A few days before our departure from Huatulco, the engine when run at 2800 Rpm, lost its prime and almost quit. Something was plugging up the fuel intake, oh, well just another project for Sid to do. So, what do you do out there, cruising?!Two days later, Sid found some blood spots on the cushions and then watched Crystal lick her behind. Sid immediately went to her and checked her out. Poor thing had blood coming out of her butt. I immediately brought her to the vet, expecting the worst. Thank God, she was fine, the cats, got some kitty amoebae or parasites or something. They are not immune to that either.
In the Huatulco marina is a sailboat, which had been there for several years. It used to belong to a marijuana grower from Idaho Adam knew. For unknown reasons the guy left his boat in Huatulco, and when he ran into Adam, he offered it to him for a 1000 bucks. Of course Adam thought that this was a joke and declined. Besides, what do you do with two boats? Adam knew of this boat and approached the Capitan de Puerto what he was going to do with the boat. The Capitan first lied to him and said, that they had sunk the boat. But later admitted that it still was in the marina, which Adam already knew, since he saw the boat. So Adam asked if he could take the roller furling (Pro Furl $1800 worth) and offered him $100 for it. Of course, he wouldn’t be the crocked Capitan, if he didn’t accepted the money even agreed for Sid to help himself as well. You should have seen what Sid stripped of the boat. (I think he wanted to do that all his life!) He got 5 good winches, mast light, running lights, electronic switches, electronic regulators and stuff, cleats, screws, lights, wires, blocks, stoppers, tracks(lots of Harkins stuff) etc., etc., etc.,…………………………… and it cost him a whole 50 bucks mordida! I guess all the work Sid’s done for the last 30 years to bust drug dealer, has finally paid off!
By the way, when I told you about the crooked Capitan here, I had several talks with him and he did owe us some money. He was very happy to see me go, since he couldn’t get any money out of any other boats which arrived in Huatulco, while I was there, I made damn sure of that. He even asked me to please be quite about it, oh, yeah?! I sent this letter into Latitude 38:
BANDITO IN UNIFORM:
Every Mexican Port charges vessels a fee based on the tonnage, (1.42 pesos per ton). This fee is the same in all the Mexican Ports and if vessels check in on a weekend or after closing or before opening hours, they get charged an extra fee for overtime. The fee has to be paid directly to the bank or to the API (Administracion Portuaria Integral, which I believe is only in Baja California). The Port Captain by law can NOT accept the money.
We arrive in St. Cruz, Huatulco on a Friday afternoon and planned on checking in on Monday, since Port Captains are usually closed on the weekends. Hipolito Gomez Pina, 1st. Officer of the Capitania de Puerto Office in Huatulco, approached us already at 8.30 on Saturday morning, ordering us to come in and check in. He really was in a big hurry to get his money. We were warned about him already and went into the office semi prepared, although we ended up paying anyway. As he presented me the bill, which was just scribbled on a peace of paper, I asked him where the bank was to pay. He said no bank, we had to pay him. He charged me the amount of 217.54, our buddy boat was charge 250 pesos. I asked for a receipt and was told to pick it up on Monday. On Monday he told me to pick it up when we leave. This happened to so many other cruisers while we were there and no one ever received a receipt. One boat came here to just check in and out, paid 250 pesos and never even dropped the hook.
I guess I stirred up a big can of worms, by sending an email to a boat up in Zihuatanejo to check on the port fee situation in Mexico, with the Port Captain of Zihuatanejo. Not only once but twice to verify the information was correct and that Port Captain state was advised that we were inquiring about the Port Captains activities in Huatulco. He stated that the fees all through Mexico are the same in each Port. It had been general information on several radio nets that the Port Captain in Huatulco was charging ten times the amount that should be charged. I had talked to several cruisers and advised them of the Port Captains activities as well. After that the cruisers that would come in would question the fee and most of them were charged the proper amount. One of our friends was called into the office after he was seen with me and Hipolito wanted to know if I complained or said anything about him. Our friend, assured him that he heard all about him in all the other ports already. That wasn’t enough for the Capitan and told my friend to get me into the office as well. A few days later we went to talk to him, he wanted to know what my problem was. I told him that I was a bit upset over the amount we paid, some boats pay just the regular fee and some don’t. I also told him about the fees in Mexico in general and all that stuff about the bank and laws. The Capitan took his black book, showed me a list with the 1.42 per tonnage fee another list which showed fees for boats 1-10 tons, 10-20 tons 128.00 pesos, 20-100 tons, 150some pesos etc. He punched a few numbers into the calculator and said that my amount was 157 pesos. As I mentioned that I actually paid 217, I questioned him on the list and noticed that they charged us for 20-100 tons, we are 20 brut, which means they over charged us. Then he told us that fee was the overtime charge. Fine with that, no argument, except the money didn’t go into the bank. He also claims that Huatulco is a commercial port, which makes no difference, since all are the same. He charges all the boats the 1.42 pesos per ton, plus an extra fee of approximate 10 times the fee for the tonnage and has been doing this for years now and he has never issued a receipt.
