Time For The Adventure To End

We began cruising six years ago in 2007. The dream began well before that. We don't really remember exactly when we decided to go for it. We identified the Island Packet 380 as our ideal cruising boat when it was introduced in 1998. We bought Ariel in 2001 and immediately began outfitting for cruising. When we set out in 2007 we didn't have any predetermined timeline. We did come up with the a potential target of six years only because we put the money from the sale of our condominium into certificates of deposit and adopted the concept of laddering. We had two year and three year certificates and with rollovers they would all mature at the same time in six years. Nice concept but we bailed out of certificates of deposit without rollovers with the interest rate decline.

When we decided to go to Panama we expected to stay two years and that would make at least seven.  Before returning to Panama last autumn, we had reached the decision that we were ready to move on, and so we changed our plans. Rather than spend an extended period in the San Blas islands in Panama and then sail on to Cartegena, Colombia, we shortened our time in the San Blas and began the long trip back. We feel fortunate that we both were ready to give it up at the same time. We have spent two previous summers living and working on a property we bought three years ago as the site for our post cruising life. We have really enjoyed these summers and it was becoming harder and harder to leave.

We are so fortunate to have been able to see and experience so much over the past six years. We cruised the east coast from Maine to Florida and spent one summer season exploring New England and more specifically Maine. When we lived in Massachusetts and kept our boats in Rhode Island we never had the extended time required to take a boat to Maine. We spent another summer on the Chesapeake Bay and have returned there at the end of our cruising years. We made three round trips on the Inter-coastal Waterway which when we started out, traveling the ICW was probably our number one goal. We especially like South Carolina's Lowcountry and Eastern North Carolina. These areas are mostly undeveloped where the ICW passes through, mostly because they are such wetlands, and if you haven't figured it out by now, we really like nature.

Before we began our journey we really expected to visit the eastern Caribbean. Much of our reading and research was about these island countries. We spent two seasons in the Bahamas, which would be a natural jumping off point to the eastern Caribbean, but we started hearing about the western Caribbean and the more we looked at it, we realized it was a much better match to our interest.

The biggest leap for us during the entire six years was setting off from Key West for the three day and three night trip to Mexico. Our buddy boat had to cancel due to medical issues just days before our departure, so we set off alone.  That trip really built our confidence and set the stage for exploring Central America.

Guatemala became our home port of sorts as we left Ariel there during two hurricane seasons.  We came to love Guatemala and toured inland in Guatemala more so than any other country we visited.  The cruising community on the Rio Dulce is large and active, so it was never boring. 

After we arrived in Rock Hall, Maryland we immediately started unloading our stuff.  It took three trips, once with a rental car and twice with our SUV to cart off everything, and each time we were packed to capacity.  Ariel has been put on the market and we are back working on our gardens and landscaping.  We plan to meet with a builder later this year to replace the small beyond salvage house that came with the property.

We feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to cruise.  We are often asked if we are going to miss it.  We don't feel that way.  We enjoyed it immensely and have so many fond memories, but we have turned to the next chapter and are too engaged in that to spend time thinking about alternatives.

This, needless to say is the last posting for this blog.

