BAHIA de la ASCENSION
We left about 10 am from El Cid Marina on Monday, January 25th bound for Puerto Morelos, Mx. Our friends, Jay and Sherry on Sanctuary decided to return to Key West instead of continuing on down to Belize.
David had a strange look on his face, that told me he wasn't sure we should leave Puerto Morelos He had gotten conflicting weather reports from Passage Weather and NOAH. Once we got “out there” I began wondering why we had left too. Bill and Pat, whom we met in Isla Mujeres, followed us an hour or so later in their boat Mobetah, a 42 ft Endeavor center cockpit sloop rig. So at least we had a buddy boat along for the ride. Mobetah had made an attempt at this run the week prior, but had to turn around due to engine problems. We soon learned that NOAH's report was the correct one! Sea conditions became very rough.
The seas were reported at 8-10 ft, but seemed to be growing! We had been delayed so many times since we began this voyage that we began to feel that we were going to have to “rough it” or never make our final destination. . . Rio Dulce, Guatemala. So we kept on, doing an “over-nighter”, that would take us approximately 30 hours. It was a very long night. Our auto pilot broke about midway and David stayed at the wheel all night. We had huge following seas, drizzle, high winds and waves that had to be 15ft or more. It was like surfing.
It was so black out there. With the cloud cover, we were unable to get much light at all from the moon. We had the main sail up and at different times, the genoa and baby jib, but the north east winds became inconsistent and the huge seas made it difficult to maintain a safe rum line, so we motor-sailed a great deal of the way. I thought I would lose it when David left me at the wheel in complete darkness, to take down the main sail, it was so scary. I think mostly it was lack of sleep. However, I was panicking, wondering how I would ever been able to find him if he fell into the water.
Finally, after a very, long black night, we arrived at the mouth of Bahia de la Ascension, which is nearly two miles wide, about 5:30am Tuesday. This part of our trip, only 75 nm, was far more demanding than the crossing from Key West to Isla Mujeres. Though a much shorter distance, the sea, wind and currents were greater, and we didn't have the pleasure of our crew mates, Hamp and Denise! I'm quite proud of myself though, because I didn't freak out and stayed the course. Though I'm not quite sure I wish to do a repeat performance!
Actually, once we finally had some daylight, albeit, in the middle of a “whiteout”; we caught up with Mobetah who were idling, waiting for the rain to clear before continuing into the bay. We finally got the anchor set by 8am behind Culebra Cay, had some breakfast and dove into the berth for some much needed sleep.
When we awoke, we realized we were in never, never land! Nothing but milky green water, (not good for snorkeling), blue sky, a couple of islands, and a couple of lighthouses. Too bad we couldn't see any of the lighthouses when we first came into the bay, they would have helped to guide us in.
Curious enough, we learned from Raucher's Guide that a fellow from Wexford, PA owns the Casa Blanca fishing lodge on Punta Pajaros, about 30 nautical miles south of Culebra Cay. They have an airstrip there and it's supposed to be a great place to do tackle salt water fishing. I know my boys would love it as fishing is their first love. We weren't able to actually visit the island because of time constraints. . . yeah that weather window thing again. Plus, Casa Blanca's waters are somewhat shallow for our draft.
We spent the new few days licking our wounds and checking out the boat, besides, there was nothing else to do in Culebra Cay. Luckily, David was able to repair our autopilot; he's gotten really good at this repair stuff!
The winds were expected to change from NE to SE and we attempted to anchor on the east side of the island; in the process we lost our smaller 35lb. CQR anchor; good thing we bought a Danforth anchor in Key West! Mobetah was kind enough to try to locate it for us, but since the waters were “milky”, were unable to find it.
The rudder seemed to be making a little noise, but all other systems good. We spent a few agonizing hours wondering if we would be able to make it to San Pedro and possibly have to haul out in Belize City to inspect the rudder. We where concerned that the big following seas we had may have caused damage to our rudder and or steering system. After inspecting the rudder as closely as possible, we decided to move on.
On Monday, with favorable weather conditions, we pulled up the anchors and left Culebra Cay about 4:30am heading to San Pedro, Belize. We did another “overnighter”. Sea conditions were east swells, with 10-15 mph NE winds, much more favorable than our trip to Bahia de la Ascension. The raging current made it difficult to make much headway, but we were able to use the autopilot the whole way, a big relief. We also had a bug ride along with us practically the whole way, guess he was tired!
