The first big sail of the season - Key West to Isla Mujeres (Cancun, Mexico)
This post has taken me a while to get to. I was caught up in enjoyment with my cousin Karen, her husband Dean (whom I had never met) and three of their lovely (and very well behaved) kids and didn't want to take "Brent time" to write this. In my last post, they had picked me up from the airport at Key West where I had dropped my rental car and I had done a short trip into town to get my iPhone screen replaced and was waiting to get up to speed on the new boat with Dean and the skipper they had hired to make the long offshore passage to Isla Mujeres.
As the boat was brand new to Dean and Karen, in fact it was nearly brand new being Beneteau's US demonstrator for the model (Sense 55) and only 2 years old, and they were travelling with the young kids, they made the decision to hire a series of delivery skippers to help them move the boat from St. Petersburg to Key West, then from Key West to Isla Mujeres, and then from Isla Mujeres to it's new home in the Cayman Islands where Dean will enter it into service with their other boat (another Beneteau - an Oceanis 47) as part of a skippered day charter fleet they use to show tourists the best parts of the Cayman Islands.
The first skipper was quite thorough and ran them through man overboard drills and obviously knew the boat fairly well and they had a safe and relatively uneventful passage south accompanied by another of my cousin's (Ian) and his family - being Karen't brother! Unfortunately, Ian's schedule and mine didn't overlap so they left just before I arrived and we didn't get a chance to share notes.
The new skipper whom Dean and I met for the first time (although Dean had talked to him on the phone) seemed at first glance to be very confident, a big talker and much less thorough. When Dean asked him about his plans, he basically said it would be an easy trip and not to worry about it before launching into more sea stories. Neither Dean nor I were particularly impressed but we figured that perhaps during the morning brief, it would get slightly better. I still hadn't been into the cabin and Dean said that the two of us would have our own cabins and gave us the choice of the forward cabin v-berth or the starboard double berth. He said that he and Karen would sleep with the kids who were spread out across the main salon and the port side cabin. Andrew very quickly said he didn't want anything to do with the v-berth cabin "I'm not sleeping in the forward cabin - it's too rough up there!" or words to that effect and I said that I was very used to sleeping up front as that's where I had always slept on my other sailing trips and I wasn't bothered by the potential banging as the boat crossed big waves.
Everyone happy, I moved my bags down into the lovely big saloon and then forward past the port and starboard cabins (both with twin sized beds and dedicated bath/showers) into what I discovered was not your typical v-berth but an absolutely palatial owner's cabin with a queen sized pedestal bed at the head of the V (of the bow), lots of shelves and cupboards and a separate shower and separate head/sink after a long passageway from the front of the boat. I'd estimate that my cabin took up at least a third of the boat!!!! I asked Dean/Karen if they were sure they wanted to give this to (no so) little ole me and they said they felt they should be with their kids and that they would have lots of time to enjoy it when we got to Isla Mujeres. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I very gratefully accepted saying to feel free to take it back anytime.
Well, after a great sleep on a very comfortable bed, the next morning (the 25th) dawned and we prepped the boat for departure, Dean and I took an Uber back downtown to officially clear the US (not really needed for them but the Mexicans would want an official document they call a Zarpe to prove we legitimately left our last destination before arriving in Mexico so we did that. After giving the security agents our ID's, entering in all the required information and getting our mugs taken, they wouldn't let either of us through with our phones so I stayed back and kept the phones while Dean went into the building and got our clearances. Then it was back in another Uber and to the boat to prepare to depart.
The weather was quite nice, with about a 15-20 knot wind forecast to be on our tail for the first part of the trip, getting a bit stronger (20-25 knots) over night and then dying off to pretty much nothing for the balance of the trip. Dean and I arranged the lines and bumpers to ease our departure in the absence of much guidance from the skipper who assumed the position at the starboard helm station. I asked a few leading questions and got one word answers from him while Dean was very informative and told me everything I needed to know (I was basically acting as a safety person on the bow line to fend off any collision if things went sideways). Dean had the position amidships and we set off out of the slip. We got out uneventfully and proceeded to the fuel dock which was about 300' on our starboard (right) side. Still didn't have much in the way of guidance from Andrew but it was clear to Dean and I that he was going to put us port (left) side to the fuel dock (so required a very wide 180 degree turn into the wind which was blowing off the dock).
