By Kelly - 15 Mar 2017
The Rio Dulce is the place when you come to this side of the Caribbean or need to leave your boat for the season.
To begin, the Rio Dulce is the safest Hurricane and Stom Hole in the entire Area from Africa to the extent of Atlantic and Gulf Storms.
If you need something for your boat, and can 't get it on the Rio, it does not exist and someone here among the talented and experienced tradesmen and craftsmen will fabricate it for you.
Leaving your boat for the season? Dry Storage, Wet Storage, all monitored, serviced and secure.
Crime, nope. These are honest, hard working people, the Cruising Community and the Local Community blend smoothly and seamlessly. The Local Guatemalans are friendly and helpful to a fault.
If you are a Cruising Sailor, history and culture are high on your list. The Heart of the Mayan Empire and the expansion of Western Civilization and a way that did not blanket that culture is something you cannot miss.
Nature and the Environment? How about 6 foot Iguanas in the trees and Heron resting on your dock lines?
Great Restaurants? $10 will buy you dinner in resort style. $1.50 will buy you breakfast, lunch, or dinner in a local restaurant anyplace in town.
Come for a re-fit or repair? It is here or it cannot be done so a tradesman or craftsman will find a way to do it.
Want to see Belize, Mexico, Roatan, Panama, Columbia, Cuba? The Rio is a day to a few days away and the perfect home base to explore the entire region and know there is a safe, quite, storm proof, place to call home while you travel by boat or plane or car.
Need more? The OCC now has a Port Officer on the Rio ready to make this destination simple and easy. Contact me, Kelly, at:
semperfidelas@gmail.com
or through the Port Officer Page.
Kelly R Piercy - Rio Dulce, Guatemala, Port Officer
S/V Patience
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By alshaheen - 15 Mar 2017
Kelly
Many thanks for the posting and it is good to know that the OCC now has a very active Port Officer in the Rio Dulce. It sounds a wonderful cruising destination yet cruisers have been put off for years by the perceived problem of entering over the bar. Now we have a local representative let 's hope that many more OCC members will visit.
very best wishes in your new post
John Franklin
Past Commodore
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By Kelly - 16 Mar 2017
Ahh yes, the Bar at Livingston.
My Tartan TOCK draws 6 ' (~2m.) My neighbor 's Benatau draws 7 '. Neither of us have touched crossing the bar.
The datun shows 4 '. That is wrong. Tides run 1.8 ' at the Spring Tide. Neither boat should have been able to cross the bar in June or February respectively.
Add to that, if you do touch, it is silt for about 3 ' before any sort of real bottom is found and that is sand and clay.
Do, do not let the bar put you off. Come to the true heart of the Western Caribbean, hang out and we can all get together and do stuff.
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By Delphinus - 31 Mar 2017
Hi Kelly
It is great to know we now have a port officer in the Rio Dulce. We are currently heading there for hurricane season this year. We look forward to meeting you.
Best wishes
Jayne, Paul & Lily
SY Delphinus
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By Kelly - 1 Apr 2017
Welcome to the safest hurricane hole in the West Caribbean.
Please advise your arrival and arrangements you wish to make. There are many options if you are going to leave your boat for the season and many more if you plan on riding the season here.
If you have a sailmial account, that will be the best way to let me know you are on your way in and, with a day 's notice, I can meet your vessel in Livingston. Under no circumstances, leave your vessel unattended in Livingston. When you arrive, cross the bar and anchor off the town. The authorities will come alongside for the initial clearing in (no cost.) Once cleared, hail a launch from the dock (just wave or sound a signal horn.) Leave someone on board, and go ti Raul 's office and he will take care of your visa and boat papers. Bring all passports and vessel registration/documentation. It will take about an hour. Head up-river and across the lake.
The river is deep, but stay to the center of the channel and watch for kayukas and launchas. When you enter the Golfete, keep the the center of the lake. It is deep all the way except for some shoaling near the banks. Will send the waypoints in a floow-on message.
When you get to Raul 's Office, ask him to call me at:
4047 7774 if we have not already made contact.
