphrodite towing Xochitl out of the anchorage following their recurring engine problems. Approximately 2 hours later the wind filled in we dropped Xochitl off the tow, telling them to call us at any time, should they need taking back in tow. We all managed to maintain our sail until around 10pm that evening when, as seems to be the pattern along this coast, the wind died and we all went for the ‘iron’ sail. Xochitl’s engine problems appeared to be resolved and so they were no longer reliant on us for a tow, which was quite fortunate, as our engine, once again, cut out on us. Paul spent the entire night with his head in the engine bay, trying a number of fixes, including fitting an electronic pump into the fuel line, as at one point he thought that it was the mechanical lift pump that wasn’t working. Thankfully we were fortunate enough to get some late wind which gave us just enough to ghost along at around 2.8 knots – just not quite enough for Denis to steer, so while Paul spent his night in the engine, I spent the night, once again, hand steering (we needed to be at a clock to fit the autohelm, which was therefore, still in it’s box). Without the engine we made a slow passage through the night but the following day got enough wind to actually sail at around 5 knots, putting us approximately 8 miles off Puerto Angel with around an hour and a half’s day light left, which was essential to make the entrance into this tiny bay, and the wind died, completely. Our friends from Xochitl and Liberty Call had arrived earlier in the day and where way up on the hill at the lighthouse when they call us up on the VHF – Daryl having the foresight to take his hand-held ashore with him. We asked them to check out the possibility of organising a panga to come and tow us in once they returned to the bay, but in the meantime we decided that we should try forcing the engine to run by hand-pumping the ‘squeeze ball’ that pushes diesel around the engine for bleeding, etc. We were relieved to find that it worked, but God, what a job. Paul took the first hour while I steered. His moans and groans seemed somewhat excessive to me until we switched over so that Paul could take the boat in (it was now virtually dark). We were just dousing our sail when Ava and Ben appeared in a panga alongside, but decided that we would continue under our own way for as long as we could, with them standing by to take us in tow, should the engine cut out. The entrance into the small bay was narrow and very rocky on both headlands. So with me now hanging over the incredibly hot, noisy engine bay, pumping for all I’m worth, having to use both hands as the grip from one wasn’t sufficient, I now completely understood Paul’s occasional grunt as I wailed and moaned, as we made our way in to the bay. What a huge relief to get the anchor down.
Puerto Angel is a beautiful little bay, but open to any swell from the south which makes it very uncomfortable. We had swell, but not too much, although the anchorage was somewhat rocky-rolly. It’s a very pretty bay and worth stopping into, although it is only just over 30 miles from Huatulco, the stop to wait and see what is happening in Tehuantepec, anchorage and marina.
We spent 3 days in Puerto Angel, visiting Pochutla – a small market town inland, where we bought another electronic fuel pump, having established that the one Paul had fitted, actually didn’t work. Ava, Ben and Daryl had discovered a deserted hotel at the top of the hill with an even more deserted swimming pool where we spent a great afternoon, and which also gave us an amazing view of the bay. The day before our departure a local fisherman named Luis gave us all a number of fishing lures he had hand-carved from bone, wood and metal. Paul says they are too special to actually use!!! However, I’m going to try at least one of them. So, next stop marina Chahue (chow-Way) where we will sit and await a window in the weather to cross Tehuantepec.
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