Back to the Rio and Homeward Bound

It was great to be back in the Rio Dulce again and we probably surprised ourselves just how fond of the place we had grown, helped of course by meeting some amazing people along the way. However, this time we had flights booked back to the UK so much needed to be done before we left.

Prior to getting to the Rio, we spent our last few days in Roatan, once again in French Cay, pottering about with barbecues, swimming and Mexican Train Dominoes. All in all a very convivial time.
Steve even found time to set about cleaning some of the hard to reach boat places with a toothbrush!

We even had rain one day.

The passage to the Rio would have been straightforward had we not incurred a total instrument failure. We discovered a blown fuse on the Course Computer for the SeaTalk network, and subsequent replacement fuses also blew. Although the chart plotter appeared to function as normal, it was not receiving a GPS input so we did not have our position. Not especially great when your way in and out of the anchorage is fringed by reefs, and to add insult to injury, no working depth display. We had wanted to follow our inbound track out, but without GPS this was not an option. 
As it turned out, friends Robyn and Tony on catamaran Alley Cat Too were heading back to the Rio at the same time, so we followed them out and used our InavX App on the ipad as a chartplotter for the rest of the passage, which went without a hitch.

Once again we stopped at the 'Holding' anchorage of Tres Puntas, about 10nm to the North of the river entrance at Livingston. We spent a few relaxing days there, although we did have a bad thunderstorm one night and fork lightning is pretty scary when you have a tall metal mast.

We had timed our passage to coincide with one of the highest tides of the year. We needed all the depth we could get to transit the sand bar at the river entrance. To belt and brace this, we once again enlisted the services of a local called Hector and his friend via our Agent Raul, to tow and tilt us over the sand bar.
At the appointed time we made the rendezvous and the process began. Like last season, the side decks touched the water and it was a very surreal experience.

Once safely across we anchored just off the town of Livingston and unlike last time, the officials came out to the boat. The paperwork took next to no time to complete, but we still had to go ashore to find a cash point to pay for the services of Hector and the Agent.

Although it was still early morning having cleared in so quickly, we chose not to go all the way to our marina but break the journey up by stopping off at Texan Bay. This allowed us to go slowly through the gorge to take in the sights and sounds.

It was whilst in Texan Bay that we met a young Polish couple, and had happened to mention that our instruments had gone on the blink. Very kindly Bartek offered to come and take a look later on that day. It transpires that it was a faulty voltage regulator on the TriData repeater instrument, and within 20 minutes Bartek had soldered a new one in place. Hey Presto, all the instruments came back to life! 
We did not have time before we left, but the intention is to rewire the instruments in such a way, that if one goes down it does not prevent the rest from working.

All too soon we left the tranquillity of Texan Bay and headed down to Fronteras. We anchored off Monkey Bay so we could nip ashore to say hello to Jim and Kitty, the marina managers.

The next morning we were rudely awakened by the rather haunting sound of Howler Monkeys. If you have never heard them before, check out the clip below.

The following day we headed to Tijax marina and moored in the same berth as last season, which we had reserved and probably just as well. With two devastating hurricanes in the Caribbean last year and the need to find safe harbour, most if not all of the Rio marinas seemed to be full or very nearly.

During our chores to put the boat to bed, we discovered some water in one of the bilges. Eventually we tracked it down to a leaky gasket on the fresh water pump. With almost no chance of buying a rebuild kit, we purchased a new pump and will get a gasket kit when we are back in the UK. Feeling smug at having solved the issue, it was disappointing to find more water in the same bilge the next day. This time it took the best part of the day to discover it was down to a broken ring clamp on the shower sump pump. Of all the spares we keep, this was not an item we had thought of. All we could do was add it to the list of items to purchase.

We also met up with Jose the carpenter who looked over the minor snagging issues on the new teak deck. He will attend to those whilst we are away. We have also asked him to sand and varnish the internal companionway hand rails, and we are going to get Jose to put white formica on the companionway sides and just above the steps. The varnish was looking shabby in places and for some reason the wood veneers never did match. Once it is done we will take some photos. Below are the 'Before' pictures.

One of the last minor jobs was to apply the custom cut vinyl to the outside of the front hatches. We had already done the others and it had made a big difference in keeping the interior cool, but allowing enough diffused light in so as not to make the boat gloomy below. We went to a local company Andy Stickers and were very pleased with the results. It has made a huge difference in keeping the boat cooler.

Other projects, including the anti fouling, can wait until we haul out in nearby RAM marina in October.

And so, our relatively short sailing season was at an end. Although we had only covered about 1000nm, quality made up for quantity. The Bay Islands were truly spectacular, and it was great to visit Mexico and Chichen Itza. The best part however, was that Lynne had not had any recurring vertigo attacks.

Our flights were booked back to the UK from Guatemala City. To break the journey up, we left the day before and stayed up at the Conquistador Hotel in Zone 4.
It took us 6 hours door to door by coach and taxi to the hotel from the bus station in Fronteras. We had on the recommendation of fellow cruisers, booked a taxi driver called Roderico Lopez to pick us up from the bus station in Guatemala City and take us to the hotel.

Below is the view from the hotel bedroom window.

