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EPILOGUE

We left Santa Barbara, January, 2004 , cruised south along the coast of Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, through the Panama Canal and up the Caribbean side of Panama.  Crossed over to the  Columbian Islands of Isla San Andres & Providencia.  Cruised over to the top of Honduras, the Bay Islands of Honduras, up the coast of Belize and Yucatan, Mexico and acroos to Key West.    From Key West, we continued up the Intracoastal Waterway to the Chesapeake with a couple legs in the Atlantic.  Cruised the Chesapeake the summer of 2004 and left the boat for the winter at Atlantic Yacht Basin, near Norfolk, Virginia.

The following are our Favorite Places, The Worst (but sometimes the most exciting), The Most Unusual Experiences, and the  The Most Memorable People.

 FAVORITE PLACES:

Santa Barbara to Key West

  1. First Stop, San Benito Island, off the Coast of Baja.  It looked like the Galapagos to me, the wild life was great.  Wish we had taken the time to stop and pet the whales near Magdalena.

  1. Barillas Yacht Club, El Salvador.  Wouldn’t have missed the night entry to the jungle estuary where Barillas Yacht Club was located and to wake in the morning to see the spectacular sunrise silhouetting the nearby volcanoes.  The small plane flight over the volcanoes and entry reef was a memorable experience.

  1. The waters and shoreline just north of Los Suenos, Costa Rica.  The rocky unsettled shoreline was a dramatic backdrop to our anticipation of Costa Rica.

  1. Volcano Arenal, Costa Rica.  The beauty of being so close to an active volcano and the lush tropical landscape.  Soaking in the energizing heated natural volcanic waters.

  1. Isla Cano, Costa Rica.  It was exciting to anchor in the rugged waters near this island, and explore the jungle landscape and swim in the agua blue waters of the island.

  1. Drake Bay, Costa Rica.  What a dramatic bay.  The easy going life of the fishermen in the bay, the shell laden shore, and the nearby nature reserve were overwhelming.  The remoteness of the area was a big draw for us.

  1. Isla Secas, Panama.  The beauty of these islands was breath taking and the knowledge that it will always be a protected landscape is truly a joy.  Wish we could have stayed longer.

  1.  Bahia Honda anchorage, Panama.  Another remote and incredibly beautiful area.  Totally removed from access by cars, planes, and towns.  Would have liked to stay longer and explored the area.  The natives were friendly and we enjoyed talking with them and trading.

  1. Golfito, Costa Rica.   A little taste of the paste without the tourists.  Rough and tough, a little Bogartish.

  1. Panama Canal - Well the whole thing.

  1. Colon Yacht Club, Panama.  Experience the Twilight Zone and the Star Wars Bar Scene for real.

  1.  Portobello, Panama.  Put yourself back in time with the Pirates of the Caribbean.

  1.  Bocas Del Toro, Panama.  Colorful, fun, rustic, beautiful waters.  Wish we would have used the area to explore the inland areas.  Want to come back.

  1.  Water Taxi ride to Chanquinola, Panama.  Outstanding, beautiful, cheapest fun thing we’ve ever done.

  1.  Isla Providencia, Columbia.  Kind of like a rundown Rodeo Drive in the middle of the ocean.  Beautiful women, like the song Girl from Ipanema.

  1.  Isla San Andres, Columbia.  No place like it.  Wild ride in back of a pick up truck to a restaurant in a house way up in the hills.  Interesting.

  1.  Cayo Vivarillo, Honduras.  Teensy island, out in the middle of the Caribbean with it's own "Man Friday".  Surreal.

  1.  Would have lovedsto have made it to Rio Dulce, Guatemala.  Big regret on the trip.  Weather and time didn’t permit.

  1.  Diving in Belize.  Outstanding.  Didn’t think we could do it.  Dove with huge sharks, man rays, others.  Unbelievable water.

  1.  Ambergris, Belize.  Wonderful place.  Colorful, fun, another interesting culture.  Worth exploring more as we were just beginning to touch the surface of what the place was all about.  Too much wind and rough seas.

The Intracostal Waterway 

  1. St. Augustine, Florida.  Unbelievable view entering from the ocean.  Transports you into another time.  Picturesque and wonderful architecture.

