The
final Push
This
entry to
the log of "Wind Gift" was by far the longest and most difficult in making.
Our
intrepid sea hero began this section of the log while he was off the coast
of Guatemala, enroute to Costa Rica:
4/12
Huatulco: Went scuba diving with a Mexican friend, Raymundo
Gonzalez.
Began
accupressure treatments on some deaf children.
4/13
A lady friend from a neighboring sailboat helped me refine the accupressure
treatments.
Went
scuba diving again, with Raymundo, Jose Guzman and Lorenzo. Lorenzo
caught some small fish, then took us to his brothers' restaraunt where
he cooked and served them to us in a great dinner.
4/22
New motor is delivered.
4/26
Left Huatulco at noon o'clock to a good travelling wind. Saw 8 Sea
Turtles!
Two
groups of Dolphins!! "GIFT" scooted at 5 knots on just the working
jib.
Strange
sight - I see the sun set behind mountains!
4/27
Saw a Booby bird standing on a Sea Turtle out in the middle of the ocean.
Finished
breaking in new Johnson. 78 Nauticle miles.
4/28
Thunderstorms (Chabascos) rattled their way to land with a light show.
Winds
are mousy. 40 NM.
4/29
Discovered my new outboard is making 3 mpg! Honda made 10 mpg.
Checked
it out and found a leaking gas line. Also, I need to find the optimum
power setting
for
cruising. 65 miles to go, and enough gas for 45. Winds are
still mousy.
1400
A
travelling wind set in. "GIFT" is scooting 5 knots in winds 8 - 10
knots.
4/30
Did a speed run with a different gas line. "Johnnie" makes 6 mpg
at 6 knots!
Anchored
Puerto Madero at 0930.
90*
air 88* water (in lagoon)
14*42.77'
N 92*24.22' W
Noon
4/29 - 0930, 4/30: 72 NM
5/4
:( My little Honda ran off last night, in the arms of a new lover.
Left
Puerto Madero 0900.
Good
winds and currents. Double-reefed for a chubasco in the night.
5/5
Another chubasco - rode it out bare-poled. Winds 45 knots, with gusts
to 60 knots.
1100
- On course, heading to weather, double-reefed, with currents against me.
0900,
5/4 to Noon, 5/5: 59.5 NM
Contrary
winds, currents. Lost six miles in one tack.
5/6
Pretty day. Some chubascos in the distance at mid-day.
Noon,
5/5 to Noon 5/6: 18 NM
Mousy
winds on the nose; currents against me. Against a wall!
Noon,
5/6 to Noon, 5/7: 16 NM
5/7
Went back and forth. No progress for two days. Finally, the
chubascos went away
and
quit intimidating my travelling winds. Made headway from noon on.
Contrary
currents are subsiding. The "Sailing Directions" claim they are alternating
currents,
and change direction every 3 - 4 days.
***
Boy!
Talk about frustration! For two days, I couldn't make any progress
sailing,
and
when I tried to motor against the currents, I was back down to 3 mpg.
I
decided to just wait out the weather and currents. No place to anchor,
and the
Guatemalan
ports charge $100 American U.S. dollars just to enter their ports.
The
usual winds along this part of the coast are "wind-the-clock" winds.
They start
off
SSE in the morning, and during the day, colck around to come from the West.
At
night, they come from the NW to North.
Right
now, 0800, 5/8, the sails are flapping as the night winds die away.
In
awhile, the SSE winds will set in, and clock 20* every few hours, following
the sun.
I
am 20 miles offshore. I will use the SSE portion of the wind to tack
towards shore,
hoping
the current will be more favorable there.
The
wind didn't show up. Decided the current against me is two knots.
Motored six
miles
towards shore, hoping the current is different there. Seems to be!
I'll see how
my
GPS fixes are tonight. For the last three days, they have been doubling
back over
themselves.
Going in circles! Motoring cross-surrent, I made six knots again.
Futility!
I barely make headway against the wind and current with the motor, and
the
headwinds
are not strong enough to sail against the current.
Happiness!
The
current is only one knot against me, instead of two. Progress!
***
BACK
TO THE LOG
5/8
Contrary currents are subsiding. The "Sailing Directions" claim they
are
alternating
currents, and change direction every 3 - 4 days.
Noon,
5/7 to Noon, 5/8 21 NM
Motored
toward shore to escape 2 knotWNW current. Near shore, it is only
one knot.
Made
some headway, hoping to finally escape the city glow of Puerto Quetzal,
which
I
have been close to for two days. Just as I thought I had made it,
along came a
chubasco,
and blew me right back again. I lost 5 miles in that storm.
I
couldn't believe my GPS, and took a hand bearing compass sight to Puerto
Quetzal
to
confirm it. When the storm was over, I came out on deck.
"GIFT" came through
it
O.K. - 45 knot winds. In an ink black night, I sorted things out
to get under sail
and
regain lost ground.
Noon,
5/8 to Noon, 5/9: 18.5 NM
5/9
Made some headway in the early morning, but when the sun came up, I sat
becalmed
until noon. Travelling winds set in, strong enough to buck the currents.
Made
some mileage. Even this days' chubasco had winds not over 20 knots,
from
the
West! "GIFT" was slipping along on just the genny, and keel up.
5/10
Winds remained strong all day.
Noon,
5/9 tp Noon, 5/10: 40 NM
Add
to that bucking a one knot current for 24 hours, and it was a 64 mile day.
Passed
the Guatemalan border at 0515. Up went the El Salvadoran flag.
Set
becalmed a few hours, motored some, then the wind came up.
