The sail from Tamarindo to San Juan Del Sur went well.
Crew were my Tamarindo futon lender, Natalie Comfort, and the always reluctant to leave sooperpooch, Maestra.
We encountered STRONG Papagallo winds which shouldn't be blowing at all this time of year. I guess they're calling it an El Nino. I'm calling climate change. Whatever you call it, gusty 30-40 knot offshore winds make for exciting sailing and comfortable anchorages... assout and into the swell.
We took three nights making the trip and spent two daze surfing perfect, sparsely populated, occasionally overhead Ollie's Point with howling offshores. I spent more time on me feet than I had in my previous surfing experiences combined... needless to say a good experience.
The terrifying highlight of Ollie's was getting stalked by a crocodile in the water while I was rescuing Maestra from whatever the hell was stalking her on the beach.
During my surf a local guide who has chartered boats to Ollie's for 13 years warned me that the dog wasn't safe frolicking on the beach on account of jaguars and crocodiles. Ollie's is a $100 panga ride for the typical surfer because it's extremely remote... a 20 mile boatride from anywhere... semi-pristine wilderness aside from the fact that is was all obviously logged a few decades back.
Anyway, I didn't take his words to heart until I saw Maestra looking uncharacteristically terrified on the beach... running scatterpatterns or something... freaked out. So natually, I grabbed Comfort's longboard and cruised in to get her.
Just outside the shorepound I glanced left at an unusual looking log about 25 feet away. Then the log blinked and dove. I paddled like crazy, tried to catch a steep closeout, purled the nose and got tossed ass over teakettle in shoulder deep water.
I scrambled back to the board and caught the next whitewater in. Once "safely" on the beach I spotted the croc just offshore casually swimming away... somewhere in the 7-9 foot range... bigger than me no doubt.
Meanwhile the dog is between my legs shaking and eyeing a patch of scrubby bushes just up the beach. So I waited til the croc was a few hundred feet further along the bay before throwing the dog on the longboard and making a break for it.
Then I went surfing again.
And now, thanks to a 25 lb tuna gift to the Nicaraguan Armada, Sin Fin and I are once again legally checked into a country... which feels good.
Today was like a disfunctional family reunion with characters coming out of the woodwork. Tu Laki is here. Sketchy Franz. Nina Hutch and her friend. Kelly and crew from Tamarindo. I took a boatload of them surfing at Maderas today.
Tomorrow I'm shuttling 4 young Aussies to Pie De Gigante. Then the waves look like ass for the week so I'll be working on my silly little book and playing with the dog.
Blah Blah Blah.
Max
Crew were my Tamarindo futon lender, Natalie Comfort, and the always reluctant to leave sooperpooch, Maestra.
We encountered STRONG Papagallo winds which shouldn't be blowing at all this time of year. I guess they're calling it an El Nino. I'm calling climate change. Whatever you call it, gusty 30-40 knot offshore winds make for exciting sailing and comfortable anchorages... assout and into the swell.
We took three nights making the trip and spent two daze surfing perfect, sparsely populated, occasionally overhead Ollie's Point with howling offshores. I spent more time on me feet than I had in my previous surfing experiences combined... needless to say a good experience.
The terrifying highlight of Ollie's was getting stalked by a crocodile in the water while I was rescuing Maestra from whatever the hell was stalking her on the beach.
During my surf a local guide who has chartered boats to Ollie's for 13 years warned me that the dog wasn't safe frolicking on the beach on account of jaguars and crocodiles. Ollie's is a $100 panga ride for the typical surfer because it's extremely remote... a 20 mile boatride from anywhere... semi-pristine wilderness aside from the fact that is was all obviously logged a few decades back.
Anyway, I didn't take his words to heart until I saw Maestra looking uncharacteristically terrified on the beach... running scatterpatterns or something... freaked out. So natually, I grabbed Comfort's longboard and cruised in to get her.
Just outside the shorepound I glanced left at an unusual looking log about 25 feet away. Then the log blinked and dove. I paddled like crazy, tried to catch a steep closeout, purled the nose and got tossed ass over teakettle in shoulder deep water.
I scrambled back to the board and caught the next whitewater in. Once "safely" on the beach I spotted the croc just offshore casually swimming away... somewhere in the 7-9 foot range... bigger than me no doubt.
Meanwhile the dog is between my legs shaking and eyeing a patch of scrubby bushes just up the beach. So I waited til the croc was a few hundred feet further along the bay before throwing the dog on the longboard and making a break for it.
Then I went surfing again.
And now, thanks to a 25 lb tuna gift to the Nicaraguan Armada, Sin Fin and I are once again legally checked into a country... which feels good.
Today was like a disfunctional family reunion with characters coming out of the woodwork. Tu Laki is here. Sketchy Franz. Nina Hutch and her friend. Kelly and crew from Tamarindo. I took a boatload of them surfing at Maderas today.
Tomorrow I'm shuttling 4 young Aussies to Pie De Gigante. Then the waves look like ass for the week so I'll be working on my silly little book and playing with the dog.
Blah Blah Blah.
Max