Tortuga: Cayo Herradura

Friday, October 26, 2001

010-59.400 N
065-23.400 W

Playa Caldera, Tortuga, Venezuela - October 24, 2001

The sail from Cubagua to Tortuga could be classified as a sail from hell. The winds were supposed to have been 15-20 on the stern and they ended up being 7-10 with occasional brief bursts to 13 kts. What made it so bad was the 3-5' rollers on the beam and stern that constantly rolled the boat from 5:30 AM to 4:30 PM. It was a long motor sail and it sucked!

A boat named "Stormy Petrel" is on the same over-all course and we left together at 05:30. Ken and Bonnie have a Morgan 41 and are very nice people.  It was nice cruising with another boat.  We all hated the sail.

Putting the sail aside, Playa Caldera is a wonderful anchorage. It's a half moon shaped anchorage surrounded by white sand beaches. You anchor in 10-15 feet of water which gives you absolutely beautiful blue green water. During the day the heat bakes the sand, and as Chris Doyle says, "the whole anchorage feels bleached and baked, heat shimmers and the houses look timeless and unreal." I concur and I'll add that you have to keep out of the high sun.

There are maybe 10 boats here. This is far past the range of any charter boats, so you end up with the true cruiser. The island is inhabited by very friendly fisherman. You can buy a large lobster for about $4. There's no power so it's very dark. Tonight's dinner (gespacho (sp?) and steak fajitas (sp!?) was accompanied by a quarter moon high in the sky lighting up the white sand beaches and lightening storms flashing over the mainland. Spectacular!

Tomorrow it's down to another anchorage on Tortuga.

Los Palanquinos, Tortuga - October 25, 2001

Los Palanquinos is a reef which is about 1/2 of a mile offshore. You anchor behind the reef and are presented with a spectacular view of the ocean crashing into the reef and the open ocean beyond. The reef takes out most of the seas.

Stormy Petrel has been moving at the same pace & we went snorkeling on the reef together. The reef is fairly dead, but there had lots of fish. Saw some of the largest Parrot fish that I've ever seen.

The winds blew from the WEST. I've never watched the sun rise over the stern and set over the bow before.

Cayo Herraduro, Tortuga - October 26, 2001

Cayo Herraduro is a spectacular anchorage. You anchor in 10' of crystal clear water in a mile long horseshoe shaped bay. The bay is lined with with a fine white sand beach. The contrast of the white sand against the pure aqua water is dazzeling. This reminds me of the Bahamas.

Stormy Petrel reported that the SE reef was pretty dead w/o a lot of fish. I decided to try the reef E of the end of the island and was rewarded with a nice live reef full of fish. A whole group is headed out there today.

Had Storm Petrel & It's Good over for drinks. Everyone had a great time. We're all supposed to go to It's Good today (10/27) for drinks, but I want to make the jump to Los Roques, but that will depend upon the weather.

Bought lobsters from fishermen & had sauted lobster in a cream sauce. Yum, yum, yum!

Cayo Herdurra & Las Tortuguillas, Tortuga - October 28, 2002

Cayo Herdurra, which means Horseshoe Cay, is a small island off of Tortuga. The anchorage is horseshoe shaped and is surrounded by fine white sand beaches. You anchor in 10' of pure aqua water giving you blue sensory overload. Off of the SE end of the island there's a reef that provides excellent snorkeling. The southern reef is just OK. This is a fantastic anchorage.

About 3 miles west you'll find Las Tortugillas, which means The Little Turtles. These are 2 islands separated by about 1/4 mile with fantastic beaches but only fair snorkeling as most of the reef is dead.

Tonight it's an 85 nm trip to the Los Roques.

Log ID: 113