With May fast approaching, and still over 2000 nautical miles to Ventura, the pressure is on to move northward. We had hoped to make a stop in northern Nicaragua, but with a significant weather window to make it through the last major wind gap, the Gulf of Tehuantepec, we decided to go for the 700-mile passage,

We figured if we had faired through the Gulf of Papagallo, the upcoming forecasted winds should make the next jaunt a reasonable "adventure." For the most part it was. We had hoped the future winds to be mild, but it was almost to an extreme. We motored for miles secondary to a persistent headwind, making only 3 knots/hour, instead of our expected 5-8. In fact, for hours through the night we made between 2 and 2.5 knots/hour. We then had a real concern if we would have enough fuel. There were not many options to fuel up, so for fuel efficiency, we would alternate one engine at a time. We had anticipated about a 4-5 day journey, but before we knew it, we were starting day 6.

Dave turned the helm over to Ryan and Wesley about 6AM. I could tell the wind had come up, and we were actually sailing. What a relief! Then....at 6:45, Wesley came to our cabin and said the winds were pushing up to the mid 20's. We arose to evaluate the situation, and soon enough, we put a reef in the main, then a reef in the jib, and half hour later, we shortened the main with another reef. The winds were in the middle thirties, with confused seas, and the waves constantly crashing over us. We were all wearing our foul weather gear, Dave however, receiving the brunt of the boisterous and rushing waves. For at least two hours, we were sailing between 9 and 10 knots. I must admit though, after our previous passage through the Gulf of Papagallo, we were "relatively" comfortable. Maybe we were finally all becoming "old salty dogs.'

Then, as suddenly as the wind came upon us, it stopped. We were back to having headwinds, and traveling about 3 knots/ hour. We realized that the likelihood of us getting to Huatulco, Mexico before sunset, evaporated. Dave then decided to try and take a nap, and I began the paperwork preparation for entering a new country. Ryan was on the helm, and shortly thereafter, the alarm went off on the starboard engine. NOW WHAT? The team went into action.....Ryan immediately turned off the engine and Dave went into the starboard engine hatch. With Dave's vast experience of all our past engine problems he "diagnosed" the problem quickly. Apparently the raw water intake had become occluded with unknown debris. So what did we do? We grabbed one of our small scuba tanks and "blew" it out. After about a 45-minute job, the starboard engine started right up. If we thought there was a remote chance of getting in before dark, they were definitely obliterated.

We finally motored in to the harbor at 1AM. We had hoped to come into the marina, but at that late hour we dropped the anchor in the bay at 1:30AM. We were happy this passage was behind us. The following morning we came into Marina Chahue, and we started the "paperwork chacha." We felt fortunate that the officials actually came to us, rather than our usual scrambling for hours around town. We were out of the winds, on the dock, happy, and could not resist a photo moment.