I obviously knew nothing about how the boat handled but felt that he started the turn a bit early for where the wind was coming from and then completed it in a tight half circle such that we were parallel to and about 30' off the dock being blown strongly off of it by the significant winds. He then got on the bow thruster and started giving that a series of short bursts which would nose the bow over towards the dock but then the wind would quickly catch the high sides of the boat and blow it back. He then appeared to wind the wheel to port and rev the engine in an attempt to use the prop wash over the rudder to move the stern but that wasn't working as the stern drive on this boat doesn't wash the prop and it has a unique system called dock and go that allows you to position the stern drive's prop wash anywhere you'd like to slide the boat with a joystick. It was clear that despite his excuses, he messed up the approach big time and when he got the bow over to the dock, I managed to get a line to the attendant who held it while he applied some power to bring the stern close enough that Dean could get his amidships line over (which is what we really should have been using to snug the boat up to the dock). Anyway, nothing was damaged except Andrew's pride and Dean's/Karen's and my respect for his abilities. We chalked it up to him being rusty with the type (he claimed to have sailed it before) and as nothing unsafe was done, let it at that. There isn't a sailor alive who hasn't messed up a docking attempt and the boat was never in any danger of getting dinged.
So after that, I started to clean up the starboard (side facing outward) side of any lines and fenders and moved the paddle board to install the jacklines (temporary flat webbing lines that run from bow to as far aft as we could get them that we could hook on to with our harnesses to prevent us from getting washed over the side in rough seas). They are made out of a nylon type material that deteriorates in the sun so are only used during passage (and you don't want to be tripping over them at the dock anyway). While I was doing this, Dean was getting the boat filled up and was preparing to cast off. All the while the US Navy airplanes (mostly F-18 and F-5 fighters out of the Top Gun aggressor squadron) were doing approaches to land at Key West Naval Air Station right over our heads. The night before we got to talk with a couple of ex-Aggressor pilots who talked up what a wonderful job that was (3 missions a day in any jet they wanted). They both fly for Delta now out of Atlanta and had never met each other!
Anyway, we got our fuel and cast off successfully, cleaned up the rest of the fenders and dock lines and laid the jackline on the port side as well as we motored out the channel headed out to sea. Once we got the lines and fenders cleared away, Andrew called for the Genoa so Dean took the furling line off the winch and released the break on the port side while he taught me how the starboard winch is used to furl it out. It's a bit more complicated than on the Amel (which has a dedicated furling motor instead of using a port side winch) and that is controlled from the helm station with two buttons (one to unfurl and one to activate the big winch for the Genoa sheet.
As the boat was brand new to Dean and Karen, in fact it was nearly brand new being Beneteau's US demonstrator for the model (Sense 55) and only 2 years old, and they were travelling with the young kids, they made the decision to hire a series of delivery skippers to help them move the boat from St. Petersburg to Key West, then from Key West to Isla Mujeres, and then from Isla Mujeres to it's new home in the Cayman Islands where Dean will enter it into service with their other boat (another Beneteau - an Oceanis 47) as part of a skippered day charter fleet they use to show tourists the best parts of the Cayman Islands.
The first skipper was quite thorough and ran them through man overboard drills and obviously knew the boat fairly well and they had a safe and relatively uneventful passage south accompanied by another of my cousin's (Ian) and his family - being Karen't brother! Unfortunately, Ian's schedule and mine didn't overlap so they left just before I arrived and we didn't get a chance to share notes.
The new skipper whom Dean and I met for the first time (although Dean had talked to him on the phone) seemed at first glance to be very confident, a big talker and much less thorough. When Dean asked him about his plans, he basically said it would be an easy trip and not to worry about it before launching into more sea stories. Neither Dean nor I were particularly impressed but we figured that perhaps during the morning brief, it would get slightly better. I still hadn't been into the cabin and Dean said that the two of us would have our own cabins and gave us the choice of the forward cabin v-berth or the starboard double berth. He said that he and Karen would sleep with the kids who were spread out across the main salon and the port side cabin. Andrew very quickly said he didn't want anything to do with the v-berth cabin "I'm not sleeping in the forward cabin - it's too rough up there!" or words to that effect and I said that I was very used to sleeping up front as that's where I had always slept on my other sailing trips and I wasn't bothered by the potential banging as the boat crossed big waves.
