Cuba
Jamaica to Cienfuegos
We left Ocho Rios , Jamaica
The first 24 hrs was
rough but good, 15-22 knots on the beam, swell 2 m at first and dropping to1.5
m later.
Once we were past Cabo
Cruz the wind started dropping and we had to motor sail on and off.
We were heading for
Cabeza del Este (Eastern head) of the Jardin de Reina (Queen’s Garden, a string
of keys and islands off the south coast of Cuba ).
We were trolling lures
the whole day with-out success, but within 5 miles off the Jardin de Reina the
reels started screaming.
First we caught a few
very big barracuda that was released then I hooked a very heavy fish.
After a long struggle I
got a huge (6-7kg) yellow fin grouper on board.
We were not sure about
ciguatera so we let it go…only to later realize what big mistake that was!
The south coast of Cuba has,
according to the fishermen, very little chance of ciguatera
poisoning, only in
really big barracuda.
So to release a very
tasty fish after some time since we had fresh fish, is something we could kick
ourselves.
Most of the anchorages
in Jardin de Reina are approached through badly marked shallow channels. The
only existing guide to cruising Cuba
is 16 years old… but usually that would be OK, because rocks don’t move, but
sticks and poles that mark channels disappear!
So we approached
Cabeza del Este with caution, looking for “sticks” as channel markers…and immediately
ran aground.
It took us two hours
with all sails up (to heel the boat, thus decreasing the draft) and rowing the anchor out and
pulling the boat off the bank.
Not a good start to
our long awaited Cuba
trip, so we felt a bit down when we at last anchored out.
There was a cold front
(west winds) predicted within a few days and we did not want to be caught in
the Jardin de Reina with little protection from the west.
 |
| sunrise at Estera las Auras |
So we upped anchor
early morning and headed direction Cienfuegos ,
where we will check into Cuba.A really beautiful sunrise and dolfins riding the
bow wave was signs of good luck.
Wind was very light
and we only made it to Estera las Auras before dropping the hook for the night.
I dived to check on
the anchor and found a few lobster sitting in shallow holes on the bottom. Easy
picking and good dinner that night!
Left early next
morning to Cienfuegos
, but dead calm most of the day forced us to motor most of the way. We arrived
12 o’clock at night at the entrance to the narrow channel leading to Baia de
Cienfuegos.
 |
| View of Cienfuegos from our boat. |
After a nervous GPS
assisted 2 hrs motor through the channel we at last dropped anchor in front of
Marina Marlin in Cienfuegos .
