Plecencia, Belize

Finally made it here after having poor weather and having to turn back getting half way here but making no headway against head seas and wind on the nose. We went back to a bay by where we started at Wilson Cay and found New Haven Harbor very protected. Like Wilson Cay it was just mangroves. We didn't realize it but we were in another of the many marine parks that they charge by the person per day to anchor in. This one wanting $8:00 each. Told them we had no cash after checking into the country until we hit town. What could they say? This was on our 3rd day in the park that we didn't know we were in. The water is to green to snorkel, the shore is nothing but mangroves and they want to charge us to be here? We planning our routes to avoid these marine parks , just cant justify the fees.

Plecencia is a nice enough place but geared to the tourist. Not much here that shows Belize culture. We did rent a car for an excursion to the Mayan ruins well inland. This car should never have been rented out for such a long trip and turned out not to be up to the task. The roads wind through the mountains and the further we went the less power the car had, some roads i didn't think it was going to make it up. We did make it to our destination, well sort of. One mile before the ruins there is a hand cranked ferry that takes one vehicle at a time across a river. We made it across the river but when we went to drive off the ferry up the far slope the car died. I was able to get it to the side of the road and out of the way where we left it. We walked the remaining mile and borrowed a phone to call the company for a mechanic to look at it. We came all this way and we were not going to have our tour ruined. This is one of the largest temples and it sits atop a mountain overlooking Guatemala 8 miles away. Afterward we waited for the mechanic and when he finally came he thought it to be the fuel pump, i was thinking fuel filter from the way it slowly lost power through the morning. They towed away our ride and now we were 3 hours away from our boat. Ya , we were on that creek without a paddle. After a few hours and deciding the car was not going to get fixed right away the rental companies owner gets the mechanic to drive us back, 3 hours each way, poor guy. Poco was real good about it but then he was getting paid to drive. His radiator leaked so he brought along his kid to keep it filled. Poco pulled his back trying to move our car off the road and was having a very hard time doing anything besides sitting. Every 45 minutes or so we would pull over and junior would get out and pour water into the reservoir. It started getting dark and also started raining the last hour. Poco didn't know where to go the final 5 miles so we are wandering around back streets looking for the right place. Trudy got a little nervous at this point noticing the Poco keep a machete in between his front seats. We finally found the right street and we meet Dennis , the owner of the car company. Dennis also has a fishing/ shuttle boat service which we are now at, across the bay from Plecencia. Now we have to get into an open boat with a sheet of plastic spread across us like a blanket while we get blasted across the bay, in the dark,in the rain, through the mangrove channels to where we want to be, well sort of. Here we jump on a very wet gulf cart for the final mile to the dinghy dock, elapsed time 12 1/2 hours. What a great adventure for $90. I'm sure Dennis paid much more getting us ,and then later his car, back across Belize. We will always remember this day. 10NM. motored to Wilson Cay, 20NM trying to motor to Plecencia and then turning and sailing, fast, back, 24NM motor sailing to Plecencia.

Belize

Leaving French Harbor Roatan Honduras 12-09-09 in the morning we had a slow but nice sail to the outer reefs of Belize. We stopped at Lime Cay on the second day around noon not having enough daylight to make it to the mainland. We misunderstood the cruising guide that you could check in here. We did check in but it was with the navy which had nothing to do with customs and immigration which we would still have to do on the mainland. What we did not know was that this was a marine park and they charge $10 per person per day just to anchor here. This was not going to work and we had to map out where all the marine parks were to avoid the absorbent charges. We moved closer to the mainland the next day to a Moho cay that was a resort that charges just to go ashore. This is not the kind of welcoming we expected from Belize. So far the most cruiser unfriendly country we have been to. We go to Punta Gorda to check into the country then check out the town. The anchorage is very exposed and we did not plan staying. The town was small and nice and it would have been nice to stay longer but had to get to a good anchorage while we had good light. We go to yet another mangrove cay for the night and the next day make a short move to, ya, another mangrove cay. 4 days in Belize and we are not impressed. Lime Cay 117 NM 28 1/2 hours sailed, South Moho Cay 27NM motored 5 3/4 hours,

Punta Gorda and back to the Moho Cays 20NM Sailed there motored back, Wilson Cay 10 NM motored.

