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Angelica and Peter on the sailing vessel Awab (all women are beautiful or b----es, sic) arrived in San Pedro early Wednesday, December 19. We had planned to move on that day, but decided to put the move off to join them in San Pedro.   That was a good and bad decision. We really enjoyed their company, but that night in the tenuous anchorage behind the reef, the wind picked up and a monsoon hit.   Within 3 hours, by 10:00 PM, it had rained about 8 inches. I had to bail the dinghy out twice. The first time, the battery was underwater. At 3:00 AM, still raining and with wind blowing about 25 knots, Joan and I gave up and put the dinghy up on the davits. By necessity, this was done with as few clothes as modesty would permit.  Finally, with the dinghy up and the drain plug pulled, that was one problem solved.  By morning, our 5 gallon bucket on the aft deck, clear of any runoff, was overflowing. We and Awab discovered cabin leaks we had never imagined. Awab's worst leak soaked their mattress. Ours was around a forward window with runoff into the galley.

The next day, the rain was on again, off again. Just enough that it didn't allow us to dry anything out. In 85 deg. weather and 100% humidity, things that don't dry take on a life of their own.  Oh well, it wasn't anything not experienced before.

Awab joined us to cruise a few miles south to Caye Caulker. This key is a funky, hippy kind of place. You love it or hate it. But the bakery makes good bread and it gave us a much more secure anchorage than San Pedro. We remained there two days, dried out and were ready to go again.  Awab decided to stay on for a while. Years ago, one could get lobster sandwiches, lobster omelets, lobster soup or just lobster for very little money. Times have changed and I don't have much more to say about Caye Caulker. We agreed to meet up with the folks from Awab further down the line.

Gene on s/v Queen Mary has been in Bahia Ascension for a week. We heard that he was catching a bounty of lobster. When I talked to him on single side band, he said they were having great fun and eating well. Gene reported on the net that the sailing vessel Hazel Bell had foundered on the reef near Bahia del Espiritos Santos. They had apparently been close in at night and hit the reef. After some hours, the vessel was pushed further onto the reef and "holed". The Mexican Navy had been notified, but did not make the scene.   The couple on board were elderly and in some health distress, but we understand they survived. The vessel is undoubtedly a total loss.