August, 2004:

Still enroute to Isla Mujeres. Weather has been clear with light winds, so we’ve been mostly motorsailing. Though last night we got some great wind again and shut off the diesel and let Andiamo rip. It was great sailing, mostly 12-15 knots of wind off the port beam, kept us cruising along at around 7 knots. We probably could have gone a knot or two faster, but there was a strong current from Yucatan Channel working against us.

It was also pretty eventful, we got ambushed by a fast-moving thunderstorm that spun off the coast of Cuba and slammed us from behind. It was a bit hectic getting the boat into the wind to get our sails in, but we managed, and soon after, the storm passed over us. There was another HUGE thunderhead coming off Cuba that we had no desire to meet upclose and personal, so we shifted course to avoid it. That one was blazing with lightning activity, with lots of ground level strikes. Yikes!

Then, just when all got nice and quiet, a small finch-like bird headed right into the cabin of the boat. At first, we thought it may have been a bat, but Lucy was on the case, and literally grabbed the bird within minutes. She brought it back up into the cockpit, where we had to pry it out of her mouth so it could get free. It didn’t appear to be hurt, but it flew over to our swim steps and just stayed there. Lucy was ready to grab her again, and probably jump right into the water doing it, so I had to grab her and stick her below pronto. After a little more coaxing, the bird finally took off and headed to Cuba, hope it made it.

So again, here’s our position for anyone who wants to know:

22.08.77 North, by 85.56.55 W, we’re about 70 miles off of Isla Mujeres, with a course of about 220 degrees.

We hope to make landfall around midnight tonight. I’m usually leery of getting to a new port at night, but Mike, our crewmember for this trip, has made landfall at night before and knows the area, so we should be able to get into the anchorage ok at least for the night.

More news as it develops…

Still enroute to Isla Mujeres. Weather has been clear with light winds, so we’ve been mostly motorsailing. Though last night we got some great wind again and shut off the diesel and let Andiamo rip. It was great sailing, mostly 12-15 knots of wind off the port beam, kept us cruising along at around 7 knots. We probably could have gone a knot or two faster, but there was a strong current from Yucatan Channel working against us.

It was also pretty eventful, we got ambushed by a fast-moving thunderstorm that spun off the coast of Cuba and slammed us from behind. It was a bit hectic getting the boat into the wind to get our sails in, but we managed, and soon after, the storm passed over us. There was another HUGE thunderhead coming off Cuba that we had no desire to meet upclose and personal, so we shifted course to avoid it. That one was blazing with lightning activity, with lots of ground level strikes. Yikes!

Then, just when all got nice and quiet, a small finch-like bird headed right into the cabin of the boat. At first, we thought it may have been a bat, but Lucy was on the case, and literally grabbed the bird within minutes. She brought it back up into the cockpit, where we had to pry it out of her mouth so it could get free. It didn’t appear to be hurt, but it flew over to our swim steps and just stayed there. Lucy was ready to grab her again, and probably jump right into the water doing it, so I had to grab her and stick her below pronto. After a little more coaxing, the bird finally took off and headed to Cuba, hope it made it.

So again, here’s our position for anyone who wants to know:

22.08.77 North, by 85.56.55 W, we’re about 70 miles off of Isla Mujeres, with a course of about 220 degrees.

We hope to make landfall around midnight tonight. I’m usually leery of getting to a new port at night, but Mike, our crewmember for this trip, has made landfall at night before and knows the area, so we should be able to get into the anchorage ok at least for the night.

More news as it develops…

We left Key West approx noon on Wednesday 8/18, and right now we’re about 200 miles off Isla Mujeres, passing Cuba. Conditions are great, though we’d like a little more wind. We had great wind pretty much all night though, so we have managed to get some great sailing in so far. Our fridge’s engine-driven compressor sadly decided to spontaneously combust, so that leaves an interesting wrinkle on things. Luckily we have a backup freezer and an ice machine, so the beer will remain cold. Do not panic.

Current position is 23.41.34 North, by 83.58.8 West, our course is about 240 degrees, in case anybody cares.

We’ll give another update within the next 12-24 hours.

Andale!

Ok, I know, I know. We’ve been babbling about getting on with this cruise for some time now, only to have all kinds of crap happen. I’m sure that there’s alot of eye-rolling, heckling and giggling going on out there. But you know what? I think we’re actually going to make it out of here tomorrow and off to Mexico. The weather’s looking great now that Earl is no more. Andiamo’s giving us the impression that she’s ready to go, albeit with a couple of scars. We have a ready and able crew. What else is there? I think it’s going to happen.

Tomorrow, Wednesday AM, the adventure begins, or more appropriately, continues. Let’s face it, this has been a hell of an adventure so far, if not the one we were necessarily counting on.

If sat phone is behaving, we’ll try to put up a quick post while we’re underway.

Adios Amigos!

Ok, I know, I know. We’ve been babbling about getting on with this cruise for some time now, only to have all kinds of crap happen. I’m sure that there’s alot of eye-rolling, heckling and giggling going on out there. But you know what? I think we’re actually going to make it out of here tomorrow and off to Mexico. The weather’s looking great now that Earl is no more. Andiamo’s giving us the impression that she’s ready to go, albeit with a couple of scars. We have a ready and able crew. What else is there? I think it’s going to happen.

Tomorrow, Wednesday AM, the adventure begins, or more appropriately, continues. Let’s face it, this has been a hell of an adventure so far, if not the one we were necessarily counting on.

If sat phone is behaving, we’ll try to put up a quick post while we’re underway.

Adios Amigos!

Comment from: Valerie [Visitor]

Tenga un seguro y bendijo el viaje …
With Steady Breezes,
Valerie

2004-08-17 @ 21:56

Comment from: paola [Visitor]

ar’you caming?
we are waiting for you!
my tel numb.
home 089 224257
mobile : 3394559060

2005-08-09 @ 08:00

 Earl’s breaking up pretty good, and has been downgraded back to a tropical wave. This means it’s no longer a centralized storm system that is building up strength. Instead, it’s now this hodge-podge of thunderstorms and high winds. This is great news for us, because Earl’s all that is keeping us from heading out. Earl CAN regenerate into a tropical storm or even a hurricane, but I for one doubt it. We’re going to watch it a little more to see what transpires. If it looks as good as it does today, we may be out of here within the next 12-48 hours.

We shall see…

Earl’s breaking up pretty good, and has been downgraded back to a tropical wave. This means it’s no longer a centralized storm system that is building up strength. Instead, it’s now this hodge-podge of thunderstorms and high winds. This is great news for us, because Earl’s all that is keeping us from heading out. Earl CAN regenerate into a tropical storm or even a hurricane, but I for one doubt it. We’re going to watch it a little more to see what transpires. If it looks as good as it does today, we may be out of here within the next 12-48 hours.

We shall see…