The Cruising Adventures of Joan & Ben Schuetz aboard
Francesca
Part 12: Oooh, the weather is so exciting. . . .
Saturday, 15 January 2000
We've been sitting in the lee of Owen Island in the Bahia del Espiritu Santo (Bay of the Holy Spirit) for a couple days now. It's a good anchorage and we are well protected from the winds. Last night, it was blowing 25 - 30 knots with heavy rain. Our weather FAX said that the seas offshore were running to 14 feet. This morning, I got the latest WEFAX and it looks like we will be here a bit longer with winds continuing in the 25 knot range until Tuesday. The days are a pleasant 85 degrees and partly sunny. All of our machinery continues to run properly.
It's too rough for diving or fishing even in the bay, so we're concentrating on doing nothing, really well. Heide is anchored a couple of hundred yards to the south of us. Last night, a moonless cloudy night, the only evidence of human existence outside of Francesca was the wee little anchor light on Heides' mast. We're used to it, but at first that sort of thing was kind of spooky.
There is a very small Mayan settlement on the north side of the Bay. They live in thatched huts at the edge of the jungle a couple of dozen yards from the beach. Occasionally one of their skiffs runs by, but they won't wave or acknowledge us. Pretty solitary folks I guess.
Our charts show that inland there is a swampy area that surrounds the land that surrounds the bay. So there are no roads in the area. The only way in or out is by boat.
We're anxious to get to Belize, but to do nothing really well, you have to be oblivious of tomorrow. I am spending time on the novel, however, and it is progressing well.
Kind of a nothing newsletter today, but of course, there will be more to come.
Joan, Ben, Marge, Marv and always Maggie