Sailing Lago de Yajoa, Honduras

Sailing

Is there anything more romantically adventurous than the thoughts this word brings to the imagination?  Gentle breezes filling the sails, the sound of the water passing under the hull, sun sparkling off blue waters, amazing sunsets, pristine lakes, south sea islands, the lure of adventure? It does for me anyway.
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In the past we've owned a couple of different bow riders and enjoyed them on Puget Sound and the beautiful lakes surrounding Seattle. After moving to Maine, we boated in many of  Maine's equally beautiful lakes and made several trips down the Kennebec River, through Merrymeeting Bay until the river empties into the Atlantic at Fort Popham. We usually did this trip with friends, Brian and Alice, in October when the falls colors were at their peak. Amazing memories.





Now that we spend so much time at our villa on the Caribbean, the boys and I have been talking about buying a sailboat with the goal of sailing to Utila, one of the Bay Islands 15 miles off the coast of Honduras and a true, undiscovered gem. Other places on the list to sail to are; Roatan, one of the worlds best diving spots and Cayos Cochinos, All of these islands are part of the Mesoamerican reef system, the second largest coral reef in the world..

Never having sailed before, it was recommended that we not buy a large sailboat, which of course is what I wanted to do. After all, it's a big, big ocean. However, after a lot of research I did listen to CW and decided on a West Wight Potter P19. It has a decent size cabin which sleeps four, is very forgiving to beginners and has actually circumnavigated the globe....although it's hard for me to imagine doing that in a 19 foot boat.

Somewhere in route

In January, I located one in Wisconsin, reached an agreement with the owner to store it until spring, and rather impatiently waited for May. Mark and I flew to Maine to see friends and family and to pick up the car I had purchased to tow the boat back to Honduras. Leaving Maine, we crossed through Canada re-entering the USA in Michigan. We had a smooth, 5000 mile trip home with no problems, other than a flat tire on a mountain pass in Mexico.

Now began the challenge of learning the ropes,literally...and the lingo; sheets, halyards, clew, tack, cleat, vang, jib, jibe, starboard, leeward, close hauled, long reach, and on and on. Our very first sail was in the safety of the driveway.

The big day finally came for our maiden voyage. We chose to play it safe and begin the sailing learning curve in Lago de Yajoa, a lake about 45 minutes from us. Locating one of the few boat ramps on the lake at Honduyate, (a very nice place featuring cabins, a marina, hotel, restaurant and a place to store and launch boats), we began our first sail.

It was a beautiful day! Yes, there were a few tense moments, like when we lost the lanyard to the outboard and it wouldn't start, or trying to take down the sail in gusty winds, but overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing day. I do think it will be a bit before we get out on the BIG water though. Special thanks to the previous owner who has spent countless hours emailing information and suggestions to me, and to Barbe's Uncle Vigo who with Aunt Paula taught themselves to sail after purchasing a boat in New Zealand and then spent two years on the high seas in the "Marijke". BTW: The boys are already talking a bigger boat and sailing the Caribbean islands!