South Carolina to Isla Mujeres, Mexico, Part 1
2
Running close in at night is risky business. Any failure, gps, autopilot, engine, sail, or whatever, makes for an unhappy mix. We grieve for the loss of the vessel and even more for the dreams of it's captain and mate.
Yesterday morning, December 22, Francesca set a leisurely pace toward theTurneffe Atoll (pronounced Turneff). Since it was just a bit too far for one easy day, we stopped at Water Caye for the night. There were two sailboats at anchor when we arrived, considerately we gave them at least a quarter mile of privacy. Soon, one sailboat left, hmmmm. We dinghied over to the other and caught the lady of the house sunbathing au natural. No problem, a towel was handy. She was very nice and talked about their plans and where they had been. They were from Sweden, I think.
Joan, Maggie and I then proceeded to the beach on Water Caye to let Maggie have some quality time. It was about then we noticed the second sailboat leaving too. As it turned out, they were joining the first sailboat out on the reef, but given some of our other experiences, we were getting pretty self-conscious. Down here, with our stink pot power boat, we have found that sailboaters cut us some slack. We are, after all, the only liveaboard power boat in these parts.
That night and today were perfect. The weather was settled, with less than 10 knots of wind, and puffy white clouds moderated the intensity of the sun. This morning, we left Water Caye, cleared the reef and crossed about 15 miles of open water to get to the south end of Turneffe Atoll. On the way, while dragging a fishing lure, we hooked up with a monster that was never slowed down nor seen. We wanted only a small fish for supper, not a side of beef. So it's escape was in both our best interests. Adios amigo.
We entered the Atoll through Blue Creek, which meanders through the mangroves for about a half-mile. Then picked our way through a shallow, sometimes very very shallow lagoon to anchor near the Turneffe Island Lodge. We were in a bad anchorage spot, but planned to stay there for just a few hours. A quick dinghy ride to the Lodge and we found that we would be welcome for their Christmas Buffet. Next we went to a fish camp a couple miles away and put in our order for lobster to be picked up tomorrow. Price, a little high at $3.00 a pound, but its Christmas. Before finding a better anchorage, Joan and I went out and snorkeled the reef. Whoopee-, within a minute, we boated a lobster. Then nothing. There were, however, lots of nice reef fish, snapper and a few grouper about.
Turneffe Atoll
Blue Creek o
Barrier Reef
