Enjoying Cuba

Marina Siguanea

Finally, the Guarda gives me a weather window and I check out. It is mid afternoon which, according to my calculations, is the perfect departure time. I follow the shore line south for about an hour, round Cabo Corrientes and set a course for the southern end of Isla de la Juventud.

As the sun sets, I am several miles off shore. Clouds appear on the horizon. The winds again are vicious, directly on the bow. Maybe it is just a temporary wind associated with the cooling air after a hot day, as the cruising guide suggests. I soon come to the conclusion that the high winds and rough seas are the result of a major storm somewhere out in the Caribbean, rather than the product of a temporary temperature change. It is a rough ride. It worsens. The heavy weather over powers the autopilot and I remain at the helm hour after hour.

One advantage of sailing in the dark of night, however, is that you can't see how big the seas are. Sometime after midnight the full moon peeks through the clouds in the eastern sky. Then I see the seas. Through the brightness of the moon, I see a confidence destroying sight, a wicked white wall of water crashing down on the foredeck of the Sirius II. It reminds me of the awesome power of white water rafting or canoeing in my home state of Washington. There, if you overturn, you wait for calm waters, upright your craft and continue the course. Here, your boat sinks and maybe you with it. I'm not suicidal. Before the crest of the next wave, I turn back.

When I check back in at Maria la Gorda the next morning, the Guarda advise me that the mistake I made was to go off shore. "Follow the coast line," I am told.

Armed with this information, with another favorable weather report, I set out again about noon the following day. Again, as I round Cabo Corrientes, we are met by strong winds and high seas out of the east. Sails are doused; I engage the engine. I soon conclude that the east-west coast line will offer no protection from the easterly winds. I turn back. For the second time.

During the following night I sense a weather change. Early the next morning I dinghy in to the pier and walk over to the Guarda post. El jeffe is not yet on duty. While waiting for him. I ask the duty guarda about the weather. "Que tiempo hace?"

He hands me his binoculars and points to the west, out over the bay. Now I understand. All this time I had assumed that the local authorities had been in contact with some national or international weather source. In reality, they know no more than I do.

I check out for the third time. I follow the coastline south, then east, then southeast keeping the cays and reefs to port. The winds have dropped to less than 20 knots; the seas are less than six feet. This time there is no turning back. Next stop: Marina Siguanea, the southwest corner of Isla de la Juventud.

Isla de la Juventud is the second largest island of the Cuban Archipelago. For centuries it was largely ignored. During the Batista era the island was used as a large prison. Fidel Castro himself was imprisoned at one time in Presido Modelo, a model prison near Nueva Gerona. Now the island is being developed as a farming region.

By departing Maria la Gorda early, I avoid the strong afternoon and evening winds associated with this passage. This presents another challenge: A night time crossing of the reef near Isla de la Juventud. On the chart, the channel appears several hundred feet wide and well-marked. Still, watching my depth indicator plunge from several hundred feet to less than 20 feet in a matter of minutes is nerve racking.

I arrive at Marina Siguanea just after sunrise. After a short nap, I walk the two kilometers to Hotel Colony, a 1950's style hotel, the main tourist attraction here. I had heard that it is possible to rent a car here, reasonably, and drive north through the lush country side to Neuva Gerona, the provincial capital. There I could resupply at the aqromercado (farmers' market) and several dollar stores and be back in one easy day. Wrong. This being the off-season, there are no cars available at this time, and if there were, the price would be double what I was expecting to pay. I found this to be indicative of most of the tourist industry in Cuba: inconsistency and relatively pricey. Cuba could very well be pricing itself out of the tourist business.

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Maria la Gorda	Nueva Gerona