"Fair Winds And Following Seas" ~ /) ~

Traveling The ICW And Back On The Chesapeake

We began our trip north from Florida by positioning ourselves on the down river side of Jacksonville closer to the mouth of the river so we could get an early morning departure, both to take advantage of the favorable current and to assure a daylight arrival in Charleston harbor. As luck would have it we had wind on the bow or near so the whole way so it was a motor sailing trip from start to finish. Our speed was slower than planned so we arrived too late to catch a bridge opening we needed to get to our intended anchorage just north of Charleston. We passed Fort Sumter on our way to an anchorage in Charleston harbor across from City Marina. In the past we have always avoided this anchorage because it is usually crowded, not well protected, and subject to strong currents. We didn't expect it to be crowded at this time of year and so we did find a spot with adequate swinging room. To our amazement we had a very pleasant night. Taking the outside route was about 65 miles shorter, even backtracking a little to our anchorage, but it also saved at least three days of travel time. We had a rough plan for stops on the ICW, mostly to revisit our favorite anchorages and maybe even stop at a couple marinas, something we almost never do. With our unexpected stop in Charleston, now our plan was thrown into disarray. We made it to Georgetown, SC the next day, again short of our plan, but enjoyed another nice peaceful evening. With an early start we felt we could get back on plan, but plans went afoul again when we reached North Myrtle Beach for a fuel stop. It was only 3:30 but Barefoot Resort had just filled up their fuel dock with overnight transient boats so they were no longer pumping fuel for the day. Not wanting to proceed without topping of the fuel we took a slip across the waterway at Barefoot Landing Marina for the night. A very strong storm system was sweeping across the country and was due in our area late the next evening. We decided to make a short travel day and after getting our fuel proceeded to Ocean Isle Marina, in Ocean Isle, North Carolina. Ocean Isle Marina is a dry stack storage facility for smaller power boats, but they have room for one transient boat on the end of their dock furthest out into the waterway. This was our planned stop the previous day. Norm's cousin Bob and his wife Hattie live just a few streets from the marina. Unfortunately Bob was working that day but after Bob got off from work we all went our for a couple drinks. While our visit was short we were happy to see each other. The next day after the front passed through we had a good travel day and arrived at Wrightsville Beach, our intended stop. The next day, Sunday, April 21 was the harshest we have ever spent on the waterway. The skies were clear and blue, but the air was cold and the wind was blowing around 30, and gusting higher mostly on our bow and to make things even worse the current was against us all day. We came very close to having our way blocked. Some of the bridges cannot operate in high winds. When we arrived at the Surf City bridge it could not be opened because the wind was in excess of 25 knots. After a brief wait and thoughts of dropping the hook, there was a momentary lull in the wind and the bridge tender decided to give it a try. It opened oh so slowly, but it did open and we got through. Later the Coast Guard announced that the Figure Eight Island Bridge had suspended operations due to wind. We had cleared that bridge earlier in the day. We arrived at our anchorage at Camp Lajeune (Mile Hammock). This is one of the most popular anchorages on the waterway and we found it empty. Later just one other boat joined us. Of course we are well ahead of the spring northern migration. We found one anchor would not hold, so we put our a second in a V shape off the bow and that did the trick. We were solidly in place and we both slept peacefully even as the winds howled all night. The next morning the winds had not subsided so we decided to stay put and take up travel the following day which was predicted to be better. After our lay day at Mile Hammock, the weather was much improved and we were once again underway. A couple days later found us in Belhaven, North Carolina. We have always stopped in Belhaven and it is one our favorites. The many empty storefronts witness a town struggling, but we have found the people to be the friendliest you will find anywhere. For our first time while stopping at Belhaven we decided to go into a marina. We stopped at the Belhaven Waterway Marina which is right in town, actually next door to the dinghy dock which in the past was our access point to town. Since our last visit three years ago Belhaven was flooded during a hurricane so a couple more stores were closed and the laundromat moved to higher ground, luckily still within reasonable walking distance. We went out to dinner at the Fish Hooks Cafe as a walk down memory lane. Before beginning our first trip down the ICW in 2007, we met Iain and Jan on Jocks Lodge. They were experienced with the ICW so we asked to tag along for a couple days. This was all arranged sitting in our dinghy next to their boat so we really didn't know them as we started out. Likewise Ted and Alice on Windsong asked to tag along with us. After clearing the idea with Jan and Iain the three boats started out together. After three days of travel together we arrived in Belhaven and stayed a couple days.  It was in Belhaven that we finally started to get to know one another. Iain and Jan treated the four of us to dinner at the Fish Hooks Cafe as appreciation for assisting them when their engine quit with a clogged fuel line and after that was fixed they got a line wrapped around their prop. Assistance was in the form of towing them across Albemarle Sound in rough seas and helping untangle the prop. The food at that time at the Fish Hooks was not to be recommended but we had a wonderful time together. This time around the food was excellent. The six of us on our three boats spent the next few months cruising together. Iain, Jan, Ted and Alice became close friends and we have continued to stay in touch.

