We made it out through the buoys and to the open sea with great sailing in fifteen knots of wind and flat seas. The winds were just behind the beam which made for a perfect run. Our figures showed if we averaged 4.5 knots we would make it to our destination on time, we were zipping along at six to seven knots. I have learned that you take it when you can get it.
The destination, Bahia Del Sol, El Salvador. The entry here is quite tricky so you must be guided in at high tide, therefore timing has a lot to do with it, but more on that later. As our sun set (no green flash) the wind made a shift (make a guess) right on the nose. We tried everything to see what the best progress would be and being a cruiser it turned out as usual. Turn on those motors and just push through it. Not wanting to push the motors to their limit for the entire rest of the trip we made about two to four knots all night long. (Miraculously, the water pump seemed to be happy at high speed and was churning away the exhaust water.) It was my last watch of the night and Sue handed over the duties to me as she went below for some much needed rest. We were passing a fishing boat with a bright light off to our port side a couple of miles away. I happened to notice that once past the light, it went dark. This bothered me a bit so I turned on the radar and tried to track this boat. Sometimes I don't think these guys have anything better to do than to follow someone and that is just what this guy did. Now, having someone follow with their lights off in the middle of the night is a bit unnerving. I was able to watch on the radar as he followed for about and hour, but never got closer than four miles. Still plenty of space between us. Finally he left and I was able to take a deep breath. Then the starboard engine decided to hiccup. Regretfully, I had to wake Sue a half hour early, it was time to change out the fuel filter. Another half dozen trips up and down the hatches and I was ready to make the change. Bingo, the job was done, lines were bled and we were ready to fire her up and go. Plenty of cranking, but the engine wouldn't start. I went through the process of bleeding the fuel line several times and trying to start it to the point of exhaustion. Collapsing at the helm I just sat and ran everything through, trying to figure it out. I have been through this procedure lots of time in the past with never a problem. Then it struck me. I looked at the kill switch and saw that it was up. The engine will not start with the kill switch up. In all the excitement we failed to put the switch back down when we killed the engine. (sue: 'swat happens when you wake up your crew early!) With switch down, varoom. No problem. Sue's watch and I was off to la la land.
Daylight came and the winds shifted some more so we were able to sail once again. We managed to make it to the waiting room at Bahia Del Sol just as planned.
This entrance is probably one of the most exciting entrances anywhere in the world. There is surf breaking all across the front of the entrance. A couple of guys come out on a jet ski to guide us in. We were the second of two boat going in, the first being another catamaran. Kewl, we watched as they waited, like surfers on a huge board, waiting until the sets pass and going full tilt through a rather smooth passage. We were just amazed at how the guide could time it so well. Nothing to it.
It was our turn, the adrenaline was starting to flow. We lined the boat up, trying to hold our position behind the breaking waves. Too close, we got the word to back up a bit. Patience, there was plenty of time to wait it out. Still, we had to back up several more times. The guide remarked that the wave sets had changed a lot since the last boat went through. Hmmm. Finally we got the word to go. The pedal was to the metal and Neos took off. I heard the white water behind us and knew we were in for the ride of our life. The tail end of Neos started to rise and I could see the nose getting lower in the water. We were surfing! I could feel the power of mother nature trying to push us sideways and was busy at the helm keeping her straight. The wave was breaking over our back steps, trying to climb into the cockpit as I could see the bows starting to push under water. Everything on the back of the boat was being deposited in the water. The hatch opened with our jerry jugs and they were gone to the sea. The lines on the top steps were strung out on both sides. Good thing the dink was tied well because she was also floating in the wave. Without time to look back, I could hear the wave roaring at the back of the boat just a few feet behind. From my vantage point it looked like the bows were pushing below the surface. WE MADE IT. The guide on the radio asked where I learned to drive like that. He was quite impressed we made it. Definitely an "E" ticket! Sue's adrenaline rush was still going an hour later. The jet ski retrieved all of our jerry jugs and got them back to us and Sue hauled in all of the trailing lines.
Once through the opening, the water was nice and calm as we headed into the dock and tied her up. We were met by Bill and Jean of "Mita Kuuluu", hosts of the El Salvador Rally. We had already met Bill; he was on the jet ski and had talked us through the surf for the local who was our guide. The rally is to promote El Salvador and anyone checking into Bahia del Sol between March 15 and May 15 can join and get discounts, etc. Jean got us started with a a tour and turned us over to immigration and port authority who were waiting for us dockside. Check in went without a hitch.
We were exhausted and very hot, so we stopped by the bar, picked up our one free beer (Sue had a coke) and jumped in the pool to hang out with the local cruisers and get started meeting the people. We were told that the local net here comes on at 3:15pm. Anyone can be net controller and the only purpose of this net is to remind everyone to go to the pool and hang out. Bill was also in the pool and again was marvelling at Rog's skill. He admitted that the waves were too high for easy crossing and that he and the guide decided that they would not bring any more boats in when the surf was 7 feet or higher. Apparently we had the ride of a lifetime. Thank god we made it! After a nice relaxing afternoon in the pool we headed over to a local restaurant with the group and tried a local dish, Pupusas. They were like a couple of cornmeal pancakes put together with a filling in the middle. We spread a salad mix on top with a tomato sauce to finish it off. Very tasty. I enjoyed a couple of beers, Sue had a soda, and a total of four Pupusas between us, all for $4 bucks US. We got back to the docks at 7 o'clock, just before slack tide. I wanted to wait until slack tide to move the boat so we didn't have to fight the current that runs quite swift through this area. Greg and Elena came aboard for a look around Neos and then it was time to shove off. John and Sharon came out to help, so with four line handlers on the dock we got away without a hitch. I backed out into the river a bit, made a pivot, turned the helm over to Sue and we went a few yards up river to drop the hook. Done for the night. It was then that I discovered we had no water. But, we had just made water before coming in, the tanks were full?? I had left the back flow, clean out valve on and while we were off the boat, it emptied all the water out of the tank. Bummer. Oh well, the water doesn't look so bad here. We will make some as soon at the tide starts to come back in……..more later..whew
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