THE OTHER CARIBBEAN

Gerry and Pat English

'Pacifico' sailed from Nassau, Bahamas in January this year on a six month cruise through the Bahamian Islands and on to Cayman, Guatemala, Belize and Mexico, terminating in Chesapeake Bay. It was rare to see a fellow Red Ensign or Flying Fish burgee in those areas -- perhaps the extensive shallow waters, reefs and lack of accurate charts deter cruisers?

'Pacifico' is a Hallberg Rassy 36 sloop drawing 1.85m (6ft 1in) in cruising trim, and with this draft our cruising was rarely restricted. One soon becomes accustomed to sailing all day in 3m depths, and anchoring in soft sand with little under the keel. A tidal range of 1m can be useful. The 'Explorer' charts covering the Exhuma chain are very accurate and, with GPS, greatly simplify pilotage, although the `Mk 1 Eyeball' still beats all else in these crystal clear waters.

The people, particularly in the Family Islands of the Exhumas and the outlaying islands, are friendly and honest and the fishing is outstanding -- using conch as bait you will have all the fresh fish you need. Provisioning for this cruise is best done in States, although in the islands spirits are reasonably priced, fresh vegetables are usually available and the fresh baked bread is excellent. However good drinking water is scarce, so have a means of collecting rainwater -- our 75 gallon tanks can be filled from the deck scuppers in twenty minutes. Also, there are several abandoned homes throughout the islands which still have cisterns brimming with pure rain water.

There are two useful SSB Nets run by Carolyn (C6 AGG) and Nick Wardle, providing daily weather information, notices and boat-to-boat contact. Amateur Radio Hams meet on 3696 kHz (LSB) at 0720, Non Hams on 4003 kHz (USB) at 0700. Prevailing winds are easterly, with regular cold fronts usefully clocking the winds through west and north, then back into the east again.

Taking departure from Great Inagua we broad-reached in 20 knots through the Windward Passage to run south of Cuba for Grand Cayman, 472 miles in 79 hours. Clearing in at Georgetown is straightforward, but as with many places, avoid arriving or departing at weekends or public holidays (ie. beware overtime charges). There is a superb anchorage off the North Sound in Governor's Creek, a mangrove-protected lagoon with 3-4m of water and good holding in mud. The lagoon has a helpful marina with good water, fuel etc, and there is a bus service to Georgetown and easy access to supermarkets. With its non-stop air service to London the island makes a useful spot for crew changes. As a final bonus, the snorkelling and scuba diving are spectacular.

From Grand Cayman we ran 470 miles in seventy hours to arrive off Livingston, Guatemala at 0700 (one hour after high water), and found 2m on that infamous bar. They say that if you time your arrival for a mid-afternoon high water the sea breeze may give you another 0.3m! A useful Net for local information is found on 4054 kHz at 0800 daily. Anchoring off the town, we were quickly visited by a launch full of splendidly uniformed officials. With courtesy they took away our papers, which we redeemed later that morning on payment of US $48, by far the most expensive entry we have ever made.

Now free to explore the tropical beauty of the lakes of Guatemala we entered the Rio Dulce, a deep freshwater river winding four miles through a 300ft high canyon covered in tropical forest, where hundreds of pelicans, cormorants and egrets take their fill of the abundant fish. Local Mayan fishermen skillfully cast their nets from their 'cacayu' -- small dugout canoes. Everyone uses the river and lakes as there are no roads into Livingston. El Golfete, the first of two lakes, is nine miles long and two wide, with 4m of clean fresh water and beautiful anchorages amongst water lilies and abundant birdlife. Near the western end, Mario's Marina offers water, fuel, propane, a good restaurant and a pool. Nearby Fronteras has most provisions, plus facilities such as carpenters, mechanics, sailmakers etc, but was also one of the very few places on our itinerary with a pilferage problem -- lock up your dinghy and outboard. Passing under the Fronteras road bridge (80ft clearance) we sailed into Lago Isabel and ran for twenty-five miles under spinnaker, to anchor at sunset alone off the Rio Palachic and listen to the roar of packs of howler monkeys. Next day we crept up the Ensada Laguna until the hyacinths completely blocked the river, anchoring amongst the flowers and marvelling at the unspoilt beauty of it all. Later, off the Finca El Paraiso on the northern shore, we walked through tropical forest to swim in Rio Agua Caliente, a cool, clear pool with a steaming hot waterfall.

