I don't like rolly anchorages. They make the olive jump out of my lunch. Great minds think alike – and bad ones seldom differ – so it was no surprise that on the morning of February 15, 2015, all but 3 of the other cruising boats in Santiago Bay raised anchor within minutes of The…
So much for our genius plan to hang around Zihuatanejo for a few days. On the morning of February 12, 2015, I pulled a weather forecast off of the SSB via Saildocs that called for increasingly sporty weather in our area some time within the next 36-48 hours. Since it takes about that long to…
We had an urge to keep moving. Especially while the noserly WNW-NNW breezes stayed light. The sunrise on February 10, 2015, brought the chatter of a flock of parrots and other birds of unknown species to the bay of Puerto Marques. They all seemed to roost in what was left of the jungle foliage on…
We left Marina Chahue in Huatulco on February 7, 2015. I noticed that even at mid-tide on a falling tide, the surge in the marina was impressive. As it can be, there. (Protip: break out the trucker hitches you'd used as mooring lines in Mazatlan, and use them again in Marina Chahue.) It was very…
We moved aboard The Fox in March, 2003, and by December, 2014 we had spent almost all 11 Christmases aboard. We spent some holidays by ourselves at anchor. Other times, we shared dinner with 1 or 2 other boats. Sometimes there was a typical cruiser potluck-style event. But that Christmas in Marina Chiapas in 2014…
Late April, 2014. The 55-mile transit from Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua, coastwise across the Gulf of Fonseca to the anchorage at Punta Amapala, El Salvador, was hot, humid, smoky, and uneventful. Four-foot swells from the southeast gave us a beamish rolly passage. Breeze came and went. Two other northbound cruising sailboats joined us at anchor…
Well, OK; maybe it wasn't the absolute WORST takeoff from a dock we've ever made, but it was definitely among the top 5. Maybe one of the top 3, since a MOB (man overboard) was involved. There we were, 5:40 in the morning of April 15, 2014. Nicaragua. Looked very much like this:Sun was rising,…
Strong Papagayo winds kept us in port at Marina Puesta del Sol for a full week, April 8-15, 2014. The air was frequently hazy from the winds and smoky from the fires burning in nearby fields, which obscured the otherwise spectacular view of Volcano San Cristobal. It was breezy in the estuary and marina areas…
We left Costa Rica's Bahia Santa Elena and were soon in Nicaraguan waters making for Marina Puesta del Sol, about 145 miles up the road. Sailing was good for the first 6 hours; we sailed 4 miles offshore with winds aft of the beam 15 to 23 knots and a low chop. There was some…
That mean old Customs Lady in Golfito messed up Costa Rica's last, best chance for us to spend time and money there. That'll show 'em. Since we were illegally in the country, we moved quickly and silently up the coast. Sailed 272 miles in mostly calm seas, from Golfito in the SE to an overnight…