3/29/18 – 28 nm – N8º15.4′ W79º19.3′ – At sea
12:23:00, meridian passage off the sextant, mark it noon! Referenced the GHT and declination from the almanac, a little addition and subtraction and voila: 30 nm error from the GPS. Not too bad for a plastic practice sextant.
Yesterday was a full work day. Chris wired a new bilge pump and fixed the washer/dryer, Cheryl assisting while Yayoi, Gary and I dinghied in for more dinghy fuel and water. Fixed minor other things on the boat including siliconing the wheel access port back on. While walking to the gas station, a local guy pulled up in a pickup truck and said he would drive us for uel and water, so we hopped in the back. A few minutes down the road the driver stopped by a pedestrian who just hopped in. A few miles down the road and the truck stopped, the passenger hopped out without them ever saying a word to each other. We grabbed some water at the mercado while the driver waited, then hopped back in for a ride back to the resort where there were some 50 gallon barrels in a shed. Syphoned out about 3 gallons for the dinghy, paid a few bucks and back to the boat.
Dinghy skiing! So fun! Gary, Yayoi and I zipped aroudn the harbor in the dinghy pulling each other around on the SUP. Those inflatables bounced a bit, but we could definitely surf with speed. Yayoi stayied up the longest.
Later that evening we saw Simon and Hadley’s Ouma come to anchor at our stern with two friends. Panko pork, salad, stuffing for dinner and sun downers. We were sitting outside in the cooler night air when Yayoi let out a quick yell. Then she said, “shooting star!” We asked, “where?!” And she said, “Over there!” And we said, “Whoah! It’s still going!” It must have lit across the sky for 7 seconds! Space trash maybe? Way faster than an airplane, but slower than any shooting star I’ve ever seen! Another shooting star was totally amazing in a different way. It was faster, maybe 1 second duration, bright white, but it shot off three red flares behind it while falling. Maybe some star wars were going on up above us somewhere. Polished off our Dark and Stormies, wine and beer and to bed before midnight.
Woke up to the pitter patter of Gary’s feet on the deck over our heads. Coffee, anchor up and motoring out at 8:50 am, within fifteen minutes of waking up. Next stop, El Salvador! Blue skies, hot, sunny, light breeze, 3 lines in the water. Full sail, 6.1 knots, no engine.