Wednesday, December 2, 2009

San Blas, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia/The Kersti Incident

We had a little excitement in a recent passage from the San Blas islands of Panama to Cartagena, Colombia.
http://www.sail-world.com/USA/Blue-Water-Rally-yacht-sinks---cruisers-to-the-rescue/63931


It was actually somewhat surreal. In the dark at first and in poor conditions we just did what we thought we should do and except for the loss of the boat, all went pretty well. Here is our official version:


The Kersti Incident Report

On the morning of November 27 just after 0400 hours, S/V Jupiter's Smile received a Pan Pan call from the sailing vessel Kersti at 10 degrees 00 .5 ' N; 076 degrees 24' W. They reported that they were taking on water and were unable to keep ahead of its incursion by bailing with buckets. The vessel was down at the bow and was in danger of sinking.


Our position was 9 degrees 57 ' N; 076 degrees 20.34' W . We changed course and they did as well so that our headings would converge. The seas were running from 10 to 12 feet steep and short period so that headway to the north was difficult. At about 0545, at position 10 degrees 01 .55 ' N; 076 degrees 21.38' W. we came on site and stood by.


Kersti was low at the bow with about a foot of freeboard. S/V Sea Star made contact with the US and Columbian Coast Guard via their Iridium sat phone. S/V Tempest, S/V Infinity and S/V Mariposa were in radio contact, all with words of encouragement and ideas to keep the vessel afloat.

Shortly thereafter, S/V Pelican's Flight came on scene and attempted several times to drop a pump into Kersti's dinghy. The dinghy was out on a long painter in order to safely effect the transfer of the pump. With Kersti now headed into the wind the seas were washing the bow with each wave. The pump fell out of the dinghy at one point because of the rough seas, but was retreived by Pelicans Flight. The vessel appeared to be taking on more water and the seas and wind continued unabated. S/V Mariposa arrived at the scene and a crew member was willing to bring a pump aboard by jumping into the dinghy. Kersti's captain did not want to endanger others and he refused that solution. A third attempt at transferring the pump saw Pelican's Flight ride over the dinghy painter and the dinghy was subsequently lost.


The crew deployed their life raft and at 0753 they had it inflated and trailing behind. At 0756 they stepped off Kersti and into the life raft at 9 degrees 59 .05 ' N; 076 degrees 21.84' W. We came along side and the crew, Jeff and Ruth Morris of the UK came aboard with two backpacks and four bundles of belongings in plastic sacks. The crew was uninjured. Jeff pierced the tubes of the life raft and cast it off as it deflated.


As we were nearly forty miles off the coast and in big seas with up to thirty three knots of wind, we elected to depart the scene and head for the Bay of Cholon and safe harbor before dark. We did not observe the vessel sink and its DSC radio call continued until we were out of VHF range. Our jouney was very quiet while the seas were very boisterous. My wife was sea sick as she had been almost all night and Ruth was nauseous as well. At 1630, we dropped anchor in the Bay of Cholon.


At 1800, a Colombian Coast Guard launch with three crew came to Jupiter's Smile and determined, after a second visit, that the Morris' would visit the Coast Guard office in Cartagena the next morning, traveling there aboard S/V Glide. The Morrises left Jupiter's Smile at 0545, on November 28.

Our last news regarding Kersti was that the Coast Guard (Colombian?), as of 1800 while they were visiting us, found no sighting of the vessel.  A few days later, we heard from a third source that the Coast Guard (Colombian?) had found the sinking vessel, dived to survey the damage and found (and photographed) a crack where the keel attaches to the hull.  As they attempted to tow the boat it sank.  We have heard from the Morrises more recently about this and they confirm that this is true and they have returned to the UK and are looking for another boat.  Good luck in your search and your next adventures on the water.

Monday, June 15, 2009

El Rio Chagres

Pearl S. Buck and Jupiter's Smile cautiously navigated the waters into the Rio Chagres.  We traveled upstream until we were in sight of the dam that retains the water in Lago Gatun.  The primary use of this water is for operating the Panama Canal.  Anchoring is permitted in the river, but we saw this small lake to the north and decided to anchor there out of the river's current.  It was soon obvious that we were in howler monkey territory.  The calls between several troops of these small black monkeys (with the loudest vocalizations of any animal) made that abundantly clear.  Flocks of pairs of parrots, storks, mackaws and toucans flew overhead and an occasional crocodile was spotted.  The location was idyllic.

