Waiting For Weather Again ... This Time in Isla Mujeres, MX!
Hi All! Winterlude is once again stuck in the muck here in Isla Mujeres!
We've been here since Nov 22, but flew home for 3 weeks over the holidays & arrived back in Isla Jan. 5. Our plan was (and is) to sail overnight south and anchor behind what are reported to be some of the prettiest islands on the southern Yucatan coast-the Culebra Cayes in Bahai de la Ascension. We'll stay there a few days & then head out to Banco Chinchorro. The weather has been pretty much dictating our immediate plans - we're sitting here, anchored off the local fisherman's cooperative, in the middle of what they call a "Norther"-it started two night ago at 1:30 AM when the wind switched abruptly from the ESE to the west - good thing we'd been asleep since 8 PM, no more sleep the rest of that night! Then on Friday morning it switched to the Northwest (the only wind direction with NO shelter in this harbor) and blew hard all day-we had 3-5 foot swells in the anchorage & breaking waves. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon when the stronger wind hit with a bang & boats were going sailing on their own all over! We were fortunate that our anchor did not break out & reset through the wind shifts.
Getting Ready
David Changing the Oil
A Finnish boat broke loose just up anchorage from us - no one aboard at the time-immediately there were about 8 dinghies there, including David. We had just discovered that our new electric windlass would not go UP (kind of a problem if we needed to get away quickly in nasty weather)& David was concerned if the Finnish boat kept drifting our direction with its 2 anchors dragging all through the anchorage & lots boats, including Winterlude, were in danger of breaking anchor. One of the cruisers jumped aboard & got the boat started-luckily the keys were in the ignition. They stabilized the situation by driving the boat out into the channel where there were no other boat anchors & then tried to get the anchors up-but that boat's windlass wouldn't work either! Seems to be an epidemic (we're waiting for a part for ours, altho David was able to reverse the circuits & now we have UP, but no down-of the two, I'd rather have UP!!!) Luckily all's well with the Finnish boat-two more guys jumped aboard & hauled the 2 chain anchor rodes - each with 100 foot of chain & an anchor, aboard hand over hand, as the balance of the dinghy brigade kept the boat generally in the channel by acting as mini tug boats-all this while it's blowing 30 with 3-5 ft breaking waves-David said the hardest part was staying IN the bucking dinghy! Then they took it to the Pemex dock, where they docked it. I can't imagine the owner's panic when he came back to the boat in his dinghy & NO BOAT!!! Several other boats have broken loose in the meantime, but mostly they all had people aboard and quick reactions kept the boats safely in the anchorage.
This weather is forecast to continue through Wednesday, so we're not planning to leave to go south at least until Friday. And maybe not then, the long range forecast this morning has another cold front starting on Thursday-if that's the case, we'll just stay stuck here. Luckily yesterday didn't blow quite so hard & we took advantage of the opportunity to reset our 2nd anchor and dive on both anchors to make sure they're set securely.
Now if another boat doesn't drag & pull them out, we should just have a bouncy few days confined to the boat! David's taking this opportunity to re-read the classic book "The Complete Book of Anchoring & Mooring"! :)
This weather is forecast to continue through Wednesday, so we're not planning to leave to go south at least until Friday. And maybe not then, the long range forecast this morning has another cold front starting on Thursday-if that's the case, we'll just stay stuck here. Luckily yesterday didn't blow quite so hard & we took advantage of the opportunity to reset our 2nd anchor and dive on both anchors to make sure they're set securely.
