Holed up

We were at a nice and secluded anchorage for the past couple days enjoying some peace and quiet, even getting a few things done around the boat. Early this morning thunderstorms began rolling in and with it 30 knots of wind, contrary to our forecast of 5 knots. Because the forecast was for settled weather we anchored in an exposed area to get as much breeze over the boat as we could. Because of the high wind speed the miles of water beyond our bow started to build a pretty steep fetch and we started bouncing around like a cork. Very uncomfortable. So we decided that we would move to the anchorage off of Bocas Marina as we need to be there Monday anyway to pick up our new batteries.

Well, that didn't quite work out as we expected. Once the anchor was up I was motoring straight into the wind and at full throttle I was barely able to maintain 1 knot. It would have taken hours to make the short trip. What we hadn't realized is that there was a current pushing against us which must have been 4.5 to 5 knots.

Our first option was to turn and head downwind. The problem with that is we would have had 30 knots of wind and a 5 knot current pushing us so maintaining steerage and a slow speed into unknown waters would have been difficult. We felt this option was much too dangerous. Had we run aground it would have been impossible to back up into the elements.

Our second option was to quickly drop anchor and stay where we were. It was too uncomfortable with the boat pitching up and down into the seas. And the seas would only build as the day progressed so not a good option.

We decided to take options three. With the anchor already up and us making only 1 knots into the wind and seas I decided to make a 90 degree turn to starboard (right turn) and head into the mangroves. The timing was perfect as the rain eased up and the sun poked out from behind the clouds just enough for me to see the shoals. We navigated our way through a couple shoals and found refuge in this beautiful little bay, just big enough for maybe two boats. The water is flat, there is no current to speak of and we have mangroves protecting us about 320 degrees around us. Pretty sweet.

The down side is that none of this weather is in the forecast and we have no idea how long this will last. We're supposed to pick up our new batteries from Bocas Marina on Monday at 10am, weather permitting of course. We're hoping that the weather settles either later today or tomorrow because we really need the new batteries, living off of four mediocre ones isn't fun. And before we go pick up the batteries we need to get gas from town so that we can take the dingy to the marina and so that we can run the generator and make sure our new batteries are fully charged. So much to do before we head over to Bocas Marina.

Anyway, at least we're comfortable for the time being!

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com