Tuesday, the 8th, was very busy - our last day in Key West. We had lots to do: grocery shopping, laundry, banking, final internet checks while we had it on the boat, testing the satellite communication setup, chatting and laughing with Bell on Skype with webcam. Maggie got her hair cut - short! We even had Rosie seen by a vet to get her international clearance documentation, and her nails clipped.
At first light on Wednesday, we were underway. When we left Key West Harbor, Maggie's first task was to switch all her computer settings to use the satellite phone vs her Verizon broadband wireless - it didn't work. She was in a state of panic, knowing we'd soon be out of cell range. Bob had to do all the maneuvering on the boat until she got it squared away - just moments before we lost cell coverage. It was not a smooth start.
Finally, all that settled about 2 hrs later, it was time for our call with Slip Away. We had arranged a check-in schedule with Jan and Rich - we'd talk on single sideband radio at 8:00a and 8:00p each day. When we talked Wednesday morning, Jan said they had been sailing wing-on-wing all night - they had about 15 kts of wind right behind them. That's what we found once we got out - and SeaTryst doesn't like being dead downwind - no matter what we did, the sails luffed and went from side to side. We altered course so we'd have the wind off our quarter stern and could sail on a broad reach - making speed vs staying on our rhumb line.
The Northwest Caribbean net is on at 1400 UTC each day, and one valuable service they provide is to track boats that are underway. They also give weather, share information about anchorages, and offer for any boat to check in. We started tuning in about a week ago and would report our position twice each day while underway.
We were just settling in to begin our trek, and Bob caught a fish - a spotted sea trout. Maggie insisted he toss it back - she just wasn't ready to deal with a fish. Besides, there were lobster or crab pots all around, and she figured it must be great fishing grounds and he'd be able to catch another one in no time. Well, the only thing he caught was one of those pots - losing lots of line and his new lure.
During the day it was slow going - we were doing about 5 kts speed over ground - we'd hoped for 7. At night, under a jillion plus stars and no moon (Lorenzo would have loved it), the wind picked up to 20-25 and our speed increased to 7-8 kt. Bob was quite happy; it was beautiful. A new addition to the boat is an AIS system - it displays on our chart plotter any ship greater than 300 tons - giving us their name, speed, course, destination. Bob thought it would be a fun toy, and it turned out to be a valuable tool, especially at night when it's hard to judge.
Thursday morning, it got rough - we rolled and rolled with the 5-8' seas behind us. Rosie was seasick. We had gotten Bach Rescue Remedy and pills from the vet to help calm her. It didn't work; she was miserable.
Later in the morning, the wind and waves diminished and we had a nice sail. By about 3:15, the wind died and we were doing about 3 kts, so we started the iron genny. We were even able to cook and have dinner in the cockpit at sunset.
Five hours after starting the motor, the wind picked up so we were able to sail again. We did 3-hour watches at night. Maggie's 10:30p-1:30a was uneventful - the wind was steady, not even a ship was within range. Bob relieved her just in time - the wind picked up and changed direction, it started to rain, five ships converged on the screen. After he singlehandedly reefed the mainsail and the jib, the wind died to nothing, so he let out the jib again. In no time, it picked up to about 30 kts and we were overpowered, so he had to bring in the jib again. Having just dodged 5 large ships, we passed by the tip of Cuba and ran into another group of 7 ships. It was a very busy watch. Rain squalls lasted until about 6:30a, so he ended up doing a double watch - sometimes the captain just needs to be on deck! Maggie tried to sleep, but was being tossed around on the bed, while the mattress was sliding off the frame. Poor Rosie was still in bad shape.
When we talked to Rich at 8:00a, he described similar conditions, but that things were calm up ahead now. They expected to be in Isla Mujeres about 3:00p. We agreed to talk at 4:00 and they would give us the way points into the harbor since we'd be coming in at night.
After a rough start in the morning, it was calm and smooth all day - we motored all the way. When we got close to land, Bob put up our quarantine flag and Mexican courtesy flag. A tower was one of our marks on land, so Maggie turned on her Blackberry - Yes , a signal. It downloaded 101 email messages; she danced with joy. She stopped long enough to catch the sun setting over Isla Mujeres.
Rich hailed us on VHF. We did our final check-in with NW Caribbean Cruiser's net, and about 7:00p local time (8:00p EST) and pitch black, we entered the harbor. Rich was watching for us, and hailed again when we saw us round the corner. He guided us through the way points and right up to their boat to anchor alongside. Rich and Jan were great all along the trip, and we were looking forward to finally meeting them face to face.
Since it was night and it was calm, Rosie appeared on deck for her watch .... happy to be alive.
Our passage took 62 hours. We had the engine on for only 21 of those, so we were under sail for 41 hours.
On Saturday morning, we tuned in to the local Isla Mujeres cruiser's net and got information about the check-in procedure. Rodney and Katrina on Angelina offered to show us and Slip Away the places we needed to go for Mexico's check-in process - Health Department first, then to Immigration, pay fees at the bank, to the Port Captain. Finally, we need to catch a ferry to Cancun to import the boat.
We're off to see our new place ... and to find wi-fi to upload these pages. We are both excited to be here - sun and excitement every place you turn. Bob is happy that Maggie chose adventure over safety!
Hasta leugo
(Until later)