I got underway for the 18 mile trip to the Bahia de Jobos. An anchorage that is enclosed by coral reefs and mangroves on all sides and supposed to be very quiet. The wind and waves were much stronger than forecast and I decided against the first entrance to the reef. I could see waves breaking everywhere and it was very scary looking. It was also downwind so there would be no going back.
The third entrance was the recommended deep water one but it was so far downwind that I would have to motor for back miles and miles within the lagoon to get to the anchorage. I decided for the second one which was supposed to have a depth of 4m in the center. I figured the waves to be 2m so there would in theory hopefully be enough water left under the keel (Amy draws 1,1m). We were flying towards the entrance but I didn’t dare reduce the sail so we could keep a straight course and wouldn’t be pushed around by the waves. I had a huge lump in my throat when the echo sounder started showing ever smaller numbers but I had read that the charts were apparently correct for this area and had to rely on this information. They were correct, the numbers increased and in the lagoon there were no waves at all but still the same wind. I had to motor to the anchorage which was slow going. There was on catamaran from Australia. Coming nearer to the mangroves the wind let off a little bit at least and dropping the anchor was easy and it held immediately. The Australians came over in the dinghy and invited me to their boat for a drink. We had a nice evening.
