Vita to Varadero

Vita to Varadero – April 6 to 11, 2011

The day before our planned departure we made arrangements with Tina, the dockmistress, to have the officials complete the necessary paperwork and issue us with a cruising permit to proceed to Varadero. The Guarda Frontera, Aduana and Harbourmaster  came on board for a few minutes and we were ready to leave. Mad Cap would accompany us for the five day trip.

 Waiting for the officials to arrive.

Our plan was to head far enough offshore to avoid the Sabana-Cameguay Archipelago and a multitude of hidden reefs that  parallel the northeast shore of Cuba but close enough to land to keep us out of the major traffic route from Florida to points east via the Old Bahama Channel . We had a few potential anchoring spots identified and would make some overnight passages as conditions permitted.  Due to the nature of the Cuban check-in, check-out procedures and the limited facilities on that part of the coast we did not plan any land based stops. 

 A couple of hours out of Vita we passed this wind farm near Gibara.  The smoky haze was present for most of the trip.

As conditions were conducive to an overnight passage, we sailed /motorsailed through the night and most of the second day. Other than a few cargo vessels in the big ship channel and our travelling companions on Mad Cap, we did not see any other traffic. 

Mid afternoon of day two we made contact with the officials as we approached Paradon Grande. I tried to communicate to them that we would like to anchor for one night en route to Varadero.  

 We put down the hook near the lighthouse and did not hear from anyone again.There was not a lot of protection so we put out 85 feet of chain in 10 feet of water. The flying fish were abundant.

The following day we watched a parade of cruise ships in the Old Bahama Channel as we sailed northwest.  

 After a beautiful sailing day we approached the lighthouse at Cayo Caiman el Faro. We anchored on the southwest side of the island and tried unsuccessfully to hail the Guarda station on shore.  Eventually someone noticed that we were there and made contact with us. We were given approval to anchor for the night but not permission to go ashore.

The following morning we were hailed by the coast guard from Cayo Santa Maria and were asked to provide our vessel name, the number of persons on board, our last and next ports and our nationality. The person calling spoke good English and was very polite.

Boca Chica was to be our third anchorage.  From there we needed to stage our departure in order to time our arrival in Varadero in daylight after another overnight passage.  We anchored just to the south of Cayo Lancanilla late afternoon and watched the local fishing boats. 

 There was no Guarda station here so we were able to go ashore.

 These fishermen declined our initial offer of beverages but returned the following day to ask if we could give them some oil for their diesel engine.  The dipstick they showed us was pretty dry and the residue on it was pretty black. They were in luck as we had a couple of spare liters to spare. 

 In return they pulled several good sized pargo (red snapper) from their hold, cleaned them, scaled them with a bent fork and even filleted a few. Personally, I think we got the better end of that trade.

 This time they accepted our offer of cold Kalik from the Bahamas and asked for the cans to keep as souvenirs.

We stayed at Boca Chica until late afternoon the following day  before heading back offshore.  After an amazingly peaceful overnight sail we changed course at 5:00 AM and headed for the western entrance of the Port of Varadero. The glow of lights from the resort were visible on the horizon off our port bow. Just as the day began to break, a shooting star streaked across the morning sky and fell towards Varadero.  Flying fish were all around us.

 As the sun came up more and more hotels became visible on shore.

Marina Darsena, our destination, contacted us by VHF as we neared the well marked entrance to the channel. Friends on Talisa had given them a heads up that we were on our way in so the officials were waiting to check us in when we arrived. Within half an hour of docking all the paperwork was done.