Captain's tales: frightening or happy ending stories from the protagonists who lived them

reeeeeal bad experience between port-au-prince and the island of tortuga. saw a few other sailboats- thougt they were transients; almost died. even if you are in dire straits, paddle to the D.R.

I was sailing from Cayo Largo (Marina Puertosol) to Nueva Gerona (Isla de la Joventud), in the Batabano Gulf, a platform 10mt max deep stretched over 3°of longitude lenght and 2°of latitude (22°N, 82°W) (Archipielago de los Canarreos).

After a long sail outside the platform (to avoid shallow waters) some times alongside with little whales ("little" means 15mt, more than my boat that was 12mt, so somewhat fashinating and frightening, I had to re-enter the Batabano Platform (from 200mt to 8mt deep in just 1M) to pass the islands that separated me from my final destination, the harbour of Nueva Girona at NW.

During that sailing we (the crew was 2, me and my gf) crossed just 1 fishermen boat; during all sailing we encontered just deserted islands and we were out of VHF reach of any harbour for most of the time.

We were basically alone.

At that point we had to pass the barrier to reach Isla de la Joventud: Canal de la Cruz, Pasa del vapor (as the locals named it) 21°51'6"N 82°36'0"W bearing 265°, then 320°, then 300°, 20m wide, 0,5M long and 1.9m deep at the NW exit.

Here it is the area description from Nigel Calder-Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Cruising Guide:

"The reef is by no means continuous or uniform. In places it is miles offshore, in others it connects with the cays. Some of it is well submerged and navigable while other sections thrust up above the surface of the Ocean... navigation can be quite complex, it is essential to have good charts if cruising this area".

Cruising the Pasa del Vapor was like sailing in a small deserted river, flowing 1.5kn NW, all surrounded by mangroves in a kind of surreal silence (just the engine at minimum speed).

Exciting but somehow scaring.

When I was in the Batabano platform (9-6mt) approaching the passage I was headed to NW at 4kn looking for the small sticks indicating the passage between the mangroves coated shores.

At the SE entrance, a few meters N of the semisubmersed stick there was a coral reef, it was like a wall on my route and even if I knew that I had to do a sharp turn to the left just close tho the stick, from the ouside it looked like if I was heading to wreck on the coral wall at 4knots speed...

Exactly at this time, 3 dolphins started to jump in front of me crossing my route headed SW, parallel to the Coral reef wall.

It was like if they were trying to tell me: "STOP-you are going to crash STEER NOW to SW!!!".

Maybe I am kind of "romantic" thinking in this way but if I were a dolphin wanting to give that advice to a ship I would do absolutely the same move.

You judge by yourself...

I like to consider those 3 friends as Dolphin Angels ;)