We’ve arrived in the Cayman Islands after a very long trip from Belize. The actual distance is only about 400 nautical miles in a straight line but we ended up travelling about 700 nm in the end. We had strong north east winds for most of the trip which, along with a strong current against us, made heading east very difficult. The first two days went well but the second night brought big squalls and unpredictable winds. At 3am we had no breeze and big seas and I decided to motor for a while to keep us going. Night time motoring through waves is a dangerous endeavour for those of us blessed with a tendency toward seasickness, but it was that or bounce around on the waves – another gateway to queasy feelings. I managed to motor until the end of my shift while trying to look, but not too closely, at the compass and with the bucket tucked tightly in one elbow. In the end I did succumb to full on seasickness which lasted for three days.
Adam brought me regular updates of our miserable progress as I lay in my sickbed and, at different points in the trip, he was sure that we were destined for Cuba, Mexico, or Texas depending on how bad our ability to point was. The sound of the waves as we bashed into them was startling and we got a considerable amount of seawater in the cabin as the breaking waves washed over the length of the decks into the cockpit. Around day four we were heading for the middle of the Yucatan channel, between Mexico and Cuba, and we decided to tack over with the hope of being able to head to Cuba. Miraculously we were suddenly able to lay the Cayman Islands and sped along the last 250nm.
We arrived bright and early on the seventh day and the Port Security boat escorted us into the harbour at George Town on the south west side of Grand Cayman. We checked in, purchased a courtesy flag, and then took our place in the anchorage amongst the tour boats and the giant cruise ships.
Adam brought me regular updates of our miserable progress as I lay in my sickbed and, at different points in the trip, he was sure that we were destined for Cuba, Mexico, or Texas depending on how bad our ability to point was. The sound of the waves as we bashed into them was startling and we got a considerable amount of seawater in the cabin as the breaking waves washed over the length of the decks into the cockpit. Around day four we were heading for the middle of the Yucatan channel, between Mexico and Cuba, and we decided to tack over with the hope of being able to head to Cuba. Miraculously we were suddenly able to lay the Cayman Islands and sped along the last 250nm.
We arrived bright and early on the seventh day and the Port Security boat escorted us into the harbour at George Town on the south west side of Grand Cayman. We checked in, purchased a courtesy flag, and then took our place in the anchorage amongst the tour boats and the giant cruise ships.