11 January 1996 Utila, Honduras
Nice morning. There is another cold front expected late tomorrow, so we abandoned the idea of sailing to Guatemala tonight.
We are starting to get very nervous about the entrance to the Rio Dulce. There’s a sand bar which guards the approach to Livingston. It’s about a mile wide and is very shallow with some parts drying out. There’s a dredged channel from a seaward buoy on a bearing of 225° True, but there are no buoys marking the actual channel. It’s supposed to be dredged to 6’0” at low tide with high tide adding an additional 12 inches. I reckon that we draw about 6’7” now that we are fully loaded with gear, so if we go in at high tide then we will have 5 inches of water beneath our keel for half a mile - that means 20 minutes of total fear that we will go aground.
To make things worse, we listened to the NW Caribbean Cruisers Net at eight o’clock on 4054 kHz and heard a conversation about a yacht with a 7ft draft that was dragged over the bar at Livingston by his spinnaker halyard – that doesn’t sound too good for the rigging! (I found out later that it was “Cortica”. )
We decided that we would still give it a go and if we can’t make it then we’ll go to Belize! I sent some faxes off to our accountant and Carol, because we’ll be here until this next front goes through. We motored to the SW end of the island to the Water Cays and anchored in a beautiful spot between two small cays. I tried to go spear fishing, but the reef is devoid of fish and the coral is 80% dead. I managed to catch a spider crab, but there wasn’t much meat on it – only in the legs and claws. We had a very pleasant day out (it felt like a holiday) and then returned to Puerto Este to wait for the next front.
12 January 1996 Utila, Honduras
A bad hangover this morning. Glenys, at my suggestion, opened a second bottle of wine last night ...
The weather was pretty awful with a SW10 causing a nasty swell in the anchorage (again!). I couldn’t stand the motion so, at about ten o’clock, I went ashore for a walk. I rescued the others at half past eleven and we went to the Movie Café for lunch and watched “You Only Live Twice”. By the time we got back to Glencora it was blue skies and NW10 winds. We had a quiet evening and then the front arrived at midnight with mild NW 15-20 winds and the odd bit of rain.
13 January 1996 Utila, Honduras
An overcast morning with NW10 winds. It would appear that the front has gone over and we might have 2-3 days to get to Guatemala. We did school work in the morning. After lunch, I took the boys out for a walk and spent the last of our Lempira (again!). Glenys stayed aboard and wrapped Brett’s birthday presents.
When we returned to the boat, I decided to go spear fishing (mostly because Glenys was threatening to make bean enchiladas again and I don’t think that my bowels can take it!) I managed to spear a big Hog fish which was very tasty. I’ve been a lazy slob for the last couple of days – it’s been a combination of the bad weather, the rough anchorage, the trapped feeling and the fact that I’m reading a book that I want to finish. Glenys has been getting annoyed at me today.
The sky cleared at dusk and we had a beautiful, clear, starry evening. Looks good for going to Guatemala tomorrow. I went to bed worrying how to tackle the sand bar at Livingston.
14 January 1996 Utila to Livingston, Guatemala (Day 1)
Bloody awful weather – overcast SW10 wind and drizzle. God knows what this weather is – it should be a nice day with NE winds. After an hour of agonising, we decided to go anyway. As they say, time and tide waits for no man and the high tide into the Rio Dulce is at twenty past three tomorrow afternoon – a good time for us.
I went over to chat to “Helles Belles” (USA) who we last saw in Hog Island at the beginning of March ’94! We took the dinghy down and got ready to sail overnight (all in a steady drizzle). We were finished by mid morning and motored out of Utila straight into a light SW wind. There was a bright line on the west horizon which gave us some hope of better weather.
Its Brett’s birthday today, so we had the present opening first thing this morning and the birthday cake when we were underway. The sun came out at about two o’clock until half past four when I brilliantly decided to take down the awning and put up the main sail – it then rained for an hour. The night was clear with light winds so we had to motor all the way. It was pretty cold, so it was a matter of full foul weather gear including socks and wellies!
15 January 1996 Utila to Livingston, Guatemala (Day 2)
We timed the passage perfectly and arrived off Cabo Tres Puntas at day break. We motored the last 10 miles and anchored off the entrance buoy. We had been following another boat all night which turned out to be “Pipe Dream”.
