Crossing the bar and up the Rio

Tuesday June 23rd 2009.
When we got a couple of miles from the marker buoy…I tried calling Raul. He was the gentleman that Jeff had arranged with for a boat to meet us at 7:00am at the buoy. We were going to be about 20 minutes late due to the morning storm. It had been decided the day before that Paul and I would be the first to go over the bar. We circled until we saw a larger fishing type boat approach Antares. They were our contact…but they did not have a VHF radio. We began to follow them in…and sooner than later…yes, we were aground in the mud…we were managing less than a half a knot as we tried to plow through the mud/sand bar. Our guide came to the side and decided it was time to take some “tipping” action…now this picture is not the Lady H…but of Antares an identical boat to Paul’s…and…even with the furrow we plowed ahead of them…they too needed to be “tipped”!It was an experience…and now we are both wondering how the heck we are going to get out of here in October or November!!! Once safely anchored outside of Livingston in about 8.5 feet of water we raised our yellow “quarantine” flag and waited for the welcoming entourage. Six people and Raul came out to the boat and on board into the cockpit. A doctor, the Port Captain, Immigration, Customs, and we really aren’t sure who else…BUT…we used Raul as our “agent” to check-in…and he saved us a lot of time! We went ashore and picked up our documents from Raul around 10:30amLooking to the river from the streets of Livingston. We had already discussed with Jeff and Phyllis that we all were ready to get out of Livingston (anchoring there at night has been known to bring the local thieves onto the boat)…get up the river, get fuel and get into Mario’s Marina…and they agreed…it seemed like it already had been a LONG day! At some points the walls of the gorge were so tall that we could no longer get a gps signal...and the river as deep as 90 feet!Paul led the way up the Rio and through the gorge...Antares followed....These guys were collecting water I think...These little guys were just out for a paddle....to El Golfete where even our paper chart was less than adequate (Pat Rains)and the paper chart that P&J had was better so we swapped places! We still found some “skinny” spots…down the river when Paul was in the lead....and when Antares was in the lead - in fact the lake was only 15 feet deep all the way across - past El Golfete up the river to the Marina area! And of course Paul’s depth sounder alarm went off (it is sooooo dependable)!!! Paul said if he didn’t know better he would swear that he was up the river in Chattanooga near the NickaJack Lake. This guy is fishing in the upper river area! We were amazed by the large beautiful homes…Then when we went to fuel up…the docks were nicer than any we had been to in the states for a long time! So, here we are...hurricane season...and we hope and trust the Lady H is in a safe place. Except for the heat (yes, it is very hot up here/down here – however you want to look at it)…it is like we are back in Annapolis! We will be spending a lot of time every afternoon in the pool…that is the only thing that can truly cool you off around here…and it has become more of a meeting place for the cruisers than even the 4-6pm “happy hour”!!! I’m so glad we have the pool!!!

