Monday 14 Mar, Honduras day 12, French Cay Harbour: Move along the coast and birthday party at the yacht club.
We wake after a wonderful sleep in the tranquil bay of Lime Cay Bight, anchored in front of Mango Lodge resort. But as relaxing as it is here, having already been anchored in remote parts for the last week, we are yearning for some civilization and a bit of social life. Plus, this evening we have been invited to Jane’s (as in Mel and Jane on S/V Deep Blue) birthday party that will be held at Roatan Yacht Club.
After breakfast we fly the drone to capture the scene both in Port Royal and Lime Cay Bight, and to check out our nearest exit through the reef, on the east side of Lime Cay. Yesterday we had entered Port Royal via the Fort Cay channel but today I want to depart via the eastern Lime Cay channel. On google maps it looks shallow, and the drone appears to confirm this. But then we see a smaller yacht pass through it so we beckon them over and they tell us 12ft was the minimum they saw. That gives me the green light to try it. It’s not in our MO to do the same place or route more than once, if we can help it!
After clunking the bottom on our arrival to Guanaja, we are now very nervous not to repeat it. So it’s our usual tick-over speed through the channel, where, sure enough, we see 3.2m as the minimum depth. Still rather dodgy considering our 2.5m draft. Once in the deep water the fishing line goes out, but yet again we are foiled. Not even a nibble. What are we doing wrong this year?
We sail passed Calabash Bight then we enter Jonesville to take a look. There is a small marina there which has a reputation for nice food. Maybe we come back here later, though we have our doubts.
As we pass Oakridge Harbour and Hog Pen Bight, we start to see strong evidence of the famous shrimp fishing industry by lots of large fishing boats all neatly lined up. Apparently this Roatan fleet is the largest in the Caribbean and the community go right back to English settlers. Needless to say, probably a bit of gene-pool sharing going on here too!
Along the way I had quickly unfurled the mainsail to help steady the boat. A nasty little swell is coming onto our port quarter and rolling us. Wind in the mainsail, while motoring, does the trick. But what is not good is that I unfurled without tensioning the halyard. Oooops. This meant there was no tension on the tack of the sail (bottom corner that attaches to the mast) and it has fallen off its securing point. And with even this light wind in the sail it’s almost impossible to get my fingers in there to put it back on. We end up having to head out to sea, to bring the wind ahead of us and finally I manage to get it back on with the help of Oana bringing me a small step ladder and the remote control for the sails. I have to be super super careful dabbling around inside the mast whilst also using the furler. It’s a recipe for losing a finger ☹.
As we approach French Cay Harbour, I make a VHF call to Mel and he comes out in his dinghy to guide us in. It’s a tricky entrance and as usual in these islands, our charts are as good as useless. We again use google maps with a satellite image. But with Mel in front of us we are in good hands. He guides us into the main channel then right into the narrow channel that leads into French Cay Harbour. And oh what a pretty harbour it is. There are 2 cays, one at each end (Fantasy Island and French Cay) which have been developed as tourist islands, and in-between is an expanse of shallow coral that protects the harbour from the sea.
There are several yachts anchored, including Mel and Jane’s SV Deep Blue and Paul & Bab’s Lyra Magna, both of whom we met in Guanaja. Alan & Terry are also here, on Seminole Wind, but they went into the Roatan Yacht Club marina.
In the evening, after drinks on Deep Blue, we head into the newly refurbished RYC for Jane’s birthday party. There is BBQ food, cheap drinks and entertainment by Alan (of Seminole Wind) who turns out to be a remarkable talented guitar player and vocalist. Good fun was had by all and we made new friends to boot. But alas, the “cruisers midnight” struck before 10pm and suddenly everyone left back to their boats. Pfff, we thought it was just getting going!