Everyone happy, I moved my bags down into the lovely big saloon and then forward past the port and starboard cabins (both with twin sized beds and dedicated bath/showers) into what I discovered was not your typical v-berth but an absolutely palatial owner's cabin with a queen sized pedestal bed at the head of the V (of the bow), lots of shelves and cupboards and a separate shower and separate head/sink after a long passageway from the front of the boat. I'd estimate that my cabin took up at least a third of the boat!!!! I asked Dean/Karen if they were sure they wanted to give this to (no so) little ole me and they said they felt they should be with their kids and that they would have lots of time to enjoy it when we got to Isla Mujeres. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I very gratefully accepted saying to feel free to take it back anytime.
Well, after a great sleep on a very comfortable bed, the next morning (the 25th) dawned and we prepped the boat for departure, Dean and I took an Uber back downtown to officially clear the US (not really needed for them but the Mexicans would want an official document they call a Zarpe to prove we legitimately left our last destination before arriving in Mexico so we did that. After giving the security agents our ID's, entering in all the required information and getting our mugs taken, they wouldn't let either of us through with our phones so I stayed back and kept the phones while Dean went into the building and got our clearances. Then it was back in another Uber and to the boat to prepare to depart.
The weather was quite nice, with about a 15-20 knot wind forecast to be on our tail for the first part of the trip, getting a bit stronger (20-25 knots) over night and then dying off to pretty much nothing for the balance of the trip. Dean and I arranged the lines and bumpers to ease our departure in the absence of much guidance from the skipper who assumed the position at the starboard helm station. I asked a few leading questions and got one word answers from him while Dean was very informative and told me everything I needed to know (I was basically acting as a safety person on the bow line to fend off any collision if things went sideways). Dean had the position amidships and we set off out of the slip. We got out uneventfully and proceeded to the fuel dock which was about 300' on our starboard (right) side. Still didn't have much in the way of guidance from Andrew but it was clear to Dean and I that he was going to put us port (left) side to the fuel dock (so required a very wide 180 degree turn into the wind which was blowing off the dock).
I obviously knew nothing about how the boat handled but felt that he started the turn a bit early for where the wind was coming from and then completed it in a tight half circle such that we were parallel to and about 30' off the dock being blown strongly off of it by the significant winds. He then got on the bow thruster and started giving that a series of short bursts which would nose the bow over towards the dock but then the wind would quickly catch the high sides of the boat and blow it back. He then appeared to wind the wheel to port and rev the engine in an attempt to use the prop wash over the rudder to move the stern but that wasn't working as the stern drive on this boat doesn't wash the prop and it has a unique system called dock and go that allows you to position the stern drive's prop wash anywhere you'd like to slide the boat with a joystick. It was clear that despite his excuses, he messed up the approach big time and when he got the bow over to the dock, I managed to get a line to the attendant who held it while he applied some power to bring the stern close enough that Dean could get his amidships line over (which is what we really should have been using to snug the boat up to the dock). Anyway, nothing was damaged except Andrew's pride and Dean's/Karen's and my respect for his abilities. We chalked it up to him being rusty with the type (he claimed to have sailed it before) and as nothing unsafe was done, let it at that. There isn't a sailor alive who hasn't messed up a docking attempt and the boat was never in any danger of getting dinged.
So after that, I started to clean up the starboard (side facing outward) side of any lines and fenders and moved the paddle board to install the jacklines (temporary flat webbing lines that run from bow to as far aft as we could get them that we could hook on to with our harnesses to prevent us from getting washed over the side in rough seas). They are made out of a nylon type material that deteriorates in the sun so are only used during passage (and you don't want to be tripping over them at the dock anyway). While I was doing this, Dean was getting the boat filled up and was preparing to cast off. All the while the US Navy airplanes (mostly F-18 and F-5 fighters out of the Top Gun aggressor squadron) were doing approaches to land at Key West Naval Air Station right over our heads. The night before we got to talk with a couple of ex-Aggressor pilots who talked up what a wonderful job that was (3 missions a day in any jet they wanted). They both fly for Delta now out of Atlanta and had never met each other!
