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Bahia Del Sol
Our Stay in Bahia Del sol was really good fun, Beautiful anchorage, Nice people Great boatyard that I had the pleasure
of hauling in for a bottom job and a rudder rebuild and only an hour by bus to San Salvador, So after a 6 week relaxing
stay we prepare to leave. No net today, a net is where fellow cruisers past and present get together on the vhf and yak
about things happening around the area and stuff. Well its Saturday, so no exciting shit to listen to on the radio but it
is the day we theoretically leave the beautiful palm and mangrove anchorage here in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador and
head out the exciting bar entrance which has not been too friendly for the last week. So after a relaxing instant coffee
my favorite we start securing the boat for a possible 10 ft wave over the bow, now thats not a nice thought, We got
15.8 knots on a wave on the way in not bad for a boat with hull speed of 7.4kn. Secured life raft and anything else that
could go for a hike. We can only leave on the top of the tide which is about 2:30 pm as we draw a newly discovered
7ft.On the way out the harbor to check the entrance in my dingy it starts to piss down so being Irish I head for cover in
the Hotel bar. Not so typical I want a coffee as its lashing down rain and cold about 14c, after waiting for a bit where it
rained the same in 20 minutes as a really wet 24hrs in little ol Ireland so I said fec it and headed out. On the inside of
the bar was calmer than usual but maybe because of the rain or that the bar was closed making the inside like a fish
pond. Then going out further you could see the Entrance breaking over the surf line with surf at around the 14f t mark
So I waited to see if there was enough time between sets..sh*t bang bang boom boom they kept on just like a house I
know in Amsterdam from my Moonduster days. So I headed back and when going past the hotel I saw the immigration
guy was waiting for me, so I legged it back to the boat to get my visa restamped and to change into dry shorts
(number 2)As soon as I got 200 ft from the bleeding boat the heavens opened again and soaked me in 30 seconds.
When I got to the Dock the immigration guy must have felt guilty as I looked like a drowned rat, I waited for him to
check the passports etc and in the mean time I froze my nuts off (not his fault he is a nice guy) but I am standing
there soaking with wind now around the 30 kn mark and my hands are bledin blue I look up and on the TV the world
cup is on and they are showing Munich and the fans overheated in the 28c there popping their boobs out to show the
country flag painted in body paint and there me not so far from the equator and i am bleeding freezin, I get my
passport and head back to the boat. Zory has a nice warm coffee ready and dry shorts (number 3)The wind is up now
so I talk to friends on the Vhf and ask them to have a look around their boats at the others and to see how they are
doing I think the yacht Angel is dragging;I heard, Though thinking this was a joke I poked my head out and there she
was doing 4 knots towards the sand bar. I jumped in my dingy and asked Zory to let the other cruisers what was up.
The dingy didnt take too long but Angel had already gone about a quarter of a mile in a few minutes so I jumped on
board checked for gorge the owner no one on board so I ran up to the bow and checked the anchoring gear about 250 ft
more scope sat on a spindle but I also saw a big fisherman anchor complete with chain so I ripped the wire securing
the anchor with my hands but after the day so far my hands were like a babies so I ripped them also. Got the anchor
together and over the side and fed it so It would hold first time as we had about 1 minute more before the shallows or
another anchored boat . It held yeehaa and then I saw the troops arrive including the owner. After explaining to the
owner what gear was down I headed back to my boat but now my dingy was laden down with rainwater and the waves
were a bit bigger so it took a while. When I got back to my boat Celtic Dancer Zory had a cup of coffee and a towel as
I had no shorts well it is probably a face cloth because it is the smallest towel i have ever seen. I begin to dry off and