Utila to the Rio Dulce

Thursday June 18th 2009. It was a motor sail…then as we got closer to the mainland…just a plain motor. It seemed that the bean can was holding up…we were not overheating. The winds were very light. Antares was waiting in Laguna El Diamante…Diamond Lagoon, Honduras. We noticed while motoring and getting up closer to the coast that the water color and clarity had changed…milkish color of a river so obviously no longer clear! Beautiful entrance into the Lagoon…and right before we saw Antares (Phyllis and Jeff) they called us on the VHF and gave us tips on entering this very very skinny Lagoon…their timing was wonderful! They had anchored too far one way the day before and had ended up on the “hard” for the afternoon…luckily they had been able to re-anchor before we got there! With the anchor down in one foot of water next to Antares we chatted for a few minutes and agreed to move on to Omoa the next morning. This however was a beautiful spot! The Lagoon is very large but only a small part of it is deep enough (7 to 8 feet) for the Amels. Jeff was joking about going swimming in this water…even if there were crocodiles! They told us that a tour boat came in and circled their boat twice before going out…what a great tour!! Later that evening howler monkeys kept us company. After watching a few T.V. shows, I went to bed. Fifteen minutes later 30 knots of wind…RAIN…lightening…thunder…and lightening…and thunder! Well…that got me out of bed…Antares called over to be sure we were awake for this one…we were getting rocked from side to side (being on rode and not 100% chain we do swing a lot more than boats on all chain)…so no worries about staying awake…I was worried about the anchor holding (we would have been blown into the even skinner part of the lagoon - and all I could think about were the crocodiles!! Oh, brother!!!
The morning sky was beautiful! After some tea, Antares checked in with us. He had talked to Chris Parker and the recommendation was to stay right where we were through the weekend because of some strong thunderstorms and the more protected anchorage of El Diamente. With nothing else to do we cleaned up down below some and then cleaned up topside…checked Herbie…and put Hugo and Herbie in the water. Phyllis and Jeff had suggested we scout around the lagoon…so off we went! I got VERY lucky with howler monkey pictures…enjoyed the local house (hut?)…really tried to get a good mirror image picture of these mangrove trees…had some fun with the twin Amel pictures…in this one there is a helicopter checking us out...and really enjoyed chatting with P&J! Jeff “sounded” parts of the lagoon (I have to get myself one of those) and we made tentative plans to go on the “outside” on Saturday. Back to the boat and relaxing for the afternoon! Saturday, Paul and I went up to see if we could find the Howler Monkeys again…nada…so we stuck Hugo’s bow out of the lagoon just enough to see that…no...we don’t really want to go any further today…back to the boat! Another storm wandered through…20 knots wind, rain, but nothing too severe…thankfully so! Sunday began very calm…so we all (Phyllis & Jeff, Paul and I) decided to go on the outside in our dingy’s and find Mustang, a boat we thought was in the inlet just to the east of us. So out of the lagoon we ventured…up the coast about a mile…into the other lagoon…but no Mustang! We wandered around the small bay anyway, found some more howler monkeys (pictures of course)...... I was joking with Paul that soon we will have more pictures of howler monkeys than dive pictures…which of course means that it’s time to go diving again! I’m working for at least three to four days in Belize before we get back to the states! Back to the boat again and preparations for leaving early the next day, Monday. Another thunderstorm went through…again, 20 knots…lightening…thunder…all was well. Early the next morning…check in with Antares and anchors up….the new windlass (remember the Armstrong and Ingenuity windlass is the only one still working) had a REALLY difficult time getting the anchor out of the sticky mud…so we were a bit behind Antares getting out of the lagoon. Over the VHF Mustang had given us coordinates for an anchorage 10 miles across from the Livingston, Guatemala sand (mud?) bar for our Monday travel. Today was 60 miles…a long day. There was another sail…sure enough it was Mustang…and yes, I said sail! Winds were okay so at least we were able to motor sail…which got us to 7 knots for a time…but then the winds went to zero…it was all motor (and the bean can fix is still holding)…until later in the afternoon when the onshore winds started up and we were back up to 6 plus knots!We passed two large ports of Honduras and outside each one for MILES and MILES...there was the indication of the heavy rains in the water...and we thought Baltimore was bad!!! Anyway...anchor down. We chatted with P&J about leaving around 5:30am the next morning to make the 10 miles to the “bar”…Jeff had arranged a boat to be meeting us at 7:00am at the marker post. Around 2am or so…lightening and thunder…and it continued ALL morning…UNTIL…at 5am…GRANDE WIND…LIGHTENING…THUNDER!!! We quickly put Hugo down from his - beside the boat position - so he could weather the squall like a boat (not like a kite)! I made tea and we waited…P&J called…we decided were going to wait out the squall. Around 6am it quieted enough and off we went! The “bar” crossing on the next blog…