Now if another boat doesn't drag & pull them out, we should just have a bouncy few days confined to the boat! David's taking this opportunity to re-read the classic book "The Complete Book of Anchoring & Mooring"! :)
Cruising Community
Winterlude in Marina Paraiso
There are two factions to our cruising community here in Isla - boats come & go freely between the factions. It all has to do with whether you're tied to a dock or anchored out. The boats anchored miss out on a lot of social festivities in order to stay on the boats & keep them safe during bad weather. Alot of cruisers have no insurance & their boats are the only thing they own (insurance is HARD to get, costs a small fortune and often doesn't pay even if you DO have it) - so missing a few social activities is a small price to pay to keep the boat safe. Right now Winterlude is anchored out & NashOn (Jack & Linda Nash - Y Flyer friends) is in the marina enjoying the social scene. Today all the marina cruisers will head to "centro" to watch the "big screens" for NFL football playoffs. The rest of us will bounce up & down & guard our boats! But at least it's sunny & warm, just WINDY and right now we have breaking waves from the NW (Shearlock's will remember this weather as the same as the day we came back in Charleston SC
together). There are some benefits to being anchored out tho'-the boats in the marina with their sterns facing the open NW have BIG waves breaking over their sterns & filling their cockpits-they're bouncing around MORE than we are, altho' they're also safe enough to go watch football!
together). There are some benefits to being anchored out tho'-the boats in the marina with their sterns facing the open NW have BIG waves breaking over their sterns & filling their cockpits-they're bouncing around MORE than we are, altho' they're also safe enough to go watch football!
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Right -- The Isla anchorage from Chute de Chute, a small inlet "shortcut" for boats headed south. The downside to this inlet is it's tight quarters and fierce current. We'll skip this pleasure & opt for the 15 minute longer route out the main channel when we leave. You can barely see Winterlude anchored just to the left of middle -- the only dark-hulled sailboat!
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 Manuel at La Negrita .. best fresh fish in Isla! |
 Inland Travel to Tulum |
Other news from Isla-David assumed he could buy a common FRAM fuel filter here-wrong! Yesterday after going to every little auto parts store all over the island last week, "ordering" one from both the shipyard and the other marina and checking back "manana" for over a week, David finally got his fuel filters. And we were lucky. Lots of people can't get common things they need - our biggest MIA items are no gin or drinkable wine - luckily we brought back two boxes of wine from The Village Wine Shop in Effingham!
The other night we ate dinner at "the cuban restaurant"-it's been mentioned on the cruiser's net in the morning as great food. There's a little shack on the water, no sign, nothing identifying it as a restaurant except a piece of neon lime green tattered posterboard stuck to the door with the menu handwritten in black magic marker. There are only 3 or 4 tables, but it's right on the water. The owners are a Cuban man & his mexican wife. Neither speak a word of english - we ordered "filet de pescado a ajo"-fresh fish filets in garlic-MORE GARLIC that I've EVER had! But it was delicious. We asked for "vino tinto" & were met with blank stares until the Cuban owner got his own personal wine stash & served us wine-next time we'll bring our own bottle, they don't seem to mind.
That's about all from Isla-we had hoped to be sending our next update from the Culebra Cayes, but since we have no hope of getting there in the immediate future, David thought I should go ahead & write. Hope all of you are having a safe & enjoyable January!
GO NAVY!!! Jan & David, 21 14.623N 86 44.500W & blowing STINK!!!
The other night we ate dinner at "the cuban restaurant"-it's been mentioned on the cruiser's net in the morning as great food. There's a little shack on the water, no sign, nothing identifying it as a restaurant except a piece of neon lime green tattered posterboard stuck to the door with the menu handwritten in black magic marker. There are only 3 or 4 tables, but it's right on the water. The owners are a Cuban man & his mexican wife. Neither speak a word of english - we ordered "filet de pescado a ajo"-fresh fish filets in garlic-MORE GARLIC that I've EVER had! But it was delicious. We asked for "vino tinto" & were met with blank stares until the Cuban owner got his own personal wine stash & served us wine-next time we'll bring our own bottle, they don't seem to mind.
That's about all from Isla-we had hoped to be sending our next update from the Culebra Cayes, but since we have no hope of getting there in the immediate future, David thought I should go ahead & write. Hope all of you are having a safe & enjoyable January!
GO NAVY!!! Jan & David, 21 14.623N 86 44.500W & blowing STINK!!!
