April Fool's Day!  No jokes today, just thankful to be where we are enjoying God's beautiful creation.

Today, we sailed from the West Lemons to Carti to pick up some of our friends.  It is Efrain's son, Jose, his wife, Chesi, and two teenage daughters, Mariana and Ana Isabel.  They will be staying on Valentina for 3 days.   It is their first time on a sailboat, except Jose.  He is an experienced sailor, but wanted his family to enjoy the life experience also.

They have lived in Panama City all their lives, but have not been to the San Blas Islands of Panama, so it was their first time here.

We stayed at Nonomulu for the evening stowing things away.

Looking forward to many more!

Our morning began early when our good friends, Roberto and Any (S/V Deux Pieds) from Argentina dinghied over to Valentina singing Happy Birthday in English and Spanish, along with their son, daughter-in-law, and three beautiful grand-daughters who were visiting.   They had made Sonny a special birthday cake.

Then, we pulled up anchor and headed to the island we call Disneyland.  It is a small beautiful island surrounded with a white sandy beach, palm trees and great snorkeling all around.  We were the only boat here and the only ones on the island.

Kate and D.J. from S/V Hello World went with us, along with the Bravo family.

Sonny, Jose, Mariana, Ana Isabel, and Kate went snorkeling, while D.J. and Chesi read and Kay prepared a Texas sheet cake for Sonny's birthday.

Later in the afternoon, we headed to Cambombia for the night.

This morning, we all went to the island of Cambombia to walk around.

Then, it was time to head back to Valentina for our lunch of fresh fish, Jose had caught, and then we had to pack up and head back to Carti.

It was a nice four hour sail back.  Jose was at the helm most of the way and did a very good job.

We arrived at 4 p.m. and packed up their bags so they could return to Panama City.   We had a very good time with Jose and his nice family.

We pulled up anchor and headed to the West Lemons to arrive before dark.

After we arrived and dropped anchor, we went in to the island to see our old friends.  Denis and Pam (S/V Glide) who just arrived back in San Blas, along with many other friends.  Reunions are just wonderful while cruising!

Sonny noticed on our way back that the bilge pump was coming on while our motor was running.  We have an impeller on the front of our engine that pumps the water out of the bilge when the motor is running, but appears to not be working.

So, he checked the impeller, and sure enough, it would just spin.  Not working.  We thought we had a spare, but after searching, we did not, so he asked around the anchorage, but no one had a spare that would fit our Yanmar engine.  I guess we will have to have one shipped from the States.

He decided to rig it so it would work, if we could not get the correct impeller soon.

Sonny asked on radio nets this morning if anyone had an impeller for our Yanmar 30 engine.   Several boats began checking and inquiring, but none were the correct part numbers.

Breeze on S/V Blue Sky suggested to check in Panama City.  He has guests coming to Carti in the morning, and possibly, with a miracle, we could get the impellers to his guests before they leave.

It was short of a miracle, but it was a miracle.   Roger, a taxi driver went to the marine chandlery to pick up our impellers, and took them to the location of Breeze's guests.

Enough concern about impellers...it is time for some fun.....

This afternoon there is potluck and live music on the island. 

Steve (S/V Liward), Breeze (S/V Blue Sky), Kenny (S/V Makai), George (S/V Silver Sea), Yogi (S/V Samantha Nova), Rick (S/V Tara Vana) and Sonny all played during the evening.  A very nice time for everyone.   We even stayed until after dark!  It was tough getting back to our boats without any moonlight though.

Good News!  Breeze's guest have arrived in Carti with impellers in hand.  Thankfully!

But, we still had to pay Roger,  the taxi driver, in Panama City for our impellers and his time.   So, our friend, Ami (S/V Tara Vana) was using Roger this morning, to take her from her hotel to the airport in Panama City.  So, she paid Roger the $45 for us and we reimbursed her husband, Rick, who is anchored near us.  Whew!

