I awoke again, the roll of the anchorage had allowed me to fall asleep for a brief time before another large set of waves would roll me against the bulk head waking me up for the umpteenth time. I had had enough. I climbed over Dois without waking him up, which is a testament to how tired he must have been. I turned on the red overhead light and checked the time, 4:10 AM. We had agreed to stay here in Amapala one more day, awaiting the best possible weather window. The bay is in Honduras and we were not checked in, so there was no going ashore to get even a small reprieve from the incessant roll. I sat down on the settee facing Dois wondering if he would sleep through the next violent roll. I didn't have to wait long. He opened his eyes and I said "let's go". He said "I'll get the anchor, you start the engine". Apparently he was rolled enough too.

This was not the best way to start a voyage. We were tired, but we thought that we would be able to catch up on our sleep taking turns on watch and it couldn't be worse than Amapala. The waves that had been rolling us around the anchorage were bigger outside the bay and there was a mean cross swell as well. Throw in a 20 to 30 knot breeze on our port bow and we had ourselves a party. Unfortunately, Hal, our unfaithful auto-pilot didn't want to come to our little party and every time we tuned him on, he would do something devious like turn us around, heading back the way we came.

Hal seems to have lost his mind. He would click off constantly, with no warning or alarm. His decisions to run the boat around in circles or make a
90 degree turn without disengaging were terror filled rides, especially in the dark with the boat bashing in the waves from one side rail to the other. I think Walt Disney must have had plenty of boat rides in bad weather and fashioned Mr. Toad's Wild Ride from his experiences. In the worst conditions, he just refused to play at all, leaving us (mostly Dois) to hand steer the rest of the way to Mexico.

I baked a lot on this passage; a meatloaf, a struesel banana cake and 2 loaves of bread. The hardest part is dealing with a wildly swinging hot stove while trying to hang on to anything else. Sometimes I cook on these passages and sometimes don't. Dois is such a good sport and eats most everything I dish out.

Sitting in the cockpit at 3 AM, even in my tired condition, I am in awe of the enormous beauty all around me. Ashika's motion has settled down as she moves us through another rough spot and the seas look promising. The water being pushed aside by the boat's well designed hull glows in the green nav light and the water splashing and gurgling against us is a happy sound. The moonlit ocean sparkles all the way out to the horizon. I have anticipation that dolphin may visit during my watch. I can't help noticing the incredible night sky with more stars than I ever thought possible. I can clearly see both dippers and wish I knew other constellations. Ginger is with me, tucked in beside me, snoring soundly finally. She exhausts herself on each voyage hunting dolphin, greeting them with ecstatic joy, as if they are her long lost friends come to visit again.

We have a stout and capable boat with amenities that even new boats don't always have and I allow myself a moment to gloat. Hal is playing nice again, still, must keep an eye on him. The warm air has cooled and I have a hot cup of tea and a thick slice of bread with a generous smear of butter. Exhausted, yes, but content in our choices.

These photos are a few left in my camera from Corinto. Enjoy
























Pieceful