After a few days in Aruba we checked the weather and saw a change coming up. The winds have been strong the last few days and we could see it was starting to ease and then the wind was going to drop to very low for a few days. We did not want to motor the 255 miles to Santa Marta our next destination. So we decided to leave Saturday morning.
We cleared out with customs and immigration. We took a bus down and walked last bit, and then were going to walk back. I had asked the officials when we cleared in if we needed to bring our boat back to Bacadera to clear out and they said no. But while we were clearing out they asked where our boat was and that we were to bring the boat here to clear out. I was very annoyed at this and he relented and said okay but next time. It was very windy that day and it would be very difficult to go up against wind and waves to get to Bacadera. This alone could be a reason to skip visiting Aruba, for a small sailboat. The inside route is supposedly not safe if you don't know the area. On the walk back a car soon stopped and offered us a ride back to our dinghy, great.
We left at first light Saturday morning and started sailing soon after clearing the reef. The wind was lighter than the previous days but we still had lots of wind to sail along beautifully all day. We rounded the infamous Point Gillinas late in the night with no dramas and a full moon to light our way. We stayed about 7 to 10 miles off shore and did not notice any difficult sea conditions in the 20 to 23 knots of wind we were getting. We had to alter course 3 times to avoid ships. The AIS would tell us that a ships CPR or "closest point of approach" will be half a mile to Zero, it can't be exact as the yacht bounces around so much. So we would alter course a bit one way or the other to get the CPR to increase and then hold that course until the ship went by. Also saw a couple of what we thought were fish boats and steered around one. All this makes for a tiring night.
The next night we were crossing a huge bay and we stayed just inside the bay so all the ships passed to the North of our course. So we had a nice quiet night and also no fish boats but good sailing.
The wind eased around 3am and our boat speed slowed to 3.5 to 5 knots. With the arrival of dawn we were treated to a great view of the huge snow capped peaks of the Sierra Nevadas before the daily haze set in. Later in the morning with about 12 miles to go the wind picked up to 25 to 30knots. We figured this was a local condition being caused by the huge mountains. The strong wind stayed with us until we rounded the last major headland to get into Santa Marta. We motored the last 2 miles into Santa Marta as the winds died and came up on the nose. It was a great passage, with good sailing and no dramas.
I steered for the long fuel dock at the entrance to the marina and tied up there with the help of two employees on the dock. We were in Columbia our first time in South America, we would have to learn some Spanish! We were soon directed to a marina spot and were helped in with 4 smiling employees all very friendly and eager to help.
INFO
-We left at 5:30am Aruba for Santa Marta Columbia on Nov 16 2013. It is approx 255 miles
-On this passage we had a half to one knot of current with us up to and past Pt Gillinas then lost current and while crossing huge bay we thought we might have a half knot of current against us at times and then later no current.
We rounded Point Gallinas about 7 to 10 miles offshore in 20 to 23 knots of wind and had none of the reputed confused seas though it was dark, but with a full moon.
-Santa Marta marina could be gotten into at night I would think. Goto 11 14.65N 74 13.05W then to 11 14.72N 74 13.12W. The marina entrance WP is 11 14.633N 74 13.05W the fuel dock which is right in the entrance on your left can be seen on google earth. Tie up here until morning, It's waypoint is 11 14.554 74 13.049. We saw depths down to 12 feet on the way to fuel dock and this is just the last few hundred feet, the outside harbour is much deeper.
-The marina is a pleasant place, with free wifi ( it won't reach boat even with a booster) and a sitting area to use it.
There is laundry and a minimart and water and power. The showers are even have hot water! The marina staff are all helpful and friendly.
No comments:
Post a Comment