Category: 2015 Positions

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/09 17:55
LATITUDE: 17-12.71N
LONGITUDE: 087-35.98W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Long Cay, Lighthouse Reef – Belize

We had a big squall with about 30 knots just before we left Turneffe this morning. We tried to see if we could go ashore to the lodge and use the restaurant/bar, but despite their being very nice…no was the answer. The reef offered some, but not perfect protection. Turneffe is really a flat bottom power boat lagoon, not a sailors place due to the very shallow depths.

We had one big boomer of a squall en route here (35 knots and rain), but then it cleared up nicely. We\’re anchored in 9 feet of water behind Long Cay which runs 2 miles north and south. It\’s flat and comfy. We\’ll be off to explore after lunch. We\’ve already seen lots of Frigates and Boobie Birds (of which there is a reserve for at Half Moon Cay).

If the weather permits tomorrow, we may go over the 6 miles (via the reef system) and anchor at Half Moon Cay for at least the day to see the bird sanctuary and the dive/snorkel spots that are supposed to be quite good.

KIT!!
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/08 19:51
LATITUDE: 17-10.47N
LONGITUDE: 087-53.77W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Turneffe Reef,(Turneffe Reef Lodge) – Belize

We took advantage of a light wind day to get east which is normally against the trade winds here. It was so light, we motored most of the way.
For all you boaters who go \”far a field\”…take note! Belize and Southern Mexico\’s charts are not \”geo referenced\”. This is the process where the surveys were done
PRIOR to GPS! The surveys are pretty good (not perfect!), but the land areas are not in the correct GPS position. Why? Because they did their latitude and longitude
by sextant! Very close, but NOT exact. They were \”good\” cartographers, but NOT perfect. As such, the reef entrance here is shown 550 feet further east than it really is!. Careful eyeball navigation is essential when you know the charts are not \”geo referenced\”.

Geo Referencing is done using satellite imagery and other techniques. The first areas to be done were started about 8 years ago and of course where commercial shipping and cruise ships go – those areas were done first. As we are in a pretty non commercial area…they haven\’t caught up here yet. Just today\’s \”boating 101 lesson\”…

Turneffe Reef is one of only four true atolls in the Caribbean. The other 2 we hope to visit over the next week. Chinchoro Bank in Mexico is the fourth.
These reefs are very much like the atolls of the South Pacific in the Tuamotu Group as well as many of the Cook Islands and others in the Western Pacific and Eastern Indian Oceans.

I got great response from the Cuba Blogs, thanks for all your notes.
We\’ll head to Light House Reef (17 miles to our east) tomorrow and hang out there for awhile. It\’s the home of the famous \”Blue Hole\” that Jacques Cousteau made famous. He actually dynamited the reef to get \”Calyspo\” inside. When the Belizean Government heard he did it without their permission, they banned him from ever returning to Belize. Ironically, despite the fact that it\’s a great aerial photo, it\’s a nothing dive. It has become the number one diver/tourist attraction to this nation. Who knew?…:-)
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/06 19:43
LATITUDE: 17-44.79N
LONGITUDE: 088-01.80W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Cay Caulker – Belize

We read in a cruising guide of ours…\”Avoid the Pinot Grigiot\”. That means, watch the color of the water to see the real shallow spots. The problem is, all of the Bahamas and Belize (so far) are Pinot Grigiot!…

It was time to leave the bumpy anchorage at San Pedro and head to our first destination inside the reef at Cay Caulker. \”Windward\”, a Norseman 447 \”monomaran\” was a bit concerned due to a shallow spot along the way. However, Dennis was confident that their 6\’4\” draft would clear the 7 foot spot as the tide would be above it\’s datum plane and rising.

Well…such things do not always work out according to plan. We led the way. Due to the nature of we \”rectangular boats\”,(as our friends Dave and Kathie would say),
we would call out the depths. Dave and Kathie have the same boat as Windward (btw!). The water was only 4 1/2 foot deep where the 7 foot spot was supposed to be.
In fact, it was that shallow for a long way – no worries for \”Beach House\”. We can get by with about 4 feet and still not quite have the rudders touch.

We showed that they should have made it okay, but Dennis found the shallowest spot on the bank. \”Windward\” was hard aground on the sand. We put a line on their bow and tried to pull them forward. No luck. Then Dennis dove the boat and found that only the front of the keel was stuck. So, we pulled from the back. A small panga went by and his wake rocked \”Windward\” around which allowed both of our boats to move him backward – all three engines (his one and our two) – full thrust!