Rounded
Punta Remedios, then spent a few more hours becalmed until a friendly
chubasco
took pity on me.
5/11
Now I am on a reach to be 20 miles offshore when I cross the Bay of Fonseca,
to
avoid pirates in that area. Didn't work. A panga with two guys
made me think they
were
going to board. When they left, I went 4 miles more out to sea.
Beating
all afternoon on a double-reefed main in winds 15 to 20 knots.
Noon,
5/10 to Noon, 5/11: 38 NM
Motored
some until I was too exhausted. Went to sleep. A friendly breeze
helped
me along that night.
5/12
A good travelling wind for a few hours, then a breeze on the nose.
1100
- A chubasco! No lightening, but two water spouts. Motored
to avoid the center
of
the storm and the water spouts. Now I'm laying too, bare poled, until
the storm passes.
Noon,
5/11 to Noon, 5/12: 30 NM
Second
day of beating against the wind, double-reefed. The day winds ae
SE (headwinds),
and
at night they turn to Northerlies. I make the most miles in the Northerlies.
I
am passing the Gulf of Fonseca, at least 20 miles off shore. The
Port Captain at Puerto
Madero
warned us that bandidos have been raiding boats that go too close to shore.
Bandidos.
Chubascos. Water Spouts.
Contrary
winds and currents.
5/13
Dodged another chubasco, 10 miles wide! Wind finally shifted enough
for me
to
make headway.
Noon,
5/12 to Noon, 5/13: 25 NM
A
good wind came up; a SW, but the SE winds of the last few days set up a
one knot current.
Started
across the Gulg of Fonseca in the dark, dodging chubascos. Spent
all night waking
up
to set steering, in a half sleep/half wake situation where I didn't know
which was real and
which
was dreams. I was exhausted, and my dreams paralleled reality.
Only in the dreams
I
had a boatload of rowdy people. When I woke up, it was a relief to
have peace and quiet.
I
made good time, but woke up soaking wet. (My foul weather gear has self-destructed.)
5/14
Motored some on smooth seas. I have decided to make a stop at Puerto
Corinto
for
food, gas and SLEEP! Decided I couldn't make Corinto before dark,
and "GIFT"
is
now ghosting downwind on just the jib. That should set me up to enter
the harbor in the daylight.
1500,
5/13 to 1730, 5/14: 53 NM
Good
nights' sleep, ghosting toward Corinto.
5/15
Woke up feeling good. Even slept enough to get morning mouth!
Decided against
Corinto.
Why pay $100 just to be able to buy 20 gallons of gas?
1730,
5/14 to Noon, 5/15: 19 NM
Easy
downwind sail all afternoon on just the genny. No chubascos!
Uh-huh.
Just
when I got past one thirty miles across with constant lightening and was
reefed down
on
the genny to sleep, I got blasted! The chubasco didn't last long,
but set up a friendly
North
wind, and "GIFT" made 10 miles on it on just a reefed genny.
I
slept all night!
There
is a God!
5/16
Woke up at 5:45, not over three miles off course. 97.4 miles to go!
Becalmed.
Motored
20 minutes.
Noon,
5/15 to Noon, 5/16: 4 NM
Bought
2.5 gallons of gas from a fisherman. He gave me a fish! 15
mile run from
noon
to 1700. Hight wind blew all night; Easterly. "GIFT" was balanced
to it all
night.
Slept good.
5/17
Had visions of motoring into Bahia Santa Elena, Costa Rica, but it was
too rough.
46
miles to go, and a Papagallo hits! (A Papagallo is the name of a
local off shore wind,
usually
stronger than the one I got.) Beating into it on a double-reefed
main. 20 to 25
knots;
some gusts to 35. "GIFT" is bubbling along on a lashed tiller, riding
easy.
Papagallo
eased off; still have to beat into it. No anchorage for Bucko tonight.
Noon,
5/16 to Noon, 5/17: 59 NM
Bucking
mousy winds, trying to make it to an anchorage all night.
5/18
Motored. Used all but my emergency gas to drop anchor at 0900 in
Key Point
on
Cabo de Santa Elena.
Noon,
5/17 to 0900, 5/18: 40 NM
I
am in Costa Rica!!!
85*
Air and water.
10*
53.867' N 85* 55.074' W
Up
went the Costa Rican courtesy flag.
The
anchorage lasted until 1730. A chubasco chased me out. I was
on a lee shore.
Sailed
all night, too exhausted to even steer. Sailed all day. Ran
out of gas totally.
I
was sitting there, one mile to go to Marina Flamingo, with no wind and
no gas, when
another
chubasco showed up. I could use the wind from it to make that last
mile.
That
chubasco last night blew me out to sea. That is why I had to sail
all day for a 24 mile trip.
Dropped
anchor at Marina Flamingo at 1800. I am going to stay here awhile.
Water
82* Air 80*
10*
26.415' N 85* 47.044' W
24
NM
5/20
O.K. So I'm not going to stay here awhile. The boat has to
go to Playa
de
Cocos to check in!
2,918.55
Nautical Miles, total.
5/21
Left Marina Flamingo at 0700. Motored to Playa de Cocos and anchored at
0930.
Check-in
went smooth.
10*
33.404' N 85* 41.719' W
90*
Water 85* Air
13
NM
So,
in spite of all that nature and the unfriendlies of the Guatemalan coast
tried
to
put in the way, our fearless el Bucko prevailed. He is trying to
see what has to be done in order for him to remain in Costa Rica for more
than the usual 90 days.
He
checks his email about once a week, since it is 30 miles by bus to the
nearest internet
shop.
You can leave him a message at: