Hello there,
We are currently crossing the famed Tehuantepec! Yesterday evening we loaded the boat full of 5000 pesos (approx. $370.00) worth of groceries from the Super Che in Huatulco and shoved off. It was sad leaving the odd little marina. The governing authority is Enrique and his attendance seemed to be a guest appearance at times rather than a full time presence. The marina is truly the last refuge for sailors heading south past the Tehuantepec. It also acts as a final southing point for many sailors. The mixed group of people present in the marina was quite intriguing.
A German couple arrived shortly after us from the south. Their Dilapidated vessel seemed to have been to the far reaches of the world So we invited them over for a drink and some story swapping. It turned Out that they had left Germany 3 1/2 years ago. They headed to South
America and then decided on a whim to round Cape Horn. They did so and at times faced 80-knot winds. Once they reached the horn they found about 20 boats “holed up” waiting for a weather window to
Cross into the Antarctic! A wild and cold world indeed down there.
From Tierra Del Fuego they headed north to Peru, then launched across to the Galapagos. Once there they headed straight for Costa Rica. From Costa Rica they skirted the coast past El Salvador and ended up in
Huatulco.
The man had a serious case of a superiority complex. The woman was more humble and I had a pleasant time swapping information about the north route with her knowledge from the south, Costa Rica etc...Their Website is: www.world-sailing-ultima.blogspot.com
Another man we met, who was on a beautiful 51-foot ketch next to us, turned out to be a delivery captain. Captain Pete Peterson was a strange old bloke from Kentucky who retired at the age of 49 to become a
delivery captain. He logs on average 20,000 sea miles a year all over the world delivering yachts of all shapes and sizes. Yesterday, he went to refuel the giant beast he was charged with and nearly crashed the thing into our boat and the dock next to us. Despite the fact that the
vessel was equipped with bow thrusters... definitely left me wondering a bit. His crew consisted of an older woman, who was somehow affiliated with the owner, and two older gentlemen who showed up the day before they left. None of them had ever met and they were planning on leaving the same day as ourselves and to head straight for Costa Rica, refuel and then head directly to Panama and on to Florida where the boat had to be delivered before the end of January! That’s over 3000 miles with a completely unknown crew on a strange and unusual vessel! Quite a ride they will have for sure.
Checking out of Mexico-
Well, this was quite a chore. First one must see the Port Captain, after an hour of paper work you must go across the street, luckily, and negotiate with Immigration. Then I was told to go back to the port Captain. Once there they told me I must go to the airport to clear with Customs. A $30 taxi ride! Here is where the controversy comes in. Two other boats had left the prior day, each of them had gone through the laborious and costly process of traveling all the way to the airport. I spoke with Enrique, the Marina owner and he said that I should not go to the airport and that everyone should come to him in the Marina. So, I made an appointment with the immigration agent to show up on the boat the following day to do his ritual. He actually did show up on time. I, then, had to go back to the port Captain and magically they signed me out of the country. So, I never went to see Customs at the airport and everything worked out! It is really very bizarre how mixed up things are here, but we are in a 3rd world country. The delivery captain said that most of the time he doesn't bother with checking into the different countries and when they get mad he just throws his hands in the air and says, “I'm sorry-- I didn't know any better”... That's one way of working through these foreign bureaucracies. Delivery Captain’s web site www.captainpete48.com
So….. back to the T-pecker. We left yesterday evening, despite Captain Pete's belief that we should wait until morning. We motored all night through calm seas. It began to feel a bit weird, but nothing too strange.
We passed our night shifts as we hugged the coast until 3 am. Then, we aimed southeast and began to cross the Tehuantepec. At 8 A.M. the wind finally kicked in and I awoke with a throbbing sore throat and a fever.
Perfect timing. I clambered up on deck and Sean and I hoisted the main to the second reef point and the jib in an appropriate balance. As the morning wore on the winds increased. We found ourselves 20 miles from land in 25 knots of wind!!! The books all say that one should traverse the T- pecker within one mile or less of land, but the people we spoke with said that the region was completely fouled with fishing nets and hugging the coast would increase our crossing time by 6 hours.
Well, we decided to reef down the main to the 3rd reef and doused the genoa in exchange for the cutter/storm sail. We, then, proceeded along through the increasing maelstrom. I worried that we were in store
for a wild and wet ride. Water was beginning to splash onto the deck, so all weather side ports were closed quickly. Our speed was between 5 and 5.5 knots on a beam reach. As the morning turned into day the waves began to increase coming at us from the shore side direction, which was very odd indeed. At about this time I crawled below to try and sleep off my fever.
I woke an hour later to the gentle slapping of waves against the hull. The wind had dropped to 10 knots!!! I leapt up the stairs and promptly hoisted all the canvas we have on board.
Now, it is early afternoon and the wind has dropped to 6 knots, we have switched the sails around and hoisted the spinnaker. We have 400 more sea miles to go to get to La Libertad, the famed long right point in El Salvador. We hope to see the volcanoes that are reported to be visible at night off of the coast of Guatemala. Our speed is 3 knots and at this current rate we won't be in
El Salvador for 4-5 days.
Well as the days wore on Sean started to get bored. Here he is and his exploits with a harness and the spinnaker pole, luckily we have plenty of food, water and fuel because we will be out here for a while!!!
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