While we were approaching the buoy, I listened to the Rio Dulce Net on 68 and asked for help on the location of the bar. I just got a few smart arse cracks like “go slow” and “watch the ferries”. I called Barry on “Pipe Dream” on CH68, which is the local hailing frequency, and made some suitably sarcastic comments myself. Immediately after I stopped talking to Barry, “Katie G-2” called me up and gave me some GPS coordinates. Outer 15° 49.97N 88° 43.95W, inner 15° 49.26N 88° 44.78W. This track is 200 yards NW of the buoy to a pink roofed house on a bearing 225°M.
I hitched a lift on “Pipe Dream” and went in with them. They draw only 5ft and I wanted to see how their depth gauge changed as they went in. Unfortunately, their depth gauge stopped working half way in, probably because of silt in the water. It wasn’t a totally wasted trip, because I went over to another boat which had just gone in (on 0.1 metre low tide) and had registered a minimum depth of 6½ ft.
We had to wait until one o’clock for ¾ rising tide. “Kalida” arrived at half past twelve and bravely decided to go straight in with their 6’2” draft. They tried to find a way through for about an hour, but couldn’t find a way in and went aground at least 10 times. At one o’clock, “Boo” with Neil and Chris turned up and anchored next to us. They have a 6’6” draft - we discussed the problem and I gave them the GPS coordinates.
At half past one, we couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. I steered the boat and Glenys stood down below calling out the GPS cross track error and course over the ground. It took us 25 minutes of high stress and worry to get through. About 20% of the time the depth gauge was registering 6.4 ft – 6.6 ft and I’m sure that I ploughed a fair furrow in the mud. I must admit to an immense feeling of euphoria (and release of tension) when we got through – it was like winning a competition. Me against the elements!
“Boo” and “Kalida” followed us about 10 minutes later. We anchored and waited for the officials to arrive. It was quite amusing. The Port Capitan, the Customs, the Immigration, the Health Officer and the Police arrived in a pirogue and came on board. To my amazement, they immediately went below and arranged themselves around our saloon table. They filled in forms and took our passports ashore. An hour later, we had to go ashore and collect our passports from Immigration, a zarpe from the Customs and a clearance from the Port Captain. Total cost 330 questals (£39). The Port Captain had a dead iguana tied onto a branch, drying out in the sun – weird!
We bought some training shoes for the boys and had a stroll around town. A pleasant little town with an amazing number of cafes and restaurants – for tourists I assume.
16 January 1996 Livingston to Cayo Grande, Guatemala
Glenys nipped ashore after breakfast. I dropped her off because we had a bit of hassle from people wanting a tip for looking after our dinghy. We didn’t give them one! I put 23 litres of diesel in the tank from a jerry can.
We were all excited as we motored into the steep sided river gorge. We had a fantastic trip – lush green jungle with snowy egrets, pelicans and cormorants fishing around us. There were locals paddling by in their dug out canoes, hugging the shore to stay out of the current. At the first major bend in the river, about 10 small fishing boats were laying nets across the current, beneath towering vertical cliffs of nearly white rock. Flocks of pelicans crowded around the boats as the fishermen pulled up the nets.
On the next bend of the river, visitors have painted and carved their names and dates onto the rock faces which come down to the water. I find this really irritating – it’s just graffiti. Cruisers seem to like doing this in places like Porto Santo, Funchal and Los Testigos. As we looked at this desecration, the engine stopped...
Oh my God! It started again immediately, but a quick check of the gauges showed that the engine had overheated. We dumped the anchor down in 4 metres of water on the inside of the bend. Fortunately, “Boo” were only about 200 metres upstream and I managed to attract their attention. They very kindly towed us down to Rio Tatin where we anchored.
I spent an hour panicking, refilling the fresh water system and waiting for the engine to cool down. The sea water pump is working OK because we are still getting water out of the exhaust. The fresh water system appears to be the problem – when I fill the system up, a dribble of water comes out of the heat exchanger overflow pipe. I removed the thermostat and cleaned the radiator cap and it seemed OK. We decided to carry on to the anchorage at Cayo Grande. Everything looked good for the first two miles, but then the temperature started to creep up. We back tracked a little and anchored just as the temperature reached 90°C.
We decided to forget about the engine for today and went to visit a hot water spring about ½ mile back down river. It was really interesting to feel the very hot water just coming out of the rocks by the edge of the river. We then motored up the small river opposite the springs which is very pretty. We chatted to another yachtsman, who thought that my problem may be a blockage in the heat exchanger. Nigel Calder says in his Boat Maintenance book that “scale in engines caused by sea water can swell when coming in contact with fresh water”, this simple comment makes me think that the heat exchanger is blocked – perhaps it has something to do with the fresh water going through the system. We had a lovely quiet evening with the sound of frogs, crickets and other jungle creatures around us.