as soon as I sit down I hear andante (Spanish for help) I jump into the cockpit and see two pangas (Fishing launches)
heading for my bow I run up to the bow to see whats up and I see a guy hanging onto my anchor chain and with the 3
ft wave action was not having a good time. I ran back to my boat in my tea towel and jumped back into my dingy and
chased after the guy who was now being washed down stream. I got him along side and now problem number got
knows how to pull a 160 lb man into the dingy and hold onto my tea towel at the same time Ahh fec it so I grab the
guy from the water and the fishermen got to see a bit of Irish Flesh. So I brought him back to shore whilst the
fishermen recovered his canoe.I went back to my boat and had a coffee but this time put in a Tot of Donegal Irish
Poteen2 days later I was to discover why the locals were only interested in recovering his canoe and not the guy as
about 7 people over that 48 hrs asked me why I pulled him out as he was a warlock ( a male Witch that had been
casting bad spells on the islanders for years. Maybe he will cast a good spell on me and give me back my hair yee haa
Our Stay in Bahia Del sol was really good fun, Beautiful anchorage, Nice people Great boatyard that I had the pleasure
of hauling in for a bottom job and a rudder rebuild and only an hour by bus to San Salvador, So after a 6 week relaxing
stay we prepare to leave. No net today, a net is where fellow cruisers past and present get together on the vhf and yak
about things happening around the area and stuff. Well its Saturday, so no exciting shit to listen to on the radio but it
is the day we theoretically leave the beautiful palm and mangrove anchorage here in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador and
head out the exciting bar entrance which has not been too friendly for the last week. So after a relaxing instant coffee
my favorite we start securing the boat for a possible 10 ft wave over the bow, now thats not a nice thought, We got
15.8 knots on a wave on the way in not bad for a boat with hull speed of 7.4kn. Secured life raft and anything else that
could go for a hike. We can only leave on the top of the tide which is about 2:30 pm as we draw a newly discovered
7ft.On the way out the harbor to check the entrance in my dingy it starts to piss down so being Irish I head for cover in
the Hotel bar. Not so typical I want a coffee as its lashing down rain and cold about 14c, after waiting for a bit where it
rained the same in 20 minutes as a really wet 24hrs in little ol Ireland so I said fec it and headed out. On the inside of
the bar was calmer than usual but maybe because of the rain or that the bar was closed making the inside like a fish
pond. Then going out further you could see the Entrance breaking over the surf line with surf at around the 14f t mark
So I waited to see if there was enough time between sets..sh*t bang bang boom boom they kept on just like a house I
know in Amsterdam from my Moonduster days. So I headed back and when going past the hotel I saw the immigration
guy was waiting for me, so I legged it back to the boat to get my visa restamped and to change into dry shorts
(number 2)As soon as I got 200 ft from the bleeding boat the heavens opened again and soaked me in 30 seconds.
When I got to the Dock the immigration guy must have felt guilty as I looked like a drowned rat, I waited for him to
check the passports etc and in the mean time I froze my nuts off (not his fault he is a nice guy) but I am standing
there soaking with wind now around the 30 kn mark and my hands are bledin blue I look up and on the TV the world
cup is on and they are showing Munich and the fans overheated in the 28c there popping their boobs out to show the
country flag painted in body paint and there me not so far from the equator and i am bleeding freezin, I get my
passport and head back to the boat. Zory has a nice warm coffee ready and dry shorts (number 3)The wind is up now
so I talk to friends on the Vhf and ask them to have a look around their boats at the others and to see how they are
doing I think the yacht Angel is dragging;I heard, Though thinking this was a joke I poked my head out and there she
was doing 4 knots towards the sand bar. I jumped in my dingy and asked Zory to let the other cruisers what was up.
