Moving to the Breezy Side
20 May 2018 | Fantasy Island Marina, Roatan, Honduras
Susan / hot & humid, 90 degrees
We wake to a very still, hot & sunny morning. Great, right? Yes, except it is super buggy & smelly on the backside, where we are. I want to get Vida Dulce cleaned up right away. We can either do that here and then get out of the marina to anchor, or we can move to the front side where there’s a breeze and clean her up there. Jerry walks over to the front side to check in with Mike & Kim on their plans, and to talk with dock master, Rudy. He gets back and we get ready to move. We’re going to the breezy side.
The front dock is all now semi-med-moor; med-moor with a short finger dock. It used to be all side-tie. Mike says this new configuration is tricky to get in so he’ll ride with us to help with the lines from the boat side while Kim and Rudy wait for our arrive on the dock. He wasn’t exaggerating, it is tricky! Jerry backs Vida Dulce close enough for Mike to take one of the lines from the stern that will become that side’s bow line. I do the same at the same time with the opposite line. We walk them up front and secure them. Quickly then we toss the stern lines to Kim & Rudy. Sounds easy but factor in the current and super short finger dock, where we’ll get off / on the boat when settled, not soo much. Tony from s/v Alley Cat Two who is tied to the opposite side of this finger dock comes out to help when Rudy wanders away as if there is nothing more to do. Long story short, we do get settled and secure after 15-20 minutes of dock line adjustments, even going forward 10’ out to adjust the bow lines then backing again. Hot & heavy work. We all earned a cold beer, no matter the time.
I have to say the short finger docks are not all that useful other than to hold mid-ship lines. Getting on / off involves a loonng step, or a short jump over dock lines to it. A lapse in attention could land you in the water or worse.
The remainder of the day is spent cleaning Vida Dulce, and making good use of the rental car to purchase all heavy and bulky items, and making out-of-the-way stops. We want to get back to the West End for several days of R&R before heading back to the Rio Dulce to get her squared away for the hurricane season. We’ve earned a bit of a rest. Weather will decide if / when this is possible.