Saturday 5 Feb, Mexico day 16, Isla Mujeres to Puerto Morelos: Sail to El Cid Marina, then visit the resort.
Today we move from Isla Mujeres. We have been here over 2 weeks now and feel we have certainly explored it all, and then some. Our destination today is just 25 nm down the coast, into El Cid Marina at Puerto Morelos, on the mainland. From there we plan to rent a car and do some land exploring: visit Mayan ruins, swim in Cenotes and visit Cozumel, Playa Del Carmen, Pureto Aventuras and Valladolid.
Lifting the anchor is quite a task, given it’s been dug in for 2 weeks, subject to high winds and set in all directions. It was pretty well buried.
First, we have to motor north to get deep enough water to exit the bay, then we head due south, over the deeper reefs which we were snorkeling over yesterday. The forecast was for a gentle north wind, so I was prepared to motor. But it turned out to be superb wind and we end up sailing the whole way with full main and genoa, goose winged (mainsail retained out one side and genoa poled out the other).
As we pass Punta Cancun the sea is quite disturbed with wind against current. But once around that corner there is a small counter current, and the sea totally flattens off. At the same time the wind increases, now touching 20knts, and we are ploughing along at 8.5kts speed (thru-water) and 9.5kts SOG (speed over ground) having the most wonderful sail in the turquoise-blue water adjacent to the white-sand Cancun beach. We are so glad that Emma gets at least one good sail during her time with us.
When we were in Isla Mujeres we could see huge hotels on the horizon around Punta Cancun. What we didn’t realise is that this development continues all the way down the coast. One ginormous hotel after another for mile after mile all with this wonderful beach and blue sea in front of them. No wonder Cancun airport was so busy. The number of hotel rooms here would surely rival, if not exceed, places like the Florida coast and Australia’s Gold Coast. It’s quite a sight to behold, as we fast sail passed them all, just ¼ mile offshore.
This development also presents some obstacles: parasailing boats, towing their parachutes with dangling tourists. There are quite a few of them and each seems oblivious to our fast-approaching tall mast! Some come right across our bow with their parasailer lines out behind them at a 30-degree angle. Several times it feels like out mast top may catch the line, but we do pass each of them safely in the end.
By the time the long line of continuous hotels peters out, we have Puerto Morelos in sight ahead. The wind is now gusting up to 24kts and we are flying along, now often touching 10kts. I even need to reef the genoa, because I sense the auto-helm is starting to struggle because we are overpowered. So much for the forecasted light wind!
Approaching El Cid, we duck in behind the end of the reef and furl the sails away. I’m a bit annoyed because again they furl away with creases in them. But with the marina seawall approaching very fast, we don’t have time to re-furl them. Yet again, I’ll have to get them out the next time the wind drops enough and try to get a nice creaseless furl.
As usual on port entries, as soon as we pass through the gap in the breakwater, all becomes calm and placid, with just the cross wind to contend with. This, plus the fact it is the first time we have docked the boat in 18 months, makes us rather nervous. Dropping the anchor is so much easier than maneuvering into a marina berth. But thankfully our bullet-proof reversing technique again works like a dream, and we slip into the tight berth like professionals. The technique, by the way, is to lock the helm in a central position and use the bow thrust as a rudder. This way we can move gently in reverse and retain full control on the boat’s direction. And if all goes wrong, it’s very easy to back out (forward boat motion) having both rudder and thruster.
We are assisted by what looks like a security guy, but he seems to know what he is doing. The only annoying thing is that he asked us for our passports before he had even finished securing our lines. But with a short spurt of Spanish, Oana soon recalibrates his request! And there we are, first time with the boat in a marina berth since we left Maryland back in early December.
We generally avoid marinas, but when we have no choice (like now) and the price is reasonable, Oana does enjoy a period where we can just walk on and off the boat without wet dinghy rides. This marina is only US$1.10 per foot per night (significantly cheaper than any marina in the USA) and we also get 20% discount for being on Chris Parker’s weather routing service. And the big plus here is that it is attached to the El Cid Resort in which we are allowed full access to all the pools and facilities.
In the evening, after a light rain, we take a stroll to explore the resort. It’s huge with several pools, spas, hot tubs and all sorts. At this time, in the early evening, the pools are all deserted because all the guests are in the dining rooms and restaurants, this being an all-inclusive resort. When we approach the main center, there is a Mexican dance and music show, which we watch for a while.
Hmmmm, this could be an interesting place to stay for a while.