Isla Mujeres Mexico

Our Hydrovane steering system with the bolt that was
slightly loose circled in red.  The equivalent one on the
starboard side was also a tiny bit loose

We dropped our anchor at 1235hrs on 8 May in the main harbour at Isla Mujeres.  The space for yachts is known as ‘The Drag Strip’ because it has a reputation for poor holding on sea grass so, given the forecast strong winds, it seemed sensible to snorkel out to check the anchor.  Our Rocna anchor was nicely dug in with just the hoop showing which was reassuring.  The anchorage is 4 metres deep where we are, and we laid out 50metres of chain which should avoid any shock loading on the anchor and reduced the potential for dragging in the gusts.  With the anchor checked, we turned to jobs.  I tightened up the 2 loose bolts on the Hydrovane, which we had eventually spotted on the passage north. For some time now, we’ve noticed a small movement in the main Hydrovane shaft; very rarely, but we had both seen it.  Typically, when we had investigated nothing had moved!  However, on the last passage I was actually looking at the frame when it moved so I now knew exactly where to check.  I tightened up the offending bolt (and checked all the others just to be sure) and almost as soon as I was out of the water, Gavin from Jump came out to say hello and let us know about how things were working here and the morning VHF net on Ch67.  He and Katherine both know Robert and Carla on Moody Mistress and so we were able to let them know that Moody Mistress would be arriving in a couple of hours’ time.

The last of our fresh tuna from Roatan – it’ll be time to get our fishing rod out again on the next passage!

When we had called the Port Captain shortly before entering the harbour, he had been quite clear that we were not allowed ashore because he would be unable to formally check us into Mexico immediately (had we gone to a marina rather than to the anchorage, an agent would have been able to fulfil all the requirements but, doubtless, at great cost) .  In these Covid-19 pandemic times, check in is a somewhat more complex procedure than previously and, critically, involves international health as well as immigration.  Consequently, the Harbour Master advised us that the earliest we would be able to check in would be Monday.  That was not an issue for us and we were quite happy to keep the yellow Q flag flying over the weekend.  Mexico has a high incidence of Covid 19 and the last thing we want to do is mix with anyone who might have the virus prior to our setting off on an international passage.  So, after our 2 nights at sea we decided to treat ourselves to sundowners with the last of the fresh tuna that we had bought in Roatan from our friendly fisherman, Red. Perfect with some soy sauce, wasabi paste and a splash or 2 of white wine.

Sunset over the Yucatan Peninsula

Our first attempt at arepas

The sunset was a spectacular one, thoroughly deserving of Red’s excellent tuna.  Then, with dusk becoming dark, we retreated below to have a go at making arepas for dinner, following the guidance we’d received from Karl and Conner on Contigo.  Accompanied with stir fried chicken and vegetables they were a big success.

Saturday 9 May, Liberation Day back at home, was a tech and admin day for us.  I listened to the local VHF radio net first thing whilst Nicky listened to Chris Parker’s weather forecast on the SSB radio.  The weather forecast suggested that mid-week might be the first time we could sensibly move on, whilst the local VHF net gave us an idea of who else was in the anchorage and informed new arrivals like us that, if we wanted to check-in, Tue would now be the first opportunity for that.  It seems that there are a lot of yachts that have been waiting here for a while looking to move on towards Florida.  We think Wed might be a serious option for us to take; perhaps we’ll be one of many?

Jury rigged reinforcement of the stainless frame on the binnacle – we’d spotted cracks in 2 of the welds en route up to Isla Mujeres

