Honduras, Guanaja – We are back- Sometimes things just don’t go as planned

The best laid plans of mice and men

THE SHORT STORY

I would love to say that we decided not to leave. It would all be so much simpler. But we did. Off we went into the storm only to have to come back again. We beat up the boat and the crew only to return again at Guanaja Cay.

Some would say we were unlucky to have gear failures, but I think we were lucky to have been in a position to return and get back safe and sound.

THE LONG STORY

DECIDING WHETHER TO LEAVE OR NOT. WE HAVE ALL FACED THIS DELEMA AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.

I should have known that the sound of wind and rain outside my window was a bad sign. The humans were hoping to leave the anchorage before the northly front reached the islands. ‘It could be just a squall blowing through ahead of the front’ I heard from one of the humans. But they both knew perhaps they had missed their opportunity to get ahead of the winds.

The humans chose to be optimistic. Wet weather gear on, and out on deck to get the boat ready for a 5 day beating down to the San Blas Islands. They were already running late. Chris Parker could be heard below fielding questions about the change in the forecast. So much can change in a day.

We were left with a dilemma. Leave now or we would have to wait a week, 2 weeks, maybe even 3 weeks for another weather window. But was the front stronger and moving faster than predicted? Could this be a lot tougher passage than we planned? Looking up at the squally weather cascading down the volcanic mountains of the island it was impossible to tell.

The predicted wind had been west to north-west building from 10 knots during the day to 30+ by the night. We were experiencing something different. Instead we were getting south west winds at 20 knots. All the boats anchored off the north shore were getting bounced around as a chop developed across the harbour. Was this the front itself arriving early or squalls running ahead of the front?

SOONER OF LATER YOU HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION

It is true. Sometimes you just have to make a decision and hope it is the best one. You already know that the humans decided to go.

They had already gotten all the safety gear in place for the planned strong winds in the evening, so they were ready to go. They had the main (fully reefed) up before exiting the protective reef and put a ‘touch’ of Genoa out once the course was set due east.

The rough ride started right away. The southerly running seas on the shallow banks around Guanaja tossed the good ship Spirit of Argo around like a top. It settled a bit as we got into the deeper water, but we were still getting regular waves breaking on the side of the boat and bowling her over or spinning her like a top to broad side. Thankfully the winds were slowly turning more and more west.

We did not get any pictures for you. Sorry a bit busy. But the front went through the Bahamas first and Rosie got some good pictures on anchor. Check out the link for ‘Wandering Star’ on the homepage.

WHEN THINGS STARTED TO GO WRONG

The action of the waves was very hard on the auto-helm. About 3 hours out, the auto-helm ‘gave up’. The humans thought that it was just overheated, and needed a break. They hand steered for the next hour. But it did not help. With one on the helm the other human tried to track down the fault.

Now, I am not too sure how many of you out there have ever worked on systems on a boat. But imagine having to work in a cramped area, with little light, with loose objects being thrown at you while you are tossed about. It is not so easy! Not surprising an obvious solution was not at hand. The smell of burnt wiring around to motor section was not a good sign at all.

DECISION TIME AGAIN

1. Do we try to undertake repairs at sea?

The humans are not ‘complete idiots’ all the time. Before they left England the idea of hand steering all the way across the Atlantic had not appealed to them. They had invested in an extensive supply of spares JUST IN CASE of this exact situation. But, like most things you do not use regularly, the spares had been moved to one of the most inaccessible corners. And, of course, the auto-helm itself was not in a good place to work. Under the bed, with the only access from the front, we were going to have to dig out all the tool boxes and climb over spare anchors to work on it.  If it ‘had to be done’ we could do it. But with the present sea state, and even stronger winds predicted through the night. Did we really want to do that?

2. We could hand steer for the rest of the trip.

It would take about 5 days to get down to San Blas. With one person trapped on the helm that would leave only one person to deal with everything above and below deck alone. With the rough weather predicted some tasks would be quite difficult alone, including poling out the Genoa. What if something went wrong? Did I want to leave only one human to deal with it?

I had one human still on the mend. That left all the ‘heavy lifting’ to the other human. Perhaps not the best choice?

3. Should we head back to port? We were just at the point of no return. If we were lucky we could make it back before the light was gone. You need light to spot the channel markers that cut thought the reefs that surround Guanaja.

But turning around and bashing straight back into the waves is not pleasant. Besides beating up the boat it was going to be seriously slow the headway.  It would take twice as long to get back as it took to get here. This would be a horrible rough ride if we chose this option.

HEADING BACK TO GUANAJA

With ‘one man down’ the humans decided that heading back to port was the safest option. Although the next 8 hours back to Guanaja were miserable the boat and crew preformed well. Sea water found a way into the boat through every crack and crevice. The ski googles finally earned their price of passage. The sea nicked a few pieces of the new bow roller and did a good job of tangling up the anchor chain, but the humans managed to get back into port and anchored with the last of the dying light. A fresh water rinse and a hot meal and we all felt a little more human (or dog) again.

NOW WHAT

Boat repairs AGAIN.

Told you this cruising life style is just repairing your boat in exotic locations. The whole master cabin is ripped apart. Cushions and off cuts of plywood fill the companionway. Tool boxes and anchors fill the cockpit. The humans have already traced the fault down to the motor.  They think?

A call out to the anchored boats produced a bolt with the right thread that saved the bow roller. A bit of ‘lock tight’ should stop the sea stealing it again.

So now it is getting the old auto-helm motor out and the new one in and rewired. Once that is done and the system is tested and recalibrated we should be good to have a go again. We do need to inspect the entire system to see if there is a reason why it failed.

Just have to hope another weather window presents itself again soon.

It could have been worse!