When we left Mobile for our trip across the Pacific, we thought that we had prepared for every contingency. The boat was well equipped with every manner of navigation and safety equipment and there were several months of provisions on board. We were ready for anything. Kathy's diabetes had been a concern for us in planning this trip but because she had been able to control it so well for so long with insulin injections we did not think it would be a serious factor. She had almost a year's supply of insulin on board and a good supply of healthy foods. There was no reason to think that controlling her glucose levels would be a problem. One thing that has an adverse affect on diabetics is stress. In the past, stressful situations had had a negative impact on Kathy's glucose levels, sometimes lasting several days. That is one reason why we spent as much time in Mobile as we did waiting for a good weather window. We wanted to make that first long passage as stress free as possible. Unfortunately those plans went a bit awry. The gale we encountered three days out together with the other weather systems we were either running from or dodging, produced about as stressful an environment as one can encounter. In addition, we were not sleeping well due to the rough seas and often for the same reason were not able to cook the healthy foods for Kathy. All of those factors hit Kathy hard and by the time we got to Isla Mujeres her glucose levels were seriously out of control. It was almost three weeks before they came back down to normal levels. We were left in a quandary. Do we continue and just hope for the best, or do we go back and consult with her doctor. After a lot of prayer and consultation with our home church, we decided to return to Mobile so that Kathy could get checked out. Assuming it was uneventful, the return trip would give us additional insight into how she handles the passages. Finally, since we had blown out a sail and discovered a few other items on the boat that needed attention a trip back to Mobile would give us a chance to make repairs and upgrades on the boat.
After a long wait in Isla Mujeres, we finally had the weather window we were looking for. The NWS models showed about seven days with east winds and no serious storms. That would give us good sailing for most of the trip. So we checked out of Isla Mujeres on Friday, bought some provisions for the trip, refueled, and were ready for an early morning start on Saturday. (We could have left on Friday but were tired of bucking the superstition about Friday departures.) At first light on Saturday we cast off from the dock and motored north out of the harbor. There is a strong current that flows north through the Yucatan channel and our plan was to head east about ten miles into the channel and then turn north to take advantage of the boost that the current would give. About 30 minutes out we saw three other sailboats leaving the harbor. There had been a Florida to Isla Mujeres race the previous week and these boats were heading back to Florida. It was nice to know though that they would be keeping us company for most of the first day. Just as planned, as we turned north our the current boosted our speed to 8-9 knots. The wind was blowing at about 15 knots from the ENE - perfect for our NNW heading. Stap Isi was just flying over the waves. The first day passed without event and when we checked our progress the second morning we found that the boat had covered over 180 miles in 24 hours. That is fantastic for a 30 foot sailboat.
One of the problems we faced in our passage down to Isla Mujeres was the lack of sleep caused by having to have a constant watch for other ships. So on the trip back we tried a new approach. Kathy would take the first watch from 7-11 PM, giving Kyle a chance to get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Then he would have the 11 PM to 6 AM watch, giving her seven hours. Kyle got a small timer and set it for 18 minutes. During his watch he would sleep until the timer went off, wake up, do a quick scan for other boats, and if nothing was out there set the timer again and go back to sleep. We had calculated that if a ship were coming directly at us, it took about 20 minutes or so from the time that it appeared on the horizon to the time that we would have to alter course. It doesn't seem possible but IKyle found that at the end of each night his multitude of 15-18 minute naps had left him feeling fairly rested. And Kathy enjoyed the seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. The second night out we were glad that we were keeping watch. During the night we saw at least eight ships out there. At one point we could see four within about three miles of our position. It seemed that everyone was taking advantage of the boost from the current. Twice we had to slow down or alter course to give ourselves plenty of room. By the end of the second day we were well over half way across the gulf. If the boat was able to continue at this speed we might make Mobile on Tuesday - a three day passage.
We had been expecting a wind shift to the SE or south and finally on the third day it occurred. The wind dropped to about ten knots and clocked around to where we were sailing almost straight downwind. One would think that sailing straight downwind would be a good thing, but in reality that is about the most inefficient point of sail. The sails are not able to produce any lift and are simply pushed along by the wind. In addition the boat tends to roll a lot making a very uncomfortable ride. Therefore we decided to bring our course around to the northeast to get a better angle with the wind coming over our starboard quarter. That gave us a faster and more comfortable ride - for awhile. The current coming up the Yucatan Channel goes NNW to within about 150 miles of the US coast. At that point it splits, part of it making a big loop to the west and part of it branching back south again towards Cuba where it becomes part of the Gulf Stream. Our plan had been to ride that north setting current as far as possible. Unfortunately there are no signs marking the boundaries of the current. By the evening of the third day the wind had dropped to almost nothing so we dropped the sails and started motoring again. This time we had almost 60 gallons of fuel on board so we could have motored all the way across the Gulf. About this time, too we noticed that our speed was starting to drop. We had been making 8, then 7, and then 6, 5 and now just a bit over 4 knots. Normally under motor we can easily make 6 knots. Something was wrong. Besides the drop in speed, the rudder was feeling stiff. We began to wonder if we had picked up a net or some rope or debris in the prop or rudder that was dragging us. Leaning well over the side, though, Kyle could not see anything on the rudder or prop. Finally we remembered the countercurrent. Had our NE course taken us into the branch of the current that was heading south to Cuba? A quick way to check was to swing the boat around on a reciprocal course and see what happens. When we headed SE the speed quickly climbed from 4 to over 7 knots. AAARGH. We were in a 1.5 knot countercurrent.
So after making amazing headway the first two and a half days, now we were slogging along bucking the current. Fortunately the maps showed that we were close to where the current ended and sure enough, by the morning of the 10th our speed was beginning to come back up. By the last day the wind had died completely and we were motoring along on glassy seas. We don't like motoring but with the seas that calm it was certainly a smooth and gentle ride. Around noon we saw our first oil rig and from that point on we would not be out of sight of at least one. Ship traffic also increased enough that on the last night Kyle cut my timer to 15 minutes. Gulls and terns made their appearance. We were obviously getting close to shore.
The last night was almost uneventful. We had slowed down a bit so that we would reach the buoy marking the entrance to the Mobile Ship Channel just at dawn. No sense in trying to enter the channel at night. We were motoring along at 4 knots on a perfectly flat sea when at 4 AM the motor simply died. I couldn't believe it. We had ran out of fuel on the way to Isla Mujeres just a couple hours from the island. And now the engine died a couple hours from the entrance to Mobile Bay. We had just refueled that afternoon so we knew there was plenty of fuel. Fortunately diesel engines are very simple and there is a short list of things that would make one stop suddenly. A fuel problem is high on the list. Quickly we removed the dog house covering the engine. Kyle checked the first fuel filter and could see grunge in the bowl. He pulled the fuel line off the engine and tried to suck diesel through the filter. It was completely clogged. Micro-organisms grow in diesel fuel in warm climates. Even though we used an additive that is supposed to keep that from happening, it is possible that the critters were already in the fuel when we bought it. And they had completely clogged the filter. Fortunately we carry a lot of spares. We quickly found the spare filter elements, put on a new one, bled the fuel lines, and were on our way again in 30 minutes. The rest of the trip was uneventful and at noon we were tying up to the dock in Mobile. It was a great passage, very relaxed, and at four days and six hours was half as long as the passage down. It was encouraging to see that Kathy's glucose levels remained in range and we were both able to get adequate sleep. |
