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M/V
HAWKEYE II
A
TRIP OF A LIFETIME
M/V HAWKEYE II
TRIP 1 LOGS
NEWPORT BEACH, CA TO DUBUQUE, IA
NEWS RELEASE--
MARCH 17, 1985
Dave Cuckler of Monticello, Iowa departed Newport
Beach, California,
Saturday, March 9th
in his 60 ft. Yacht "Hawkeye II."
"Hawkeye II" and crew will serve as communications vessel for the
Newport to Cabo San Lucas Sailing Yacht Race. This first
1000 mile leg of their journey is Dave's long-time dream to
sail
his
boat from California to Iowa and return. The
round
trip will
cover 20,000 miles. From Cabo San
Lucas, Baja Sur Mexico, Dave and his crew of friends will cruise down the
Pacific Coast of Central America. They plan to stop
at Manzanillo and Acapulco, Mexico; Puntarenas, Costa Rica;
thru the Panama Canal into the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of
Mexico to Mobile, Alabama. From Mobile he will take the new
Tenn-Tom Waterway into the Tennessee River, Ohio River to
Cairo, Illinois, then up the
Mississippi to Dubuque. Dave
hopes
to reach Dubuque
sometime in July 1985.
April 2, 1985
17 - 16' North Lat.
101 - 03' West Lon.
We arrived in
Cabo San Lucas after a five-day easy cruise
down
the 1,000 mile coast of Baja California,
Mexico. "Hawkeye II" and crew served as
communications vessel for the Newport
to Cabo San Lucas Sailing Yacht Race.
This was the
first leg
of my long-time
dream to sail my boat
from California to Iowa and return.
The round trip will cover
20,000 miles. After
a week in Cabo San Lucas,
we cruised across the Gulf of
Lower California and have spent the past
two weeks visiting Bahia
Careyes, Tenacatita, Manzanillo, Ixtapa and
Zihuatanejo. We are now on our way to Acapulco.
We
plan to spend two weeks there resupplying for the longest
leg of
our journey. This 1,400 mile run will take us around Guatemala, San Salvador and Nicaragua. We plan to stay 50
to
100 miles offshore of these countries and make our landfall
at Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
May 5, 1985
08 - 56' North Lat.
79 -
34'
West Lon.
Balboa, Panama
We
arrived in
Acapulco, Mexico at noon,
April 3rd, after a delightful 4-day
cruise from Manzanillo. Upon securing the
HAWKEYE II to the Club de
Yates'
Acapulco Dock,
I took the
Ship's Papers and
Passports to the
El Capitan de Puerto,
El Jefe-de la Ofna, de Migracion and
Customs. Back to the
real
world of red tape and paperwork!
It actually took two
days to "Clear
Customs." They just can't seem
to make it simple.
John
and Betty
McGraw
from Laguna Beach, California joined us
on the Cabo San Lucas
- Manzanillo portion
of the trip, and
Vince and Carol Arrigo joined us
for the Manzanillo - Acapulco
portion, so
we enjoyed their
company and help along the way.
After
a two-week stay,
we
refueled
and departed Acapulco
for our
longest
leg
of
the entire trip. Ahead of us
was
not
only
the
politically troubled
zone of
Nicaragua
but, also, the
most
infamous storm area of our trip, The Gulf of
Tehuantepec, a 304-mile stretch between Mexico and Guatemala,
known
for it's
dangerous winds
and seas.
We
crossed the Tehuantepec
with only a long rolling swell
from
a storm some 1,000 miles away. After clearing this
area,
we
headed out
to
sea
and skirted
Nicaragua
by over
100 miles. We decided
to by-pass Puntarenas and
made
landfall at Golfito, Costa Rica
on the sixth day.
Our
stay in Golfito
was very interesting.
We were the first Yacht to
visit for
over a month
and
were
treated as very special
guests. For many years the
town had
been
the busy center
of the United Fruit's
extensive Banana
operation.
The
plant
has been
closed for 3 years due to the
high cost of
production
and
is now in process of
being dismantled.