BELIZE IT OR NOT. . .FIRST STOP SAN PEDRO!
We arrived about 12:30pm Tuesday in San Pedro under beautiful sunny skies and crystal clear water! We've made it to Belize, YEH! Now only about 140 more miles to the Rio Dulce!
We were really worried about coming through the reef as the swells had grown to 8 10 ft, but we followed Raucher's guide and made it to the anchorage with no problem. As we had swells from the east instead of following seas, the rudder is no longer making noise, so we are hoping it slipped back into position on it's own.
We had barely set the anchor when we got a visit from Gene and Brenda from Queen Mary, a CSY (another favorite sailing vessel). They “clued” us in on San Pedro. They are heading down to Honduras. Hopefully, we will cross paths again one day.
San Pedro, Belize, aka Ambergris Cay, the largest and most developed island in Belize. It's name is derived from “ambergrease” a grayish, waxy substance secreted from sperm whales, and often found floating on the ocean surface. It is highly valued in making perfumes.
San Pedro, named for Saint Peter, the patron saint of fisherman was founded in 1848. In 1869, James H. Blake purchased the island in a bankruptcy sale for $625.00. Their economy was based on coconut production (for 100 years) and then eventually fishing. The Belizean Government is trying to purchase the northern two thirds of Ambergris Cay which is privately owned in hopes of offering reduced rates for Belizeans, yeah right!
Ambergris Cay extends 20nm southward from Boca Bacalar Chico channel, the Mexico-Belize boundary. The channel was dug by the Mayans, go figure, but was recently dredged by Mexico. If it were not for this channel, Ambergris Cay would be an extension of the Yucatan Peninsula rather than an island.
It is quite a busy little town, with golf carts and cars the most popular form of transportation. Very few taxis, as compared to Isla Mujueres. They speak English, which is quite refreshing! Some speak Spanish, and then others sort of have they own lingo, like the Bahamians. We bent the ear of a lovely girl at the Lime Bar. Cassidy, she is from British Columbia. She relocated to San Pedro with her mother as she hates cold weather. She told us where to shop, where to eat and drink and even guided us to the right places in Cay Caulker, as well.
Naturally, there are many tourists here diving the reef, the second largest in the world, and their “bread and butter”. There is an Arabian family there that owns 4 or 5 hardware stores, go figure?!. We were told they have quite a large population of Mennonites and Asians, and a lot of ex-pats. They have a small airport; Mayan Airways and Tropic Air provide service to and from Belize City.
Internet cafe's are quite prevalent here so very easy to check emails and such. We were even able to use a satellite phone to call the boys, but that was pretty costly at $.50 per minute! They have wonderful coffee here too. Most of the island is comprised of dive shops, restaurant/bars, and hotels/condos. There are at least 5 grocery stores. You can get just about anything, but not marine supplies here. Cassidy directed us to Pepperoni's Pizza, which is pretty close to the pizza style back home. At least, they use mozzarella cheese rather than machengo, like we had in Mexico, big difference. Sadly we will miss the concert Tribute to Bob Marley, February 13th in San Pedro. Jon and Matt would have loved this too! Reggae bands from all over the country come to put on a huge concert, a celebration of Marley's birth date. We had a nightcap at BC's bar and a Steeler fan left his/her commemorative terrible towel from the 2009 championship!
There are catamarans taking tourists to the reef and ferry's running to and from the reef in Cay Caulker several times a day. Stay out of their way, they will run you over! David being the “light” sleeper saved our lives one evening as he heard a barge coming right for us in the anchorage. We had our anchor light on, but apparently the Captain didn't see it, David used our spotlight and was able to get his attention and avert him from our path, whew!
It was blowing pretty hard while we were in town and the winds were expected to change so we didn't see as much of San Pedro as we would have liked; didn't want to risk dragging onto the reef.
They have a lot more shops to buy clothing, but less souvenirs and Mayan art, which was okay with us. I have not seen any ceramic here at all. The street vendors sell mostly beaded jewelry and carved bowls and decorative items in the community park, which is just a brick area next to the Catholic Church, and they don't hound you like in Mexico. We even found a place that burns dvd's and were able to get 4 current movies for about $20. US, a very good deal! Boot leg dvd's seem to be very legal here!!