Another boat, who insisted on a receipt, paid 218 pesos and happened to look at his file on the desk and saw the bank receipt for 24 pesos, while the receipt he got was a copy and showed 218.
We also have to fill out a questionnaire, which is bogus. He is the only port captain who ever had a questionnaire about equipment on your vessel. How many people it sleeps, the freeboard, engine and serial number, communication systems, navigation system, etc., but no mention of any safety equipment. Then he reads this list and starts punching in numbers into the calculator and comes up with your port fee, which is approximate ten times what it should be. I guess he tries to figure out what equipment you have on board to see how much you can afford.
When we checked out, we checked out with four other boats. All five of us where standing in the office at the same time. Boy, did I get a killer look from Hipolito. Two of us had already paid the fee, the rest didn’t, because they questioned it at their arrival. Hipolito, called me out of the office and took me outside and asked me for no more problems, please. I guess I killed his little money making business, at least for a while. Later my friend approached me as well and told me that Hipolito asked him to tell me, to please keep it quite, he would like to be friends with me, but just to keep it quite. What does that tell you? Anyway, two of the three who hadn’t paid yet, paid the proper amount and to the bank at that. The one left received two bank slips, one for the proper amount and one for overtime, which was 420 pesos! His boat is 10 tones, it should have been around 140 pesos, boy did he get hammered. Unfortunately, he didn’t say anything and paid the amount.
So when you come into Huatulco to check in, make sure you’re doing this during the weekdays, between 8AM - 3PM, and insist to pay the bank. One of our friends was asked if he knew that he had to pay a port fee, which he answered yes and immediately showed him the last receipt from Acapulco, saying 26 pesos. Hipolito didn’t say a word and told him to pay when he leaves and he paid the 26 pesos. So be prepared, don’t let him intimidate you, he can’t do anything to you, by questioning the fee. You also can tell him, that the port captains by law are not allowed to take the money, he’ll back off.
I’m a bit upset at all the cruisers who let him get away with this for so long. When we got here I asked a few to pull together and approach Hipolito, they came up with excuses like: oh, he might not give you the Zarpe to leave the country, or: he’ll send the navy after you, and other stories like that. Well, if you don’t complain you have to pay and so will all the others over and over, so stand up for it and fight Hipolito, there’s nothing he can due to you.
Mexico is trying to make a turn around in all the policies and are trying to stop corruption and for Mexico’s sake I hope that this guy, will be taken care of later, as I’m sending a copy of this letter in more detail to the Port Captain authorities. This is the only corrupt Port Captain we have run into in our 2 ½ years cruising in Mexico.
Well, I did get a receipt, which was a copy of a copy, which you clearly could see that white out had been used and the amount of 218 pesos typed in. I also could tell that they were very happy to see me leave.
The unfortunate thing is, that all of Mexico thinks of cruisers as rich gringos and they don’t know that most of us have worked 30 plus years to get where we are. So every chance they get, they try to ding us for some cash. Don’t let guys like this intimidate you and if you stand up to them they will back down.
Happy cruising
Sid and Manuela Olshefski SV Paradise
Canal bound
THE GULF OF TEHUANTEPEC:
is a challenge for all boaters. The Gulf is know for the strong winds which come sweeping over the Isthmus and it can be quite dangerous and difficult to cross. It is best described in one word, WINDY. The yearly average is Force 6 on the Beaufort Scale and at times even exceed Force 8 (especially between October and April). Added to the problems of the heavy winds and seas can be felt hundreds of miles offshore with strong currents which vary in direction and rate depending on the wind’s intensity. Northwest or northeast currents of over 2 knots on either shore of the Gulf are a result of the wind being so strong at times that it actually lowers the water level at the head of the gulf, not a good place to be in such a condition.
