Leaving Georgia for Points South

Photos and text of the sailing voyages of Ketch 22

Leaving the US East Coast was difficult for me. Even more difficult was leaving Savannah and the Isle Of Hope Marina behind. Heading south, I would have an opportunity to remember one odd Georgian one last time, but the folks in the The Savannah area more than made up for good ole Capn' Bob.

The 'low country' and the ICW was one of the high points of the entire voyage through Central America to the US East coast, but it was time to be moving on. I headed south with different crew coming and going as I got further south. It was frequently below freezing in Georgia and Florida as I got started. Another 'unusually cold' weather spell. I got really tired of hearing the word "unusually" associated with weather. I've concluded that any sentence involving weather that includes the word 'unusually', probably doesn't involve unusual weather, but rather the perception of the speaker. By 2011, the weather is "unusually hot or cold, rainy or drought, windy or calm", where ever I go.

Georgia and Florida: I had the best crew of the voyage on this leg. My sister Patty (aka Groover) Marlow and my daughter Alyson Marlow joined me on a lovely motor voyage south on the ICW from Savannah Georgia to Fernandina Beach Florida. The weather was cold and crisp for the most part, but we also had some overcast weather that chilled to the bone. All went well heading south, as we ran aground only once. We grabbed a slip in Fernandina Beach at the North end of Amelia Island and had a few days to enjoy the restaurants and shops before the crew flew out from Jacksonville and the new crew flew in.

Not far from Moon River.

It was cold!!

Groover!

Beggars on the ICW.

WOW.

Fernandina at night.

Crew Change:

Alyson and Groover left me in Fernandina, and Rick Thomas joined me there to continue the trip down the ICW. We had ongoing technical issues with the autopilot and the steering cable broke just north of Titusville. Amazingly, Edson who was the OEM for the steering pedestal still had records for my 1984 Freedom Express (hull number 22) and the replacement cable was in their warehouse. An overnight UPS shipment (Saturday delivery by the way) got the part to me on the next day, (New Years Eve), and I had the steering working in about four hours. We were on our way the following day.

An early start.

Leaving Ft. Pierce.

Sundown on a neighbor.

At the Marathon Boatyard dock.

Leaving the Keys.

Cuba

The route to Cuba was long and circuitous. Technically still illegal for most US citizens, there are exceptions written into law that make it not impossible to visit. As the master of Ketch 22, my primary concern is health and safety of ship and crew. There were enough safety issues enroute and the weather was simply not co-operating for us as we headed south to Isla Mujeres. The passage description that I've written here should be self explanatory. At any rate, old town Havana was a highlight of the voyage.

Cuban immigration on the left.

Marineros y Cubanos.

Marina Hemingway, dead ahead.

Havana Yacht Club of Cuba.

The streets of Havana.

Cuban model photo op.

San Che.

What a cigar!

Fill a hole in the sidewalk.

Sidewalk art.

Hemingway lived here.

Camera shy Cubana.

An old Chevy.

The Havana malecon.

At the Marina Hemingway quay.

Malecon closed today.

Calm in the marina.

Fidel, Raoul and Ernie.

Typical Cuban bookstore.

Old town Havana.

Isla Mujeres and Mayan Ruins

Leaving Cuba , we sailed to Isla Mujeres, which is a Mexican gem. If you are heading that way, forget about Cancun and head directly for the island of women, which is the translation from the Spanish for Isla Mujeres. I had plans to see the Mayan ruins with crew Pierre and our wives. It all worked out, as we arrived less than a day late. We saw more Mayan ruins than I care to remember. I'll share some of the images with you.

Caught this one on the way.

From the hotel in Isal Mujeres.

The hotel was not in ruins.

Nice place to rest.

Chichen Itzu.

Belize

As the only English speaking country in Central America, Belize has a reputation as being easy to check in and out for English speaking citizens. While true the officials all speak English, Belize became my least favorite of the Central American countries that I visited (which includes all of them) because of the way we were treated in San Pedro at check in time.

It should have been relaxing.

Sometimes it was.

A local dive boat at anchor.

Rockin the anchorage.

Relaxing in Cay Caulker, Placencia and West Snake Cay

A great start.

Known for the sweet rolls.

Look at that palm tree.

Time for a $6 USD hair cut.

Naty loves this one.

Snake Cay greenery etc.

Caribbean art form.

Ketch 22 waiting patiently.

Guatemala in the distance.

That was end of Belize for me. It was time to make tracks for Rio Dulce Guatemala.

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