This trip we decided to take the Virginia Cut. Crossing Albemarle Sound, there is a choice to be made between the Dismal Swamp route or the Virginia Cut route. This is our sixth trip on the ICW (three round trips) and with the decision to take the Virginia Cut we split evenly between the two routes.

On April 27, just two weeks after leaving the marina on the St Johns in Florida, we arrived in Hampton on the lower end of the Chesapeake and were happy to be back in open waters. The weather was either very nice of very miserable. Our first day on the Chesapeake was cold with misting rain and that night the rain increased in intensity and continued non-stop through the following day. After laying over for a day at anchor we had a fantastic day with good sailing. Our next stop was the Solomons, which was our summer home in 2009. Again rain was forecast for the following day so we took a slip at the Solomons Harbor Marina (Holiday Inn). It was good to get off the boat and to see places so familiar to us. Our highlight was dinner at Boomerangs, a place we like and when we had visitors we invariably took them to Boomerangs, which specializes in ribs.

After two days in the Solomons we again had another great travel day, the wind was a little close so we motor sailed, but we caught favorable current from the incoming tide all the way. We arrived in Rock Hall at Gratitude Marina, our new home for Ariel on May 2, five months after leaving Panama. 

Our laptop keyboard finally gave out so until we were able to order a new keyboard and install it updating the blog just wasn't going to happen.  This laptop has spent six years at sea so it is understandable it developed this problem.  Now it seems good as new, but just a little ( or a lot slow ) by today's standards.  Anyway that is why this post is long winded.

Refreshed And Ready To Go

We are getting underway again after about a month here on the St. Johns river in northern Florida. It has been both a wonderful time but a very exhausting time as well. The marina is a laid back and friendly place and it's location close to shopping was a perfect for what we needed to get done. Linda's sister Dale and her husband Steve live just 35 minutes south from the marina. They came to see us right after we arrived and we went to their house for Easter dinner and Linda also took a couple days off the boat to stay at her sister's. Enterprise Car had a weekend special going at $9.99 per day so we were able to have a car on weekends. We also just recently rented one for a week and made two trips to the Daytona area with it. We first went down to see our son Dan and his wife Lesli and and our grandson Thomas. They were vacationing in Ormond Beach which is just north of Daytona. It was a cold and slightly damp day, but we did manage through one round on the put put golf course and had a great day with them.  We returned a second time to Daytona and spent a weekend in a condo, that Linda's sister Darlene had reserved with her RCI points. Then on Monday, Linda's sisters, Darlene and Lois arrived as did Dale a short while after. After sharing a couple pizzas at the condo, Steve who had delivered Dale and I were on our way leaving the four sisters for their week together. They had a wonderful time and kept quite busy. Beside just enjoying the sun and the beach they also visited a chocolate factory, a botanical garden, the speedway and went to a luau among other things.

Darlene, Dale, Lois, Linda

Darlene, Lois, Linda, Dale

Now the exhausting side of our stay here. Let's just say working on the boat is getting old. We stripped the exterior teak again down to bare wood and refinished it. That actually consumed one half of our available work time. We touched up all the bright metal which was in great shape when we left Mexico, but now added a protective coat of wax. We cleaned and waxed the hull and topsides which was really showing the stress put on it by the tropics. We cleaned the bimini and dodger and sprayed with a protective coating. We also built a new clear vinyl connector for between the dodger and bimini. Inside we re-oiled the teak and of course gave it a good cleaning. Repairs were few and inexpensive. I can't believe I am saying our boat repairs were inexpensive as that is almost an oxymoron. Anyway we repaired a leaking pump on the head, replaced a failed part on the watermaker, and repaired the generator without any new parts other than changing out the air filter. The generator had been hard starting. An expert at Massey (Massey acquired Entec West, the manufacturer of our generator), suggested the air filter could be clogged by mold, but also suggested re-torquing the head bolts and checking valve clearance. I did all three, but the filter was probably the culprit since generator sat idle in a rain forest for several months. The filter looked normal so I didn't suspect it. We did many other small things and Ariel is now probably in the same condition as when we began cruising six years ago.

