April 5, 2008 - Almost at Bermuda !

32 degrees 07.2 minutes North
65 degrees 24.5 minutes West

We are less than 100 miles from the British Protectorate of Bermuda and we hope to arrive by late this evening.  Jem and her team will take a break from the high seas for a week or so.  In addition, we will have a crew change, with Stewart, who will return back to the US, being replaced by James, who is arriving from the UK on Monday.

The last two days have been blissful – clear, sunny days, temperatures in the 70s, a nice 15-20 knot wind off our beam and reasonably calm seas.  A dramatic difference from the conditions we were experiencing just a few days ago.  In fact, the conditions are so nice, I could even consider going the next leg of 1,900 miles to the Azores (volcanic islands that are part of Portugal).

Thus, not only will we shortly arrive on this British beach head (What else should we call Bermuda, we still are not sure what a protectorate is), but the balance of the team will now be decidedly British (with a 3:1 ratio).  It probably was never fair to say this was a joint Anglo-American effort as the final destination is the UK, the Captain swears his loyalty to the Queen and we are on a British registered boat (flying a rare blue Royal Naval ensign no less).  We do have tea time several times a day although we have avoided baked beans for breakfast, marmite on toast and warm beer at cocktail hour (at least, so far!).

This does bring up the whole issue of language . . .  sometimes we really have had trouble understanding each other.  As a result, we have had to come up with a dictionary and I, having spent my fair share of time in the UK, have been pressed into service as a translator.

Some of the differences are well known to all of us – pants versus trousers, rubber versus eraser, pavement versus sidewalk, marquee versus tent, caravan versus trailer but then there are those other words that are better off without a translation:

Left footer
Kip
Tosser
To whinge
Stroppy
Slapper

In addition, we’ve had ongoing discussions of Cockney rhyming slang (a language I’ve been happy to have been taught by James Sheed).  Thus, the term Septic for an American is now completely understood amongst the crew (Septic Tank, Yank).

We have also learned some interesting trivia about the English language and its expressions.  For example, do you know where the term “white elephant” comes from?  It comes from the days of the Raj, in British India.  A white elephant (albino) was most sacred in India and, if you owned one, you could not put it to work – you could only look after it.  Thus, explains the term “a white elephant”.  Do any of you know where the term “Elephant & Castle” comes from?

We have all been avidly reading during our 900 mile jaunt from Florida to Bermuda.  For some reason, much of our reading has focused on maritime dramas.  Everyone has now read and enjoyed Skeletons on the Zahara, which has some great color on 19th century Connecticut and its sailing merchants (thanks for the recommendation Mary Ann Reed);  Into The Heart of the Sea has also been a big hit (about Nantucket whalers and the story leading up to Moby Dick}.  The Lone Voyager has been read as has This Old Man and the Sea (not Hemingway’s book).

We hope to send a message tomorrow confirming the time of our safe arrival in Bermuda however we are pushing hard to get to Customs before they close so that we can celebrate both our arrival and Mike’s birthday in the traditional fashion – “tiredness” therefore may influence tomorrow’s report!

We shall be on R&R for a week and hope to be on our way again, weather permitting, on or around Tuesday 15 April – so please don’t forget us!

Before we go though we would all like to say how overwhelmed we have been by the messages of support and encouragement we have received – when you’re tired, hungry and scared it’s nice to know that there are people out there who think you deserve nothing better – keep them coming, they mean a great deal to us and are a lift when spirits are low.

FOR PHOTOS PLEASE CLICK ON

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Yacht.Jem/AtlanticCrossing

April 4, 2008 - Bulldogs and Eagles - mid-day 4 April 08

31o 57.8’N 69o 05.6’W

So it’s time for that usual transatlantic anthropological finger pointing and the inevitable acknowledgment of the depth of differences between Us and Them -- something that can only truly come into focus when stuck in a confined space for an extended period.

The usual points of contention have been ticked off pretty quickly – Baseball is a game called rounders played by girls at public (private) school, pants are worn under trousers and not over underwear, Spotted Dick for pudding, I think not; etc etc.

After a few days however the more telling differences start to appear, none more so than the simple act of offering to make a cup of tea; an Englishman will know it to be around 5pm, expect it to have milk, with the option of sugar and possibly a biscuit.  Offer tea to someone from America (North rather than South) expecting the answer yes or no but more likely to receive a “sure” before being bombarded with a stream of queries regarding it’s contents, additives, flavour and, extraordinarily, even it’s temperature.