Roatan, Honduras

The weather was not what was reported when we left the island of Guanaja for Roatan. We had the wind and waves on the nose and the going was slow so we stooped into Port Royal bay. This was a very pretty bay but unfortunately there was a lot of shredded plastic trash floating in the water. We later found out in comes from the Honduras mainland where they dump their trash in the ocean. The next day we complete the trip to French Harbor. A little tricky getting into but a real nice protected anchorage. There is a barrier reef that breaks the ocean surge on one side and land on the other 3. Ashore we see a real American like grocery store with great prices and only a short walk away. The town is small and very nice. We went to a nice little dinner were we ordered cervesas and got soup also, not a bad deal for a buck. We really enjoyed the laid back atmosphere here. The place we need to go the check out of the country we decide to take a cab to instead of moving the boats and we split the cost with our friends from Serene. We go over to Coxin Hole which is the main town on the island and not real great. A busy town with a bit of crime we just want to get checked out. The port caption is just a difficult person and likes to give people a hard time. He takes a vital piece of paper from us then sends us to the airport to immigration where they ask for our crew list that the port caption kept. Back to the port captions office he reluctantly gives us our customs clearance without immigration first which has our crew list. While waiting for Mel i discover there is and immigration office behind the building we were in. Why did this guy send us to the airport if there is an office in the same building? Finally finished we take a taxi to the far end of the island and check out West End. This seems to be the tourist area. Lots of shops and restaurants on a rutted dirt road, it has a pleasant feel to it. Back to the anchorage we get soaked on the ride back to the boat where the waves had built up while we were away. 38NM. motor and motor sailed 9 hours total.

Isla De Guanaja, Honduras

Leaving San Andres on 11-20-09 we made this long trip with 4 stops, 3 at very isolated reefs well offshore, originally it was to be a 3 stop trip.The first stop was supposed to be a short trip of 63NM. to a reef north of the island of Providencia. Our tack angle had taken us a good 30 miles off course and heading into a southerly 2 1/2 knot current, we were north bound and we seemed to be going along quite well until we looked at the GPS and it said we were only going 2 1/2 knots. Our tack back towards our destination had us losing our northward progress. We already had been out 24 hours and decided to tuck in behind Providencia 8 miles short of the reef. We still did not get in until almost 10:oo pm, 110NM later. We rocked and rolled all night passably our second worst anchorage ever. We were up and ready at first light to finish the remaining 8 miles and get some protection at Low Cay. This looked like we were anchored in the middle of the ocean. The only land was Low Cay which was very small and awash. The reef which was very large provided excellent protection. There was only two other boats we seen here the 3 days we waited out the weather. On one we knew one of the crew who has been crewing on different boats sense Turks Caicos on yet another boat.

Next leg took us to another reef system but this one had a few small cays. Cayos Cajones is where we stopped at and rested for a day and a half. No where to go here just stayed on the boat.

The last leg we got to test our boats and our skills. We had to dodge squalls the second day out and on the second night we got hit by a fierce cold front that did not have any rain or clouds to give it away so we could not see it coming. We ended up heaving too for half the night until the high confused seas settled into their new pattern at 2:00 am. We lost about 8 miles drifting down wind through the night but we were able to get some rest. We were able to sail to within 17 miles of the island before the wind just died away and we had to motor in the rest of the way. The main island has very few people on it, instead they are all crammed on a very small island in the south bay. So many that they have even built buildings on stilts over the water extending off the land. Hurricane Mitch hovered over the island for 3 days devastating it in 1998. It was nice to hear English spoken again and to be hear from the locals about their island.

Here the water was very clear and we could see the bottom of the keel so we ran some lines under it to support it so that i could replace the rudder cap that rotted from electrolysis. The emergency repair that i did in the Chagres River held it together and got us here but i was nervous.

We did visit the main island at El Bight where a German couple ran a bar. The upstairs of the bar was an open loft, perfect for us to do some sail repair on Serene's stay sail.

Providencia 110NM sailed 26.5 hours motored 4 hours into anchorage in the dark, very slowly. Low cay 8NM motored.

Cayos Cajones 196NM 39 hours sailed all but 4 hours into anchorage in the dark, again.

Isla De Guanaja 180NM 48 hours heaving to for 6 hours.

San Andres, Columbia

Leaving the Chagres River in the rain we thought it best if we got going before they opened the damn gates again. By the looks of the current they had opened a couple of them already. When we got to the mouth of the river it was a mess with the outgoing current and the seaway coming in at it. We had about 6 foot standing waves with the silt all stirred up where we could not see the shoals. we had our incoming track on the GPS to follow out plus the waves broke noticeably on the reefs. We leave with all our water jugs full and the boat well cleaned. It was nice to have fresh water to clean with.

San Andres is a Colombian island north of Panama and closer to Nicaragua than anything else. Being a Colombian island we needed to use an agent to clear us in and out. I think he was scamming us also. He charged us for a tourist card which we never received anything indicating we had received. The island is a popular Colombian tourist destination. Lots of beaches and resorts and plenty of light life though we were always back on the boat at night to avoid any passable problems. We split the rental of a gulf cart with Serene to tour the island which we were able to do in about an hour or so. There are thousands of motor bikes on this island. We only planed to visit 2 days but had to wait on the weather and spent 4. Not a bad place but there was only so much to do here.

