On Wednesday we got an email from our friend Eric at the National Weather Service in Mobile stating that it looked like starting Friday we would have about a seven day window in which to reach Isla Mujeres. The only caveat was that due to a weak front moving across the Gulf on Tuesday the 22nd, it would be good if we could be below 25 north latitude by then. That gave us four days to make about 300 miles. No problem we thought so we quickly made the final preparations for leaving on Friday. There is an old sailors superstition that it is bad luck to start a voyage on Friday. But we did not want to cut a day off our weather window to cater to a silly superstition. Bad move. Friday morning early we cast off from the fuel dock and started down Mobile Bay. We had 45 gallons of fuel on board, enough for about four days of motoring. I had considered buying another couple of 5 gallon containers before we left but decided that 4 days of fuel to make a 6 day trip should be plenty. Certainly in 6 days we would get a couple good days of sailing. Bad move number two.
The first couple of days were really fairly uneventful. What little wind we had was right on our nose so we kept the motor going and headed south. At this stage in the trip we did not have the luxury of taking our time since we wanted to be below 25 north by Tuesday.
We saw a lot of dolphins the first day and surprisingly they turned out to be the only dolphins we saw on the entire trip. There were a lot of pelicans and gulls and an amazing number of oil platforms. Through the first day and almost all night we were never out of sight of one or several platforms. It was sort of reassuring to look out and see them there. On Saturday the wind had started to pick up and we put up the sails a couple of different times. But since the wind was still from the south, sailing required tacking and that added miles to the trip. So for the most part we continued under motor. By Saturday night the wind was blowing at 20 knots from the south and the seas had picked up to 4-6 feet. It made for an uncomfortable night and neither of us slept well. Dawn Sunday found us still motoring and making good progress against the wind which had now picked up to about 25 knots. The seas were in the 5-7 feet range and increasing. We were starting to get a bad feeling about how things were developing.
That bad feeling proved justified. A little after noon we could see storm clouds gathering in the west and soon could see a squall line approaching. Kyle watched it carefully and it was obvious after a couple of minutes that it was roaring down on us. We had the main sail up at the time to give the motor a bit of a boost so we decided that this would be a good time to get it on the deck before the line hit. We got it down and secured just before the squall line arrived. Suddenly our world turned inside out. The wind increased to 30 and then 40 knots and then higher yet. There was a weather buoy just south of us and we found out later that it recorded gusts as high as 56 knots. The seas began to build quickly and by 3 PM we were in 15-20 foot waves. The wind was ripping the tops off the waves and foam and spray were being blown across the water. It was at once the most terrifying and awe inspiring sight we have ever seen. It is not often one gets to experience first hand the incredible power of God's creation. And it is not something that we ever hope to see again. There was no question of continuing on course through this. We kept the motor on and simply ran with the storm, trying to keep the stern to the waves. Studies have shown that boats are least likely to be capsized by a wave when they are stern on to the direction the waves are traveling. We were hoping that the studies were correct. By dusk Kyle had been fighting the storm at the tiller for six hours. The power of the waves were just too much for Kathy to handle. And after six hours Kyle was beginning to wonder how much more he had left. There was no way that he could continue at the helm for another six hours. We began discussing whether to call the coast guard to see if they could give us some advice. If the storm was predicted to continue, we might need to consider having them come and assist us. Finally after another hour with no sign of the storm letting up Kyle made the decision to make the call. With having gotten little or no sleep the previous two nights and now with almost 8 hours of fighting the helm, he was done in. He told Kathy to come up and take the helm for just a bit while he made the radio call. Just at that moment, the wind seemed to die down a bit. We waited to see what would happen. In a few minutes it was clear that the wind was abating. With new hope came new strength and Kyle was able to continue at the helm for another couple hours during which time the wind dropped to 25 and then to 20 knots and the seas began to calm. As soon as things had settled to where the autohelm could handle the tiller, Kyle turned it on, pointed it west to continue running with the seas, and we both collapsed into bed. We kept no watch that night - neither of us really cared if we were run down by a freighter or not.
At first light the next morning, it was clear that the seas had subsided enough for us to alter course and start heading southeast again. We had lost almost 75 miles to westward during the storm; over 12 hours of sailing time. But there was nothing else we could have done. During the day we continued to make our way to the southeast trying to make up the ground we had lost the day before. The goal of reaching 25 north by Tuesday, which had seemed so easy just a day ago, now seemed a bit questionable. We were able to get the sails up again and finally shut off the motor. In the first three days we had consumed over half of our fuel on board, but we thought there was still plenty left for the rest of the trip. As the day wore on, however, the wind continued to drop until finally there was no choice but to start motoring again.
Each day we made a phone call via our Iridium satellite phone to Eric in Mobile for a weather briefing. Tuesday morning he told us that the mid-week front that was to move through was looking stronger than earlier predicted and that our best move was to be as far west as possible. That would keep us out of the area where it would intensify. After Sundays little affair, we're all for staying away from intensifying storms. So we headed west. Tuesday started out with enough wind for us to be sailing, but once again as the front approached the wind dropped to nothing. On went the motor again. Kyle was beginning to get the first feelings that maybe he should have bought that other 10 gallons of fuel, but was still confident that we would make it. That evening the front approached and we could see cells of thunderstorms lining the horizon. As it got closer we could also see areas where there was no lightning. The plan was to aim for those and hopefully get beyond the front without encountering a storm. It worked. By 8:30 PM the storm had passed and we heaved to and got a good nights sleep, planning to start east again in the morning.
When we talked with Eric the next morning, he emphasized that we must be into Isla by Saturday. The next front would be coming through on Sunday and it was not one to mess with. We were beginning to be thankful that we had waited for a weather window. We certainly would not want to attempt a Gulf crossing when the weather was actually bad. So we started east again. We had three days to cover the 300 miles to Isla Mujeres and only about 13 gallons of fuel left. That was about enough for 24 hours of motoring if necessary. That first day was the best sailing day of the trip. Fifteen knot winds blew from the north and Stap Isi flew along at over 6 knots. We began to think that if this kept up we could cover most of the 300 miles in a couple of days and have plenty of fuel in reserve. But it did not keep up. By early morning on Thursday the wind had died and we had to start up the motor. Thursday was a day of trying to balance the need to make headway east with the dwindling fuel supplies and the flukey winds. We sailed when we could and motored when we had to and all the time kept an eye on the fuel gauge. We wanted to have at least 12 hours of fuel left when we made that last turn south towards Isla Mujeres. That should leave us a few hours in reserve. Finally on Friday the wind started to pick up and we were again able to sail almost all day. That was good since we were down to only 12 hours of fuel on board. Still it looked like we would make it fine. Those three days took a lot out of us. The stress of avoiding the coming storm kept us from sleeping well. We were constantly tweaking the sails or adjusting the course to try to get every knot and every mile out of the boat. By Friday night we were both exhausted. But we were looking forward to spending Saturday night on the dock at Isla Mujeres.
At dawn on Saturday we made the turn south towards Isla Mujeres and ran into a wall. The wind was blowing hard from the south and we were running against a knot of current. The wind was raising the seas up to the 4-6 feet level and each time we pounded into one it lifted the water over the boat into the cockpit. We were soon a couple of drowned rats. That was of less concern to us than our fuel supply. Because of the wind and current we were having to run at higher rpms to make headway, and that was consuming fuel at a higher than normal rate. Kyle was thankful that he had left a safety margin of several hours of fuel. As the day wore on, though, he began to be concerned whether or not that margin would be enough. We continued to plow on through the waves and wind and we continued to watch the fuel level drop. Finally at 11:30 we saw the large hotel at the northern end of Isla Mujeres. Kyle pointed it out to Kathy and told her that we should be there by one-thir... putt putt silence. The fuel was gone. To the south was a reef with large breakers roaring over it. To the west was the shore of the Yucatan Peninsula. We were in fairly shallow water so Kyle kicked off the anchor to secure the boat while we got a plan put in place. It was a sail boat after all so we should be able to sail the last eight miles to the harbor. But in judging the strength and direction of the wind it was clear that we would not be able to make the harbor by nightfall. And coming into a strange harbor, threading our way around reefs and shoals, under sail, at night did not sound like a healthy thing to do. Well we thought, we are only eight miles from Isla Mujeres. We can see it right over there. We will just call on the radio and get someone to come and bring us out a few gallons of fuel. So we called on the marine vhf. Nothing. Call again. Nothing. We tried the marine HF emergency frequency. Nothing. Kyle reminded Kathy that this was the Saturday of Easter weekend. Not the best of times for getting help. There were sport fishers around and each time one went by we fired a flare or two. Nothing, they just went on. This was getting frustrating. We used the satellite phone to call the Coast Guard in New Orleans for the phone number of the Mexican Coast Guard. The number they gave us connected us to what sounded like a bordello in Tampico. Finally in desperation we called our daughter Melissa. "Get on the internet and look for telephone numbers in Cancun and Isla Mujeres," we told her. "Then start calling and see if you can find some help for us." She did and after an hour of calling random hotel numbers found a travel agent in Cancun who knew the person in charge of the rescue service in Isla Mujeres. Melissa gave him our coordinates and he promised to have them come to our aid.
The day wore on and we had about given up hope of receiving assistance when just at dusk the rescue service arrived. They had brought ten gallons of fuel in a huge container. In the high wind and seas we were experiencing, there was no way we were going to get the fuel transfered into our tank. So we asked if they could just tow us in. They were happy to assist and soon we were on our way again, being towed by the rescue service. At 7:30 PM we arrived in Isla Mujeres and the rescue boat expertly got us along side the fuel dock. Finally after eight days, our passage was over.
I think that the worst day of our trip was not the day of the storm. It was Thursday, the day of flukey winds. We were exhausted and completely stressed out about making Isla Mujeres ahead of the coming front. It just seemed that every step of the way we were hitting obstacles and our options were fast disappearing.
That afternoon while we burned precious fuel motoring for a couple more hours, Kathy told me to look aft. There on the wind vane was a beautiful yellow bird about the size of a canary. It showed no fear of people, hopping down into the cockpit and sitting on Kyle's leg. It picked a bit at the hairs on his arm and then found a comfortable place out of the wind behind the beanbag chair, put its head under its wing, and went to sleep. We were amazed. What was a bird like this doing hundreds of miles from the nearest shore. This was not a long distance cruiser with large powerful wings to soar on the air currents. This bird had to work hard to get where it was going. What was it doing here!? All afternoon the bird slept. Occasionally we had to trim the sails and we scooted it out of the way. It sat patiently and when we were done it hopped back to its place behind the chair and went to sleep. It was our mascot and we were happy for its companionship. And then early Thursday evening we looked and it was dead. The little thing had come to our boat, spent its last hours sleeping quietly, and died in its sleep. At first we were crushed and it seemed like just one more in the litany of setbacks. But then we were reminded of the scripture in Matthew 10 - "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows." We both knew at that point that God would bring us through. He had sent His messenger to remind us that the very hairs on our head are numbered and that He holds us all in the palm of His hands. |
