Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Charleston

June 6
1500
Charleston City Marina

We arrived in Charleston this morning around 0900 and Intermezzo is tied to the "Mega Dock" at Charleston City Marina, dwarfed by large motor yachts in this upscale neighborhood.

The trip from Port Canaveral was great. Beautiful weather, some nice downwind sailing, a gorgeous sunset, a full moon, a lovely sunrise. We stopped the boat and drifted yesterday to enjoy midday swim off the back of the boat yesterday in the middle of a super calm, deep blue ocean, 60-plus miles offshore. The Gulf Stream petered out about 2/3 of the way here, perfect for timing our arrival at the sea buoy for the Charleston Harbor entrance channel as the sun came up.

As we drew near the entrance channel I noticed big square area delineated on the chart as a Danger Area, a zone with unrestricted surface navigation but where dredging, laying cables, trawling and other subsurface activities are prohibited. Why? It's a former World War II minefield! Here's how Coast Pilot 4, describes the danger:

"The area is open to unrestricted surface navigation but all vessels are cautioned not to anchor, dredge, trawl, lay cables, bottom or conduct any similar type of operation because of residual danger from mines on the bottom. An "anchor at your own risk" anchorage, within the danger area, is on the north side of the entrance channel...The area has been searched on many occasions and no unexploded ordnance has been discovered. Vessels have routinely anchored in this offshore anchorage for many years without mishap."

I like how the Coast Pilot almost encourages one to anchor in this area! Go ahead, drop your anchor here versus anywhere else...no mishaps...yet.

Katherine's first experience crewing on an ocean passage was a successful experience. She learned a lot quickly and stood her watches well, day and night. It was a pleasure having her on board.

It's a big deal getting to Charleston. We're now out of "The Box", the area of the ocean for which Intermezzo is not insured for damage due to named tropical storms after July 1. We're going to spend the next couple of days exploring the town, then I'll be leaving Intermezzo here for little while to return to California for a business meeting and check in on my land life. I'll post pictures of our recent journey before I leave.

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Heading to Charleston, SC

June 16
1030
28.6N 80.3W

We departed Port Canaveral early this morning and are on our way to Charleston, a two day passage away.

Katherine (not Kathy!) joined Intermezzo on Friday afternoon, taking the train from Charleston to Orlando and then renting a car to get to Port Canaveral. Katherine is a nurse practitioner who received her doctorate in nursing from NYU, my daughter Hannah's nursing alma mater. Small world. She's a seasoned surfer who loves the water but this is her first real sailing experience. She's standing her first watch now, after a crash course in the basics. I'll be close by if she has questions, needs help or something exceptional occurs. So it's me, Lisa and Katherine sailing triple-handed.

Yesterday the three of us visited the Kennedy Space Center. It was a nostalgic visit for Lisa and me, both of us last visiting when we were kids when the place was called Cape Kennedy and was the thick of the Apollo program, a bustling, working space center. Now it is more a museum/theme-park, although there is light activity related to commercial space ventures, like Elon Musk's SpaceX, and the Orion program which will provide the US with post-Shuttle space vehicle and resume moon missions. It was a very moving experience to relive the spirit of the early space program for Lisa and I, so much so for me that I am writing an essay reflecting on my thoughts and feelings to post on my "non-sailing" blog, Steve's Words.

This should be a calm passage to Charleston. Surface high pressure north of us will shift east and become stationary, resulting in moderate south to southeast winds. Or so it is suggested by the National Weather Service. So far the direction of the wind matches that suggestion, but it is very light. The Gulf Stream moves further offshore as we go north, so we are only getting about a 1-2 knot push. We'll probably end up motoring or motor-sailing most of the way.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Port Canaveral

We arrived at Port Canaveral this morning and Intermezzo is on an end-tie at Cape Marina.

The second half of our passage was uneventful, save for one brief squall where the wind shifted to the north and blew close to 30 knots, creating choppy seas and with some heavy rain. We sailed through the squall with just a double-reefed jib, making over 11 knots boat speed. After the squall, the wind continued to blow from the north, on our nose and the Gulf Stream moved further offshore, bringing our motoring speed down to a normal 6 knots, perfect for an early morning arrival at the Port Canaveral channel.

