“Travels with Passagemaker”
July 2010
Hi there,
A July to remember!! First we had to cross the Yucatan Channel from Cuba to Mexico. Doesn’t
look far on the chart… just a few hundred miles but when you only make 5 knots (for our purposes, 1
knot = 1 mile or thereabouts) and the cross current is running at 2 knots, your SOG (Speed Over the
Ground) can be reduced to about 3 knots. Now add in the tail winds from some naughty tropical
disturbances and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that we are talking days here not hours!
But we made it safely and in comfort thanks to Passagemaker’s solid construction. We have nicknamed
the engine “Big Bertha” as she just plods steadily away regardless of what angle she is tilted at or how
long she has to run.
First port of call, the amazing
resort area of Cancun. There must
be hundreds of hotels in this one
area as the high rise buildings
along the beach stretch out of
sight. Check out the photo.
Having come from Cuba we were pretty low on fresh vegetables and things we take for granted
like eggs, bacon, cheeses etc. So after clearing in we took a US$2 taxi ride to the most diversified
WalMart I have ever seen. They had all the usual departments including eye glasses and banking but
also a quad bike section, and even a tours and holidays department. And don’t talk about the selection
of beautiful cheeses, meats etc. Isn’t it bizarre that two economic systems, just a few hundred miles
apart, should have such different results? Mexico with a standard of living a hundred times better for its
people than Cuba. And yet there are those who say Cuba is better. By
what yard stick?
Anyway enough of these deep thoughts. Let’s get back to life
on T&T’s flagship “Passagemaker”. On Tuesday 6th July we decided to
start to work our way south towards Belize but check out the attached
plot of our course. After two hours battling some 5 metre high waves,
a 2 knot current, 30 knot winds and the fact that I kept spilling my
Vitamin R (otherwise known as rum), dictated that we return to
Cancun. Check the 5 minute spacing of the dots on our outbound
track compared with the spacing for the return. That’s right 3 to 1. We
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were barely making 3 knots heading out but were almost surfing at 9 knots on the way back!!
So we enjoyed a couple of days playing “Maco” right in front of one of the largest hotels. There is a tree
in the Caribbean which is always peeling. Our friends Danielle and Marina told us it’s called the “Tourist
Tree” and as we gazed at the hotel beach we could see why!
When Mother Nature finally decided she had let
Mexico know who was in charge we headed down the
coast to Puerto Morales. Check out what a hurricane
can do. The original lighthouse is the one on the
beach. We believe they left it there as a reminder!!
Of course on a yacht there is never a dull moment, like
the next morning when the 110 volt Lofrans anchor
winch on Passagemaker decided to stick. The “down”
solenoid had given up some weeks ago so we couldn’t
“reverse”. Nothing a morning’s work and a few R&C’s wouldn’t fix. (and a special nod to Phil and Mary
Kennedy who taught me that nothing is “un-fixable” on a boat)
Having sorted the
winch, your boy
“went brave” and
decided to repair a
tear in the Genoa. If
my yachtie friends
are wondering what
the grey repair tape is, wonder no more. “Duct tape” to the
rescue. First you stick it on and then you sew over it with your
$25 e-bay sewing machine. An up close inspection might reveal a
rather unorthodox stitch alignment but hey…. It’s still holding.
But enough of these mundane household stories. By careful study of the
tides, the pilot charts, the weather and the level of my Cuban rum, we then
made the next 20 miles to Cozumel in only 5 hours!! (Not bad when your
top speed is 5 knots and there is a 3 knot current against you!!)
It was rather rolly on the way down and very humid. So it was out with the
flopper stoppers, that miracle device which totally stops R&C spillage, and
provides time for a quick swim. Of course some people have to go and
“ride” the flopper stoppers!! (That’s a skin coloured swim suit Roger!!)
Cozumel has a super harbour (20.31.6N 86.56.5W) in which you can anchor anywhere. Indeed we were the
only yacht there! So we launched the dinghy “A-Liki”, and headed for shore tying up in amongst the
fishing boats which had much bigger outboard engines than ours, the theory being no self respecting
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Mexican would steal a lowly 5 HP outboard when there were 50
HP engines right on the next boat. Once ashore we started to
explore the most amazing totally tourist town I’ve ever seen.
There were literally hundreds of souvenir shops. But I guess
with up to 9 cruise ships calling every day, and each one
carrying at least 2,000 tourists you need plenty of shops.
