Day 15 Central America

Monday, December 3, 2007

wx - strong offshore winds 15-30kts. increasing, seas confused, 4-6 ft. Southerly swell, visibility unlimited

My humble hovel pitched on the second deck. The deck is not fully enclosed so it’s a bit like camping and the wheelhouse is only a few steps away. I have my laptop, digital charts, and a USB GPS which allows me to chart courses and follow our progress. A quick glance and I can see if we’re on a proper course. A happy camper.

Departed Hualtulco on Sunday the 30th The Bay of Tehauantepec showed signs of a real blow but we were lucky seeing only 30 kts of wind. However, a night of squalls and lightening were to follow. As the sun rose today we find ourselves in Central American waters. The bad weather behind us. We’ve now crossed the boarder into Guatemala and beyond that...el Salvador.

Today we discovered a problem with the forward spare fuel bladder. Apparently the pounding we took after a night of squalls in the Bay of Tehauantepec was more that the bladder could handle. Our plans to run straight to Costa Rica have now changed. We’ll have to get into the next available port for some repairs.

Contacted a couple of ports along the El Salvador coast hoping to get in somewhere so we can make repairs. As it stands, our best bet is Barillas but we’d be making our approach after dark. I’ve been across the bar a couple time before, but not at night.

Border crossings, even at sea, are were you are likely to encounter a patrol boat. At night they will approach and follow astern with all their lights, including navigation lights, turned off. You see them on radar but not visually. It can be a bit unnerving to first-timers. After a brief Q&A over the radio, assuring them that we were not carrying fire arms or ammunition, they were on their way. With our boarded up main deck windows, FREEDOM does not fit the typical appearance of vessels in this region. We’re a bit trampy looking.