Sailing through San Blas, as captain, has been a blast. I dig it.
The wind has been decent, the weather has been fantastic, and I haven’t put S/V NOMAD on the reef. All positive things. The only negative thing is that I’ve failed pretty miserably in the “bringing home dinner” department.
San Blas, Again
The first day I sailed to Western Hollandes Caye, where I dropped anchor and hung out for a couple of days. I got to try out the new kayak (awesome), do a bit of diving, and hung out the underwater LED light to see what came around.
The diving was decent, but not great. I managed to get outside the reef and saw my first Black Grouper here in San Blas. Great, but they are skittish here. Moreso than in the Bahamas for sure.
At night the LED light would bring in huge tarpon. At first I had no idea what they were – they were 5 + foot long, though. Sharks? Huge mackerel? Cobia? Eventually I got up the nerve to stick my head in the water (remember, it was night) and saw them. Massive things, great fighters, but no good to eat. If they would have been worth eating, I’d likely have jumped in and tried to put a spear in one. I tried everything to catch them on (hook and line) light tackle, but they weren’t interested in anything but the baitfish under my light.
Eventually I headed to Eastern Hollandes Caye, where I anchored for a couple more days. I had a little trouble finding a good spot to anchor without crowding the other yacht in the area. I drug anchor once, and decided that he’d have to deal with a neighbor.
The fear of dragging anchor at night is horrible. It keeps me awake sometimes and is always in the back of my mind. It’s even worse when I’m diving alone and have the dinghy anchored somewhere. If I lose that, I’m up shit creek for sure. I’m getting bigger anchors and more chain.
Finally anchored I started exploring a bit – all around the Swimming Pool and Hot Tub, to most of the islands (except the aptly named Bug Island). I found a couple of spots that I was sure would hold fish – but they didn’t.
Nonetheless I managed to spot a Hogfish in shallow water when I was kicking around. He came back with me and was promptly scaled. Not a giant, maybe 6 or so pounds. But he’ll eat. I absolutely love Hogfish, probably my favorite of the reef fish. Good, white, flaky meat. Great in ceviche, great panfried. If I’d done better keeping my vegetables good I’d have made ceviche – but I screwed that up a bit.
I also found a Kuna family with a little pet monkey. Cute thing, but I felt pretty bad for it. No camera with me (I’m doing horrible with pictures right now, aren’t I?) so you’ll have to take my word for it. By the end of it, I was having trouble prying the damn thing off of me so I could leave.
I got tired of Eastern Hollandes Caye pretty quickly. Not much there. Pretty anchorage, no doubt, but it was time to move on.
Coco Time
The next stop was Coco Banderos. Another group of islands that’s almost as far offshore as Hollandes Caye. Sailing here was great, but getting into the anchorage and anchored wasn’t easy. I had to squeeze between two other anchored yachts on my way in, then I couldn’t find a shallow spot to anchor. I’m a 3X scope kinda guy, so dropping anchor in 10 meters of water means I need to let out at least 30 meters of chain. And I found out that I only have about 40 meters of chain on my main anchor. Meaning that I’m pushing it anchoring in 10 meters, preferring to be anchored in 5-7 meters.
So I pulled NOMAD almost up on the beach on one of the islands, dropped anchor and backed down on it. And the anchor pulled. So I picked it back up, circled around a bit and eventually found another spot in about 8 meters. Good depth, and by the time I’d let out 3X scope – I was almost onshore of another island. It’s a great view when I wake up, for sure.
But it’s also a little worrying to be that close to shore/coral. The anchoring thing is still pretty stressful for me, I’m hoping that starts to go away as I get more salty. Fingers crossed.
Diving Coco
I’ve dove this area pretty hard now. Hard enough that I’ve got serious blisters on both feet. In three days I’ve seen two interesting fish – a 25 pound Mutton Snapper and a larger Black Grouper. Both of which took leave before I had a chance to dive on them. Skittish, really skittish. I’ve also blown a couple shots on small Cero Mackerel too, so it’s partly my fault. When they’re that skinny, it’s hard to hit them.
Yesterday I had a nice lobster lunch and went out to a spot much further offshore. The rollers were coming in pretty high and breaking over the reef. Not exactly the weather I needed to get into the deep water to make some proper dives, in search of proper fish.
After nearly running the dinghy aground on some coral, nearly flipping into the rollers, and definitely having a bit of a scare – my survival instincts got the better of me and I moved back inshore. This is the kind of thing that I want a 12+ foot dinghy for (with a 25 hp Yamaha). Unfortunately I can’t afford a boat big enough to put that kind of dinghy on, so this one will have to do.
Today I’m sailing back to Western Hollandes. Thanks to a fellow diver/sailor/fisherman (Mark, thanks dude!) I have a couple of numbers to spots that ought to produce a dinner or two. Which is going to be necessary after tomorrow – as I’m running out of protein onboard.
The protein lasted longer than the beer though, that’s for damn sure. I have no idea how I’m going to store enough beer for the Pacific crossing…
Sailing San Blas, Again
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