S/V WAHOO: May 2021

Quarantine Over!

Wow, its been over a year since I blogged! What's happened in a nutshell is we were locked down during early covid when Guatemala closed its seaport. After several months they figured out a way to let in the 100+ boats that normally call the Rio home. We came in a few at a time and quarantined at our home marina. Wahoo, AltaMae and Patience (best friends to go through lockdown with) arrived at Tortugal July 2, after an overnight sail from Roatan. We were out of quarantine on July 16th and flew back to the states on July 24. We were in New Orleans doing our Covid thing until we left on January 31 to fly back to Tortugal February 1. Oh and did I mention I have blue hair!

Garcia

Pablo

Tortugal Pups, just over 1 year old. Replacement for our beloved Jefe. This is a breed found in Guatemala which is a Boxer-Dalmation mix. They sure remind Roy & I of all the Dalmatians we owned.

While we were away two hurricanes blew through Central America. The Rio Dulce is a safe hurricane hole, but even so the rains raised the river so high it was more than 3ft above the docks! Through it all the marina staff kept our boats safe. We couldn’t ask for a better marina. The water is clean enough for swimming. It’s both on the river and sort of in the jungle. The wooden docks where our boats are berthed give a great river view and terrific breezes in the afternoon. But nothing beats the staff here, from the dock team to the restaurant crew and let’s not forget to mention the hotel ladies. The staff seems to think that caring for their visitors is paramount. A nice change from when we’re out sailing and are often on our own.

The jungle walks at Tortugal

Wahoo at home

Roy and I arrived back at Tortugal on February 1, 2021. This was our longest stay in the US since we left New Orleans in early 2012. Due to COVID we spent just a few hours in Houston with John Edward and Laura. It’s been way too long since we’ve had time with them. Normally our return to Wahoo means a month or less of boat chores and then we’re off to do some sailing. This year we’ve been in the marina for nearly 4 months. Most cruising friends either are not coming to their boats or popping in for a short time to check on things and then returning to wherever home is. We’ve spent the time getting lots of ongoing and deferred maintenance done.

Of course, fun times have ensued. New Orleans people have to celebrate Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest. There was a great group at Tortugal for my King Cake and Jambalaya. We even managed a few costumes. We had Pot Luck in the work shed, nightly happy hour gatherings, a trip to the city to meet up with Shelley and Kent (AltaMae) while we went to the dentist and did a little sightseeing. Roy even arranged a lovely Mother’s Day event, and Dreamcatcher Restaurant owner, Liesel, provided the champagne. There were innumerable hellos and goodbyes as friends came and went.

"Festing in Place" on Wahoo

Dinghy drifting under a pink moon

All the mothers at Dreamcatcher's

Happy Hour & Cruisers

The absolute highlight was the boat-billed herons that we watched for over a week. Our uninformed decision was that we had 3 nesting pairs. It was a Happy Hour ritual to take our drinks and walk to where we could usually see them.

Here's a professional picture

Boat Billed Heron at Tortugal

Lots of maintenance issues where addressed. A "hanging locker" that was only fit to hang infant clothes was refitted and is now great, a new mattress for the V-Berth was installed and another for the Aft Cabin is ordered. The interior is now completely re-varnished (thanks to Byron and his dock team). Wahoo got hauled out and had her packing gland refurbished, ouch! Also seacocks got checked. Don’t want those guys to fail when we’re out sailing the ocean blue. She also got her stripes redone and her sides washed and waxed. A complete bottom job will wait until later this summer.

While others exercised more, Roy and I did have our M-W-F routine of boat exercise and stretches. We also walked on the marina trails and through the cocoa and teak plantation that adjoins it. My favorite exercise will always be noodling at sea, thank you to Willie Haskins on SV Liahona-she wrote the book on that, lol). The river is perfect for all kinds of noodling!

fields of bird of paradise

Cocoa Trees

Teak Mill

Finally we decided to shake out the sails and take the old girl out for a bit. We needed to change out the radar cable which meant a trip downriver to Cayo Quemado to see Tom the rigger and sailmaker. Tom had to pull the mast for that job. We wanted him, rather than the local boatyard to do this. Tom is an expert rigger and we’d certainly rather have him putting everything back together than anyone else. And… now we’re so close to Livingston why not cross the bar and spend what little time is left before hurricane season sailing around Belize.