Then, Breeze and Debbie were on their way to the East Lemons, so when they came near the West Lemons, Sonny went out in our dinghy to retrieve the valued impellers.  Mission accomplished.....now, only if they are the correct part.....

We were anxious to inspect the impellers, as the number was one number different from our parts catalog.  But, after careful inspection, it was perfect.  So, Sonny began taking our old impellers off, and putting on the new.

It is so amazing, in San Blas, where there are no grocery stores, much less boat stores, to be able to maneuver it to have parts for a Yanmar engine to you in less than 24 hours.   It would have been impossible without our cruising friends to the rescue.  Thanks Blue Sky and Tara Vana!

• Made a repair in our material on our lifeline cover
• Replaced the worn line on our radar deflector
• Repaired our 5 gallon bucket.....our washing machine

Then, Sonny went over to S/V Makai to practice with the guys playing music.

Big Day Today!  The music jam is happening at 4 p.m. in the West Lemons.  This is a group of islands in San Blas where we used to come, because no other boats come here.   Now, we have the internet cafe, a gathering of cruisers each day at 5 p.m., and today there are probably 50 boats in this anchorage.   A lot have come across the shallow sandbar out to what we call the North 40.  But, the beauty of it is.....there is room for everyone.

We all began gathering at the island at 4 and the No Mas band began to entertain.   It was just one of those magical nights that everyone enjoyed.  The musicians for the evening were:

Steve	S/V Liward	guitar - sing
Bill	S/V Songbird	guitar - sing
Pam	S/V Songbird	sing (like a songbird)
Kenny	S/V Makai	harmonicas (blues)
Sonny	S/V Valentina	harmonicas
Rick	S/V Tara Vana	saxophone
Twin Brothers	S/V High Five	guitar, violin, sing
George	S/V Silver Sea	percussion
Yogi	S/V Samantha Nova	guitar - sing (German)

• changed the oil on the engine
• changed the fuel filters on the diesel fuel line to the engine
• changed the filter on the fuel polishing system
• took out our new mattresses and cut about 3" off so they would fit better in our v-berth

Enough work for today........time for some Baja Rummy in the cockpit. 

It looks like a good weather window is opening up this week, so we need to complete our project list so we can go and Valentina will be in perfect shape for the  550 mile trip.

Today, we took the sewing machine to the deck to restitch our gib sail, (the fun part was taking the sail down in the 18 knot trade winds), then after getting the sail back up, we resealed the gaskets on our hatches.

This afternoon, Steve and Sonny played the guitar and harmonica at the palapa.  Bob, (S/V Island Dreamin') came to Sonny and told him Hiraldo, the veggie boat guy, was looking for us in the anchorage.

So, we packed up our stuff and headed to Valentina.  When he was here last, we mentioned to him that we were headed out to Honduras, and needed 10 gallons of diesel and 5 gallons of gas.  So, he brought it out to us in his launcha from Miramar (about 20 miles away).  He is so good to us.  We are thankful for his services.  And, his prices are good....$4 for a gallon of diesel and $5 for gasoline delivered to your boat.

Getting ready for the crossing, I am updating the website, cooking so we will have meals already prepared, and we are getting the jack lines back on for safety and washing clothes.

Steve's (S/V Liward) No Mas band is planning another music night on Thursday night, but, we may need to head out before then.   It was fun playing music with them.

Yogi, a German on S/V Samantha Nova, along with his wife, Maria Theresa and his dog, Samantha have worked very hard to promote the island for cruisers.  Yogi assisted with connecting the internet, setting up the palapa, internet cafe, organizes pot lucks and volleyball games.  He even asks the cruisers to bring in our 'burnable' trash and he burns it for free.   He is a good guy and fun guitar player and singer.  Just wish we could understand the folk songs he sings in German.

