...& New Years in Isla Mujeres
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Wed 2 Jan 2013 19:31
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We very nearly didn't make it to Isla Mujeres for the New
Years celebrations. Moving further north we fall under the influence of the cold
fronts that pour off the coast of the USA with monotonous regularity at this
time of the year. And they can be vicious!
We left Guanaja on the 27th December, hoping to have left the
biting bugs behind (wishful thinking). Motoring out of the anchorage with
memories of a wonderful Christmas Day dinner we sprayed the whole boat through
with insect spray to try and eradicate the 'no see-ums' that had taken up
residence in lockers and clothing just waiting for the opportunity of biting
into our bare flesh one more time. However, we were still being bitten by
the swines two days into the voyage!
  'Alcatraz' - the expanding hotel
on Dunbar Rock, Guanaja 'Carnival Glory' passes us heading
eastwards towards a rising full moon and a new destination
We motored for twelve hours through a windless zone to
the north of Guanaja. Knowing that the forecast had predicted for the wind
to fill in at between 10-15 knots plus in the following 24 hours or so
which, with a favourable north-going current would see us well on our way. A
cold front was predicted to exit the Gulf of Mexico on the 30th December and
affect the area around Isla Mujeres on the 31st whilst weakening all the
time.
Unfortunately, as often happens with weather predictions it
didn't quite turn out that way. We were within nine
miles of our destination waypoint and thirteen miles from the anchorage
when the front loomed ahead of us. First as a squall line and then in the
distance the beginnings of the cold front itself which had not weakened as
predicted. Our wind went from very little from one direction to quite a lot
from another - up to twenty seven knots and almost on the nose. We now had
a lot of work to do to actually get to Isla Mujeres. If we'd had an engine
issue or the front had been stronger then we would have had to look at other
alternatives. As the front heralds north-easterly winds that would have put us
onto a lee coast with few safe harbour entrances. It would have meant
another night at sea heading back the way we had just come! But perseverance won
the day and we clawed our way up the channel in the darkness between Cancun and
Isla Mujeres. Alarmingly, in the rising seas, we saw two large unlit
buoys and were also drenched as the boat scooped up large quantities of sea
water and threw it at us in the cockpit. Our friend who had left the following
day from Guanaja in a faster boat had been clobbered further south by the
front. He had an even worse time than we did getting here.
We dropped anchor in 'Isla' around ten in the evening behind,
we were amazed to discover, our friends on Chanticleer who had
arrived just thirty minutes ahead of us from Florida which is in the
opposite direction! Steve was ably assisted in his delivery of the boat
from Florida by Kent from Southern Mist. Our three boats had been in
Monkey Bay on the Rio Dulce two summers ago so it was a reunion of the
Monkey Bay 6 minus 2. The ladies were still in the States for various reasons.
They'd set their men free for a few days over New Years. Coincidently the last
time we arrived in the 'Isla' anchorage 2 years ago we parked
behind Chanticleer.
The voyage north wasn't without it's rewards though - a
fourteen pound Mahi Mahi took one of our lures. We pulled the fish in with
little effort, which is just as well as 'Skip' had been urgently called up from
his off-watch slumbers and was still in his M&S undies! No wonder the fish
gave up so quickly.
  Mahi Mahi - One of the most amazing fish in the
sea! This is a female. Sorry, we catch so few of these we are posting two pics
of the one fish. Beautiful (M&S's just visible on left - not so
good)
And so to our New Years celebrations. We checked into the
Marina Paraiso for a week, cleared Immigration, Health, Port Captain,
Agriculture and goodness knows who else. It was now time for some fun at the
Bahia Tortuga Bar near the marina.
  Ajaya
'resting' in Marina
Paraiso and
we have a pool to soak our weary bodies in
  We agree
with that
! and
this speaks for itself really
HAPPY NEW YEAR
EVERYBODY
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