To Providencia
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Sat 19 Jan 2013 23:44
An Interesting Ride to Providencia,
Colombia
Just as we were about to pull out of
Brooksy Point Marina, Roatan, this chap swam past. We
took him as a good omen and it appealed to me to put him in in black and white.
So prehistoric looking.
For the first time Beez Neez joined a
small fleet, boats that had been waiting (as is the norm) for a weather window
all decided to head out at ten en masse. Sirena of Oare and Beez were the
monohull entries, Double Helix, Le Chat Beaute,
Nauti-Nauti (catamarans) and later joining us from Guanaja – Ingenium.
Beez falling in behind the bunch. Allen (Jack Nicholson lookalike on Nauti-Nauti)
soon became Comms Director and for the first few hours we all joined him on Ch
69 for a chat. This was good for all of us all as the group considered this to
be our first ‘proper’ session of the season and to hear friendly chatter was
very morale boosting. Every hour Bear was still pulling a little water from our
diesel drain. At one point he emptied all the water and fuel out of the Racor
filter and had to replace the diesel – an engine
stop of twenty minutes. Had Bear not been able to cure us, it was nice to know
we had people willing us on. Had it not happened we would have finished third
instead of fourth, but who’s counting.......
As soon as we had cleared Roatan the
normal trio of waves from left a la Caribbean Sea –
the term lively covers it.
One reef in the main and genoa, engine
keeping us right for our first sunset. Chats every
three hours.
Sunrise saw
some interesting squalls forming but between times
very pleasant
Visits from friends
Beez smiled all the way. When it did
rain it was heavy but short lived
Bear enjoying
himself, we even had a rainbow (Le Chat Beaute
on the horizon) and our second sunset
The others in the fleet generally
tucked things down to a steady five-ish knots overnight, but Beez being Beez was
happiest around seven point two and snuck up on the leaders during the dark
hours only to be left behind when the cats let out more sail during the day. We
were chuffed but realised our sea legs have all but gone. Well when you consider six months on the Rio Dulce and the
previous year on the ICW on duck pond smooth water we can’t expect anything
else. No captain. Well all I can say is getting out of bed, cleaning
teeth and getting out to the cockpit for duty was a twenty minute operation –
gaily gathering bruises as I went.
Jan and Ewa
- pronounced Yan and Eva (both Polish, now of Vancouver, Canada and
smashing, gentle folks) had pictures of Double Helix
under sail but not of their very own with them at the helm. They asked if I
could take some and I was more than happy to oblige. These tinkers left slowly,
went along steadily, cut the corner in amongst the reefs, took off at speed and
arrived first. Well Done.
Similar business of night and day. I had had a really uneventful 02:00 till
05:30, just thinking bed at six would be wonderful when a cheeky little thirty
six knot squall slid in. Thankfully it was over in a few minutes but it made the
James Patterson I was listening too seem a little less exciting
somehow.
Providencia
comes into sight
New flag,
even I got to hold it this time.
The guide book says, line up by the
sea buoy, head straight for Split
Hill that the locals call Morgan’s Ass and settle in the harbour. Fleet all in safely. Our
journey was three hundred and eighty four nautical miles in seventy eight hours
and twenty minutes or three nights and four days. Not bad at all.
As the sky
darkened with rain once more, we all went to find Mr. Bush, Bush when you
know him of Bush Agency. He had assembled all the various ‘officials’ and the
great game of logging in began. The guide book said
this process would be easy and inexpensive. It was indeed easy with everyone
welcoming us to their island but just shy of a hundred pounds, we didn’t think
it cheap.
The hubbub
was so very funny. “Have you got a pen” “How many crew lists have you got” “How
long you stay”
There may have been a little more
seating but there were one or two things in the way.
Bush’s office end of the room was quite neat,
complete with Brother typewriter.
I got to read Eric’s tee-shirt
Formalities done, it was time for a Fleet Beer
O’Clock, only to wait for Bush to find us at six with our
Passports
Bush – the man himself.
Bear posed by a
happy wall. The black crabs live in the hills and wander down to lay
their eggs each April and May.
Crabs
everywhere, no complaints from me as we all wend our way to our respective nests tired but
happy.
.
ALL IN ALL AN EXCELLENT
SHAKE-DOWN TRIP
CRACKING
SAIL |