ERROR of Judgement

We spent a wonderful month in Nicaragua and KNOW we will be back. The people again make this country. They are a proud people and have to work very hard just for survival. A very large portion of the population is not educated thanks to the wars from the 70's until the 90's. There is now free education for the country and hopefully this will help them realize their full potential. Let's hope other countries STAY OUT of their politics and let them do what is best for them, if they want to help let it be through programs with no political strings attached. We actually went to look at some property while here and who knows the potential to help teach English, fire department work and orphanages are all possibilities in the future. We had the privilege to meet one of the sons, whose family owns most things in Nicaragua. He is a very down to earth person. We talk to him about things within the country that are in need of volunteers, it would be an honour to help. Who knows, we still have much travelling to do.
We would like to thank Robert and his wonderful staff at Puesta del Sol for a month we will never forget.
We checked our sources for weather and determined Fri was the day to leave as the Papagayo winds were picking up Saturday and Sunday.
Papagayo winds are unusually gusty and they can turn on and off in an instant. In the sailing directions they are referred to as the dangerous north winds known locally as Norteros. They are gap winds. Predicting the Papagayos usually isn't difficult, although they can start up earlier than expected. The winds are generated by the high pressure system sitting in the Caribbean. At the same time the Tehuantepec is usually also blowing hard.
As we traveled south the winds began to pick up, we moved closer inland to within 1 - 1 ½ miles. We decided with a short weather window we would go straight to Bahia Santa Elena, Costa Rica in 24 hrs with no stopping.
Closer to the land the winds were still there but the waves were almost non existent. Gerry had caught a bug and was not feeling great so we sedated him. He slept pretty much the whole day and night.
The winds were now picking up with gusts from 15 - 25 knots. We changed our cruising plans to follow the shore. As night came on we got into our three hour shifts and started to have 30 - 45 knot winds. The papagayo winds are very strange. There will be 5 minutes with no wind then all of a sudden a 30 -60 sec gust of wind. Close to shore I am still surprised at how little wave action there was, making for a comfortable ride just noisy and cool.
There was no moon again so spotting the hundreds of fishermen was quite a challenge. During one of Ken's shifts he went over a net but it did not get caught in the props. However, the biggest challenge was travelling outside the 2 mile range to be out of the fishermen's way. Waves were much larger as you ventured out; needless to say we tried very hard to stay within the close range of shore, only venturing out for rocks, reefs and the odd fishing net. The gusts were happening more frequently and at higher knots; as we approached San Jan del Sur the waves now where a bit choppy. 0500 hr both Ken and I were navigating the water and analyzing the waves. At 0600 hr they started to calm down and that is when I made the decision that the seas were now flat and it was only 2 hrs until we would be in Santa Elena crossing Bahia de Salinas. ERROR, ERROR, ERROR
All the books and guides say if there is a Papagayo blowing hug the shore and follow into Bahia de Salinas DO NOT cross the bay. Well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We scared the crew! Baptism by fire; Gerry will have something to talk about for some time.
The waves started out benign increasing instantly (no return point) to Easterly 45 knots 10 foot on 5 seconds. The swell was Southerly 6 - 8 feet on 10 seconds. You boaters know what that means. CRAP. Those non boaters, not a place you want to be.
We arrived to Bahia Santa Elena in Costa Rica. It is a beautiful bay inside a National Park. It is protected from most directions of wind. You receive the gusts but there is no swell or waves making it a very safe and comfortable anchorage to wait out the storm. It is a bit windy but that just cools things down somewhat. It is looking like we will be here for almost a week. Time to relax.
This is being sent over the SSB radio. I will change the format when I have internet.

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