After checking the weather again, we decided to leave today  rather than tomorrow to get in on this weather window.  We went to Porvenir around noon to get our zarpe and over to Wichiwala to get some cokes and cookies.  Then, around 3:30 p.m. we headed out from Porvenir.  Our final destination is the Hobbies, on the Honduran/Nicaragua coast, about 4 days away.

For over a year, we have been planning with Gene and Brenda (S/V Queen Mary) a rendezvous at the Hobbies together to fish, play music and have fun.   We buddy boated with them for over a year in 2007-2008.   That tells you what good friends we are that they would travel to the Hobbies from Belize and we would travel from Panama to get together.   We are looking forward to it so much.

Once we cleared the reef near Porvenir, the wind immediately died to 5 knots.   We decided to just keep going.   Our plan on this trip is to just sail.  On almost every other crossing, we have had a plan or a deadline to be in before dark and would crank the motor if we get below four knots and get there as quick as possible.

But, there is a good, calm weather pattern developing this week, so we plan to just sail, maybe not too fast, but just sail.

We did have a slow night, with wind on the nose.  It is about 13 knots with 4-5' seas on the beam.  A pretty comfortable sail though.   Our speed was 3-4 knots all night as we tried to head up as much as possible.

There was a lot of ship traffic, being so close to the Panama Canal.  Most would be in the distance, but two ships were within three miles of us during the night.  Out here....in the middle of nowhere!

When one of the ships got within three miles on our port bow, I called to make sure he saw us.  He said, "Hold on for one minute".   Then came back and said, "Yes, I see you 2.7 miles off our starboard".   I think someone was sleeping......I asked if he was going to pass in front or behind us and he responded he would change his course and pass, "Behind".    Good.

Boy, the nights are so long.  There is absolutely 'no' moon and it is so dark.  You see all of the beautiful stars that are so bright in the midst of the darkness.  But, the time does go by so slow while underway.

But, when the sun starts to break, everything is beautiful.  You can see the deep blue water as the boat gracefully cuts through it.

We both slept a little, but the first night, we neither one can sleep very well.

Sonny made some oatmeal for breakfast and I cut up some papaya and boiled some eggs for later.

I made some spaghetti for lunch and we played Baja Rummy in the cockpit, then took turns taking naps while the other was on watch.

We checked into the SW Caribbean Net evening check in for boats that are underway.   The cruiser who is the morning net controller comes back up at 5 p.m. to check on his fellow cruisers who are making crossings to make sure everything is OK.  We talked to several of our friends who are keeping up with us on our journey.  The SSB radio is so important to us.  We are glad we got ours repaired when I was in the US recently.

Day 3

April 15th - Tax Day.........One advantage of not making any money....is we do not even have to file taxes.  (Would be nice if we "had to' though).    ; )

What a beautiful morning.......at sea.....just quietly sailing.  This has definitely been our most enjoyable crossing so far.   We have not turned on the motor for power at all.   We have had to run the generator to charge our batteries, but have only sailed.  I think this is what we are supposed to be doing, right?

After checking in on the morning nets this morning, we had breakfast then I went back to sleep.   I had a sore throat and fever last night, so I want to make sure I am well rested.

I prepared some fresh squeezed orange juice....delicious.

We have about 6 knots of true wind and are cruising at 5.5 knots, due to the favorable current.  We have fallen off the wind and are headed closer to San Andres.   There are several places we could stop along the way, but we prefer to just continue on.  You get into a schedule after a few days out, and it seems better to me to keep going.  We have already been to San Andres, Providencia and Quito Suenos, so we will just pass them by on this trip.

As we got near Cayo Bolivar just south of San Andres, we were talking about not catching any fish while trolling.  And, that it was time to catch something, while we were near some reefs.   Just about dusk, about three minutes later, the fishing line started screaming.  It was time!  We jumped up and I grabbed the pole and started reeling him in.  It was a big eyed tuna fish....so guess what we will be eating tomorrow?   Sonny cleaned him and he is bagged and in our refrigerator, ready for lunch tomorrow.

