A short history of SV Companion -
In April of 2005, Kim and I signed an agreement to purchase a Leopard Catamaran and place it in the Moorings Charter Program for 5 years.

Buying the last 40' Catamaran built in 2005 by Robinson and Caine of South Africa, the boat was to be chartered in Placencia, Belize. It arrived in Belize in late November, and was used by Moorings Chartering until June of 2010. During that time, we were able to sail our boat many times, and have a few charters in other parts of the world; LaPaz Mexico, Abaco Bahama, British Virgin Islands, Nice France, Gocek Turkey (Turquoise Coast).

Max , our nephew and his dad, Mike will be joining, Kim and I for part of the voyage. We are also looking forward to meeting family and friends along the way.

Our blog is intended to share our journey, memories and information to sailors.

Enjoy, Dale & Kim

PS: 10 years after the start of our voyage, we are living in LaConner with SV Companion and the adventure continues.











Saturday, January 21, 2012

Costa Rica Bound!


There is something to be said to having neighbors - as you know we have had the greatest neighbors wherever we live and that also goes for our sailing neighbors.  It was absolutely “super nice” to have Ben and Nannie right next “boat”… 

On our sail to Golfito, Tina was working overtime bringing the fish in - the dark Tuna was on the “catch and release” program - not our favorite meat but they were sure fun to catch!

                                                                       Just a little one …

Arriving into the bay at Golfito, Costa Rica was gorgeous -The coastline heading north was still jungle - the bird life extremely active.  Dale was intrigued with the pelicans - very vivacious, precarious and huge … they fly in large flocks and act like they are the Blue Angels - synchronized flying  - then they nose dive right in for their dinner - very entertaining!

Perfect timing between Dale and Ben, we anchored simultaneously with a new technique for us - we call it the “free fall anchor drop” - no windlass - just let the chain go and then a quick jerk back and we are secure (usually!) Just takes practice and Dale likes the challenge.

Anchoring near the Land and Sea Service Marina was delightful - easy access to the dinghy dock - they have an honesty box system for beer & soda and $1 internet per day for all on board the boat - plus a real treat - ice cream just down the street - we all were happy…

Got to enjoy a wonderful walk - 3.5 miles up the ridge into a jungle - left our dock at 6 am - first sighting - squirrel monkeys - really fun to see them in action especially that early in the morning.   Second sighting - toucans - glorious toucans - their song was unique and they perch on top of the canopy.  We lucked out and saw them several times.
                                                    Up close - their bills are so gorgeous

At the top of the ridge - at that point a 2 hour walk we rested - enjoyed a couple of snacks!

Ben - a tease with the pretzels!   Tina just smiles!

 
We are pretty much on top of the world here - see all that water?  We just came from there!

 
Dale cools off - spring water filled hat!

As I said before Dale really loved watching the birds - he witnessed the Red Scarlet Macaws a couple of mornings - not sure where I was, so I missed them (but I am making them a top priority to see in the wild.) and the Turkey Vultures - so huge - they loved eating the fisherman’s leftovers - you know the guts and stuff.  There are so many different species of birds - we need a bird guide for Costa Rica …

We spent the rest of our time doing the daily life chores, reading, knitting, planning the next leg of the journey, and enjoying our evenings with Nannie and Ben and prepping for Chuck and Peggi to arrive.

                                   A wonderful evening at a local restaurant - we really need to learn Spanish

Saying adios to our dear sailing buddies was not difficult - they have quite an adventure awaiting them - first to Guatemala, then over to Hawaii by end of March, up to Alaska near June, and down to Vancouver BC in September - where we will reunite in LaConner sometime shortly after that!

Receiving a sailor’s hug from one vessel to the other … Nannie shines!


Dale reminds me that there are so many more stories to share and favorite anchorages to list … so when we are back and you come to visit - watch out the photos will be up to date and the popcorn popped ...
so be ready to sit for awhile so we can share with you!!








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