Tech wise we did lots of jobs; one of the advantages of being confined to the yacht. First up was to put some Creeping Crack sealant around the chart table window, the forward heads window and the forepeak hatch to try to stop some leaks; quite minor ones around the two windows but a more significant leak from the forepeak hatch.  Then we ran the watermaker and filled up the tanks.  Whilst that was going on, I took the steering compass to pieces to replace the port compass light bulb, but actually it turned out that the starboard bulb was just about to blow as well, so I replaced both.  As ever, it was a bit of a job but at least we’ll be able to clearly see the compass at night now.  On a slightly more complicated and large scale, I cut some plywood pads and fitted them with jubilee clips (pipe clamps) to reinforce the binnacle.  Whilst on passage up here I had realised that the stainless steel frame on the binnacle had felt slightly loose.  On closer examination I spotted that some cracks had appeared in the welds; not good as the frame is both a grab handle and supports the steering position’s chart plotter.  Taking the plotter and all the wiring apart is a big job and with the pandemic restrictions I’m not sure that we could get the frame rewelded easily or quickly, so we’ll tackle the proper fix later.  For now though, the plywood and jubilee clips ‘bodge’ has made it all rigid again so hopefully that will hold it secure until we can find a friendly stainless steel welder.  To finish of the tech work, I replaced a couple of wooden plugs in the cockpit teak to keep that sealed against the imminent rain.

Admin-wise, Nicky worked on communications and on setting up some tracking and monitoring ready for when we set off across the Atlantic.  The Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA), primary callsign KPK, has set up a tracking and monitoring service for yachts heading offshore and across the Atlantic, so Nicky registered us on their system by filing a US Coast Guard float plan with them.  We also think it highly likely that we will bounce through Florida before setting off across the Atlantic so she sent emails to friends there letting them know that we might be inbound and finding out about the current state of play for arriving yachts.  Finally, she checked on the OCC Atlantic West to East SSB Net.  She had been a Net Controller but, being so far west, we’ve not been able to hear many of the en route yachts well.  So one of the other yachts has taken on her Net Control duties for the time being but Nicky still follows progress via the Net Controller’s reports.  Happily our friends are all doing well so far: Zwailer has reached the Azores and is soon to depart for the UK and Innamorata II and Balou who set off a couple of weeks ago are both making progress back towards England.

Acapulco after she had re-anchored

Overnight Saturday into Sunday it was very windy and rainy, just as forecast and exactly why we had arrived here!  A particularly vicious squall very early on drove us out of the bunk to check on things outside.  And we’re very glad that we got up too!  We spotted Acapulco was dragging her anchor and drifting rapidly onto us.  We shouted; lots of nearby crews shouted and Nicky fired up the motor whilst I tried to get the foghorn going.  They hurtled by, missing us only because Nicky had steered BV out of the way.  We are so lucky that we’d popped up on deck at just that moment or it might have been a big collision.  We saw a couple of other yachts drag and later heard that Moody Mistress had dragged in the night and had needed to reset their anchor.  The anchorage is living up to its ‘Drag Alley’ nickname!

The morning weather forecasts suggested that Wed or possibly even Tue, was looking like the first viable opportunity to leave.  It also confirmed that the Florida Strait, between Key West and Cuba, was experiencing the predicted line of violent tropical squalls with torrential rain, lightening and gust up to 50 knots.

I didn’t want to get my camera wet so I took these photos after the rain had eased considerably.  At the worst of the rain showers we could barely see the closest yachts to us

In the safety of the harbour, we experienced the edge of the instability that was triggering the more violent squalls out to sea.  At times the rain was so heavy that we could barely see the yachts anchored close to us (they were just 50 metres away), the wind came from all directions and it was strong enough to pull out 2 yachts’ anchors.

