Sailing SV Cordelia · video

What this video covers

Steve and Annette depart Livingston, Guatemala, on a 1.5–2 hour motor passage to Punta Gorda, Belize, for check-in during a mid-refit break aboard their Venus ketch Cordelia.1:05 Just before leaving Livingston, all cockpit instruments go dead — the depth sounder, critical for entering an unfamiliar reef area, among them.3:40 The fault traces to a loose NMEA connector on the chart-table cabling, dislodged during sanding work; reconnecting it restores the instruments before the reef approach.3:45 Punta Gorda check-in takes roughly an hour.2:18 The crew does not stay overnight there because a persistent offshore wind makes it a lee shore; they move on to Frenchman's Cay, a mangrove anchorage about 1.5 hours up the coast.2:30 From there they transit roughly seven hours to Placencia, motoring at 4–4.5 knots.7:33 In Placencia they provision: vegetables, eggs, ham, corned beef, and bread cost £40 sterling — noticeably more than Guatemala prices.10:52 Belize has the world's second-largest reef system; the crew plans snorkeling at the cayes.0:40 The passage is a two-month break before returning to phase two of the refit.0:10 A loose multi-way NMEA connector, easily overlooked after disassembly work, can silence all cockpit instruments at the worst possible moment.

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