This is the info I read in one of the cruising guides: The gulf is adjacent to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which is a huge north-south valley running across the northwest section of Mexico, between two massive mountain ranges. Intense continental high pressure over Texas causes strong winds in the Gulf of Mexico. Lining up with the valley across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and, in a potent venturi effect, they intensify and sweep out into the Pacific hundreds of miles, as they flow toward the perennial low pressure at the Equator. Once the wind funnels through the isthmus, it fans out to the southwest on the eastern shore of the gulf, between Puerto Angel and Salina Cruz, and to the southeast on the eastern shore, between Salina Cruz and Puerto Madero. Between May and September, the winds are less fierce, while the risk of hurricanes are present, which originate here in the Gulf of Tehuantepec as well.
Not a very friendly place, is it. Staying close to the beach and out of the high seas is suggested for a safe transit. Going offshore is not advised, besides it only safes about 28 miles (aprox. 4-5 hours), which is really not worth the risk. We started to do that, but then we got favorable winds and we change.
Three days before our trip, daily weather faxes where compared and the go date was set for Saturday.
Day One, Sunday, March 26th 2000:
The big departure day for us (Blondie and Paradise). We left at 4:30 AM, although regretting it later, not to have left the evening before, as originally planned.
Diana B, Belle Mouette and Song Line left the evening prior to us. The first 8 hours to Salina Cruz, was a long motor ride. The seas were flat and you could see theses giant dark bumps all over, floating in the water. The bumps were hundreds of turtles sunning themselves. We stayed on a two hourly SSB (Single Side Band) schedule with everybody, checking on each others well being. At 14:00 we heard that the three boats ahead of us had very good conditions and the wind was coming out of the NW, which means, no threat for a “Tehuantepecker”. Blondie and Paradise decided to cut the corners from Salina Cruz to avoid the Puerto Madero, this way we’ll miss the river mouths, which are hazardous as well, due to very shallow water. Our wind at the time was out of the SW. Around 14:30 the wind has picked up nicely and so we sailed with a comfortable 6 to 7 knots, on a beam reach, cutting the corner of the Tehuantepec. About half way through to the other side, we were literately surrounded by jumping sailfish, dancing on top of the water and running through the top cutting bait. What a rare sight that is.
The rest of the day was quite uneventful, except for Sid and I fighting for the bathroom. We caught a bad case of turista and Sid even had a raised temperature of 2 degrees.
The first night a big school of jacks stayed with us for several hours, racing along side our hull and surfing in our wake, making it quite neat with the phosphorescence they created. In the far distance we watched some lightening.
At 00:30 the navy ship in Puerto Madero haled us on the radio and wanted to know what our intention was. After giving them all the information they needed, they wished us a good trip. Thirty minutes later, we crossed the border into Guatemala, yeahhhhhh! I couldn’t get on fordeck fast enough to take the, by now, shredded Mexican Flag down. Actually, it was quite interesting, as we crossed the boarder, the weather changed. It got noticeably warmer and there was a musty smell of tropical air. It smelled like “watch out for mildew time”.
Day two:
The next morning, we played around with the GPs and worked on our estimated arrival time in Bahia del Sol. Bahia del Sol has a bar to be crossed and that only in the mornings at slack high tide. If the swells are running, surfing in with 4 to 6 foot breakers are expected. Several boats had been stuck in Bahia del Sol, due to high surf. One boat left anyhow and got twice totally dumped by the surf and had quite a mess to clean up, even down below.
Slack Tide for Wednesday and Thursday was 09:09 and 10:09. So, playing with the GPs, gave us the info, that we’ll arrive in Bahia del Sol on Wednesday at 14:00, instead our calculated 08:00 on Thursday morning. In other words, 18 hours too early, or 6 hours too late. There was no way to catch up the 09:09 Wednesday tide, we would have had to travel with a constant speed of 7.2 knots. We only average 5 to 6 knots. In another words, we have to slow down to 3.5 knots to get there on time. Can you imagine Sid, the racer, actually slowing the boat down, not being able to use the 15 knots of wind we had all afternoon?! Blondie, broke loose the first afternoon allready, they can travel with 8 knots easy and will be in on Wednesday morning.
Well, at least we got through the Tehuantepec safely and all I can say, I rather have a longer trip and the turista on top of it, then being stuck in a “Tehuantepecker”. We’ll arrive exactly at the time we had plotted for, except we were just WAY too fast at the begin of the trip.
