Looking toward the Honduran mainland from Utila.
We really enjoy Utila and always find it hard to leave there. The anchorage in the Bay is excellent if you find a good spot. There is protection from wind and swells from southeast to west. South and west are open but generally winds from those directions are light and the reefs knock down most of the swell. The prevailing winds usually range from southeast to northeast, so it affords good protection. The holding ground consists of a lot of grass and marl. But there are many sand patches that provide excellent holding. We found one our first time here and we keep going back to it and our anchor digs in well. On our return to Utila it held in a squall with winds up to 45 kts with no problem.
At Bush's Fuel Dock topping off fuel and water.
After my long and late day of diving we took a refresh day to get ready to cross to Roatan. My diving class ended with a night dive on Wednesday the 27th so we really couldn't head out Thursday. It’s just over 20 miles upwind between Utila and Roatan but the seas can be rough especially if the wind is up, so we needed to be prepared. Our original plan was to sail to the Cayos Cochinos National Park from Utila but we were encouraged by several friends in Roatan to head over there so we could party together.
A beautiful and clear morning with a nice view of the mountains on the Honduran mainland.
We stopped by the fuel dock at Bush’s to top off with fuel and water because water sources are hard to come by on Roatan. The roughly 20-mile passage to Roatan was uneventful. Wind was very light and of course on our nose so we motored the 3+ hours and were able to find a mooring to tie on to. Then let the party begin.
Ok, we made it.
When we got to Roatan many of our friends were already there. We started with a huge dinner the night we arrived, and it went on from there. Dinner was at a nice little restaurant known as Dola’s specializing in its Creole Chicken. All the food is good and reasonable. We each buy a half chicken and sides and take home half the chicken for other meals. We also save the bones and make soup. Not to mention the parrots that like french fries.
One of the first days we got there we went to Sundowners for Happy Hour and watch the tourists try to get sunset pictures.
We had not seen our good friends on Double Up, Tom and Trish since we visited them in Puerto Vallarta for Thanksgiving. Tom and Trish are also diving partners for me and over the course of the next 2 months or so we did more than a dozen dives together. We also spent many meals and happy hours together. In addition to being a great friend we all thank Trish for her insight in donating money to the Roatan Marine Park to establish new moorings in the West End for cruising boats in order to protect the reef and the Turtle Grass.
Sun setting off the West End. With the increase in haze no green flashes.
The Roatan Marine Park has made huge strides in recent years to protect and enhance the barrier reef around the island. Through their efforts the reef has been rejuvenated with lots of new coral growth, fish populations recovering and an abundance of turtles almost everywhere on the reef. Hopefully, the Park's efforts will continue and thrive although many cruisers have been unwilling to support the Park. They fail to make donations for the moorings, they poach shellfish and anchor in the lagoon to "avoid" the obligation to make a donation while they tear up the grass and enjoy the Park's benefits.
One of many dinners at the Beach House with friends. This night it was Double Up, MangoJam and Mikhaya. I think we were celebrating Friday night.
This year an Ocean Cruising Club rally brought many boats to the West End who happily took moorings and failed to donate to the Park. Cruisers with these attitudes are the reason many people resent us. Give so you may receive is an ancient credo. Unfortunately, in our modern world it has been replaced with "take all I can." Sorry for the bit of editorializing but selfish cruisers that view themselves as enlightened are not.
Another great place was Elefante Azul for Thai food. We ate there often and always had an order of their spring rolls.
After spending 2 weeks in Utila we spent most of the next 3 months in Roatan's West End diving and enjoying meals and happy hours with our friends. Dive, lunch, nap, happy hour: became our lifestyle. It’s very easy to let it happen.
Trico Tuesday at Jonesville with live entertainment and specials on food and drink.
On the dock at Jonesville.
Everyone goes to Roatan for the diving. Roatan is a big island, about 30 miles long and probably 5 miles across at the widest point with a barrier reef around the entire island. It offers lots of wall diving, swim throughs, coral reefs for snorkeling and sand patches with rays and sea horses. Did I
On one trip east a friend got a picture of us as we passed them on a broad reach.
mention the turtles? We did very few dives with seeing at least 1 turtle. They were around the boat everyday. The notable marine life that showed up on most dives included turtles, eagle rays, spotted eagle rays, stingrays, barracuda, tarpon, crabs, lobsters, huge groupers, eels of all sort, puffer fish, stone fish, jacks and an occasional lionfish. Lionfish have been heavily hunted and fed to the eels and groupers. Now all they need to do is learn they can eat them without being speared first.