The weather was a little cooler than we anticipated. We knew it would be cool at times, but for the first two weeks here it was actually running about 10 degrees below normal. All and all it has been very pleasant with very little rain.

Our plan is to go offshore from the mouth of the St. Johns to Charleston and then stay on the inside on the ICW to Norfolk, Virginia.

A Couple Days With Bill And Pat (Mobetah)

The highlight of our trip up the ICW in Florida was stopping in Palm Coast to visit Bill and Pat (Mobetah). We last saw Bill and Pat in the spring of 2011. We took an inland trip to Antigua and Lago Attilan in Guatemala with them and had a wonderful time. Some of fondest memories were made with Bill and Pat as we also did an inland trip to Copan, Honduras with them in 2010 amongst other adventures.  At one time they directed readers of their blog to ours if they wanted to know what they were doing. We missed seeing them when we returned to Guatemala in the fall of 2011 before we departed for Panama. They would usually return at about the same time, but they were delayed because they were trying to buy a condominium in Palm Coast. Bill had investigated foreclosure sales of condominiums and had decided the time was probably about right to jump into the market. It was a time consuming process but having now seen their home, it was no doubt well worth the effort. We always planned to visit Bill and Pat, one way or the other. We thought we would be going up the coast on the outside and then once Ariel was secure in a marina we would drive over to see them. As it happens we could not go outside so the ICW took us right to their condominium which is just a few steps from the ICW.  It is a great spot for watching boat traffic.

Pat and Bill

They had arranged for us to keep our boat in a condominium marina (free), while we stayed at their home. We could only stay a couple days as we were already running a little behind schedule, and Bill and Pat made it hard to leave. We really enjoyed our visit. They have become full fledged dirt dwellers, but they are working very hard to bring some of the social aspects of the cruising life to their community. We expect and hope to see Bill and Pat before we head further north. Thanks for being wonderful friends (Bill and Pat) and thank you for opening your wonderful home to us.

We are now at Fleming Island Marina, on the St. Johns river and near Orange Park, Florida. We were last on the St. Johns our first year cruising. Linda's sister Dale and her husband Steve live further up the St. Johns near Palatka. A bridge just above Green Cove Springs prevents us from taking Ariel to their house. We are registered here for a month. During that time our son and his family will be vacationing in Ormond Beach at our timeshare which we bought in 1982 and which is still getting lots of use after all these years. Ormond Beach is a short drive so we look forward to seeing them. We will of course spend a lot of time with Steve and Dale, but Linda 's other sisters, Lois and Darlene are coming to Florida while we are here so all the girls will be together. Darlene's husband John very recently passed, so it is fitting that they will spend some time together. When not otherwise engaged we are doing some serious work on Ariel. Three years in the subtropics and tropics was very hard on the sun exposed surfaces, plus we have a list of maintenance items to address. Hopefully everything will be working when we leave Florida and Ariel will look much better.

Getting Reacquainted With The Ditch

We had hopes of continuing up the Florida coast on the outside, but a gale in the north Atlantic has created a large swell up and down the eastern seaboard, including Florida. Rather than wait for better conditions we are slowly plodding along on the Inter-coastal Waterway. It is very confining for us to stay in the Ditch, that is stay within the lines, after we haven't even had lines for so long now. We have stopped at the Titusville Municipal Marina. Our water tank, last filled in Isla Mujeres almost three weeks ago was just about empty and the laundry situation was reaching a critical state.

