Isla Mujeres to Belize

After being in Isla Mujeres for about a week, we were growing weary of the weather. We experienced strong winds (often up to 40 knots) both from the SW and more commonly from the N. Strong winds from the north, called northers, are common in this area during the winter months. These northers begin in December and grow in intensity and become more frequent in January and February. They can reach 80 knots later in the winter. Because the Gulf Stream current in this region runs from south to north, these northerly winds run opposite to the flow of the Gulf Stream, resulting in large seas, which are rough and disorganized. We were eager to leave Isla Mujeres and head further south where the northers are much less intense and where the northbound current is weaker. We decided to skip the rest of Mexico and head straight to Belize, which is surrounded by the world’s second largest barrier reef. This reef runs almost the full length of the country and protects the eastern coast from ocean swells. In order to sail to Belize, we would have to keep an eye on the weather and try to depart after a norther, which would provide us with a window of good weather before the following norther. Another reason for wanting to leave Isla Mujeres was the poor holding ground around the island. There is only a thin layer of weed covered sand above a dense layer of hardened coral, so our anchor was not able to penetrate very deeply. After watching numerous boats drag anchor and start drifting off, it was finally our turn. On the night of December 14th after going to bed, the winds began to grow in strength. It was difficult to sleep. I (Sue) awoke at least 10 times during the night. Everytime I awoke I would look out and check the GPS to make sure we weren’t dragging. I’d also go on deck and check the tension on the anchor line. It seemed that every time I checked, the wind was coming from a different direction in varying intensities from 20 to 40 knots. At 5am, we were awoken by our anchor alarm on the GPS, telling us that our boat had moved significantly from its original position. We looked outside and saw that the boat was moving rapidly unimpeded towards a concrete wall. We jumped out of bed, ran out on deck, started the engine and hoisted the anchor. We decided we would reanchor in a lagoon, called Laguna Makoy, inside Isla Mujeres that we had learned about a couple of days prior. The holding ground is only marginally better, but the area is nestled behind a patch of mangroves which shield some of the wind. Because it was still dark and visibility was poor, we decided to motor around in circles until sunrise. At first light, we squeezed through the opening into the lagoon and set anchor. Inside the lagoon, the winds were about 10 knots lighter. Soon many other boats decided to join us and the lagoon rapidly became crowded with boats. Despite being in a more protected area, we were uncomfortable being in such tight quarters. For the next couple of days, we waited out the ensuing norther. We were not comfortable leaving the boat unattended, so we mostly entertained ourselves by reading, playing cribbage and backgammon, and when the winds would lessen a bit, visiting our friends, Mark and Lori, aboard neighboring Aeolus. We decided we would leave for Belize after this norther, so Sue visited the port captain, where we officially cleared out of Mexico. Weather forcasts we heard from other cruisers predicted that the norther would subside on December 18th, and would soon be followed by 10-15 knot easterly trade winds. On December 18th, the winds had lessened a little, and we set sail for Belize at 4:45am. We were sailing under full main and staysail in 15-20 knot NE winds, occasionally gusting to 25 knots. The seas were choppy until we rounded the southern tip of Isla Mujeres, where we met the ocean swell. The seas were now 6 to 8 feet and very rough and disorganized. As we rounded Punta Cancun, we got hit broadside by a large swell that sent our 5 gallon water jugs flying across the aft cabin down below. A locker (cabinet) door also flew open, sending pieces of wood and other items all over the main salon. We were sailing quickly from 5-1/2 to 7 knots until we hit the strong northbound current of the Gulf Stream as we squeezed in between Isla Cozumel and mainland Mexico. The current slowed us to 1-1/2 to 2 knots. Not wanting to spend the next 24 hours fighting current and getting slammed around by the waves, we decided to turn on the engine and motor-sail until we exited the current. After dark, the winds were still coming from the NE at 15 to 20 knots with 25 to 30 knot gusts. No longer fighting current, we were now sailing along at 5-1/2 to 6 knots. We were eager to feel the predicted 10 to 15 knot easterly trade winds, which would calm the seas significantly. Although the seas were rough and the winds strong, we were not concerned for our safety, but we were very uncomfortable and growing sea sick due to the strong quartering seas. Graham had the pleasure of making dinner and when he came back on deck had a pale green complexion. The sea conditions made it impossible to sleep, which aggravated Graham’s condition. Squeak was also feeling ill. I had tried giving him Bonine for motion sickness, but did not do so early