Sailing around the world on the traditional gaff rigged schooner Windjammer

We spent a wonderful week cruising through the Jardines del Rey, a 210 mile stretch of cays, reefs and sandy beaches on the North Coast of Cuba. On our first snorkeling/spear fishing session we managed to get a red emperor and our first fresh lobster. Ciguetera can be a problem in this region so we decided to return the emperor to the sea and settled on BBQ'd lobster for dinner instead, tough decision! We sailed an average of 30 miles a day, stopping at different cay's along the way, mostly all were uninhabited. There was some good snorkeling spots with good coral, lots of tropical fish and of course, crystal clear water. Steady easterly winds nearly all of the way so had some great sailing under foresail and balloon jib with an awning over the mainsail booms for shade.

While exploring around the mangrove channels on a remote cay by dingy we came upon some fisherman who were using fish traps they gave us a pineapple which we greatly accepted in return we gave them some bread and a packet of biscuits. Not to be out done they then gave us some lobster tails, 8 or more but we explained that there was only two of us and 8 was far too many so we accepted 4 large ones. Lobster thermador for dinner coupled with mojitos and salsa on the foredeck (a memorable evening).

We then sailed past the tourist area of Valadero and onto Marina Hemingway which is located approximately 25km to the west of Havana. This is quite a large marina with 4 canals running parallel to the coast. There was a variety of boats and nationalities here, Canadians, Scandinavians, French, Germans and Australians. There were also lots of game fishing boats. The last couple of days there has been an influx of American boats sailing under "sanctioned activities" this allows Americans to legally visit Cuba. Things are moving very quickly. In the city the other night we were at a music venue and no less than four US senators and their wives "dropped in" and made an impromptu speech as part of a visiting "Arts Delegation".

We spent 4 days in Old Havana City staying in a "casa particular", these are rooms in a local houses which are rented to tourists. There are literally hundreds of them ranging from one room to 18 rooms per house. There also many hotels but the casa particulars certainly out number the hotel rooms. A lot of the restaurants,(paladares) are also located in locals homes. The city was amazing. We were unaware of how rich and prosperous this city was in its heyday. There are literally hundreds of palatial buildings of the baroque period. Quite a few of these have been restored and in good repair however there are many more that are almost in ruins. The old city has been given a Unesco World Heritage listing and there are major restoration projects going on everywhere, the city has a good vibe with music on just about every street corner. There are new small private enterprises, mainly bars and cafes popping up everywhere and the restaurant scene is quite good. We did spy a Ralph Lauren shop and a few Italian high end boutiques - probably getting in early.

Two days back on board making a new hatch cover and a bit of varnishing and we were off to Vinales by bus. Vinales is about 200km south west of Havana. It is a village that sits in a valley amid a stunning mountain range. The area has been open to tourism for some time and therefore is quite prosperous. all of the houses, which number about 300, are all painted bright colours, have a porch and 2 rocking chairs out the front and every second house has a room to rent. In the valley there are fields of tobacco, corn and a type of potato and large drying sheds for the tobacco. It is the largest tobacco producing area in Cuba. We took a hike through the fields and into the mountain range where there are numerous caves. We did a tour through one of the large caves which is 14 miles long aided by a guide with a large LED light. There was even a fresh water pool at the end of the cave where Ashley took a plunge. We then rented some bikes and toured the town and outlying areas. Next day it was back to Havana and Windjammer to get ready for our departure to the US of A. Our destination was to be Key West, but the day before leaving we read a blog of a Dutch boat who entered Key West from Cuba 3 days earlier and had been refused entry as it is apparently still illegal to enter the US from Cuba. They were told to leave the country and re enter from another country,(probably Bahamas). We didn't want to risk this (we had heard that the customs officers in Key West could be difficult), so we decided to make landfall in Miami. We arrived in Miami early Sunday morning (a quick passage with the assist of the Gulf Stream) and tried to check in. It was all too difficult with shallow waters in the river, bridges that we couldn't get under and dredges everywhere so we aborted plan B and went Ft Lauderdale instead. One phone call to customs had us cleared in and a trip to the immigration had our visas sorted, our freezer and vegetable baskets untouched by a gloved hand. Phew! Ft Lauderdale was very busy and expensive so we are now heading north to Savannah, Georgia.
Oh and just noticed that our log has reached 50,000 miles since leaving Australia. Might be time for a celebratory drink of Ron Zacappa, our special rum.
Link to Havana Photo Album
Link to Vinales Photo Album