Port Canaveral is industrial and utilitarian, with accents of tourism and recreation. There are three large cruise ship terminals, a small cargo port, a big silo for cement, a coast guard and a navy installation. The marinas/boatyards are older, practical, well-kept and cater mostly to sport fishing boats, small and large. There are a few seafood restaurants/bars along the waterfront. There is a sparse look about the place, a quietness, a feeling of being out of the mainstream. To continue inland along the channel, a boat has to pass through a bascule (draw) bridge and then through a lock, installed to eliminate storm surge from entering inland waters during hurricanes.

Today, after resting from our overnight passage, we are going to explore the immediate area. Kathy will arrive later this afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to tour the Cape Canaveral Space Center. I originally planned to depart from here around midnight tomorrow to arrive in Charleston around noon. However, that was based on my 5 knot passage planning speed. Given my recent experiences with the Gulf Stream and actual average boat speeds closer to 7 high knots, we might leave early Sunday morning instead. I'll discuss with the crew.

Thursday, June 13, 2019

Biscayne Bay

June 13
0900
Miami Sea Buoy

We arrived in Biscayne Bay and took a mooring ball outside Dinner Key Marina, located in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, at 1000 on Tuesday morning. We slipped our lines this morning at 0600 for our passage to Port Canaveral.

The two days spent in Biscayne Bay passed quickly. Chris and Lisa toured the area while I mostly tended to the boat and got some business done. Chris got small Airbnb studio to get a break from the boat and enjoy some air conditioning. She and I enjoyed a nice, semi-fancy dinner out on Tuesday night.

I didn't do much exploring on shore, just some short walks in the vicinity of the marina. I'm in a bit of funk from being back in mainstream America with the boat, which feels like an expensive dependent. I had to do quite a bit of searching to find dockage in Port Canaveral and Charleston, wondering with some anxiety about what I would do if I couldn't find a place. Fortunately I found marinas that could accommodate me. The one in Charleston, where I will be leaving Intermezzo for a couple of weeks is pretty expensive, $600 per week. I paid $440 per month for my slip in San Francisco Bay, $800 per month for the slip in La Paz, in comparison. I think dockage is going to be an issue going forward as it seems few marinas can accommodate catamarans. I'll anchor out or take a mooring ball wherever I can, but am now prepared to have to plan ahead and expect high prices when I want or need a berth for Intermezzo.

Christine decided to continue her adventures on land, so its just Lisa and me sailing to Port Canaveral. Lisa invited a friend of hers from Charleston to join us for the passage there. Kathy is taking the train and then renting a car to meet us in Port Canaveral on Friday. We are all looking forward to touring the Cape Canaveral space center. The last time I was there I was probably less than 10 years old, same for Lisa and Kathy has never been.

It's very calm out, with light winds from the southeast this morning. It is suggested that these conditions will continue for most of our trip, though some northerly winds are suggested for the last bit. A bigger concern are the big thunderstorms in southern Florida and its coastal waters. These isolated storms can generate wind gusts of 45 mph, heavy rain and waterspouts, not to mention lightning. We'll keep a lookout for them, by eye in the day, by radar at night and avoid them if we can. If we can't, we'll batten down the hatches and ride it out. Fortunately they don't last long and Intermezzo can easily handle such conditions, as long as we get sails down quick enough.

Biscayne Bay

June 13
0900
Miami Sea Buoy

We arrived in Biscayne Bay and took a mooring ball outside Dinner Key Marina, located in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, at 1000 on Tuesday morning. We slipped our lines this morning at 0600 for our passage to Port Canaveral.

The passage from Key West was uneventful, other than the speed we achieved with the help of the Gulf Stream. There was no reasonable way to get the boat to go slower than 6 knots, so we arrived at Biscayne Inlet before sunrise, a narrow inlet I didn't want to navigate without good light. I stopped the engines about five miles from the inlet approach and let Intermezzo drift in flat seas to kill some time. The Gulf Stream still pushed us along at 3 knots!