It turned out that the Genoa car was a bit too far forward for the following winds so Dean taught me to release the brake on the Genoa Block line which allowed the Genoa car to slide back as the sheet pulled it towards the stern. It worked pretty slickly and I gather to move the block forward, instead of releasing the line, you put it on the forward winch and wind it in to drag it into position and then engage the brake. That's another area it is a bit different than on an Amel which has a dedicated system which you plug in a winch handle and rotate one way or the other to move the car backwards and forwards (with a lifting pin to lock it in place when you are done). There is more than one way to do something and I thought it was cool to be learning new things.
The boat sails well and was easily driven at 7 knots with just the Genoa using the 20 knots of wind on our tail so Andrew shut down the engine and we prepared for our long sail to Isla Mujeres. I had looked it up on my trip planning and discovered that it was 330 nautical miles and with the winds I saw, I figured that we would be there in about 3 days and told my family and friends as much. As we were leaving however, Andrew was saying that it could take as much as 5 days which puzzled me in such a big boat where I figured we could easily average 6-7 knots through the water. I knew we'd be going against the considerable Gulf Stream at some point but still thought this was a bit nuts but decided that I would update my friends and family with the last of my cell coverage that the passage could take as much as 5 days and not to worry.
About this time, Andrew had plotted our route into the navigation computers and they were displaying an arrival time around 1pm on on the 28th (so 2-1/2 days). Karen thought it would be fun if we all came up with estimates of when we would be at the dock in Isla Mujeres and most people including Andrew picked times around 3-4pm. I said 6pm because I knew the current wasn't being taken into account on the nav system and figured even if we could go across on a perpendicular course, it would still add a few hours to our trip.
Through the rest of that day, we had nice strong winds on our tail and got to appreciate Karen/Dean's new cockpit cover as it provided substantial shade to sit on their beautiful new and very comfortable cockpit cushions. We saw one big fish more or less sunning (I suspect it was a tarpon) on the water and a few flying fish as we flew across the reefs but not much other than a couple of hundred crab pots). On the trip down from St. Petes, they had run into a similar issue and kept a dedicated watch on them but Andrew poo poohed that and said they would mostly just bounce aside and if one did get caught up in the prop, it was an easy matter to jump over the side to clear it. Nobody seemed keen on sitting out in the open sun and from all appearances Andrew wasn't watching anyway so we just let the autopilot steer us along while listening to more of Andrew's stories. Karen provided lots of snacks and tasty meals while also entertaining the kids. The swells were 1-2 metres and the boat handled these easily and the miles just flew off.
We decided that we would double up the watches and that Karen/Andrew would handle the first watch from 8-12pm, Dean and I would take the second from 12-4am and then Karen/Andrew would take over again from 4-8am. Dean's thinking was that the least experienced (Karen) would be with the most experienced (supposedly Andrew) while Dean and I would somehow struggle through. We were treated to a nice sunset and it soon got dark and while the kids cleaned up the dishes we prepared for the night watches. Andrew took his spot at the starboard helm station - the boat has two helm stations with full sets of instruments at both but the autopilot controls are on starboard) and Karen took hers at the port side while Dean and I went to bed to rest up for our watch at midnight.
I set my iPhone's alarm for 11:50pm so I could be dressed and ready just before my watch began at 12pm and came up to find Karen at the port side helm obviously paying good attention and Andrew asleep across his bench at the starboard helm. Karen filled me in on the ships that were showing up on our chart plotter through the Automated Information Service (AIS) and none seemed to be in danger of coming too close to us. She asked if she could take my bunk for her rest period and I said absolutely and she went down below to raise Dean who came up and woke up Andrew who then wandered off to bed.
