Cruising Cuba
AS far back as I can remember I have been fascinated by Cuba: pirates and Spanish galleons, gangsters and gas-guzzling American cars and folk heroes such as Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. After a month cruising in Jamaica aboard Distant Drummer, our Liberty 458 cutter rigged sloop, we were in Montego Bay and waiting for a fair wind to carry us north across the Caribbean Sea to the former ‘jewel of the Spanish Crown’.
We had planned to break the passage from Jamaica to Cuba at Cayman Brac, a rocky island about 80 nautical miles east of Grand Cayman. However, north-east trade winds funnelling through the Windward Passage were forecast to veer and strengthen during the week, making the anchorage there untenable.
So we set a new course direct to Cienfuegos on the south coast of Cuba and, as we departed Montego Bay and headed north-west, conditions for the passage could not have been better.
A fresh breeze on the starboard beam and a moderate sea made for a fast reach across the Cayman Trough and, as the wind eased and veered in the lee of Cuba, we poled out the jib and had a beautiful run up to the Cuban coast. We entered the lagoon at Cienfuegos and zigzagged our way between the red buoys, which mark the channel to the city on the eastern side of the bay.
We anchored outside the marina and went ashore to complete the entry formalities, which were straightforward as the marina is a one-stop-shop for the