220NM 56 hours sailed 36 hours motor sailed the remainder

Chagres River, Panama

Just a short distance from Colon harbor this was a world of difference from Colon. The entrance was a little tricky with a 6 foot deep reef guarding the river entrance we had to travel a "s" shape track into the river. Once inside it was deep and had long stretches with a few bends. It didn't take long before we saw our first family of Howler monkeys in the tree tops. We motored about 3 1/2 miles upstream and anchored at a lovely bend in the river. We could see toucan's and parrots from the boat here. The were 2 other boats with us and one other that was already there. We took a dinghy ride up to the damn and saw a sloth and more howler monkeys along with many birds. We stood under a large tree watching the monkeys for over an hour careful not to be right under them. Our second day on the river we heard that they were going to open the damn gates because of all the rain to lower the Panama Canal's water level. We chose to stay put because no one in charge came and told us we had to leave. We put out lots of scope and stood ready. The current picked up to close to 5 knots we figure. Every ones speed transducers were fouled and we all had to rely on our GPS for our speed, which wouldn't work for this. We had a bit of debris come down the river with a few trees, one getting caught in one boats anchor chain. They were able to get it off without any damage. One the way into the river i looked down to our rudder cap to see one side of it had fallen off. Once anchored i discovered that electrolysis had eaten away the cap where it did not have much metal left to it. I used some nylon blocks, screw clamps and fiberglass cloth and resin to reinforce it until i could find a replacement. This was one of the highlights of our trip for sure.

13NM motored

Colon, Panama

Now for those that know, we came from the Michigan area and that I (Dennis) worked outside the Detroit area which is know far and wide as being a crime riddled and dirty city so this will be a very serious claim. Colon Panama is DIRTY. We have never seen a city in such poor shape. Our cab driver locked the doors. We had seen part of the city already traveling here by bus but now we get to see more. We first need to anchor the boat, Colon Harbor is HUGE. Must be more than 10 square miles. They leveled the Yacht club before we got here so there is "The Flats" which, without the yacht club, is in the middle of now where. The only marine is Shelter Bay Marina and is 5 miles away by the break water. We had heard that there was no anchoring allowed for yachts anywhere but the flats. Once inside we could not believe it. There was so much room. Its not so much a harbor but a bay. We tried to claim ignorance and anchored outside Shelter Bay Marina. At dusk a patrol boat comes by and in Spanish tries to tell us to move. In English i say i don't understand. He tells us in English "No parking" I ask him "Minyana" (tomorrow) and they leave. In the morning another patrol boat shows up and in English tells us to "Move NOW" . Inside the marina or over to the flats. Oh well, over to the flats we go. Serene is in the marina and we made plans to share a cab to clear out of the country. Now we have a 5 mile dinghy ride back to the marina. We help Serene get some fuel and we fill our jugs at the same time. Then the fun begins. We get a cab and lucky us this guy really helped us out, we started the Panama check out mary-go-round. Use and agent, it costs the same and its less hassle ,hindsight is great. We find the port captions office no problem, our cab driver used to work there. We go to office #1 and they ask us for copies of our paper work, we don't have copies, you think they have a copy machine there? Off we go to find a copy machine down the street. Back to the office they fill out their form for us. From here we take their form to office #2, same building right next door. First question, "DO YOU HAVE COPIES OF YOUR PAPER WORK?" If we needed 2 sets of copies don't you think we had been told by office #1? We were able to complain our way out of it explaining office #1 had copies. They fill out another form and charge us $2:50 then they send us to.............office #3. Here they do nothing more than fill out a receipt and charge us $1:50,which we need to take back to office #1 to get our exit zarpe. 1 1/2 hours down. We ask where the immigration office is to get out passports stamped and they give us directions. This used to be done at the yacht club but now that its gone? We find the office we were directed to and the lady tries to tell us we need to get a visa. We explain we are not staying we are leaving, we don't need a visa to leave. She gets crappy with us and now we don't know what to do. We find our cabbie and he goes to the office and in excellent Spanish finds out we are in the wrong office. We need to go to pier 13, something or another. This takes us through the local dump and the worst road we have ever seen. We get to the pier office to find out the officer took a nooner. We get a cell phone number and find him in town, where we just were. Now this pier is just adjoining "The Flats" so you can see there is absolutely nowhere to come ashore when you are anchored here. Now we go back to Colon, find the immigration officer, who jumps in the back seat of the cab with us and proceeds to stamp our passports on the back of drivers seat head rest. He insists on a "tip" which at this point we are just to happy to oblige. Start time 11:00am, Return time 4:30pm. Total time to check out of the country, 5 1/2 hours and a hell of a cab fee.

20 1/2 NM motored