“On the water, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour, but moment to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun”.
‘I can’t
change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust the sails to always reach
our destination’.
(A few
quotes from I don’t know where, but I thought they were apt)
It has been
a long time since I have posted anything on our blog …… much has happened, and
we are all very aware of the affects that Covid had on millions of people’s
lives and the impact it had on many people around the world.
However,
looking back, Mel and I were extremely lucky especially living in fortress W.A.
We took the opportunity to enjoy what we have and saved hard so we could live
‘our’ dream.
Leaving off
from our last blogpost we have a confession to make…. We lost quite a bit of
information and photos. We’re not sure exactly what happened. It is a pity as
we had an amazing time in Cuba, spent about a week in Havana. After Cuba, we
sailed to the beautiful Cayman Islands, where the water is so crystal clear, we
were swimming and snorkelling around our boat. It was stunning. Unfortunately,
we were on a tight time frame, so needed to sail onto the destination of the Rio
Dulce, in Guatemala.
This was to
be the longest sail we, Mel included, had ever done across the wide-open sea.
It was quite magical, as we set the sails and I think we hardly adjusted them
the whole time we were sailing until we came nearer to land and Livingston, our
point of entry. We got into a rhythm of who was on watch and what needed to be
done, etc.
I remember
leaving the Cayman Islands after lunch on Wednesday and arriving at the entry
point of Livingston, early Sunday morning.
Livingston
is an interesting place and is well known in the sailing fraternity for its
sand bar across the entrance to the Rio Dulce. Many conversations have been had
about where, when, and how to cross the sand bar as you don’t want to become
stuck on it. There are many people in Livingston who would love you to get
stuck as it means business for them, towing you off the bar.
We arrived
just outside Livingston at about 4.30am and waited for high tide which, if I
recall correctly, was just after 6.00am. We crossed the bar without any issues
although it is an automatic reaction to pull in your stomach and lift yourself
out of your seat as you cross over. I think we had about 5 – 10 cms to spare.
Phew!
Once we put
down anchor, we were immediately inundated with ‘taxi’s wanting to take us
ashore and onto Customs and Immigration. I just remember it was a long and
tedious process – small person syndrome mentality. After checking in, we took
the opportunity to walk around Livingston, taking in the atmosphere of the
Mayan culture.
After
lunch, we started our journey up the amazing and beautiful Rio Dulce with it’s
lush surroundings and interesting sounds from the many birds and animals along
it’s river bank. I will be taking lots of photos when we eventually leave the
Rio Dulce, Guatemala to show them in a future blog.
We arrived
outside the entrance to RAM Marina about 4.30pm and put down anchor. We were
exhausted!
RAM Marina
is the boatyard Passages would stay in for the next 4 ½ years and where our
2023 journey will begin. BUT before I continue with what has happened since we
arrived back at RAM marina, I need to go back a bit.
We left
Perth on Tuesday 14 February. As always, I had mixed feelings – excited about
the new adventures waiting for us, but also apprehensive and sad about leaving
our beautiful and comfortable home. In the time since leaving Passages in July
2018, we have done some major renovations to our home, like a whole new back
yard with a wonderful swimming pool, renovated our bathrooms, re- painted the
whole inside of the house, new fans, light fittings, cupboards in the spare
bedrooms – lots of upgrades.
Our goal was to fly back to Guatemala via Miami as the Miami boat show, the
biggest in the world, was taking place from Wednesday 15 February to Sunday 19
February. We have always known we needed to do some upgrades on Passages like
the electronics and a new life raft, plus Mel was keen to get a whisker pole, a
feathering prop, and a wind vane. I will explain each, at the end of the post.
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| A panoramic view of some of the exhibitions at the boat show. |
So on
Saturday morning we were back at the Boat show, spending our well-earned money.
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| Mel checking the facts and amounts. at the boat show. |
Our journey
to the boat yard – RAM Marina was still another arduous car drive from
Guatemala City airport.
We had
specifically chosen to fly on a Sunday into Guatemala City and have a
designated driver to drive us down to the Rio Dulce, as the traffic is usually
a lot less than any other day. Sundays
it is meant to take approximately 4 and a bit hours, whereas other days
anything from 6 hours upwards.
Guatemala
is mountainous. The road system is quite primitive to say the least – it has
not kept with the times due to a variety of reasons, of which one is apparently
corruption. The road down to the Rio Dulce for a large section of the way is
single lane with hardly any space on the verge. In fact, houses and the towns
are built literally right on the edge of the road. To add to the excitement,
stress or intrigue, the very same road is the main road between Guatemala City
and the main port of Porte Barrios on the Caribbean/Atlantic side of the
country. I have never seen so many ship containers being trucked on one road, along with civilian cars, company tourist buses,
motor bikes AND even bicycles!
It was good
to be at our destination and of course before we even had a cuppa tea, we were
off to see
Mel’s mistress, Passages. I also felt quite excited to see her. She
was looking good with her new paint job!
Early
Monday morning, we were back inspecting Passages, in the light of the day. She
still looked good despite the mould on all the covers covering her. We
organised the surveyor to come around as our insurance was due on Passages. The
copper coat on the hull had to be re-activated – slightly sand papered, which
was done later that afternoon. The new signage was put onto her so she was
ready to be launched into the water. Then the work began as there was lots of
cleaning to be done, all the equipment and fittings inspected and stocking up
of groceries and provisions before we head off on our adventures.
So, as you
can see since leaving Perth, we’ve been rather busy, ticking things off our
list.
Until next
time.
Bye for
now.
Mel and
Caryn
sv Passages
If you want to see where we currently are – press on the "Latest Location" link at the bottom left of the page. This may not be accurate and is dependent on sites with access to AIS (automatic identification system).
Electronics
– plot charter, deep sounder – navigational instruments,
Whisker
pole – for downwind sailing.
Feathering
prop – reduction in drag (improves speed).
Wind vane - mechanical steering system for long distances.
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| Having the hull and copper coating sanded down. |
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| At Doha, Qatar International airport before our 16-hour flight to Miami, USA. |
