04 October 2011; Huatalco de Santa Cruz.

 This time we did not have an early morning arrival as we were scheduled for a 10 am docking time and thus the ship approached the pilot station at 08.45. From far we saw the pilot boat already bobbing up and down on the waves as there was a considerable swell running from the South East. As Huatalco has a bay which is fully exposed from the south, an incoming swell is always a concern, but the SE angle of the swell was just good enough to make the dock area protected. The protruding cliff on the East side sheltered the port very nicely. In the past the port was not much frequented by larger ships and thus remained a well kept secret and hideaway. This is a natural bay but it was never wide enough for regular size cruise ships to anchor in, as the ships could not swing around on the tide, nor could they tie up with the stern (style mediteranee) and then lay behind two anchors, as the distance to the shore was too long; the end of the bay being very shallow. Cruise ships that visited had to anchor around the cliff to the East where the water is protected from the incoming swell by a reef and then tender into Hualtalco bay. That made the tenders exposed to the swell that is running most of the time, when entering the bay itself, and that could cause quite a bit of discomfort for the guests to say the least.

So about 10 years ago a pier was constructed, long enough to dock two mega liners, and since then cruise ship calls have increased considerably. Hualtalco is located in the province of Oaxaca which is part of Mexico but with very strong Indian roots and it’s very own culture. As a result you do not really feel that you are visiting Mexico but something that is only remotely related to it. Hence the reason for our call, plus the fact that it is one of the most beautiful bays in the whole of Mexico. I mentioned yesterday that I was keeping a close eye on the eventuality of the Tehuantepeccer wind coming this way. It did not, there was only a very gentle breeze blowing. Still I decided to go for safe and thus dock with the nose out, so that on departure we only had to give a kick ahead and not having to swing around in wind and swell. After the pilot had made it on board and expressed his interest in black coffee (strong coffee for strong pilot…………) I swung the ship around went astern for half a mile until we came alongside the pier. This maneuver really depends on the countdown of the distances by the officer aft as by the time we are in position the stern is about 50 feet from the end of the dock. In the past we would paint a bridge mark on the dock so we would know for next time where to stop, but here in Huatalco they really do not like that, they like to keep their beautiful pier clean and pristine.

The Statendam going astern into one of the most beautiful bays in Mexico. Photo by Hotelmanager Bert van Mackelenbergh.

 By 10 am. We were docked and cleared and the guests were off ashore for what was going to be a very warm day. There was not much wind but what was blowing came from a northerly overland direction and the bare land nicely warmed up the air flow before it came over the port. 88oF or 31oC, quite a shock for a ship that was 10 days ago still sailing in Alaskan temperatures with cold gale force winds. With the ship safely docked it was time for me to start focusing on crossing the Golfo de Tehuantepec. The weather forecast indicated winds of up to 40 knots. That is not nice but it is also not too bad. The strange thing is that because it can be very strong, winds up to a 100 mph have been measured, it creates waves and swells that are running away from the shore instead of going towards as is normally the case.

To explain this wind phenomena in a very simple way; if there is a major disturbance in the North Caribbean or South West North Atlantic, (which is the case at the moment with tropical storm Philippe blowing south of Bermuda) a high pressure system builds up on the East side of Mexico. On the Pacific side there is a low pressure area and then the wind starts flowing between them. In the area of the Golfo de Tehuantepec the mountains are slightly lower and this acts as a funnel, increasing the velocity of the wind. This funnel has a width of about 60 to 80 miles, straight down into the Pacific, and most of the time the windy weather is only noticeable in this limited area. If the weather forecast is right we should not notice it very much, as we will sail close enough to the coast not to have too many issues with the swell. We left nicely on time as soon as the last tour was back on board and after making a bit of lee for the bouncing pilot boat we set sail on an easterly course towards our next Port of Call, Puerto Chiapas. Tonight it should be windy for a few hours but tomorrow it will be another wind still and warm day.