We reefed the mainsail after cleaning and putting our fish in the refrigerator and cleaning the boat off.

Day 4

I decided today, to just bring you along with us.  Without 'too' many details, let's see what happens today while we are underway.

Right now it is 2:00 a.m. and I just got up from getting a few hours sleep down below on the settee.  It is my turn to take a watch while Sonny sleeps.  Before I came up, I got some cold papaya to snack on and a bottle of water. 

Before Sonny went down to sleep, he informed me of our heading, the method he was using of keeping us on our track (right now we are using our chartplotter and putting in a waypoint near Providencia, and we are guiding us along the track by clicking to the left or right, whichever is necessary), and he told me of a ship that was passing us on our port side near San Andres.   It's all mine.

OK.....before my watch, I go down to get my laptop, charger, camera and download cord so I can work on the website and keep a watch around.  On our 36 mile (Garmin) radar, it is clear.  No ships, just the islands of San Andres  on our port side and Providencia ahead to our starboard side.  We are sailing past San Andres tonight and will pass near Providencia early this morning.  It is about 57 miles from San Andres to Providencia, or going at around 5 knots = 11hours.

We have been to Providencia before and really liked it.  However, to check in the country of Colombia there, it cost $100 and you get 60 days.  We would only want to spend one night and be on our way, so we chose to keep going and we will return there after visiting the Hobbies.

It is a dark, dark night.  No moon at all, only stars on this starry, starry night.  We are going about 5-6 knots with the gib up and the reefed mainsail.  We always reef our mainsail at night, as to avoid any surprises in the dark when just one of us are on watch.  The wind picked up tonight to 15-20 knots consistently, so we are sailing very well.

I have been monitoring the Island of Providencia on the chart to make sure we clear the island and reefs with sufficient room.  You can see the flashing light on the tower for miles.  Providencia is a Colombian island and is about 150 miles offshore from the mainland of Nicarauga.

At daybreak, Sonny pops his head up the companionway after sleeping and says, "Look!  Providencia!"  And, he was correct.  The island of Providencia was on our starboard side, with the sun rising behind it.

We heard some friends on the VHF radio talking to each other.  The sailboats, Feisty, Matilda, and LuLu are leaving Providencia at daylight and are headed to the Vivorillos, near the Hobbies.   They are just ahead of us.

After checking into the nets and notifying our friends of our position and conditions, Sonny prepared us some oatmeal.

I read my book and rested during the morning while Sonny was on watch.

Around noon, I pan-fried some of our tuna and heated a can of pork and beans.  That was our lunch.   We had some chocolate candies afterwards.

Then, it was time for some Baja Rummy.  So, we put the cockpit table up and played cards for several hours.  We had to put the sides down on the windward side of the enclosure so our cards would not blow away.

I boiled the rest of the tuna and then de-boned it and added some mayonnaise, onions and tomatoes for lunch tomorrow.  Real tuna fish salad.

Around 3:30 p.m. the wind died.  So, we had to start the motor.  It has been such a wonderful sail.   If all crossings were like this one, everyone would be out here.   It is quite enjoyable!  Usually, while underway, you do not have an appetite, much less, want to go down below to shower, cook, or send emails.  But, this one is perfect.

We checked our chartplotter, and, if we continue at this speed under motor, we can be at the Hobbies before dark tomorrow night.  So, we decided to do that.  Since there is no wind, a good decision.

We had both fishing lines out today, but no fish yet.

It is starting to get dusk, so we brought in the fishing lines and reefed the mainsail.

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to be able to see and read?  I really notice it on a crossing.  Before, I could not see the chartplotter, so I had glasses everywhere, on my head, in the pocket in the cockpit, and on the deck.  But, now, since my cataract surgeries, I can see the chartplotter perfectly.   I am so thankful!

