SHIPS LOG, April 26, 2006
SHIPS LOG, April 26, 2006
Dear Family and Friends,
We are now in Fort Lauderdale, FL, getting the boat (and ourselves) prepared for the trip across the Atlantic to Spain where we expect to spend next winter. We left Belize with regret, but with a good weather window for what turned out to be a 5 day trip straight to Fort Lauderdale. Again Alchemy proved a magnet for tired migrating birds who wished to cadge a ride, the most interesting of which was a Chuck Will’s Widow. The barn swallows were so tired they would land in the shelter where we hang out within feet of us.
But when I last wrote we were waiting for a part in Key West. We received the part at noon, installed and tested it, checked weather and the next morning left Key West for Isla Mujeres, Mexico. We called my oldest friend, Michael, giving him our hoped for itinerary (after changing plans and destinations on him a number of times- it’s not easy visiting us), and within an hour had the spinnaker up. It stayed up for the next 35 hours, a Stevenson record by a considerable margin. We took an S curve route that went west and then south to the west end of Cuba to deal with currents, and a few hours before dawn 3 days later we anchored in Isla. Isla Mujeres proved to have recovered very well from having had Wilma sit on top of it for 36 hours last Oct. as the storm shifted its track from NW to aim for southern Florida.
That afternoon Michael arrived, found us easily and 3 days later we left for Belize. This had us hugging the coast during the first day to avoid some of the more formidable adverse currents in the NW Caribbean, and as light and visibility faded we headed offshore and watched our speed decrease dramatically. The wind did not drop as was predicted; it actually got stronger and 2 days later, as we came to where we hoped to stop in Belize, conditions did not favor (indeed they argued militantly against) going through cuts in the reef. (Cuts = 30 to a 100 meter wide with coral reef (hard stuff) guarding the sides and tidal flow sluicing in and out creating big waves). We finally entered the reef near Belize City which was wide open enough for night time (4am) and sailed to south Belize, Placencia. It was much more comfortable inside the reef the last day and it was extremely nice to be sailing in waters where Alchemy had been before. This is our first winter not exploring new territory and although that is a downer in itself, it makes a huge difference in confidence and comfort level to know the waters.
From mid Dec. when we left Fort Lauderdale for the Bahamas until we arrived in Belize at the end of Feb. we had an incredible run of sailing: 1,234 miles under sail while motoring only 164. Although I do not regularly tally things up, believe me that ratio is way more than usual. Most of those miles were fairly comfortable sailing miles as well. (I am quite clear that I am setting myself up big time for the passages to come.) For those of you who are not cruisers and who think that a sailboat gets around by sails alone looking like a yacht from a Ralph Lauren advertisement, think again. Motors are an essential ingredient without which we could not get into a number of the anchorages, nor would we be in Fort Lauderdale writing you but rather still out there bobbing around without any wind. The recent passage was much more typical with 430 miles under sail while260 under power.
We are getting to know Belize a little better which was one of our goals this winter. It is a quite small country draped along the coast with mountainous jungle on its western edge and the second largest barrier reef (behind Australia’s Great Barrier Reef -emphasis on Great) gracing its eastern edge. Both are magnificent entities and similar in their in-accessibility, ruggedness, beauty, and challenging nature. In between are flatlands- alluvial plains, swampy marsh lands- where the soil looks not too rich, rain not too or way too plentiful, and things just look beat-up. This, of course, is where most of the people live.
The population is a remarkably small 250,000, and is a quite varied mix of cultures; during classic Maya times around 700 AD there were more than a million people (all Maya) living in Belize. English is the official language because of the British heritage but most people are bilingual. The main groups of people are Mestizo (Spanish/Indian who speak Spanish) and Creole (African-American/European who speak Creole—based on English but very difficult to understand), with smaller populations of Maya (there are 3 separate Mayan dialects), Garifuna (African-American/Indian who speak Garifuna), and Mennonites (who speak German, and often no other language) as well as a number of people who have immigrated over the years (India Indian, Chinese, European, North American etc.). It is quite a smorgasbord and very hard to wrap any neat adjectives around.
