"No problem, No problem", Dino replied when we asked about getting our clearance ready for two days time.
"Are you sure? Can we get the boat cleared by midday?"
"Yes of course my friends." We handed over all of our documents for a final time and looked forward to finally setting off.
So it's two days later, the boat is re-prepped and today's the day. It's gone 10, our allotted time with our agent, but hey we're on Colombian time right.. so we were patient. By 6pm and after 2 enquiring phone calls it was less ok.
By 8pm and now with our weather window getting smaller and smaller to leave, Dino arrives and has a worried look in his eyes as he nears us, rubbing his hands together and avoiding eye contact.
"Ahhh my friends - I have good news (insert fake smile). Your passports are stamped and ready. But the thing is you can't have them... so i take them back now."After a quick flourish to wave our passports tantalisingly close he pockets them ... it was like a kid with sweets who shows them off and then goes and eats the last one.
----
It ensues that the Customs authorities want to ensure that our engine is in full working order before they let us leave and in turn give us our passports and documents. It would be awfully kind of them if they weren't looking to charge $120 for taking a look and didn't have the following Monday (it was currently Thursday) as their chosen date to have a peek.
Ok, we expected some hindrance. Deep breath, breath easy.
We spent the weekend painting the cockpit a brilliant white and starting to fill in some rogue fireglass nicks and holes and of course lazing in the park with a selection of Ice Creams watching the world go by. Nom nom nom.
Come Monday the head Customs Officer comes to our boat. He was an elderly gentleman who must not be used to little yachts like ours, we gave him a helping hand on board and were on our best behaviour.
He settled himself into the cabin, got our an overstuffed notebook and once on a crisp new page asked us two questions. Question 1 and 2 from the Officer go as follows.
"You have had a problem with the engine?" "Oh yes, we now know it was a loose belt that was making a whinning sound and it's all sorted - we have also had an engineer have a quick overall look just to make sure"
The Officer gets up and, whilst standing on bulk the engine, stares at it and asks "where?"
We assume he means the location of the very obvious belt and so point and show him. He notes something down and that's it. Our $120 was for some guy to stand on our engine.
He jovially shook our hands heartily as he excitedly tried to remember if Australia was near England and then told us to not worry, the form would be completed the next day. That could work.. there was a clear week and a half of good wind to get up to Jamaica and we could still just make meeting my friend Mim.
Alas it was another week later before it had left his desk and Dino could give it back. We have found that this is what happens when anything goes up higher than the agent. There were a couple of other boats who had been spotted by the Customs and like us teetered on the verge of being able to leave. Whilst other came and when in mere hours.
It was a Tuesday when Dino came back and just after a horrendous downpour. But bless him he came half running up to the boat with the completed paperwork waving at us. We quickly shook hands, thanked him for everything, slipped the lines and headed out into the night.
The downpour followed us for the first night and watched were spent avoiding the dozens of lightning storms that littered the sky. When we passed the halfway mark and got to further than we had on our previous two sails we had a coke each as a celebration to show our relief. I think we drank too soon.
That night the winds picked up to a point i have not seen since crossing the Bay of Biscay. The wind went off the scale of the wind monitor which reads up to 50 knots. We had seen it coming so our sails were well set and reefed but then as we were both away from the helm tightening our Genoa (it's a lot easier to do it with two people as we do not have furling winches), the yacht reeled and swung hard to port. I gripped the line while Jarvis went back to the helm to find that the auto-pilot had malfunctioned and would no longer switch on. I fixed the line and we then spent a few minutes trying to re-set the navigational equipment whilst Jarvis steered a course under the weight of those heavy wind. It was no good and there was nothing more we could do until the weather calmed down which was when I noticed the Outboard swinging loose on the back of the boat. We could leave it as it would slip off and Jarvis's strength was needed to hold course so it was down to me.
I clipped on my safety line through my life jacket and started to climb over the back of the boat keeping as low as possible and switched the line closer to the outboard when ever there was a break in the waves. Once there I realised it needed two hands to lock the engine back down and an awful lot of leaning over the edge so that i could see the clip that i needed to free.
Next to the few moments during the crossing of the Bay of Biscay, that was the only other time where i have truly feared for my life. As i lent over the boat healed the same way, and if it hadn't have been for a well clipped on safety line, i would have been in the sea. I think my face was a few inches away from the water before the line snapped me back.
I secured the engine and the weather passed but still no luck with the Auto-pilot and we had to take turns manually steering for 8 hours. We were still about 80 miles away from land and would have another night to go through before we arrived. It was hot and cloudless now and to occupy myself from trying to focus on the endless blue, i kept poking the auto-pilot buttons.
Because of course if you poke them enough they will eventually work right?!!?!
RIGHT!!!!
Do not ask me how, or Jarvis because it doesn't make sense to either of us. When we pulled the unit apart after the weather calmed down we could clearly see the wires connecting had be sulphated to the point of not making a connection anymore. It SHOULDN'T have worked. But i am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.. and i definately didn't poke it anymore.
The last 80 miles went by smoothly with a lot of awe-filled staring at our magic device until, in the early hours of Friday, we sailed up the coast of Jamaica, into Port Antonio and dropped anchor in Erroll Flynn marina.
I guess it was 3rd time lucky for us to break the Curse of Santa Marta and we were so unbelievably happy.
Tia and Jarvis, Over and Out!
