Chapter 2: The Cartel

Great Inagua island to Kingston Jamaica was a voyage of three hundred nautical miles and required two uncomfortably rough days.

Nobody was seasick to the point of losing their lunch, but no one felt well enough to eat much either. Mostly we snacked on saltine crackers dusted with ginger and brown sugar. Ginger is an ancient Chinese seasickness remedy and it works.

Upon arrival and clearing in at Kingston, all of us ate chicken noodle soup and went straight to bed. No one rested well during that two days of bouncing about and we are exhausted.

Ricqui was first up and made a huge breakfast for all of us. The odor of frying bacon awoke me and I was the last to put in an appearance. The officials cautioned us not to venture far from the marina area as the intense poverty and desperation of the Jamaican people made it unsafe for obviously moneyed visitors. We canceled our sight seeing plans. We contented ourselves with expensive cocktails at a lounge close by catering to boats in the marina. We bought some over priced much touted Blue Mountain coffee. I much prefer Community French Dark Roast or Cuban Bustelo Expresso Grind coffees. Even instant Nescafe tastes better than that Blue Mountain junk we bought. My suspicion is, we didn’t get the real thing, just the name Blue Mountain stuck on the cheapest coffee warehouse floor sweepings. Tourists need to be aware. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a local friend’s advice, you will be taken advantage of.

That is probably true everywhere in the world. Like the Bible quoting con-man said, “He was a stranger and I took him in.”

After two days we were bored enough and rested enough to continue our voyage. We did eat heartily those two days, storing up energy for what lies ahead. A three day voyage of six hundred thirty nautical miles to Trujillo Honduras. At least we will have the wind and current behind us and aiding us. We can use the kite.

Our Flettner rotors provide a propulsion force at right angles to the wind. They aren’t very efficient running downwind. We have another odd sail, a parachute kite that we can send aloft and it pulls us downwind by a cable. The only problem is it’s not quick to bring in if there is a storm. A close watch on developing weather is very important. If the storm catches us by surprise it can be catastrophic.

I slept in the cockpit, readily available to pass judgment on any weather phenomenon the watch questions as suspicious. We had a very comfortable trip. Our troubles only began after we arrived.

This eastern section of Honduras is called La Mosquitia after the Miskito Indians that live here. This area is controlled by the cocaine cartel. For Mora and Marisol, this is home and they received a warm welcome. Ricqui and I received a different sort of warm welcome. Worse, we aren’t allowed to leave. Unfortunately, Mora and Marisol are unimportant girls, their families are fishermen primarily lobster divers, with zero clout to assist us. The cartel is interested in my boat for smuggling drugs. The lobster fishermen are also interested in acquiring my boat. The heat and humidity is oppressive too. The only good part of being here is lobsters are cheap and plentiful. We are soon satiated and lobsters lost there appeal. We want to escape.

“What are we going to do, Luke? They took our passports!”

Ricqui is worried.

“Not panic, is the first thing. Second thing is play the game. This is a business and the bosses are businessmen. The only interest they have in us, is in the boat. Moving product with my boat. I’m going to set up a meeting and make a deal. I’m going to step outside and have a chat with our guard. Wait inside.”

Only one guard was posted, armed with an AK47. He was sweating as much as I was. It was a hot steamy night. Not fluent, but I can make myself understood in Spanish.

“Que hora en la manana el jefe planes venga aqui?”

“No se, senor. Solo jefe el mismo conoce el planes.”

“Transmita mensaje quiero cita con jefe por charlar negocios.”

“No te preocupas. El jefe decidira cuando a verte manana. El tambien quiere charlar contigo, senor.”

TranslationS:

What time tomorrow is the boss coming here?