from Rio Dulce to Miami

[STEFSAILOR]

I wonder where all the comments or cruising notes are for this trip.
It looks like nobody goes ever North again once they hit the W-Carribean?

I have already a Rauscher and Nigel Calder guide from this region
but I am interested in all your stories and experiences about this route(s)
( inside passage , Belize or in the gulfstream along the Cuban coast)
Waypoints, dangers , problems with the authorities, current and met issues, or just a nice story or links to blogs you know about this trip??....anything really is welcome.
My trip should be 2016 spring something...
Thanks for your responses

stefD

[model 10]

That's weird, there should be a bunch of reports. We did that trip about 5 years ago and will be doing again about the same time you are.
Super brief; Belize for a month, check in at Punta Gorda. Check out San Pedro. Stop in either in Bahia Todos Santos or Bahia de la Ascencion, on your way up the MX coast. A few weeks or so in Isla Mujeres waiting to cross to Cuba. For us the seas will be under 1 meter. There are 2 or 3 anchorages along the north coast of Cuba that you don't need to check in to use. Hop up to Key West
Chris Parker every morning for wx. See you?

[Matt Johnson]

On our site starting around Nov of 2013. Look in the archives.

Have fun,

Matt

[belizesailor]

Stef, what's your nationality and country of registry of your boat? If both NON-USA then that eliminates legal concerns over stopping in Cuba. Stops in Cuba could obviously shorten the legs signficantly.

[belizesailor]

Also, I know from a PM you sent me that your boat draws 6'2". If you go the inside route in Belize then you will have plenty of water N bound in the Inner Channel as far as Belize City. N of there you will spend a lot of time very close to the bottom...especially as you head N from about Caye Cauker to Ambergris Caye. Alternatively, you could clear out in Belize City and exit Eastern Channel with lots of water under your keel.

The easiest way to clear out near Belize City is to go into Cucumber Beach Marina and have them call officials for you, but the entrance channel tends to silt up with a controlling depth of about 6' or less depending upon status of dredging. Alternatively you can anchor off in Sibun Bight and dinghy into the marina.

Good deep draft anchorages N bound about a day run apart include New Haven Bay, Placencia Harbor, and Sibun Bight. If you clear out of Guatemala the day before departure then get an early start you can make New Haven Bay. Next early AM while you've still got a favorable but light land breeze make for Placencia. Then onto Sibun Bight or Cucumber Beach Marina if you want to try and make it in. There are a number of other feasible options for your draft, but these are the ones I usually use when running boats back and forth from the Rio.

You asked about marinas on another thread. Very limited options for your draft in Belize. You could make it into Roberts Grove Marina in the back lagoon in Placencia, but I would hire local knowledge for that. Ditto for Chabli Mar or Laura Beya also on the back lagoon. Probably not worthwhile unless you plan to stay in them for a while. And, the anchorage is good so really no big motivation unless you need shore power or want to leave the boat. There is a big marina project on the coast just N of Placencia that looks like it could easily accommodate you, but I've never used it and don't know the status.

You can clear in/out at Big Creek just across from Placencia.

Offshore route, since you've mentioned you want frequent breaks, you could stop in at the Sapodilla Cayes near the S end of the Belizean barrier reef and then at the atolls. Technically you should be cleared in to do this, but officials are sparse in these locations so you are not likely to have any issues.

I don't know the Mexican coast well, but others can chime in there.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Guy

....
Chris Parker every morning for wx. See you?

Yes, and Mr Parker is now much more readable in the region with his new directional antenna rig. See his web site for schedule etc: https://www.mwxc.com/.

Also check into NW Carib Net. Very active net. Summary from NoonSite:

"Caribbean NW Net
Northwest Caribbean net, 1400 UTC 6209 USB, alternates 6212 and 6516, 7 days/wk. Generally covers Providencia north to Mexico on the Carib side, including Providencia, San Andreas, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica and the Caymans. They often follow boats all the way home to Key West through Galveston on the US coast, and sometimes boats heading south will continue to check in down to Panama, but not often."

[REsCat]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Stef, what's your nationality and country of registry of your boat? If both NON-USA then that eliminates legal concerns over stopping in Cuba. Stops in Cuba could obviously shorten the legs signficantly.

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong !!!.... Don't even think about that scenario no matter what nationality you or your boat belong to..... I have had more than one US CBP Official warn me about the consequences of any boat trying to make entry into the US directly from Cuba, ...unless you can show that it meets the current strict guidelines that will allow US citizens for a very few, very documented, approved, triple stamped, all T's crossed scrutinized visits.
Read U.S. Customs and Border Protection | Securing America's Borders until you understand it very well !

The consequences generally are that if you show up at a US port with Cuba as your last country/port of exit you will be told to leave immediately.... and don't bother coming back. This is 100% true of Florida and maybe slightly less true for ports further north.
You can fight ,protest, hire lawyers etc if that is the type of fun scenario you want to include in your cruising plans.....

Bob

[AnchorageGuy]

Actually there is a 6 month rule that if you have been to Cuba and are a non U.S. flagged vessel, you can not make and entry into a U.S.port for 6 months. Chuck

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by AnchorageGuy

Actually there is a 6 month rule that if you have been to Cuba and are a non U.S. flagged vessel, you can not make and entry into a U.S.port for 6 months. Chuck

Yes, I recall that now. Maybe spend some time in the Bahamas first.

I sailed to Cuba in 2001 with zero problems, but that was a different era.

[STEFSAILOR]

well ... I must say quit a lot of answers here...

I'll have to catalogue them and read and "fish" out the bits who coincide with
my "presumed" route.
Since you asked ...I am living in Brussels ( Belgium) and my boat is registred here... i will read the Homeland security instructions and go to the US embassy here in Brussels
to find out if I can go to Cuba and then shortly after that to Florida.
Six months in Hemmingway marina is not something I want todo.
Maybe when in the Islas Mujeres i will go to the Bahamas and then cross to "good-ol" europe ...I actually planned to put the boat on a Cargo in Miami
i think I am to old (65) for this crossing "****" ...have done it twice that's enough! it's boring ...

Thanks BS for the details the are going into my "road" book .
The MJ website is awsome;;;takes a bit time to fish out the details
I wonder Matt and Jessica if we did not meet?
I was in Tortugal also in 2012... and recognize a lot of your ( beautiful) pic's
Now I am in Ram on the hard...ie ...the boat
I am in Brussels "on the hard"
Thanks to you all
give me the time to sort out what is helpful and put it together

cheers
stefD

[Debgen]

We just normally shoot from Isla Mejures to Key West/Marathon. If the weather gets out of sorts we head for Cabo San Antonio (Cuba) run up the"Q" run a day or so inside and then head across the straits of Florida to where ever. No Place to check in until Hemingway so no one bothers you.