Back in the USA! Yup, it has been a long & winding road but we are just about ready to move ashore. As the crow flies, its about a 1200 miles from Isla Mujeres, Mexico to Annapolis, MD. Our estimate at 5-6 knots/hour would have had us in Key West after 3/3.5 days. Then another 6 days to the Chesapeake and a few leisurely days to the boatyard in Maryland. A reasonable estimate of about 2 weeks underway. Well, mother nature has a sense of humor and in this case she showed it to us every few days by giving us t-storms, squalls and unfavorable winds.
Our time in Isla Mujeres could be described as continuous merrymaking with the stalled fleet with the theme "let's get going already"! There were about 10 boats in a wait state - 2 going west across the gulf and 8 headed to Key West and the east coast. We needed 3-4 days of decent weather to cross but to quote Chris Parker, our weather guru, "as usual, it's manana". We spent 10 days waiting for a green light while the weather in the Yucatan Channel and the Florida straits was characterized by strong NE wind, t-storms, squalls and large seas. Our convoy enjoyed getting to know each other. We talked weather and navigation strategies, shared pot luck meals, ate grea, inexpensive Mexican meals, toured the island in a golf cart, snorkled when the weather would allow, toured each others homes, attended hip hop aerobics at the community center and talked weather again.
Checking in and clearing out of Mexico is probably the most complex process we've experienced in our 2 years of cruising. Isla Mujeres is a very popular staging area with cruisers heading south and north because of it's location but the procedure hasn't been created with the cruiser in mind -- great patience is required. We experienced multiple trips between immigration, the port captain, a copy center, the health officer, and a trip by ferry to Cancun to pay a fee at a particular bank. I documented a 14 step procedure but expect that it will have changed if we return. Fortuneately there doesn't seem to be any time requirment since we had to spread the process over a few days and by then it became a group activity.
The island is..., well.. mainly about shopping. There is a very busy, touristy downtown with hundreds of vendors selling jewelery, Mexican trinkets, knickknacks, liquor, t-shirts, flip flops, tours, rentals, etc. Most sell the same stuff and the vendors are aggressively hawking their whatnot, which after awhile is aggravating. The southern end of the island is relatively undeveloped and has beautiful ocean views -- as in other parts of Central America real estate development is on the rise as many Americans, Canadians and Europeans are looking for the next big investment - Isla Mujeres has some advantages since flights into/out of Cancun are pretty cheap, English is spoken easily and the locals are quite friendly. There is a very nice, easily accessible beach and absolutely gorgeous water. They have a ripline tour over the ocean which looked really fun but none of us had the courage to try it. Still, have we seen more charming and more noteworthy communities in my opinion!
Weather certainly plays a key role in our passage making. Friends ask how we stay abreast of the weather when we are far from the weather channel, FM/AM radio and VHF weather. We depend on our SSB radio for downloading most of our weather data. Multiple times a day we request specific area forecasts dowload the analysis - all via email using the modem/radio and then download the weather analysis. We rely on GRIB files, NOAA text forecasts and a service via Chris Parker's Caribbean Weather Center. Grib files are computer generated weather models showing wind direction and strength graphically over a period of a week or so. Chris Parker is a weather guru who provides a daily email by region (Bahamas/SE USA; E. Caribbean; NW & SW Caribbean) and an SSB radio forecast during which members can call-in for specific forecasts & questions. We also review data re: the location and direction of current as it makes a huge difference in our speed and comfort level. Overall there is plenty of data to compare and contrast, other cruisers with whom to discuss the data, and we make our best decision.
As you probably guessed, the day the Mexico to FLA forecast was a "go", 8 boats departed within 6 hours of each other (the two boats going northwest were tied up at their home slips by the time we departed). Spending this much time with one group of people is unusual and so parting was sweet sorrow. As the fleet spread out we talked on the SSB radio twice daily, trading positions, fishing reports, weather updates, etc. We found ourselves toward the back of the pack, conserving our fuel and timing our arrival in Key West for daylight on the 4th morning. The trip was mostly a motor into the wind, averaging 5 knots, some flat, some not so flat seas but nothing too harsh (no "mal de mer" meds required). Current plays a huge role in the Yucatan Channel so lots of energy was put into locating a neutral and favorable current.
Key West was a short stop for us, an easy place to clear back in to U.S. immigration & customs (a 10 minute phone call on arrival and 3 minute in person visit in town), a super nice grocery shop (oh the products offered in even the smallest of groceries) to refill the freezer and fridge, a movie for Cindy while Rick visited the dive shops and then a great night's sleep. I probably mentioned the restaurant Blue Heaven earlier in this log - when in Key West you must enjoy their brunch, it's fabulous. Key West has hundreds of anchored boats so it was ironic that we dropped the hook directly next to another member of our fleet who proceeded us by a day and that a second boat dropped the hook near us the following day.
