CURRENT LOCATION: Anchored in Ensenada Honda, near town on Culebra
18 18.326' N, 065 17.979' W

I suppose that you could say that the weather has gone back to 'normal.' It has been so long since we have had actual winds that it is hard to recall that the harbor is usually this choppy. It was in these conditions yesterday that our dinghy outboard engine died.

We were on our way back from Sunday breakfast when the pitch of the Evinrude motor dropped then became silent. We tried to restart, but finally gave up and rowed the rest of the way back to Prudence. I keep expecting the Evinrude to quit for good, but not like this. The drive shaft is slightly stripped and when it finally goes, I expect the engine to wind up but not drive the prop and quickly overheat due to the lack of impeller motion. This death rattle was not what we experienced in the middle of the choppy harbor on Sunday. This issue sounded like a fuel problem.

Once we were tied securely to the stern cleat of the big boat, I was able to get the Evinrude started again. It ran fine for about 15 minutes, so I can only assume that it had magically worked through its mysterious fuel issues. We know that our 18-year-old little 3-horsepower Evinrude is going to give that final death rattle, eventually, but we are holding off on the purchase of a new outboard until the old one can no longer provide drive. Until then, we'll just keep those oars handy.

The days since IKE have been sunny and breezy. The nights have brought even more wind and some rain. This could be the outer edges of IKE or it could be due to a tropical wave moving through the area. Most likely, these conditions are the result of some combination of the two.

Yesterday, we lifted our second anchor (the Fortress) from the bottom. Since we are now pointing toward the persistent southeast tradewinds it was sitting useless beneath the boat. It remains assembled on deck in the event that we need to move back into serious storm prep mode anytime soon.

The headsail remains in a bag below. I quickly grew weary of a lack of leg space on my side of the salon table, and Sheryl grew tired of having me sit on her side with my computer on the table, blocking the 'hallway' to the head and v-berth. Therefore, we wrestled the big bag into the v-berth (it barely fit through the door) and stowed it on the floor in the v-notch between the two berths. It makes getting in and out of bed a little more cumbersome, but we can put up with it until the peak of hurricane season is behind us.

For the moment, the weather horizon looks pretty good. Right now there is only the yellow circle around the remnants of Tropical Storm JOSEPHINE. Conditions are currently not favorable for tropical cyclone regeneration; however, they may become more conducive for redevelopment in a couple of days.


And, in typical NOAA-speak, "ELSEWHERE...TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS."

Yipeee!!