Alas, \”Windward\” got stuck again. We tied off to the bow a second time and were able to spin him around and get him off the sand. We then picked our way \”through the weeds\” till we got to deep water. There was one more close call, but that was averted. We saw 3.0 feet for a second and aimed \”Windward\” away from the spot.

Both boats now all tied up and safe at Cay Caulker….yet another….\”Sea Story\”…:-) We\’ll be heading ashore for a glass of wine shortly…:-)

I\’ll post the last Cuba blog as soon as I get some internet.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/04 20:56
LATITUDE: 17-54.85N
LONGITUDE: 087-57.76W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – San Pedro – Ambergris Cay, Belize

We learned a new trick about how to get out of shallow anchorages in the dark…hint!
Search Light!!! I\’ll write it up in the blog!

Great sail here today, lots of protection from the open sea by the north/south length of the reef on Chinchoro Bank.
Wish we\’d had time to explore. But Belize is one giant reef and we\’ll have plenty of opportunity.

Anchored next to s/v \”Windward\” who gave great advice on entering this potentially tough reef passage. Bouncy, not too deep and waves
breaking on either side. Reminded me of Tahiti or some of the Tuamotus in the Pacific.

Stand by..We\’ll be here for a week or two, then to see Carmina in the Rio Dulce of Guatemala…. Blog\’s a commin\’.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/03 23:03
LATITUDE: 18-45.19N
LONGITUDE: 087-18.24W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Cayo Norte – Chinchoro Bank, Mexico – Belize tomorrow – we hope!

We\’ll we got out a bit later than I wanted. We had a lovely sail here and the seas calmed in the afternoon.
Problem is, we spoke with two boats that had just left here telling us how easy the entry and anchorage was….NOT!

We got into very shallow water (2.4 feet under the hulls!). It\’s sand for the most part, we\’re now anchored with 4.3 feet under the hulls which is fine.
However, getting an early start may be very problematic as we can\’t see the bottom until it\’s light. It\’s a 200 yd issue, but…it IS an issue.

We\’re not in the best anchoring spot, but it\’s safe.
This is one of only 4 true atolls in this Caribbean, the others are in Belize; our next stop.

This will make a blog entry!
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/02 20:19
LATITUDE: 19-42.35N
LONGITUDE: 087-30.15W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Cayo Cuelbra – Bahia De La Ascension, Mexico

We had a dinner and supermarket shop in Cozumel. The anchorage was okay, but we could see how it would be quite the roll under
certain circumstances. We left at 7a.m. just as the first of 6 cruise ships was arriving. Apparently, except for Sunday, the cruise ships
now dominate the island.

We motored while hugging the shore to the south west end of the island, then motor sailed or sailed the rest of the way here. Overall, a lovely day!

\”Windward\” is anchored next to us as they left Puerto Morelos last night at 6 pm! Another Catalina 42, just up from Belize is here as well. This spot
is about as remote a place as I\’ve ever been in Mexico!

KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2015/03/01 20:24
LATITUDE: 20-29.44N
LONGITUDE: 086-58.17W
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – San Miguel, Cozumel – Mexico

We actually checked out of Mexico in Puerto Moralos, but they give you 48 hours to depart. As such, we decided to take 20 miles off tomorrow\’s
journey and come to the famous diving island of Cozumel. It\’s very built up since I was here with Cindy in 1996.

We luckily met sister ship Switch 51 #12 (the boat after Beach House) in Puerto Morelos. Peter and Mary aboard \”Neko\”. It was pretty cool to see yet another boat that looks pretty much – just like us!

Despite the only 20 mile journey, it took 4 1/2 hours to get here due to the very strong 2.5-3 knot current against us. Friends Dennis and Lisette on \”Windward\” will try and hug the coast to avoid this current as they head toward Bahia de la Ascension where we hope to meet up tomorrow late afternoon.

We\’ll take a look around shore if we can find a place for the dinghy and depart here early tomorrow for Bahia de la Ascension en route toward
Belize. We may stop at the Chinchoro Bank just before Belizian waters which is one of only a very few of the true atolls in the Western Hemisphere.
From there, we\’ll check in at Ambergris Cay – San Pedro, Belize….At least that\’s the plan!…:-)
KIT,
Scott and Nikki