Cuba Cayes
Sarah Grace goes to sea
Chris Yerbury and Sophy White
Sat 24 Feb 2007 01:39
Friday 23rd February,
2007 N 20'41 W78'45 Cayo Cachiboca
Well: we're here, anchored
in the middle of nowhere, about thirty five miles off Cuba, surrounded by
mangrove. There is a belt of mangrove cayes running parallel to the
south coast, into which we have snuck. We haven't seen a single
boat since leaving Jamaica, and it is truly deserted here. The last
two hundred miles have been a combination of pleasant and nasty.
Started off good with moderate winds, and then totally unforecast, the wind
whistled up to thirty knots again in the small hours of the morning, with horrid
seas to match. So dawn saw more seasickness, with the boat jouncing around
like a ferret. Otti got bombed by rotten bananas where she was
sleeping in the saloon. They seem to go from green to black in a
day. I ought to explain that we store them hanging on strings in the
saloon.
Neither Chris or I have had
more than snatched naps in the last 36 hours.
We haven't done the
infamous Cuban check in yet, which involves about eight officials and sniffer
dogs, and is meant to last six hours. There is the matter of the cheese:
whether to hide it or not. Lots of stuff is confiscated by them, but we
have decided to risk our lovely cheeses carried from Venezuela, by NOT hiding
them, and stay on the right side of the law. All remaining vegetables,
dairy, and meat will be taken, unless canned. We thought that by arriving
in tandem with yacht Jem that we might cool the ardour of the customs
slightly. So after a lie up here for a day, we will sail the remaining one
hundred and fifty miles, and arrive for the big show down in Cien Fuegos on
Monday.