When told of your cruising lifestyle most people respond with an "aren't you afraid" remark. they then go on to mention pirates, boat sinking falling overboard and other horrible things that we hope never happen. No one ever says "aren't you afraid of LONG LINES???". Truth be told, long lines (see previous blog) are the one thing that does scare the s&*t out of me, especially now that I'm single handing. The best method of avoiding long lines is go off the coast 10-12 miles, this is a absolute MUST at night. Although in many cases this will put you into shipping traffic, a large container ship is a hell of a lot easier to see than a long line.
Yesterday I made the short (25 NM) trip from Manzanillo to Barra de Navidad. It doesn't make any sense to go out 12 miles then back in 12 miles on such a short trip. Long lines are almost always clearly marked with easy to see buoys/floats. These aren't your typical bright red or yellow buoys, but are usually old green 7-UP bottles or old clear plastic water jugs, which are really easy to see in the blue/green water. When you travel closer to shore there is a method of crossing a long line, provided you see it first. You locate two of the easy to see 7-UP bottles, you then aim half-way between the buoys and if under power you put the engine in neutral as you cross the line and glide across.
Yesterday I had to cross 5-6 lines on my way up the coast. I passed over most without a problem, I snagged one with my keel and the fishermen were tending it so they quickly pulled it clear. Another one I snagged (you can tell if you catch one because you suddenly have a 7-UP bottle following you) but it came clear on it's own. When single handing you have a unique challenge in that you can't really go below for very long to do anything, like take a pee, make a sandwich, check the engine, or whatever. So yesterday as my stomach was growling I took a careful look, ran below and grabbed my pre-made chicken salad and some bread and ran back up. I took another look around and all seemed well so i fixed my sandwich. As I was eating I noticed that my speed was down to 3.5 knots, immediately thinking long line I looked behind Si Bon and saw nothing, so I kicked up the throttle and finished eating. As I was preparing to run below and put my leftovers away I heard a whistle and looked up to see a panga full of pissed off looking fishermen pointing behind me. I quickly threw the engine in neutral, again looked around and still saw nothing, shrugged my shoulders and the fishermen took off in the direction they had come from. They got about 100 yards behind me and were poking around in the water and then one gave me the thumbs up signal and off we went in different directions.
It's beyond me why these guys don't use, or aren't required to use easier to see floats, snagging a line is not good for either one of us. I mean really is a bright yellow or red empty plastic container cost any more than a green one?
I am currently in Barra de Navidad where I will be spending Navidad at the Grand Bay resort.