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Re: latest SVI info?
[Re: LocalSailor]
#178388
12/19/2018 03:32 PM
12/19/2018 03:32 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951 St. John, USVI
RickG
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
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Hey LocalSailor, sounds like fun! I have no Vieqes info since Maria.
I'll check current water status with a friend on Culebra. There have been promises of water to come to the town dock in Ensenada Honda. Sail Caribe will certainly know and the folks at CYOA likely do. If the wind stays from the East, we like the Western Bays that run North of Dewey marked as Tarja and Tamarindo with day mooring balls. If things are rough, we leave the boat in Ensenada Honda and grab a Jeep from Carlos' Jeeps and hit the sights from land. There is a farm towards Zoni Beach that has a sign out for fresh farm eggs and has produce/fruit in season.
In Dewey, we tend to hit Dinghy Dock, Zacos Tacos, and Heather's for pizza. There are other places that are well reviewed, but we tend to go low budget.
Have a great time. Pretty jealous, but we'll be in neighborhood long-term starting in June.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423 Grenada
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Re: latest SVI info?
[Re: LocalSailor]
#178389
12/19/2018 03:36 PM
12/19/2018 03:36 PM
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951 St. John, USVI
RickG
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
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Friend from Culebra says water at Dinghy Dock is $0.25 per gallon BYO jugs.
To mention, Milka's Grocery has a dinghy dock in the canal and a good butcher and decent prices loading a ton of products into a small space.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423 Grenada
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Re: latest SVI info?
[Re: LocalSailor]
#178392
12/19/2018 03:53 PM
12/19/2018 03:53 PM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347 USVI
LocalSailor
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
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Thanks Rick, I am planning on the Sail Caribe info as the most current. Capt Jay was great help , and those CYOA boats mostly have watermakers! Just a friends and family sail so low pressure Xmas overall. See you here this summer and onward.
Last edited by LocalSailor; 12/19/2018 03:57 PM.
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Re: latest SVI info?
[Re: LocalSailor]
#178574
12/21/2018 10:29 PM
12/21/2018 10:29 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 66 New York, NY
c388791
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 66
New York, NY
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I was there last week, in a Dufour 35 from Dream Yacht Charters in Fajardo. Spectacular sailing trip. Here are a few highlights:
1. Sailing was easy. Mostly line of sight, reefs well charted and marked, anchorages easy to enter, nothing tricky or surprising. 2. Didn't need water, so I can't comment on that. 3. Anchored every night except for one on a mooring in Esperanza--could have easily anchored there too. 4. Mooring balls on Culebra are free, the ones in Esperanza, Vieques are private and cost $25. The guy will come by to collect. Some of the mooring balls on Culebra are marked 'Day Use Only' but Cap'n Suzy from DYC says its OK to overnight on them. 5. Took a day mooring on the west side of Culebrita and hiked up to the lighthouse. Trail isn't marked from the beach, but if you walk south along the beach you'll see a big opening in the mangroves--that's the trail. Pretty easy to find. Swarms of white butterflies surrounded us as we hiked up the hill. Lots of goats up there and lots of goat by-products, but light house ruins were pretty cool and the views very nice. 6. Locals were all incredibly friendly and gracious. 7. We did the 2130 bio-bay tour through FunBrothers in Esperanza--incredible and worth every penny of the $55. There were 5 people in 3 kayaks + the guide and we were the only ones in the bay. Guide was knowledgable and good. Def recommend the late tour so you get the darkness after the moon sets. 8. We anchored one night in Puerto Ferro, Vieques. Some mild luminescence there, but nothing like the bio bay tour. Water in Puerto Ferro was kind of green and murky, but the bay was quite and peaceful--we were the only boat except for a handful of abandoned boats anchored near the north edge of the bay. Shallow entrance, we saw a low of 7.2 feet entering, but the depths seem accurately charted. 9. Dinner at El Quenepo in Esperanza, Vieques was superb. Superb food, superb service, superb presentation, very nice ambience. I travel all over the word and eat at lots of fancy restaurants, and this one is right in the league with the best of them. A little pricier and fancier than the rest, but truly a great dining experience. 10. Didn't buy a whole lot of provisioning during the trip but saw a grocery near the Dinghy Dock in Culebra. The Green Store in Esperanza has great google reviews, but stank like a dead rat (literally) when we were there, and the meat freezer was broken with all the meat rotting inside. We left with and onion and a can of black beans. 11. Anchoring off Punta Arenas, Vieques was spectacular. Still no road access to the beach since the hurricane, so we had the beach to ourselves. One other boat anchored in the area. Slight rolls from a south swell, but a beautiful night.
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Re: latest SVI info?
[Re: LocalSailor]
#179258
12/31/2018 11:39 AM
12/31/2018 11:39 AM
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347 USVI
LocalSailor
OP
Traveler
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OP
Traveler
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 1,347
USVI
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Back from the SVI trip yesterday. Despite some unruly waves generated by a 10' North swell and some very strong 25kt+ winds a few days I really enjoyed seeing so many new [to me] beautiful places. The highlight was Xmas eve and day anchored in Culebrita - before the swell kicked up later in the week. I have been a lot of places in the Caribbean over the last 40+ years sailing and Culebrita easily ranks among the prettiest, remote anchorages ever. Spent 2 days of the unsettled weather on a mooring in Vieques in Esperanza, El Quenepo is a 1st class restaurant, Thanks for the tip.Got ice in town. Spent an overnight in Cayo Luis Pena, at anchor, very beautiful. Overnight at Palomino on a mooring was a PR party boat scene and a swirling current, perhaps in advance of the big swell arriving? Anchored behind Cayo Pirata in Culebra - good access to Dewey, some minor provisioning available, got ice and tasty fresh bread. Sail Caribe in Puerto del Rey was an excellent and very responsive helpful charter compnay. The man in Charge, [Jose] should be an example to all fleet managers. Excellent and speedy communication with him during the week out, made the whole trip quite a bit easier for me. The vessel was a Lagoon 42 https://www.sailcaribe.com/kaiyomaruOnly very minor typical boat problems, very good condition. We provisioned in Fajardo at Ralph's -- big supermarket - good wine dept. - medium level meat selections - small buy -the- case dept for beverages, good prices and selection. Experienced crew brought frozen steaks, smoked salmon ETC., down with them so the cuisine was top notch. Thank You to the TTOL members for the excellent pre-trip info.!!!! Personally I now plan to spend a lot more time exploring over there, beautiful unspoiled places abound. *************Although there are free moorings available in quite a few of the popular spots, the PR power boating community tends to pick them up Stern TO - this has resulted in frayed, chewed up mooring gear and it is something to be Very Aware of as a safety issue, especially overnight.
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