The two days spent in Biscayne Bay passed quickly. Chris and Lisa toured the area while I mostly tended to the boat and got some business done. Chris got small Airbnb studio to get a break from the boat and enjoy some air conditioning. She and I enjoyed a nice, semi-fancy dinner out on Tuesday night.

I didn't do much exploring on shore, just some short walks in the vicinity of the marina. I'm in a bit of funk from being back in mainstream America with the boat, which feels like an expensive dependent. I had to do quite a bit of searching to find dockage in Port Canaveral and Charleston, wondering with some anxiety about what I would do if I couldn't find a place. Fortunately I found marinas that could accommodate me. The one in Charleston, where I will be leaving Intermezzo for a couple of weeks is pretty expensive, $600 per week. I paid $440 per month for my slip in San Francisco Bay, $800 per month for the slip in La Paz, in comparison. I think dockage is going to be an issue going forward as it seems few marinas can accommodate catamarans. I'll anchor out or take a mooring ball wherever I can, but am now prepared to have to plan ahead and expect high prices when I want or need a berth for Intermezzo.

Christine decided to continue her adventures on land. She was good crew, graced the boat with her love of the blue sea and she will be missed. So, its just Lisa and me sailing to Port Canaveral. Lisa invited a friend of hers from Charleston to join us for the passage there. Kathy is taking the train and then renting a car to meet us in Port Canaveral on Friday. We are all looking forward to touring the Cape Canaveral space center. The last time I was there I was probably less than 10 years old, same for Lisa and Kathy has never been.

It's very calm out, with light winds from the southeast this morning. It is suggested that these conditions will continue for most of our trip, though some northerly winds are suggested for the last bit. A bigger concern are the big thunderstorms in southern Florida and its coastal waters. These isolated storms can generate wind gusts of 45 mph, heavy rain and waterspouts, not to mention lightning. We'll keep a lookout for them, by eye in the day, by radar at night and avoid them if we can. If we can't, we'll batten down the hatches and ride it out. Fortunately they don't last long and Intermezzo can easily handle such conditions, as long as we get sails down quick enough.

Biscayne Bay

June 13
0900
Miami Sea Buoy

We arrived in Biscayne Bay and took a mooring ball outside Dinner Key Marina, located in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, at 1000 on Tuesday morning. We slipped our lines this morning at 0600 for our passage to Port Canaveral.

The passage from Key West was uneventful, other than the speed we achieved with the help of the Gulf Stream. There was no reasonable way to get the boat to go slower than 6 knots, so we arrived at Biscayne Inlet before sunrise, a narrow inlet I didn't want to navigate without good light. I stopped the engines about five miles from the inlet approach and let Intermezzo drift in flat seas to kill some time. The Gulf Stream still pushed us along at 3 knots!

The two days spent in Biscayne Bay passed quickly. Chris and Lisa toured the area while I mostly tended to the boat and got some business done. Chris got small Airbnb studio to get a break from the boat and enjoy some air conditioning. She and I enjoyed a nice, semi-fancy dinner out on Tuesday night.

I didn't do much exploring on shore, just some short walks in the vicinity of the marina. I'm in a bit of funk from being back in mainstream America with the boat, which feels like an expensive dependent. I had to do quite a bit of searching to find dockage in Port Canaveral and Charleston, wondering with some anxiety about what I would do if I couldn't find a place. Fortunately I found marinas that could accommodate me. The one in Charleston, where I will be leaving Intermezzo for a couple of weeks is pretty expensive, $600 per week. I paid $440 per month for my slip in San Francisco Bay, $800 per month for the slip in La Paz, in comparison. I think dockage is going to be an issue going forward as it seems few marinas can accommodate catamarans. I'll anchor out or take a mooring ball wherever I can, but am now prepared to have to plan ahead and expect high prices when I want or need a berth for Intermezzo.

