Log Entry May 2000 (continued)
Regatta Al Sol May 5th, 2000 (continued)
The Island
It was still very dark as we crossed the
finish line. Horns blew and several multicolored
bottle rocket variety fireworks ascended off the
stern of the Mexican Navy's gun boat. There are
many nearby reefs as you cross in front of North
Beach and enter into the Bay of Mujeres so you
must stay in the unlit channel. We dropped our
sails and started the engine while an escort boat
circled us waiting to safely lead us to the public
pier to clear customs. We had reserved a boat
slip at the public pier for our stay at the island so
we gladly followed the escort towards the harbor
entrance. As we came into the harbor, we
strained our eyes looking to see who else had
finished. We could see the Santa Cruz 52
Decision and a McGregor 65 (from Racing "A"
fleet that started Thursday) rafted up to the
outside dock. We also spotted Sabadaba tied up in a slip.
As we were directed into our slip, Armando and several Customs agents were already there to greet
us and deliver a welcome package of cold cervezas, a bottle of rum and other local gifts. As usual,
Armando makes this process easy; basically just fill out the Touristas and hand over your passports.
Usually within a couple of hours he will have all your paper work back and his fees are very reasonable.
John and Daryl were extremely anxious to get off the boat and find the nearest cuarto de baño (head) after
holding it for five days. The rest of us were starting to pop the tops on the cervezas and were beginning to
start the process of unwinding after five days at sea. While talking to Armando, he said we were the forth
boat to finish so far. A cheer went out with the crew; this of course was much better news than we had
anticipated.
The dawn was starting to break and the
crew was ready to eat some breakfast and go
to their motels. Bev and I were staying at the
Hotel Cabanas Maria del Mar in the center of
the regatta activities on the North Beach.
Right across the alleyway from the hotel was
the radio room and official notice board for
the regatta. I checked and we were indeed
forth to finish and none had finished since. I
don't recall in what order but we ate and
checked in and napped for several hours
recovering from the long night. It was around
noon Monday when we got up and the official
regatta activities were about to start with the
welcoming party for the crew's wives. Beginning Monday each day has planned activities and parties
leading up to the awards ceremony on Thursday evening. Some of the traditional activities include a Mardi
Gras style parade through the town where the crews throw beads and other throws from their decorated
golf carts to the crowd, and the basketball game between the drunken sailors and the locals at the town
square. During the evenings when there are no planned activities, Corona usually sponsors a free beer
and Mexican buffet. A $30.00 wrist band will get you all the free Coronas and food you can drink and eat
during the evenings.
Feeling refreshed after a nap and shower, Beverly and I
walked over to the thatched roof bar on the beach named
Bejus. This was the official center of regatta activities and
offered us a beautiful palm tree laden beach view. Just after
ordering our first drink, our friend Tommy greeted us. Tommy
flew in the night before for the week of celebrations and to crew
on Sovereign on the return trip. The rest of our crew started
showing up so we moved to a table with room for us all. The
new Santana CD "Supernatural" had not been out long and was
repeat ably played fitting the mood and location. It was early
afternoon and still no one else in our class had finished and it
was beginning to look like we won! We heard from the regatta
committee that Tiare was dismasted the first day and returned
to Pensacola. Our spirits were high.
As the afternoon started to wind down, the party started to get wound up. The traditional wives bikini
contest was getting ready to start. In this contest, each boat sponsors it's most eligible female to
participate. Although Beverly would have held her own during the competition, her idea was to recruit a
ringer from the crowd to represent Sovereign. She gazed around and spotted three ladies in bikinis at the
edge of the crowd and approached them with a proposition; free dinner this evening for all three of them if
one would participate in the contest. One lady was a shy Canadian named Gail who declined our offer;
another lady was an attractive Australian named Yolanda who also declined; the last lady was a tall,
strikingly featured ebony women from New York named Roxanne who said yes. All three of them were
staying together at a hostel on the Island and had wondered into these regatta festivities. Although
Beverly's plan yielded a tall lovely African American participant, I wondered how the judging committee from
Southern Yacht Club would score her; but at least Sovereign was proudly represented. The contest
concluded with Roxanne being a runner up and winning a bottle of rum. She was happy and we all had
fun.