The next day saw us heading east on our bikes to explore the
Mayan Ruins at San Gervasio. The island has several Mayan
ruins and it seems every Mayan woman was supposed to make at least one pilgrimage here in her
lifetime to pay homage to the Gods of fertility etc. Of course some people don’t take anything seriously.
Here is my first mate being “sacrificed”. Not
content with mocking the gods (“She’s not with me
Lord”) she ignores thousands of years of history
to try and catch one of the hundreds of large
iguanas that live in the ruins. The official tour
guides just ignored her as they knew Mexican
Iguanas are ten times smarter than a South
African Zoologist!
On the way back we saw a
tourist store called “Pee Pee
Station” so of course we had to
investigate. Several beers later (and a visit to the “Pee Pee
Station”) we also had a gorgeous Mexican wash basin
strapped on the back of the bike. Here it is next to the
aft cabin bathroom sink that it will replace. The cost?.... less than US$100.
Back in Cozumel itself we enjoyed a marvelous plate of typical Mexican
dishes all for US$20 and this was in the main square at tourist prices!
Two of us could barely finish it.
Your boy also went on a
Christmas, birthday, you
name it, shopping spree.
Mexican handicrafts are so
beautiful. (Yes family… its
“Mexican” gifts right through this
year!!) It took 4 of us to carry
the loot. Where else in the
world will they leave their store and carry your purchases
right down to your dinghy!!
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Sadly we bid Cozumel farewell the next morning as we headed further
south. But our sorrow was soon forgotten when our trawling line
started to buck and
jump. Tony eat your heart
out. We caught a 30 lb
(12 kilo) Dorado also
known as Mahi Mahi.
Look at the size.
Notice the yellow
colour of the fish in the
photo. Amazingly it
turns that colour for
just a few seconds before it dies. When we first brought it aboard it
was bright blue like the photo above.
But even bigger treats from the ocean were in store for us. I wrote the
next piece moments after it happened.
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Its Monday 12th of July at 3pm
and we have just anchored in the
beautifully named “Bahia Del
Espiritu Santo” on the East coast
of Mexico. Our GPS location is
19.23.993N 87.27.349W. My
yachtie friends are probably
wondering why I’ve given the
coordinates to three places. The
reason is simple. We are
anchored 30 metres west of the
most AWSOME reef I have seen in
years. I have scuba dived most of
the Caribbean and in 30 years I
have not seen a single reef with
such a diversity of coral and
tropical fishes. And I’m not
talking a few fish, I’m talking
hundreds. Schools of iridescent
Blue Tang and Yellow Snapper
just flowing round us like a tidal
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wave. Beautiful Queen Angel fish as big as the biggest dining plate you have ever seen. Brilliantly
coloured Parrotfish, hundreds of Blue Head Wrasse, fluorescently coloured Blue Chromis. Sergeant
Majors by the score, the reef even had its own enormous Green Moray eel. And this reef was probably no
bigger than 100 metres by 100 metres. Totally incredible!! Check out the photos which are taken with my
super Olympus Stylus 850 SW waterproof camera my lovely family bought for me. (I confess I cheated by using
the macro function to shoot pictures from out diver’s Fish Chart and the super Audubon Society Field Guide to North American
Fishes, Whales & Dolphins which came as part of Passagemaker’s extensive library . The camera says it’s waterproof to 5 metres
but it has become so indispensable that I really didn’t want to risk it.)
So there you have it guys. I can’t remember the last time I used the word “Awesome”, but it is the only
word that did justice to this reef.
Now its 3.30pm on July 15th and we are
approaching Banco Chinchorro, Mexico’s only
coral atoll. A fast patrol boat from the Mexican
Navy has just approached, hailed us and very
politely asked for details of our vessel,
destination, etc. The officer spoke perfect English
and was very courteous throughout the radio
conversation. (Contrast that with our various encounters with marine officials in T&T, St. Lucia and Antigua whose
conduct can only be described as “brutish”. The English speaking Caribbean could learn a lot about manners (and
economics) from their Spanish speaking neighbours!)
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So with Mexico behind us and the best wishes of the Mexican Navy, we headed further south to Belize’s
northern most port of entry. Apart from the fact that it isn’t even shown on our charts (yachties see
footnote at end of newsletter) nothing could have prepared us for both the entrance channel and the town
itself. Now Passagemaker needs six feet or two metres of water and when your chart says “2 metres”
you know this is going to be touch and go. First though you have to navigate the only opening in the reef
just south of the town. A solitary yellow buoy is your only clue as apparently they ran out of the
traditional red and green channel markers. Literally inching forward we crept at 1 knot towards the
town waiting for that awful moment when you realise you have stopped moving. But we needn’t have
worried.
