Huatulco to Chiapas – Crossing the notorious Tehuantepec

 Huatulco to Chiapas –

Crossing the notorious Tehuantepec

Valiant refreshing in his new pool with fresh water!

          We waited out a “storm” before making our crossing.  We’ve heard of two home built catamarans who have been abandoned over the last 30 years due to a failed attempt at this crossing, so it can be a serious one.  The main season usually ends in March or April, so a May crossing isn’t so bad.  The storm winds were predicted at 45 for this storm, they have blown at 100 mph and more.  So all in all, we’re not too concerned, but taking it seriously.  There were 3 boats making the crossing from Huatulco at the same time, we left first on the evening of the 16^th.  We had a beautiful evening and sailed much of the way with the main and genoa. 

Intrepid "Big Guy" jumping in!

                On the 17^th we woke to a gorgeous day, started our breakfast, but couldn’t finish due the spinning of the fishing reel.  It was a much coveted Dorado.  We were in luck for lunch and maybe dinner.  Then again it went, and again, a gorgeous green Dorado.  And again, almost immediately.  It was beginning to feel like one of those silly cartoons where they just keep pulling them in and piling them up!!  We caught 4 Dorado in a row, then noticed a fin following one of our squid lures.  We watched for awhile, he was definitely following and watching the lure.  It was a swordfish!!  We tried making the lure appear to be swimming, jumping from the water and swimming by jet propulsion bursts as it would naturally.  No luck, he didn’t bite.  We went and read about how to hook a swordfish. 

Cassidy and Intrepid surfing while under way!

You could see schools of Dorado jumping out of the water.  We hooked another Dorado!!  That’s 5 in one morning if you’re not so good at math.  And again, a swordfish checking us out.  We fiddled and hooked him!!!  Unfortunately he left with our lure.  Apparently the knot that was tied by the guy at the bait shop (on our $30 lure) gave way, the metal clip was still in place.  That swordfish definitely thought he was hooked and put up a mean fight – I got a great video of him jumping totally out of the water to break free and you can even see our red lure hanging down.  He was a mighty one!  Interesting to say the least.


     

Cassidy jumping!!

 Dorado #6 came in to make us all feel better.  We
then hooked a bonita (tuna family) and threw him back, just not appealing enough after our morning’s luck!!  Fortunately we had lots of sun and therefore power and were able to run the freezer to spread out the fish over some time.  We are going to be eating good!!

Captain Courage overboard!!

              

     It was a warm, calm day, so we stopped for a refreshing swim.  We jumped off the bow tube again, even Intrepid since he’s now an old hat at it.  It’s really great what a difference it can make in a warm and humid day to get into some cool/warm water.  The water now is 82-84
degrees, definitely not cold.  It actually feels good as you swim around to find some colder pockets.                

Cassidy abandoned at sea by the boat . . .

       





    This time Cassidy and I went out from the boat for a bit more of an adventure swim and exercise.  Suddenly, there was a sea turtle, right there with us!! How neat was that.  We swam around him and got a good look.  He seemed as interested as we were.  Then he lifted his head, took a few big breaths, and headed under.  What a cool looking creature!

Our coolest sea turtle friend.

                  We made it in to Chiapas just in time for the inauguration of the new marina.  It had been there for 6 months, dug out of a prior mangrove estuary.  We arrived at noon and at 1 pm there was a big party with the governor of Chiapas cutting the ribbon.  There was a tennis tournament, sailfish fishing derby, tents set up with vendors and a big buffet dinner.  We enjoyed seeing the sailfish – the winner was 34 kg.  Top prize was $15,000.  It was interesting to see how efficiently and quickly the guy filleted them.  They give the meat to orphans.  It was a nice party.

                     

Security was tight for the governor coming.

The governor of Chiapas coming for the ribbon cutting ceremony

Innocence checking out the sailfish winners.

 They had sprayed for mosquitos for the preparation for the party, but there were many mosquitos in the area, likely due to the fact that it was previously a mangrove.  At this point we worked vigorously to get our new netting installed, but we needed Velcro (or something) to attach it over the hatches that were flush and the doorway.  We sustained many bites in the process.  It was also hot and humid!!  The bay was muddy and not inviting for a swim and there wasn’t a pool, so we refreshed in our little inflatable pool and used our room fans, but it was a hot one!

Sailfish competition -
everyone LOVES having pictures taken with the blonde kids!

       

  Innocence and I ventured out on a collective (a group bus/van that picks up everyone it can heading toward town).  The town of Tapachula was 20 miles away and had the bigger stores.  Innocence fell asleep on her neighbor on the way in.  You detour to drop people off along the way.  There is a joke, “How many people can fit on a collectivo?”  “One more.”  We went to Walmart and Home Depot (for the mosquito Velcro and some polyurethane for our cabinets), then jumped on a bus with a cart full of groceries and went a couple stops down to Sams Club.  There we met our neighbor boat friends and shared a taxi ride home with our goods.  A taxi is 10 times what a collective costs, but it’s a great way to get home once you’ve been shopping for groceries for a crew of 10.

The family checking out the fish.

Integrity LOVES fish!

On Monday we headed out to immigration to get our ZARPE.  We need this to be able to leave the country, basically saying that we left in good standing.  First our entire group had to go to the airport to show our passports, pay a fee, and show our boat documentation.  Then we had to go to the Port Captain’s office.  Fortunately Meno from the marina office drove us around in his truck to these stops.  A collectivo for 10 people with multiple stops in a foreign language would have been a disaster.



The kids rode in the bed of the truck and were loving it!!  The final step is an inspection by the federales of the boat with a trained drug dog who sniffs your bilges, etc.  They were very friendly and allowed the kids to pet and play with the dog, which is not allowed for US working dogs because they may get distracted.  The kids loved it!

           
   Because it’s a new marina, Chiapas was offering boats $200/month for dock space, no matter their size.  We paid half that for 3 nights, but got what we needed.  Many of the commuter cruisers were taking advantage of this great deal and disembarking here for the season.  They don’t cruise during rainy season.  We said goodbye to some nice new friends, hopefully until we meet again, and we were off for El Salvador.

The children checking out a turtle habitat in Chiapas.

The kids climbing a tree - very standard.