Fw: Off the Nicaraguan coast dodging squalls at 2 am in the morning
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Tue 12 Oct 2010 18:38
Distance to destination 21 nM
Location: 11:10.194N 86:00.929W
Speed: 6.8 knots motor sailing
Conditions: Sun out, 15 knots off the land, short chop making the going bouncy, well seams to have reduced
The morning broke at 5 am, I was making my way through a squall line which I have been able to avoid all squalls all night. Sean came up at 5.30 am and both went aft to put out the fishing line, we passed a turtle swimming by. We had put in the first 2 lines and before we had put in the trailing bird we had already caught a fish, and travly Jack. We turned around and we had a massive school of dolphins playing around us and to east the sky line over the coast was orange and yellow as the sun rose and peered through the coastal clouds.
We were kept busy for the next 2 hours bring 7 fish, Sean was now handling one of the lines by him self and brought in 2 bonito, he was very happy. Alex and Tracy joined us at 8, as we passing the morning pangas out here at 6 miles off the coast, where they have long lines. I had been warned about this and had been dodging around them all morning, but we could now see them haul in, but they barely marked and there is no way I would have seen them at night, so good chance I came close to many.
Tracy had a shower off the back, a pleasure I enjoy no one else about a nice breeze as the sun comes through and the day heats up, Alex has his blow up bath tub in the cockpit and is happy playing, I had gone down for a couple of hours sleep. We now in the bay horse shoe bay at the top of Costa Rica it is about 40 nM across and is well know for very strong winds and chop. We are happy with the wind it is 15 except at 30 degrees off the nose, but the chop is short and makes for a bit of of bouncing as we move across. I was able to make water so we have topped off tanks on entering the final bay. Santa Elena is a bay within a bay, and is meant to be really calm. I have my water maker filters which are full of silt from the estuaries tied to a rope and being dragged behind, we will see how that does for a first pass cleaning.
It is good to get these first 2 long legs behind us, get the boat back into cruising mode as the next couple of weeks should be short day legs.
Expect to be in mid afternoon, and then a dive over board into I hope clear water.