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Safely anchored we hopped in our dinghy and
headed for shore as we had to go to the little
airport where immigration and customs lived so
we could clear in to Belize. Gone are the days
when you stayed on your boat and waited for
them to come out and inspect you.
Having secured our dinghy, we ventured into the
main street of this tiny town to be met with
hundreds of 4 x4 golf carts!! They were
everywhere and they were covered in dust. It
was almost like being in a Wild West frontier
town except there were golf carts instead of horses. There was the odd regular vehicle looking very out
of place amidst the Lilliputian 4x4s. It seems the town and its roads are so small, you will never find a
parking spot for a regular vehicle so vendors and tourists alike use the carts. But we wanted to get to see
Belize City itself so the next morning it was up anchor and gingerly threading our way back through the
reef.
Now when you are sailing around Belize, you have to have your
eyes glued to the depth gauge. There are hundreds of perfect
little islands and atolls like the one at right beckoning you but
often you can’t get near because of the coral reefs. Even Belize
City, the major commercial port, can’t handle anything with any
serious draft. Cruise Ships have to anchor at least 5 miles away
and the tourists transferred by small boat to the town.
Talking of Belize City, I wouldn’t
put it, or even the new capital
Belmopan, built after a recent
hurricane, high on the “must
see” list. One is old and one is
new but both need a coat of
paint and some evidence of Civic
Pride. But it’s not all bad. “Old”
Belize City still has quaint post
boxes which are emptied every
day as well as a swing bridge
carrying trucks, cars and
pedestrians which is opened by
hand. Of course your boy had to
go under it to have a look at the workings.
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Luckily we had “contacts” in Belize and
what a difference it made. A very good
friend in Trinidad is the Honorary Consul
there for Belize and he made sure his family
was on standby to guarantee we had a
great time, which is exactly what they did.
Luckily Kim kchanona@email.com, their
daughter, is a very experienced tour operator and she made sure we
were treated like royalty. She not only organised tours, she took our
gas bottles to refill and got our main sail repaired. Fantastic service.
Here she is with her daughter.
The first tour she organised for us was to Lamanai, which
includes a late Pre-Classic Temple towering 35 m above the
jungle floor. It must have taken thousands of workers to
build it. If you have been to Tikal, one of the biggest
Mayan sites in Guatemala and give that a 10 then Lamanai
is at least an 8. In this 2nd photo you can see a piece of the
“Mask” temple which has been restored. You can just
imagine how spectacular these buildings were when they
were in daily use. We also saw the temple at Xunantunich
another part of Belize, high on a hill top, very imposing.
The next day a UK expat, Simon Crawshaw who works with Tommy Chanona, kindly met us when we
came off the “chicken bus” from Belize City to the new Belizean capital Belmopan. I say “chicken bus”
because, while there were no actual chicken like you see in Guatemala, the buses were the same, old US
school buses that are packed to the brim and driven at incredible speeds. The fare for a one hour ride
costs about US$5. Simon took us to the home we would be staying in for the next
couple of nights courtesy the kind generosity of Tommy Chanona.
But as soon as we dumped our suitcase we were off on another of Kim’s amazing
US$80 pp tours, this time kayaking down a river
and through a mountain! Talk about the need to
wear brown pants! The fact that we had to wear
crash helmets on a river should have warned us!
After a brilliant ride down some rapids including
a nasty encounter with a special variety of
bamboo that grows here with spikes (check out Louise getting first aid from
our guide) the river literally disappeared into the side of a cliff.
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This shot shows your boy standing at the mouth of the cave
the river disappeared into!! … and I’m claustrophobic!!
But once inside there was no turning back. At one point it was
too dangerous to continue so we had to drag our kayaks
overland through mosquito infested jungles.
Just before
we exited the
cave system,
our excellent
guide
informed us
that the last
part is often
done by up to
1,500 cruise
ships tourists
in inner tubes! …. And there we were feeling like heroic adventurers. Hah!!
Long suffering Simon who was trying to put in a honest day’s work and
chaperone us around, met us at the end and took us home for the best chili I’ve ever had. Who says the
Brits can’t cook!
