First off, sorry about the whale shark video. I just uploaded it last minute before we left Mexico and didn't realize I had to make it public. Welcome to Youtube. I put the link on the right.
Summary of the last 3 days. Left Puerto Aventuras early Monday morning with high winds, 15- 20 knots from the southeast, the direction we were heading, and darks skies with the occasional torrential downpour. Sounds bad and it was, however it was the best weather window we had for days with good forecasts for the next few days which we needed to get to Belize.
One of the only highlights from our trip: Sunrise at anchorage
To kick things off, I threw up my Dramamine in the first 2 hours. It is supposed to help against sea sickness. Stan threw up later. Before half a day was over, the rain dodger came loose on the starboard side and the starboard stern lifeline broke which is never good especially in rough seas however it did give me easier access to chum when required. After 12 hours of this we got to our first anchorage without much incidence aside from the fact that I got the dinghy line wrapped in the prop. This did give me the chance to actually have a use for the scuba knife I bought. After a rough night's sleep at anchorage, got going around 6 am and after a bit of a rocky start were on our way once again to San Pedro, Belize. We planned to sail all day, through the night, and arrive on Wednesday afternoon. The skies cleared thankfully but the winds stayed strong making it a very rough and arduous passage. We at least were able to get the sails up which kept the boat a bit more stable allowing us to stay un-sea sick. After a full day, full night, and another half day of this and eating only 6 small cake donuts along with a bottle of water on a queazy stomach, we made our final turn for the inlet between the reefs into San Pedro.
It's a bit taxing, to say the least, after 2.5 days of rough sailing to have to find a 75 yard cut between a 23 mile long reef in 10 ft seas. The only thing we had were the coordinates from the guide book which had already failed us once before. With this cut being particularly tricky in that once you make it inside the main cut you have to make an almost due north turn, hard right, to avoid another reef dead ahead. We were told this was marked by a yellow buoy. I couldn't find a drawing of the harbor entrance so I drew this extremely detailed map of the reef entrance to show how tight it was:
We made a few calls on the radio for assistance on entering the harbor to no avail. We approached slowly with the waves growing in size and strength and seemed to be online at least to a point where the waves weren't crashing on the surface in mighty blows but still no yellow marker. Finally, with a pucker factor of 10 out of 10, we pushed through the main cut and it seemed we had passed the main reef safely. I could make out the secondary reef ahead, so we turned north for a bit and after we took a breathe, realized we were safely in San Pedro harbor. Stan had some friends here who greeted us at the dock with a much welcomed Belikin in hand for each of us.
So after that adventure, when the only thing you want to do is pass out face first on the beach, we have to hunt down the Port Authority, Immigration Office, and Customs Office to legally step foot on land. The Port Authority is conveniently located at the southern most tip of the island well out of town. As our taxi driver took us there on the 20 minute ride and the roads got worse and population got very sparse, I began to think he might be taking us "rich yachters" out to the desolate ship junk yard to rob us. I kept thinking this will be funny for him because the only thing I had on me was about 7 pesos in the pocket of my swimming trunks which I wouldn't even want to get out since they could've probably stood up on their own after wearing them for the past 3 days at sea. However that was just a passing thought. Our taxi driver was a very nice guy and got us to the shack that was the Belizean Port Authority. Once inside, they read our boat name was Mobius. Then one said, "Ah, that was you on the radio calling earlier. We thought you wanted water at the Yacht Club." Strange because I specifically remember saying, "Anyone listening in the San Pedro area, this is sailing vessel Mobius. We are seeking assistance to enter through the reef and safely into the harbor. Please come in." I guess somehow that got lost in translation. We also asked them about the yellow buoy. They said, "Oh yeah, that broke off Saturday in high wind. We are looking into getting a new shackle for it."
So after that episode we had to go back in town to the Immigration Office for an hour or so, then next door to the Customs Office, where the official didn't have time to check our boat personally but took our word for what we were claiming and of course we were fine with his laid back island attitude.
Finally back to the boat to clean her up, shower ourselves, and eat.
In other news, this last trip was the straw that broke the camel's back. As Stan and I came to heads, I decided to leave the Mobius and become a land lubber like the rest of you. My goal now is to get down south to Placencia to see my cousin and her family who are here on vacation for the next week. Recuperate, relax, wash my swim trunks, and after that we"ll see what happens next. It is Lobster Fest now in Belize and my cousin and I always get into trouble so I am sure I will have some good stories shortly.
Hope everyone is well and I appreciate hearing from you.
Cheers,
Jay