Next was the Men's Boxer shorts contest. It was late enough in
the afternoon where other boats had finished and some of the
celebrating crew had stumbled into Bejus. Once again, Beverly took
charge, grabbed a banana, handed it to Tommy and told him to put it
in his shorts and do us proud or she would let the cat out of the bag.
Tommy gained the eye of one of the female judges and using most
every move he had, he just couldn't overcome the crew member from
Animal that shed his boxers to the delight of the other judges and
disdain of the spectators. Beverly let Tommy slide on this one. We all
had a nice dinner that evening with our three new friends who would
wind up adding to our adventure immensely.
The next couple of days seemed to run together. We all rented
scooters and rode around the island seeing the sites while exploring
new restaurants and cantinas. After the second day, Bev and I upgraded to a golf cart affording much
more comfort and utility. One day we hopped on a ferry and went across the bay to Cancun where we
visited the local Sam's Club and Wal-Mart for needed items. Every afternoon we would wind up back at
Bejus for the festivities. All the boats had finished by our second day and we were indeed first in our class
and second in the racer/cruiser fleet behind the Southern Yacht Club boat Sabadaba. This outstanding
finish validated my planning and garnered an apology from Kevin for doubting my tactics. We saw a lot of
Gail, Yolanda and Roxanne as our crew (especially Tommy) called on them frequently. Little did Bev and I
know, but they were conspiring with John (who was going to captain the J 35 Man O' War back to Gulfport)
for passage back to the states.
I think Wednesday was the day of the basket ball game in the town's square. Having been a league
basket ball coach, Beverly was especially interested in this event. The American team was always put
together with the youngest, most fit, most drunk and/or most confused crewmembers that hadn't left the
island or were not in jail yet. The team is known as the NADS -- North American Drunken Sailors. The
visitor's bleachers would always cheer their team on with the chant: "GO NADS, GO NADS"; I'm not sure if
the Mexicans ever caught on to this slight of tongue. The Mexican team's main interest was in winning the
game, and they always did -- by a wide margin. They had a large surplus of capable and sober players to
choose from. This year's American team was made up mostly of crew from the Cutter Zodiac with the
Captain being the Team's coach. Beverly wasted no time in introducing her self to coach and ten minutes
into the game, she was running up and down the court coaching the players, calling substitutions and
patting them on their asses while the Cutter Captain was sitting on the bench. Just like aboard Sovereign,
she motivated the team into contention. It was an extremely close game that year with the Mexicans only
winning by two points. Beverly's voice was horse for the next day.
The town of Isla Mujeres hasn't changed
much since I've been going there beginning in
1986. The sleepy fishing village is a bit busier
during midday as the ferries now bring loads of
tourist over from Cancun to shop and eat lunch.
There are many shops in the approximate six
square block center of town selling colorful locally
made items, tee shirts, onyx pieces and
turquoise jewelry. Several grocery stores selling
freshly made breads, fruit, meat, vegetables and
frozen and canned goods are open daily. Dive
shops, scooter rentals, fishing charter companies
line both sides of Rueda Medina street along with
some great restaurants and cantinas. Diving is
fantastic there with many colorful reefs between
the Island and Cancun. Fishing is a popular
activity keeping the local restaurants supplied
with fresh catch of the day. The public pier is
always occupied by beautiful custom Sports
Fisherman from along the Gulf coast from Texas
to Florida with families on vacation or crews
ready to take you out on a deep sea fishing
charter. The town has plenty of nice hotels for a
variety of budgets. Most of the locals are poor
and live in humble settings but are a happy and honest people and, as a tourist, I have never felt
threatened. As a matter of fact, the town's people always go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
American sailors have been coming here drinking their cervezas, riding around in their golf carts and
crashing into their shops for years and years but they still welcome us by opening up the town every time
we come.
