Tortuga: Playa Caldera

Wednesday, October 24, 2001

010-57.600 N
065-13.800 W

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. It sucked!

A boat named "Stormy Petral" is on the same over-all course and we left together at 05:30. Ken and Bonnie have a Morgan 45(?) and are very nice. 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 faihtas (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.

-- Geoff
Log ID: 108