TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) Trip Report and Photo Archives SVI Trip Day 5 - to Vieques!

After a restful night sleep snug in Marina Puerto del Ray we checked out at 8:00am, grabbed as much ICE as we could stuff in the deck cooler, slipped our lines, and with Woody at the helm we soon had del Ray stern-to. A very nice marina that I hope to return to someday!

Our final destination was Green Beach, but we decided to take a little detour up to Isla de Ramos where were told you could anchor in reasonable weather. The was a recon mission for some future trip. The island looks pretty enough, uninhabited, and has a small structure on it's SW side. However, the chart says it's very shallow a good ways west. Probably good for a sports fisherman drawing 3-4 feet, and ok for a shallow draft cat. I'm not sure I'd chance it.

So in light easterly winds we swung south east and motorsailed toward the western tip of Vieques. We decided to dodge behind Isla Pineros. We had read in the guide that you could anchor here between the island and Puerto Rico. It's a nice long sheltered channel - if a bit narrow in places. It was inviting as an anchorage, but that will be on another trip. Exiting the channel south we hardened up against the wind and ran close hauled past Pta Puerca. Once past the point we had a nice beam reach down to the west-end of Vieques.

It is very shallow for several miles off Pta Arenas, which is the north-western most point of Vieques, so we gave it a wide berth and let our heading drift a little west of south for the 7 mile run down. We crossed the shallows and then rode the southern edge of the shallows south east until passing the point, finally hooking into Green Beach from the south side. I'm a big chicken - but then again I've never dinged a boat in 27 years of cruising. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

It's shallowish here, shallow way out, and there's a couple of moorings. You can anchor anywhere you like, so we dropped the hook in about 10 feet of water directly off a beach shelter with rocks littering the beach south of it. The rocks appeared to be the remnants of some kind of breakwater.

The holding is excellent, and the beach is beautiful. Tall palm trees punctuated the beach everywhere, and there was a tall hill behind to the south. A light breeze was blowing to us from the beach and the water was totally calm. We had the place to ourselves. It was the kind of place where cares drop away like tree flower petals in the breeze, and we were happy simply to be.

The tranquil feeling lasted for a couple of Heinekens, but we soon had the bug to explore.

We spotted small fish breaking and some larger fish in the water, and the girls had the bug to go fishing, so they all piled into the dingy with Woody and with the travel-rod I'd brought with a Penn 330 trolling reel, and they trolled all around the area. Alas, no luck.

We fractured into groups. The girls swam into the beach. Woody and I dropped the kayak in the water and paddled to Pta Arenas. We returned back to the boat, regrouped, and most of the crew swam in to snorkel. Barb and I took the dingy in and tied it to a sea-grape tree. We joined the snorkelers and the current soon took us down to the point. We saw many fallen palm trees in the shallow water that loomed into view like sunken ship's keels as we floated by. There were fish here and there, but no coral.

We walked back to the dingy and returned home to SarahSue. All was still as the sun retreated into the mountains over Puerto Rico. Soon the nearly-full moon was rising over Monte Pirata to the south east. I walked to the bow to capture the beautiful beach scene, and this is where Woody became a trouble maker. He shouted to one of the girls that I was gonna scoop her by getting some good shots, and soon I had company on the bow. As one of the girls started shooting the scene, the other decided to 'run interference' least I get a better shot! We laughed ourselves silly over this, and after all getting some good pictures we returned to the cockpit for more cold relaxing beverages and dinner.

After dinner we returned to the trampoline to play a game where two of the girls run a radio-station talk-show and we all called in to ask questions. I wish I had a recording of it, because they kept us in stitches for nearly an hour.

Puerto Del Ray




Beautiful hotel and some other interesting structure on the east coast of Puerto Rico.




Fishing expedition!




Photographer's, er, helper....




Green Beach panorama - a typically busy anchorage. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />