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Hello to all our friends and family,

It has been some time since the last newsletter and we have been progressing slowly southward.
As it turned out, the expected weather window for crossing the Gulf was forecast to close earlier than expected. So, we opted to leave a day earlier than otherwise planned and tough out some slightly rougher conditions. After fueling up, Francesca left Marathon at 10:00 AM on the 24th of November. We stayed in Hawk's channel until reaching Key West then more or less followed the channel out beyond the Sea Buoy.

For nearly the entire crossing the wind was NNE to NE at 10-15 knots with the seas running 3 to 5 feet directly on the stern. That made for a nice ride with not too much breeze on the fly bridge. Several times we saw feeding birds and were tempted to troll, but the refrigerator and freezer were both stuffed to capacity. There will be time enough for fishing when we can use the food.

For the first several hours, we had a favorable current, but then the Gulf Stream smacked us head on and progress slowed to less than 5 knots. Sometime during the first night, hoping to pick up the coastal counter current, we altered course to make a closer approach to the Cuban coast. Eventually and with the Cuban coast only 5 miles away, Francesca picked up the favorable current which held for the entirety of the NW Cuban coast. During that part of the trip, we saw no other vessels.

Weather wise, the next day and night were carbon copies of the first and we arrived at Isla Mujeres, Mexico at sundown Nov. 26 after only 55 hours. It was late enough that check-in with the authorities would not be possible until the next morning. Crossings are always very tiring and we were glad to be able to go right to sleep after securely anchoring in the harbor.

Isla Mujeres is a timeless community. Very little has changed since our first visit a few years ago. The residents have a strong sense of community and apart from tourism, there is always some kind of festivity going on. In addition to Christmas decorations, the Square was being prepared with stages and electronic blasters for some kind of entertainment. There were at least 8 speaker assemblies that were 4 feet wide by 6 to 8 feet tall. Enough audio power to