Monday, April 4, 2011

Bonjour from French Cay Harbour, Roatan

We are now in French Cay Harbour, in Spanish speaking Honduras, on the islands formerly known as British Honduras. It was a lovely sail from Cayos Cochinos (about 22 miles). We did sail almost the entire way on a close reach doing over six knots and at times hitting 7.5 knots. The seas and winds did pick up as the day wore on and as we came to the entrance of French Harbour, it was hootin!

We worked our way over the corals and sand patches and found a great sandy patch to anchor. Michael dove it and it was a perfect set in nice silty sand. That was good because the wind started to really pick up. We watched an Island Packet sailboat drag and we held firm. All night it continued to blow over 20 knots, hitting 28-29k at points. We are settled behind a reef so the seas weren't bad, but there was just enough fetch to give us a little rocking, rolling and wave slapping against the hull.

As cruising is a series of "howdies and so longs" it was nice to have a reunion with some old friends Lynn and Byron from the lovely motor yacht "Voyager". We anchored near them so as they were heading back to their boat after a day of adventure, we flagged them down and they came aboard for a beer. It was nice to reconnect as we hadn't seen them since Grenada. We had done an inland tour with them in Guadeloupe so it was really nice to visit and hear about their adventures over the last few years. They are heading the same way as us now, so we should be seeing them over the next few months at least.

While still in Cayos Cochinos, Michael did some sewing projects. We got the big headsail down and on the forward deck with sewing machine, he did a sail repair. Then (Lorna you'll love hearing this), he actually made two of the three seat cushion covers for outside. Lorna and Dave brought us this cool, wild fabric to cover the vinyl cushions and Michael sewed them up. They look very cool and feel quite nice on the butt! We got some big cleaning projects completed as well and even managed a bit of visiting and snorkeling. We like the Cayos Cochinos – it was very peaceful and remote.

And, because it is so remote there, we came to Roatan to get a few things done before Kathryn and Mark arrive. We need some propane, to load some minutes on our phone card, maybe some diesel and some provisions. Then, we'll wait and hear what our guests final plans are and whether or not we'll head back to La Ceiba to get them.

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