2015-03-26: Thank you Tom Lee! Placencia, Belize.

 

Man, it's a small world!  That's Tom Lee with the queen in No Name Harbor in 2009.

 

 

We were on our way back from the Bahamas aboard Dance Aweigh, accompanied by Herm & Fran aboard Grendel.  The "Bone Cutter" clan brought their power boats over to No Name Harbor to party with us.  And boy did we party!

 

There's Herm chatting with Tom Lee.

Tom's sucking on an Appleton.

 

So what's all that got to do with our current expedition in the Western Caribbean?  Well, you'll have to keep reading to find out.

 

Sunday, March 23, we pulled out of the Rio Dulce marina district & headed 12 miles downriver to anchor in Texan Bay.  Man was it hot - & no breeze.

 

 

Next day we motored into the Rio Dulce gorges, en route to Livingston.

 

Past muchachos paddling canoes

 

 

And speedy launchas.

This one piloted by a muchacha.

 

We passed through the final gorge

 

 

and anchored off Livingston at the mouth of the river.

And here's where it got interesting.

 

 

 

I had carefully checked the tide tables on line & as shown in the photos above, high tide was supposed to be at 16:14 (4:14 pm).  Alas, high tide was actually at 9:50 am & we dammed near "missed the boat".  We scrambled to get our paper work & took off after the many boats that had somehow obtained the correct tide information & were now pretty much over the bar.

 

 

Ahead of us, we saw 2 sailboats aground on the bar.  One had already contacted a hauler to pull him off .  The other had his sails out to help by heeling.

 

 

We stuck to our planned course, which ran right between them.  Saw 5.8 feet, but made it through without event. 

 

 

 

Since it was still early in the day, we decided to skip Tres Puntas & go for New Haven, inside Belize, threading our way between the ship traffic of Puerto Barrios.

 

 

Anchor down in New Haven at 2:50 pm.  Now let's commission the water maker.  It's been 9 months.  Hope it works.  Didn't want to run it in the river - designed for salt water.  Flushed out the preservative (RV antifreeze) & cranked the pressure up.  Making water - good, but oh no, got a leak under the sofa.  Damn.  Looks like it's on the discharge line, just past the pressure valve.  Tough exposure.  OK, tightened the hose clamp - still leaking.  Looks like the plastic barb coming off the stainless fitting may be cracked.  The queen says: "just slap a bunch of 5200 (heavy duty sealant) all over it."  Worth a try.  Then leave it a couple days to cure before trying it again.  Hit the sack.

 

 

Tuesday 3-24, up anchor heading to Placencia, where we'll check in to Belize.  Man it's nice to get out of that river jungle & back on the sea!  Queen's loving it.

 

 

Yeah, baby!

Then, 8 miles out of Placencia, motoring, wind on the nose, off goes the engine alarm.  We're overheating.  Never happened before.  Let's see, water coming out the back, shut down the motor,  coolant level's good, belt's tight, strainer's not clogged with all that sea weed we've been seeing, oil level OK.  Well, let's sail it in - it's a sail boat, right?  Anchored in Placencia, no problem.  Ran the motor again - still overheating.  Man, I'm pooped.  Let's hit the sack.  Worry about that another day.

 

 

Wednesday, 3-25.  Here we are at the M&M dock, waiting for the Hokey Pokey water taxi.  Gotta ride the Hokey Pokey to Independence then catch a cab to Big Creek to check in.  That's Mike (Casa del Mar) with the queen.

 

 

Whadda ya know!  New regs since last year.  It's PFDs for everyone.

 

There was a bunch of us cruisers checking in.  We got 2 vans & headed over.  First, Immigration, then Port Authority for cruising permit, then Customs & finally, the Health guy.  He was a hoot!

 

 

Time to head back to the Hokey Pokey, $150 US poorer, but wait, the transmission died on van #1.  No reverse.  Push him back & off they go.  We're next.

 

 

Back in Placencia, we figure we deserve a good lunch.  How about our favorite beachfront restaurant in these parts:  Barefoot Bar?

 

 

Red Stripe "Light"?

What's the world coming to??

 

 

Did I mention how happy we are to be out of the jungle?

 

So, back to where we started: what's with the Tom Lee photos?  So here's the deal.  Realizing that the diesel problem & the water maker problem (by the way the 5200 didn't work) were above my pay scale (& oh yes, the dinghy motor's acting up) & since my guru Herm's not available, we sought the help of a skilled mechanic.  Called our old buddy Ed Marion - a diver from last year.  He said "Alvin's your man".  Yes, Alvin Cabral - owner of S. Waters Resort & Crows Nest Restaurant, & diesel expert.

 

Called him up.  Alvin recognizes the Jamaican accent & says: "my best friend, Tom Lee, is a Jamaican."  Yes, it's the same Tom Lee!  Showed Alvin the photos of our riotous times with Tom in No Name Harbor & we're in like Flynn!

 

 

Alvin came over & in no time flat, fixed our diesel problem.  He then extricated the broken water maker part & took it away to manufacture a replacement out of copper.  Next day bright & early Alvin came back with the new part, installed it & we're making water!!!!!  Charged me next to nothing.  Love it.

 

OK, I know you want to know what the overheating problem was.  It appears that the belt was indeed not tight enough & we were indeed down on coolant!!!!  I did check the belt at the time (I swear) & while it was not super tight, I deemed it tight enough.  There was also coolant in the reservoir when I checked, but the engine sure drank a bunch for Alvin.  I know Herm will get a good laugh out of this, but he shouldn't laugh too hard - he's the guy who trained me!!!!

 

Bottom line:  life is now super good again.  Thank you Alvin & thank you Tom Lee.  And by the way, the dinghy motor seems to have cured itself - running like a champ!