For those who don't know, a mizzen mast is the smaller mast that is behind the main mast in the stern of a sailboat. If the mizzen is in front of the rudder, the boat is a "ketch." If it is at the very end of the stern, behind the rudder, the boat is a "yawl." I have not seen very many yawls, but ketches are popular and I would consider having one if I wasn't so lazy I do not want to handle anymore sails. By the way, a "sloop" is a boat with one mast and one headsail. A "cutter" has one mast directly in the middle of the boat, with two headsails. We have a cutter. Sloops have the mast a bit further astern, and some of them do have two headsails - making them "cutter-rigged sloops" rather than a true cutter. A schooner has more than one mast, but the masts get bigger as they get further astern. Ketches and yawls have more than one mast, but the stern mast is smaller than the main mast. I should get some pictures, but we all know how good I am with the picture posting process.
Anyway, all of us jumped into our dinghies and quickly raced to help out. We (I mostly stood around watching) got the mast secured and got it on board the boat. No small task - thank goodness the water was fairly calm, there was little wind, it was broad daylight and all those things that usually never happen when something goes wrong It usually happens in bad weather and at night. Our friends are pretty shook up, but since they are sailors, they are looking immediately forward as to how to get the problem solved. It is obvious what happened - a chain plate failed - so no need for a lot of post mortem.
Otherwise, things are fine and gorgeous in El Salvador. Mike and I are leaving in two days for what has turned into a 27 day trip to Honduras. Of course we are doing this just as two hurricanes are kicking up in the Caribbean - but their trajectories appear to be in our favor. But I wonder - if we are stuck in our hotel on Roatan without being able to dive, will they still charge us for the diving part of the trip? It was a package . . .
Here are some pictures of Mike's fishing trip.
This is the fishing group - from left we have Jason, Hugh, Santos, Mike, Rogelio, Ron.
He fought this fish for an hour and a half.
And a fine fish it was - and is, because it was catch and release.
Here, Mike is using his toes to help hold the pole because his arms were exhausted holding the pole.
It was a very exciting trip. I think it was one of his best birthdays ever. The guys were talking about it for days later. Ron caught a sailfish as well - here it is.
Mike did not bring his fish on board - it was too big. This fish is about 150 lbs. Mike's marlin was between 350 and 400 lbs - it was likely it would kill the fish (or hurt someone!) to try and pull it into the boat for a photo. The fish was cut loose once it was caught and brought up to the boat.
Anyway, other than getting ready for the trip and feeling bad for our friends, there is not a whole lot of news. I have fallen in love with the tropical lifestyle - and who would ever have guessed that I can be perfectly happy in a cabin that is over 90 degrees? Amazing, that is for sure. (I am still worried about the dying fans - one thing I CANNOT live without is my bedroom fan . . .
“Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” (Ernest Hemingway)
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