Our passage in Jem is therefore a voyage of discovery in more ways than one; How else are we to learn that celery and peanut butter are natural partners and they to understand that calling their first born Randy will permanently scar the boy should he ever venture across the pond.

So here we are about 200 miles from our Bermudan pit-stop (our final destination still remains in doubt, is it to be the Azores or the Aysores).  Last night was bad after a weather front strayed further south than forecast giving strong winds from straight ahead and a large sea.  However with the weather charts predicting a wind shift to the south during the night we spent it almost ‘hove-to’ for comfort although certain team members would question that remark.

We awoke (well those of us whom managed to grab any sleep did) to a strong southerly wind, beautiful blue skies and a warming sun rising ahead of us and we are flying! Despite quite a big seas speeds are now consistently 7½+ Kts so “we’re comin’ home!”  Yes travelling at 8 MPH is quite good for us!

Gathering weather information from which we can pick our route forms a major part of our lives and it is with bated breath that we await a new forecast – so often what was favourable 6hrs previously has, for no apparent reason, changed into something that we need to avoid.  Our most useful source is from The US government who broadcast synoptic and wind speed and direction charts over the HF radio which, when plugged into a laptop, displays the sort of weather charts with isobars, fronts and areas of high and low pressure with which you will be familiar – from these we can change or confirm our strategy.  Because some of the charts cover most of the US and Atlantic we can also see what’s coming in the next few days which is extremely important.

What’s really coming in the next few days however is hopefully going to be a hot shower, a good night’s sleep,  a quiet beer followed by many noisy ones – It’s Mike’s birthday tomorrow, it would be nice to end it at anchor.

April 3, 2008 - Mid-day Thursday 3 April - still no sight of land....

31o 30.9’N 71o 52.4’W

Here we are then, 4 men in a boat, 5th day at sea. Up until an hour ago I could have said that the sea and wind conditions had drastically calmed. Last night we had to have the big chuggy thing downstairs running to keep us moving in the right direction. Now we’ve got it running again but for completely different reasons .. we are in the middle of a rainstorm with 24kts winds blowing at us straight onto the nose .. ah well, variety is the spice of life.

The temperature has dropped significantly as well to the point that Mark and I are wearing our trousers and the septics are wearing their pants.  As I write the thingy whats’name on the wall has just clicked over to tell us that we have 300 miles to go.

Crew’s news – Having spent the majority of the first 3 days asleep, Mike spent almost the whole of yesterday awake although there was a bit of a relapse this morning. The good news is that he has managed to sort out the Sat Phone/Email problem so we are back in contact with the world.

Mark continues to amaze us with his knowledge and abilities. He has been able to answer every nautical question put to him (Not difficult in present company: Ed) and, so far, has fixed (sorry “maintained”) the diesel engine, the electric lights, the odometer and the stove. Mind you, we are a bit disappointed that he hasn’t got the needle and thread out to repair (sorry “maintain”) the mizzen sail that split along a seam three days ago.

Stewart, the all American boy, continues to throw himself into everything with vigour. In 5 short (?) days he has gone from cabin boy to navigator (he’s got his own GPS thingy) to fish finder general (caught the only fish so far) to Antenna Man (see yesterdays blog) and is now champing at the bit to make some bread and become Jem’s answer to the Pilsbury Doughboy.

Me – I’m just happy with the little things in life.  Like getting 5 hours sleep last night and like winning yesterdays sweepstake on distance covered noon to noon. My prize – we have to lose an hour between here and Bermuda and I get to choose when that happens … hmm, my next 3am to 6am watch is a distinct possibility.

We have been told by Louise that there have been so many hits on this blog site that it has crashed. Nice to know that so many people are interested.  Stay with us folks, more to follow…

Just as a foot note to those who haven’t had the chance to sail across the Atlantic in a 44ft yacht, I would like to describe the incredible scenery that we are passing through at the moment … water!

FOR PHOTOS CLICK ON ... http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Yacht.Jem/AtlanticCrossing

April 3, 2008 - Midday Wednesday 2 April

31o 16.1’N 73o 12.4’W – Hatteras Abyssal Plain, apparently

Sun shining, wind both fair and from a good direction, and best of all Brian has made fresh bread.  All is well with the world.