The hotel is a little shabby around the edges, but the location seemed safe enough for us to have a stroll in the evening to find a place to eat.

At this juncture we would sign off until next time, but our adventure was not quite over. On the flight back we both developed severe stomach cramps during the stopover at Madrid, followed by severe sickness and diarrhoea, never nice. Fortunately Lynne's sister and husband picked us up at the airport for a marvellous door to door service.

Our timing to the UK has worked out well as we arrived to one of the hottest summers since 1976.

We will start the blog back up again when we return back to the river. In the meantime we should just mention that Janet and Kelvin had been in touch to say that Scarlet Lady had been sold. We wish the new owners fair winds and safe passages.

Guanaja

Guanaja

The final island of our Bay Island trilogy was Guanaja. Guanaja is only 8nm from the end of Roatan, but it lies to the East. As the prevailing winds are pretty much always from the East at this time of year, sailing is nigh on impossible, so the best bet is to wait for a lull in the winds and prepare to motor.

We followed our saved track out of French Cay which worked out well as we had an early start, and it would have made for difficult eyeball navigation through the shallow patches without a track to follow.

It was also the first test for the new Autopilot Control head and for the first hour or so, all went well. Then it happened again. Drive Stopped was the message on the display. Not much we could do on passage other than to hand steer, using the wheel brake from time to time to lock the helm off. Very frustrating.

Guanaja appeared on the horizon and as we got closer we could see that it appeared hilly and verdant, for the most part, covered in Pine Trees. 

The navigation was reasonably straightforward as we had been given some waypoints to the anchorage behind Dumbar Rock.

We followed the waypoints with the only really shallow patch as we made our approach to Dumbar Rock. It is always disconcerting to watch the depth gauge when moving from deep water to shallow and this was no exception, especially when the water is so clear it looks as though you can reach over the side and touch the bottom.

We dropped the anchor in 5 metres and settled back to take in our surroundings.

Autopilot Woes

Once we had settled in, it was time to look at the Autopilot. Raymarine advised it could be one of three things. The Motor, The Rudder Reference Unit or the Course Computer. As the control head showed the rudder movement, we discounted the reference unit and as for a while it had held a course we ruled out the course computer. A build up of carbon dust from the sacrificial brushes was the most likely culprit, that and/or worn brushes so we decided to remove the motor and take it apart.
A large amount of carbon dust fell out and indeed the brushes looked well worn. More worryingly was the fact that the housing magnets had become unstuck, and the armature showed worn spots where the protective varnish had come into contact with the displaced magnets. All in all we felt the best thing to do was to replace the motor for peace of mind. We contacted Hudson Marine in the UK and they kindly had one shipped direct from Raymarine to Lynne's parents, who would be flying out to meet us in Mexico in a weeks time.
Oh well, as our saying goes, "At least this didn't happen in the Pacific!"

Bonacca

Each of the Bay Islands has a very distinctive character and Guanaja is no exception. Thought to have been discovered in the early 1500's by Columbus, the island is relatively small measuring just 11m by 3 and covered in pine trees. Unlike the other Bay Islands however, Guanaja mainland remained uninhabited for many years due to the blight of flies. Those that did move ashore often died of Malaria or Yellow Fever, and so a settlement was formed about half a mile off-island and is still present today. Some dwellings have since been built ashore and resorts have opened up, plus a small airport so presumably the fly population is under control these days. Saying that, we got bitten even in the anchorage by pesky no-see-ums. They itch like crazy and can leave a scar for a few weeks.

The main settlement of Bonacca is also known as the Venice of the Caribbean as it straddles two small islands. It is certainly very built up and easy to get lost in.
The main industry is fishing, mostly shrimp and lobster, but recreational diving is also making a contribution.

Almost all of the outlying islands have properties on them, below are just two.

And some of the dwellings on land.

One of the unique features of the islands is the canal that goes all the way from one side to another. Next to the canal is a small airport, the only one we have ever seen with a dinghy dock! 

There is one road on the island, about 2 miles long and perhaps that is part of the attraction. No over-development and hideous looking hotels to blight the landscape, well not yet anyway.

For peace and tranquillity, our anchorage in Guanaja was hard to beat and it would have been easy to stay for a little longer and visit one of the waterfalls however, we had to be in Mexico to meet the family. 
We had a good weather window to leave, but the prospect of hand steering for the 300nm passage did not fill us with joy. 

Below is a short video on Guanaja with some great aerial footage. Every time we think we have some money put by to purchase a drone, something else breaks!

Scarlet Lady For Sale

Whilst in Guanaja, we had a lovely email from Janet and Kelvin Wellington, the owners of our previous yacht Scarlet Lady. They had dropped us a line to let us know that the time had come to sell her. They only intended to keep her in the Mediterranean for 2 or 3 years and ended up for 4. Scarlet Lady is a fabulous Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42 Deck Saloon, perfectly kitted out for long periods at anchor and cruising in supreme comfort. One of her main features was the huge owners aft cabin, bigger than found on some 50 foot yachts. Scarlet Lady is now looking for new custodians and is very competitively priced, and located in the Mediterranean. More details can be found by clicking on the Scarlet Lady in the blue tab section just underneath the main header picture.