There were four boats checking out at the same time so we made it a festive parade. It was a little funny seeing the panicked expressions on the officials when all nine gringos trooped into their offices but everyone was very nice. It took most of the day but we now had our official exit papers. The only thing left before we could leave was a final inspection by the Navy (looking for drugs). We wanted to leave at 6am and tried to talk them into doing the inspection the night before but the port captain said it had to be done just before we left so he would schedule the Navy for a 5am inspection (yeah right). Well 5am came and went, we called several times and kept getting “soon”. They finally came out at 9:30. Oh well, we will still have plenty of time to make the high tide.
While in Puerto Madera a gigantic cruise ship came into the little harbor, we didn’t believe it could get in here without crunching one of us anchored boats but it deftly spun around and pulled in behind the container ship in front of a big palapa.
We thought that the village would be packed with tourists but not a single shore boat from the ship came over. We felt very sorry for the beach merchants since they obviously were expecting lots of visitors; beach chairs out, streamers on the restaurants and wandering vendors. Why come to Mexico and not experience the locals?
The next passage should have been easy, and for the most part was except for about 45 minutes when we got hit by a heavy rain squall with our genoa up (head/front sail). I saw it coming but it didn’t look too bad so I just thought that the boat would get a good washing. Not only did it pour but the wind started really kicking up. At one point the boat was surfing along at well over 8 knots, very fast especially with just the single sail up. We started getting worried that we were going too fast so decided to roll the sail up, big mistake. In loosening the lines to start the furling, the sail started to flog wildly then got away from us. By the time we finally got it in, the back of the sail was shredded! In retrospect, we should have just run with the squall since while fierce, it was only a few miles wide. Oh well, I hope I’ll be able to repair it when we get to port:
The rest of the passage was smooth but still lots of shrimp boats:
And dolphins:
We got to the entrance to the waypoint at around midnight about 38 hours after leaving Mexico. Our destination; Bahia del Sol is located in the Jaltepeque estuary and the entrance is guarded by a sand bar that is only navigable at high tide and with a escort to time the wave sets. We're here as part of a rally to El Salvador, 7 weeks of activities and parties :-)
We anchored off the beach and tried to get some sleep. The next morning we were met by the pilot jet ski with Bill from Mita Kuuluu on the back (one of the rally organizers). We waited outside the entrance watching the big waves roll over the bar, it was pretty scary. Then Bill told us to go at full power, we had a few small waves roll under us but the pilot timed it perfectly!
After a quick thumbs up, Bill went out to lead our friends on SOMF in:
We’re now in the estuary motoring toward the marina:
Once tied up to the dock, Ginger our cat emerged from her hidey hole, ate a little, then crashed. It seems like she finds multi-day passages as tiring as we do:
Checking into El Salvador was very convenient and quick since they now have customs and immigration at the marina, we’re official!
The hotel where the marina is (hotel Bahia del Sol) is colorful and well maintained. For a small daily fee we get the use of the pool, facilities, and discounts at the bar and restaurant.
There’s even a pair of tame macaws that live in a big tree next to the office:
That’s enough for now, we’ll explore the surrounding area and report on our findings next blog.
Cheers,
Carolynn & Tom
Still enjoying your blogs and hearing about your trip.
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