Thetis joined us within a few days and aside from a few locals we saw very few other people.  We were near a dock in the national park and could dinghy to it, disembark and walk to the road that crossed the river and went to Colon.  We never left our dinghy at the dock, however, due to the reports of thefts here.  Dorothy on Pearl S. Buck delivered us to the dock and then picked us up when we returned acting as guard while we were in Colon.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Leaving Bocas del Toro toward the Rio Chagres, Panama




We headed out

Zapadillo





To


























Bluefields








Tobobee Bay

Friday, May 15, 2009

It was May 2009 Work in Progress

We departed Providencia in company of the catamaran Damiana
with Roy and Marlene aboard, sailing in moderately light winds and moderate seas.  Late in the afternoon we passed San Andres and at about sundown we had cleared the Alburquerque Keys.  We had an uneventful second day at sea with a few clouds threatening to produce rain and we heard thunder a few times, but nothing developed.  We were out of sight of Damiana, but we were checking in on the VHF radio every three hours for reassurance that all was well.  At about two the next morning the wind died with about sixty more miles to go to reach Bocas del Drago so the motor was called into service.  We approached the inlet at dawn and were impressed with the lighted buoys showing us the channel in the early morning twilight.  As the sun began to show its face the lights on the buoys went out and it became surprisingly difficult to determine their location at a distance.  I found this to be somewhat disconcerting, but as we got closer the channel was plainly evident and we entered with no problem.  As we approached, we called Pearl S. Buck and Bryan responded.  It was great to hear his voice as we had not heard him since he left Guanaja two months previously.  He and Dorothy were anchored at Starfish Beach (pictured).  We rounded the island of Colon and tucked into their anchorage to rest until Monday when we could check into Panama without paying a weekend surcharge to the officials. 


We enjoyed a swim and Barb walked with Dorothy on the beach.

On Monday, we called the port captain and said we would anchor near the Bocas del Toro Marina.  He said we should not leave the boat and that he would round up the necessary officials and visit us in an hour or so.



 
Till then, be well!

Friday, May 8, 2009

Isla Providencia April to May 1st 2009


Providencia – 4/10/09 to 5/1/09

Remember - double clicking on a photo will enlarge the view! (I hope!)



A Canadian fellow sailed in from Nicaragua one day, stayed long enough to stir up some interest and then left for the Cayman Islands.  This little catamaran has to be about ten feet long.  Yikes!





We arrived on Good Friday, but after we checked in we stayed on the boat, resting. We missed a local presentation for the boaters in the town square. We were able to attend a similar show a few weeks later. We listened to a spirited local band and watched a dance group show off their skills. We were invited to Roland's beach restaurant and we went for a fun evening with the crews of four other boats.



We liked the island of Providencia, the people who live there and the cruisers who were visiting along with us. During the three weeks we stayed, we hiked, motorbiked, sailed and socialized.



There is a fine hike on Catalina, the island that shelters the northern side of the harbor. The trail leads past the old fort and allows the hiker to approach the rock formation known as Morgan's Head.
It takes a little imagination to make out the profile of the notorious pirate. Looking to the south, it is easier to make out the profile of Split Mountain, also known as Morgan's Ass.
We made two circumnavigations of Providencia. The one by motorbike took three leisurely hours as we visited several overlooks ..




..........and beaches ...........






............ and stopped for a nice lunch.


The lunch stop was at a resort where Internet access is available...on some days...not today...maybe manana. The food was good and the view was gorgeous. We met a couple that took the motorbike ride too. They made the entire trip in twenty minutes and then went back around at a pace like ours. The second circumnavigation was with the crews of Pelican's Flight and Tempest on board Tisha Baby. The waters were calm and the wind light so we motored around and through the reefs. We stopped in a cove for lunch and got back to the anchorage in time for sundowners.



We were there on the anniversary of the wreck of the S/V Viva caused by hurricane XXXX. Our friend Viva Bob intended to be there too, but the present Viva had engine problems and he had sailed back to Rio Dulce to replace both his engines. Maybe next year?


We visited the Bamboo Restaurant several times, bringing the crews of about 20 boats with us on two occasions. The friendly proprietors were well rewarded for their hospitality. They are closed on Sunday, but allowed a group of us to gather to play dominoes at their tables.