The dingy didnt take too long but Angel had already gone about a quarter of a mile in a few minutes so I jumped on
board checked for gorge the owner no one on board so I ran up to the bow and checked the anchoring gear about 250 ft
more scope sat on a spindle but I also saw a big fisherman anchor complete with chain so I ripped the wire securing
the anchor with my hands but after the day so far my hands were like a babies so I ripped them also. Got the anchor
together and over the side and fed it so It would hold first time as we had about 1 minute more before the shallows or
another anchored boat . It held yeehaa and then I saw the troops arrive including the owner. After explaining to the
owner what gear was down I headed back to my boat but now my dingy was laden down with rainwater and the waves
were a bit bigger so it took a while. When I got back to my boat Celtic Dancer Zory had a cup of coffee and a towel as
I had no shorts well it is probably a face cloth because it is the smallest towel i have ever seen. I begin to dry off and
as soon as I sit down I hear andante (Spanish for help) I jump into the cockpit and see two pangas (Fishing launches)
heading for my bow I run up to the bow to see whats up and I see a guy hanging onto my anchor chain and with the 3
ft wave action was not having a good time. I ran back to my boat in my tea towel and jumped back into my dingy and
chased after the guy who was now being washed down stream. I got him along side and now problem number got
knows how to pull a 160 lb man into the dingy and hold onto my tea towel at the same time Ahh fec it so I grab the
guy from the water and the fishermen got to see a bit of Irish Flesh. So I brought him back to shore whilst the
fishermen recovered his canoe.I went back to my boat and had a coffee but this time put in a Tot of Donegal Irish
Poteen2 days later I was to discover why the locals were only interested in recovering his canoe and not the guy as
about 7 people over that 48 hrs asked me why I pulled him out as he was a warlock ( a male Witch that had been
casting bad spells on the islanders for years. Maybe he will cast a good spell on me and give me back my hair yee haa
El Salvador
At marina Puesta Del sol we met with good friends, Patrick and Paula on barefoot we sailed here with barefoot, Jerry &
Joni on Lotus, Jeremy & Danni from Thulany, Mark and Dyane with Con ti Partiro, we had week relaxing, though
bordering on boring, but we were getting hit by squalls every night and the lightening was pretty impressive. One of
the owners of the marina is Mexican, so we could watch Mexico playing with Argentina very exciting. But we were
itching to go sailing again and really couldn't recommend the marina so we headed to Puerto Corinto which is 15 miles
from Puesta Del sol, we had to pay a national zarpe and then check in with immigration and port captain again, but
they came to the boat and had coffee with a drop of poteen and chatted with Derek (if they understanded his
Spanish-english) but the poteen helped as soon they all spoke the same gibberish. The few days at the port was really
nice and the town of Corinto was a refreshing break from the squeaky clean marinas. We also took a local bus trip to
Chinandega and was cool to see a nica town. Where there is still horse drawn carts around the city centre. We left
Corinto and for what ever reasons there was no cruising guides to Nicaragua and most "cruisers by pass this
beautiful coast so we of course stopped everywhere we could. Its unusual in that the wind in the afternoon was
blowing off the beach so to relax from the strong breeze u just had to pull in to a beach and drop the hook. Some of
the stops where Puerto sandino, No name and a small but really neat anchorage just before San Juan Del sur. San Juan
Del sur had a huge pacific swell and had an opposing land breeze of 20/30 kn so it was a pain in the A**e. We had a
really fast and fun sailing angle to Bahia Santa Elena in Costa Rica.
Joni on Lotus, Jeremy & Danni from Thulany, Mark and Dyane with Con ti Partiro, we had week relaxing, though
bordering on boring, but we were getting hit by squalls every night and the lightening was pretty impressive. One of
the owners of the marina is Mexican, so we could watch Mexico playing with Argentina very exciting. But we were
itching to go sailing again and really couldn't recommend the marina so we headed to Puerto Corinto which is 15 miles
from Puesta Del sol, we had to pay a national zarpe and then check in with immigration and port captain again, but
they came to the boat and had coffee with a drop of poteen and chatted with Derek (if they understanded his
Spanish-english) but the poteen helped as soon they all spoke the same gibberish. The few days at the port was really
nice and the town of Corinto was a refreshing break from the squeaky clean marinas. We also took a local bus trip to
Chinandega and was cool to see a nica town. Where there is still horse drawn carts around the city centre. We left
Corinto and for what ever reasons there was no cruising guides to Nicaragua and most "cruisers by pass this
beautiful coast so we of course stopped everywhere we could. Its unusual in that the wind in the afternoon was
blowing off the beach so to relax from the strong breeze u just had to pull in to a beach and drop the hook. Some of
the stops where Puerto sandino, No name and a small but really neat anchorage just before San Juan Del sur. San Juan
Del sur had a huge pacific swell and had an opposing land breeze of 20/30 kn so it was a pain in the A**e. We had a
really fast and fun sailing angle to Bahia Santa Elena in Costa Rica.
Nicaragua