Removing the old Sikaflex sealant from around the hatch and the hole in the deck

Our forehatch leak, which we had discovered when waves had come over the deck during our passage here, was a concern but fixing it properly was a big job and we didn’t have the correct sealant on board.  However, Moody Mistress announced on the radio that they had needed to seal a leak at their staysail attachment point and so had opened and partly used a tube of Sikaflex, which was now available to anyone who wanted it.  So we took them up on the offer and spent the rest of the day working on the forehatch.  The most difficult part of the job was getting the hatch off, a tricky job made even more difficult because of the heavy rain showers.  Getting a scraper in under the hatch edge at the forward side of the hatch was quite straightforward and here it seemed quite easy to break the seal between the hatch and the deck (a clue perhaps?!).  But getting under the hatch surrounds along the sides and, in particular, along the aft edge was almost impossible and, inevitably, here the old sealant was still in good condition and not keen to give up its grip on the hatch.  Eventually, I succeeded by gradually prising up the hatch with wedges made from old wooden clothes pegs and then cutting slowly away at the sealant using a loose Stanley knife blade, flat in the gutter around the hatch, which I slid slowly back and forth with my bare fingers.  It was a very long, very slow process and not one I wish to repeat.  Eventually, after 4 or 5 hours of work the last of the old sealant popped and we could remove the hatch.  And, much to our relief, it looks as if the old sealant had failed near the forward port corner and in a couple of other small places.  At least we hadn’t done all that work for nothing!

Nicky masking up the area ready for applying the Sikaflex; it’s awful stuff to work with and gets everywhere!

So then we had to clean up the deck and the hatch, scraping off the old sealant and using plenty of acetone to remove the final traces, before re-bedding the hatch back in position.  Happily, the showers let up for a while and, with the new Sikaflex gunge cleaned up and the masking tape removed, we put the forepeak tent back up over the hatch to keep our work dry whilst the sealant set.

And after a day of stress, heavy rain and strong winds suddenly, just before sunset, it went calm.  It was another beautiful sunset.

The following morning, Monday 11 May, we studied the weather forecasts minutely.  Tuesday was looking like a possible departure day but Wednesday was looking much more likely as was Thursday.  By Friday it seemed likely that there would be no wind!  So, last minute jobs were the priority.  Nicky covered the admin: KPK wanted us to set up our InReach to send messages direct to their automated yacht reporting database so there was work to be done with the InReach as well as with our HF/SSB Sailmail account.  But the system, tested out okay so we have 2 means of reporting in that all is well on board.  Nicky also sent off paperwork to the duty Maritime Officer in Bermuda and health officials in case we divert there and she contacted Richie and Susan Goldstein, friends in Fort Lauderdale, to see if we could meet up with them should we stop in there.  I changed the filters for the watermaker, checked the main engine and generator oil levels, refitted the trim around the forehatch to finish that job, and then quickly gave BV’s bottom a clean (it didn’t really need it) so that we sail as fast as we can.  We also met Andre from a Swedish yacht Chibiderra who might be setting off at about the same time as us.

Overnight into Tuesday 12 May we had a disturbed night with strong winds and rain and the anchor alarm going off a couple of times as the boat swung around her anchor with the wind changing direction.  Keen as we were to move on, it was not really a viable option.  The wind was forecast to be too northeasterly and very strong (25kt).  Wednesday’s GriBs looked much better but the wind would still be very strong in the Florida Straits.  The weatherman recommended a departure on Friday but if we leave too late in the week there will be absolutely no wind and we’ll be motoring not sailing.  In harbour, however, the weather was much improved on previous days with sunshine and more blue skies.

At around 1000hrs we got a message that the Port Captain wanted us to go ashore to check-in.  Neither we nor Moody Mistress were keen to go ashore: one Covid-19 patient was evacuated from the island on the Monday and having come from an island with no infection we were keen to minimise the risk of exposure to it, particularly just before potentially setting off on a transatlantic passage.  However, not unreasonably, the Port Captain insisted that we go ashore to do the paperwork, so we took Robert and Carla from Moody Mistresswith us to have a temperature check, fill out the Customs and Immigration paperwork, and to pay our fees (US$37pp).  We also booked a check-out for Wed morning.

Back aboard Nicky redid the sealant around the galley sink – one of those final, final jobs that has been on the list for far longer than it should have.  And we pored over recipe ideas for passage food (aka ‘how to jazz up rice and beans’), drank tea and wrote up this blog entry.  Only the whole of our time in Roatan to catch up now…….  If all goes well, the final, final, final chores for tomorrow will be a weather check followed by Customs and Immigration and them packing the dinghy away.

Isla Mujeres, Mexico