We watched and waited for a good weather window and on May 1st the opportunity arrived for

S/V Damiana and us to depart for the two day passage to Bocas del Toro. We bid a fond farewell to the cruisers in the harbor and the wonderful people of Isla Providencia.

Friday, May 1, 2009

April 9 – April 30, 2009: the Hobbies to Providencia, Columbia

The other boats, Damiana, Tempest, Pelican’s Flight, Tisha Baby and Jacana intend to stay a while to fish, swim and snorkel. While we enjoy those activities, there is hardly any dry land around to explore and the weather window is too good to pass up. We decided we would leave the next morning for Isla Providencia, 196 nm away, with good conditions expected for the entire trip.

Before dawn, we had the anchor up and we were underway, motoring, retracing our course out of the anchorage and along the inside of the reef. By the time the sun was up we had sails up and had exited the reef. The wind was blowing about twelve knots from the north-northeast and our destination was generally south-southeast, so this is pretty light wind. We left the motor on and running at seven knots with the sails up as we navigated the bank for nine hours when, at 2:30, the wind shifted to east-northeast and picked up to thirteen knots. We had covered enough distance to be comfortable slowing down with the expectation that the wind would increase soon and we could expect to arrive at our destination with good mid-day sun, so the motor was turned off. We sailed at 6.2 – 6.6 knots for twelve hours and into the night with winds up to seventeen knots, until we encountered huge, dark clouds blotting out the full moon, with flashes of lightning and trailing rain. We reefed the sails as the wind speed dropped eerily and we turned on the engine. Three hours later, the clouds had disappeared without incident and at 6 am the engine was turned off again. We were under full sail doing 5.7 knots in 14 knots of east-southeast wind and .5 knots of opposing current in 2-3 ft seas, close-hauled for six hours arriving at the sea buoy off Providencia at noon. By 1 pm, on Good Friday, we were anchored in the beautiful harbor between Providencia and Catalina Islands and in touch with the famous agent, Mr. Bush (this one has a high approval rating), ready to clear into one of Columbia’s most far-flung islands. This leg of the trip was completed with the only excitement being the fact that it went nearly exactly as planned and without incident, safely.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

March 30 – April 8, 2009: Guanaja, Honduras to the Hobbies

The beach at West End, Roatan

Barb returned from her visit with the Dangerous Babe’s in Puerto Vallarta to Roatan on March 29th. Despite her long, tiring journey, Barb wanted us to get on our way and out of Roatan, so we left the next morning. The winds were out of the East, but light, so our eastbound journey (motoring) was comfortable. We made our way to Guanaja and entered a cut through the reef at Soldado Channel. We sat at anchor, all alone for two days, enjoying the solitude and the beauty of the Michael’s Rock region. As we walked the beach, swam and snorkeled, a few local men had been busily constructing a site on the shore to celebrate the upcoming Semana Santa holiday and on the third day they began burning the left over materials, upwind, so the smoke blew toward us. We departed for a new anchorage less than two miles to the southwest, Blue Rock, and enjoyed the remainder of a quiet day alone again. The next day we rounded the end of the island to go to Bonacca town to top up our fuel, get final provisions and visit the officials to check out of Honduras declaring our next destination to be Bocas del Toro, Panama, about 600 nm away.

On his fourth and final voyage during the late summer of 1502, it took Christopher Columbus and his crew 28-days to tack eastward along the coast of present-day Honduras. “Other tempests I have seen,” Columbus reported, “but none that lasted so long or so grim as this.” Upon reaching a point that is now close to the border with Nicaragua he proclaimed, “Thanks to God!” The tip of the peninsula still bears that name, Cabo Gracias a Dios. The source of his difficulty was the strong Trade Winds that blow generally out of the east. The seas tend to build to uncomfortable heights. The decks would be continually wet and the crew would be sorely tested by the need to tack against the wind and current.

Using a variety of forecasting tools, modern day sailors watch for a period of favorable weather before they venture out in these waters. So the prudent cruiser waits for the weather window where either the winds die down and the seas moderate so they can motor-sail or they wait for a shift in the wind toward the North so they can sail eastward under sail alone.

