Contributions by SY Carpe Diem II

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Small fishing village with many tourists during the whale season, which runs from the start of July to the end of October. Some swell and loud music from the shore on Friday and Saturday nights. Good shops on land. Bakery, large supermarket, large fish market until lunchtime. The fishing boats are very close on mooring buoys. Drop anchor in 9-7 meters just inside the yellow buoy. Easy with boat taxi to shore. Costs 2-3 US$ each way. Just call out and get the attention of those driving back and forth. It helps if you speak a little Spanish, I only speak English myself.

1 x helpful | written on 5. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Easy access, set the anchor just inside the yellow buoy. On the edge of where the fishing boats are located. Set the anchor at 9-7 meters. Cozy fishing village. Many restaurants ashore. Both a bakery and a large supermarket with a good selection. Large fish market in the morning.

1 x helpful | written on 5. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Strong outgoing current from the river. Was easy to find, simple to drop anchor. Held on the first attempt.

1 x helpful | written on 18. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Well-marked entrance with red and green light buoys. However, it is long, over 12 nautical miles. There is also a continuous countercurrent on the way in. This is because it is the outlet for many rivers.
Important info: Throughout Colombia, you must use an Agent to check in and check out of a port. When you arrive at the next port, you must also use an agent. A bit cumbersome and 'expensive'. In Santa Marta, it cost US$ 400, in Cartagena the price was 300, and here in Buenaventura, it was only US$ 200.

1 x helpful | written on 20. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Not much shelter but plenty of swell. Many locals come with sightseeing boats from the mainland and swim/snorkel near the island.

1 x helpful | written on 6. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Small fishing village. Many fishing boats at anchor. Easy to find and enter. Anchored at 8-9 meters is okay but provides little protection from wind from the south-southwest.

1 x helpful | written on 17. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Well, there is a Marina/Sailing Club but it is very PRIVATE. Found a floating dock that said 10 minutes. Went to the harbour office, got help from a dinghy coach who spoke a little English. But at the harbour office, it was clearly NO to mooring either dinghy or sailboat. This was a private club. It had to be arranged in advance, but even then not certain because one had to be a member. When I came back to the dinghy, someone had untied the painter that was attached through a fixed ring. Not very welcoming.

1 x helpful | written on 6. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

maritime qualities

description

Easy to enter set the anchor at 5 meters in good sandy bottom

1 x helpful | written on 6. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Emergency harbour only, much swell, no protection except from east wind. Had been sailing for 3 days and just wanted a 'calm' night. It was a short night, woke up at 0330 due to much sea and movement. Sailing on at dawn.

1 x helpful | written on 25. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Fishing harbor no facilities other than refueling opportunities

1 x helpful | written on 19. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Natural harbor with no facilities on land. Easy to anchor at 8-10 meters. Among local fishing boats, some at anchor others on buoys. Easy to come ashore with a dinghy or SUP which we used this time. Very rich wildlife. Lots of different seabirds. Further, one can see a large colony of sea lions on the west side of the island. Easy to find, just follow the signs to the lighthouse or Focaccia which is the name here. Turtles also swim around the boat. There is also a small colony of penguins, but we did not see any.

1 x helpful | written on 20. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Easy to find and enter. Anchored at 8.5 meters in sand with good holding. A local came by wanting to sell diesel, water, and provisions. He offered to bring me ashore for shopping. I had everything I needed. He mentioned that I should not contact public authorities as the check-in was very expensive. He said all check-in processes in Ecuador were expensive and that there was corruption among the public officials. This doesn't match my experience. Although I couldn't check in at Esmeralda, we'll see how it goes in La Libertad in a few days. I want to stop at several more outports along the way if the weather permits.

1 x helpful | written on 28. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Anchored at 11 meters depth at high tide, which will be around 6-7 meters at low tide. Incredibly peaceful. You can see a small fishing village to the south called Canas Village.

1 x helpful | written on 8. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Small fishing harbour. Easy to enter. You have to pass over a shallow hump of about 4.5 to 5 meters and then navigate through a narrow passage of 7-8 meters just before reaching all the fishing boats. Potentially a bit choppy.

1 x helpful | written on 20. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Super safe harbour but use mooring notes these are free if one is here for 1 to 2 days. This is a national park and called mini Galapagos. This is because the wildlife is almost the same. Last night when I was on my way here I could hear large whales blowing out air, almost a bit scary to just hear and not see anything.

1 x helpful | written on 30. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Small island about 7 nautical miles west of Peru. 5-6 local fishing boats, easy to reach. Had a calm night with little swell.

1 x helpful | written on 22. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

maritime qualities

description

Easy to anchor and glued in wind from the north. There were some waves in the evening as the locals came home from work. They just drive the boats right onto land at high speed. You can hear when the engines go out of the water.
The wind has turned to the east, anchored well but with a bit more choppy sea. It was blowing about 8-10 m/s yesterday when we arrived and it rained the entire evening, so we didn't go ashore. We hope to do that today.

1 x helpful | written on 11. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Easy to enter, but steer clear of the reefs by making a wide turn, which are well-marked and navigable even at high tide.

1 x helpful | written on 13. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Completely open harbor. Long shoal with sandy bottom. Anchored at about 7 meters, but 1 nautical mile from shore.
Finally got in touch with the coast guard. We should have checked in at the first port in Peru, but we did not contact them there. So now it will take some time to get this sorted out.

1 x helpful | written on 23. Jul 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Easy to anchor at about 12-14 meters. Very good holding in mud. Lovely for 1 night heard music from ashore but not disturbing. During the day cabin we were picked up by locals for a tour and trip to Lovely waterfall for bathing and rinsing.

1 x helpful | written on 15. Jun 2025

SY Carpe Diem II says:

area

maritime qualities

description

Easy to anchor but a bit close to shore at 10-11 meters in sandy bottom. Town with small airport will know more tomorrow after visit.

1 x helpful | written on 15. Jun 2025