Well We made it.
Looking back the trip from Key West to Isla Mujeres was no big deal. The hardest part was hauling up our anchors and finally leaving the US. So lets see, on the 14th, Valentines day, we awoke around 8 AM. Kinda just chilled and drank our coffee. When that was done we just kinda moseyed up to the deck and took all the sails out of, rigged all our lines and then started Mo. At this point it fully and clearly dawned on us that we had just put on a new prop the day before and had no idea if it was going to be better than our last one. It certainly couldn´t be worse. Once the anchors were up, Bri motored us out of the Boca Chica Channel and off we went.
As a side note the new prop was a godsend. It doubled our speed under power and really saved our butts as we were totally becalmed in the Gulf Stream, but I´ll get there….
Once we got to Hawk Channel we just kinda pointed west, ,hauled all our sails shut down the Mo and sat back for what would be a 5 day ride. The wind was good out of the west and we made 4 knots till we hit the Dry Tortugas at 3 AM the wind just stopped.
You see the trouble with this trip is the currents , the Gulf stream and the Yucatan Current are super stong this time of year and average around 3 knots, not a big deal. However, when your boat only goes 4-6 knots. Its kind of a big deal.
The first night was long. Mo running and not making much headway lead to a little frustration as we were pinned between the current and the coral of the Tortugas. At first light we turned south and still becalmed, headed to Cuba.
My time is up, Will continue another day.
Well done guys we are so proud of your accomplishments. oh by the way we entered clio in the Wreckers race and came in second place in the classic division. Heres to all the Tahiti ketches and tahitianas out there yes we can do it and in style may we add, especially when we smoked a 46 foot schooner acreoss the line. hope all is well talk soon
So you are finally getting WET!
I hadn’t checked in on your progress for a while. So you been sailing for a month now. You should be thoroughly lost in Island life by now. Can’t imagine how sweet it must be.