If the winds die, we can turn on the motor and make the first leg of the trip in about thirty hours in seas with a manageable swell. But, we are a sailboat and I resist motoring if I can harvest the wind instead. That means we watch and wait as patiently as we can for a wind shift that will last long enough to make the passage, but not blow so hard that comfort is compromised. This was our plan as we waited at El Bight just north of Bonacca Cay. We waited for three days discussing the weather forecasts with Damiana, Tempest, Pelican’s Flight, Tisha Baby and Jacana. As the Trade Winds continued to blow, several vessels arrived from the east and departed westward. On Monday, the winds were down, but still out of the east. Damiana departed and we decided to follow their lead as they reported favorable conditions – at first. We noticed, as we made our way out of the anchorage that they had turned around. They were about a half hour ahead of us and reported that they had waves over their bows (they are a catamaran) and that they were returning. We returned too. Around noon, the wind was still down and the seas had settled and Damiana left and headed east. We did not follow this time.

At dawn the next morning, Tempest, Pelican’s Flight and then, soon after, Jacana filed out of the anchorage and through the cut near Half Moon Cay on a heading of about 100-degrees. We had all discussed the forecast and our weather advisor, Chris Parker on the Caribbean Weather Net, had advised that we leave on Monday and motor to arrive at the Vivarillo Cays ahead of the approaching cold front, which is what Barb and I thought we would do and what Damiana did. Chris Parker’s second choice was to go on Tuesday with more wind, sailing ahead of a cold front and then ride the front. That would provide wind from the north and an opportunity to sail. However, the front would also bring strong winds of possibly over 35 knots, in squalls on Tuesday night. We didn’t like that “window” very much. Having missed the motoring opportunity on Monday with Damiana and seeing the three boats leave Tuesday morning to face the cold front (they had said, “We have big boats (around 45-50 feet), we can take it.”) we began to suffer from being left behind. After two hours of discussion (rationalizing) with Tisha Baby on the radio and getting forecasts revising wind speeds downward, we left the anchorage motoring northeast behind the reef and met Tisha Baby as they left Josh’s Cay. We both went out the North East Cay Channel two miles north of our anchorage’s latitude. We raised our sails before we even cleared the cut. Once clear, we made for a heading of 85-degrees while Tisha Baby motor-sailed even higher at 80-85 degrees. Our first destination, the Vivarillo Cays, is on a heading of 103-degrees from Guanaja, but Richard and I agreed that once the front came through with northerly winds, it would be better to be able to turn downwind toward our destination, so we were trying to get as far east as possible as soon as possible. Tisha Baby was trying to get a little northeast, in fact, so they would have more room to run if need be. The other three boats, having left about two hours before we did, were motor-sailing in good conditions and, being bigger, were making more speed than we were. Jupiter’s Smile was making 6.6 – 6.8-knots with the sails up and the motor on with a north wind of 8-knots in 2-3-foot chop over a 2-foot swell. We all continued motor-sailing this way until the wind picked up to 12-14-knots at about 3 pm. We turned off the motor and continued under sails alone at 6.2 -- 6.6-knots in 2-ft chop and virtually no swell. By 5 pm the wind had freshened to 16-22-knots and with dusk approaching we decided to shorten sail. Dusk and dawn are at about 6 pm and 6 am respectively at these latitudes year round. We took in the headsail completely, left the staysail full and put in the equivalent of two reefs in the mainsail. We have roller furling on all three of our sails so we have continuous reefing capabilities, not fixed reef points. We usually reduce sail at night so that the person on watch does not need to adjust anything in the dark and we sail more slowly so that if there is something in the water we don’t see, we don’t hit it so hard. By 8 pm, we frequently had winds of 30 knots out of the north and I had reefed the staysail as well. By 10 pm, we had 8-10-ft seas and we were running with sails no higher than the spreaders on the mast, still making 5.7 knots, heading about 107-degrees (a little downwind) so the deck was wet with spray but we seldom took any waves on deck. The motion of the boat was not violent, but by no means gentle and Barb became seasick. As we sailed through the night, maintaining good speed, our hourly radio contacts with the other boats indicated that our strategy of maintaining our latitude earlier in the day was allowing us to indeed run a little downwind with seas a little behind us and we were catching up to the three boats that had left before us. Everyone was reporting a very rough ride and our wind instrument recorded a true gust of 39.4-knots. Tisha Baby was sure we had 12-foot seas. As dawn broke the wind dropped below 30 knots more frequently and the seas seemed to decrease a little…or, was I just hoping that they were? We had decided to change our destination to the Hobbies Keys, a little north of the Vivarillos. There we could get out of the big seas sooner, as long as we could clear the reef without having to negotiate any breakers. As we approached the reef we knew from our radio contacts that we had passed the three boats farther to the south of us during the night and that they would need to head more into the wind and seas to reach the Hobbies, but that they would be using a wider and more used cut that would certainly have no breakers. Tisha Baby was about an hour behind and north of us and we both decided to use a cut directly in front of us about 6 miles north of the wider one IF the opening was indeed safe. If we saw breakers, we would need to turn south to the cut that the other boats would be using and probably meet the first of the three boats there at the same time. At about 10am, we saw that the opening in the reef was relatively calm and with the sun high and bright enough to be able to read the water depths, we knew it was plenty deep and wide. Even though the wind was still blowing in the 20s, the seas were completely calm inside the reef and we let out all our sails again and went screaming toward our anchorage, still over twelve miles away. We were snuggly anchored near Damiana and three other boats by noon and Tisha Baby came in to anchor about a half hour later. Two hours later Pelican’s Flight anchored, followed soon after by Tempest and later, Jacana. Barb had recovered once we entered the reef and she got lunch prepared. We cleaned up and went to sleep early.