From Livingston an easy day sail in the trades took us to Punta Gorda where we entered Belize -- efficient, English speaking and no charge! Belize offers hundreds of tropical, coconut-clad, sandy islands or `cays' and perfect sailing, reaching with the tradewinds in the shelter of the continuous offshore coral reef. We found that the small scale British Admiralty charts plus Rauscher's and Calder's pilots were adequate for navigation, although some of the offlying reefs were nearly 2 miles from where the chart put them! There are many easy passages through the reef, allowing us to sail to Glovers Reef for spectacular snorkling, Lighthouse Reef for the frigate bird and booby nesting colonies, and to Turneffe Islands for first class scuba diving.

The anchorage off Belize City is very exposed, but there is a small and friendly marina at nearby Moho Cay. From there we took a 2« hour bus ride to the Guatemalan border at San Ignatio, followed by three hours of boneshaking minibus on the unpaved road to Tikal and the awe inspiring Mayan temples, reclaimed from the jungle a thousand years after that civilisation mysteriously died out. The sunrises and sunsets are spectacular from the temple summits.

On passage to Mexico, and soon after entering their waters, we were boarded by the Mexican navy -- rather dramatic at 0530, with six fully armed sailors climbing aboard in a lively seaway. However their lieutenant was very polite, spoke good English, and after careful examination of our papers and a cursory search welcomed us to Mexico. Official clearance in Isla Muhares was a lengthy process, but the officials were helpful and it was cheap.

We had planned for ten days in Mexico before sailing for Florida, but the weather prognosis dictated otherwise. With a low pressure centre forming in the Bay of Campeche there was the promise of southwesterly winds for the passage through the Yucatan Channel and eastwards to Florida. This was a window too good to miss and we ran before 25 knot southwesterlies in the 2-3 knot Gulf Stream, to record average daily runs of 200 miles for four days.

Whilst passing Cape Canaveral at 0400 on 15 May we witnessed the launch of the Space Shuttle 'Atlantis'. From our position 75 miles downrange the sky over Kennedy Space Centre glowed bright red, the Shuttle rose on a torch of fire, and pitched over onto a low northeast trajectory heading straight for us. The first stage fell away, and with a sonic boom 'Atlantis' streaked overhead at a stunning rate of acceleration.

The southwesterlies carried us almost to Cape Fear, when a cold front shifted the wind rapidly to 30 knots from the northeast, dictating a rapid exit from the Gulf Stream. We found a comfortable overnight anchorage in Winyah Bay, South Carolina. Next morning, with the wind back in the southwest, we ran the remaining 160 miles to Beaufort, North Carolina to clear into America in that charming gathering place for voyagers.

The Intracoastal Waterway through North Carolina makes for delightful cruising, with 200 miles of unspoilt rivers, lakes and vast open sounds joined by canals. There are many isolated anchorages with eagles, egrets and ospreys for company. The ICW is well maintained and marked, fixed bridge clearance is 65ft, and we generally found more than 3m of water although you will probably polish your keel occasionally in soft mud. The cruiser is welcomed here, often with free town dockage.

Through the ICW and Norfolk, Virginia we entered the Chesapeake Bay for a reunion on the Piankatank River with Rear Commodore Bill Caldwell and his wife Alice, then joined the OCC Chesapeake Cruise led by Marsh and Fran Damerell. The Bay offers fine cruising and endless delightful anchorages, and we were indeed privileged to sail in the company of those welcoming and hospitable folks of Virginia and Maryland. 'Pacifico' thanks you all.

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