Our voyage up the Keys and the SE Atlantic coast can be described as daily t-storms interrupted by bursts of sunshine. When the weather allowed, we sampled some of the snorkeling along the reef -- lots of fish to look at and gorgeous water but we have been spoiled by the quality of the diving/snorkeling these two years. At night we experienced the luck of the Irish as we dropped the anchor as the thunder and lightening was really getting going. I have never experienced such theatrical weather as the weather in Florida this trip -- sunsets through banks of clouds, lightening strikes,amazing contrasts in light and color, mammoth thunder clouds drifting across the sky; gorgeous but certainly somewhat uncomfortable to experience on a boat. After a few days of moving slowly we decided to take advantage of a slightly better forecast to make some distance around the corner and ride the Gulf Stream up the Florida coast and beyond. We ducked in to Palm Beach to refuel and headed out hoping for about a 5 day passage to the Chesapeake. After one night underway a new front arrrived and it was forecast to get pretty "nasty" offshore so we altered our plans and headed to St. Augastine. We motored through two rather intense thunder and lightening storms on the way, one squall saw 42 knts of wind. This begs the question "how does it feel to be in that much wind, were you scared?". We certainly have confidence in Dragonfly's ability to handle high winds after sailing in 30-40 knt winds for 5 days. We are confident we'll be fine as long as we aren't caught unprepared with the sails up. That is the rational answer, emotionally it is pretty frightening to see the knotmeter read 24 knots, 30 knots, 33 knots, 38 knots, 42 knots.. Then of course the lightening adds extra anxiety. Luckily, Rick projects calm and seems unruffled through the entire episode (is that a byproduct of earning your Coast Guard Captain's license?) so it keeps my worst fears somewhat under control.
St. Augastine was a super fun stop, even with our impatience to get home. The main anchorage is just off the historic district but we chose to anchor in the more remote Salt Run inlet. I have always enjoyed St. Augastine, there is nice walking, an artistic flavor, fun shops, great food, interesting Spanish architecture, lots of history. I think Salem, Ma should analyze what St. Augustine has accomplished in their historic district and see if they can't integrate some of it into Salem's tourist district - it's not tacky at all, even with all the shops and tourism!
In the Salt Run inlet you would swear you were in a secluded part of Cape Cod or Cape Hattaras instead of a highly touristed city in Florida. The eastern shore of the inlet is all sand dunes, protected state parkland, and wildlife. The St Augastine lighthouse dominates the western shore - so we were surrounded by tremendous beauty. We walked the city but also explored our surroundings by foot. Most cruisers are used to traveling by public bus or on foot and this trip was no different. We walked 3 miles to the downtown area, 6 miles roundtrip to the state beach and explored the local area for groceries, haircuts, etc. We were off the beaten track but almost had it all -- gorgeous scenery, a yoga studio, a health food store with a fabulous juice/lunch bar and the big city close by. Only the movie theater and ice cream store were missing! Living on that inlet must be soothing to the soul, yet a few minutes from a very cultural community. We briefly met a few of the local residents at the public landing and they offered us use of their cars, their dock, their bikes - representative of the best of the boating community.
A 3 day layover but finally onward to the Chesapeake, with good conditions in about 5 days we'd be at the boatyard just south of Baltimore, Dragonfly's final destination. Maybe you remember our talk of buddy boating with s/v DreamKetch'r on the way to/from Belize. They left Mexico just in front of us and pushed past Key West and Florida to Savannah. We both departed again for the Chesapeake on the same morning although they were 120 miles ahead of us.
Tuesday at midnight, after three days of mainly motoring in light winds & pretty calm seas, found us rounding Cape Hattaras next to DreamKetch'r, making our left turn toward the Chesapeake Bay.The weather was now forecast to degrade sometime Wed. and the wind to go strong to the north -- the race was on because we wanted to be in the Bay with all of its protected rivers by the time any bad weather arrived and to make as many miles up the bay as possible before the wind turned north. We made it to the mouth of the bay just after sunset, DreamKetch'r still alongside us. It is quite an experience to navigate the bay at night; two ship channels greet you as you enter from the south, the first lights I saw were a tug and barge headed down the channel toward me! As Rick lay napping, I strolled between helm stations & the computer to monitor our route, navigation lights and boat traffic. It was a bit intimidating but I couldn't help but consider how much harder it all would be without electronic charts and chart plotters which track our position and route. We planned to motor up the Chesapeake big ship channel through the night and swiftly duck out when encountering traffic. This reasoning being that in the channel we'd avoid running over crab pots which thickly blanket the bay and would stop us cold, but of course in the channel diligence is required as the huge ships and frieghters move fast and will run you down in no time at all. Not 20 minutes had gone by when we heard a deafening roar - 6 blasts from a huge freighter coming up behind us warning "danger, get out of my way 'cause I'm a comin". Well both Dreamketch'r and Dragonfly scattered to opposite sides of the channel. From there on DreamKetch'r took the opposite approach and stayed outside the channel to avoid fun and games with the freighters. It was the first of a few overtaking ships that we encountered during the night, but definately the most commanding of the lot.
We made about 45 miles up the bay before that old crafty north wind arrived. The day was grey, the forecast menacing and we knew it would be a very slow crawl up the bay in these conditions so once again we diverted. We anchored in Mill Creek on the western shore of Virginia, a very easy entrance and a very pretty spot. After a nap we listened to the local weather forecast again and agreed that Thursday would be a better day for the next leg - although a few hours later there was no wind, the sun was out and the light rain was long over.
We have been making good use of our time during the past few days readying the boat for storage over the summer. This means offloading much of our stuff ( stuff we haven't used, stuff we need over the summer, stuff too valuable to leave on the boat) and cleaning all the boat's lockers, compartments, cabinets, cracks and crevices. Plans are to be hauled on Monday, and take off up that oh so predictable interstate to NY and then Marblehead . Rick is wondering if we will we make it home for Wed. night racing in Marblehead!?!