Local contact is Ch 68 VHF.
As the season approaches, marinas are filling up. Give me details on your needs and I start shopping Marinas for you.
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By Kelly - 1 Apr 2017
Sorry, forgot this:
WDH7549@sailmail.com
semperfidelas@gmail.com
+502 4047 7774 (Guatemala Line)
001 706 410 4228 (US Line in Guatemala)
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By Delphinus - 1 Apr 2017
Hi Kelly
We will arrive on the highest tide in late May, I think around 25th? We are arriving with another OCC boat Aztec Dream. We are both already booked into a marina, we booked in January. I will email you more details shortly. Thank you so much for your information, I will pass this on toAztec Dream too.
Jayne
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By Kelly - 1 Apr 2017
Dolphin & Aztec Dream;
I will pull the waypoints for the bar, the run through the canyon, across The Golfets, and up the Rio and post them here and send them by email to your personal addresses in a day or two . I will also check local sources for tides.
I have arranged a 5% discount for OCC Members at Captain John 's Marina and as soon as I resolve issues with my dinghy outboard, I will make Tijax my first stop on expanding on that.
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By Delphinus - 1 Apr 2017
Thank you so much Kelly, did you receive the email I sent to your gmail? If you prefer you can copy Aztec Dream and us both into any emails relevant to us both.
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By Dick - 2 Apr 2017
Hi all,
The contrast with the RD of 15- 20 years ago when I sailed Central America and today 's descriptions could not be greater. It used to be like the wild west, enough so that someone should collect the old stories, especially if they can now be considered history. Is the whole region much safer now, such as local bus trips into the mountains and over to Honduras? That would be great as in many ways I considered the NW Carib as a cruising paradise with a tremendous history along the shore and inland.
Thanks for the reports, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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By simoncurrin - 8 Sep 2017
From: Kelly Piercy
Date: Fri, Sep 8, 2017 at 12:54 PM
Subject: Discounts Rio Dulce
The following marinas on the Rio, Dulce, Guatemala, offer a 5% discount to OCC Members Includes Yard, haul - not work.)
Captain John's Marina (with bungalows available)
Nana Juana Hotel and Marina (Boat Yard)
I am also working on other marinas and will pass it on when I manage it.
I also post the information at our website:
www.occriodulce.com/marina.html
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By Kelly - 11 Oct 2017
The Perfect Place as a Home Base in the West Caribbean
1 November signals the end of a very active storm season in this part of the world.
Many boats will be in the popular East Caribbean and many will be doing to West side.
Everyone needs to consider the Rio Dulce, Guatemala.
Go to the OCC Port Officer, Rio Dulce website and look at the pictures of the Rio while Maria and her friends were rampaging through the region. Not only is the Rio Dulce the safest place to be during the season, it is where you can repair and re-fit inexpensively while joining other members for monthly events and tours of the Heart of the Americas.
The Rio Dulce is the place to make your Home Base when the Western Caribbean is your cruising destination. Costs are lower and services at the top of the curve.
Leaving your boat for the season, there is not a less expensive, more safe place to be.
Kelly
OCC Port Officer, Rio Dulce, Guatemala
http://www.occriodulce.com/
+502 4047 7774
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By simoncurrin - 12 Oct 2017
Thanks Kelly. We are heading your way in a couple of years but I think our 2.3 metre draft may to too deep for us to cross the bar. That’s a shame as it sounds like a perfect destination.
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By Mithril - 6 Feb 2018
We are planning to go to the Rio Dulce for this hurricane season and wondered if anyone had any advice. Our thoughts were to stay in the water for 2 to 3 months at a marina and then haul out to do some work and travel. Do yachts that stay in the water change their anodes as it is fresh water? Are window ac units available in Rio Dulce or should we get one before we arrive. Our AC is watercooled and is 240v / 50HZ so is only usable with our generator there. We would welcome any advice or comments. Does anyone have any recommendations for marinas / boatyards? We have a Catamaran so are probably limited on boatyards.
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