Christine decided to continue her adventures on land, so its just Lisa and me sailing to Port Canaveral. Lisa invited a friend of hers from Charleston to join us for the passage there. Kathy is taking the train and then renting a car to meet us in Port Canaveral on Friday. We are all looking forward to touring the Cape Canaveral space center. The last time I was there I was probably less than 10 years old, same for Lisa and Kathy has never been.

It's very calm out, with light winds from the southeast this morning. It is suggested that these conditions will continue for most of our trip, though some northerly winds are suggested for the last bit. A bigger concern are the big thunderstorms in southern Florida and its coastal waters. These isolated storms can generate wind gusts of 45 mph, heavy rain and waterspouts, not to mention lightning. We'll keep a lookout for them, by eye in the day, by radar at night and avoid them if we can. If we can't, we'll batten down the hatches and ride it out. Fortunately they don't last long and Intermezzo can easily handle such conditions, as long as we get sails down quick enough.

Monday, June 10, 2019

To Biscayne Bay

June 10
1400
24.5N 81.3W

Intermezzo departed Key West this morning at 0800 after topping off the diesel tanks. Lisa almost took an unintentional early morning swim by trying to step onto the dock at the wrong time while we were pulling in. I attribute it to her dancing at a club until 1:30 a.m. last night, an activity that I did not participate in so as to be well-rested for our passage. I am a very responsible but boring captain.

We are heading to Biscayne Bay where we hope to take a mooring ball near Dinner Key, very close to the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami. At my planning speed of 5 knots, it would take us about 30 hours to get there, so we left Key West pretty early this morning. However, the Gulf Stream is an amazing conveyor belt and we are making 6.5 knots with no wind and an engine running at only minimum rpms. If we continue at this speed we will at the Biscayne Inlet before sunrise and will have to hover outside on the ocean until there is enough light to safely navigate the shallow, narrow inlet and its shoals.

It is hot in the still air. All we have to cool the inside of the boat are small fans. Outside in the shade and bit of breeze it is a little cooler. The heat caused me to reflect on the three-plus years of living on the boat in the tropics with no air conditioning. Most of the larger boats here in Florida do have A/C and I can understand why. Yet, I'm actually glad that Intermezzo does not have air conditioning. For one it is another system to deal with, one that consumes a lot of power and can only be used when plugged in at a marina, unless we also had a generator. That would be yet another expensive, complicated, heavy piece of machinery to have on board. Most of all, I've learned to tolerate the humid heat. I sweat and swelter, but I have learned to slow down, avoid being in the direct sun, drink a lot of water, go swimming and take lots of showers. Now when I go into air conditioned space, it feels icy-cold, like a freezer. A pleasant respite, but very artificial feeling. And it makes the heat feel 10 times worse when you step out of air conditioning.

I did a lot of passage research yesterday and learned some things that altered my plans.

There are two near shore routes from Key West to Miami, one "inside" (to the north) of the keys, one "outside" (to the south) between the keys and the outlying reefs. These routes are pretty well protected so are used by smaller vessels. For some reason, despite having sailed Intermezzo for nearly 12,000 miles on mostly open ocean, I initially decided to plot a course along the outside route. Then I started looking at the details and discovered that virtually none of the navigation aids that establish the route are illuminated. That would mean not being able to travel at night, cutting the distance we could sail each day in half. And then it occurred to me that I would be miss out on getting a big push from the Gulf Stream, which lies about four miles off the outline reef. Duh. We're sailing the "outside outside" route in the nice big open ocean. I figure the guidebooks that are devoted to the two inshore routes and silent about sailing in the ocean are written for winter conditions when the prevailing northeast winds blowing against the current cause very uncomfortable, sometimes very rough seas.

Further on up the road, I was planning on ocean passages with rest stops in Miami, Port Canaveral and Jacksonville before reaching the final destination for this leg at Charleston, SC. I discovered that getting to Jacksonville from and back to the ocean involves over 20 miles of travel on the St. John's river each way. That's too far. So now I'm planning to skip the rest stop in Jacksonville and sail all the way to Charleston from Port Canaveral, which be a 2 1/2 day passage. This plan also gives us a bit more wiggle room to wait out bad weather if we need to. I'd like to get to Charleston sooner rather than later, as I need to fly back to California for business no later than June 24. I'm cutting it pretty close and eliminating the Jacksonville stop eases the pressure from schedule slightly.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

Key West Arrival

June 6
1700
Key West, FL USA

We tied up at Key West Bight Marina at 0808 this morning and competed all the formalities for entering the United States effortlessly.