Dean and I exchanged some war stories and settled into the comfortable routine of keeping watch and didn't really have to do much. The seas were still about 1-2 metres and the boat was moving along well at about 7 knots as we passed the last of the key's (Dry Tortuga) and headed deep into the Gulf of Mexico where the water was about 6000' deep (versus 25-30' through the keys). Dean made a couple of cups of coffee for us and we had an uneventful watch. Karen came back up right at 4am for her watch and I briefed her on the traffic we could see and what was happening with the seas. Dean went down to wake up Andrew who came up about 15 minutes after that. I was pretty disappointed by this as I have always endeavoured to be early to take over my watches as towards the end of the watch the current crew is tired, cold and sometimes wet and really doesn't appreciate having to wake you up. I guess he had different standards. Anyway, after ensuring that Dean was going to be able to go below, I headed down too and left the boat to Karen and Andrew for the early morning (4-8am) sunrise watch.
At about 5am, both Dean and I heard some banging as the boat started to slam into the waves and some reefing in of the Genoa during what seemed to be a squall but we both settled back to sleep as it appeared that Karen/Andrew had it well under control. I came up about 4 minutes late for my watch as I was quite hot in the front cabin and decided I needed to take a quick shower to wash off before putting on my foulies. Karen was at her station very carefully watching the boat and Andrew was sleeping across the bench again. Karen was quite cold so went down to wake Dean and climb into the shower and bed to warm up. Dean came up and got up Andrew who stayed up for a bit and told some more stories (which everyone seemed to be able to tune out by now) and Dean started making ready for the day.
It wasn't long before we had to turn on the engine as the winds died away but the strong swells stuck with us for another 24 hours or so. The day was spent mostly lazily sitting around, reading, listening to audiobooks or playing card games. Karen continued to bring up fine snacks and meals and the kids did the dishes. Karen and Riley (the oldest girl) played a game of crib and I helped Riley sneak a win from her Mom. We then talked about teaching the kids a game my kids had learned called Emperor (or Scum) which we played later the next day. They picked it up very easily and very quickly turned me into the scum! At about this point we were rounding the northwest corner of Cuba and on a direct line for Isla Mujeres (about 40 nm offshore).
I should mention that Dean/Karen had a satellite phone and used it to make 4 hour check in calls with her Dad Wayne (my uncle on my father's side). They did this unfailingly so I felt pretty comfortable that at any point the calvary knew where we were to within about 6 miles. I'm used to going days without updates so this was a bit of a luxury.
Dean had bought a really nice Rod and Reel along with a massive hook which we trolled for hours without so much as a nibble. At one point though we saw a bunch of pelicans and seagulls chasing flying fish and as we approached them we could see a few Dorado (Mahi Mahi) leaping in bounds after them. I had seen Kent catch a Dorado with their beautiful green colours but had never seen one leaping out of the water at very high speeds before so that was quite the thrill. The Pelican's and Sea gulls went nuts into the shoals of fish that the Dorado seemed to be herding.
Night approached again, the sun set to beautiful colours. We watched for a green flash but there were too many clouds right at the horizon so didn't see one. Just before the sun set a poor little bird flew into our cockpit clearly tuckered out. The kids were all over it and it seemed well used to people.
Dean and I retired while Karen got a few more layers on and she and Andrew took on the 8-12 watch again. I felt badly about being 4 minutes late the previous watch so was sure to be 5 minutes early this time and again discovered Karen at the helm actively paying attention while Andrew was fast asleep across his bench. We were rounding the bottom south west corner of Cuba now and were right in the middle of the busy shipping lanes. Despite seeing only a handful of ships prior to this, Dean and I had a very busy watch with lots of ships on very close approaches including one we had to call on radio to get to turn around us as he was coming up on our stern and the AIS at one point said the closet point of approach would be 217 feet! (this for a tanker that was 650' long and 95' wide).
The boat sails well and was easily driven at 7 knots with just the Genoa using the 20 knots of wind on our tail so Andrew shut down the engine and we prepared for our long sail to Isla Mujeres. I had looked it up on my trip planning and discovered that it was 330 nautical miles and with the winds I saw, I figured that we would be there in about 3 days and told my family and friends as much. As we were leaving however, Andrew was saying that it could take as much as 5 days which puzzled me in such a big boat where I figured we could easily average 6-7 knots through the water. I knew we'd be going against the considerable Gulf Stream at some point but still thought this was a bit nuts but decided that I would update my friends and family with the last of my cell coverage that the passage could take as much as 5 days and not to worry.
