So. About earthquakes in southernmost Pacific Mexico: They haz them. During the summer that The Fox rested on jackstands in the boat yard at Mariana Chiapas, there was a spot of bother: an earthquake of 6.9 magnitude occurred just offshore of Tapachula, Mexico, at about 37 miles deep in the Earth's crust. There is nothing…
May 2, 2014. Hauled The Fox at Marina Puerto Chiapas for hurricane-season storage. Did the usual preparatory chores.Weather was very hot and humid but Memo's haulout (that's him in the light blue shirt with the TraveLift controls), the pressure washing, and the placement on jackstands all went smoothly. Covered The Fox with mesh landscape fabric…
Marina Puerto Chiapas is an excellent place to visit, get necessary boat work done, or to store one's boat for the season. Earthquakes and tsunamis notwithstanding. (More on that, in a later post.) On the right, you see a view of their innermost dock, looking toward a portion of their asphalt-paved dry dock and boat…
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…
Golfito's a nice place. If they let you in. By 2014 we were pretty well experienced with checking into and out of all kinds of countries, and we'd already been in and out of Costa Rica once. Our check-in with Immigration this time went as smoothly as usual. However, our next stop – Customs –…
Islas Secas translates to the "dry islands." I assume this means there are no natural springs anywhere on these islands, but I don't know for sure because I have been spoiled by The Fox's reliable Little Wonder watermaker, tra-la. We sailed 34 miles from Bahia Honda to the Secas for 3 days of fishing, snorkeling,…