Just as we were nearing the anchorage, we were getting ready to take down the mainsail, when Sonny said he saw a fish near our lure.   Then, one second later.......WHIZZZZZ....the line started screaming.  We had to slow down the boat to get him in.   It was a King Mackerel, 15 lbs. and 41 inches long.   A nice fish!   We got him on the deck and continued in to anchor.

What a wonderful crossing!  Why can't they all be like that?   On most crossings, you do not have an appetite, or want to go down below to cook or even shower, as the boat is rocking so bad.  But this was a very comfortable trip.  We even slept better while underway, so we are very rested now.

We anchored near our spot we were three years ago.   It took us just shy of four complete days to get from San Blas to the Hobbies.

There are two guys that live on the island (different) that take care of the storage of the stacked lobster pots.

The Hobbies are 60 miles from the Honduran mainland.  For our cruising friends, here are some waypoints we have used:

Vivorillos

This morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise.   It is so good to be here.  We keep saying, "I can't believe we really are here!"   Sometimes when you return to a place, it is not the same, but we feel like the Hobbies will be the same and better as when we were here  for about 47 days....three years ago.

We listened to the morning nets, then Dan and Kathy (S/V Sea Star) went snorkeling with us.   They had a coral reef near where they first anchored, so we went there.   Dan got his first hogfish.  How exciting!

Then, while the weather is calm, we dinghied around to the outside of the reef.   We saw lots of big snappers, tarpon, and other fish.  It was a very good snorkel.

When we returned to Valentina, I fried some of the King Mackerel, and oh...was it good.   It has been too long.

Then we went over to Sea Star for some of their hogfish.  

In the middle of the lobster traps there is a small cleared area with two wooden goals for them to play soccer.

That is the only land you see at the Hobbies.   However, there is a reef that surrounds us from the east to the north, which provides great protection from the seas and wonderful fishing.

The caretakers' names are Miguel and Kenneth.   We also met the caretaker of Harbage island about 3 miles away named Sherman.

It is very calm today, no wind, so we decided to go to the outside reef to snorkel.  There were lots of fish and colorful coral.

We got an email from Gene and Brenda (S/V Queen Mary) that they are on their way here from Roatan.  They will arrive tomorrow morning.

We dinghied over the shallow reefs to Harbage Island, along with Dan and Kathy.  It is about 3 miles away and another small island filled with lobster traps during off season.  One young man, Sherman, lives on the island for four months, and gets paid $250 a month to guard the traps.   Probably 10 separate lobster boats store their traps on the island.   They are all neatly stacked and separated, about 15 traps high with a walkway in between.

We heard Queen Mary on the morning net and Gene had just pulled in a huge King Mackerel.  It was 51" long and 39 lbs.  When they arrived, after all of our hugs and chatting, he cleaned his huge fish and Sonny and Dan began cleaning the ones they had just gotten from the morning snorkel. 

Sonny got a nice 8 lb. grouper and several snapper for dinner.

Kathy (S/V Sea Star) and I prepared dinner for Queen Mary and Footloose upon their arrival.  How good to be together!

Tom and Kathy invited everyone over to their boat for dinner, then we all went over to Queen Mary for music.   How long has it been?

Very, very good memories!

Dave (S/V High Spirits) came into the anchorage this afternoon.   He is assisting Scott, the owner of Skalliwag, take his sailboat from Bocas del Toro to Galveston.  Friends continue to cross paths.

After listening to the radio nets, we all decided to go to our old "Big Grouper" hole and see what we could find.   It is about two miles away from where we are anchored, so four dinghies headed that way.   We all jumped in the water, and although the area is massive, deep, and murky, we did not find any fish.  Some things do change over time.

So we all went to another spot and snorkeled a while.

After resting, we all went over to Sea Star for the evening.  Scott, Dave, and Deb are leaving early this morning on S/V Skalliwag headed for Isla Mujeres and then Galveston. 