April 3, 2008 - Mid-day Tuesday the first of April

Position:           30 degrees 50 minutes North

                        76 degrees 09 minutes West

We experienced “challenging” weather conditions over the preceding 24 hours – 15 foot seas and 30 knot winds as well as rain and lightning.  Our flagging spirits were lifted by a call on the VHF from a passing cruise ship checking in on our welfare.

Although we told them that we were fine, the captain, a keen sailor, insisted on sending over a sea boat to take us in tow and return aboard with them for a hot meal.  Mark, with fenders everywhere, was quite concerned that the tow line was long enough so that Jem would be in no danger. 

The cruise ship, the Mermaid, was en route to Norway from the Caribbean. We were made very welcome given full use of the spa facilities to clean up before dining with the crew.  We were offered herring and Red Erik beers.

Our thanks go out to Captain Lars Underdal and his all female crew.

On waking up this morning, weather conditions were much improved, our spirits were revived and it was almost as if our visit on the Mermaid was just a dream.

April 3, 2008 - Monday 31 March - A little further north of Little Bahama Bank

29o 31.3’N 77o 57.6’W

I’m just overwhelmed with pride given my promotion from Cabin Boy to Chief Navigator.  Realisticly, I think Captain Mark was envious of my fancy GPS, and saw the potential contribution to his current sextant-based navigation system.

Yesterday’s fishing, reading in the sun, and bathing suit attire came to a crashing end about supper time yesterday.  Sails were reefed in Mark’s anticipation of squalls, which proved correct. Wind quickly picked up, and dinner was eaten with bowl in one hand, glass in the other to avoid a complete mess. Lightning set in about dusk, but remained off to the South East. My 3am to 6am watch was beautiful: great wind, few clouds, and a rising moon that will not be forgotten.  Sleeping was tough for everyone given the wind/wave combo—it’s difficult just moving around the boat given the relentless pitching.

This morning’s activity was focused on repairing the mizzen sail, which was torn in last night’s gusts. We hauled the sail into the cabin to measure for a replacement just before the rain hit: for now, we seem to have simply traded lightning for rain, which has added to our joy over the last 18 hours.

Bermuda is getting a little bit closer – Oh, did I forget to mention I caught the largest Mahi Mahi seen onboard…..

April 1, 2008 - Some News !

1 April 2008

Unfortunately the Sat Phone hired at great expense, so that daily blogs could be posted seems to be proving to be useless!   So the boys on Jem have had to revert to the old email system, in which every character typed costs a small fortune. 

So unfortunately news from Jem is brief but as follows:

30 53N 75 53W

‘Weather good, All well, Hope to be in Bermuda on Saturday’

March 30, 2008 - Midday Sunday 30 March

28o 03.3’N 79o 08.1’W – North of Little Bahama Bank

The more discerning readers among you will undoubtedly quickly realise that this particular blog has been written by the member of the crew with the least nautical knowledge.

March 29, 2008 - Team Photo

Mark, Mike, Brian, Stewart - Team Jem - 1st leg

March 29, 2008 - Friday 28 March – 'T-11 hrs'

26^o 07.74'N 80^o 07.27'W – Fort Lauderdale (Still)

The team is assembled, primed and ready for the off.  The internet has been searched until a favourable weather forecast has been found so we are off in the morning, bound for Bermuda.

The team consists of:

Brian; with fishing rod in one hand cook book in the other, is in a constant trance reciting the mantra – Port left, Starboard right.

Mike; Mobile phone pressed so hard to his ear that circulation has long since ceased, is white with fear at the prospect of being out of touch – thank goodness then that he achieved a successful test on the Satellite telephone.

Stewart; cool, collected and quietly confident after clearing his desk and telling his clients that he'll be away for a while.   We wonder then why he is so keen to keep his Blackberry fully charged and with in reach at all times.

And there's me in a fluctuating state of anxiety, is the weather going to hold, will the wind move into the south as forecast, do we have enough loo roll are and where is that awful smell coming from?

Only time will tell so hopefully a few answers next time.

Give us a call on +8816 414 767 40 for an update but check what it's going to cost you with your 'service provider' first! The cheaper option is to email us at yachtjem@ocens.net

March 21, 2008 - Jem - Heading towards Home

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!!

