Roatan to the Rio!
26 April 2013 | Livingston, Guatemala
David
Roatan to the Rio! – Crossings don’t normally merit their own posting but this one turned out to be more memorable than others. It was going to be a simple overnight 130 mile crossing with light wind on a broad reach. We had done virtually this exact same run the last three or four time since Panama. And this one started out to be just a carbon copy of those. We made the run down the coast of Roatan to the West End and anchored for a few days. That part went great. Then…
We arranged to rent a car for the next day instead of taking one of the little collective minibuses or a taxi to Coxen’s Hole, the main town on Roatan and the location of the Immigration and Port Captain offices. We even saved a few bucks by shopping around and actually got a very nice little car with air and automatic. We headed out of West End and found a little bakery to get some breakfast pastries. Life was good and sweet!
Then we got to Coxen’s Hole and things changed. Turns out it was a holiday and the main street was closed for a parade which was going on right then. The policeman directing traffic was nice and patient and explained that all the offices were closed. But we figured the national offices would still be open and decided to park and walk through the parade. So we did! There were drum bands and small floats. There was the Tour Guide Association carrying a banner. There were the usual beauty queens and princesses. All along there were crowds on the packed sidewalks.
So we struggled through,actually found the Immigration office, and it was open. The little office was just that, little. And the immigration officer was all alone. So we got down to business and got our passports stamped out of Honduras. Then he sent us to the Port Captain to get our Zarpe (transit document) and wanted a copy when we were through. Easy. The Port Captains’s office was outside and about 50 feet away. The Port Captain was just finishing up with our new friends, George and Pixie, from Fantasy Island Marina. They explained in a roundabout way that the Port Captain actually did not have the blank Zarpe form because of the holiday (still don’t quite understand that logic) and we would have to go get it from another person. Luckily, they had just spent a couple of hours figuring this out so we followed their lead and directions.
We went back to the parade still going on, against the flow, back towards the car, around a few blocks to a house where a lady met us with a blank form and we gave her $5. Then back through the crowd (the parade was winding down) and back to the Port Captain. Ta-da! Got the form filled out, a copy to the Immigration officer and we were on our way! Whew.
We spent the day driving around Roatan up to the east end. It reminded us a lot of St. Thomas but smaller. There is only one main road so we couldn’t get lost. We stopped for a few more groceries and headed back to West End. Dinner was a special deal at a new restaurant for 3 lobster tails for $18. We got two dinners and took 3 tails to go! We were ready to head out in the morning.
It was a beautiful day with calm winds and blue skies. We took off at about 7 am, motored for a while to charge the fridge. It was so nice we actually put up the spinnaker for the first time on the whole trip. And about an hour later, we had the largest pod of dolphins come and play with us. There must have been about 30 and they stayed for over 30 minutes. It was pretty awesome. Then the wind picked up and things got dicey!
Just a brief note here to explain that we have 4 scuba tanks bungeed to the aft pulpit on the boat and they have been there for the entire trip. Last week one of the bungees broke and I replaced it with a shorter one but I assumed it would just be tighter. As the wind picked up, it was time to douse the spinnaker. As I reached for the furling line, I heard a thunk and crash. I turned around to see the scuba tank bouncing across the deck and fall overboard. The new bungee had broken. Gail was going forward and ready to release the spinnaker when the tack ring broke with the increased wind pressure and the spinnaker went flying like a big yellow, blue and white flag. The winds were up and the seas 6-8 feet as we turned into the waves to find the scuba tank. Being aluminum and empty, it was buoyant and floated. But being grey and with the high waves and afternoon sun, it was going to almost impossible to find.
We got the spinnaker under control and began our search pattern based on our previous track on the little Garmin GPS that showed where we first turned around. We ran circles and zigzag patterns for about 45 minutes around the area. Gail swears she saw it but we couldn’t find the spot again. I thought I saw it but turned out to be a just white cap wave. So, we gave up, set the genoa furled for the night and headed to Guatemala less a scuba tank but without damaging the spinnaker further.
The rest of the trip was uneventful until we reached the coast. We timed the arrival at near high tide because to get into the Rio Dulce you have to cross the sand bar at the mouth of the river and the depths are only about 5-6 ft at low tide. We draw just over 5 ft so I wasn’t too worried but it doesn’t hurt to have more water under you.
(Another quick note here to explain that I use the top part of the windlass called the capstan to help control the spinnaker. I release the clutch on the windlass to let the chain stay fixed while I use the capstan. And in all the confusion with the scuba tank, I did not retighten the clutch. So…) As we were in the middle of the bar in about 6 ft. of water, I asked Gail to get the anchor ready to drop as we came into the anchorage in Livingston. Well, as she hoisted the anchor over the bow, the chain followed continuously since the clutch was still loose. That came as a big surprise! I quickly went in reverse and Gail ran for the winch handle to retighten the clutch. There was no wind or current so we were not drawn out of the sweet spot in the bar and she quickly got the anchor back in place. But it was another part of the whole story.
In the end, we got securely anchored in Livingston harbor and were ready for the government officials when they came out to check us in. Yes, they came out to the boat instead of us going in. This was another first for the trip. There was the Port Captain in his crisp uniform, an immigration lady in high heels, a customs lady, the health inspector in his scurbs and our agent, Raul. All seven of us sat in the cockpit while they checked our passports, ship docs and the Zarpe. They had a big discussion in Spanish about our cruising permit and the cost and decided that since we were only staying for a few days we could get a 10 day permit at discount.
We still had to go in later to pick up the finished documents and pay our fee, to get some cash at the ATM, get a phone chip for Guatemala, and get a courtesy flag since somehow we didn’t have or at least couldn’t find the one for Guatemala. We were finally here in Guatemala and ready to head up the Rio Dulce. And what a trip it had been.