About this time, Andrew had plotted our route into the navigation computers and they were displaying an arrival time around 1pm on on the 28th (so 2-1/2 days). Karen thought it would be fun if we all came up with estimates of when we would be at the dock in Isla Mujeres and most people including Andrew picked times around 3-4pm. I said 6pm because I knew the current wasn't being taken into account on the nav system and figured even if we could go across on a perpendicular course, it would still add a few hours to our trip.
Through the rest of that day, we had nice strong winds on our tail and got to appreciate Karen/Dean's new cockpit cover as it provided substantial shade to sit on their beautiful new and very comfortable cockpit cushions. We saw one big fish more or less sunning (I suspect it was a tarpon) on the water and a few flying fish as we flew across the reefs but not much other than a couple of hundred crab pots). On the trip down from St. Petes, they had run into a similar issue and kept a dedicated watch on them but Andrew poo poohed that and said they would mostly just bounce aside and if one did get caught up in the prop, it was an easy matter to jump over the side to clear it. Nobody seemed keen on sitting out in the open sun and from all appearances Andrew wasn't watching anyway so we just let the autopilot steer us along while listening to more of Andrew's stories. Karen provided lots of snacks and tasty meals while also entertaining the kids. The swells were 1-2 metres and the boat handled these easily and the miles just flew off.
We decided that we would double up the watches and that Karen/Andrew would handle the first watch from 8-12pm, Dean and I would take the second from 12-4am and then Karen/Andrew would take over again from 4-8am. Dean's thinking was that the least experienced (Karen) would be with the most experienced (supposedly Andrew) while Dean and I would somehow struggle through. We were treated to a nice sunset and it soon got dark and while the kids cleaned up the dishes we prepared for the night watches. Andrew took his spot at the starboard helm station - the boat has two helm stations with full sets of instruments at both but the autopilot controls are on starboard) and Karen took hers at the port side while Dean and I went to bed to rest up for our watch at midnight.
I set my iPhone's alarm for 11:50pm so I could be dressed and ready just before my watch began at 12pm and came up to find Karen at the port side helm obviously paying good attention and Andrew asleep across his bench at the starboard helm. Karen filled me in on the ships that were showing up on our chart plotter through the Automated Information Service (AIS) and none seemed to be in danger of coming too close to us. She asked if she could take my bunk for her rest period and I said absolutely and she went down below to raise Dean who came up and woke up Andrew who then wandered off to bed.
Dean and I exchanged some war stories and settled into the comfortable routine of keeping watch and didn't really have to do much. The seas were still about 1-2 metres and the boat was moving along well at about 7 knots as we passed the last of the key's (Dry Tortuga) and headed deep into the Gulf of Mexico where the water was about 6000' deep (versus 25-30' through the keys). Dean made a couple of cups of coffee for us and we had an uneventful watch. Karen came back up right at 4am for her watch and I briefed her on the traffic we could see and what was happening with the seas. Dean went down to wake up Andrew who came up about 15 minutes after that. I was pretty disappointed by this as I have always endeavoured to be early to take over my watches as towards the end of the watch the current crew is tired, cold and sometimes wet and really doesn't appreciate having to wake you up. I guess he had different standards. Anyway, after ensuring that Dean was going to be able to go below, I headed down too and left the boat to Karen and Andrew for the early morning (4-8am) sunrise watch.
At about 5am, both Dean and I heard some banging as the boat started to slam into the waves and some reefing in of the Genoa during what seemed to be a squall but we both settled back to sleep as it appeared that Karen/Andrew had it well under control. I came up about 4 minutes late for my watch as I was quite hot in the front cabin and decided I needed to take a quick shower to wash off before putting on my foulies. Karen was at her station very carefully watching the boat and Andrew was sleeping across the bench again. Karen was quite cold so went down to wake Dean and climb into the shower and bed to warm up. Dean came up and got up Andrew who stayed up for a bit and told some more stories (which everyone seemed to be able to tune out by now) and Dean started making ready for the day.