March 12, 2008 - Inland in Guatemala

We spent 3 days in Antigua, the first Spanish capital of Guatemala, so it is a lovely 15^th century town with lots of churches (quite a lot in ruins due to almost constant earthquakes), cobbled streets all set in a natural bowl surrounded by 4 volcanoes, of which one is active, the smoke and lava being a bit of a give away.  A very picturesque spot, consequently lots of tourist thus lots of nice little hotels in old Spanish manor houses as well as lots good shops, coffee bars & posh restaurants – none of which of course Louise was allowed to patronise.

However, we did go on an official walking tour and learnt interesting facts both old & new such as Coca Cola paid for all the street wiring to be sited underground in return for a very discrete logo on each lamppost and making the town look even more picturesque.  We also spent a few hours in the textile museum learning more about the weaving which the Guatemalan highlands are famous for.  Each village in the Highlands weave their own distinctive cloth varying in design, colour, embroidery from which they make their own skirts and bodices and so at one glance you can determine which village they are from.  So from then on we kept trying to remember who wore what & what it meant!  All in all about 80% of women, young and old, seem to wear traditional dress but we only spotted a few men apart from the hat which most men seem to favour particularly the cowboy hat.

Antigua is famous for its Semana Santa (Easter to the non-left footers) festivities and during our wanderings on the 2^nd Sunday in Lent, we came across a procession.  It seems that each Sunday during Lent a local village process by foot to Antigua carrying their saints on altars, walking over these flower carpets accompanied by lots of followers in purple ‘Arab type’ outfits with lots of smells & their own band  – quite a spectacle.

Then on by bus to Lake Atilan, which is also surrounded by volcanoes (bit of a theme here) - a strikingly beautiful place. 

On arrival in Pana the main town we took a ‘lancha’ across the lake and spent a night in Santa Cruz in a guest house with lovely gardens running down to the shore of the lake.  We wandered around the lake for a day and then headed back to the main town so that we could catch a very early morning Chicken Bus (ie local bus not the superior tourist bus) to the market the next day.

During our very windy bus journey, sitting 4 to 5 on a seat built for 2 US school children, Mark’s involuntary cries of fear were fairly audible, luckily Louise just took her glasses off and felt perfectly safe. 

We did eventually arrive safely in Chichicastenago where there is a celebrated street market which takes over the whole town. The market was fascinating but one doesn’t really want to buy Guatemalan skirt material, even if it did take 2 months to weave by hand.  We did buy a few things but gave up when it became apparent that the concept of barter and negotiation was clearly way beyond Louise - nodding enthusiastically and saying that’s just what she wanted was not really how to get the best deal.

The most interesting thing about the place was the Roman Catholic church where the locals, although converted to Catholicism, quite happily run God alongside their own Mayan beliefs so the church not only is acknowledged by a genuflect but also a Mayan sacrifices happening on the front steps and all sorts of strange effigies and odd rituals going on inside – not really what the Vatican has in mind.

Chi-chi (as the locals say) is a place that tourist arrive for a day trip only so by 4.30pm there was hardly a gringo to be seen.   We found a Mayan restaurant and, as our hotel was on the gloomy side, we tried to spin out the evening by going for a drink first, so by the time we arrived back at the restaurant we where the only guests and it was only about 7.15pm.  We ordered our supper and wine and although our Spanish is limited the owner did seem very surprised that we wanted a whole bottle, so much that the whole family supervised the bottle opening ceremony!

Feeling like regulars we jumped on another chicken bus and headed to Guatemala City, quite a scary city, armed guards seemed to be everywhere.  We had made sure the ‘zona’ we where staying in was one that you were safe to go out at night, as some apparently are not.  We had great supper in a large courtyard with fountain, candles and braziers, all very ritzy it seemed to be inhabited by the ‘Guatemalan city boys’ celebrating Friday night, we could have so easily been in Madrid.  It was an enormous contrast to our supper the night before in fact the waiters seemed disappointed that we only ordered 1 bottle of wine as all around us tables were littered with bottles of whiskey & vodka!

