We had to stay a couple of days longer than anticipated in Belize due to a cold front bringing lots of wind in the direction we wanted to go, so no good for sailing. We did head up the coast to wait at San Pedro, where we met up with 2 other boats and as soon as the weather changed we sailed in convoy. We had intended to stop Ixhlac to clear into Mexico and go for a good meal at a restaurant we had been to on the way down the Mexican coast. But as ever the best laid plans etc.. The port captain was away so couldn’t clear us in and the restaurant was full! So after a good night’s sleep we carried on for an overnight back to Isla Mujeres at the top of the Yucatan and the jumping off place for North America. With the Gulf Stream under us and the now favourable winds we increased our sustained speed record under sail to 11.6 Kts, ironically we were going so fast that we arrived in under 24 hrs so have still not cracked the illusive 200 mile run in a day!
Clearing into Mexico (Getting all the official paperwork done) is quite hard work, trailing round several different locations, getting lots of bits of paper stamped and parting with quite a lot of $$! So we were delighted to discover if we stayed for less than 5 days we didn’t have to pay a big chunk of the entry fee. As we have been to Isla Mujeres a few times we rushed around getting laundry, shopping & internet done, feeling like locals as we knew where to go.
Before leaving Isla Mujeres we thought we might as well go to the snorkelling place where all the local tourist boats go, not expecting to see much but to have a final swim in the tropics. We were amazed to find in this busy harbour, just by Cancun, masses of huge tame coloured fish and a very good reef. There was also a very strong current but fortunately a rope had been strung out on floats so that the tourist didn’t drift away and fail to give Pedro a suitable tip!
Mark checked the weather for the passage Florida and proclaimed ‘oh the winds look great but it might be a bit windy for the last few hours as a weather front is coming in….. ‘ We left Mexico on 12 March experiencing a good sail, then after 48 hours Mark’s ‘bit of wind’ arrived – it was not only 45 knots of wind, sheet lightening all around us but of course it was 3am in the morning. We ended up ripping one of our sails but we did eventually arrive at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas, 60 miles west of Key West, at about 10am in the morning feeling rather battered and tired. Things never happen in isolation so it was then that the anchor chain jammed so we couldn’t drop the hook. We provided lots of good entertainment for the other boats anchored there while we floundered about trying to un-jam our anchor chain and anchor all in about 30 knots of wind and driving rain!!
We spend a few days there recovering but not as we had hoped in sunshine and snorkelling in lovely warm waters, but in howling gales and rain with the boat hanging on its anchor. We did manage to swap 1 bottle of rum for 5 yellow tailed snappers – hey who needs to fish. We also managed to loose our dinghy here, was it the wind, was it stolen or simply ‘raptured’.
The weather changed and we took the chance to head for Key West, enter US, put some money on the mobile and buy fresh milk, what a treat. But runs ashore are far more difficult now due to loss of dinghy so we had to hitch a lift but luckily everyone is willing to help out. Without wasting much time we headed for Fort Lauderdale and Bruno’s Zoo, as we could tie up alongside and not worry about the dinghy.
So here we are now getting ready for the return journey across the Atlantic, Mark doing the last minute boat jobs, spending far too much money at the local Chandlery & hardware shops for those just in case spares and Louise trying to stock up for the crossing.
The new crew are joining soon so tune in for the next instalments – heading back across the Atlantic!! | 