Typical breakfast is served aboard
and most unspoiled coral reef in the Caribbean, where a young Fidel Castro liked to dive. It is now a protected and sprawling national park of low mangrove and shallow islands, with stunning and fish-filled reefs.
To the southwest is the Canarreos Archipelago, with some of the most pristine and remote beaches in the Caribbean. The western end of this chain is anchored by the large and distant Isla de la Juventud, part of which is a national park.
Cuba’s south-coast cruising season runs from from a Lagoon 39 to a Catana 50, storing provisions and going through the check-out process. The next morning, as a Guarda Frontera officer went down the dock completing his paperwork, our boats slipped their lines and headed out one by one. After an hour of motoring through sprawling Cienfuegos Bay, we entered the Caribbean and raised sails, bearing east for the Gardens of the Queen. In what became a daily routine, the breeze began to die in early afternoon, and the engines came on.
Park. For dinner we dinghied ashore to a government-run beach shack for excellent lobster and chicken paella, cold drinks and a colorful sunset.
Because of the many unknowns with this trip, the Society hired a local pilot and interpreter (Alberto) and a mechanic (Odile) to come along, an excellent decision. We had enough mechanical breakdowns among the seven boats to keep Odile busy, and he proved especially valuable in helping to kedge off Virgin Buoy, a Leopard 40 that went aground, luckily escaping with no damage. Both were also expert fishermen and cooks, introducing the Americanos on their boat to the local delicacy of fresh-caught barracuda. (North-coast barracuda have a toxin that causes ciguatera, a foodborne illness, but Cubans say those on the south coast do not.)
We split our time between Jardines de la Reina to the east (where the diving is better) and the Canarreos Archipelago to the west (where the beaches are better). So after two days of sailing into the national park, where one boat saw a massive whale shark glide past, the fleet turned around. Our longest day, more than 60 miles, took us far offshore and