CaribbeanPuerto Rico & the Spanish VI

Couple new places to anchor in the Spanish VI

By January 12, 2017 No Comments

As many of you know I haul my boat out in Puerto Del Rey on the east coast of Puerto Rico. This year on the 40 mile trip back to St Thomas I had a fantastic charter that wanted to explore the Spanish Virgin Islands with me. These are the islands owned by Puerto Rico (where they speak Spanish) and Culebra nad Vieques are the two main islands. During the week I found two new anchorages that I am loving.

On Culebra most people anchor in the main harbor and dinghy into town. The problem with this is that there is a lot of fetch and it can be a little bumpy. I have always prefered to be on the west side of town because it is usually super calm. There have been times I anchored to the north of the ferry dock, but this time I wanted to see what it was like on the south side of the same bay.

This is the place to be, with 5-7 foot depths, if you are a catamaran. It is protected by the point so any swell hooking around the island can not make it in this corner real well. Due to the depth you are safe from the ferry and they slow down outside the harbor, so there is no wake to deal with. When you want to go into town you simple dinghy down the resturant lined channel and pick the spot you want to stop (mine is always the Dinghy Dock). Plus you have a nice little beach right in front of you.

The perfect anchorage

If you want to go into town then this is the perfect anchorage

Now if you are on the south side of Vieques then you need to check out the head of the Ensenada Honda bay. Go into the entrance on the west side of the reef that sits in the middle (this is fantastic snorkeling, but do not trust the moorings here). Once in the harbor put the rocks sticking out on your starboard side and head east about a mile. You will come to the end of the bay that is surrounded by mangroves. Anchor in 12-15 feet of water and enjoy the solitude. There is a salt water creek here that you can explore and would be fantastic as a hurricane hole.

Vieques

Solitude is what you find in most of Vieques

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