Another pelican - can't help it, Norm especially likes these guys.  We have two right now sitting on posts behind the boat keeping and eye on us

Working Our Way North Along Florida

The forecast for the next several days was for winds to be from the north or northwest. There is a fixed bridge on the inter-coastal waterway in Miami that we cannot get under so at a minimum we need to go out and around to Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), but we planned to re-enter at Lake Worth and avoid 21 bridge openings over about a 44 mile stretch of the ICW. We found an opportunity for a night trip where the winds were forecast to be light and more from the west northwest. We knew the seas would be calm with the wind coming off the coast. We pulled anchor just before 6 pm. There was a cruise ship in port so we went around behind , rather than go down the cruise ship channel. We went out about 2 ½ miles and then turned north to parallel the coast. It was perfect and we were enjoying a nice motoring ride in very calm seas. Well we at least thought it was perfect. Upon waking up at 3 am to take my turn at watch I check the battery voltage and found the bank seriously discharged. The alternator was not charging the batteries. I couldn't find a quick and easy solution so we turned off everything except the navigation lights. Since we were running along the coast it wasn't too difficult to steer a course holding approximately the same distance from shore. The depth was not an issue so we felt comfortable. We turned the chart plotter on once an hour to get a fix on our position. We arrived at our planned destination, the Lake Worth inlet at just before sunrise and turned on the instruments for the few minutes it took to enter and get to a place to anchor. After getting some sleep I diagnosed the problem to be the voltage regulator. I was able to bypass the voltage regulator and very carefully by controlling the engine speed recharge the batteries at a safe voltage. Later in the day we moved the boat to North Palm Beach which was were we had intended to anchor before our problem. What a break or we are living a charmed life because there is a West Marine in North Palm Beach within a short walking distance. We were able to get a replacement voltage regulator and all is well. Knock on Wood.

Now southern Florida is experiencing the coldest weather this season and we are asking ourselves if we got here too soon. Just kidding, it feels good to be back in the states. It looks like we may be here a few days waiting on a break in the string of fronts sweeping down from the north and west. Posted from Dunkin Donuts, Oh Yeah, we are back in America.

Back In Our Home Country

We just completed our best open water passage ever. We made it from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to Dry Tortugas, a distance of 300 miles in 48 hours, by far our fastest ever passage. Of course having both favorable current and favorable wind made it both easy and possible. The same current that carried us north from Belize at 2 knots also carried us north as we crossed the Yucatan Channel. We set the boat up to sail on a close reach and just let the current carry us. We saw current as high as 3 ½ knots.

Our trip plan was developed by Linda.  She reluctantly agreed to make landfall in Dry Tortugas, a place which has always been high on the Norm's list. We arrived at Dry Tortugas National Park at a little after ten in the morning, which was perfect to allow time to get the boat organized, have lunch and then visit Fort Jefferson. After visiting the fort, Linda exclaimed it was well worth stopping there. Following our plan we set sail after dinner for an overnight trip to Boot Key in the Florida Keys. This was another pleasant sail, and we arrived there just before lunch. We now had the use of our cell phone so we called Customs and Border Protection to report our arrival. After lunch we pulled anchor and stopped at the fuel dock to top off the tank. We hadn't used much fuel, but the fuel docks are so convenient at the entrance to Boot Key harbor. We re-anchored and relaxed the afternoon away. After an early dinner we again set sail and continued along the Keys, arriving at one of our favorite anchorage spots in Miami Beach at 10:30 the following morning. Wow what a trip. We remember our very first night at sea going down the New Jersey coast six years ago. Neither of us slept at all, we were so keyed up. Now each of us falls off to sleep within minutes of being relieved from watch. What a difference a few years experience has made.

The Dry Tortugas lie about 70 miles west of Key West and are accessible only by boat or seaplane. The seven keys and surrounding coral reefs make up Fort Jefferson National Park. These keys are isolated and there are no places to fuel or provision here. 

