Bahia de Vita
The Bahia de Vita is a small pocket bay with a narrow, deep-water entrance leading to a well protected anchorage in attractive surroundings. Inside is the small port town of Puerto Vita, but it has little in the way of supplies. Nevertheless, this is a pleasant overnight stop. There are no off-lying hazards to either the east or the west - it is simply a matter of staying at least 'AM offshore. The lighthouse on Punta Barlovento can be seen from several miles out. v FI.G.3s3M 06 FI.R gt 6s3M ,
Cayo Zaza de Fuera
Cayo Zaza de Fuera has the best-protected anchorage between Casilda and Cayo Breton-Otherwise, tEe island Hoes not have much to recommend it it is all mangroves although there is a fair amount of bird life in the interior lagoon providing a wonderful dawn chorus . Adapted from ICH 1431 Courtesy GeoCuba Adapted from ICH 1431 Courtesy GeoCuba From Casilda The easiest route is down the outside of the reef, heading directly for Cayo Zaza de Fuera once past the channel marker for the Canal de Tunas...
Bahia de Bariay
The Bahia de Bariay, just 3M to the west of Puerto Vita has a pretty beach Playa Blanca but is chiefly interesting as one of the claimed sites at which Columbus first set foot on Cuban soil. For Columbus buffs there is a small monument lAM to the south of Playa Blanca. On the attractive headland on the west side of the bay there are some intriguing ruins which we were unable to explore. There are no off-lying hazards cither to the east or the west of the bay, but since it is wide open to the...
Golfo De Batabano
Adapted from ICH 1101 Courtesy GeoCuba disappears altogether and in fact may be replaced with a contrary current. Tides are generally small, increasing from about 0-2m 8in in the Archipi lago de los Canarreos to 0-4m a little over a foot in the vicinity of Casilda, but with as little as 0-lm about 4in in the interior areas of the Golfo de Batabano. Where there is the greater amplitude essentially, Cienfuegos to Casilda the flood tide tends to flow to the west, and the ebb to the east, but with...
Tunas de Zaza
Tunas de Zaza is a small, dirt-poor fishing village. There is little reason to go here. If you should choose to do so, simply come in from the SW for the large concrete pier, which has a fish, lobster and shrimp processing plant on it. The pier is set on beat-up concrete piles which are much too high to safely moor alongside, but at its tip there is a lower section with a solid wall to which one boat at a time can moor 3m can be carried alongside . Even here the dock is rather beat up, so good...
Ensenada Yamaniguey
The Ensenada Yamaniguey is a more than 3M long inlet running on a north south axis behind the reef and a small cay, Cayo del Medio. There are entry channels both to the south of Cayo del Medio marked by a small red buoy and to the north of the cay unmarked, but clearly visible as a gap in the otherwise breaking reef . I have an old chart that shows deep water in both channels leading behind Caya Medio. Unfortunately the swells were running too strongly onto the reef for us to explore this one,...
Strategies for circumnavigating Cuba
The primary factors to be considered are the generally easterly winds, but with a northerly set in the winter months and a southerly set in the summer months, the inshore currents, which tend to flow in a counterclockwise direction, and the prevalence of northers in the wintertime. Because of the northers, so far as it is possible we would recommend cruising the south coast in the winter months, particularly January and February, and the north coast in Spring March and April or Fall November...
Chivirico Exit From Alongside On North Shore Of Lagoon
some effort to see Santiago, both because of what it has to offer culturally, and also in terms of the opportunity it affords for re-supplying the boat the best for many miles in any direction . But in die future, until the harbor is cleaned up and the marina improved, we will leave the boat in Chivirico, rent a car from the Hotel Galeones, and drive to Santiago. Note, however, the recent prohibition on Chivirico - see above. In the city, the magnet for tourists is the Parque Cespedes, with the...
Cabo Cruz
At Cabo Cruz a solid barrier of reef extends westward for 2M from cliffs at the southern tip of Cuba. Between the reef and the mainland there is a lovely, well protected anchorage, with a strong breeze coming in over the reef to keep the bugs at bay. A small fishing village nestled between the lighthouse and a dramatic cliff forms a picturesque backdrop. The region north of the reef is relatively free of hazards. It is possible to simply come around the reefs western tip, or to head down from...
Currents
Currents are a significant navigational consideration both when sailing to and from Cuba, and when sailing around its coastline. The dominant feature is the Antilles Current, which itself is a branch of the North Equatorial Current. The Antilles Current sweeps up through the Caribbean in a generally northwesterly direction, with the greater part of its flow running to the south of Cuba the Caribbean Current and a lesser branch flowing to the north. The southern portion of the current is...
Money and shopping
The currency and shopping situation in Cuba is unusual. The national currency is the peso, subdivided into one hundred centavos, but overshadowing everything is the almighty American dollar. The government has established, an entirely arbitrary official exchange rate of one peso to the dollar, whereas the black market has established a radically different rate which has been hovering around 20 pesos to the dollar for the past four years, but has been as high as 200 pesos to the dollar . Outside...
Isla de la Juventud
The Isla de la Juventud was discovered by Columbus, but largely ignored for centuries. As late as the Batista regime it was primarily a prison island, with an enormous 'model' prison capable of housing up to 5,000 prisoners on the north coast. Since the revolution it has been developed as a major agrarian region, with huge citrus orchards around the hills in the center of the island, and many other crops grown on the fertile lands in the northern half of the island. The southern half of the...