Friday 8 May at 11.00am we made landfall on the south eastern coast of Cuba at Pt de Vita. We were instructed by the Capitania de Puerto to drop anchor outside the marina and standby as we would need to be boarded and cleared by the local officials prior to entering the marina and Cuba. This we duly did and by 12.30pm we were tied up in the marina and cleared by immigration, customs, harbour master and a Doctor specialising in infectious diseases.
All very efficient and such a contrast to our 7 hour wait in Puerto Rico for US customs to clear us. After a good wash down, a few rums and a hearty dinner we retired for a good night sleep. The following day we hired a car and drove to Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city after Havana. On our way to collect the car, it seemed as though we were caught in a time warp, American cars from the 1950's graced the roads along with the more common form of transport, horse and buggy, as well as motor scooters, bicycles and public bus and truck transport.

We picked up our car, a Chinese 4WD, complete with squeaky steering wheel and after a quick drive around the beaches and resorts that crowd this part of the coastline, we headed for the city. It was a lovely 4 hour drive though sugar, banana and pineapple plantations, a very fertile part of the country. Arriving in Santiago de Cuba we found as expected a large busy city with a distinctly South American flavour. The old city though has beautiful Spanish architecture very similar to that of old San Juan in Puerto Rico, however unlike San Juan, the buildings are in fairly poor condition some with roofs caving in and crumbling walls. There is obviously a long term plan for restoring these old buildings, and once completed will rival San Juan. It was Saturday night and there was lots of music playing in the many piazzas that dot the old city. Lobster for dinner, salsa in the square and then the plan was to end up in the local jazz club, however our footwear, thongs, not being appropriate we were denied access. Next morning we drove through Guantanemo en route to Baraccoa on the south eastern tip of the country. Unfortunately you cannot get anywhere near the US base as it is ringed with Cuban military bases, so after a mothers day lunch of pizza, pasta and beer, (all for about $1.50 US in the local restaurant) we continued to Baraccoa through a spectacular mountain range. Baraccoa is one of the oldest towns in Cuba and is a vibrant little town nestled at the foot of the mountain range. The town is centered around a main piazza with a restored church and buildings connected with cobblestone streets. There was lots of music, lovely little restaurants and a generally good vibe. We found lodgings in a local home and a relative of the owner took us on a tour of the area. We swam in the river in one of the gorges, visited a coco plantation and learnt how chocolate is made.(this is the Cacaoa capitol of Cuba). In the evening we had our first salsa lesson. One hour later we both seemed to have mastered the 8 basic steps required. I think however a few more lessons are needed before we take to the dance floor.

We set sail from Pt de Vita yesterday for the "Jardines del Rey" an archipelago with a succession of cays that stretch 210 NM and line the north coast of Cuba. The seaward side of these cays boast mile after mile of sandy beaches, fronted by intermittent barrier reef and small islets,(and hopefully lots of fish and lobster). Intermingled amongst these remote cays are some big tourist facilities on some of the bigger cays. At 3.00 this morning we anchored off a very pretty little cay that houses a Guardia control station and the Cuban control station for the Old Bahama channel. It is noted in our guide that we may not go ashore as it is considered a military facility. From here there are many cays to explore, all within a short distance of each other, so will spend approximately a week "gunkholing" before heading further west to Varadero and Havana.

Now its off to the reef with fishing line and speargun!