Can you get tired of Lobster?
15 January 2012 | Cayo Breton
Torben
21 07.28N 079 26.98W
I am up early this morning. Why, you may ask? Last night Judy wrote a long and very funny blog entry and as we were getting ready to get it posted I promptly deleted it from the computer with a couple of swift key strokes - so now you have to suffer with my primitive writing instead.
We are honkered down in a well protected anchorage at Cayo Breton in the island chain of Jardines de la Reina off the south coast of Cuba. A 'Norther' system is coming down from the East Coast, we currently have 20 knot of breeze with 30 in the forecast for tomorrow into Tuesday. We are alone in this anchorage - as a matter of fact, we have not seen another boat other than the occational ferrocement Cuban fishing boat since we left Cienfuegos 3 days ago.
We spend the first night anchored off Cayo Zaza de Fuero, and had not even started to back down on the anchor before a fishing boat came steaming over from a couple of miles away to see if we needed any fish or lobster. "How about a little of each" we said. They left us for a hour or so, put a guy in the water and came back to trade 5 lobster tails and 2 beautiful filet's of white fish for a bottle of Rum and 2 packs of Benson & Hedges cigarettes. - we just cooked 3 tails for dinner on the barbie! At 7:00 two of the fishermen came over to see if we wanted to talk a little, so we invited them onboard for a Cuba Libra. They spoke no English whatever, but we did figure out that there were 7 folks on the fishing boat, they stay out for 10 days at the time, then have 5 days off, they were both married and each had 3 kids and they really liked cookies!
We had planned to stay in Zaza a couple of days, but with a forecast of a lot of wind we upped anchor the next morning - my birthday - to get to Cayo Breton with better protection. I unfortunately misread the instructions in the cruising guide a little and got us into some pretty shallow water where we had intimate contact with some coral.....then we got back out in deeper water where we were supposed to have been all along! This whole area is pretty shallow with reefs, rocks and all kinds of obstructions - getting into most of the anchorages you go for several miles in water that often is 10 - 15 feett deep with the occational obstruction - the water is clear blue, so it feels like you are constantly running aground - Judy was commenting that she feels safer sailing alone around the Farallones in 25 knots of breeze!
Anyway, on approach to the lagoon at Breton we again ran aground a couple of times trying to get into the anchorage in disspite following the instructions in the cruising guide very carefully - no way to get in and all ready 4 PM, not so good, but our only choice was to anchor off the island out in the open and push on at tirst light the next day.
Well, luck would have it that another ferrocement fishing boat saw us and steamed over to take our lobster orders.....so this time we traded Rum and Peso's for 2 lobsters and, more importantly, a guided tour into the anchorage. The 'deep' water channal of 10 feet had moved 30 or 40 feet East since the cruising guide was written 15 years ago! So yes, we were snug for my birthday dinner of Lobster Pasta a la Judy.
Yesterday we hung out fixing stuff....Judy patched up the new leak in the dinghy while I played with a new Autopilot problem, this time it seems the solenoid malfunctioned so we are back to hand steering untill we can find a new one.
Last night a 5:30 we had not one but two fishing boats come in to fight over our lobster business - hilarious to see them manuever their 100 foot boats to within inches of Tivoli. We had kinda promised to trade with the guy who led us into the lagoon, so he got our business last night - dinner menu was white fish filet stuffed with lobster and fresh chives in a cream garlic sauce. Tonight the other boat said he would be back and wanted us to come over for dinner!! Should be interesting.