Last night the wind picked up from the south around 0230 and we sailed all the rest of the way to the Key West sea buoy on bumpy seas, arriving there at 0600. We were sailing so fast on a near beam reach that I had to furl the jib to slow the boat down to time our arrival for sunrise.

We followed the cruise ship Norwegian Sky through the narrow ship channel into Key West Harbor and then onto the marina where I had booked a slip for a couple of nights. We had to parallel park Intermezzo between two large motor yachts in a spot along the dock only 10 feet longer than the boat. We backed in with precision and the crew handled the lines well, a flawless performance, but with no audience to appreciate it.

The CBP Roam app made clearing into the US really easy. I entered data for for the boat and crew, including photos of our passports, and then reported our entry into the USA online via the app. After about a 20 minute wait, I received notice that a Customs and Border Patrol office was inviting me to a video conference. We connected, he asked me a few questions and then I passed my phone around so that he could speak with and confirm the identity of the rest of the crew. Everyone was legally admitted into the US in less than five minutes, even Lisa who couldn't resist hamming it up for the camera in her bikini for the officer, who appeared as a featureless, motionless white round head and torso icon, not unlike the symbol for a men's room. They might want to work on that aspect of the app for future versions.

Today we mostly cleaned up and rested after our overnight sail. Chris booked us on a wreck dive for tomorrow morning. Forrest will unload his bike from Intermezzo's hold, assemble it and ride off to Miami tomorrow morning. He's meeting a friend there who is going to ride with him up to Maine over the next couple of months. We'll set sail for our next port of call on Monday morning.

Friday, June 7, 2019

Sailing From Dry Tortugas to Key West

June 6
2100
24.5N 82.6W

We're sailing overnight from Dry Tortugas to Key West. We weighed anchor at 1800 and are heading to deeper water outside the reef to make for safer, easier night sailing. There is barely any wind, so we are motoring along making six knots; so far no significant current detected yet.

Yesterday we took the dinghy to Loggerhead Key, about three miles from Dry Tortuga and explore the island and do some snorkeling. There is a big lighthouse on the key and the lighthouse keeper's house is inhabited by a research intern studying turtles. It's a pretty place, low lying vegetation and a few palm tress surrounded by white sand beach and turquoise water.

Last night while at anchor in Bird Key a big grouper came to visit us. We figured it was about five feet long, fat as a barrel, probably 200 lbs or more. We all dove into the water with masks and snorkels to look at the big beast.

Today we mostly lazed around, did some boat chores and prepared the boat for departure.

When we get to Key West we'll check in officially to the USA. I'm going to try an app on my iPhone, CBP Roam, which lets you report you entry into the US remotely, send photos of everyone's passports and get interviewed by a Customs and Border Patrol agent by video. No need to leave the boat. It will be great if it works.

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Dry Tortugas, Welcome to the United States

June 6
0900
Dry Tortugas

We dropped anchor in Garden Key Harbor, 500 yards off the ramparts of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park at 1015 yesterday morning (June 5) and enjoyed a day of exploring the fort and snorkeling its surrounding waters. And getting a violation notice from the United States District Court handed to me by an officer of the National Park Service, my first official welcome back to US waters; more about that later.

The final 24 hours of our passage here from Isla Mujeres was not as enjoyable as the first 30. The wind shifted north and we not only lost the favorable Yucatán current that had been pushing us along, we encountered an unexpected 1-2 knot foul southwesterly current. We had to motor sail with both engines running for eight hours to keep up 5 knots of boat speed and run one engine the rest of the way here. Nature giveth and Nature taketh away.