It wasn't long before we had to turn on the engine as the winds died away but the strong swells stuck with us for another 24 hours or so. The day was spent mostly lazily sitting around, reading, listening to audiobooks or playing card games. Karen continued to bring up fine snacks and meals and the kids did the dishes. Karen and Riley (the oldest girl) played a game of crib and I helped Riley sneak a win from her Mom. We then talked about teaching the kids a game my kids had learned called Emperor (or Scum) which we played later the next day. They picked it up very easily and very quickly turned me into the scum! At about this point we were rounding the northwest corner of Cuba and on a direct line for Isla Mujeres (about 40 nm offshore).
I should mention that Dean/Karen had a satellite phone and used it to make 4 hour check in calls with her Dad Wayne (my uncle on my father's side). They did this unfailingly so I felt pretty comfortable that at any point the calvary knew where we were to within about 6 miles. I'm used to going days without updates so this was a bit of a luxury.
Dean had bought a really nice Rod and Reel along with a massive hook which we trolled for hours without so much as a nibble. At one point though we saw a bunch of pelicans and seagulls chasing flying fish and as we approached them we could see a few Dorado (Mahi Mahi) leaping in bounds after them. I had seen Kent catch a Dorado with their beautiful green colours but had never seen one leaping out of the water at very high speeds before so that was quite the thrill. The Pelican's and Sea gulls went nuts into the shoals of fish that the Dorado seemed to be herding.
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This wasn't a picture we took (there wasn't time) but is close to what we saw although we saw 2-3 of them at a time doing this. |
Night approached again, the sun set to beautiful colours. We watched for a green flash but there were too many clouds right at the horizon so didn't see one. Just before the sun set a poor little bird flew into our cockpit clearly tuckered out. The kids were all over it and it seemed well used to people.
Dean and I retired while Karen got a few more layers on and she and Andrew took on the 8-12 watch again. I felt badly about being 4 minutes late the previous watch so was sure to be 5 minutes early this time and again discovered Karen at the helm actively paying attention while Andrew was fast asleep across his bench. We were rounding the bottom south west corner of Cuba now and were right in the middle of the busy shipping lanes. Despite seeing only a handful of ships prior to this, Dean and I had a very busy watch with lots of ships on very close approaches including one we had to call on radio to get to turn around us as he was coming up on our stern and the AIS at one point said the closet point of approach would be 217 feet! (this for a tanker that was 650' long and 95' wide).
Anyway, we called him up and got him to give us 2 miles of sea room and he passed us on our starboard side but seemed much closer than that. I was getting a bit nauseous from the fumes of the diesel wrapping around to the port side where I was sitting so Dean let me sit up in the cockpit and get some fresh air which helped my tummy (I did do one short upchuck into a bucket) but also made it hard to keep my eyes open. I dozed and Dean kept an eye on the rest of the boats (at one point we had about 10 on our screen) until Karen came up at 4am for her watch. I decided to stay up top and doze there and before Dean went down, he woke up Andrew who promptly fell asleep on his bench again.
The next morning came up beautifully and while I missed the sunrise (saw it before then when it was very bright and then shortly thereafter) which was my whole reason for staying up there, Karen at least had a fairly easy watch as none of the traffic were conflicted with us. The rest of the day was spent playing cards and reading audio books as we fought our way against the Gulf Stream current to Isla Mujeres. By noon it was apparent that none of the 3-4 pm estimates were going to be close, and we pulled into the marina at 6:30pm just 30 minutes off my estimate!
As we got nearer to Isla Mujeres (the island in front of Cancun) we could see the tall buildings appear on the horizon. The marina was on the back side (facing Cancun) and none of us had been there before so we struggled a bit finding it on the charts (Dean had thought that Andrew knew it based on his previous statements but it became apparent that he didn't). Anyway, we tried calling them on Channel 16 as it said in the instructions but no answer. I guess since it was after 6pm (we did try calling them before that too but perhaps were out of range) they weren't answering. Turns out it was down this channel in this open bay in the middle of the Island. For some reason Andrew engaged the Dock and Go which drove the boat sideways out of the main channel and we ran aground in the mud. He claimed the boat just shot out but both Dean and I had seen him fiddling with it. Luckily there was a big fishing boat following us and we passed them a line and they yanked us out.
