Isla Mujeres (Cancun), Mexico to Cape Coral, Florida
Sailing Trip
April 1999
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  Two men, one 38 foot boat, 435 nautical miles of ocean...


Captain (USCG 100 ton) Danny Wenners, Cloud Nine, and Pete Dubler 

DISCLAIMER: I'm going to share with you all of the nice parts of sailing.  I won't mention too much about rough seas, sea sickness, living for days on a heeling boat, missing my family, or times when we were wet, cold, or too sea sick to address our hunger.  When one sails, like when one goes camping, you agree to put up with whatever discomforts might exist in exchange for all of the positives of the experience.   Enjoy reading about these positives!  I enjoyed living them!

Leaving at 4 AM from Fort Collins, Colorado, flying on a Mileage Plus (free) ticket via Los Angeles of all places, I met up with Danny about 6 PM at the public ferry dock on Isla Mujeres, an island about five miles off the coast of Cancun. After a few days of touristing, snorkeling, and provisioning on Isla Mujeres, the weather was right and we were ready to check out of Mexico and begin our passage to the Dry Tortugas.  Unfortunately, Easter is a week long holiday in Mexico, so we had to pay the dock master overtime to check us out on Good Friday.

We made a short sail (about 20 miles) up the coast to Isla Contoy, a national park and bird sanctuary and anchored on the lee side of the island, near the lighthouse for the night.


On Saturday, April 3, 1999, we began our 54 hour crossing of the Gulf of Mexico to the Dry Tortugas.  After about 90 minutes, we were out of site of land (the light house at Isla Contoy) and contending with the currents of the Gulfstream.   We allowed ourselves to run north of our rumb line so we would pick up the eastward current sooner.  The seas were very confused with the winds out of the east and the current running counter to the winds.  This resulted in six to eight foot swells mixed in with the 3-5 foot waves.  The swells were like running straight though a moguls course.  At times we would hit a swell dead on and the forward momentum of the boat would be cut in half.  Nonetheless, we made between 5 and 6 knots of real headway motor sailing close-hauled We both had a bit of the mal de mer over the first night of 3 hour watch shifts, but by midday on Sunday, we had a good hot meal thanks to Danny's cooking and were no longer eyeing the rails. 


Every evening and every morning rewarded us with beautiful sunsets and sunrises. Each night we hoped to see the famous green flash, but were not that lucky. As we approached the Dry Tortugas on Monday morning, the seas were calm and the short sailor's memory (of sea sickness) was working for us as we enjoyed a pleasant and beautiful morning arrival at the Dry Tortugas National Park.

We anchored to the west of Fort Jefferson which lies on Garden Key.  The history of the fort and its uses which included serving as a military prison for the likes of Samuel Mudd (of "your name is Mudd" fame), is fascinating. 
The thousands of arches of the fort were built from some 16 million bricks brought from Florida prior to the Civil War, and from New York during the Civil War.  (You can read more about the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson at  Tampa Bay Online ) 


In addition to touring Fort Jefferson on Tuesday, on Wednesday, we took the dinghy over to Loggerhead Key, about three miles, to check out the island and snorkel.  Off the southern tip of the island is an exposed wreck of a windjammer in about twenty feet of waters.  Major portions of the wreck are still in such shape that you can tell what they are (hull, masts, engine room, etc.).  Amongst all of the "usual Caribbean suspects", there was a 400+ pound jewfish living in the hull of the wreck.  The lighthouse is manned by volunteers who are now limited to a 30 day stay on the key due to the popularity of this assignment with the National Park Service.  (The waiting list is 2 years long).


On Thursday morning, April 8, we set sail for Cape Coral (across the river from Fort Myers), Florida.  The trip started with 40 miles of sailing (finally, no engine), before the winds died down and we motorsailed through the night.  At 3 AM, we were both awake in the cockpit enjoying a calm sea, clear skies, stars reflecting and dancing on the water, dolphins all around us, and a perfect golden moonrise as a prelude to a beautiful sunrise.  We went under the Ft. Myers/Sanibel Island bridge shortly after 9 AM on Friday, April 9 and received a welcoming wind for a comfortable broad reach sail up the intercoastal and into dock at Cape Coral.  A perfect end to a great passage.

As it was the week after Easter, flights were still booked up, so I got to spend several more days in Cape Coral looking at houses and helping Danny settle in at his house, after his two and one half year journey around the Caribbean.  I got to meet several wonderful people in Cape Coral including Jerry and Lois Lampert.  Here I am sailing with Jerry and Danny (taking the picture) on Jerry's Hunter 28.  You can see that Jerry also belongs to the "Silly Sailing Hat Club" with me.

 
Our Route:(Use scroll bar at bottom of screen to see all of map)

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