Our next leg of the journey took us towards the Belize border visiting the Mayan temple at Tikal on the way. We opted for the tourist easy route, so rather than the 10 hour bus journey we took a small plane.  Mark was happy as a sand boy once he discovered the flight was delayed and had to spend an hour on the private jet side of the airport, plane spotting.   We had decided to stay within Tikal national park so that we could spend more time at the site.  An early night was had so that we could see the sunrise over the jungle.  We set off with a small group at 4.45am including armed guards and walked through the jungle in the dark to one of the largest temples.   After far too many steps to count we settled down on east side of Temple IV to watch the sun rise over the jungle canopy.  It was truly ‘awesome’ to listen to the jungle waking up, howler monkeys screaming, toucans and parrots screeching and through the gloom (obviously it was cloudy) seeing the stone tips of the other temples emerge from the jungle.  A large cooked breakfast was had back at the hotel and we then set off for a 4 hour guided tour of Tikal – we felt we had truly done Mayan Temples after this!

Our last night was spent in Flores on a lake, no volcanoes this time, then another early morning start back on Chicken buses to the border of Guatemala and Belize.  After several changes & many bum numbing hours of buses we arrived back in Cucumber marina outside Belize City but could not see Jem tied up anywhere – slight panic ensued.  But after several hours of Mark’s nervous pacing around the marina, Jem eventually appeared on the horizon and the Sheed / Barbis combo was seen approaching – hurrah!  We were reunited with Jem.

March 2, 2008 - Rio Dulce, Guatemala

8 February Our first night in the River was spent at anchor in a wonderful jungle setting but near a small marina called Texan Bay, so luckily although surrounded by nature cold beers were on hand!

We carried on up the river towards the small town of Fronteras (also called Rio Dulce) going through amazing changing scenery as the river widened out to a huge lake called El Golfete where the jungle had been cut down and the land cultivated.  All the time the water was being criss-crossed by fast speed boats called ¡®Lanchas¡¯ carrying a mixture of locals & tourists and small dug out canoes with children going to school, men fishing and people just popping out to the shops.

Just off the town of Fronteras, we dropped our anchor guided by the good yachting principles of where the strongest wi-fi internet signal could be picked up and settled in for a few days.  We aimed to do some research for the upcoming holidays.  The Sheed / Barbis holiday on Jem, from Guatemala to Belize and the Seymour holiday away from Jem travelling inland in Guatemala to Belize.  So we wound down the dinghy and set off for an explore, whilst pottering around we saw a friend¡¯s boat and went over to see if they were there and were pleased to find they had arrived the day before, a dinner date was duly made to catch up.

After a few days of life ¡®in town¡¯ we set-off again down the river to explore a little more of the Rio Dulce before leaving for our inland trip.  We motored gently down and took a side tributary for about 4 miles and meandered slowly through the river with jungle clad shores spotting all sorts of birds and spider monkeys bounding around in the trees.  After a couple of hours we decided to go for a dip in the rather brown water, it turned out to be quite cool and very refreshing and what a nice to change to swim in fresh water.  We spent a couple of nights in a wide open bay surrounded by jungle spending the days giving sweets & pencils (with rubbers on!) to the children who visited us in their dug out canoes and exploring the little side rivers in our dinghy.

We forgot to say that this is a true rain forest and consequently it is very hot and steamy in the day, if you want to do anything you need to get up early about 6.30am as by 11am until 3.30pm it often too hot & sweaty to do much at all.  Then most nights there are huge tropical down pours, really fat rain if you know what I mean.

We then headed back to Fronteras to tie up in a marina, give the boat a good spring clean and set-off on 16 February by bus for a 6 hour journey to Antigua via Guatemala City.

February 17, 2008 - Belize to Guatemala

It obviously took us a number of days to recover from the Birthday visit, so a few days were spent in Placencia, washing, internet, shopping ? the usual chores.  We then spent a few more days idly on more beautiful palm fringed barrier reef islands before heading to Guatemala.

We checked out of Belize in Punta Gorda and then headed towards Guatemala.  We spent a night at anchor under Punta Tres Capo off a very junglely shore line with lots of strange noises to go with it.  We then headed to Livingston, which is a town that can only be reached by sea; it has a notorious sand bar across the river mouth, where you have to carefully time your entrance, getting tide, wind etc all right.  We thought we had done this perfectly and only moments from reaching the safe deeper waters we got firmly stuck!!  No amount of tricks learnt on the ICW could get us free, so Mark, heeding the advice in the pilot book, called Raul (a fixer) on the VHF radio for assistance.  Unfortunately, the Guatemalans are no mugs, and a call on the VHF radio from a Gringo? boat looking for assistance is answered by most of the population of Livingston all claiming to be the illusive Raul!   So we accepted a line from one of the several boats circling us "what exactly are Lloyds Open Form? salvage rules again? " and got towed off, by a line to the head of the mast and the motor boat pulling us so that we tipped over and reduced our draft!

