La Esperanza, Cuba's North Coast - Southwinds, September 2001

- Local News for Southern Sailors - September 2001 Next Story

La Esperanza — a friendly port on Cuba's north coast
By Cindy Pastor

Anxious to leave the beautiful but sad city of Havana, our sights were set toward the many rural fishing villages that dot the northern coastline of Cuba. We cleared out of Marina Hemingway and, with cruising permit in hand, sailed westward under brilliant, cloudless blue skies. The winds sweeping south across the island gave Cyrano, our 33-foot Morgan Out Island, a rollicking beam reach, leaping over short, steep waves under reefed main and working jib.

Miles were quickly clicked off through the cobalt sea, and we approached the first navigable cut in the protective outer reef, Quebrado de la Mulata. Navigating through this entrance was fairly easy once you were able to line up a particular mountain peak formation. Huge concrete pillars mark the edge of the reef, and crystalline waters made eyeballing through the shallow bay a simple task.

Our original destination was Cayo Paraiso, but after working our way to the small island made famous by Ernest Hemingway's exploits, we discovered the protective hook of the island was missing. Sadly, a great portion of the islet had been washed away during intense storms in recent years. It is currently listed as off limits by the Guarda Frontera, who consider the area somewhat dangerous for cruisers to use as a secure anchorage.

We pushed further west to Cayo Levisa, a resort island popular with European and Canadian tourists. While this is a lovely piece of paradise to visit with white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and beautiful reefs begging to be explored, it was not the true vision of Cuba we hungered for. The winter winds pinned us down at the resort for several days, turning the normally placid waters inside the reef to a maelstrom. This gave us time to speak with several of the workers, and they suggested we visit La Esperanza. The cruising guides we read seemed to gloss over this little hamlet, but reports from the locals intrigued us.

Cindy Pastor photo

We traversed the 17 miles west through shoals and cays to La Esperanza, which is situated on a bay that opens to a wide cut in the barrier reef to the north. The spine of the Sierra de los Organos mountain range looms across the skyline, providing a dramatic backdrop for the town's surrounding farmlands. The approach into the bay is straightforward, and within a few hours our hook was set in the grassy bottom of the waters north of the village.

The Guarda were friendly enough, but insistent that we anchor within sight of the guard tower in the exposed waters of the sound. This was more for our protection; they were vigilant in watching our vessel, and we never felt that we were under scrutiny. Ensenada de la Playuelas, a semi-enclosed basin, lies directly west of the anchorage. In the event of a cold front sweeping through, we were informed that we should move into the bayou for protection from the northerly swells that would rush into the unprotected waters facing the port.

The pescadores come and go throughout the day in this working fishing village. There is a fenced-off area near the shoreline and Guarda dock where the smaller fishing boats are kept. The corral-like pen keeps the diminutive crafts from drifting out to sea if they were to break loose during any weather. Each of these brightly painted boats was affectionately named — Bueno Viejo... Malvado... Santa Lucia.

We brought our dinghy into the enclosure and tied it to the long rickety dock when we went into town. The fishermen were eager to help, taking our lines and showing us where the deeper water was to be found.

Senora Sandra Montano-Gonzalez, who has been nicknamed by other yachtsmen La Capitana de Puerta (the port captain), met us at the end of the dock.

Drawing courtesy of Simon Charles' The Cruising Guide to Cuba
Click for a larger view.

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