There are so many Cays here in the Golfo de Guacanayabo there is no way you can visit them all. The fisherman know them well. They know just which ones have deep sand for good holding and which have great promise for fish and lobster. This kind of knowledge we can not find on the outdated Cuba charts and the few cruising guides available on this rarely visited south coast. So we are limiting ourselves to those Cays with information available.
This does not mean we do not pass some lovely beaches with great promise and wonder ‘should we stop here instead’. If you came along, I am sure you would say the same thing. This bay is just littered with winding passages through a multitude of reefs and cays. Thankfully the channels through these areas are deep (10-20m) well charted and buoyed. The main channels are also wide, so there is lots of room to sail through them. And sailing here is a pleasure as this protected shallow bay, despite it’s immense size, gets little more then a ‘wind driven’ chop.
Even so, it is prudent to seek Cays based on the direction of the forecasted winds. You want to find a nice anchorage with some land mass to block some of the wind and waves. It is not nice to ride a ‘blow up’ on a lee shore, even if it is no more then a chop driving you towards the shore. So we left our lovely beach on the North East coast of Cayo Rabihocado for the sheltered waters of the half moon shaped Cayo Media Luna when the winds were forecast to turn North Easterly.
It was a lovely short afternoon sail and we anchored up in the North Eastern corner of Cayo Media Luna’s sheltered lagoon. Not the best for me, as the lagoon has no beach and instead is totally ringed by a thick growth of mangroves. The humans were not too bothered as they saw some coral heads on the way in just off shore. They proceeded to extract 4 lobster from their hiding places here and cook them up for dinner. Yum, yum!
After a long morning of cleaning thick clinging mud from the anchor chain and anchor we were off again. This time to the popular stop over Cayo Grenada. On the Western end of the Golfo de Guacanayabo, this Cay is the last stop for many cruisers before using the Canal Pinique to enter the next bay, the Golfo de Anna Maria. We had a lovely sail, but did not arrive at the Cay until early evening. Thankfully we had good light, because the reefs on the north side of the entrance to the lagoon extend further south then charted positions. Our depth gauge gave out, again, and we set up our back up hand held set. (Cable tied to a broom) We arrived a little late to do much exploring, but there was no beach for me. Again the shores were lined with a thick growth of mangroves. The surrounding reefs seemed to offer some great snorkelling opportunities though.
We did run into another cruising boat. Our first in a while. It was Spirit of Argo’s sister boat, the Canadian registered Peterson 44, Tabasco. We met them in Antigua and they had stored the boat in Puerto Rico for the summer. Like most cruisers they were traveling East. Some fisherman came by and sold them some lobsters, so they headed home to cook them up. You do not need to ‘get wet’ to eat good seafood here on Cuba’ south coast.
Tonight is our last night in the Golfo de Guacanayabo. We are off to the Golfo de Anna Maria, via the interesting and windy Channel del Pinque in the morning. The humans have promised me no more mangrove lagoons. Beaches, beaches and beaches! A storm front is predicted to pass through. Not a problem as there is a multitude of sheltered lagoons here to chose from. The humans have promised me that Cayo Algodon Grande has it all. Protected lagoon, beaches, snorkelling and good foraging.
We will see.
end:
Photos, charts and information added once we got internet. Use link below:
Review of Southern Cuba Part 1- including the pictures you missed
