The plan is direct to Isla Mujeres because we have a weather window only until Thursday afternoon before the next cold front arrives. Missing this window would mean waiting a week to 10 days before conditions improve again. This passage is estimated at between 16-20 hours.

We left Bahia de la Ascension last night at 4pm, getting beyond the reef at sunset. Between 6pm & 8pm, we were stuck in 6’ confused steep washing-machine seas. Everything not secured was seriously flying about in the cabin. Even items behind secured doors, like dishes, were being tossed about. It’s dark - no stars, no moon yet - so quite an uncomfortable ride regardless of where you were. This area is known for its confused seas; last night compounded by the high winds and seas of the past couple of days. Argh!

Once clear of that area, seas begin to calm from 6’ to 5’ to 4’ then are calm in the lee of Cozumel. Winds are steady around 15 kts on the beam until sunrise when they drop to 10 kts or so. With the current assist - 3-4 kts! - we’re flying; sailing 8-9 kts, sometimes higher. We’re going so fast, we need to slow down or we’ll arrive Isla Mujeres before sunrise. The slow-down was quite pleasant, giving both of us a couple of hours of sleep. We enter the Cancun / Isla Mujeres channel at 6:30 am (time change to ET), and are anchored an hour or so later. This is a temporary position while we visit El Milagro Marina to see if they have space for us. If they don’t, we’ll visit the marina next door, and even the one in the lagoon. With the coming storm we want to be in a marina rather than in the anchorage known for poor holding in high winds.

We dinghy over to El Milagro and see that the one space that can accommodate Vida Dulce is taken by a 36’ Manta (catamaran). Bummer.. Julio greets us, calling “Welcome, friends of the marina! Where have you been?” Jerry talks with him (in Spanish) about our travels since we left, and then a space. Julio remembers there is only one space, and even it is a very very tight fit for Vida Dulce. After several minutes of discussion, I say, “that’s too bad” look at Jerry and say “let’s check next door”. This gets Julio’s attention. Apparently there’s new bad blood between these next-door marinas; Julio does not want us there; “Perhaps there’s a solution”. Julio calls the captain of the Manta, s/v Sunny Ray, over for a chat. We give them space. Julio proposes that Sunny Ray moves over one space, they’ll fit just fine, so that we can take the space they’re in. After a quick Sunny Ray family discussion, they agree. In fact, they’re happy to do so because one of their hulls keeps hitting the bottom in the current slip and they have been unhappy about it. A win-win for all!

By mid-day, we’re in and tied down, which is good timing as the winds are already starting to increase. Time for a cold beer, a hot shower and a nap.