  1. Fernandino, Florida.  One of our favorite places.  Small town, beautiful architecture and homes.  Wonderful friendly and very polite people.  Loved it.  True Southern hospitality.

  1. Cumberland Island, Georgia.  Beautiful shoreline.  Amazing to see wild horses decendants from wrecks of Spanish Galleons, grazing the shoreline.  Want to come back an anchor and explore the island by foot.

  1. Beaufort, South Carolina.  Loved it.  Love the architecture, people, feel of the old South.  Quiet and very charming.

  1. Charleston, South Carolina.  Fun town, great architecture and restaurants.  Love that Southern hospitality.

  1. Savanna, Georgia.  Wonderful mystery and decadence to the place.  Again, loved the architecture, parks, restaurants, people.

  1. Thunderhead, Georgia.  Great family bar and restaurant.  Lots of fun.  Tubbs, it’s called.

  1. Beaufort, North Carolina.  Another, quiet, charming town, right out of the past.  Great people.  Real America.

 PRETTIEST OR MOST SPECTACULAR STRETCHES OF THE ICW 

  1. Georgia and South Carolina.

  2. Palm Beach area because the homes are amazingly over the top.

  3. Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  Same reason.

  4. River up to the Nordhavn headquarters, in Stuart.  A real African Queen experience.

 

In the Chesapeake 

  1. Washington, DC.  What a great city.  So much to see and do.  Changed my life and gave me a real appreciation for our country and it's history and who made it great. 

  2. Reedville, Virginia.  A little taste of the real thing.  Watermen, Menhaden fishing, got a glimpse into the past.  Met some real interesting and friendly people.

  3. St. Mary’s, Maryland.  Lovely setting.  So quiet and peaceful.  Great history.  Loved eating in the college dining room.

  4. Annapolis, Maryland.  What’s not to like with this town?  It has everything, like DC.  Fun, activity, clean cut, friendly, architecture, food, fun, fun, fun.

  5. St. Michaels, Maryland.  Beautiful, picturesque town.  Great maritime museum.  Imagined Michener walking the streets.

  6. Cambridge, Maryland.  A little rough on the edges, but really came to love it because the people were so welcoming.  They are very proud of their town and working hard to make a come back.  We hated to leave.

  7. Oxford, Maryland.  If you’re interested in classic boats they have some great places to explore.  Picturesque setting and the general store was fun to pick up on the local gossip.  Top notch antique shop.  Great crab cakes.

  8. Onancock, Maryland.  One of my most favorite places.  Can’t explain it.  Just met some great friendly real people and the scenery is to die for.  Wish that I had kayaked on the inlet.  Quiet, peaceful. Want to go back, go to the local theatre, take the friendly couple we met to dinner in one of their great  little restaurants, kayak, and take the ferry to Tangiers.

  9. Deltaville, Maryland.  Thought it was great that the owner lent us his car to explore the surrounding towns.  We loved the idea that our waitress picked up us and took us to the restaurant, took our order, served us dinner, and then met us out back, to drive us back to the boat while she told her other customers she’d be right back!

THE WORST (OR THE MOST EXCITING?) AND SOMETIMES IN THE LONG RUN, THE MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES 

Santa Barbara to Key West

  1. Paperwork “Cha Cha” throughout Mexico and Central America.  Term coined by John Rains, meaning, going through all the paperwork and “hoopala” a to clear customs.

  2. Trying out my rusty Spanish in Puerto Vallarta, and realizing later that I ordered a “fisherman” for dinner instead of “fish”.

  3. Our first taste of rough seas of the Coast of Costa Rica, called Tehuantepec and Papagallo.

  4. Getting Fuel at the Acapulco Yacht Club.  Trying to jostle in line with all the “macho” boaters was a stress filled morning.  Then, there was so much air in the line, it took us hours to fill the tank. 

  5. Trying to get to shore in the rough water at Isla Cano, Costa Rica.  Had to hitch a ride with a dive boat and hoped I could find a ride back and not get stranded. 

  6. Traipsing through the jungle by myself for 2 ½ hours at Isla Cano, while Larry stayed on the boat in the rough seas.  Scary walk alone through the jungle, jumping at every russle of leaves which turned out to be little lizards.  My imagination got the best of me.