Once ashore in Livingston we were surprised by the amount of cars, trucks & motorbikes considering there is no road access at all to this town.  We wandered about, finished our clearing-in formalities, bought a bit of fresh fruit, had lunch and then headed towards the River Rio Dulce.   The river winds inland for miles and has several large lakes and is a renowned hurricane shelter, lots of yachties arrive for a season end up staying in the area for years - all a bit sad really.

The small town of Livingston is on the left hand side of a very junglely shoreline with an entrance of 200yds wide which leads into the Rio Dulce Canyon.  We motored through and slowly up the river surrounded by walls of jungle which rose hundreds of feet above us, birds swooping around and locals paddling by in dug-out canoes, the genuine article.  It is great to see so much green after weeks of sand and sea, it's a complete contrast to anywhere we have been so far. 

February 3, 2008 - Belize - the birthday cruise

14 January A leisurely sail from San Pedro via English Cay to Belize City to drop Mike off, then the luxury of staying a few days in Cucumber Beach marina, running water, hot showers, wifi and washing machines.  However, sadly also rats that board the boat at night to eat our bread and pooh on the deck!  This did give Mark an excuse to buy large and vicious rat traps but as yet nothing to report – I fear his rat catching is going to be as good as his lizard trapping attempts.  At least we are constantly in touch with wildlife on this trip!

We had a few days spare before Mark’s mother arrived for her birthday trip, so we set off to explore some Cays and found a couple of peaceful spots with manatees and dolphins and no other yachts just the odd fishing boat or tourist speed boat whizzing by.  20 January back to Belize City to pick up with Sandy & Susie on an overcast and rainy morning – the arrivals hall was a gloomy place not just because of the weather but alas that one bag had been ‘misplaced’ by the airline.

Putting a brave face on the weather we set off ‘up-country’ to visit a Mayan site called Lamanai which, in order to get there, required us to take an open boat for an hour up the increasingly rainy river.  Our comments that we were lucky it was cool and not baking full sunshine rather fell on deaf ears.

Fortunately the weather improved after lunch and we had a really good tour through the jungle with Howler monkeys making their strange noises, looking at amazing Mayan temples and other ruins. The sun stayed out for our return journey down the river and we able to enjoy the jungle sights, local fishermen in dug-out canoes, beautiful birds and even a crocodile was spotted.

A long climb up!

The following morning, with the sun finally appearing from behind rain clouds we set off for a gentle sail in search of the ‘desert island’ experience.  24 January we were up at dawn to put up birthday decorations and haul up the flags to dress the boat overall, then after a short sail we arrived at Lighthouse Reef, a wonderful coral atoll - a perfect day to celebrate your 70^th birthday.  The next few days were spent snorkelling in turquoise seas, looking out onto sandy palm tree fringed islands, creating & enjoying gourmet meals, and a bit of dolphin spotting.

Dressed overall

Birthday Supper

Unfortunately the fishing score has sunk to zero again although we did catch a barracuda who managed to wriggle off the line at the last minute, and we even failed to catch a picture of it!

Although a wonderful time was had by all, having 3 women on board did prove a bit stressful for Mark who was heard to mutter, more than once, when trying to leave the boat, ‘it would be easier to herd cats’!

30 January we set off bright and early in a hired jeep to drive Sandy & Susie back from Placenia to Belize City, this proved to be the cheapest method of travel and it meant that we could spend some time enjoying a bit of the interior of Belize, which makes a nice change from just looking at the shore. We dropped them at the airport before going to Belize Zoo which, is fantastic, before heading back to Placencia on the dirt road route – Predictably we hit a big hole at speed and destroyed a tire – not such a cheap day out after all!

January 16, 2008 - Mexico to Belize

The passage south from Isla Mujeres took us towards the island of Cozumel, however, we stopped short in Porto Morelos and picked up a mooring inside the protecting reef. We had a lovely sail through crystal clear waters and saw rays and a 3 foot turtle swimming by our mooring.  Also very excitingly within 3 days we had beaten our 2006 fishing score and had even managed to catch our first Tuna, at last that Washbi paste has been put to good use!

