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Old 23-07-2017, 00:37   #1
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South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Recently I was watching a documentary and it was showing the hundreds of small islands off the south west side of Cuba. I was blown away.

The documentary was showing how the Cuban gov't controls how many lobster can be taken by a boat and when. These lobsters were huge. My interest is not in the lobsters per se. It was in the natural beauty of the area.

Does the Cuban Coast Guard allow foreign vessels to cruise in these areas? For example, Cayos Pingues or Cayo Anclitas?

If you have been there ....what is your opinion? To me...I'm chomping on the bit...help me out here.
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Old 23-07-2017, 02:36   #2
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

I was through there last year on a delivery to Cayo Largo del Sur. It is an absolutely beautiful area! On our trip going around the west side of Cuba headed east was an ugly beat to windward.

Rumor has it that the local fisherman will trade.
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Old 23-07-2017, 03:22   #3
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

I cruised through there almost 20 years ago, and it was gorgeous, but there were severe limits imposed on where cruising boats could go. We got escorted out of the Bay of Pigs by a gunboat. Very politely, but you can be polite when you have deck-mounted machine guns.
I have no idea what it's like now, politics-wise, but it is prime cruising, though lots of the area is a shallow bank (we were on a catamaran)
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Old 23-07-2017, 03:34   #4
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alansmith View Post
Recently I was watching a documentary and it was showing the hundreds of small islands off the south west side of Cuba. I was blown away.

The documentary was showing how the Cuban gov't controls how many lobster can be taken by a boat and when. These lobsters were huge. My interest is not in the lobsters per se. It was in the natural beauty of the area. ....................
Would you care to share the name of the documentary?
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Old 23-07-2017, 08:24   #5
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

May I suggest the Facebook group Cuba, Land and Sea. Also the Cuba Crusing Guide. A wealth of knowledge in both which are connected via Addison Chan.

Perhaps we'll meet there. I am planing a south coast venture this winter.
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Old 23-07-2017, 09:18   #6
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Yes, the lobsters are huge and the fishermen will trade, or in some cases just give you a lobster. The gov't does control the catch and the fishermen are not supposed to trade, but they will when no one is looking.

I have not cruised the S coast, but have friends who did recently. They cruised most of the S coast without incident or significant hassle.

They had a satt phone which came in handy because Internet access is limited.
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Old 23-07-2017, 09:34   #7
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

We didn't go all the way west, but did cruise the south central islands of Cuba just a few months ago (May 2017). I also recommend you get onto the Cruising Cuba Facebook forum mentioned by others. From posts there and speaking with others we met in the eastern Caribbean who had come from Cuba earlier in the season, we understood that the restrictions are more on the southeast end of the island. Hence when we were coming from the Bahamas, we did not stop in Cuba but instead went straight to Jamaica, then to the Caymans, and then north to Cuba.

We went north from Cayman Brac to the Jardines de la Reina and our first stop was Cayos Anclitas that you mention. We were buddy boading with some friends - they were on a cat and got in a lot closer to the island. We have a 6.5 foot draft and couldn't get in that close. Our friends though had a great time at Anclitas, snorkeling and did catch some lobster. We moved on to Cayos Cuervos and it was gorgeous there - don't miss that one. The only negative was lots of jellyfish when we snorkeled. So we had to cover up. As we island hopped along towards Cienfuegos we hit a number of the more western cays. All were beautiful. At Cayos Tabaco we were offered some lobster by a fisherman for $5 US each. Delicious!

We continued to work our way through the Cayos to CienFuegos. From there we did some land touring. We did not cruise any further west along the south coast of Cuba. We were headed to Panama so we went back to the Caymans and onward to Panama. But we certainly enjoyed Jardines de la Reina.
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Old 23-07-2017, 11:19   #8
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

I am sorry I don't remember the documentaries title. I will try and see what search brings up on the tv later. but British Open is on and Spieth is working it pretty good

Thanks for the Facebook link.
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Old 23-07-2017, 13:16   #9
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Spent some time at Maria La Gorda and Cienfuegos in the early 90's, lots of lobster and beautiful cruising. If I were to go back to Cuba today, it would be to the southwest coast.
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Old 23-07-2017, 14:59   #10
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Sailed from the Cayman's to Cayo Largo and the islands west of it twice in the last 3 years. Absolutely fantastic and recommend it highly. Similar to Los Roques and Las Aves Venezuela. Many Lobster and the biggest Conch I have ever seen. Fish are plentiful and they bite the lures before you can even let out your line completely.
However would strongly suggest clearing in at Cayo Largo (or any official port) before stopping at any of the other islands and you will be fine. They are very welcoming people just obey their laws which are not unlike most foreign countries you visit by boat. BTW the person who paid $5.00 for a lobster paid way too much. Also the Bay of Pigs have been off limits for a very long time.
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Old 23-07-2017, 15:29   #11
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

For the Lobster trade bring fish hooks. They don't have much.
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Old 23-07-2017, 17:28   #12
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

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For the Lobster trade bring fish hooks. They don't have much.
Yes, hooks, heavy mono, etc.
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Old 24-07-2017, 02:22   #13
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

During winter 2015-2016 I sailed around Cuba anticlockwise from the Eastern end , North coast to Havana, round the western tip, south coast till Cienfuego.