Statistics aside, our experience has been of a good natured people who like to be helpful, are laid back while still being industrious and ambitious. They are clear that their destiny lies in tourism and for that reason are moving to take care of those natural resources that attract tourists. That is a good thing regardless of motivation. The food is good solid Central American fare, nothing fancy, but with regular offerings in the very good and/or unusual realm.
Our excursions have been excellent. Ginger is a fantastic tour arranger. Most have revolved around Maya ruins: Tikal, Lamanai and Xunatunich. I am struck by my Eurocentric education which largely neglected informing me that these fabulous cultures existed and constructed these amazing edifices in our hemisphere. The highlight was sunset on the top of a pyramid in Tikal while having spent the previous 45 minutes watching parrots and toucans and monkeys at eye level in the jungle.
Other highlights have to include 2 river crossing methods. The coolest was a wire strung tightly about 30 feet high across a 100 yard wide span. Banana workers would ride their bikes to one end, and place a pulley on the wire that was tied to their bike frame. They would sit side saddle on the frame and hand themselves across the river. Our first sight of this was from a distance with trees partially obscuring the rider and I thought I was seeing a third world production of Mary Poppins. The other method had us driving our rental car onto a wood raft not much bigger than the car and winching it by hand-crank across another river--very simple and fixable by anyone with some simple tools.
The traveling highlights included 3 flights in small planes with me in the co-pilot seat each time. The sensation of speed, however, was much greater in a ponga (15-25 foot long boat with side benches used everywhere in the Caribbean) powered by a 200 hp outboard going up a 20-30 yard wide jungle river. The guide was so good he would spot sleeping nighthawks and bats on branches, cut our speed and take us within feet of their perch. Nature is just everywhere in Belize and we were continually impressed by Belizeans’ knowledge even as they declared no expertise at all. And the ones that did have expertise were very impressive.
We resumed our water travels by spending 2 days trying, failing, and finally prevailing at getting out of the marina where Alchemy had been during our land travels. We had about 40 yards of muddy sand to get through and it finally took full power and the wake of a ponga to bounce us out of the entrance into deeper water. Later when I dove on the keel there was mud 18 inches up the sides. However, free now, we turned our way to the 2 atolls (there are only 4 in the W. hemisphere) we had not visited last year, Turneffe’s and Lighthouse--both wonderful, but I will focus on Lighthouse as it was a bit more magically remote.
What can convey the experience of Lighthouse atoll? A couple of small islands with 5-10 caretakers on a 25 by 5 mile oval reef 30 miles from the mainland. The surrounding water is dark blue and very deep- think of a vertical unsharpened pencil with just the end breaking water—and the water inside the reef is 5-15 reef and turquoise. The water was clear, the fish bigger on the wall (drop-off) than we saw anywhere else, the snorkeling fabulous. There were enough boats around so I had a diving buddy when I wanted and the convenience of filling my tank from a live-aboard dive boat nearby. One small island, Half Moon, was the definition of tropical island with beaches, palm trees, and especially for Ginger, a forested area with a canopy platform to watch the nesting red footed boobies and frigate birds. The canopy supported hundreds of families in crowded, raucous, proximity. Ginger got to hold a baby booby that fell out of its nest and would have died had not the ranger adopted it. A few years ago the ranger had learned the interesting fact-- the hard way --that the boobies need salt water to survive, and cannot tolerate fresh.
Belize was a hard country to leave, but we’re looking forward to new experiences in Europe.
Love to all, ******** and Ginger, s/v Alchemy
Ps. For those who wish to see where we are and have been, google Winlink, go to Position Reporter, put in my call sign, KC2HKW, and follow directions. There are satellite photos of the areas as well as maps, and Shitrak will show you our traveling routes. Enjoy.