17 January 1996 Cayo Grande to Rio Chacon Machaca, Guatemala
We awoke this morning to a beautifully calm anchorage with blue skies overhead and mist shrouded jungle all around. At half past seven, I turned on the Local Cruisers Net – all Americans of course. They have a string of adverts for the local marinas, then an “open forum” for info, gear sales and then ….. I couldn’t believe it …….. they actually have a trivia quiz! One of the marinas even has aerobic classes after breakfast – they all sound very settled down here.
I had a look at the engine cooling system. I took off various parts of the salt water system before and after the heat exchanger to check for scale – nothing major. I had a quick look at the heat exchanger bores – look OK. I put it all back together again and we motored to the West of Cayo Grande and anchored by “Kalida”. Derek came and had a look at the engine and the only thing he could think of was that the fan belt was a bit loose. I changed the fan belt and put the thermostat back in, and all seemed to be OK.
We dinghied over to the Manatee Conservation Centre and went on their pretty nature trail. On the way back we watched some Indians using a cast net from their dugout canoe. We then motored up the lake (El Golfette) to the Rio Chacon Machaca. It was fairly difficult to find the narrow river entrance and a little nerve-racking to enter. Once inside we turned left and headed down to the end where we anchored bow and stern in 2.8 metres of water. On the way down the river, Glenys and I caught a fleeting glimpse of an otter.
After we anchored, we took the dinghy out through a shallow gap, through lily pads and water hyacinths to the lake for a swim. We dinghied back through the river entrance and drifted back to the boat. We saw trees being shaken by monkeys, but couldn’t actually see them. The anchorage is so peaceful, with a pleasant breeze through the gap in the islands. We look across lily pads, with waders, moorhens and snowy egrets looking for food, to the lake with lush green mountains in the distance – you can tell I like this place!
On the way here, the engine seemed to behave itself. The temperature went up to 75°C. After about 15 minutes water started to come out of the radiator overflow pipe, but after I fiddled with the radiator cap it stopped dribbling. I now suspect the radiator cap.
18 January 1996 Rio Chacon Machaca to Mario’s Marina, Guatemala
Glenys got up very early at quarter past six and went up into the cockpit for a nature watch. She was rewarded by two sightings of a pair of otters. The wind picked up from the SW at seven o’clock and, twenty minutes later, Glenys got me out of bed because the stern anchor was dragging. I pulled it up and we swung through 180°.
I went down to check the engine. When I released the radiator cap, lots of water spurted out of the overflow pipe. I “assumed” that the water system was still full and pressurised, so I shut the cap and started the engine. The anchor was dragging, so we motored out of the river. As we got to the river entrance, the temperature was up to 80°C, by the time we were 200 metres into the lake it was 90°C, so I decided to stop the engine and we anchored.
I took off the radiator cap and got loads of steam and water gushing out. Five minutes later, I put about 6 pints of water in the heat exchanger and ran the engine for 30 seconds – the temperature came down to 70°C. I’m at a loss to know what the problem is. It would appear that the fresh water system is becoming over pressurised at some point or is the water boiling and creating steam somewhere? Could it be a leaking head gasket or a faulty water pump? Or is the radiator cap not pressurising the system enough and allowing water to boil in the engine block?
We had breakfast and prepared the boat for sailing and then had a good upwind sail towards Mario’s Marina. We made it to within a mile of the marina before we ran out of wind. We anchored off the marina and went in to have lunch and check the place out. We decided we liked it and took the yacht in. It’s a pretty marina with a TV room, a bar/restaurant, a little shop, a small pool and pleasant grounds. Barry and Daphne are an English couple who have been running the place for 8 years. Everyone we have met here has been very friendly, so we should have a good time.
I spent the afternoon checking out where everything is. Where to get gas, fuel, etc. Barry has a battery charger that I can use to keep our batteries charged which will be useful. We went out to the bar for dinner and had a good evening with “Pipe Dream”, Earle and Kandy from “Sticky Bunz” and “Boo”.
19 January 1996 Mario’s Marina, Rio Dulce, Guatemala
I woke up at six o’clock, thinking about all the things that I’ve got to sort out – engine, cooking gas, maybe a trip inland and faxing the UK to sort out my non-resident status.