Brenda and I decided to snorkel the reefs around our boats.  We did, but then, Brenda and I continued snorkeling over to where the guys' dinghy was, but from the inside.   It was very shallow in spots....about 10" deep, but we made it across just fine.   We had to "suck it in" to get across in some spots.

Dan and Kathy (S/V Sea Star) went snorkeling back to the reef where he got his first hogfish.   He came up to our boat with a nice 10 lb. crying dog snapper.   Nice fish!

Gene made two pots of his delicious seafood chowder, so we all went over to Queen Mary's for dinner....and, of course, some music broke out.

More music, more fun, more memories!

Just how good can it get out here in the middle of no-where?  It just cannot get any better.  Life is definitely.....good!

We took them some Texas Sheet Cake and discussed going snorkeling.   Today and tomorrow is supposed to be calmer, 10-15 knots, before the front comes through with 20+ knots of wind.   So, we went a couple of miles out in our dinghies and snorkeled and fished.  

Sonny got a couple of nice hogfish.    Fish tomorrow!  A nice day's work....

I have been working on my diving, as I have always been a top-water snorkeler and spear fisher-woman.   So, today, I saw this horse conch on the bottom in about 20' of water.  I dove down....carrying my spear gun and was unable to manage to pick it up.   But, I was excited I dove down that far.

We have eaten a LOT of fish since we arrived in the Hobbies.   Numerous meals a day, and the hunt is exciting.  Hopefully, without a shark nearby.  With the high winds, you cannot go everywhere, you have to hunt them, but they are definitely there.   Have we said....."We love the Hobbies?"

Local fishing boats from Honduras come into the anchorage, looking for cigarettes and other supplies, wanting to trade for fish.  But, we feel totally safe here.

Today, we went with Gene and Brenda snorkeling a couple of miles from the boats, still behind the protection of the reef.   After snorkeling a while, Sonny called me over, he had spotted a hogfish.  So, I swam quickly to him.   I dove down and got ready, aimed, and.....fried hogfish for dinner!  

This was my first fish I have dove down to get. 

Sonny got a nice blue-nose hogfish also.

Tom and Doris (S/V Footloose) love conch and they invited everyone over to their boat for cracked conch and some conch chowder.  Delicious!  I took over some fried hogfish and snapper fish salad.  Brenda brought some cabbage salad and Kathy made an apple/guava dessert.    We sure do eat well out here.   But, you have to love fish for sure.

Then, we all went over to Queen Mary to play music.  So much fun!

 

	The cockpit of Queen Mary Sonny and Kay S/V Valentina
	Gene and Brenda S/V Queen Mary
	Tom and Doris S/V Footloose
	Dan and Kathy S/V Sea Star

We did not even get our dinghy down today.   Sonny is reading James Michener's Caribbean book and I worked on the computer all day.

Another windy day.....a good day for cooking.    Sonny went with Gene to go to a nearby island to burn our 'burnable' trash.

My computer has been locking up some, so I spent the afternoon backing up my hard drive while Sonny read.

This afternoon, all four boats got together on Sea Star for enchiladas.   It was a delicious fish-free meal.

While we were all there, we could see two sailboats on the horizon.   We tried to call them on the VHF, but they did not respond.   It is very windy and the seas are quite high, so we were glad to see them come into the safe haven of our anchorage.  After they anchored, we recognized both of the boats from San Blas.

We did get the dinghy down today to go snorkel near the boat.   The reef was more alive and colorful than other areas.  We saw two stingrays that swam near us and the biggest puffer fish we have ever seen.  It was about three feet long. 

Gene and Brenda (S/V Queen Mary) came over this afternoon to visit.

Well, the wind has definitely arrived here in the Hobbies.   We have a consistent 20-28 knots blowing day and night.  The holding here in the sand is very good and all six sailboats are safe.  The huge waves are crashing and breaking over  the reef in right front of us.

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"We do not stop playing because we grow old,

-   George Bernard Shaw