Wednesday we woke at around 6, made breakfast of scrambled eggs and some bakery rolls we had brought with us. Pulled up anchor and headed for the Gulf of Fonseca. About the same distance as our first day- about 6 hours. Micah and Jenaya early on saw a ray jump. The swells never really got much higher than what we woke up to, much gentler than the first day. We all managed better and were in better spirits, although I still had some queasy dizziness to contend with, but it was better. According to what we've heard, it takes about 3 days for your body to get accustomed to the motion. We arrived at the Gulf of Fonseca about 1:30 and found it to be a beautiful little piece of paradise that we couldn't wait to explore, and had only the rest of that day to do it, was the original plan. But by the time we got anchored and had some lunch it was late in the afternoon, and we agreed we needed a full day to recuperate, get some more fuel, (we hadn't actually raised any sails yet, with the way we were all contending with motion sickness, it seemed like too much effort), fresh fruits and vegetables and frozen meat before making the long pass to Costa Rica.

We all slept and were glad to be staying another day. It was great to find out that Giovanni, the man who helped us out so much over the phone get ready to get those 4 packages from the Fed Ex office and customs at the airport, was here in the gulf on his sailboat. He came over in his dinghy early Wednesday morning to visit a bit and get to meet face to face. Awhile later I notice Jim is over in the port side hull bailing water out. We took on water over those two days and after Jim went into the gulf with his mask to examine the issue, he was pretty sure it was from the daggerboard case, possibly from us ramming the board down to try to clean off the barnacles from the top. This is where, had we left Bahia del Sol any day earlier than we would not have been able to meet Giovanni since he is only here for a couple days. And knowing that he knows this area well, we radioed him and asked him if there is a sand bar here that we can beach Sunshine and repair the problem. He said there was and that he could take us this evening to see the area. He showed us 2 possibilities, one here in the gulf and one inside Estero Tamarindo. After seeing both options we originally opted for doing it on the beach in the gulf, easy access, can do it on our own without needing a guide to take us into the estero. That is until about 7:30 p.m., our minds quickly changed. Earlier when Giovanni was visiting with us on our boat, he told us about the NorEasters that can come through here over the volcanoes in Nicaragua-the gulf borders El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. It can create some pretty strong winds, but usually only lasts an hour or so, and then it's beautifully calm. So around 7:30 that evening, the switch was flipped and these winds kicked in that gave us no warning and we started bopping around in the water, swaying from side to side. We started gathering items in the cockpit and wheelhouse that could blow around, thinking all this time that it was going to be over quickly. An hour goes by, and we're all thinking, okay, should be over soon. Then another 2 hour, 2...3...4...- I'm thinking, what kind of watch does Giovanni wear? I had tried to go to bed and hoped to sleep out the waiting, but I did nothing more than merely rest, maybe dozing for a few minutes at a time. At around 10:30 we bashed up and down twice in a row, up, banged down, up, banged down. That made me get up and check on Dad and Jim. Shortly after I got up, Jim went up to check on the anchor, and yelled to Dad to start the motor. He told us later that the snubber line on the port side of the anchor had broken, and all the pressure was being put on the opposite side and the bow roller was getting bent and loosened off the bow. I think Jim was up there on the bow, tying a new snubber line for... I don't know, over an hour maybe. Meanwhile, the water pump/alternator belt on the engine broke. Bridget had gotten up out of her bunk during this time also and helped Opa replace the belt by handing him tools he needed. Around 12:30, Jim was finished with the line up front, Dad got the belt replaced and even though the storm was still going strong, I think we all felt a sense of better safety with both issues taken care of. Dad finally turned in to try to sleep, so did Bridget and myself, although I would only sleep for an hour at a time, wake up, check on Jim, visit with him a few minutes and go back to lay down. I woke at 4:00. And lay still watching through our porthole, finally at 4:11- I checked my watch that time, there was a lull- but I wasn't convinced yet. There had been other times during the storm that there would be a let down, but it would kick right back in. So at 4:11, waited, it wasn't calm, but a great deal slower winds, we were just lightly bouncing up and down and swaying side to side, not the banging and bumping and slamming and jarring up and down and back and forth as before. 4:12, 4:13, 4:15, 4:20... I think it was finally over.