Sending and receiving a fax from here is a pain. There’s a company called Riotel, who send and receive faxes via SSB to Guatemala City – there are no phones in the Rio Dulce. If a fax is not complicated then they dictate it over the SSB. Anything more complicated has to be sent from Guatemala City to here (100 miles) which can take a few days. An alternative is to go to Livingstone or a town called Morales (which is a 30 kilometre bus ride) to go to a Guatel Office.
At half past six, I suddenly realised that “Boo’s” guests were flying back to the UK today. I leapt out of bed and frantically started to write letters to our accountant, Carol and the guy who runs my offshore trust. Glenys heard me and wrote a letter to her mum. Glenys dropped the letters off at “Boo” to be told that their guests weren’t leaving until midday! Oh well! At least they will be posted in the UK in 3 days time.
I checked the sea water intake strainer and found a bit of plastic sheet and some weed – could this be it? I tied a rope from our bow to a handy tree so that I could run the engine in reverse without destroying the rather rickety dock. I ran the engine out of gear at 1400 rpm and the temperature stayed about 70°C. I then ran it at 1100 rpm in reverse and the temperature went up to 80°C and water was coming out of the radiator cap overflow. Damn!
I decided to go to Fronteras to try to find a radiator cap – no luck, but what an interesting place! The town is spread along a main road which crosses the Rio Dulce over a big bridge. There is a small vegetable market with lots of Indians wandering about – the men in jeans, cowboy boots and cowboy hats and the women in their brightly coloured, woven skirts. The main road is a hive of activity with big single-decker buses and pick-up trucks jostling for space and a way through the people and parked cars.
I went back to the marina and chatted to Keith, Tina and Tom (2) from “Gooseberry” (Can). Keith rebuilds motorbikes and cars as a hobby and kindly came over to look at our engine. He was as baffled as me and we came down to an air pocket, a faulty radiator cap and (God forbid) a blown head gasket. We retired to the bar at seven o’clock and had a fish and chip dinner there. Mickey from “Vaya Con Dios” gave me a list of causes of overheating which was nice of him.
20 January 1996 Mario’s Marina, Rio Dulce, Guatemala
Glenys did school work in the morning while I worked on the engine. I removed the thermostat and heated it up in a pan of water with a spare thermostat to check that they both work OK – they did! I put the original thermostat back with a new gasket. I removed the fresh water pump and checked it. It was fine. I removed the end caps from the heat exchanger and shone a torch through one end while I sighted down the other end – all the tubes looked clear to me.
I disconnected the domestic hot water heater pipes and removed a t-pipe so that I could re-site the temperature sensor directly in the cylinder head. I refilled the system, taking care to put a screw driver at the top of the uppermost hose to vent the system. I re-attached my rope to my handy tree and started the engine. It ran for about 5 seconds and stopped. Oh my God!
I rushed down below and turned the crankshaft pulley with a spanner. It seemed OK – at least it wasn’t seized. I suspected air in the diesel system and noticed air bubbles around the bolt head of one of the diesel fuel filters. I cracked open the bleed screws and found air. I managed to scrounge a new O-ring from Barry at the Marina Office and the engine started OK.
I ran a fairly scientific test, monitoring temperature and the amount of water coming out of the overflow pipe. I first ran the engine at 1400 rpm with no load. The temperature climbed to 71°C after 25 minutes by which time 0.3 pints of water had come out of the overflow. I ran the engine for a further 30 minutes and the temperature stayed constant at 71°C and no further water came out. I then put the engine into reverse and ran it at 1000 rpm. (I found that the revs wouldn’t go above 1100 rpm regardless of how much I opened the throttle, presumably something to do with the propeller being in reverse?) After 3 minutes the temperature had shot up to 82°C and water had started to come out of the overflow pipe again. After 40 minutes under load I lost a further pint of water, and it was still dribbling out. The water loss was more or less linear. I then ran the engine at full throttle (1100 rpm) for 8 minutes. The temperature didn’t budge, the smoke from the exhaust was slightly black and I lost a further 0.3 pints of water. There doesn’t appear to be anything drastically wrong, but I am losing fresh water slowly but steadily. I’m back to the radiator cap – I hope!
The boys are loving it here. They can get on and off the boat whenever they want to. They can go in the pool, watch satellite TV – heaven. Glenys bought some prawns today, so we had a quiet dinner and went and watched a Disney film “The Fox and the Hound”.