By Thursday we were feeling completely rested and anxious to get underway for the return home. We
spent the better part of the morning shopping for the provisions needed for the voyage and topping off all
the ice-chests. We fueled Sovereign and bought several five gallon jerry tanks to fill with fuel and stow on
deck. On the return trip if the winds lay down, we don't hesitate to use the engine. As afternoon came, we
once again found ourselves at Bejus. All the crew gathered and discussed our plans for departure. We
had decided to cast off Thursday night right after the awards ceremony. Our crew was slightly reduced
since Kevin flew home midweek and John Bogil was skippering the vessel Man O' War back. This caused
me to take a dedicated watch on Sovereign for the trip home. It was official now; the girls were leaving
Cancun and going to America aboard Man O' War. I hoped John knew what he was doing. Actually, after
the return, John and Yolanda were together for several years with John traveling back to Australia with her
for a year. After several cervezas, it was time for a nap before the awards ceremony and departure.
The ceremony was being held at the convention center at the north end of the island. Large tables
were set to accommodate the crews and their spouses. Dinner and drinks were served before the awards
and we were enjoying ourselves immensely. When it came time to receive our awards, the whole crew
climbed on stage in celebration. It was at this point when I felt that it had all been worth it. I also began to
feel a little melancholy knowing we would be leaving this beautiful island in a few hours. We gathered back
at the table for the remainder of the presentation and then started making our way back to Sovereign in a
quite walk down Rueda Medina street to the public pier.
It was very dark and around 10:00 in the evening as we climbed aboard and prepared to leave. The
forecast was good but we had heard several reports about rough seas from boats that recently left. Man O'
War cast off and we followed her out about 30 minutes later. As we left the harbor, we worked out what the
watches would be and what watch would go first -- Craig, Daryl and Tommy. Within the first hour, we were
sailing on a fast beam reach through at least ten foot seas. I felt like I had partied a little too hardily and felt
sick -- luckily, we had repaired the head and it was functioning properly. The cruise back was rather un-
eventful with the exception of two notable experiences. First, we had another encounter with dolphins, this
time going in our direction. Again,
there were thousands of them and
as the near ones passed by, they
would roll over on their sides and
look up at us while playing around
the bow of Sovereign for several
minutes. This was truly
spectacular. By the middle of the
trip, the winds had lain down and
we were motoring. Man O' War,
being a faster boat, was several
hours ahead of us. They had had
minor engine problems enabling us
to catch up. Although they were not out, we dropped off 15 gallons of fuel to them as we thought this was
the safe thing to do since they were already low and we might get separated again. Early the next
morning the second notable thing occurred when a
small egret landed on my head from behind and then
jumped to Sovereign's wheel. It scared the shit out of
me at first. Even though it was a small egret, it was a
large bird that made for some nice photographs. The
egret hung around for almost a day resting before it
took off again.
We arrived at the Gulfport Yacht Club on the
Mississippi Gulf coast mid-afternoon on Monday flying
our quarantine flag and calling Customs on the VHF to
come clear us. Man O' War had arrived several hours
earlier at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi Mississippi.
We made several other attempts to reach Customs on
the VHF but to no avail. We finally got their phone
number from the Coast Guard and contacted them.
They noted they were having a busy afternoon but not to leave the boat -- they would be by. I thought
they must have been hung up on Man O' War with the two non- U.S. citizens. Later John told me that
Customs was very upset at the way they just showed up with two aliens on board and could have levied
thousands of dollars worth of fines, but they worked everything out. After several hours of waiting, Customs
called me back and cleared us over the phone -- that has never happened before with me.
So that's the details of the trip that took me almost ten years to document. Writing this log entry was
like reliving the adventure with my beloved first mate. I raced to Isla Mujeres on Kativa (J-160) twice since
then but it just wasn't the same. I'm sure I will always remember this trip as one of the happiest points in
my life and Sovereign's greatest triumph.
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Email Me: ed@yachtsafun.org
