It is always a thrill to sail into a brand new anchorage, and going into a brand new country is a double whammy.

We rounded the SW corner of Roatan about dawn, after seeing the lights about 15 miles out. It was one of those motor sailing trips – wind less than 10 kt and just off the nose. All those hours of engine noise are a real pain, but better than wallowing around at 3 kt or less for 2 days instead of 20 hours. We really appreciated the NW Carribean Cruisers Net check in at 5 pm that allowed us to report our position, and again at 8 am when we could say that we were just about to enter the harbour. This volunteer net gives a comfortable level of security to boats underway, as well as letting us know where friends and acquaintances are located.

Appleseed was a bit ahead of us, and Peter called back with information on the entrance, Estelle had sent info as well, and we had checked the books, but it was delightful to see a guy in a dinghy roar up to us as we approached the first marker and signal us to follow him as he skirted the marker and the shore of French Cay, and on into the harbour. “The guy” introduced himself as Mike, owner of Brooksy Point Marina and said he had heard us on the radio and likes to help out folks who are coming for the first time. What a way to welcome new visitors! We dropped the anchor and mentioned that we had something for him. “Aha!” he said, “You know Czech ‘n’ Mate!” We laughed as we handed over the big turkey fryer that they had asked us to deliver for them when they discovered that they wouldn’t get here this season.

With the anchor down, we thought maybe we’d have naps before heading ashore to check in, but it turned out we were all too wired to do that. (It helped that we had a third person to stand watches overnight – 3 hours on and 6 to sleep is much easier than 3 on and 3 off.) Jim and Jeannie (Estelle) came by for a welcoming visit, and then it was time to see to business. One must either hire an agent or somehow get to Coxen Hole to see the officials. We asked Rosa at Brooksey Point to find out when the port captain would be in, and when she got the call, she called a taxi for us, and we went off to town (100 lempiras per person round trip or $5. US each). Coxen Hole seemed more like Guatemala, with its narrow streets lined with stalls and stands and vendors of all sorts of merchandise. There was a big police presence around the port authority offices – comforting and disconcerting all at the same time. A local guy with a big smile and excellent English, Kevin, amused us by being Mr Helpful. He offered to interpret with the officials, arranged for our taxi to be able to go off and take a few more fares before coming back to pick us up after the immigration official saw us, escorted Liam and me to the grocery store and Jim and Peter to the ATM machine. He was a hustler but a pleasant one and we felt he earned the tip we offered him (he didn’t ask for one, but his smile was wide.)

Interestingly, there was no charge at the Port Captain’s office, and the Immigration officer charged us $5 US per person. We’ve had varying reports about this. Some cruisers have been charged $3 up front, while others say the $3 should be collected when we leave. There was no receipt given. Hmm, it will be interesting to see what happens when we go to get our exit papers. Either way, it’s not much money. The currency here is lempiras, and the current exchange rate is 20 to 1. Look at the big numbers, move the decimal point one place to the left and divide by 2. All of a sudden, a meal with 300 beside it doesn’t seem to be so much!

The wind came up and changed direction as we arrived back at the boat; we reanchored to be a little farther away from the reef, and settled in for a rocky night, thankful to be on the south side of a big island. It blew hard all night, and about 3:30 am our anchor alarm went off. Crud! After a couple of failed attempts to get securely anchored again, we changed from the Bruce to the CQR anchors and finally got well dug in. That held all through the day and the next night (and is still holding!) A Rocna anchor has moved up to the top of next year's purchase list. We experienced some gusts up to 30 and sustained winds of about 18 – 20, just what Chris Parker forecast.

The skies have lightened up and the wind has dropped by late on Sunday and we look forward to a fine day before we have to wave good bye to Liam. More to come now that we have some degree of internet access.