The J factor

With Easter coming, Jennie and I were forced to ask today, "Where's Jesus?"

We spent a nice week at the marina, where we had showers which we found out did produce hot water eventually, we had nice restaurant meals and happy hour specials, and we able to tidy up Cypraea and work out a few kinks. Thanks Mom!

Wednesday, came and it was time to head to Playa Del Coco so mom can catch a bus to the airport in the morning. We knew it was going to be windy so we tried to leave early. Unfortunately, not early enough. We motored to Playa Del Coco, on the way we saw; mist being blown off the water, a small waterspout, and got to motor up the last mile (at comfortable cruising revs as not to total mess up our hurting Perkins) at 1 knot into the wind. It was so hard to steer into the wind that eventually while trying to set anchor, the first time, we broke our steering cable again. Luckily we were half set so I let out some scope, as much as I could without hitting the boats around, we pulled the dilapidated helm chair off (again) and put the emergency tiller on. Then we attempted another anchor set, but didn't have enough room to let out enough scope and found ourselves dragging. We then went shallower and to more space where we finally managed to set both anchors, and now we sit restlessly on the hook. The whole time we were blessed with 25 knot winds gusting 50+.

While we motored from the marina to the anchorage (5 miles) through a little bay that is 2 miles wide and 4 miles long the dinghy almost got flipped and our (unoar-locked) paddles were given to King Neptune. So now we are down a motor and our paddles all while in Costa Rica. We will have to jerry rig some new ones out of scrub brush handles and an old pail. And this is just to get mom to shore.

Man things can really change out here in an hour. Lucky for us Jesus is around this weekend, I wonder if he is as good with boat problems as with carpentry.