enough and he was unable to keep it down. The wind and seas did not finally subside for another 24 hours. The beautiful 10 to 15 knot easterly trade winds that had been predicted for most of our passage were only experienced for one hour during the night of the 19th. They were soon followed again by 15 to 20 knot NE winds. The brief change in wind direction, however, had managed to calm the seas a little, and we were both able to finally get some sleep. To sleep we would lie down on the cabin sole (floor) in the center of the boat, and smoosh our body in one place by wedging it in between cushions and pillows, like a canned sardine. The winds and seas lessened steadily throughout the evening and on the morning of December 20th, the winds stopped. The seas were flat and calm. We took turns sleeping heavily for the rest of the passage. Soon the winds picked up at a gentle 10 to 15 knots out of the west and we were able to sail at a beam reach until we reached the Eastern Channel entrance through the barrier reef leading to Belize City. We had made good time on our passage, having gone about 90 nautical miles the first 24 hours and approximately 130 nautical miles the second 24 hours. We anchored at 1pm on the 20th behind a beautiful island at Robinson Point. We decided to eat and rest and check into Belize City the following day. Clearing into Belize went fairly smoothly once we were able to contact the officials, who do not monitor the VHF radio. We ran some errands in the city and then left to explore more remote parts of the country. Since entering Belize, we have done a lot of snorkeling. Many of the reefs here are alive and thriving; although some of them are on their way out. While snorkeling we have observed many strange and indescribable organisms. We have no idea what many of them are and would love to learn more about coral reef biology. We saw two strange bright orange and yellow polk-a-dotted blobs that appeared to be parasitizing the coral. We have also observed an organism that looks like an underwater Venus flytrap. We you approach them they vanish in a blink of an eye into a tiny little hole. We have also seen sparkly little cones that look much like Christmas trees, which display a similar disappearing behavior. We also saw a manatee about 10 feet from our rowboat. It was quite shy and did not stick around for us to observe it. While sailing and at anchor, we have seen numerous dolphins and a couple of whales. The dolphins love to race alongside and in front of Chandrika while she is under sail. It is such a rush to sit on Chandrika’s bow, dangling your legs off the front and watching the dolphins surface only feet away. I don’t think I will ever grow tired of watching them. After having done so much snorkeling, we are now excited to spend some time on land. The islands here are almost entirely mangroves, so are not conducive to exploration. We would like to visit the mountains and rainforests on mainland Belize. We are currently anchored near Placencia, a small touristy town on the mainland waiting out the first norther we’ve experienced in Belize. The winds here are from the north and northwest mostly around 25 knots, with frequent 35 knot gusts and the occasional 40 knot gust. Again we have seen many of the neighboring charter boats drag, but so far are holding steady. While we were down below playing backgammon, we heard the faint sound of a fog horn. We ran up on deck to see a 45 foot 33,000 pound steel sailboat 20 feet away being blown straight towards our bow. We quickly grabbed inflatable fenders to try and cushion the upcoming blow. We were extremely fortunate as their boat grazed our bow with only 6 inches to spare. The outboard motor for their dingy, which was mounted on the stern of their boat, smashed into our front navigation light, shattering it. However, had they been 6 inches further aft, they would have done serious damage to our bow. Apparently they had just laid down their anchor when it began to drag. At that moment, their inboard motor died on them, so they had no way to control their boat. After securing their boat, the captain kindly came by to visit and to reimburse us for our broken running light. This incident has reinforced our extreme dislike of being in a crowded anchorage during a norther. Not only do we need to worry about our boat dragging and hitting other boats, but we need to worry about other boats as well. This event also reinforced our desire to purchase a Single-Side Band (SSB) radio. We have been relying upon other cruisers who have SSB to provide us with weather forcasts. When we were out exploring the reefs, we did not meet any other cruisers (or for that matter any other people) and did not have access to weather predictions. We are hoping to buy an SSB high frequency radio that will give us this access, but we will probably have to wait until we get to Honduras before we can purchase one. We plan to stay in Belize until the end of January. We can hardly wait to see Graham’s mom and his Uncle Chucky (aka “Uncle Fun”) when they come to visit us on the 23rd. After their visit at the end of January, we plan to sail southward to the Rio Dulce of Guatemala. After the Rio Dulce, we will travel to Honduras, where we will visit some friends in Roatan. January 2nd, 2007