A bad cold front and associated strong northerly winds was forecast for the 2^nd January, as we couldn’t find a sheltered anchorage with sufficient depth and good holding where we where, we turned around and headed back to Isla Mujeres.  We arrived in the dark at 8pm in 47 knots of wind with driving rain – Mark wearing his snorkelling mask to be able to see where we were going – the rain was so bad that the radar was almost useless.  Just as we rounded the entrance to the harbour the increasing storm knocked out the power on the island making the navigation fairly testing.

So we spent the first few days of 2008 sitting on the boat at anchor in howling winds and driving rain, we could have been back in England!  It was even too rough to attempt to go ashore in the dinghy!

As the weather calmed down, we set off again for Cozumel; picked up our friend Mike Barbis; did a big stock up and then set off towards the largest coral atoll in northern hemisphere.  Stopping on the way at a wonderful bay, that had been made a nature reserve by the Mexican Government, the bay was so huge and the light soft that the Mayans had very beautifully called it ‘Where the Sky Begins’.   We then spent a couple of days anchored inside the Chinchorro atoll, having bread baking contests, eating and drinking,  Mike soon fell into the quiet boat life and infact fell asleep on 2 separate evenings during our scintillating conversation.  The Island Cayo Norte that we were anchored off had been hit this year by Hurricane Dean and the mangroves looked as if they had been torn apart – quite sobering.  The ranger on the island told us that we were the first yacht they had seen in 3 months – there are not many people about!

We eventually picked up anchor setting off for Xcalak in order to check out from Mexico before entering Belize. Xcalak was a rather charming sleepy place which after much confusion we discovered is actually pronounced Ishlack.  We tracked down a very nice little restaurant on the beach and had a delicious supper which was quite a treat.

The following day 10 January we entered Belize, almost literally, through a tiny gap in the reef at San Pedro.  Pleased with the fine navigation we promptly ran aground in the bay! Ah the joy of being back in an English speaking country – unarmed officials in uniform, Her Majesty on the bank notes, Guinness brewed locally and hob knobs in the shops!

January 2, 2008 - Christmas

We arrived in Islas Mujeras, a small island, just off Cancun, Mexico at about 7pm on Christmas Eve after a 3 day passage, some great sailing from Key West but also a bit of motoring when the wind died.

On paper the passage should have been straight into the Gulf Stream, yup the same thing that keeps the UK warm and palm trees in Torquay, but fortunately it didn’t really materialise until the last 50 miles in the Yucatan Channel where we experienced nearly 4 knots on the nose – It is very dispiriting to be belting along under sail at 8 knots through the water into such a strong current the result of which is only about 4 knots over the ground.

We had a quiet Christmas morning, once Louise had been allowed to open her two presents at 6am, wandering around town trying to find an internet café from where we could ring home.  Duty completed a quick fortifying Margarita was called for before heading off to the sailors ‘pot luck’ Christmas lunch at a local marina.  After a bit of turkey we slipped away to selfishly eat our own little Christmas puds that we weren’t gong to share with anyone.

Unbeknown to us we arrived in Mexico with a passenger; a small lizard having taken up residence in the fore cabin.  He must have got onboard when we where tied up alongside in Fort Lauderdale.  So he has been christened Lauderdale Larry.  After the first shock of discovery we have become quite fond of Larry but have been getting slightly worried about what he is going to eat, even pouring little pools of water for him drink.  After several attempts at capture, (Mark spent a happy afternoon making a lizard trap, using loo rolls and sticky back plastic ‘a la Blue Peter’) Larry was still at large and beginning to look decidedly skinny but getting braver each day as he ventured further around the boat.

On Sunday we returned to the boat and found him sitting on top of the cooker in a frying pan, quick action and a little slight of hand he was captured in large plastic bag.  Then a rapid dinghy trip to shore, Larry was released onto the white sand of Islas Mujeras, near some grass for cover.  We stood over him for a minute or two like anxious parents and then decided to go for a Margarita to celebrate freedom and such things.

As our passage to Mexico had taken us over the magic 23½ parallel and so back into the tropics.  We are happy to get back into our tropical routine of up early, well Mark anyway, a few jobs then prolonged siestas which always tend to get spoilt by the search for laundry, bank, food etc.  But with a bit of time on our hands Mark has been in a DIY frenzy and so we now have a new kitchen ceiling, and 5 windows that don’t leak, which is quite useful in a sea going vessel!

