" Logbook - Stahlratte ": Januar 2010

" Logbook - Stahlratte "

31.01.2010

DANGRIGA/ BELIZE

we had some great snorkeling in the lghthousereef especially in the halmooncay marine reserve. you cant imagine.....you jump into the water and the first 5 minutes: sharks, turtles, stingrays, baracudas and plenty of fish and so on..... after two days in lighthousereef we had to sail back to belize city to pick up some people and from there we decided to sail southwards in the inshore waters. the snorkeling in here is not exiting at all because we could not find any corral reefs and the visibility is so bad. now we had another crewchange here in DANGRIGA and today we will sail down to a small cay wich should have a great snorkel spot (says the sailing guide!) close to big creek. the real cool thig is, that since we are in the inshore waters we are followed by plenty dolfins even on the anchorage we are sourouded by them every couple of hours.

26.01.2010

lighthouse reef BELIZE

it was a great night sailing out of the narow and shallow waters of belize city passing through the barrier reef and this morning the winds picked up and we had to motor the last 4 hours against the winds. now we are anchored inside the lighthousereef in the halfmooncay marine reserve. 1st snorkeling gang is getting ready now!

sailing to lighthouse reef BELIZE

now we are 16 and a half person on board and left belize city after dinner under sails with course lighthouse reef where we hope to arrive early in the morning. then snorkling in one of the greatest snorkling spots in the caribbean sea

24.01.2010

BELIZE CITY

in 30 minutes (now its 4pm) we drop anchor in front of belize city. it was a great sailing last night with up to 9 knots speed.

23.01.2010

sailing with course BELIZE posi 17-36N 85-00W

yesterday we had a beautifull sailing day with steady winds and calm sea and so it was super relaxt. only thing happend is that we caught one big mahi-mahi wich jumped off the hook when ete got him almost on deck allready and at the same time a shark bit on the flying fish bate on the other line and also jumped off the hook (including the flying fish). so no fishmeal again---what a shame! during the night winds calmed down so we had to motorsail, now we are 160nautical miles away from belize and should be arriving sunday afternoon.

22.01.2010

sailing with course BELIZE posi 17-56N 82-41W

just had breakfast...the sailing is easy and the weather nice and we allready passed half of the route to belize. the only fish we caught so far is a little flying fish wich fell on deck tonight. now we are going to use this little bastard as bate to catch something bigger....hopefully!

20.01.2010

sailing with course BELIZE posi 18-32N 79-00W

jamaica is out of view and 40 miles behind us now and the waves are bigger and so we are back in middle of the sea. we had good northeasterly winds today and made some miles good. everybody is fine...no seasickness at all. the sun is disapearing in a orange sky behind the horizon. hasta la vista...

19.01.2010

sailing with course BELIZE

left port antonio this morning with a little breeze and sunny weather. we had
such a great time there especially with our friends and its a shame we
couldnt stay for more time...but we will be back sooooon!
on sunday we left for a little sailtour for our friends and docked the old
stahlratte under sails on the cruiser pier in sunset. all the other days we
eat a lot drunk a bit and enjoyed jamaica...yeah man!!!
apart of that there was also plenty work about the new electric system wich
roli installed and now its running (very nice!!!)
now we just had some fresh coco waters and we sail into a beautifull sunset!
yeah man, mu man

11.01.2010

anchored in port antonio/jamaica

we just arrived to port antonio in jamaica after a bumpy sailing through a rough sea and a rainy night. now waiting for the authorities to get cleared into the country. ya man...

10.01.2010

Between Cuba and Jamaika 10.01.2010

We left Santiago de Cuba five hours ago and are now sailing due south with 5 to 6 knots. We waited for another day in Satiago for better winds, so we are now one day behind schedule. We expect to arrive in Port Antonio/Jamaika around 12 noon tomorrow.

Santiago de cuba -- CUBA

good morning world! it is sunday morning 8am and we have just checked out with the authorities here in santiago de cuba. we will have a breakfast now and then at 09am set sails and leave for port antonio in jamaica. a cold front has passed us tonight and so the weather is rainy and cold but goog winds to sail to jamaica. will be in port antonio on monday morning. we leave a day later here because there was no wind to sail yesterday.

05.01.2010

Santiago de cuba -- CUBA

Yesterday we arrived in the afternoon in Chivirico - a small town with a hidden harbour surrounded by green mountains. Unfortunately the channel into the harbour was to shallow so we anchored in the bay between two reefs. We spent the evening at a bar in Cayo Damas, a former Bacardi Island, eating, drinking Mojitos and dancing.

Today, monday 4th, we started after breakfast with strong winds sailing with 6 knots towards Santiago de Cuba. We arrived here at sundown and are now at the marina of Santiago. As everyone is tired, we will spend the evening on the Stahlratte watching a movie.

Greetings

03.01.2010

sailing to santiago de cuba -- CUBA

today sunday the 3rd january 2010: we had a tough night with heavy gusts coming down
from the south cuban mountains sierra maestra but we were lucky to be able to sail
further eastwards and in the morning the winds calmed down to zero and we are motoring
in a beaifull calm sea with sunshine to a small bay called chivirico where the cuban
revolution was started by fidel and ernesto. venceremos

yesterday:
we left cayo cuervo this morning with strong northerly winds wich made the old lady
run up to 9 knots through the reef and island-system of golfo de ana maria and golfo
de guacanayabo in south cuba. the weather is great and we will sail over night and
see if we do a short stop in a little bay west of santiago tomorrow.....
for dinner we will have a "schweinsbratn" with "kaesspaetzle" and we send special
greetings to the famous axstedt in the fockin northern germany

01.01.2010

Cayo Cuervo -- CUBA

Our last night in Cayo Cuervo. Wind is starting to blow from North East and
tomorrow morning we will pick up our journey towards Santiago de Cuba, which is
about 200 miles away. We spent the first day of the new year hanging out,
swimming, snorkeling and sailing in the small sailboat. A beautiful and peaceful
day in calm blue waters. By now the crew has recovered from New Year's Eve
celebrations and is ready to discover new shores. Greetings