In our last blog we let every one know we have had some trouble. We ran aground in sand (that is very Important here in Belize with the local government ) if you hit the reef, it’s jail time and a monster fine along with maybe they take your boat. I’m sure every one wants to know what happen so I will try to be brief. We needed to leave Guatemala because our time was running out to stay there. More important was the boat needed to be out of their country. We only had a day or so the catch the high tide to cross the bar in the river each month. The tide was good, we need to leave. Most country have a limit on how long you can stay. We left in strong winds on the nose and with just one of our two motors running. Our boat is home built and for the lack of money we put two car motors out of VW Rabbits (they’re diesel ) in it, making the kit for the marine transmissions ourselves. The two motors hopefully have the power of one motor the size we need to push our 26 ton sail boat. So making way with limited power we went on sailing close to the wind with our club jib out and our foresail. This works well for us in strong winds and remember close hall making long and short tacks. In the afternoon “I decided” to take refuse in New Haven, and to get there we would go behind an island with plenty of water to stop some of the waves. Going in with the sails up and the motor running as hard as it could as we came behind the island the motor stared carbon up and slowing down. I took it out of gear and reveled it up and it cleared up some, back in gear we were moving into the strong wind at some times less than one knot. I didn’t know we had a lot of wind driven current coming behind the island too. I cleared the sand bar by a good margin and with the sails flogging I made my turn in 35 feet of water. Every thing was going fine. A very strong gust of wind filled the sails and before I could get her close to the wind again ( remember she sails Okay close to the wind with out the main up but with the wind now coming from the side of the boat she was out of balance, she turned out and was coming back when I saw the sand coming up. I tried to just turn back the way we came in but it was too late and we hit, motor running full speed with the sails up now going down wind back to the sand bar. The rest is history. We threw Dumpling over and I could not row into the wind and the current running behind the island. I made it back to the Pamela Ann and got our dingy motor on and then set an anchor to stop us from going any further on the sand. The night was awful with the wind screaming and the waves hitting and rolling under us. The next morning at day light our friends on another boat we were traveling up with came back from where they anchored and I decided that we “all would leave our boat” to go get help. No one would stay behind. Our friend Gary was with us and even if he has been a sailor in the past, he had never been in Central America before now. Leaving him to stay with the boat was not a consideration with the waves crashing on the boat and the boat being so remote. Not knowing what the officials here might do. Being by himself so defenseless. “I never ask him and again, I made the decision, crew first, boat second. We all went on to Placencia on our friends boat and before our friends had the anchor down there Pam and I were going to shore in Dumpling (we had been towing her behind their boat) to see the Port Captain. He was very helpful and sent us to see the environmental people. They said they thought as long as it was sand we were okay but they weren’t sure. We went on to get a power boat with twin diesel motors to go back the next day. Found a room at the Paradise Hotel and it is the cleanest room we have seen in Central America. The next morning the boat didn’t get there until 9:00 and we were off. Wind still blowing. When we arrived back at the Pamela Ann the Belize Coast Guard showed up and was as nice as any one could ever expect. They helped us get off, and then is when Pam went inside to find we had been robbed. They went through the sky light. Hatch doors still locked. They went through every thing and took most every thing. For some reason they didn’t get Pam’s sewing machines, maybe because they are commercial and have no motors. We have 3 on board. We have built in motors for them. They didn’t get my sexton but they set it out. They left the electronics outside alone but got the portable radios and VHF inside and anything they could find even a camera. They took all our tools. Not an extension cord left. Not a sander or a ratchet or a drill. No hand tool for working wood, no mechanic tools, Nothing left. We had the boat that pulled us off just tow us back in the strong wind to Placencia. This meant we were all safe ,crew and boat. Where do we think we are now with the officials? We still don’t know but they have not showed up yet and maybe they won’t. Is the boat hurt? We need to do a bottom job to really see but I think it’s maybe okay. There is no where here I know of to do a bottom job. It always comes down to the money and what they charged us was a lot but not like “Sea Tow” would have charged us back in the states. It will take most of what we get in our Social Security check for the next few months to pay it but we still have our boat. We put it on our credit card and have not felt the pain of that yet. What will we do now? Regroup and head on to the states when we think it’s safe, is still the plan. The later we get into hurricane season the more they usually go north and September is the month we fear the most in the Gulf. We have had an out pouring from friends to help us but at this time we need to work out what we can get and how we can get what we need and help ourselves first. They got our Honda 2ooo generator, we can go on with out that but it’s nice to know you can charge your battery out to sea if you need to with out running our motors. Just to expensive to get one here so I know we will go on with out that. They got our binoculars with a compass inside. I love our electronics but in a pinch we still have our paper charts and we know how to plot a course and if every thing fails, we have our sexton for off shore but near shore, if I can see something on land that is on our paper charts, I can do a line of position and get a fix with a compass. We never sail with out binoculars and binoculars with a compass is great for doing that. We have a friend here going to the states and he says he can bring us back a pair. More pain to put on the credit card I guess. We had a man that lives here now show up with a tool box with sockets, ratchets and wrenches all in one box and just gave it to us. Another couple came by and gave us a smart phone. The friend that were traveling with us gave us a used computer and a pair of under water goggles to go look at the bottom. The thieves took all our snorkeling gear. We always travel with a small under water light so we can go down if we have trouble and get a line off our prop, just simple little thing, they got that too. Pam went to get some can peaches we had stored back for supper last night, they got them too. To all our friend that are concerned, we thank you and we will let you know if we start felling the pain of all of this and we can’t work through it. We knew the risk when we went sailing and maybe we are Okay. We don’t know yet. We know it’s going to hurt some for a while. The way were looking at it now, we are trying not to be so mad at the people that robbed us or let it cloud our mines. I’m sorry to say this but it’s true, in most of the world where there are people with very little, it becomes a society of thieves and the only sin is getting caught. Every thing in Central America has a lock on it. Hate and revenge can rob you of what is most important in life, “Living Happy” I know we are going to have to stay here a little while and recover. Maybe this is the beginning of another great adventure. That’s the way we are trying to look at it for now and we will let you know how that goes.
Pam buying fresh doughnuts.
Always flowers blooming
Safe and regrouping trying to make the right plans.
schoonerpamelaann 