Hotspur's Been Hit!

We have left the boat for exactly a week yesterday on a mooring in Bahia del Sol, El Salvador so that we could travel inland and see some of Guatemala. Since we have been away, two nasty storms have knocked boats off their moorings.

The first happened last Tuesday - we received an email saying that Hotspur had broken off and dragged into the estuary. I about had a coronary when I got the email! 15 minutes later, we received another email saying it was a mistake. It was not Hotspur, it was our friends on Taking Flight, who are also traveling in Guatemala right now. Good news is that she landed in the muck and not the rocks, so no damage. With the help of lovely cruisers, Taking Flight was pulled off at high tide and re-moored.

But, my coronary returned yesterday morning when I received these photos of Hotspur and news that after another bad storm, several boats broke free - and although Hotspur hung on tightly to her mooring, she was hit by another boat that did not!

Cap rail ripped off and fiberglass gash. Stainless Rub rail missing.

More "owies" in the port hull

Bent stainless stanchions

And if you think this looks bad, one J-Boat, Tolerance, drug anchor and hit some concrete pylons. The boat is a loss. Many other boats sustained damage and as of today we don't know who or how much. Luckily for Hotspur, the damage looks cosmetic. But now one of us needs to go back and get repairs started before hurricane season is upon us. Who knows how long it will take - many boats need repairs made.

The crew on Hotspur left Panajachel and arrived in Antigua last Wednesday. We rented a guesthouse for a month. We start Spanish classes this morning and have paid for 2 weeks of lessons for the everyone. Since I am the strongest Spanish speaker in the family, looks like I'll be catching a bus back to El Salvador and leaving Jim and the kids to finish their lessons. That's what we're thinking today, anyway.