Bahia Huevos
26 December 2020
by Terry Spencer
One morning I followed Laurin and Mike in Second Wind out to Bahia Huevos. This peasceful and secluded bay is only about an hour from Marina Papagayos. It is very well protected from all but a westerly wind. The papagayos that blow across the Central American peninsula at this time of the year are easterlies and north-easterlies.
Mike called out the depth over the VHF as we entered the shallow part of the bay. The tide was low and Laurin dropped his hook in about 15 feet of water. I appreciated knowing the depth under their keel as I put my anchor down roughly parallel to them and not far away. I let out sufficient scope to hold the boat even in a very big blow.
I do not remember if I have discussed anchoring in a previous blog. Sailors can have long discussions about their personal techniques. For non-sailors reading this, the most important principles are fairly simple. Your anchor is designed to lay on the bottom and dig into whatever surface is down there. The anchor is attached to a length of chain that provides weight. The anchor line then forms a curve (called a catenary) that is nearly parallel to the bottom near the anchor to an angle as it is near the boat. The weight of the chain keeps the anchor at the correct angle to the bottom. Further, the weight of the chain acts as a spring or shock absorber when gusts of wind push on the boat.
Because a boat can swing at anchor as he wind direction changes, one wants to anchor where there will be sufficient depth in a full circle around the anchor. Sure enough, the evening breeze the first night came in from the west, causing the boat to rock a bit at night and swing Altere around closer to shore. It was not a lot of wind and I felt secure.
In Bahia Huevos we looked out of he bay directly at the sunset. It was clear enough the first night that we were able to get a view of the elusive green flash. Just after the sun dipped below the horizon, there was a blink of green refracted light. The curvature of the earth and the atmosphere create this condition and it is beautiful.
While anchored there our friends Bob and Sherry from s/v Nirvana took a photo from the peninsula of our two boats in this lovely bay (pictured).
Being at anchor was an opportunity to read and sit in the cockpit enjoying the view. We had some lovely dinner hours sharing meals between the two boats.
Mike only had a few days left to spend in Costa Rica so we decided to do a road trip and returned to Marina Papagayos.
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