At times we would be as far as 120-130 miles offshore and completely exposed to the gale, and sometimes storm force winds that regularly blow from the northeast in this area. Our average speed was 8.45 kts since leaving Navidad, rounding Punta Graham and setting the boat on our rhumb line to the first waypoint 83 nm distant. We're counting on a margin of 6-9 hours to clear open water. Other winds, from the SE blow across the southern border of Nicaragua and into the Gulf of Papagayo with nearly the same intensity, thus mariners could be exposed whether running up or down the route. There are stories suggesting mariners study weather faxes days, and even weeks, before making the oftentimes risky Golfo Tehuantepec crossing, north or south.
Some authors warn there is really no guaranteed safe time of the year to make the passage.
And finally, there are tales of megayachts weathering these crossings with their captains and crew at times not certain if the vessel would survive the harrowing ordeal. From his onboard Iridium phone calls Bruce learned from Bruce Blevins at Banana Bay Marina in Golfito that the fuel trucks, transporting the 3,000 USG of diesel on which we hoped to receive a duty-free, and thus significant price break, would arrive on Monday, or at the latest Tuesday. The only slips open upon our arrival probably would be those used for fueling and we would have to vacate them before the commercial vessels returned to port at the end of each day. We also plan to purchase a set of refrigeration gauges and a cylinder of refrigerant at either Golfito or upon arrival in Balboa, Panama. In a way, this is good news.