Ariel Within Range

Ponce de Leon discovered these tiny islands in 1513 while on his famous quest for the Fountain of Youth. He called the area Las Tortugas for the large number of sea turtles that inhabited the islands. Later, the area became known as the Dry Tortugas, as the word "dry" was a warning to sailors that no fresh water was to be found here.

Surrounded By A Moat

Pirates enjoyed the isolation of the islands until 1821 when Florida became part of the US and the pirates were finally driven out. In 1825 a lighthouse was erected on Garden Key to warn of the shoals and reefs, which had sunk a great number of ships. 

High On Top Of Fort Jefferson

Then in 1846 the strategic location of the Dry Tortugas was recognized and the construction of Fort Jefferson was begun. It took some 30 years and 16 million bricks to build the hexagon shaped fort, although it never was completely finished. In 1856 the present lighthouse on Loggerhead Key was built, making it the southernmost lighthouse in the continental US.

Next To Big Gun

Federal troops occupied the fort during the Civil War where the fort served as a military prison. The most famous prisoner was Dr. Samuel Mudd, a physician who, not knowing of Lincoln's murder, set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth. Dr. Mudd was sentenced to life in prison for this act.
Epidemics of yellow fever swept the fort during this time, but the efforts of Dr. Mudd saved hundreds of lives and he was pardoned in 1869. Through the efforts of his family, he was finally absolved of all guilt in 1979, 110 years after his sentencing.

Garden Key Light - Anchoring Permitted Only Within One Mile Of Light

Next Fort Jefferson became a naval base. In 1898, the battleship USS Maine left the Dry Tortugas and headed to Havana, Cuba on her fateful voyage. A year later the ship was blown up, an event which started the Spanish-American War. The fort also served as a coal station and a World War I seaplane base. Although its importance as a military base waned, it's value as a natural resource grew. John Audubon visited the Dry Tortugas in 1832 and the area was made a marine sanctuary in 1908. In 1935 it was designated as a National Monument and in 1992 it became a National Park. Today the area is known for its abundant bird and marine life, its legends of pirates and sunken gold, and of course, for its incredible, unspoiled beauty.

Several of the keys in the Dry Tortugas are off limits during the nesting season between March and September when some 100,000 sooty terns call Bush Key home. Disturbing the nest can be death for young birds. Brown and black noddies also nest in the vegetation between the sootie's rookery. While Bush Key is closed during the nesting season, Hospital and Long Keys are closed to visitors all year. All keys, with the exception of Garden Key (where Fort Jefferson is located) are open only during daylight hours. 

Prison Where Dr Mudd Was Held

Some of the other birds that are likely to be spotted include the magnificent frigate birds with their huge seven-foot wingspan, masked boobies, brown boobies, double-crested cormorants, brown pelicans and roseate terns.

There are day trips from Key West by boat or sea plane and if in Key West we recommend checking into it. Take along swim wear and a nice lunch. Bring everything you will need and plan to leave with any trash you may have.

Stopping in the Dry Tortugas was a nice relaxing stop after three years in Central America before entering Government Cut in Miami and then dropping anchor in Miami Beach. While very relaxing on the boat we are surrounded by luxury homes and can just feel the pace of a very vibrant city. We are happy to be back in the United States. We were really impressed with the new dinghy dock the city has built across from the Publix grocery store. No where have we been has shopping been easier than in Miami Beach and with free WiFi provided by the city, this place is hard to beat.

Back To The Beginning

On March 9, 2010 we entered the Western Caribbean making our first port of call at Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Here it is almost three years later and fittingly Isla Mujeres will be out last port of call in the Western Caribbean. Since leaving the San Blas on December 1, it has been a fast paced trip revisiting, although briefly the places we got to know so well on a way to the south and to the west. It has in many ways been so much more relaxing on the return since we have been revisiting what had become something like our local neighborhoods where everything is familiar.