  7. Problems with the crew that were going to go across the Atlantic with us.

  8. Problem crew getting off the boat in Colon, Panama (thank goodness)  but then what do we do? 

  9. Punta Gorda, Honduras. 

  10. Watching or worrying about pirates and drug runners which never were a problem.  We met nothing but nice people the whole way.  No problems with the native people, anywhere.

  11. Poverty Areas of Panama City were eye opening.  Over crowding, unemployment, ghettos, graphitti, etc. etc.

  12. Getting stuck in Colon.  But what an interesting amazing experience to meet those cruisers that had been stuck there for weeks, and months due to the bad weather and strong winds. 

  13. Bad weather in the Caribbean overall.  Rough seas and wind, wind, wind. Yuk!

  14. Big disappointment was missing out on the San Blas Islands, Panama, but gives us a reason to go back!

  15. Not having time to go the see Las Perlas Islands, Panama.  Another reason to go back!

  16.  Trying to go out through the breakwater at Colon, Panama in 8 foot seas and having to turn back.  The angst of worrying about going through a second time, luckily the winds died down a little and we had no problems.

  17.  The hassle and stress factor of having to find new crew and fly them to Panama after we realized the present crew wasn’t working out.  The whole experience was terrible.

  18.  Those darn “NO SEE UMS” in Bocas Del Toro.  We were covered with bites and itching for months.

  19. Docking at Isla De Adventuras, Columbia with 6” depth below us.  Had to drop anchor off the bow and back down Med style to the rickety wooden dock that was so high we could barely get on and off the boat.  Boat seemed like it kept creeping up to the dock the whole time we were there.

  20. Going aground on a reef in Roatan, Honduras.  Wow.  But fortunately, we got off with no damage.  Scary.

  21.  Waiting for days in Roatan, Honduras for weather to settle.  It never did, so we just finally went..

  22. Those terrible rough waters all the way to Belize. 

  23. Entering the unenterable entrance to Ambergris, Belize during terrible seas. 

  24. Days of waiting in Ambergris, Belize, for the wind and rough seas to settle.  The wind was unrelenting.  We sat day after day, everyone did, while each day paying for crew to sit and wait.

  25. Rough waters to the Keys and without stabilizers.

  26. Those bad eggs all through the trip.  Had to drop them in water to see if they floated.  Really bad.

  27. Stabilizers went out in Panama City but Larry was able to fix them.

  28. Damn stabilizers went out again, in Ambergris.  They were out all the way to Stuart, Florida.

  29. The unbearable heat, humidity, and bugs the whole trip.

  30.  Watching Larry eat River Mud Crabs in Isla Providencia, Columbia and lovin’ every bite.

In the UNITED STATES 

  1. Key West.  Drunks, bad music, and bad smells.  Too much noise, too many people with too much time on their hands with nothing to do.  Sorry Key West.  L 

  2.  Entering Miami in rough seas, as the charts and radar went blank and we had no visability or stabilizers.

  3. Going aground in Miami, right in the center of the Intracoastal Waterway. 

  4. The shallow undredged waters of the ICW, in general, the whole way.  Our first lesson on the ICW was not to trust that it is going to be deep enough. What happened to the stated 12’ dredged depths? 

  5. Getting back to the states and the shock of civilization again.  All the silly rules crazy irresponsible boaters , and Ziggy again was not allowed anywhere.

  6. Docking experience at Old Port Royal as the bow thrusters were failing and we didn’t know it.

  7. “Rubbing the mug of the ICW”

  8. 50+ knot winds at sea outside of Stuart, Florida.  The terrible thunder and lightening.  A really frightening experience for us.

  9. The smell of the pulp mill at Fernandino, Florida, if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction.

  10. Waiting for the G8 Conference to get over so we could continue up the ICW.

  11.  Coming in the Waico, Georgia, inlet in rough seas and bad visibility.  Don’t recommend it.  Be safe go another route.

  12. Accidentally stabbing my foot with the butcher knife in Little River, South Carolina.

  13.  Heat and humidity.

  14.  Avoiding crab pots in the ICW just outside of Charleston.

In the CHESAPEAKE 

  1. Sorry to say, I’m really sick of crab cakes.

  2. Where have all the oysters gone?  Isn’t there a song like that, “where have all the flowers(Oysters) gone?”  It kept going through my mind.