"Are you sure? Can we get the boat cleared by midday?"
"Yes of course my friends." We handed over all of our documents for a final time and looked forward to finally setting off.
So it's two days later, the boat is re-prepped and today's the day. It's gone 10, our allotted time with our agent, but hey we're on Colombian time right.. so we were patient. By 6pm and after 2 enquiring phone calls it was less ok.
By 8pm and now with our weather window getting smaller and smaller to leave, Dino arrives and has a worried look in his eyes as he nears us, rubbing his hands together and avoiding eye contact.
"Ahhh my friends - I have good news (insert fake smile). Your passports are stamped and ready. But the thing is you can't have them... so i take them back now."After a quick flourish to wave our passports tantalisingly close he pockets them ... it was like a kid with sweets who shows them off and then goes and eats the last one.
----
It ensues that the Customs authorities want to ensure that our engine is in full working order before they let us leave and in turn give us our passports and documents. It would be awfully kind of them if they weren't looking to charge $120 for taking a look and didn't have the following Monday (it was currently Thursday) as their chosen date to have a peek.
Ok, we expected some hindrance. Deep breath, breath easy.
We spent the weekend painting the cockpit a brilliant white and starting to fill in some rogue fireglass nicks and holes and of course lazing in the park with a selection of Ice Creams watching the world go by. Nom nom nom.
 |
| The world going by... in very bright colours! |
Come Monday the head Customs Officer comes to our boat. He was an elderly gentleman who must not be used to little yachts like ours, we gave him a helping hand on board and were on our best behaviour.
He settled himself into the cabin, got our an overstuffed notebook and once on a crisp new page asked us two questions. Question 1 and 2 from the Officer go as follows.
"You have had a problem with the engine?" "Oh yes, we now know it was a loose belt that was making a whinning sound and it's all sorted - we have also had an engineer have a quick overall look just to make sure"
The Officer gets up and, whilst standing on bulk the engine, stares at it and asks "where?"
We assume he means the location of the very obvious belt and so point and show him. He notes something down and that's it. Our $120 was for some guy to stand on our engine.
He jovially shook our hands heartily as he excitedly tried to remember if Australia was near England and then told us to not worry, the form would be completed the next day. That could work.. there was a clear week and a half of good wind to get up to Jamaica and we could still just make meeting my friend Mim.
Alas it was another week later before it had left his desk and Dino could give it back. We have found that this is what happens when anything goes up higher than the agent. There were a couple of other boats who had been spotted by the Customs and like us teetered on the verge of being able to leave. Whilst other came and when in mere hours.
It was a Tuesday when Dino came back and just after a horrendous downpour. But bless him he came half running up to the boat with the completed paperwork waving at us. We quickly shook hands, thanked him for everything, slipped the lines and headed out into the night.
The downpour followed us for the first night and watched were spent avoiding the dozens of lightning storms that littered the sky. When we passed the halfway mark and got to further than we had on our previous two sails we had a coke each as a celebration to show our relief. I think we drank too soon.
That night the winds picked up to a point i have not seen since crossing the Bay of Biscay. The wind went off the scale of the wind monitor which reads up to 50 knots. We had seen it coming so our sails were well set and reefed but then as we were both away from the helm tightening our Genoa (it's a lot easier to do it with two people as we do not have furling winches), the yacht reeled and swung hard to port. I gripped the line while Jarvis went back to the helm to find that the auto-pilot had malfunctioned and would no longer switch on. I fixed the line and we then spent a few minutes trying to re-set the navigational equipment whilst Jarvis steered a course under the weight of those heavy wind. It was no good and there was nothing more we could do until the weather calmed down which was when I noticed the Outboard swinging loose on the back of the boat. We could leave it as it would slip off and Jarvis's strength was needed to hold course so it was down to me.
I clipped on my safety line through my life jacket and started to climb over the back of the boat keeping as low as possible and switched the line closer to the outboard when ever there was a break in the waves. Once there I realised it needed two hands to lock the engine back down and an awful lot of leaning over the edge so that i could see the clip that i needed to free.
Next to the few moments during the crossing of the Bay of Biscay, that was the only other time where i have truly feared for my life. As i lent over the boat healed the same way, and if it hadn't have been for a well clipped on safety line, i would have been in the sea. I think my face was a few inches away from the water before the line snapped me back.
I secured the engine and the weather passed but still no luck with the Auto-pilot and we had to take turns manually steering for 8 hours. We were still about 80 miles away from land and would have another night to go through before we arrived. It was hot and cloudless now and to occupy myself from trying to focus on the endless blue, i kept poking the auto-pilot buttons.
Because of course if you poke them enough they will eventually work right?!!?!
RIGHT!!!!
Do not ask me how, or Jarvis because it doesn't make sense to either of us. When we pulled the unit apart after the weather calmed down we could clearly see the wires connecting had be sulphated to the point of not making a connection anymore. It SHOULDN'T have worked. But i am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.. and i definately didn't poke it anymore.
The last 80 miles went by smoothly with a lot of awe-filled staring at our magic device until, in the early hours of Friday, we sailed up the coast of Jamaica, into Port Antonio and dropped anchor in Erroll Flynn marina.
 |
| Happy to be in Jamaica |
I guess it was 3rd time lucky for us to break the Curse of Santa Marta and we were so unbelievably happy.
Tia and Jarvis, Over and Out!
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