(Actually, at the time I wrote this, I couldn’t complain, Sid just turned the big fan on me to stay cool, what a luxury, since we only use the big one with dock power. He even mentioned that he could hook the air-conditioner up for me, but we don’t’ wanna be spoiled too much, do we?! J ) Besides, the moral of the story is, we were the only boat, that didn’t get into rough, confused or choppy water, neither did we experience thunder clouds, rain or fog, as the other boats all did, during this trip.
I was actually quite pleasant. A gentle rocking from far apart swells and a nice breeze sweeping the deck, making it almost feel like sitting at anchor.
One question, how do you slow a boat down, with a steady 15 knots on the beam? Sid doesn’t have the answer either, I know he hated to watch all that wind speed to go without him! He likes to collect knots and not to give em up.
Day 3:
we sailed all night with 2 to 3 knots, quite pleasant and relaxing. We both got our 3 hour watches in. I realized I haven’t been in the refrigerator all trip long. We both still were battling the turista. We actually had a good laugh about it. Sid put a new tablet into the toilette system, just the day before we left. We’ve used the toilette so much, that the tablet was gone already, should have lasted at least 2 months. The water line is coming back too, we used already 3 rolls of toilette paper. Sid put us on Tetracycline and we’ve been taking them for two days, with no success. We did eat lots of starches, like Horchata (rice milk), Carrot/Potatoes soup, pasta soup etc. But the refrigerator has been untouched.
All morning long we sailed with a very light breeze and were gently bobbing along the top of the water with 1 to 2 knots. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a pleasant nap. At 11:00, we turned the engine on to charge the battery. At 11:30 Sid called me on deck, hurry, hurry. Wow, there was a sailfish, doing pirouettes along side the boat, cutting bait. He wasn’t 20 feet away from us. One pirouette after another. Really neat to see. He acted just as he was hooked, except he was not. Then another one appeared as well, doing the same. I bet you, if we were out here fishing for them, we would never have seen them! Don’t worry, we don’t catch sailfish, they are way too pretty. It’s bad enough that they get butchered daily, just for a souvenir photo on some ones catch. For those who don’t know sail fish, it really is a very pretty fish and is a challenge for the sport fishers to catch, since they dance on top of the water. But they are not good eating at all. Catch and release should be used on them, but that souvenir photo………
12:00, just called Diana B on the SSB and this was the skinny: Diana B, Blondie, Belle Mouette and especially poor Songline, got to Bahia del Sol during the early morning hours, to find out, that the surf was sooo gigantic, that they couldn’t get in. Reliance was stuck in there and we wasted a whole bunch of time out here. Did I say wasted time? No time at see isn’t wasted it’s just as beautiful as can be! And poor Songline was heaved to for 16 hours, waiting for the morning tide! We’re still 8 miles off Punta Remidios and have about 70 miles to go, but we’re changing course, bypassing Bahia del Sol and heading to Jiquilisco, which is 30 miles further south. Hey, never a boring moment in sailing.
So what do you do out there? I finished three necklaces and wrote a whole news letter, not bad.
Not even 15 minutes after talking to Diana B, we had our shoot up and enjoyed a very beautiful sail. We flew the spinnaker until late in the afternoon. The rest of the night we had a very calm sail and we got plenty of rest as well, at least I did. When Sid’s watch came on at 6 am we were surrounded by shrimping boats and pangas, which needed both of our attention. (We learned a while back not to cross a fishing boat’s bow, hey will fight you over it, to them it’s bad luck so they make sure that we pass behind them. A lot of cruisers don’t know that and that’s how the stories of being chassed by a fishing boat come up.) We arrived in front of the entrance to the Jiquilisco River, which I tell you looked hairy!!!
If you’ve seen Pismo Beach, that’s how it looks like, a long, long sandy beach with a cut in it. It’s actually a diagonal cut, which you can’t see from the ocean and you can sail right by it and not even know it was there. When you approach it you see the backs of huge braking waves. There is a place about 100 yards wide, where the waves don’t brake unless they are very large. Pucker factor is about 12 out of 10, as you approach (or an F-Ticket Ride at Magic Mountain). But once you see the channel, it goes down to about an 8. You have to travel as fast as you can for about 300 yards and then you’re on the other side of a large sandbar which breaks the waves down to a 3 foot washing machine chop. Pucker factor in the chop is about 5, because you’re rolling rail to rail. It also lets you know if you have too much stuff down below!!! A good advice, go in at slack high tide. We did that and it was much easier according to the other boats, who came in the day before us. They actually had waves brake behind them. They sure were in need of some tequila shots afterwards.
