Culebrita, Puerto Rico
18 19.173N
65.13.699W
Today, we slipped our lines to go sailing. We radioed ahead to harbor patrol to advise them of our sail plan (the new routine,) then raised our sails and exited the harbor into the channel between Puerto Rico and Vieques. The wind (15 - 18 kts) and seas (2-3’) were perfect sailing weather. The sun was shining, the sail upwind was brisk and we thoroughly enjoyed our 5 hour sail to Culebrita.

Dale did have to rescue the dinghy when one of the cables holding it on to the davits gave way and had to be replaced. Thank heavens we had made several more and had them ready for this small emergency.

Twelve years ago, Culebrita had been one of our favorite anchorages in that it was a nice stopping place between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas. It was quiet, as we rarely saw more than one or two boats on the few occasions when we didn’t have the entire anchorage to ourselves, and I could let the kids swim with the turtles and explore the reefs inside the horseshoe shaped bay without worry. Today, we found that it had 6 - 8 mooring balls. Obviously, it has become more popular.

MTNest had held the last mooring ball for us and we easily slid up to it and secured ourselves for the night. We met the crews of DocNoMore, MTNest and St. Christopher on DocNoMore and visited until sunset. They told us how much they had been enjoying the bay and wanted to stay an extra day to explore the lighthouse on the nearby hillside tomorrow. So, that’s what we’ll do tomorrow.