Cay Caulker, our next island destination is about 10 nm south from San Pedro. We left on Thursday and arrived just after 3pm. The bottom is quite shallow and grassy here, but very clear, so we stayed on the boat in case the anchors weren't dug in.
We have been able to get Belizean radio. We heard of a lady that pulled a gun on her neighbor, they carted her off to jail, they would not give her bail. . . no guns allowed here, that's a good thing. They report the obituaries on the radio. It's kind of cool, they record birth as sunrise and death as sunset and no details are omitted, including mistresses, and nicknames! It is also weird to hear the commercials for cholesterol meds and notices that watering lawns and washing cars is prohibited. . .so close, yet so far away!
Cay Caulker is really cool, quieter and much less busy (very few golf carts, more bicycles) than Isla Mujeres or San Pedro. Cay Caulker is over 4 miles long, and was cut in two by Hurricane Hattie in 1961. Luciano Reyes purchased the island for $300 Belizean dollars in the 1870's. The village occupies about 1,000 islanders in an area less than a mile long, south of the cut. The reef brings many Americans and Europeans back every year. An airstrip was completed back in 1992. The fishing cooperative is one of the most successful in Belize, though we also have heard that some Belizeans feel that they are “over fishing” and this could be very detrimental to their future. You can have a whole lobster dinner for $30 Belizean, that's like $15.00 US!!
We did half the island on Friday and met Patti, the owner of Oceanside Bar and Nightclub. She's been here for 17 years (from Fort Lauderdale, FL), and originally had a dive shop, but sold the business and opened the bar later. It's all indoors, complete with sand floor, poker machines, darts and a dance floor. She rents space to a dive shop and a Chinese restaurant within her premises. She and her husband are looking to sell the bar and retire. We talked with her most of the afternoon, it was very informative for us and she didn't mind since it was pretty dead there. We plan to watch the Superbowl there.
It was a dead calm yesterday in Cay Caulker, which is why we spent so much time in the Oceanside, at least they had fans; it was the calm before the storm. We had a great dinner, (very reasonable, $30 US I had grouper and David had fried conch) at the Rainbow Grille and headed back to our anchorage. We were treated to a light show from the iridescent jellyfish, it was so cool. Shortly after we arrived back at the boat, 7:30pm, waiting for the wind change expected at midnight, we had gusts of 35mph! It went from dead calm to these great gusts, so weird. We got turned all around, and of course our anchors got tangled, but they finally re-set themselves, but still another sleepless night! If it weren't for the alarm on the GPS, David wouldn't have slept a wink. This anchoring stuff can really get to you after a while. David is pretty much over it.
We are planning to head onto the Drowned Cays in a few days, waiting for yet another cold front to pass on. At the moment, I can't think of a better place to be though. I think this is our favorite island so far. It's quiet, laid back and has most everything you need, and it's a little cheaper than San Pedro. You can get a room with hot showers for about $40, Belizean, which is like $20 US! Of course, don't expect a/c and cable TV, or TV at all. There are hotels, with all the luxuries too.
We ended up at Barrier Reef Sports Bar, owned by a Canadian guy, (more TV's). Jon and Matt, checkout my pic's, Steeler and Penquins fans have been here too! We watched the Penquins lose to Washington in overtime, damn! We were able to get great seats right in front of the big screen, so we had to stay and watch the game. We met Guy on Hip Sway, a 40ft French Catamaran. He knew some folks from Isla Mujeres, so it was like “old times”. Also, met Ramsey, a Belizean who runs sailing trips to the reef. Go Saints, I knew they could do it, and better yet we won $50 bucks! We had a great time, though we were homesick for the boys and had wished it had been the Steelers playing.
There are a good many wild dogs here, they just roam the island, although they do have a humane society too. I got of picture of four of them chasing the pelicans, the water was shallow enough for them to just run around. A little boy kept picking up and dropping a black lab mix off the dock, don't know why, though I really wanted to find out. I think the dog probably wanted food and kept following him. David had to drag me away from some new puppies, a litter of four, but the Mommy is a little larger than I truly would want on the boat.
Next stop, the Drowned Cays, then I think we may go into Cucumber Beach Marina and maybe take a day trip to Belize City. We're almost there, about 120 nm miles to go to the Rio Dulce, Guatemala. Can't wait, stay tuned!
