Jenny Wolf Signs on as Crew!

Jenny poses with the cliffs of the Rio Dulce behind her as we motor down to Livingston to check out of Guatemala. 

Jenny Wolf is the daughter of our old friends Russ and Marty and we've known her all her life. Now she is our friend too. After we were unable to check out of Guatemala she changed her plans to meet us in Belize and flew to Guatemala City on Saturday, February 19th. We had a driver pick her up at the airport and drive her down to us at our Tortugal Marina. The drive is a long one, around 6 hours, and she arrived around 9 PM.  We met her in Fronteras, the small town near our Marina, with a launcha and brought her back to Scott Free. It was a very long day for her and unfortunately we had to head off the next morning! Our permission to depart had arrived and we needed to leave the country on Monday. 

Scott and Jenny relax at the Maya Beach Bistro near Placencia (sorry for the quality - Jenny couldn't send the full pixel version.

We were able to spend some time with our friends at the Marina for coffee and breakfast before motoring down to Cayo Quemado, near the mouth of the river. Jenny enjoyed a good swim with us on the lake on the way down. The next morning at 6 AM we were continuing down the river to anchor off the Municipal dock at Livingston with Czech & Mate, our good friends and buddy boat for the trip. Raul, our agent there, arranged for all 5 of us to be picked up at our boats at 8 AM. It took about 2 hours to complete the procedures, which included COVID rapid tests. We didn't actually need them as Belize required them again when we checked in there. But if we tested positive, we wanted to stay in Guatemala not face quarantine in Belize. In that case we would have been allowed to quarantine back at our Marina, where in Belize we would need to stay in a hotel. 

We pose in front of the car that drove Jenny to the airport in Dangriga, where she got tested and then took a small Maya Airlines plane to Belize City and then home. This was at the Reserve Marina

The high tide was at 10:30 AM and we were lined up with Czech & Mate right on time. We went first and got quite a ways out before we started bumping and then came to a stop. Hector, whose boat has helped us many times before, caught our halyard and pulled us over on our side so that we could power forward and get over the shallow bar at the mouth of the river. It didn't take long. Then he returned for Czech & Mate and the two of us motored over to Tres Puntas where we had dinner together on our boat before spending a quiet night anchored there. 

The next morning it was another 6 AM start over to Punta Gorda, the southern most town on Belize, where we checked into the country. It took 3 hours as we had to wait quite a time for the "medical team" to arrive for our COVID tests. As the morning before in Livingston, we all tested negative. The wind was really ramping up when we returned to our boats and it was a rocky trip up to New Haven, our well protected anchorage for that night. 

The next morning it was blowing hard and Scott checked his AIS and found a cruise ship only 5 miles away from us traveling north to Placencia. He called them and after we discovered that they were seeing 30 knots of wind, we decided to stay put another night! Later My Island Girl joined us after a 6 hour miserable trip up from Punta Gorda (it had taken us 2 hours the day before) and they had gusts of 35 knots. So we settled in for a game of Mexican Train Dominos and drinks with Jerry & Debarah after a good swim and dinghy exploration of the area. 

But on Thursday morning we raised our mainsail and tightened it up mid ship for stability and headed north. We were headed directly into the wind for the first couple of hours and it was rough. But we all managed and after Monkey River, the wind abated some and shifted enough to fill our sail. Still it was a big relief to anchor in Placencia in time for lunch. We were happy to stay there for two nights and enjoy some amazing meals at De Tatch, Rum Fish and the Maya Beach Resort. We rented a golf cart to travel up to the later and enjoyed time on the beach before the excellent dinner. 

On Saturday we bashed our way again into the wind to the Pelican Cayes for one night anchored off Hideaway Caye to visit our good friends who live there and run the small resort, Dustin, Kim and Ama. We were able to deliver the gifts Renate and Jim had left for Ama and our own gift. Jenny enjoyed their company and got some good snorkeling in nearby. 

The next day was an easy trip over to the Reserve Marina. Our wonderful visit with Jenny was coming to an end. The next morning she had to fly home. Friends at the Marina arranged a taxi driver to pick her up for the trip to Dangriga where she flew the small Maya Airlines plane to Belize City and then through Miami to Boston. Everything went very smoothly, but it was another long day for her. And we were SO sad to see her go - what a wonderful time we all had!

It's hard to see but the boat is on it's side here and
I am braced on the rail steering. You can get some
idea as Scott hangs on below.

Jenny loved the flowers everywhere.

Sunset at the Maya Beach Resort

Jenny in mid air jumping off the bow. She could
climb up the sides of the boat in two seconds, a feat
we had only seen duplicated by Sean.

And the launch! 

Scott had to use the swim ladder - but he looks
really good in his speedos!