Monday October 19, 2015
We left Frenchtown Marina on St. Thomas Monday morning for Culebra. We have been very excited about visiting a brand new island. Culebra is only fourteen miles from St. Thomas, but many fewer boaters visit Culebra vs. the BVIs. Culebra also has a reputation as being easy to get to from St. Thomas, but hard to get back due to the return being upwind.
We headed southwest in beautiful weather with a 6 knot wind from the south and almost no swell. No wind meant we were motoring. Our new propeller was moving us briskly at cruising RPM and it was a very gentle ride.
Leaving St. Thomas for Culebra
Once we were set and settled we put out a fishing line. We saw great fishing between St. Thomas and Culebra. We saw lots of flying fish and saw Mahi Mahi chasing them. It wasn’t long before we caught a small Jack. I mentioned to Christine that we did not have any meat on the boat, so it was beans for dinner that night. Just then we got a big hit from a Mahi. Rick did a quick filet on the Mahi and went back to fishing.
At Culebra we had to call to check in with Customs & Immigration. We are using the Small Vessel Reporting System to pre-check in to avoid having to go to the airport for the regular check in. After a couple of hours they called back and gave us our confirmation number.
The anchorage at Ensenada Honda is very protected, but there is a lot of weed. We were able to get the anchor set on the second try. When I pulled the anchor up to try again it had a bushel of weed wrapped around the anchor. Once the anchor was set we had no problems for for days. This is a mangrove anchorage and we saw lots of round brown mangrove jellyfish. We also picked up some growth on our swim ladder after only four days. No swimming here for us, the water was a bit murky. Really, lack of swimming was my only complaint with this anchorage.
We popped into town and did a dinghy ride through the canal and walked around the area near town dock. The only thing we found open was Milka’s Grocery. No bar, no cold beer, nowhere to soak up the local ambiance. So, back to the boat for sundowners and dinner.
Dinner was Grilled Cajun Mahi with couscous and green beans. That fresh Mahi was one of the best dishes we had all week. We ate looking out over a very quiet, very large, harbor. Culebra has a different look from the water than the Virgin Islands. It does not have any tall mountains and is more rolling hills. There are more wooden structures and more buildings and homes right on the water with docks. This early in the season it was very quiet.
Tuesday October 20, 2015
A beautiful morning greeted us and we had big plans. But first, some boat work needed to get done. Our kitchen faucet was barely running. I took it apart and found minerals and sediment clogging the faucet. Easy, right? Well, in a French-designed boat you have French parts. After standing on my head in the kitchen sink, it was obvious how things came apart. Exciting, right?
Cleaning the kitchen faucet aerator
On the way in on our dinghy to the town dock we stopped by Shanti to say hi to Gary, Deb and their dog Jack. We had heard they were in Culebra and their beautiful Bristol Channel Cutter is hard to miss. We made plans to have a drink together. We kept hearing “Meow. Meow” in the background?
We hit the town dock and got picked up by Carlos’s Jeep Rentals courtesy van. Golf cart beach trip! The golf cart was a bit like riding a lawnmower with kid’s seatbelts. It worked and we banged over to Flamenco Beach. Flamenco beach was great and definitely a destination. It was clean and probably had ¾ mile of wide sand in a big arc. Lunch was chicken and beef empanadas and chicharon with tostones and lots of cold Medalla beer. We were adopted by a hungry cat who joined us on the beach after we gave him a snack.
Walking back to the parking lot we came across a festive painted army tank overlooking the beach. There were also dozens of enormous iguanas in the brush. These guys were 4-foot monsters, many with shortened tails. Cat vs iguana?
We had asked at the rental car place about any restaurants/bars that were open. The friendly lady recommended Heather’s near the ferry dock. Seems like the off-season energy is all around the ferry dock. Heather’s was a great hole in the wall bar with a/c and lots of homestyle pizza and pasta being sold and super cold Medalla beer. We heard from the bartender that Zaco’s Tacos would be open tomorrow.
We returned our jeep and hit Milka’s for groceries. It’s a good place to provision. They had a ton of dry goods at good prices. We bought some Churrasco steaks that we were very happy with. We loved the canned Cuban-style black beans and wish we had bought more. After lugging groceries and ice to the town dock it was getting late. No chance to visit with Gary & Deb tonight. Steaks on the grill, big salad and a bottle of red wine. By the time cleanup was done we were ready for bed.
Wednesday October 21, 2015
We popped by to say hi to Gary, Deb and Jack in the morning and we made plans to have dinner together at Zaco’s Tacos.
Today was an exploring day for us. We dinghied through the canal to the south shore of Culebra to have a look. Moving northwest we went up the coast to see if we could find a beach for some play time. We found some clusters of day-use mooring balls with some good snorkeling options. But, no beaches we could access with the dinghy. It was quite calm and we were tempted to explore Luis Pena island, which is a nature reserve; it was a bit too far and we decided to head back.
Dinner at Zaco’s Tacos with Gary and Deb was great. Lots of good options and a good deal. We were not in love with the margaritas; the sweetener for the sours mix was odd, as if they mixed agave syrup, aspartame and corn syrup. The Medalla beer was cold, so no problem. We decided to adjourn to Heather’s for a/c and cold beer. Deb and Gary are full of stories. They have lived in the Virgin Islands for years. Gary is a well-known photographer and Deb is a wedding officiant. They live with their dog Jack in their 28-foot boat. Not just any boat, but a big small boat that is famous for being a world cruiser. Gary promised to give us a tour when we joined them for drinks tomorrow.
Thursday October 22, 2015
Another visit to Flamenco beach. We took the public taxi van instead of renting a golf cart. What a change! The swell had come in and there were big rolling breakers on the part of the beach not protected by the reef. We went back to the same kiosk for empanadas for lunch and had a relaxing beach day.
Rough day at Flamenco Beach
We met up with Gary and Deb on Shanti and met their African Gray Parrot. The parrot is the guy who was making the meow noises on our earlier visits. Jack gave us lots of kisses and we got to enjoy some time on a classic sailboat. Gary is slowly replacing some of the stainless steel gear with brass gear. He’s replaced the wire standing rigging with rope standing rigging. More old school every day. Shanti has a great layout with her full keel and low salon floor that gives you lots of room below the water line. She looks a bit like a submarine below as you look out with your head just above the water line. But, how much boat do you need? They have a v-berth, head, refrigeration and plenty of storage. Nice boat. Gary has some photos of Shanti on his web site – http://www.garyfelton.com/shanti/
Dinner was leftovers, but the steak was great the second time around. Off to Puerto Rico tomorrow.
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