Jamaica towards the Bay Islands Honduras End of day 5

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage.  They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system.  We sent the messages daily to my daughter Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

0740hrs (CST, GMT-6) 05 Feb 2020

Dear All,

Dawn on day 5

All through the night we had 18-20 knot winds with the odd gust up to 25 knots so from 4am it was pretty clear that we would be arriving off Guanaja before sun up.  With a small gap in the reef to negotiate and a seabed that rises from 500m to nothing in less than a mile a night approach to Guanaja was not a sensible option.  So, the game became trying to slow BV down.  Nicky put the 3rd reef in the main and rolled away most of the genoa but BV loves the wind on her beam so you will see from the stats that from midnight until we dropped anchor off Guanaja we still averaged 7.4 knots.

Land Ho!!!

Getting closer and starting to see some of the off lying cays clearly

The main town of Bonacca started to appear on the horizon

Picking out our markers to go through the gap in the reef

Looking to our left as we sailed through the gap in the reef

In the end the conditions around the reef were benign and we made an uneventful approach dropping our anchor at 0740hrs just off Bonacca, the largest settlement 'on' Guanaja.

Bonacca

Bonacca is most unusual.  It is a town of 8000 people living on houses on stilts on a small cay just off the main island of Guanaja.  The total population of Gunaja is 10,000 so just 2,000 live on the large lush green island and the rest are crammed together on a small cay of just 100acres.  We know not why.

But Bonacca is the capital of Guanaja and the only place we can check-in with Customs, Immigration and the Port Police so shortly after dropping anchor we found ourselves wandering amongst the narrow pathways of the town. All was achieved quickly except for checking in with the Port Officer.  He was too busy to see us in the morning and then wouldn't open his door at 1400hrs, the agreed time for us to return.  He was equally unresponsive to the locals trying to see him so it wasn't because we were tourists.   Half an hour later he did deal with our arrivals paperwork and issued us with a cruising permit so we got there in the end and even managed to fit in a trip to the bank to change currency and a visit to the 'technology shop' to get a SIM card.

Anchored off the western side of Bonacca

After the relatively late paperwork faff with the port officer, our only option was to stay on this side of Guanaja for the night.  It's not ideal as it's the windward side of the island and the wind's blowing hard now and due to get stronger.  But we're tucked into a good anchorage, El Bight, hidden behind Guanaja's fringing reef and a further barrier, part headland, part reef off said headland.  And the headland's providing some protection from the wind too.  So all in all, we're in a good place and enjoying listening to the wind howl from in here rather than out at sea.

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky 

Passage statistics:

Position at midday  05 Feb: N16 27 W85 63

Position at 0740CST 05 Feb: N16 27 W85 63

Midday to 0740hrs distance: 145 nautical miles (Average 7.4 knots)

Midnight to 0740hrs distance: 56 nautical miles (Average 7.4 knots)

Total miles covered:  626 nautical miles

Approximate distance to go (route distance to Bonacca, Guanaja ): zero nautical miles

End of day 5, Jamaica towards the Bay Islands, Honduras