  3. Someone removed our lines from the dock in the night in Annapolis, in Ego Ally no less.  Fortunately, no damage.  That was the only vandalism the whole trip.

  4.  Bad expensive meals.  Don’t mind bad cheap meals.

  5.  Rained the whole visit at The Tides Inn, in Virginia and the Spa was completely booked.  Bummer. L

  6. Missed the trip to Tangier Island because the captain of the ferry boat decided to paint the boat that week. L

  7. No wind for sailboat race in St. Michaels, Maryland.

  8. Jayne went momentarily aground on an “ancient sand dune” just north of Snow Cut near Wilmington, South Carolina.

  9. The Constable who chased us down in the ICW for making wakes when the wakes were really made by a speeding power boat ahead of us.  He didn’t believe us though.

  10. Boater shaking his fist at us as he passed us somewhere along the ICW because we didn’t slow down to a stop, to let him go by.  We didn’t have the boat channel on for a few minutes and didn’t hear him hailing us.  Oh well.

  11. That old crab man who laid pots all down the center of the ICW outside of Charleston in a very narrow shallow area.  What a little stinker.

  12. The sea rescue at Windmill Point, Maryland.  Made it just in time to help, if needed, but Coast Guard saved the day, getting the people on board as the boat went down in bad seas.

  13.  Heat and Humidity.  Did I say that before?

  14.  Should’ve gone kayaking in the Onancock Creek, Maryland.  Too beautiful to have missed doing that.

  15.  Portsmouth, Marina. Someone on the dock, posing as a dock hand, didn’t know what he was doing and directed us back too far.   We damaged our swim step and then he mysteriously disappeared.  That was the only damage we had to the boat the whole 10 months.  What a bummer as it was our very last stop!  Never trust anybody on the docking but the captain.

  16. Really bad pictures of me through out this trip.

MOST UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES 

  1. Trying to buy a camera in Panama after I broke the one we had for the trip.

  2. Searching the town of Golfito, Costa Rica for knee pads and electrolyte drinks for the new crew that had stomach problems, and recently replaced knees.  Eeegad! 

  3. Taking to the natives that rowed out to our boat at our anchorage in Bahia Honda, Panama.  It was fun trading flour and sugar, or candy for bananas.

  4. Having a fresh coconut drink on a deserted island with “Our Man Friday”.

  5. Fear of entering the reef opening to Ambergris, Belize, when the experienced captain kept telling me we had an “70% chance of making it”. 

  6. Entering the “Heart of Darkness”, at the Barillas Yacht Club, El Salvador.

  7. The never ending fear and worry of running over a ponga at night, 12+ miles off the coast of El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

  8. Jayne excessively worrying about mosquitoes and malaria, etc. in Honduras.

  9. No bribes or robberies or trouble along the way.

  10. The picture of seeing those boaters from the States, sprawled out on the dock in Ambergris, Belize, after coming through the dangerous entry in very bad seas.

  11. The 50 knot winds just off the coast of Florida.

  12.  The sea rescue in the Chesapeake.

MEMORABLE PEOPLE ALONG THE WAY

In Central America

  1.  Captain Rains and first mate Scott Atkins, who showed us the ropes, so to say, from San Diego to Los Suenos, Costa Rica.  A real pro and professional in all aspects.
     

  2.  The Costa Rican fish baiter in Los Suenos that spent a whole afternoon on his day off teaching us how to fix the bait so we could catch  fish on the rest of our trip..
     

  3. Linda Klein, Michael Klein’s sister who was so gracious to show us around Isla Secas, Panama.  What a place that is going to be and already is.

  4. Toothless Domingo, the native Panamanian that came by ponga to chew the fat and trade bananas for whatever we offered in Bahia Honda, Panama..

  5.  Ricardo, the dock hand at Bocas Del Toro Marina, who is surely on his way to success.  He was the most hardworking, reliable, smart, and enterprising young black man.  Always had a huge smile.  He knew how to get anything done that you needed.

  6. Tom Nesbit, the boater we met from Louisiana at Bocas Del Toro, Panama.  The twinkle in his eye and his great southern conversation were a pleasure. 