A dinner at Lotus Restaurant with Double Up and Mikhaya the night before Mikhaya left to take their boat back to the US.
But we can’t play all the time, so we did spend a week in Jonesville, Marina that gave me a chance to do some boat chores and leave with a full tank of water. Jonesville is farther east on the south side of the island and offers excellent protection and fun places to hang-out. While there I was able to clean the boat with fresh water, service the generator, do lots of other cleaning and enjoy the wonderful life at Trico grill. The time there went faster than we wanted and slightly less productive than hoped. When we're in a marina it's easy to fall into a mindset of doing it later. But later never comes.
View from our table at Ibigari celebrating Mothers Day with Double Up and MangoJam.
Mother's Day Brunch under the almond tree.
During the time we were in Roatan I added training and completed 4 additional diving certifications. I completed deep diving, wreck diving, nitrox and self-reliant diving specialties. The self-reliant diving specialty was extremely challenging. The point is to learn how to dive prepared for all known contingencies such as air loss, mask loss, entanglements, surviving at depth and safely returning to the surface. The first big challenge was reestablishing neutral buoyancy with all the additional
Linda and our friend Trish on Big French Cay.
equipment needed including an additional tank. The course consisted of lots of mask changes, breathing changes and navigating through underwater obstacles to return to the boat safely. The final exam consisted of developing a diving plan, executing it and returning to the boat within the designated time with the full amount of reserve air in the primary tank. That’s not as easy as it sounds. The first effort I got back to where the boat was correctly but swam right under it and didn’t see it. But the second time it worked.
On a dive. Photo taken by Ryan Klepper.
In the 3 months we were in the Bay Islands I got to do 50 dives and Linda snorkeled many of them. It's nice having dive shops close by that will fill your tanks and let you rinse your gear in their tubs after your dive. We were lucky enough to have a good relationship with Roatan Divers to do all that and I dove with them and used them for my training. Probably the most complete and professional group on Roatan.
The cove at Big French Cay.
There is so much to do and see on Roatan many cruisers spend their entire season there. There are anchorages and coves along both sides of the island that offer protection and great diving and snorkeling opportunities. For cruisers there is excellent provisioning. There is a local supermarket chain called Eldon’s that offers almost everything most US markets have including an in-store bakery and prepared foods. There are many food items we can’t find anywhere else in Central America but we can find them there. There are fuel docks where gasoline and diesel are available but the great thing besides diving is the nightlife.
Dinner at the Beach House with Trish and Tom along with Erin and Kara from Vela.
Like Utila, Roatan has lots of great bars and restaurants. Because the islands were originally British, almost everyone speaks English, so our nascent Spanish gets little chance for improvement. Although we have had taxi drivers that spoke little or no English and we were able to communicate effectively. Well we got to where we were going and back without an issue.
Having lunch in Roatan and watching our grandson Alex graduate in Wilkes Barre, PA.
Roatan has some petty theft issues. But we kept things secured and didn’t have an issue. We heard from others about items being stolen but in each instance, there was no security. All the people are friendly and helpful making for an enjoyable visit.
Farewell dinner at Ibigari for our friends Mikahya the night before they left to take their boat back to the States to sell it.
Cocktails before dinner at Lotus with Trish, Katie and Linda.
Sort of a farewell dinner at Lotus Restaurant for Trish and Tom heading back to the Rio and we're heading to Guanaja.
Before we left Roatan we did get a break in the weather to head east to Guanaja for a week before the weather drove us back to the West End. Weather is always an important concern in cruising and the weather this year has been better than last year but in the West End of Roatan north or west winds
Happy hour on Amekaya one Saturday afternoon for homemade Sangria with 14 people. What a fun time. Crews from Amekaya, Double Up L'agniappe,Mikhaya, Moody Mistress, Moondance and Starship II.
are an issue. Twice we rode west winds to go east to avoid getting slammed in the mooring field. But for most of the season the trade winds have been unrelenting. Any winds under 15 kts have been a respite. The West End offers great protection from easterly trade winds so even though it may be blowing 25 kts the anchorage is calm and diving on the reef isn’t uncomfortable.
Port Royal, Roatan on our way to Guanaja.
Since getting to Roatan we wanted to sail over to Guanaja, the third major Bay Island. Guanaja is even harder to get to making it the least visited of the islands so the scenery is even better. Catching a lull in the trades we headed east as our friends Tom and Trish were preparing to go back to the Rio. So with calm winds we headed further east.
Another Roatan Sunset
No comments:
Post a Comment