At about this time, the security guy came down the dock and pointed for us where to dock. A nice big straight approach with the wind gently blowing us on to the dock. By this time you could see Karen and Dean steaming out the ears but Dean has the patience of Job and Andrew proceeded towards the dock. This time he turned the boat late and had lots of encouragement from us to "turn, turn, turn!". We ended up again getting fended off using our bow line and then he seemed to have an issue getting the stern over - until we told him to stop and just let the wind blow us on. None of us were impressed by this 200 Ton rated Captain who claimed to sail big schooners and cruise ships but we were happy to be tied up safely without marking the beautiful big Beneteau.
The marina is attached to a Windham resort with a nice pools for the kids, a swim up bar, and nice grounds so we figured it would be a good home for Sensible for the next 4-5 days. Early the next morning, the real marina people said it was OK to move her to a slip that was much closer to the resort and pool which would make it much easier for Karen/Dean to keep an eye on the kids even though we hadn't yet cleared customs. Andrew was still in his room, so Dean, Karen and I quietly got the boat prepared and Dean took it out and did a masterful job docking it into a much tighter and trickier slip than any Andrew had attempted. By the time he came up, the boat was already nicely tied up and at its new home with no drama or fuss. Karen and I both agreed that Dean should do all the docking from now on!
Dean and Karen had paid for an agent to help clear Customs, Immigration, Agriculture and one or two other departments. This meant that they lined up getting all those folks to come out to the boat versus piling us all into a couple of taxis and fighting our way to the various departments. Although it took most of the morning, the officials were pleasant and we got checked in without issues. Andrew took off for home in Tampa the moment we cleared and now we were down to me and the Watson family for the next few days...
The next morning came up beautifully and while I missed the sunrise (saw it before then when it was very bright and then shortly thereafter) which was my whole reason for staying up there, Karen at least had a fairly easy watch as none of the traffic were conflicted with us. The rest of the day was spent playing cards and reading audio books as we fought our way against the Gulf Stream current to Isla Mujeres. By noon it was apparent that none of the 3-4 pm estimates were going to be close, and we pulled into the marina at 6:30pm just 30 minutes off my estimate!
As we got nearer to Isla Mujeres (the island in front of Cancun) we could see the tall buildings appear on the horizon. The marina was on the back side (facing Cancun) and none of us had been there before so we struggled a bit finding it on the charts (Dean had thought that Andrew knew it based on his previous statements but it became apparent that he didn't). Anyway, we tried calling them on Channel 16 as it said in the instructions but no answer. I guess since it was after 6pm (we did try calling them before that too but perhaps were out of range) they weren't answering. Turns out it was down this channel in this open bay in the middle of the Island. For some reason Andrew engaged the Dock and Go which drove the boat sideways out of the main channel and we ran aground in the mud. He claimed the boat just shot out but both Dean and I had seen him fiddling with it. Luckily there was a big fishing boat following us and we passed them a line and they yanked us out.
At about this time, the security guy came down the dock and pointed for us where to dock. A nice big straight approach with the wind gently blowing us on to the dock. By this time you could see Karen and Dean steaming out the ears but Dean has the patience of Job and Andrew proceeded towards the dock. This time he turned the boat late and had lots of encouragement from us to "turn, turn, turn!". We ended up again getting fended off using our bow line and then he seemed to have an issue getting the stern over - until we told him to stop and just let the wind blow us on. None of us were impressed by this 200 Ton rated Captain who claimed to sail big schooners and cruise ships but we were happy to be tied up safely without marking the beautiful big Beneteau.
The marina is attached to a Windham resort with a nice pools for the kids, a swim up bar, and nice grounds so we figured it would be a good home for Sensible for the next 4-5 days. Early the next morning, the real marina people said it was OK to move her to a slip that was much closer to the resort and pool which would make it much easier for Karen/Dean to keep an eye on the kids even though we hadn't yet cleared customs. Andrew was still in his room, so Dean, Karen and I quietly got the boat prepared and Dean took it out and did a masterful job docking it into a much tighter and trickier slip than any Andrew had attempted. By the time he came up, the boat was already nicely tied up and at its new home with no drama or fuss. Karen and I both agreed that Dean should do all the docking from now on!
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S/V Sensible at our slip at Isla Mujeres. This is a very deceiving picture. The boat is actually massive. My old boat would fit inside this twice over almost. |
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