More than anything it has been a time for reflection as the memories have come surging back, especially of the people we have met, but also the places we visited and the things we did. We have necessarily spent a lot of days and nights at sea since leaving the San Blas so we have had a lot of time to recall our experiences and reminiscence.

Isla Mujeres is as good as ever and we won't mind being delayed here waiting for weather. We are at Marina Paraiso, the same marina we stayed at three years ago. The cruising community at times can be so small. After getting our dock lines secured, I looked over to the boat next to us, and was shocked to see Nicki on Ajaya, waiting to say hello. We last saw Phil and Nicki in Providencia and really thought that was to be our final goodbye. That is one of the great aspects of this life, that you never really know when you will see your friends again, but you usually do.

I should mention that on the way to Mexico we did spend some time in Belize spending a few days each in both Placencia and Caye Caulker and overnight stops at smaller cays.  We like Belize and found the check in and checkout procedures much improved, especially the fees charged, meaning they now seem uniform and aboveboard.   Approaching Isla Mujeres we passed Cozumel during the night and Cancun in the early morning hours.  It was amazing to see the bright lights at both places especially after so long in Central America where in many places electricity in prohibitively expensive, not to mention unreliable.

We didn't plan it this way, but they are having Carnival in Isla Mujeres this weekend. We have never been to Carnival and from what we have seen so far the one here is family rated, which is what we would have expected based on our past experiences on the island.

As readers of this blog know we have been traveling with Daragh and Cathryn on Chantey V since Providencia. It has been a great partnership as our schedules could not have been more closely aligned. We will be going our separate ways now, as they are headed for Cuba and then to the Bahamas,  and well, we are not.   Here is a link to their blog Chantey V. They are a very interesting couple and I am sure will have some interesting stories to share about Cuba and beyond.

Ariel Splashed

Our original five day haul out turned in thirteen, but the quality of the work was excellent.  Much of the extra time was due to rain and the rest probably due to a heavy workload at the boatyard.  But we are back in the water, and as soon as we are provisioned we plan to be underway again.

Final Touches

We're In, Well Almost

Ariel Starting Year With Bottom Job

We did not get the new year off to a good start on Ariel. In all of our years cruising, neither of us has been sick, thank the Lord, other than maybe a couple very minor colds. On returning to the Rio Dulce we became aware that there was a stomach virus going around and maybe a flu like illness as well. This should not be surprising as so many people are returning from their home countries and there are also a lot of vacationers here at this time of year. It hit Linda first on New Years morning, actually just about midnight. Luckily it is intense for about 24 hours and then it is a matter of a few days to get strength and appetite back. We had Ariel scheduled to be hauled out for bottom painting at 9 am on January 3. Norm awakened on that day knowing his turn was next. Luckily they were ready for us when we arrived at the travel lift so the haul out went quickly. We had moved our stuff to the bungalow we rented at  Captain John's Marina and made up the bed the day before so as soon as Ariel was secure we were off to the bungalow and Norm was off to bed. Norm, like Linda recovered from the worst of it in about 24 hours.

Living Room and Kitchen Very Open (Bedroom and bathroom in back are enclosed and have windows)

Our Own Dock

Fully Furnished Kitchen

Paint Removed Port Side

Starboard Side - Almost Done Removing Paint

It has been over ten years of adding layers of bottom paint to Ariel, so we decided it was time to remove it all and start over. We contracted with RAM Marina  to remove all of the existing paint, epoxy any imperfections, add a barrier coat (against water penetration to the fiberglass) and then to apply new bottom paint. Having experienced living aboard the boat while in the yard two years ago here in Guatemala we knew it was not something we would repeat. We rented a very nice fully furnished bungalow for Q1200 which is about $150 per week, or if we need to extend our stay the rate is Q2500 or about $320 per month. One of the benefits was that we were able to move our food from our freezer and refrigerator ( which does not work without seawater for cooling ) to the bungalow. The work so far has been progressing on schedule which is somewhat of a miracle because each night since we hauled we have had steady and at times heavy rain, but the days for the most part have been dry. As I am writing this though our luck seems to be changing as it is raining in what looks like it may be an all day event.

