Adventures with David & Gail

Windy Roatan! - Now for something completely different! No long crossing overnight with squalls and big seas! From Guanaja to Roatan is only about 50 miles but the actual distance from one shore to the next is only about 15 miles. Never out of sight of land. No immigration or customs since we are already cleared into Honduras. "Hey no problemos."

However, if you remember, we have been waiting to get to Roatan because of the weather in Roatan. We slowed our departure from Bocas because of the high winds in Roatan. We stopped in San Andres and stayed a few extra days on Providencia because of the high winds in Roatan. We stopped over in the Viviorillo Cays for a few days to let the winds die down in Roatan. So what happened when we got to Roatan? High winds!

We crossed with Casa del Mar again and picked a well protected bay called Jonesville Bight to anchor the first night after the crossing. The Bight is deep and protected by a steep hillside from the east winds which were forecast to reach 30-35 kts during the night. Casa pulled in first and picked the primo spot to anchor. We were pulling in next to them (without good charts or chartplotter data) and almost ran aground as the depth meter read in the low 5' range. Whoa! Back up and check this out. How did they come in and miss this? We checked with them later and found it was just a fluke or dumb luck. But they made it past without seeing the shallow area that was there!

We did find a good spot (not as good as theirs) but good for the night and got settled in. The one place to stop in Jonesville Bight is a cruiser hangout called The Hole in the Wall. Our friend Tom in Dallas had/has as diver's burger joint called the same name so we wanted to go in for a burger. It was open but not for dinner! We met the new manager, Eva, and her grandmother (the cook) and found out the story of the previous owners (now deceased) and their son, the current owner. It's a long story and it's hearsay so we will save it for a better time. But Eva and her Nana were great hostesses, along with their puppy, Sassy and the macaw, Abogado. I'm sure we missed out on the best meal of the trip!

The night was windy but we slept well. Reports the next day were gusts over 35 kts. It seems the daily trend. The afternoon winds pick up and blow all night then calm down a little during the day. That had been the forecast before and it was the forecast for the next few days! So just get used to it!

We moved down to the more "normal" cruiser's anchorage at French Harbor/Fantasy Island. This anchorage is tucked in behind the reef at French Key and has good holding with sandy bottom in about 20 ft. We pulled up close the reef to minimize the swell from the ocean and hunkered down. The winds we had waited for were still here. For three days, we had 20-25 until night then 25-30+. I quoted my friend John Martin, after he found a 5 ft boa constrictor on his boat in the San Blas, when he said "And I don't like it!" You just get tired of the wind noise and the dread of something happening to you or another boat or even worse something breaking!

But we got thru it for the next three days. Because of the reef, we actually slept calmly and had a good "breeze" into the cabin at night. During the day, we explored.

Our friends on Aquadesiac were in the marina at Fantasy Island Resort and had been there a few weeks already so they showed us around the first day. We went provisioning at one of the best grocery stores we had seen since last fall in Curacao. But here, everything was at least in English and not Dutch. I even found the exact cereal that I like. (We made a second trip the next day and came prepared with our bags and the cart because we had to carry everything a half mile back to the dinghy and haul it down a big flight of stairs to the Roatan Yacht Club docks.) We also got Lempiras (local currency at L20/$1), some shrimp directly from the shrimpery, and ice cream!

Another quick visit was to the famous Arch's Iguana Farm. It wasn't a big trip because we discovered it was right in French Harbor anchorage area. This place was written up and had a documentary made about the efforts to preserve the iguanas. At one time I think I read he had about 2500 iguanas on the property. I estimate there were only a few hundred when we were there. They were everywhere. On the ground, in the trees, on the roofs, on each other, scampering or just sunning! Linda from Casa was the most nervous about them coming too close. But mostly they were like pets and could be petted or even held. I just gave them a proffered leaf which they devoured.

And finally we got in a quick dive on the ship wreck just outside of CocoView where we had dived about 20 years ago. The dive was easy as we hooked onto a special mooring just over the wreck. It was just as we remembered although I think we liked it more as a night dive from the resort. The resort was well maintained and they have expanded and upgraded since we were there. We were pleasantly surprised to see it still thriving and full of divers!

But time was getting short. We had made arrangements with a rigger/sail maker in the Rio Dulce to look at the mainsail problem we had in Bocas. So we upped anchor and scooted (don't you love the technical terms?) down the coast to the West End anchorage on Roatan for a quick departure to Guatemala.

We loved the clear water and lifestyle on Roatan. The diving is exceptional and the people and economy are healthy. We discussed coming back if we decide to go on another sailing adventure. But come directly south versus going all the way around.

Normally we don't do a separate posting about a crossing but the trip from Roatan deserves a special treatment. So, that's it for now. We are still in the West End and need to clear out before we leave. And so the story goes on....