Waiting ...
[18:48] [Thursday, March 01, 2007]
ok..... I will attempt to recap the last week or so, but the events are a blur due to excessive alcohol, a dockside boat and heat-induced apathy.
We had returned from our second trip into Lago de Izabal and were preparing to join our two buddy boats, Sonatina and Lysistrata, for the trip back to Belize. We woke the morning of departure to discover our generator is not outputting any voltage. We could have sailed on, but the generator is way more efficient for charging our batteries than the engine, and -- let's be honest -- we love our electricity. Deciding it's a problem we'd have to fix eventually, and we're in a prime spot to anchor long-term, we opted to take care of the issue now rather than later.
With the assistance of Jim Ellis, who is sailing with his First Mate Nicky aboard SeaYeti, we were able to determine through a little troubleshooting and with the aid of a volt meter our voltage regulator on the genset is no bueno. Called the manufacturer in the states and ordered 2 regulators, and we have been sitting here for over a week at Mario's Marina waiting for our delivery ...
Not to sound too bummed about being trapped. We would obviously rather be sailing through beautiful Belize than lying spread-eagle on the single berths in the main salon during the hottest hours of the day, waiting with baited breath for happy hour. But the community here -- though far quieter since almost everyone is gone until hurricane season -- offers us a bit of respite beneath the palapa after long, hot afternoons, and I have gotten several little projects done while we wait that otherwise might've gone unfinished into eternity.
Our package has not arrived at the post box in Morales yet. This has us so frustrated we can hardly stand it, but it is too hot for us to do anything but sigh heavily ... We are going to wait out the rest of this second week on Lago de Izabal instead of dockside. Feeling a little stagnant.
Once genset is back up, we are outta here and back to the wide blue yonder to shake the spider webs from our sails and hopefully rejoin our buddy boats.
In the meantime, we are going for round three of Lago de Izabal with our new buddy boat, SeaYeti! We hope to get decent photographs this time of the cave we swim into behind Aguas Caliente.
God has loved having access to land whenever he wants and roams the jungle at night, and just before sunset he jumps from boat to boat to see what sort of air conditioning is available.
Being tied to a pier, I've noticed the overall appearance of the boat has declined, especially the new paint job. The boat has taken some serious wear and tear from factors such as sailing, rubbing against the dink at anchor, and the like. Tanya quickly pointed out we could keep her in the slip and maintain a tip top appearance, or we could be doing what we are doing and she'll look a little rough-and-tumble -- but we're going places!
And speaking of going places...
Our 3 month cruise has become indefinite. I have paid off my car and insurance, and I am very happy to say I officially have NO BILLS. With the car up for sale, we hope to go at least another couple years south, then west or maybe east, but not north for a while.
Basically our only roots back in the U.S. -- minus friends and family -- are our personal possessions left behind in Rockport and at Igor's house in San Antonio. A very special thanks to Igor for dealing with all our crap in his garage and my father for helping us with unfinished business in Rockport.
And NOW, a special and profound gift from Team Sol Searcher to you! --> Click here (right click link and select, "Save Target As...").
