By Andy Lund

Ed note - This is the tenth installment of a multi-part series by Andy Lund on his first year of cruising on board Resolution , the Nordhavn 46 he took delivery of in February 2004.

Puerto Aventuras Mexico

Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

March 4, 2005 - Mike McFadden and I arrived Puerto Aventuras, Mexico today about noon.  This modern marina is on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, opposite Cozumel Island.  Cozumel is not friendly to boats or yachts, just cruise ships, but we may go over there by passenger ferry from Playa del Carmen, about 20 miles north of here, to take a look.  Playa del Carmen has a nice beach, so may be worth some time too.

We had a bumpy 24-hour passage north from Ambergris Cay, Belize, passing through a cold front last night.  It packed 25 to 30 knot winds and about two hours of very heavy rain, but is well south of us now.  The sun is out, but the wind is still 15 - 20 knots from the northwest, so it was on our nose for the second half of the trip. 

We'll move north 60 miles to Isla Mujeres, opposite Cancun, on Monday, then leave Isla Mujeres for Key West on Friday.  That 330 mile trip will take about 48 hours, helped along by the two-knot current of the Gulf Stream along the NW coast of Cuba, so we'll reach Key West some time Sunday the 13th.  We'll stay there at the Galleon Marina through Saturday 19 March, and reach Stuart, Florida (the Nordhavn SE sales and service office) on Sunday 27 March, where we'll leave the boat for a week of service.

We fly home to Seattle/Tacoma from Fort Lauderdale Tuesday 29 March.  Mike stays home for two months, rejoining in Newark, NJ on 25 May for the June Atlantic crossing, from Newport, RI. Zack Blum joins me in Florida on 4 April for the trip up the East Coast and across the Atlantic.

Arriving Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

March 12, 2005 - We are just getting underway for Key West, Florida, USA.  It's a 48-hour passage, so we expect to arrive there around 1000 on Monday 14 March.  We'll be at the Galleon Marina all week. Tom White and Jeremy Jones will join us there Friday evening for a week of diving in the Keys. 

We'll be in Miami 25 March, Fort Lauderdale 26 March, and Stuart on 27 March.  Nordhavn will do maintenance for a week there, and the engine and generator will be serviced. We fly home 29 March from Fort Lauderdale on Continental through Houston arriving SeaTac about 2PM.

Key West Arrival

Tom White & Mike McFadden - Diving in Keys

Andy Lund & Jeremy Jones - Diving in Keys

Key West, Florida

March 14, 2005 - We arrived Key West shortly after noon today, and are moored at the Galleon Marina in Key West Bight.  We'll be here at least through Saturday 19 March.  Tom White and Jeremy Jones join us here the 18th for some diving in the Keys.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

March 26, 2005 - We are moored at the Las Olas Marina, just south of the 17th St Bridge on the Atlantic ocean side, in Fort Lauderdale.  We'll be here for the next 48 hours, then head up to Stuart - 60 miles north - where we'll leave the boat for ten days for service work.  We've run 1750 hours over the past year, so it's time for some preventive maintenance and service.

We dropped Tom White and Jeremy Jones off in Miami Beach this morning so they could catch their plane home.  I completed my scuba qualifications Wednesday - thanks Jeremy for your patience. Tom and Jeremy - and Mike - were great dive partners. 

Mike and I fly home to Seattle next Tuesday. Mike goes back to work in Bellingham then rejoins in Newark on 25 May for the Atlantic crossing.  Zack Blum joins in Fort Lauderdale on 5 April.

Stuart, Florida

April 9, 2005 - We departed Stuart, Florida yesterday, headed north.  Zack Blum is now aboard - best friend of my nephew Andy Helgeson.  He'll cross the Atlantic and be aboard through the end of August in Europe.  Mike McFadden, now home in Bellingham for a couple of months, rejoins in Newark, NJ in late May for the Atlantic crossing.

The yard period in Stuart was excellent, with lots of maintenance accomplished.  After 1750 running hours in a year (most boats only get 100 to 150 hours of use a year) there were lots of little things to get done.  No major issues, and the boat is in excellent shape. Stuart Yacht Service did a first class job, as did Shearwater Marine, the engine people - who serviced the main engine, the wing engine and the generator. I was also pleased with the support from American Bow Thruster for the stabilizers and Beard Marine for the watermaker.

We're making our way up the IntraCoastal Waterway - a narrow shallow ditch just inland from the Atlantic, running all the way up to Norfolk.  Interesting, but full of fast sport boats, and it takes a lot of concentration. I'll be happy to be on the open ocean again soon, which we'll do north of St. Augustine.  We'll probably be in Wilmington, North Carolina in a couple of weeks, and plan to be in Washington DC from the 9th through the 15th of May.  We'll be in New York City 24 - 27 May, and in Newport, RI from 31 May through 4 June - our target date for the Atlantic crossing.