Leaving the USA
Sun. Feb. 3,
By all my calculations if I want to be in Isla Mujeres before the sun goes down on Tue. I need to leave Ft. Jefferson by noon. Besides the place is getting over run by tourist from Key West. They come by ferry they come by plane. No bad weather on the horizon. So after the quick tour of Fort Jefferson I have an hour to get the boat ready. This time CD goes on deck. He took a small beating in the davits on the trip over from Key West. Main thing, one of the u-bolts on the transom that the davit's line attached to is bent and crack. The other one is questionable. Better to find it now then later. Just another thing to add to the list of parts needed and things to fix. Until that is repaired I can't use the davits to hoist the dinghy out of the water. That just gives me another reason to stay in a marina to lessen the change of pirates stealing the dinghy or motor because I left them in the water.

Needless to say it takes me longer than an hour to get the boat ready. But I'm underway ASAP with 1st reef in the mainsail and Jib and staysail all the way out. The thousands of boats before me and the cruising guide say the best course is a straight line from the Dry Tortugas to Isla Mujeres, but I'm smarter than them, I planned on going straight until the Yucatan channel, then head due south to avoid the Gulf Stream heading north, then turn due west for Isla Mujeres. The only problem with that - guess which way the wind is blowing? That little arrow on top of the mast is pointing the direction I want to go - again! So I'm on a port tack heading west, speed 6-7kts. I'll just have to wait until I past Cuban and then tack to the South. Then just before midnight the winds clock to WSW, now I'm heading away from Isla Mujeres. I decided that since I'm this far off course just keep on sailing until I hit the south bound loop current of the Gulf Stream.

Mon. Feb. 4th
At 0300 I notice the direction the boat is pointing (compass heading) and the direction I was going (Course over Ground via GPS) was 20 degrees off. The water temperature hadn't change, but I'm now in the loop current. Tacked, headed south, boat speed and speed over ground is not that far off, but boat heading and COG is pretty close and at least I'm going in the right direction. 3 hrs later I'm doing 9kts. I'm in the middle of the Gulf Stream and at this rate; I'll make up some time. Lots of it. I ride the current until just before I get to Cuba. At 1500 hrs, I'm now out of the current and the wind direction has change enough to let me sail the route the 1000 boats took before me, now heading straight for Isla Mujeres.

The last time I sailed thru the Straits of Florida I only had radar to help me see over the horizon and in the dark. This time in addition to radar I have an Automatic Identification System, AIS. With this new toy I'm able to see ships sometimes 30 miles away. At any given time there are a minimum of 6 ships within 12 miles. Do they see me? On the VHF I hear a conversation between two of them. One says he is towing pipes 2000 feet long. Just before sunset, when I get within 2 miles of a tow boat I contact him on the VHF and ask if he is the one that is towing pipes. He said no, I still made sure I passed a mile behind him. One of the neat things about AIS, it can calculate when you are on a collision course with another vessel equip with AIS. I got this alarm set to notify me if such a condition exists. It goes off several times; the problem is my boat doesn't go in a straight line, so every time it swings the alarm goes off if it's pointing at a ship. But I don't dare turn it off. I also have an alarm on the radar that will let me know if something is 8 miles away. It goes off several times in the night, but nothing comes within 2 miles, because if they get within 3 miles I change course.

Tue. Feb. 5th
A few seconds after midnight - Bam, I hit the Gulf Stream again, only this time it is headed north and I'm going south. SOG drops to less than 3kts. A few more calculations, (aka Velocity Made Good, via GPS). At this speed I won't make it to Isla Mujeres before dark. All that time I gained by riding the southbound current is now lost to the northbound current. Rats! Fire up Buddha to maintain maximum SOG, sometimes 5kts, sometimes less. So much for the plan of staying out of the current.

I thought there was a lot of ship traffic in the Florida Straits, but the Yucatan Channel has twice as much. Looks like every ship that enter and exit the Gulf of Mexico pass this way. AIS identify several cruise ships with names like Disney Magic, and Carnival something. When they get close enough for a visual sighting - yep they be cruise ships alright, the whole thing is lit up like a Christmas tree. Around 0300 that AIS collision alarm keeps beeping. Then the radar alarm does its thing. This time if one of us don't do something there will be a collision at sea. But heck he's 7 miles away and I need to go to the head. After doing the do, I got busy doing something else, like making an after midnight, midnight snack. Then I hear someone hailing "Irie II" on the VHF. It was the ship I was on a collision course with. In the few minutes that I was away, his speed plus my speed put us within 3 miles of a collision and at this rate in another 10 minutes there would be one. So yes they do see me. Good to know. He asks me to alter course to pass behind his stern. I agreed, and to make sure I past 2 miles aft of him.

A few hours after sunup - Bam! I just thought I was in the Gulf stream, this time I'm really hit it, SOG 3kts and less, water temperature now in the high 70's. I'm now headed into the wind and a 3-4 knot current. Full throttle Buddha gets, got to make it to Isla Mujeres before sunset. At 1600 I'm at the Northern tip of Isla Mujeres going through the reef. Wow I made it before dark. Called Marina Paridiso on the VHF before they closed, looking for a berth. When I got there they didn't have one for a 6ft draft, so he suggested I call El Milagro marina next door. He had a spot, lucky me, I don't have to do the anchor dance. By 1700 I'm all tied up and need a shower and a nap, not necessarily in that order.