Friday 29 Mar, SVI day 4: To Culebrita island, with s/v Gale, exploring the Jacuzzi Baths and old lighthouse.
Another very peaceful night anchored in Ensenada Honda. Midmorning we depart and motor to the pretty island of Culebrita off the NE coast of Culebra. It’s only 4 miles away and the wind is light as forecast, so we decide not to sail. Out of the narrow reef lined entrance we turn to port and hug the coast. Some very nice houses along here that we could not see from our golf cart trip. We pass Almodovar and Mosquito bays, the latter a large deep bay with narrow entrance through the reef.
On Culebrita we are aiming for the picture perfect bay of Tortuga but first we pass it’s equally pretty west coast where 2 yachts are anchored in sand and coral. To get into Torguga we have to go quite a way north passed Cayo Botella then turn back into the large bay. Entry is easy but there is a sill to go over which is 4.8m deep in the middle. As we anchor s/v Gale calls us on the VHF asking depth information. And soon they are nicely anchored next to us.
The bay is beautiful but it does have a ground swell coming in from the north. Reminding us that the northern Atlantic is out there with all its gales and storms, which generate this swell from thousands of mile away.
There is very little wind and it is HOT, so out comes our over-boom cover which gives us instant shade and cool. What a great investment this was. It’s a large rectangle stretched between the strouds at the front and the runners at the back, with sides that drop to the lifelines. It’s not long before we have the sunny side of the shade tied down to the life lines and the cockpit is in total shade. Much cooler in the cockpit now, we can chill and enjoy the view.
Early afternoon we fly the drone around the bay and island. Looks amazing from the air. We also do a quick reconnaissance over The Jacuzzi Baths. A rocky area on the headland where water pounds its way through from the Atlantic swell into pools behind. It’s a must see here.
So after the drone we take the dinghy ashore and walk up to these Jacuzzi Baths. It’s noting as spectacular as The Baths on Virgin Gorda BVI but still very interesting and best of all, totally devoid of people. The rocks here are smaller an rougher and we are glad we have our beach shoes on. Soon we find a small warm pool that has been sitting in the sun and we relax there until Christian and Eva join us. As we relax in the pool lots of tiny tiny colourful fish swim around us. It’s quite a spot.
Restless as ever, Eva is soon out and clambering to find other pools. After a call from her we follow her to a swimming pool sized area where occasionally the waves break over the rocks and into the pool. Not as warm, but quite fun. The rocks around here are very interesting volcanic sand, and the geologist in me comes out, giving a short geology lesson explaining plate tectonics in this region and how the Caribbean islands were formed. We also spot ancient “pillow lavas”: lava that has extruded in a molten form into the sea and as it instantly cooled pillow shapes are formed.
After a brief trip back to Cloudy Bay for drinks, we again head ashore in the late afternoon to take the hike to the summit of the island to the ruins of a 100 year old lighthouse. By now very few boats or people are around, making the trail a real touch with nature.
It winds though the undergrowth and all around we can hear rustling as thousands of hermit crabs scuttle through the leaves and sand. Given they have to find a bigger shell to live in each time they shed their skin, we wonder where they find their new shells. They really are quite interesting to watch. And in some places they seem to have gatherings, hundreds of them in just a few square meters. It’s actually difficult to walk without treading on any!
20 minutes later we are at the lighthouse. And wow, what a building, both size and construction. It’s clear they didn’t mean this to be blown down by any hurricane! The light tower itself is not big but it’s surrounded by a building that would have been pretty impressive. Inside it’s like a maze of rooms, some with marble tiles on the floor. Clearly this lighthouse keeper was no ordinary citizen!
I want to get inside the tower where we find the bottom 3m of the rusty spiral stairs missing. Not to miss such a challenge, I soon climbed up and at the top of the tower. Quite a view from up there in this early evening light. But the top of the tower has just a thin rusty frame where the glass used to be so it’s a bit precarious up there. We take our time to explore the maze-building and enjoy the view, then time to return.
The walk back down is equally pleasant just before sunset. We are under clear sky but just to the west is a huge dark thunder cell, luckily not heading our way.
Back on board, with the wind dying completely, the incoming swell is starting to turn the boat side-onto the swell and we are rolling. Hmmm this will surely only get worse at night. We want to deploy our stern anchor, to keep us parallel to the swell, but if we do and the wind swings, Gale will swing into us. So decision is made, we upanchor, motor further out the bay, re-anchor then put out the stern anchor. The swell is slightly bigger out here but there is no back-swell from the beach. And with the stern anchor holding us parallel, we are gently pitching not rolling. A huge difference in comfort. But we are still getting slapped up the stern, so it will have to be ear plugs tonight for certain.
At 7pm we dinghy over to Gale. They drop their swim platform for us to get on board and we are surprised how low to the water it is. So much so that the glass fiber of our RIB bangs into it. Oops. Cloudy’s platform is a good 1/2m above the water so the dinghy only ever rubs on its soft tubes, never the hard fiberglass.
On board we are again in awe of this yacht. Well, it’s a Swan66, what can we say. The aft cockpit area is huge and very comfortable, with its twin wheels aft completely separate from the seating area. Undeniably a quality yacht. Down below equally impressive. A master double in the bow, another double plus a bunk room in front of the mast and the galley and pilot berth aft of the saloon, one on each side. The saloon, full width beam to beam seems massive. They even have chairs around the dining table! But Cloudy Bay beats Gale on the engine room. Whilst it’s an engineering master piece, Swan have fitted so much into such a small space, it’s difficult to see how you could ever do major maintenance unless you were an exceptionally small mechanic with long strong arms.
In the cockpit we have a wonderful dinner on the full sized cockpit table. Oana has made an appetizer and Christian has grill the main. Afterwards, with a few glasses of wine downed, we plead with Christian to play us on his guitar. So out it comes and soon, not only is he playing but also singing. Quite a treat for us.
And we joke that I will respond tomorrow night with my clarinet. Hmm I hope they do realize that was actually a joke! I have not played my clarinet since school and beyond being able to blow it I have no idea how to actually play it. The plan was for me to idle away time relearning … but Glen being Glen rarely has a spare moment to do things like this!
We have a great evening. Nice to be in good company of others for once. Back at Cloudy Bay the swell is severely lifting and dropping the stern. So much so that we cannot get the dinghy back up on its davits. The huge snatching as we try to lift is endangering the davits. We have to wait quite a while for a calm period to finally get it up. We could have left it in the water, but for sure it would have gotten itself tangled in the stern anchor line.
Today has really felt like another vacation day.
