Well after a month in Belize I can confidently report that it’s very nice here.

We got to know the couple that own this fruit, vegetable and meat stand. Very good products and a real nice couple. One of their daughters actually lives in Comox, on Vancouver island.…small planet.

We spent the first couple weeks in Plencencia fixing our furler and windlass.

The furler is used to take the front sail in and out, as reported earlier it had jammed during our crossing from Santo Domingo. To repair this we had to remove the foresail and then basically remove every bolt we could see on the furler. A couple trips up and down the mast, and we found the problem. A bearing/bushing had come undone and slid down to where it wasn’t supposed to be. As you can imagine one has to be extra careful not to drop anything when working on the furler as it will sink to the bottom of the sea quicker then you can say oh darn. A little stressful, but back together and working great. Didn’t drop anything 😊.

The windlass is a strong electric motor used to lift the anchor. This device with its intermittent problem was also a tricky repair. I took it apart about five times, before finally spotting the loose brush holder. I epoxied the part back in place and it’s been working ever since. 🤞.

Now the fun stuff. After getting Catnip back in ship shape, it was time to go explore the cayes. (Keys).

The first was Lark Caye and it was pretty easy to get into. We anchored in 20 meters of water. We let out all of our chain, 72 meters, and the anchor held well. Normally we like to have a ratio (scope) of 5:1, chain:depth, but that’s all the chain we had, so scope was a little less then 4:1. The anchorage was well protected and the winds light, so no dramatic blog stories took place. 😀. I don’t need material that bad.

One of our next stops was Rythm Reef Caye, also known as Rendezvous Caye. This is a private Caye, but they welcome cruisers when there’s no guests visiting. Cathie and I loved it there, and I believe it was Sequois favorite as well.

We put their hammocks to good use, did some great snorkeling and swimming.

Sequoia chased coconuts and dug in the sand. The caretaker Chris told us some history of the Caye and the area. Chris also joined us for dinner in the evenings.

Another stop was Hideaway Caye. The highlight here is the Robinson Crusoe style restaurant built in the mangroves. Very nice. It’s a family run business. They built the buildings themselves. Walk ways above ground, everything on stilts or just built into the trees.

Next it was off to South Water Caye.

The approach into there looked very shallow for the last 4 miles, but turned out not too bad. Cathie was on the bow watching as we were heading east, with the setting sun behind us, so great visibility. Cathie called out several times that it was looking shallow, and it was as the water was so clear, but we had 6 meters, so no worries….Keep breathing normally. 😊.

After an hour of tip toeing along we arrived at the anchorage. This was a beautiful place, with its Sequoia approved beach, friendly people and warm water. Also some very nice snorkeling.

Sailing between the cayes is super fun. The water is quite flat, and the wind pretty sweet at 8-15 knots. You have to do your homework the night before, marking your route and hazards along the way, as there’s many shallow reefs. We have also been joined a couple times by dolphins, they swam right under the bow. At first you’re worried you’re going to hit one, but they are very strong swimmers and don’t have any problems avoiding us. It was especially interesting watching Mom and junior swimming side by side. They’d stay about a foot apart, not sure if junior was following Mom, or Mom was following junior. We will have to do a little more research in this area and report back.

Next on the list are some of the northern cayes. Caye Caulker, Ambergris Caye and Tobacco Caye just to name a few.