Leaving Guatemala~ Round 2

Hoping to break the bungee cord that snaps us back to the dock...

An oft repeated scene at Mario's Marina: dockbound sailors wave goodbye to their fellow yachties looking longingly and possibly enviously to the escapees who are off on an adventure. Air kisses are blown, fair winds are wished, lines are cast-off and the boat leaves the dock, crew waving joyously as they head down river toward the Caribbean. As the wayward boat becomes a small white spot in the distance, suddenly it begins to grow larger. Oh my god, it's coming back...to the marina.

What is it this time? Faulty instrumentation, engine making a funny sound, diesel fuel in the bilge, depth gauge on the fritz. Whatever it is, the boat is back at the dock with a new list of problems to be sorted out before attempting to break the umbilical bungee cord again. This is the cruel but humorous reality of the cruising life. In fact, some people never leave the dock and are perfectly happy figuring out what to do with all the free time. But free time quickly becomes a new boat project, followed by another boat project and so it goes.

We are ever optimistic that we will cast off our lines today and head back to that nasty sandbar where we recently came to grief. We will wait for the highest of tides and the calmest of seas before venturing out. Once bitten, naive. Twice bitten, stupid. Stay tuned to find out if we really make it this time.

The happy, but much poorer captain, with the crew of Abel's Boatyard prior to re-launching

Brand new rudder post and skeg pre-launch on March 10