We
arrived at the beginning
of
the rainy season and the
country was green and
lush, hot
and humid.
On
May
1st
we
bid
our new found friends
farewell
and headed to
sea
again.
The
next two
days
and nights were stormy,
with head seas and a strong negative
current. As we neared the
entrance to The
Panama Canal the seas flattened out and we
began to see
many large ships.
At the entrance there
were approximately 50 ships
anchored and waiting their turn to pass through the Canal.
We received our clearance
for entrance to Balboa
and picked
up a
mooring at the
Balboa Yacht
Club to clear
Customs and
file application for passage.
It has been
10 years since I took my sailboat HAWKEYE through
the Canal. Much has changed since
then. I expect passage in four days. Will
write you on
the other side.
May
29, 1985
20 Degrees 16 Minutes North Lat. 76
Degrees
11 Minutes West Lon.
Isla de Cozumel,
Mexico
4244 Miles out of Newport Beach,
California
3020
Miles to Dubuque, Iowa
We made our
Panama Canal Transit May 9th.
The Pilot-Guide
assigned
to us had some difficulty
with
English and we with Spanish,
but we had a pleasant trip through the
Canal. We
were
very fortunate to
have
aboard a Senior
Canal
Pilot, our friend
and guest, Captain Bob
Gray
and his son, Zack. Bob
gave us
a great deal of interesting history about the Canal and it's transfer
of ownership from the USA to Panama. Now,
six
years
after the USA started turning over control to
the
Panamanians, there seems
to be doubts in the minds of the average
man as to the wisdom of the transfer. The Panamanian
managers pay much
less
in wages to the Canal workers and
there are fewer
American visitors. From
what we saw 10 years ago,
there appeared to
be
much deterioration
of the hotels,
buildings, streets and, also, the attitude of the people.
Even the Canal and it's equipment looked sad. The traffic through
the Canal was also considerably less, due in part to
the
much higher fees.
We stopped on the Atlantic side at Colon for two days. The Officials
were friendly, but the streets of the City
were unsafe. We ordered a truck-load of fuel, but had to send it
back after giving it our water test. It was very bad. the next
possible fuel stop was the island of San Andreas, Colombia. To get proper clearance it was necessary to go to the Colombian
Embassy for a Visa.
Papers and documents in order,
we
departed
Panama at 11:00 a.m., May 11th for the 26-hour crossing.
We arrived at the Sea Buoy at Noon next day and
waited for a Pilot to
guide
us through the
narrow passage to anchorage
at the
Yacht
Club del Nautico.
From some of the
stories
we had heard
and read of the many problems boaters had
experienced in Colombia, we were pleasantly surprised
to
find
this Island, and the many people we met, the most enjoyable of our entire trip thus far. Friendly
and congenial
- when you are a long way
from home, that's pretty nice.
We would like to go back and spend
much more time.
Our next
port of call was Belize City, Belize.
We departed Noon, May 16th for probably the most hazardous portion
of our trip. The next 72 hours took us around Nicaragua
and
Honduras,
crossing
over some shallow
ocean shoal water and
past
low
atolls. Careful navigation, using Radar,
Satellite navigation
and
good old dead reckoning,
made the passage
easier.
Strong currents, large seas and heavy thunderstorms made
for an interesting trip.
Belize lies
inside of the world's second largest
barrier reef,
the largest in
the
Western Hemisphere. We
picked up
our required Pilot
outside of the reef and he directed us to our
anchorage. After a 4-hour wait,
Customs,
Health, Immigration,
Port Captain, Agent and several others
came aboard.
There was paperwork by the ream.
Finally,
all were satisfied
and we were officially entered
for our 6-day stay in
Belize.
The City was a disappointment and we were
happy to get
to the Out-Islands where people were friendly again.
The water around the North Islands was crystal clear with beautiful
shades of turquoise. Exploring
the islands and diving
the reefs made
the days go by swiftly. We stocked our freezer
with lobster and Mahi-mahi for
special dinner nights ahead.
