Overview (trip during COVID)
I’d say that compared to
BVI, this is a much more primitive, tactical trip, and only for more experienced crews. There was little to no support/options on land at Culebra or Vieques, very few on-shore options, and
anchorages were further and fewer in between. However, if the group is experienced, it is a far superior trip (we all agreed on this) since there were fewer boats, more pristine beaches and coves, and the sailing was wide open and beautiful.
Charts were accurate and moorings balls and anchorages were very well marked. We had two issues with mooring balls (1) was that some seemed incredibly close to shore, especially the west side of Culebra, and (2) the lines on the mooring balls require real
inspection to confirm durability. If the boat were to swing, we feared we’d end up grounded. We always opted for a ball furthest from shore, sacrificing a little roll for peace of mind not damaging the boat.
The boat
Chimera (Lagoon 45) was very well equipped and in good shape. We had a few minor issues during the week with the boat. I'm happy to go into detail if you want them. Sail Caribe was very very responsive and it did not affect our trip one bit.
Provisioning
We also provisioned pretty well, since there wasn’t a decent place to restock. We stopped at Ralph’s in Fajardo which had most things, but terrible hard liquor selection. We took a separate trip to Walmart to get hard liquor and a few other items. Our driver talked us out of going to Costco near SJU (claimed it was out of the way) but I think that would have been a better stop.
FRI
We checked in at 5pm at the marina office. We were told by the marina office that we did not have access to golf carts to take our stuff to the boat. This was pretty shocking to us since I’d have thought this was part of the
service. I walked over to the Sail Caribe office for assistance but it was closed. As I was walking back, a car stopped and Natalia (I think) who worked with Sail Caribe, introduced herself. I explained the situation with the marina office and she drove down to explain that Sail Caribe did in fact offer that
service. Apparently there was a new person at the marina office who was not aware of this.
Nevertheless, it all worked out well (but it was a little sloppy after a full day of travel to PR).
We boarded the boat, unpacked and had dinner at La Cueva Del Mar at the marina. Good.
SAT (4 hours)
We had a very thorough and professional briefing by Jose and we left the
dock around 10am. It took about four hours, the first part motoring away from the marina. Winds were blowing 18-20 knots (most of the week) and seas were 4-6 feet so it made for some very nice sailing. We reefed the main (for the whole trip) and put up the
jib. We had two on the boat who had never sailed so they were justifiably nervous. The cat though was very stable and we were able to do a few good tacks. By the time we got to Tamarindo Bay on Culebra though, we were all ready for some drinks! We picked up a mooring ball and watched the sunset.
SUN (2.5 hours)
After a little snorkeling and swimming, we hiked(15 minutes) over to Flamenco Beach and took the mandatory photos of the US army tank at the beach. Flamenco Beach was widely touted as one of the most beautiful beaches around, but I felt it was a little overhyped. It was very nice, but unremarkable compared to other beaches in the
Caribbean.
We dropped the ball and sailed down Culebra and tried to find a mooring at Dakity. As indicated it was quite crowded (the only area really were there were lots of boats), couldn’t find a suitable place to moor, so motored east to Almodovar, which was a fantastic mooring. We were lucky to find the last mooring ball (in 10ft of water) and it was very well protected. There were a handful of
motor boats there, but most left by sundown.
MON (3 hours)
We dropped the ball and had a great tack up to Tortuga Bay on Culebrita. This by far is the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. There were two other private sailboats there (so we knew it was OK to enter. Apparently if there’s a northern swell, it can be hazardous). We kayaked and dinghied to shore and spent the whole morning there. We also hiked up to the lighthouse which was well worth the 15 minute walk, and were rewarded by epic view of the US VI, Vieques and Culebra. We saw goats along the way and lots of other critters.
Reluctantly, we dropped the ball and sailed over to Melones Bay (mild roll but easy access to the town) on Culebra for a scheduled
SCUBA dive, picked up a ball, and dinghied into the town of Dewey. Dewey has been ravaged by the
hurricane and COVID, so it was essentially a ghost town. We spent the afternoon at Lana’s Cove diving. (The diving was average at best.)
TUE (2 hours)
We dropped the ball late morning and had a very nice reach to Lana’s Cove (southwestern most cove) on Luis Pena and moored just north of Punta Cruz on a fantastic little beach. The snorkeling, right in the middle of the cove along the shore, was fantastic (lobster, eels, tons of fish). There’s a nice beach here, and ashore walk gets you over to an east-facing cove. Interesting it is littered with garbage, giving an interesting contrast to the lee-side beaches, which are largely pristine.
WED (4 hours)
We got an early start to sail to Vieques. We first stopped in Dewey to get dinghy gas and for some
shopping. We found a decent grocery store, Colmado, for some items. We had originally hoped to anchor at Playa La Chiva, but our dinghy
motor was not starting so we instead went to Esperanza to see if we could find help. Note that along the southern shore of Vieques, about 1/2mile off shore, there is a long line of small white bouys, marking the military restricted area. They are very difficult to see, and there’s no indication on the chart (or the briefing) that these are in the
water. Each marker has two floats so could easily wrap around a
propeller if not seen. Two arrays ran all along the southern coast for about 6-7 miles until Chiva.
We picked up a mooring ball near the Malecon and went ashore for lunch (and dinner). It was a fun stop. Noisy and a surprising amount of action for a tiny town. I can only imagine what it’d be like after COVID!
THU (1 hour motoring)
We motored from Esperanza to the next cove east, Sun Bay. Gorgeous, huge cove with plenty of room to anchor. We spent the day there kayaking, snorkeling, swimming, and sitting on the beach. Lively crowd here and even more so due to the Easter holiday I think. We then motored back to Esperanze and picked up a mooring ball, for what we though would be an uneventful evening.
About an hour after sunset when we were getting ready to go ashore, we realized that we were no longer on the mooring ball. It appeared that the pick up line was not securely tied to the mooring ball at all and gradually slipped out of the mooring ball. Fortunately, there was very little wind/current, so we drifted only a couple hundred yards (into deeper water). There was enough light from the town that we were able to pick up another mooring ball. Jose said that some mooring balls are not reliable… We spent a restless night, periodically checking our position throughout the night.
FRI (2 hours)
We woke up gratefully on the mooring ball, put the
sails up, dropped the ball and had a fabulous sail over to Punta Arenas. Very nice spot, but this was the only anchorage that was slightly rolly. We spent the afternoon doing the usual.
SAT (2 hours)
We pulled up the anchor after a little snorkel (not very good) and sailed back to the marina under modest (8-10k) winds.
Jose was there to guide us to the
fuel dock, and our sailing adventure was over. We had a quick debrief and we were off for lunch then to
San Juan for a couple of days on land.