We waved goodbye to all the fisherman settled in the ‘lovely and sheltered’ lagoon at Cayo Cuervo and headed off into seas stirred up by the gale force winds that passed the evening before. It was not like the winds had eased ‘that much’. We poled out the foresail alone and were clocking over 7 knots right away.
Big winds means big seas. The lovely shallow waters of the Golfo de Anna Maria, usually so calm, can certainly build up a nasty chop in the right conditions. Waves were splashing there way into the cockpit, and you know I do not like that kind of thing. Thankfully they were following seas and we slipped into the shelter of the Canal between the Golfo de Anna Maria’s cays and the string of cays that separated us from the Caribbean Sea. The Jardines del la Reina. Our destination was the last of these Cays Cape Breton.
We had wanted to visit more of these outer cays, but time and weather had curtailed our visit. Cape Breton, the furthest west of the cays in this string is a popular ‘launching off’ point for vessels traveling both East and West. It may be strategically placed and offer great protection from the winds, but has no beach, so is not much interest to me!
One guide book said we could get into Cayo Breton’s inner lagoon, another said it had shoaled. We decided to go ‘safe rather than sorry’ and anchored just outside the lagoon, but in the lee of the Cay. We were not alone anchoring outside. There were already two French registered vessels anchored East of us and a Catamaran came in late to anchor West of us. The French vessels called us to ask for a weather forecast. They were very happy to hear that the winds were meant to settle in the afternoon tomorrow.
Some fishing boats came by, offered us some fish and lobster to purchase, and then settled in for the night with us. The winds picked up through the night but our anchorage was safe and sound. In the morning we lifted anchor to get an early start on our next Cay. The humans have promised me that all the Cays from now on will have beaches!
The winds were set to ease in the afternoon, but they were still blowing hard in the morning. We set off double reefed all round and were making over 7 knot to wind. Ok, we are an old and heavy beast. With the Golfo de Anna Maria’s shallow waters we were taking serious white water over the bow. Again, not what I like. The boat that had been washed so recently by fresh rain water was quickly salt soaked. But thankfully the forecast of easing winds kicked in and the rest of the sail was lovely as the sea state settled.
We finished off the day easing in gently between the reefs that lead to the Cayo Zara de Fuera, located on the sand banks of the Mendanos del la Vela that extend North towards the mainland. We could actually see the mountains of the mainland coming into view in the back ground. Poor Cayo Zara de Fuera has a bad rap. It has a great protected anchorage and is a good stop on the way from or to Cienfuegos, but it is a mangrove cay. But it is a pretty mangrove cay and deserves some praise. The waters here are a mixture of sand and grass, and despite the fact they are crystal clear snorkelling is boring. At least there is nothing hard to hit getting anchored up here. The mangroves here are very large and mature, so there is an incredible amount of bird life and my favorite, lots of iguanas and jutia!
The humans dragged me off on a kayak exploration. The Cay is inundated with blind alleys and internal lagoons. There are some small beaches on the south end of the Cay, with the furthest being the nicest, but the waters are so shallow around the cay you will struggle to find water deep enough to do more then sit in. Great for me to run around in at least. But if you are not of the ‘canine’ persuasion you will be happy swimming from the boat in the clear waters here.
The guide book promises us an even better beach at the next Cay so I can not wait. I am a little sick of all these strong winds that come in at night, but at least the trip tomorrow should be short. Short and sweet. Going to have big white beach dreams tonight!
Photos, charts and additional information once we got some WiFi. Use link below for Cape Breton:
Review of Southern Cuba Part 1- including the pictures you missed
Use the link below for Cayo Sara de Fuera:
Review of Southern Cuba Part 2 -including the pictures you missed