The Norther coast was very disappointing: Although we had duly cleared customs, got tourist visas, were given a cruising permit and were told we could go everywhere:" Todo los caios, ensenadas, praias, puertos, pueblos etc...; man non zona militares ", in practice the paranoid Guarda Fronteras denied us the right to put a foot on land everywhere except in Marina Hemingway where we did visit Havana.

Typical scenario: We landed on the beach near a pueblo, say to buy bread and vegetables , Guarda fronteras would immediatly appear, seized our cruising permit and passeport and hold us up for 1 hour or more till some remote chief ordered us to go away. If we wanted to buy bread and vegetable , we should go to the next marina (There are 3 such marina on the North coast , the next one could be 6 sailing days away)

in the absence of Guarda Fronteras, the fishermen and the civilians we met were extremely nice and volunteered to trade or even offer us lobsters.

We rounded the western tip of Cuba and moored in Bahia del Corientes, at Maria la Gorda, a dive resort. This is an unsheltered mooring exposed to North Easters. We had no intention to stay , but the Guarda Fronteras, who are incompetent mariners, seized our cruising permit till we would depart. So we crossed the bay to moor for the night in the lee of the western shore.The second day the sea was breaking heavily at Maria La Gorda making landing impossible . We could only retrieve our document and leave on the third day.

Thereafter , on the South coast, the Guarda Fronteras were sensible.
In Nueva Gerona, North of Isla de La Juventud, we stayed at the Ferry's dock were friends who flew in from Havana could join us or depart. We visited Nueva Gerona. When we departed after 48 hours, the Guarda duly searched our boat for hidden passengers.
We sailed and befriended fishermen in every island, fished and caught or bartered as may lobsters as we could eat all the way to Cien Fuego .
As we had exhausted our 2 month cruising permit, we sailed on to Belize
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Old 24-07-2017, 02:56   #14
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Re: South West side of Cuba. Been there?

Quote:
Originally Posted by alansmith View Post
Recently I was watching a documentary and it was showing the hundreds of small islands off the south west side of Cuba. I was blown away.

The documentary was showing how the Cuban gov't controls how many lobster can be taken by a boat and when. These lobsters were huge. My interest is not in the lobsters per se. It was in the natural beauty of the area.

Does the Cuban Coast Guard allow foreign vessels to cruise in these areas? For example, Cayos Pingues or Cayo Anclitas?

If you have been there ....what is your opinion? To me...I'm chomping on the bit...help me out here.
I have sailed there in 2008. I believe that the authorities today would be more accommodating as Cube is unfreezing.
We have sailed from east to west, starting at Santiago de Cuba. There was a marina there where you could do entry. However it was closed and we had to sail all the way to Cienfuegos to do the formalities.
As to Guantanamo: USA ribcraft followed us (very politely but firmly) across the entrance to the bay, keeping us 3 NM away from the shore.
During the passage to Cienfuegos we anchored at nights on the sand bank of Jardino de la Reina. Only once the coast guards came to check us, and once they heard the story they did not bother us.
Anyway, the Jardino is fabulous sailing area - just have to be very careful as the sands shift and depths are uncertain. Many cays to anchor nearby. One night we anchored in a middle of nowhere - 4m depth and no land in sight.
The fishermen install withies to mark safe channels, but the sands move from year to year and it is not easy for an untrained eye to distinguish between this year channel and previous year one.
In Casilda there was a marina (not a point of entry) full of local small charter boats catering to tourist for day sails.
In Cienfuegos there was a dilapidated marina, some distance from the town. It served us as a base to tour the area with a car.
Cayo Largo - well appointed marina.

We had no proper charts - could not get any anywhere (including the nautical authority in Habana). I do not know the availability as of today.
WE did have a pilot book by Nigel Calder - it was not current and had blind areas but was better than nothing. Once again, it is possible that today you can get something better/updated.
All in all - it was one of the best sailing adventures I had. Much better than the north side of the island.
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