Dry Tortugas is a group of six small keys among reefs in an area about six miles in diameter. The water is a palette of blues, dark blue in the deep channels, lighter blue in shallower water, turquoise along the edges of the reefs, aquamarine in the shallowest waters. The reefs block the ocean swells, so the waters inside them are calm, lake-like. Underwater is full of life- coral, sea grass, small reef fish, big barracudas, tarpons, groupers. The air is filled with birds, mostly Naughty Brown Terns, which live up to their moniker by landing on the boat and using it as a latrine.

Fort Jefferson is a huge hexagonal structure three levels high, the walls punctuated with gun ports for cannons, huge cannons spaced around the perimeter of the roof with thick-walled and -roofed magazines in between them for the ammunition. Construction of the fort began in 1846 and continued for 30 years but was never finished as military technology advanced so as make brick masonry fortifications not strong enough to resist the power and accuracy of naval gunnery. During the Civil War, the fort was a Union military prison. The masonry of ramparts at the top of the fort is a dark red, different than the tan-brown of the walls below, as the brick to top off the walls needed to be shipped from Maine when the original supply from Florida was interrupted by the war. Four men convicted of complicity in Abraham Lincoln's assassination were imprisoned in the fort including Dr. Mudd, the physician who treated John Wilkes Booth's broken leg. Mudd was later pardoned by President Andrew Johnson for his service treating other prisoners.

We did some snorkeling among the ruins of an old dock and below the modern dock in the harbor, an activity we later discovered to be illegal but which we did without being observed. What was observed was our crossing of a closed, protected area of water in the dinghy in search of a wreck to snorkel around. I attribute this violation of park rules and common sense to fatigue after sailing for 54 hours, poor vision from not having any glasses onboard the dinghy and exuberance. The ranger who observed us issued me a citation, which was reasonable and accepted with regrets, not so much for violating a rule but for running my dinghy through an environmentally sensitive area, albeit by mistake and at slow speed and carefully. What does tweak me a bit about national parks is how over time rangers have changed from mostly being guides to and protectors of the parks to a police force, armed and with their citation books at the ready. Despite being clearly cooperative, apologetic and non-threatening, the ranger who cited me told us to all stay in the cockpit where he could see us while he ran my driver's license for outstanding warrants. Today I saw the same ranger walking around the fort with holding his ticket book in the open, dangling from his hand. I'm all for protecting our parks and I take responsibility for my violation of the rules, but this seems a bit much, like a predator hunting for prey.

We're moving the boat so that it is further away and out of view of the NPS Gestapo, close the the reefs where we can snorkel legally. We'll stay here until tomorrow evening when we'll weigh anchor and do an overnight sail to Key West and make our official entry into the USA. I hope we receive a warmer welcome from the government than we did here. For my part I'll try to obey the maritime rules better, despite there being so many more than where we've been sailing for the past 3 1/2 years.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

Good Sailing Off the Coast of Cuba

June 4
1000
23.3N 84.6W

We're making great progress on our passage from Isla Mujeres to Dry Tortugas. Our average speed has been so good that we should arrive tomorrow morning rather than in the afternoon.

It took more time than usual to slip our dock lines from El Milagro Marina early yesterday morning. The four of the five lines were attached to pilings far from the dock, requiring us to haul Intermezzo to each piling so that we could remove the line looped around it. The crew demonstrated good coordination and teamwork as I inspired them with a posture of regal command at the helm and provided firm but gentle guidance.

The current in the Yucatán Channel is amazing! That is, if you are heading northeast like we are; god help you if you are sailing the opposite direction. We had a nice 15 knot wind on a close reach which would normally move Intermezzo along at a solid 5+ knots. With the current pushing us along as well, we sailed along at 9 to 10 knots for most of the morning, before the current eased as we approached Cuba and we dropped to a very nice 7 to 8 knots for the afternoon. By evening the current had dropped off a lot and we were making our own way through the water, a combination, mostly motor sailing through light winds and calm seas.

Forrest has proven to have good aptitude of standing watch. He pays close attention, asks good questions, takes his role seriously and is clearly enjoying himself.

Lisa's sailing experience gives me a solid second in command (which let's me get some sleep) and I really appreciate how she adapts her experience to Intermezzo's characteristics and my sailing style. Very lucky to have her on board for this trip.