Back On Rio Dulce

Daragh and Cathy Traveling On The Rio Dulce

Our travels from Providencia to Roatan with Daragh and Cathryn on Chantey V went exceedingly well.  We were very often out of sight, but never out of radio contact and we arrived at Roatan together.  They are on a tight schedule as Cathy has to return to her teaching job in the fall of 2013, so they are trying to pack as much into two years as possible.

It is out of character for us to move at a fast pace, but we reached Honduras so much sooner than we expected that we decided to push on so we could spend Christmas in Guatemala with our old friends and new friends.  I do not mean we sailed fast, but just that we would not spend much time in Honduras.  After just three days in Roatan, Chantey V and Ariel departed for Utila.  We cleared Honduras in Utila and left there after just two days.  After an overnight passage we were back in Guatemala.  When we left Guatemala the previous year we did not expect to return with Ariel, but as we have mentioned many times before our plans are always very flexible.  Besides wanting to be in Guatemala for Christmas, we also wanted to haul the boat to have the bottom painted.  We contacted friends at Catamarans Hotel and Marina to see if there would be space for us.  Catamarans is very difficult to get into as they do not accept reservations and it is usually full.  It is also helpful to have a recommendation from someone already there, in our case Iain and Jan from Jocks Lodge.  Catamarans did indeed have a side tie slot.  We were familiar with Catamarans as even when we stayed at Monkey Bay just across the river, we would go to Catamarans on Sundays to watch football.  As expected it felt like we were coming home seeing all our friends and immediately getting reengaged with some of the many activities on the Rio Dulce.  Catamarans has a nice pool so afternoons are spent hanging out by the pool with friends.

Dominos (Jan, Celine, Linda, and Suzanne)

Christmas Day a few of us decided not to go out to any of the several Christmas dinners, but instead gathered together, each bringing some (someone else's term) heavy hors d'oeuvres.  We had a wonderful time, with good food and good company.

Christmas Dinner Poolside

Iain's Birthday on Christmas Day

We are scheduled to haul out a RAM Marina on January 3, so our rapid pace (not sailing) continues.  We will be back off the river before we know it.  Daragh and Cathy only planned about a month in Guatemala so we would not be surprised to be sailing with them again.

Watercraft Of The San Blas

Excellent Sailor

Bringing Us Our Coconuts

Colorful Sail

 

Coco Bandero Images

The Coco Bandero Cays were our favorite in the San Blas.  These small uninhabited islands are very scenic with white sand beaches and wonderfully clear water.  We enjoyed walking the perimeters along the sandy beaches.

 

These pictures are associated with original posting date 11/21/2012

Nargana Images

Original Nargana posting dated 11/19/2012

Our Main Man - Federico

Playing With The Kids

Found My WiFi Spot

Molas

These are the pictures associated with the post dated 11/15/2012.

The mola forms part of the traditional costume of a Kuna woman, two mola panels being incorporated as front and back panels in a blouse. The full costume traditionally includes a patterned wrapped skirt (saburet), a red and yellow headscarf (musue), arm and leg beads (wini), a gold nose ring (olasu) and earrings in addition to the mola blouse (dulemor).


In  the Kuna's native language, "mola" means "shirt" or "clothing". The mola originated with the tradition of Kuna women painting their bodies with geometrical designs, using available natural colours; in later years these same designs were woven in cotton, and later still, sewn using cloth bought from the European settlers of Panama.

Portobello Photos

These are the pictures associated with the post dated 11/6/2012, which was posted via SSB radio and Pactor modem without attachments.

San Fernando Fort Battery (constructed in 1760)

San Fernando Fort Battery

San Fernando Fort Battery

Customs House (originally constructed 1630)