The next day was another super kayak Kim tour, without crash
helmets  from the western town of Benque Viejo on the
border with Guatemala ending at Clarissa Falls (US$65 pp for 3
hrs). The guide said “You WILL get wet” and sure enough we
did as we came down through the rapids which swamped the
kayaks. (Hey Lara and
Abi…the “waterproof”
camera you bought me spent
most of this trip either being
soaked or actually travelling underwater every time I did a Mayan Roll! And it
worked and is still working perfectly). The trip took us through some
beautiful scenery past ladies doing the weekly wash in the river.
We twisted Simon’s arm to join us and here you see him “fighting”
the rapids!!
Now you can’t visit Belize without trying the local food including “Gibnut” which is a type of Agouti;
“Pibil” which is pork cooked in the earth and “Chimolit” a black soup made with chicken. All were totally
delicious.
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There is so much to write about Belize. The marvelous advertising sign posts with
miniature houses, dog kennels, rum barrels and wrecked cars. The incredible area
called Spanish Lookout where the
Mennonites have turned jungle
into valuable farm land producing
60% of Belize’s farm produce in
less than 50 years. The whole area
was so neat and tidy and they
have done it all
without any help from
Government using
only horse and buggy.
Of course Simon being
Simon, we weren’t
allowed to just go
sightseeing… oh no… we had to
visit some of his favourite bars
like this one in San Ignacio or
one in Belmopan which had this
sign up.
But our time was running out
and sadly we departed Belize City, not missing the city itself, but the new
friends we had made, especially the whole Chanona family and “Chili”
Simon. We made a beautiful overnight stop off one of the Belizean Cays,
where we snorkeled in the most amazing “garden” I’ve ever seen. There
were waving fronds and corals of every imaginable colour with picturesque
coral fish lazily swimming amongst them. Turner could have painted a very
pastoral scene right there.
The next day we ‘cleared out” of Belize at the sleepy little town of Dangriga (16.57.80N 88.12.67W) where
the Garifuna, the descendants of two Spanish slave ships wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent who
intermarried with the Amerindian women, are concentrated in Belize. The story of how they got to
Belize from St.Vincent is worthy of a book in its own right. Our
mission was bureaucratic rather than historical and I must
congratulate the Government of Belize on staffing their offices
with persons with good people skills. Both Customs and
Immigration were polite, efficient and being located in the same
building made our clearance a breeze. They even let us check our
e-mail on our laptop using their in house wifi network.
Incidentally the customs office actually rang our port of entry,
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San Pedro, on his cell phone while we were there to make sure we were legit. Check out the beautiful
certificate we were presented with to be handed in at our next port. The language is old English “hath
here entered and cleared his vessel according to law”
We also did some last minute fruit and vegetable shopping at the excellent market which you can reach
by dinghy as well as by foot. However Dangriga was also the place where we didn’t give the river mouth
a wide enough berth as we departed in Passagemaker and quickly found ourselves hard and fast on a
sand bar quite a way out in the sea. With an onshore breeze and very little tide left we knew we had to
get off ASAP. Luckily Big Bertha didn’t let us down and we literally dredged a channel backwards off the
bar.
By the way fellow sailors, I forgot to mention in previous
newsletters that there is this great French lady Natalie who
will do super original oil paintings of your yacht. We met
her in Port Antonio in Jamaica and in one week, using some
photos of Passagemaker, she did this really “happy”
painting of Passagemaker on a 14” x 11” canvas for US$150.
She even superimposed Navy Island in the background. I
think she is in the US now so if you want a lovely memento
of your sailing days drop her an e-mail at
nathalielabord@yahoo.fr
Next Month: Guatemala and the saga of the broken rudder!!
Footnote for fellow yachties: While cruising the coast of Mexico and Belize, we used various cruising guides and
charts as there didn’t seem to be one comprehensive source of information. For example San Pedro Town which is
Belize’s northernmost Port of Entry, located on the Ambergris Caye, is not even shown on the 1988 US Loran C
chart or on other older charts. It has only a one paragraph mention in the 1982 “Cruising Guide to The Caribbean
and the Bahamas” by Hart and Stone, no mention at all in the 1981 edition of “Northwest Cruising” by Nigel Calder
(but there is a good map of the entry through the reef on page 164) and is only covered in some depth with
channel and anchoring details in the 2009 “Cruising Ports – the Central American Route” by Capt. Pat Rains. But
this same “Cruising Ports” has absolutely no charts of the rather tricky eastern approach to Belize City. So if you
plan to cruise this area walk with as many different cruising guides and charts as you can.
(PPS: I came across a great site for finding older boats. There are some incredible bargains here. Just go to
www.boneyardboats.com )
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