We departed Belize at Noon, May 23rd, for
Isla
de Cozumel,
Mexico.
With strong currents
astern
and winds and sea abeam,
we
made good speed,
arriving
at
10:00 a.m. the next day. We
are
now stern tied to
the Dock at Club Nautico. A lovely Island
and Harbor--makes us feel like we're home again.
Next Port will be Galveston, Texas, USA, 800 miles across the Gulf
of Mexico. Hurricane season
is just starting so we will
keep
a weather
eye
out.
June 11, 1985
29
Degrees 19 Min North Lat.
94 Degrees 47 Min
West Lon.
Galveston, Texas
USA
4957 Miles
out of Newport Beach
2100
Miles to
Dubuque,
Iowa
We had a great 12-day stay at
Cozumel, Mexico. Azure blue, crystal clear water, turning to turquoise near
the white sand beaches,
protected by a coral
reef with colorful tropical fish.
Sounds
like
a travel ad - but it was truly
very beautiful.
We
took a 3-day side tour to the Yucatan mainland where we visited the
ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. These
are
the remains of a
civilization
that dates back to 250 A.D. Quite
a bit
of restoration has
been
done and we saw, climbed up, walked through and around, The
Castle
of Kukulcan, The
Astronomical Observatory, The Temple of Warriors with the 1,000 columns,
The Platform of Venue, The Sacred Cenote (well)
and
much, much more.
Such
fascinating history of one of
the most advanced societies of that period.
We
stayed at the Mayaland Hotel which was within walking distance of Chichen
Itza. The hotel was built 60 years ago with stone from
the
archelogical site.
It
was in excellent condition, especially when compared to the modern Hotel
El Presidente at Cancun built only 10 years ago.
We
departed Cozumel June 5th
for our 4-day voyage to Galveston,
Texas, USA. Running between the Yucatan Bank and Cuba, we turned Northwest again, leaving the Caribbean
Sea and entering the Gulf of Mexico. Strong
currents from the south boosted
our
speed two to
three knots.
We entered the Fairway,
some 150
miles from
Galveston, that took us between hundreds
of oil drilling platforms. All shipping is funneled through this Fairway and, while
it is
2-miles wide the tankers
appear
to
be 2-1/2 miles wider.
Oh well, night at
sea has
a
way of
changing one's prospective anyway.
At
this point Murphy's
Law took charge` and our Number
One Color
Radar, with all
the whistles,
bells, collision avoidance
and automatic target tracking
systems
failed! Old Radar Number Two was started up and it seemed like
we had stepped
back into
the Dark Ages. Now,
with a few more details
to take care of, the night went swiftly by and we landed in Galveston,
Texas the next afternoon.
Three
months, 5,000 miles and many interesting stops along the way, we
were
back
in the Good
Old USA. She's
a beautiful
country.
Tomorrow
we leave for Houston, Texas to
visit
The NASA Space Center.
July
7,
1985
Going
down the Tennessee River
51 Miles from Paducah, Kentucky
On Tuesday, June 11th,
Bob and Wanda Bush from Olympia, Washington,
joined
us
in Galveston to go along with us
to Houston.
That evening George Abbey and his sons, Jim and Andy, were our dinner
guests aboard "Hawkeye". George is Director
of Flight
Crew Operations and had made the arrangements
for our tour through the Space
Center.
Next
day we traveled up the Houston Ship Channel, entering a very narrow, shoal
channel adjoining Clear Lake, then made our way to The
Lakewood
Yacht Club. It
was a
lovely place to stay--southern
hospitality, excellent food, swimming pool
- and
only
2
miles from the Lyndon B.
Johnson
Space Center
(NASA).
On Thursday, June 13th, we received a very VIP conducted tour of the
Space Center,
meeting again our old friends, George Abbey,
Bob Cripin, Ellison Onizuka, Don Williams, and
new friends,
Jon McBride and Bonnie Dunbar among others. The Space Center is fantastic.
