On Day 3 we bid a reluctant adieu to Culebria and headed for Dewey. The plan was to check out Dewey, have lunch, grab as much ice as the cooler would handle, and head out again. We headed north from Culebrita, hung a louie - and took the inside-passage close to Culebra. The hazards to navigation are more obvious with this route, and the seas much calmer. Going back east and around outside leaves you to pick through the reefs south-east of Culebra which extend a long way out, and upon which a charter boat was stricken the day we did our chart briefing with CYOA. The warning was clear. Be very careful when approaching Culebra's Ensenada Honda from the east. The two range systems for the harbor approach are obvious and work well.

So after a short motor-sail we slipped into Dewey and I managed to get the fishing line hung up around the port prop as we were backing down on the anchor. Ugh. After 20-minutes of snorkeling I managed to get all of the line unwound from this underwater high-speed winch, and vowed to be more careful next time.

Note to all - the water off Dewey is not something you really want to snorkel in. I had a prodigious shot of rum after returning aboard "for medicinal purposes."

We all piled in the Dingy and headed for the drawbridge and Mamacitas. After a good bit of wandering around we found it. It might be obvious to everyone else, but for us it was hard to find... after passing under the big bridge, bear right as the waterway widens, and it's right there on the right. Apparently on the off-season Mamacita's and The Dingy Dock take turns being closed, and it was Mamacita's turn this day. Bummer. We locked the dink and headed into town for a look. After a bit of walking the Admiral and I split off across the bridge for a cold-one at The Dingy Dock, and the rest of the crew romped around town for a bit. Over a malt beverage we watched a yoga class going through their paces in the shade of the pavilion on the town dock. The scene was serene and pleasant. I could get to like Dewey.

Soon the crew arrived and we had lunch. I wanted a local dish, and the waitress suggested Cuban style pork served in a tostada shell (smashed plantains fried in the shape of a bowl) and surrounded by salad. It was excellent!

Finally we returned with to SarahSue (our Lavezzi 40 cat) with all the ice we could fit in the cooler and weighed anchor. Next stop: Bahia Tamarindo on the south coast.

After picking up a ball in Bahia Tamarindo we decided to check out the next anchorage to the west. After arrival we noticed that there were tons of large round jellyfish in the water, so we beat feet back to Tamarindo again. In the back of the bay we picked up the eastern-most mooring.

We snorkeled from the boat, and after some significant swimming we found the best snorkeling to be located within easy distance of the western-most ball in the bay. There were shallow finger-plateaus of coral extending out from the beach, and deeper canyons between. This area is a preserve with no fishing allowed. There were many large fish - a sure sign that the fishing restrictions were working.

We hauled out back aboard, started the grill, and soon were partaking of pain-killers, Heinekens, and Carib's. Everybody took turns on the port stern scoop getting their salt-water bath, and everyone was very leary of that Dr. Bhonner's peppermint soap. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

Dinner was steak kabobs, and I must say that everyone aboard raved about the provisioning we got through CYOA. The food was excellent.

After dinner everybody was fading, and a quick look at the watch showed it was only 8:30! We laughed that it seemed like midnight, and were all soon snoozing in our climate-controlled bunks, courtesy of SarahSue's 7KW Northern Lights generator and AC.

The generator ran like a top all trip and was more than adequate for our needs. It consumes about 0.3 gallons per hour (my best guess) with both AC units running. We found that the freezer, if run on AC power, will freeze a gallon of water solid overnight. This was then put into the cooler to keep the beer and soda cold all the next day. Once thawed it was poured into smaller bottles to slake our continuous thirst, and a new frozen gallon was put in the cooler. Perfect!

Planning note: If you only need to pull into Dewey for beer and ice, you're much better off skipping Ensenada Honda and simply dropping anchor in Bahia de Sardinas - locate on the south side of Dewey.

Also - If we return to Ensenada Honda some day we'll probably take the time to anchor for the night in Ensenada Dakity, located about a mile south of Dewey. It comes highly recommended as a snug and beautiful anchorage. Snorkeling on the reef to the east (right off your boat) is supposed to be great.


Culebrita Sunset...
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