  7. Our “Man Friday” who was left on a deserted island or cay, called Cayo Vivarillo.  He climbed a tree and served us fresh coconut juice after we filled a tank of water for him and brought him food and cold Coca Cola.

  8. Captain Jim Kelly, who loved Ziggy.  We loved his amazing wonderful stories, sense of humor, and cheerful attitude throughout the trip.

  9. The black waiter at the Roatan Yacht Club in Honduras who chatted with us every day.

In the United States

  1. The Captain we met in the next boat to us at Key West.  He gave us much info on the trip north up the ICW and seemed like a pirate character.  He was worried about heading south to Yucatan in a boat that had the dinghy tied on the bow that was going to be very dangerous in the rough waters ahead.  We know he made it though as we met up with him again in Georgia along the ICW.

  2. The Nordhavn Group that we met in Fort Lauderdale, getting ready to cross the Atlantic.  Especially, MV “Uno Mas” and others who had left Seattle in 24 foot seas to make the same route we did to join the Atlantic Crossing.

  3. Adam Cultraro, from Nordhavn,  who is the best salesman I know because we would not have a boat like this, nor do the crazy things that we are doing without this wonderful young man.  He’s all charm and no pressure, at least non that you are aware of.

  4. Justin from Nordhavn, that outfitted our boat.  Always helpful and friendly.  In fact the whole West Coast Nordhavn staff were great and we had the same experience on the East Coast at the Stuart location.  First class people all the way.

  5. The dock master at Boca Raton Resort, Florida.  Was so friendly and helpful.

  6. Rick who worked on our boat at the Nordhavn, Stuart, Florida, boat yard. 

  7. The friendly and polite local residents at Fernandino, Florida.  This is the way all people should be.  Great manners and hospitality.

  8. The tour boat operators to Cumberland Island, Georgia.  Full of great stories and interesting insights into the history of the area, with first hand experience.

  9. Joann and Steve Leimberg, new Nordhavn owners, that we met and ended up cruising with for 6 weeks.  Really top notch people!  We love them dearly and hope to link up again.  They are the most kind and considerate people we’ve met in a long time.  PS, they loved Ziggy too!

  10. Al and Sue from Denver, that just bought a Krogen, called Toucan.  Full of fun and adventure and great cocktail companions with wonderful conversation.  Hope we can connect with them again too.

  11. The lovely couple we met at the docks at Onancock, Maryland.  Offered to drive us to the grocery store or any place we needed.  Hope we can get back there on our way up and take them to dinner.  Real people!

  12. The strangers that knocked on the door to the boat in Annapolis to say “hi” because they felt they knew us from reading our  website.

  13. The people that sent us an email that saw our boat at Onancock, Eastern Shore, Maryland.  Said they had been following our adventure on the website and could’ve stolen our shoes that were left on our door mat. 

  14. The wonderful town and store keepers of the town of Cambridge, Eastern Shore Maryland.  Made us feel like we belonged.

  15. Bill and Bonnie Wilson and their friends George and Kristy, from St. Michael’s Maryland.  We had a wonderful couple days there.  The dogs were outstanding.

  16. Jim, the Commodore of the Capitol Yacht Club in Washington DC.  Great guy.  Drove Larry to Home Depot for a part.  The yacht club made us feel very welcome and it was one of the best experiences of our trip.

  17. The retired CIA agent we met at Reedville, Virginia.  He drove us eleven miles to have breakfast and then drove us all over the area showing us the sights.  What a generous person.  He also, brought down an arm full of paperback spy novels that he was done with and thought we’d enjoy.  He was amazing!

  18. The docent that we met at St. Mary’s Historical Village, St. Mary's, Maryland,  who was plowing the fields and stopped to take time out to give us a personal tour of the village. 

  19. All the characters at the Atlantic Yacht Basin, Virginia.  It’s is truly the most unique and interesting place.  We appreciate all those who were instrumental in corralling Ziggy and locking him in the dock office late one night when he got off the boat and was running wild around the yard while we were out to dinner.

 

WHAT AN ADVENTURE AND TO THINK, WE’RE STARTING IT ALL OVER AGAIN, FIRST OF MAY!