It is open to the public
and
has more
visitors than any other tourist
attraction
in the country. It is especially interesting to see the number
of foreign
visitors, complete
with their cameras. Only in America!
The
Space Center is so impressive that I could fill these pages with what we
saw. It must
be
seen! I can begin to realize
how
vital this work is to the betterment of mankind. It has
been
said before--It is
our
next frontier.
On Monday, June 24th, George Abbey arranged
clearance for us to watch the Shuttle approach
and land at
Edwards AFB from the
Houston Control
Center. It was
fascinating to watch and
listen
to the
real-life action.
Must say my
palms were wet as the 200 ton Glider came in from
outer space at 18,000 MPH, entered
the atmosphere, decelerated to
pin point touchdown at 200 MPH and came to a
stop on the centerline of the runway.
Leaving
the amazing world of spaceships behind, we climbed back aboard our little sea
ship
and prepared for the next 500 miles through the Gulf of Mexico. This being
hurricane
season,
we received
a thorough
weather
briefing
at
the Space Center,
and
departed
Galveston
Bay at 06:45 A.M. 25th.
Fifty-six
hours later we made dock at the Grand Mariner Marina,
Dog River, Mobile Bay. This
is a family-operated marina with
great service and
true southern hospitality. Captain Eldon Vorwald and
his wife, Eunice, met us there. They
are from Guttenburg, Iowa.
Captain
Vorwald
is a retired
riverboat
Captain with many years of experience on the Upper Mississippi, so we are
fortunate to have him with us as
our
guide.
We
departed Mobile Bay
09:30 Saturday,
June 29th for the trip up
the Tombigbee River,
and our first taste of
river boating. It
was very interesting, and meeting the barge tows on
some of the tight bends was, also, very interesting--but Captain Mike's
years of experience made it look easy.
Now
that we
were
on the river
we
would be stopping for
the
night and our first
night's
stop was Bates
Lake. It was a rather small lake,
some
50 to
140 yards wide and one-half
mile long. Working
our way
under
a low
high-line
("Hawkeye" is
43 ft. high),
we anchored for a peaceful night's rest.
Early next morning
we
lowered our radio
antennas, slipped out of Bates Lake
and headed up-river
for
Demopolis, Alabama. Demopolis
is the start of the new Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. This Waterway is
America's newest interstate transportation
system.
The Tenn-Tom
is the most ambitious waterway
development protect in
our
nation's
history, and
the
most
expensive project ever
undertaken by the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (Two Billion
Dollars).
The Tenn-Tom will serve as
a connecting navigational artery
between the Ohio, Upper Mississippi and
Tennessee River systems. The entire system encompasses 16,000 miles of
navigable waterways. For
us,
it cut
off 250 miles
and
the strong head currents that we would have encountered
had we taken the
Lower
Mississippi River route.
From
some
Eastern Ports
to the Gulf of Mexico, this route
will
cut the distance as
much as 800 miles.
We
arrived early afternoon
at Demopolis, Alabama. There
we picked
up George and Linda West of Newport Beach,
California.
George is
a long-time
sailing buddy of mine and we were pleased
to have
these
two experienced sailors aboard.
George is also
a professional
photographer and is making a documentary of the "Hawkeye" and the Tenn-Tom.
The
Fourth of July we traversed four Locks and made 115 miles. We also
constructed a Rocket Launch Pad on the bow and our new guest, George Von Vest,
built
several two-stage super
rockets, but his try for the Moon was unsuccessful.
July
5th,
we traversed the remaining three locks; the last being Bay
Springs a whopping 84 foot
lift. Then, the spectacular
43-mile divide cut--millions of yards of earth
were removed dwarfing the cuts
through the Panama Canal--a
magnificent
engineering accomplishment.
The
divide cut
put us into Pickwick Lake and then down the Tennessee
River. Next we will intercept the Ohio
River at Paducah,
Kentucky and then down to
the
Upper Mississippi.
We
have been "at sea" two days short
of four months.
We have traveled
6,240 miles and have
only 682 miles to Dubuque. Monticello, IA will look so good!
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