My note…So from a storm beginning…to a storm end…with a lot of wonderful new places and people discovered inbetween...this “cruising” season is over. We are safely tucked into Mario’s Marina up the Rio Dulce. While we were in Laguna Diamente we heard of two sailboats running onto reefs. One on the West End of Roatan trying to enter AT NIGHT – such a no-no!!! Don’t know what happened…only heard that a dive boat was going to tow him/her off. And then another in Isla Providencia…onto the reef and this time loosing their keel! Not sure of the complete circumstances here either…but do know the boat was a total loss…the people were rescued by the local Guarda Costa…and taken to Cartagena. Paul sometimes gets upset with his depth sounder “alarm”…me…for “sounding” too often…but thankfully we have never been one of the above boats. I will admit it is mostly due to Paul’s experience and skill…but let’s give some credit to his “alarm”!!!

Left Utila for Mainland

Cruise date June 17 2:24 pm Utila.
Just kidding....we were up at 5am..well Joyce was...i was up by 6am. We readied the boat for sea and started to use our "Windlass as we got a call from Antares saying their hook was up. We headed out of the anchorage through the reef when I smelled burning rubber. Upon opening the hatch I was greeted with smoke and the smell of burned rubber. We had run the batteries down a little further than normal and the extra load caused the belts to slip. I shut down the engine and grabbed the needed tools to tighten the alternator belts. Started the engine back up...a few minutes later the temp guage started rising. Damn...engine water-pump impeller time. By this time Antares was several mile down wind. I called to tell them my problem. We could barely hear them...their VHF was down and they were using a handheld. I decided to return to Utila. We had about 1 mile to the anchorage. I started the engine...strange sound...went down into the engine room to see that the muffler had come disconnected. We would motor for about 1 min then glide for 2-3 min. Took us 45 min to get back to the anchorage and get the hook down... Everything was too hot to work on so we waited till 10 am. I replaced the impeller...no problem but I did see where the waterhose into the pump had collapsed. This would have caused the impeller to fail and the engine to overheat.. double damn....so I fixed the hose...will need to be done right while up the Rio.. buttoned everything up and fired up the engine. Triple DAMN...inlet to the muffler...its plastic, had melted and the exhaust and cooling water was emptying the bilge. I removed the melted muffler... I started to cut the outlet off hoping to use it to connect the 2 hoses...quadruple DAMN would not be long enough. I asked Joyce for a can of beans...exact fit...so she emptied the re fried beans and opened both ends. With her help...I had been at this for 4 hours we were able to connect the 2 hoses now spiced together with a bean can. Warmed up the engine...everything fine for now. The question is...how long will the can last before it corrodes Will it last for a week till we get up the Rio? Stay tuned.

Utila...

We motored all the way to Utila...thunderstoms followed us...it was only 15 miles or so...This is Isla Utila as we motored by the northeast tip...Pumpkin Hill is the biggest hill! We went around lighthouse reef and into the small bay and anchorage. This is one of the dive boats going out...looking past the lighthouse reef and to the mainland. Cute little town...lots of young people here...lots of dive shops and diving going on! Unfortunately we never made it diving...Early one morning I went up and saw this precious little creature...now any and all of my "potential" students...besides looking for surfacing under a boat and looking for boat traffic...why do we look up and and all around when we ascend from a dive?? I certainly would not want to meet this guy at the surface!!! Anyway, we checked out of Honduras and well...I couldn't sit still so I went out and took some of these pictures. Paul calls these torpedo boats... Some boys brought these crabs over to the lady at the Correros (I think I spelled that wrong...Post Office).We did have a wonderful dinner at Mariposa last night with Phyllis and Jeff on Antares (another Amel almost identical to the Lady H). They are headed up the Rio Dulce AND to Mario's as well...so we are packing up tonight and heading out tomorrow morning with them for a 45 mile (most likely motor) anchorage on the mainland...Punta Sol...I believe...then another stop or two on the mainland before we are outside of Livingston. We have made arrangements to be guided over the 6' bar (remember Amels have a 7' draft) into Livingston, Guatemala on Tuesday the 23rd very early in the morning...7 o'clock. From there we will motor up the river and to Mario's Marina. More than likely we will have no internet until we are there...