Sail with us from Palmas Del Mar to the lovely quiet island of Culebra Puerto Rico in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Discover a new fish (to us) that Simon reels in (no – it wasn’t the usual Tuna or Mahi Mahi). Listen to Simon discuss our passage plan using our Navionics app on the Ipad and then outline his thought process about getting out of the marina slip safely.
The video will give you an insight as to what it’s like fishing, filleting, and eat a fish right out of the sea. The whole process may not be as easy as one would think! And if you don’t want to see a fish filleted, you might have to close your eyes. You’ll also gain an insight into Simon’s thought process regarding the passage plan and leaving the marina. Quite a bit of thought needs to be used to ensure a boat leaves a marina without hitting something 😉
We also sail over some unexploded bombs.
When we arrive at Culebra Puerto Rico, our lovely boat buddy from Pura Vida, Heyward, fillets a couple of fish. While Heyward is handling the fish I’ll give you some general fishing information that’s useful for cruisers. In the video, we also celebrate a birthday and then wave goodbye to Pura Vida as they sail back to mainland Puerto Rico.
But what about the Pura Vida kids – they’re not onboard Pura Vida?!
Pura Vida’s youngest crew members, Katie Grace and Heyward Jr, jump ship to join Britican for a few days. While the parents are away, we rent a golf cart and tour the island of Culebra. Get a first-hand experience of what it’s like to tour Culebra with a bit of history thrown in too. (Did you know the USA used the island for bomb practice?)
Culebra Puerto Rico – The Spanish Virgin Islands Video
Do you have any feedback about the video, sailing the Spanish Virgin Islands, or Culebra itself? Perhaps you might want to say that I’m pronouncing Culebra wrong?! I now know it should be Cool Lee Bra. If you do have any comments other than that one, please leave them below. We all benefit from each other’s thoughts and contributions. And send out a tweet to your friends to let them know that they should check this video out…
Here's a great video about Culebra in Puerto Rico - a Spanish Virgin Islands. It looks like a great spot for sailors to visit.Click To TweetRelevant Resources
Something to read…
If you’re interested in reading more about Culebra’s history, a good one to get is – The Taínos: Rise & Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus.
When Columbus arrived in the Americas, the first people he encountered were the Tainos. The Tainos were inhabitants of the islands of the northern Caribbean Sea. In this book, a noted archeologist and anthropologist tell the story of the Tainos from their ancestral days on the South American continent to their rapid decline after contact with the Spanish explorers.
I find it so interesting to read the history or even historical fiction about the area’s we’re anchored in or visiting. Thanks to Amazon Kindle, it’s not hard to do a search and download a read about the local area.
And about fishing…
In the video above, there are a few key items we use when we’re fishing. Growing up on Lake Ontario we never brought in anything too big. In the ocean, however, some of the fish we catch are super heavy. You just can’t lift them out of the water. That being said, we wanted a net but not one that took up too much space. This net and gaff retract/extend and the whole net squeezes in and out. It takes up barely any space at all. And it’s very durable.
We have both these items on board and they easily stow below in our locker and when we’re actively fishing we keep them alongside the boat for quick and easy access.
How about looking cool?
Get yourself a t-shirt like Simon is wearing in the video with the text, ‘I’d Rather Be Sailing’. All proceeds from t-shirt sales go to keeping our information free.
The costs of hosting, email management, internet connections, and just the time it takes to create our videos and articles is high. Support Sailing Britican today by buying one or several of our t-shirts for kids, men, and women!
These t-shirts come in navy, royal blue, leaf green, ocean blue, and red. There are also several other designs. The t-shirt that Simon get’s the most comments on is the one that says, ‘If you can read this you’re anchoring too close!’
I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve had neighbors misunderstand how to anchor. In a huge bay full of space, we’ve had to ask people to move…or we’ve upped anchor and moved. Visit our Etsy store to see our wide selection of T-shirts and other goodies.
And let’s also remember to keep those kids happy!
Our daughter and her friends spend hours on the tube. It’s great because we can deflate it when we need to store the tube and inflate it when the kids want to play. And it’s a great ice breaker if you’re the new kid in the harbor. Sienna just has to hang out on the tube and when passing another kid boat she yells out, ‘Hey – do you want to join me?’ To date, she’s never been refused.
That’s it for this post!
Other Videos & Articles That May Interest You…
- How about Sailing Across The Mona Passage
- Sail Puerto Rico – Cabo Rojo
- Marina Pescaderia Review – Cabo Rojo
- Sailing The Coast of Puerto Rico – Ponce, Isla de Cardona, Cayo Puerca & Puerto Patillas
- Sailing into Palms del Mar – Puerto Rico
- Sailing Puerto Rico – Drop A Hook Or Pass It By?
- Sailing The Spanish Virgin Islands
If you’d like an overview of all the places we’ve visited in the Caribbean please read our destination overview: Caribbean
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