Cuba 2012 - Vita to Varadero

Cuba 2012: Vita to Varadero

On March 15 Chris Parker gave us a weather forecast for three days of mild winds and calm seas with conditions expected to deteriorate on day four. We decided to leave later in the day and make a straight run to Varadero. We advised the marina office of our intentions and arranged for the officials to check us out.

We had laundry to pick up before we left …

… and goodbye’s to say to our laundry family.

Christian was quite proud of his pet rooster.

Suzie had been temporarily relegated to the rooftop as a means of birth control.

With our obligations met we were free to move on.

These stamps, applied to our Permiso Especial de Navegacion, gave us permission to travel in Cuban waters.

Mascaret II and Sail Away accompanied us out of the harbour, bound for Varadero as well. The wind was from the east around 23 knots with wind driven well-spaced waves between 6 and 8 feet plus a two foot chop on top. We put up the main sail and unrolled part of the jib, set a north westerly course and were soon sailing between 6 and 7.5 knots.

This fishing boat was so well hidden in the waves that we did not see it until we had passed it.

We put a reef in the main and rolled up some of the head sail in order to keep our boat speed under 7 knots so the other two boats could keep pace with us. We were able to maintain our same course most of the night except to dodge traffic in the busy Old Bahama Channel. When we realized that we were travelling between the two shipping lanes we took the first opportunity to get well out of the way.

We were hailed by the coast guard as we passed Cayo Confites in the morning and again in the afternoon as we approached the lighthouse at Cayo Paradon Grande. In both instances we were asked for our boat name, destination, the number of people on board and nationality. At Paradon Grande we were asked if we wanted to anchor for the night and replied that we would not be stopping.

On our second morning at sea we reached Cayo Lancanilla where we stopped to rest for a few hours. The stop would also give us a morning arrival at Varadero.

We did not need the bait fish that the fishermen had to trade but gave them some much appreciated fishing line.

The wind maintained a consistent direction from the east around 20 knots for most of the trip. We only needed to run the engine periodically during the night to charge the batteries and to power through a squall that hit just before midnight after we left Lancanilla Cay. We could see the storm approaching on radar. It looked like a Pac Man character chomping its way towards us. When it hit we had heavy rain and wind gusts to 35 knots. The good news was that the wind also blew the waves flat making our ride smoother.

By the time we saw the reflection of the lights from Varadero in the sky both wind and waves had settled down.

It was good to see a large contingent of cruisers at the docks in Marina Darsena. We were also happy to see that the dock refurbishment program had made good progress since last year’s visit. The ladies section of the shower building was even open!