Log Book
- Port of departure: Bahia Guacamaya, Costa Rica
- Departure date and time: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 9:30am
- Port of arrival: Bahia Portrero, Costa Rica via Islas Santa Catalina
- Arrival date and time: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 4:30pm
- Total travel time: 7 hours
- Miles traveled: 13.2 nm
- Engine hours: 1164.0 begin – 1165.4 end – 1.4 hours
- Fuel consumption: 45.7 begin – 45.1 end – 0.6 gallons used
- Fuel economy: 22 mpg
- Weather: The forecast predicted E/NE wind from 4-8 knots and mild Papagayos off of the coast of Nicaragua.
- Navigation notes: Lots of small islands, submerged rocks and rock spires along this coast line to watch out for. If visiting Islas Santa Catalina, the islands do not offer much protection from wind and swell. The shallower anchorage is on the east side of the islands (in contrast to our charts which showed the west side as the better spot to anchor).
With 8-10 knots blowing out of the N/NW we decided to be on our merry way. We figured we might as well take advantage of the short day hop and anchor out at Islas Santa Catalina for lunch and some snorkeling. Apparently these islands offer world class snorkeling and diving and since they were in the neighborhood, we figured why not?
The wind was light but pleasant all morning and, as we approached Islas Santa Catalina, a pod of dolphins dropped by to say hello.
Not trusting our charts for the islands we decided to do some scouting to identify the best spot for anchoring. There was a decent SW swell and the wind was coming out of the N/NW, which made the west side of the islands a bit hairy. A fishing boat was anchored in the one spot we might have considered on the west side, but we couldn’t find a spot far enough from the rocks (and the other vessel) in anything less than 45 feet of water.
The east side of the islands offered a more shallow anchorage and a bit of protection from the SW swell. We were able to anchor in about 30 feet (rock) and the wind that made its way through the gap in the islands kept us pointed at a decent angle (so if we drug, we’d drift away from the rocks).
Unfortunately, the snorkeling was not awesome. In fact, it was a little bit scary. The deflected swell made it difficult to get close to the rocks and the rocks were mostly steep to. I was worried about the waves lifting me up and smashing me against their barnacle covered surfaces. The visibility was murky and it didn’t seem like there were that many creatures. On holiday? The cherry bomb on the sundae was that there were lots of little jelly fish (medusas) who made their presence known through pin prick stings that felt like little jolts of electricity. Knowing you have to swim a quarter mile through jellies is not a fun position to be in.
I’m not sure what conditions would make snorkeling here great…but we certainly did not have them. Despite all this, we were still glad we stopped. If nothing else it prematurely alleviated any FOMO that might have haunted us if we sailed on by.
The rest of the sail into Bahia Portrero was pleasantly uneventful. With the N/NW wind now at our back we sailed wing on wing, in about 8 knots of wind, to the southern anchorage (Playa Flamingo) where we dropped our hook in 30 feet of water.
I’m kinda diggin’ this day sail thing…even though we only cover a short distance each day. When you’re on a long passage and it takes 24 hours to go 40 miles, you start to feel a bit anxious. With day sailing even if it takes all day to cover a really short distance, it feels like an accomplishment.
On a side-note. This ended up being Tack’s all time favorite anchorage. I think the birds here have a death wish because Tack caught not one, but TWO birds during our one night in Portrero. Please keep in mind that Tack has not caught a single bird on our boat in over a year, hence my theory on these birds having a death wish. Tack was immensely pleased with himself and we were a bit horrified.