Our time in Bahia Santiago was great. Once we had the windvane stowed onboard, we were ready to leave for our first overnight at Punta Cabeza Negra. As soon as the anchor was hauled, we headed out of the bay. Along the way, we had to cross the entrance channel for Manzanillo, a large port, and Navy base. None of the freighters were moving, but a Navy escort vessel was on a collision course with us, so following protocol and survival instincts, we made a hard turn to starboard and back-winded our sails.
I was wondering why he didn't call on the radio, or anything.. then I looked behind him, and there were three stealth looking cruisers coming out of the base at full steam.
I figured we had enough time to get across before the next ship arrived at our location, ..... frogger with warships!
Once we were clear of the entrance everything calmed down, the wind came up from the Northeast and the swell was minimal, so we enjoyed a couple hours of calm 6 knot sailing!
A few small pods of dolphins escorted us and played in the bow waves; it's always fun to watch them.
Morning turned to afternoon, and the wind turned to directly off the stern. It is the hardest sailing and steering for us. We probably would have loved to have a spinnaker, but without one, it was constant work to keep the sails trimmed. Also, we have a time restriction; we really need to be anchored before dark. Motorsailing..... we've been doing alot of that lately, but, sometimes, you just have to. I know purists would disagree, however, we are... cruising.....destinations, so we sacrifice sailing to make up time. We did arrive at Cabeza Negra on schedule at about 4:30.
It is a small anchorage, not recommended in rough weather. It can also have large surf, and swells within the bay making for a rolly night. We're o.k. with that, we're going to bed early and leaving at first light. 68 miles to Caleta Campos.
No comments:
Post a Comment