Looking back on the experience, we did better than the Admiral of the Seas did, but we had five hundred years of technology to help us do better. We covered 165 nm by motor-sailing eight hours and sailing twenty hours. We had fourteen hours of benign weather and fourteen hours of trying conditions. The boat and all its systems performed wonderfully and at no time did we feel unsafe or in danger. Barb was seasick and that was unfortunate, but to her credit she stayed in the cockpit; there if I needed her. The largest of the five boats, Tempest had the worst trip. Annette gets seasick like Barb and was. In the seas, their topping lift (that supports the mizzen sail’s boom while the sail is furled) became loose and it swung into the blades of their wind generator breaking the blades and cutting the topping lift. I believe that was the only physical damage. We all made it safely, thankfully. Gracias a Dio.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Let's Catch up! December - March

January 2 –January 12, 2009 – French Harbor, Roatan Honduras – Chain?

Over time, things deteriorate. I am not pleased with the condition of a section of one of our anchor chains so I would like to replace it remembering the “weakest link” aphorism. On January 20th, I placed an order for 250 feet of anchor chain with Luey MacLaughlin, owner of Blueseas Seafood for a very good price. The chain would come from Luey’s brother, the owner of a freighter out of Florida, in about ten days, or so we thought. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the leisurely pace of Roatan. We visited the Iguana Preserve, went snorkeling and walking, and on rainy days set up our water catcher and read several books. I do not know if the chain has arrived yet (or not) and as I write now, it is March 10th and Barb and I are back in the United States planning to return to the boat on March 20th. Will we be able to load chain aboard? We hope so.

February - Jonesville Harbor, Roatan Honduras

We decided that it is time to explore some of the other anchorages on the island so we sailed (motored actually) a short distance to Jonesville, found the reef cut and anchored snugly. We dinghyed to shore and walked around the town. In the small grocery, we found some items we could use that we had not been able to find in the large market in French Harbor. We have learned that if you see something you need, you buy it on the spot. Don’t wait, because the item may not be available when you come back and remain unavailable for months thereafter. Next day, we went to the famous Hole in the Wall Restaurant and Bar barbeque. It is an all-you-can-eat steak, lobster tail, mashed potatoes, corn and beans, with dessert and a cigar festive experience.

After two days in Jonesville, we left the anchorage and backtracked to Halfmoon Bight to snorkel the reef there. We found it to be interesting but nothing special, so we continued on our way, sailing off the anchor and back to French Harbor.

Guanaja, Honduras

We topped up our tanks and took care of various errands and then we, Pearl S. Buck and Tisha Baby set out to explore the eastern most of the Bay Islands, Guanaja. We fished along the way and Barb caught a grouper that provided dinner for us all that evening, anchored off Josh’s (or Graham’s) Cay. The small resort there has a restaurant and bar, a nice beach and a fenced pen in the water containing huge turtles, barracuda, tarpon and jewfish. The pet pelicans are a source of entertainment as is the $10/day internet (when it is working). The wind direction helped us decide to sail to the other side of the island and Barb and I decided to head for Michael’s Rock. This turned out to be a very pretty cove where, despite the initially poor holding for our anchor, we stayed a couple of nights along with Tisha Baby. We found that the End of the World Resort was recovering from a lightning caused fire and was not open, but the owner gave us directions so that we could hike to a waterfall to complete our day’s activities. The next day, we dinghyed through the canal that transects the island and landed on Bonacca, where the majority of the population of Guanaja resides. We were impressed with the goods and services available in this community of friendly folks and we were captivated by the charm of the traffic consisting of boats and feet only. No vehicles exist on the island where they have only sidewalks and canals to meet transportation needs. We met Bryan and Dorothy and enjoyed some shopping and lunch with them. They had anchored in El Bight along with about a dozen other boats awaiting a weather window to make a run eastward to the Vivarillo Cays. Then they and most of the others planned to head southward to Providencia, San Andres and on to Panama.