We did manage to put off the siesta yesterday for long enough to bicycle around the island, luckily it is very small and there is not much to see.  We did spot some very funky homes and visited the ruin of a pirate’s hacienda in a large much neglected garden but were kept happily amused for some time with the explanatory signs and the bizarre English translation.

Nights at anchor around this time of year can be pretty windy due to the ‘Christmas Winds’ and this can lead to disturbed nights sleep but after a while you get used the various clanking and bangings that are normal to your boat but sometimes a certain noise just cuts through.  Last night was such a night and Louise heard something that sounded a bit odd and so woke Mark who very quickly realised we were being visited by another boat!   Our neighbour’s  boat had dragged his anchor and was in the process of getting entangled in our rigging!  Luckily we had all woken up about the same time and disaster was averted, well a bent stanchion for us, a broken wind generator & HF aerial for him – things that go bump in the night can’t be ignored on boats!

Now a quick stock up and tomorrow we head off further south to meet up with Mike Barbis on another island off the Mexican coast called Cozumel for our sail down to Belize.

December 21, 2007 - With A Tear in our Eye

December 12, 2007 - "GO FLIGHT" - or not as the case turns out

It’s Sunday 9 December we are anchored in Titusville Florida and, after two attempts and 4 days of waiting, it appears that NASA can’t afford the overtime that would get the Shuttle launched today and have put it of until January!   So having whiled away the last few days enjoying the sunshine, avoiding shuttle related Viagra jokes and the very limited facilities of Titusville, we shall sadly pack away our Star Trek outfits and head further south to Fort Lauderdale.

Titusville seems to actually make no contribution to the US economy at all – The bus driver, who was surprised when we boarded her bus to make the 4 mile trip to supermarket, as she normally drives it around Titusville Route #1 empty (there is of course only one route), so when quizzed on what went on in Titusville she thought that nothing ever really went on – she a resident for some 20 years. 

However, every cloud has a silver lining and on this occasion it has been in the form of Manatees.  Louise, having threatened Mark with an expensive Manatee Safari in Guatemala, has had her fill of spotting these shy, apparently rare and endangered creatures!  Let us let you into a Manatee secret; there are loads of them hanging around in Titusville Municipal Marina, photographic evidence below. 

So it’s back to the ICW for a day trip down to Fort Pierce to fill up with the now not so cheap diesel before heading off into the Atlantic to complete the trip down to the end of Florida.  Fuel incidentally has gone up by over 20% since we first arrived in the US, we now pay something like 40p a litre – so it’s still quite a good deal but 25 times more than Venezuela!

Tuesday 11 December we had a bumpy sail to Fort Lauderdale in 25 knots of wind, which stopped Mark falling asleep on watch and Louise falling asleep in her bunk, but are now safely tied up at Bruno’s Zoo (ie Bruno’s front garden which he rents out to us yachties).  So we have our last week of fixing things or essential pressing maintenance as Mark refers to it - Incidentally a trim and highlights are apparently essential pressing maintenance. Also a last opportunity to stock-up on those luxury food items that make the weevil pasta dish almost palatable when it is has been over 3 weeks from the last fresh food source.   

We then plan to do and overnight sail to Key West, check out of the US and then on to Islas Mujeras, Mexico in time for Christmas Day – were we hope to discover if we have been naughty or nice?

December 1, 2007 - Back on the boat

We arrived back on the boat 20 November after a short trip home to England to visit family and a few friends.  We were on the hard in Deltaville Boatyard, as the week wore on the temperature gradually got colder until we were forced to huddle inside with the fan heater running almost constantly, thank goodness for shore power!  Eventually most of the jobs were ticked off and Jem was re-launched and everything seemed to work!  So after a quick stock-up we set off south on 27 November towards some warmth.

After 5 days covering approximately 70 miles a day down the Intra Coastal Waterway,  we are still wearing at least 3 fleeces at one go and Louise has only ventured on deck when Mark has pleaded for a short break.  Otherwise she remains firmly below swathed also in fleece blanket – thank god for man made fibres, the static build up is playing havoc with the navigation instruments.

So the big push has to now come: a few days at sea to get to Florida and the warmth but also, hopefully, in time to see the shuttle launch on 6 December from Cape Canaveral.

More to follow……….