Christine has also come alone well with understanding all the numbers and displays on the instruments and how they relate to my "Skipper's Instructions" related to navigation, ship traffic, wind and weather. She made a great first night's dinner for a hungry crew.

So, we're sailing a solid "four up" crew configuration, each of us standing solo watches while the others sleep, eat, relax or do boat chores. We're standing three 4-hour watches in the daytime and six 2-hour watches at night, the latter at Lisa's suggestion. The 2-hour watches go by very quickly for the person on watch and everyone gets six hours of sleep at night, plus plenty of nap time during the day. It seems to be working well.

The weather has been great, sunny with scattered cumulus clouds, the water a deep cornflower blue. We had a brief but heavy rain shower yesterday morning, some impressive lightning from a cloud in the distance, but otherwise conditions have been pleasantly benign.

Ship traffic has been heavy, but the officers on watch very polite and accommodating when we have contacted them to coordinate crossings while under sail. In fact for the first time in experience, a ship's officer contacted us by radio to let us know they knew we were under sail, acknowledging that we had right-of-way and letting me know how they intended to pass by us. Maybe a new guy, maybe bored, maybe just a real, courteous professional. In any case, I acknowledged and thanked him for being so polite.

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Leaving Isla Mujeres, Bound for Dry Tortugas

Intermezzo is leaving Isla Mujeres after a pleasant nine day rest here at El Milagro Marina. We set sail tomorrow morning at 0600 for Dry Tortugas, a U.S. National Park about 70 miles west of Key West.

I was fortunate to have found good crew for the passage after Roy left to pursue his job opportunity in Australia. Christine, my friend from La Paz flew here to go diving with me and enjoy some island time. She agreed with some enthusiasm when I asked her if she would help me get the boat to Florida. She contacted her friend Lisa, an experienced sailor who I met on the 2016 Baja Ha Ha, who hopped on a plane from Seattle on short notice to join Intermezzo's crew. The roster is rounded out by Forrest, a young man who I met when I first arrived who rode his bicycle here from Virginia. I'm fortunate and grateful to have found such a great crew on such short notice.

The weather suggestion for our passage looks good, winds from the east, around 15 knots. Not a great direction for our ENE sail, so we'll likely be motor sailing most of the way but through calm seas. The Gulf Stream current will help us move along. If we can keep up an average speed over ground of 5 knots, we should arrive on Wednesday around 1600. If we can't make that speed, we'll end up having to heave to overnight to wait for daylight before navigating through the reefs to the Dry Tortugas anchorage.

I really enjoyed Isla Mujeres. It is a mostly peaceful little island with only a few big hotels despite being only six miles offshore of the big resort destination of Cancun. The reefs surrounding the island are in pretty good shape and the water is crystal clear and warm, great for diving and snorkeling. Christine and I dove a wreck lying a few miles off the south end of the island and a beautiful reef a bit closer in. The next day we took the dinghy on an excursion to explore snorkeling sites.

We also got in the water to clean Intermezzo's bottom of marine growth. The Mexican antifouling paint applied over two years ago is getting thin, but still working well. Funny, when we looked under the dock to which Intermezzo is tied, we saw more fish than on any of our other dives! The school of palometas was so dense that if you shot a spear through it, you would have at least a six-fish shush kebab. Big groupers and snappers swam lazily around this school, some the size of and as plump as a small Thanksgiving turkey.

The El Milagro Marina is a great place. It is a small rustic hotel with a single wooden dock, brightly painted and nicely decorated. It has a communal kitchen for the use of hotel and marina guests, a big breezy open-air lobby, a small pool and a little beach, complete with complimentary kayaks and paddle boards. The bathrooms are kept impeccably clean and there a big outdoor showers with plentiful hot water. The staff takes good care of the place and is very helpful and friendly. Highly recommended as a place to stay, with or without boat.

It feels a bit strange knowing that Intermezzo will be back in U.S. waters again in a few days. It's been three years and seven months since we left San Diego and crossed into Mexico. A return to more rules, more regulations and more expensive.