The next morning, Tisha Baby left us to pick up Richard’s brother back in Roatan and we sailed to El Bight to see what attractions held so many cruisers there. We had a surprise dinner at the German Restaurant there. It was a surprise, because Bryan had asked for something to nibble with drinks. They brought salads and then the rest of the dinner. I only wished that it tasted better.

We bid our dear friends Bryan and Dorothy on Pearl S. Buck farewell and we departed for a spirited downwind run back to Roatan anchoring in Port Royal just like the pirates did years and years ago. The next morning we explored the small cay nearby before setting out for French Harbor and planning our next move. Our anchor chain had still not arrived in Roatan.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Jim Lee to the rescue! Wow and how!

December 10, 2008 –January 2, 2009 French Harbor, Roatan, Honduras

Finishing our chores in La Ceiba, we set out for a motor sail to French Harbor to meet up with Pearl S. Buck who had left two days before us. The trip began quietly enough and ended up with us bucking a headwind in the mid-20 knot range. We got the anchor down near Fantasy Island Resort and settled in for a very comfortable several weeks. The snorkeling is fantastic on the reef that surrounds Roatan. The shopping is pretty good, the food is pretty good, propane, laundry and other needs are easily satisfied and the local people are very friendly. This is a popular cruisers stop for good reason. We spent Christmas with about 30 boaters at an excellent potluck dinner at a pavilion at the Coco View Resort. New Years Eve was aboard S/V SoCal SoGood with Rich and Pat and Bryan and Dorothy.

January 2 –January 12, 2009 – West End, Roatan Honduras
We sailed to the Western tip of Roatan and found a mooring ball in the harbor in quaint, funky West End. This locale is where the divers and vacationers hang out and we were lucky enough to be there too, yet far enough away from the music to be able to sleep soundly at night. During the daytime we were able to swim from our boats with snorkel gear and explore the fabulous reef and then find a wonderful meal ashore in the evenings. We found West End to be charming. The post we made regarding trying to replace/repair things in foreign countries with parts shipped and customs duty paid from the US brought a response from our friend Jim Lee from S/V Stardust. We wrote that he was delivering a Lambada motor-glider to a customer in Costa Rica and would we like him to deliver anything if he stopped in Roatan along the way? Would I, would I? You bet!

Kathy Lee (and no doubt, Rachel) did banking for small denomination US bills, shopping for vitamins, fuses and other sundry and gift items and took deliveries from eBay, Defender and WestMarine purchases. They generously packed some items for S/V Pearl S. Buck and S/V Jacana as well. On the 10th Bryan, Barb and I took a cab to the airport to meet Jim. He called us on the VHF radio and we saw the wee aircraft land and tie down, but it took almost an hour before Jim emerged from the arrival door after checking in with immigration and customs. Jim told the guard at the door that we would like to see the plane so the guard pointed us in the direction of the departure gate where a second guard directed us to the airport administrative office where we were told it would be “impossible.” It was Saturday and they were too busy to let us go out to the plane. Jim took our camera himself and took a few photos for us. We had held the taxicab at first and suggested that the driver could leave, but he knew he had a fare back to West End and stuck with us. We took all our booty back to the boats and still had time to go snorkeling from the boat to the reef. Jim remarked that it was much better than the snorkeling trip that he had paid for in Cozumel the day before. We had a nice Thai dinner ashore at Tong’s during which Bryan, Dorothy and Viva Bob got to meet Jim. Bryan and Jim had a lot to discuss, since Bryan is an experienced glider and airplane pilot and skydiver as well.

The visit came to an end all too soon at 7AM the next morning when we delivered Jim to the beach for the cab ride back to the airport. He did pay us a short, final farewell as he flew over the mooring field as he departed Roatan for the final leg to Costa Rica. It was a great visit and we thank him for his friendship and the personal delivery service.