Isla de Culebrita in the Spanish Virgin Islands

Many people we meet have never heard of the Spanish Virgin Islands, which are located just off the eastern shore of Puerto Rico. These islands are pretty close to being paradise--pristine water, secluded beaches, and great snorkeling,swimming, fishing and diving. Even free moorings.

Kent, Jerry and I sailed to Isla de Culebrita, one of the Spanish Virgin Islands, only a short three hour sail from St Thomas.

Approaching Isla de Culebrita

There's the opening to Tortuga Bay and then left into the bay 

Kent and his brother Jerry at the helm--watch those reefs!

We anchored in Tortuga Bay on the north edge. At this time of year, the northern swells are down and anchorage is relatively calm. When we arrived, there were several boats and people enjoying the water and beach. But by the end of the afternoon, there were only three or four boats, including ours. It was beautiful and quiet, and very dark, even with the stars and moon. We spent the night here on our way to Puerto Rico.

The view from our boat: our beach in Tortuga Bay, Culebrita

Culebrita is an uninhabited wildlife refuge. There are six beaches, all white sand and turquoise water. Tortuga is the closest beach to the baths, or jacuzzis, as the locals call them. The baths are a series of natural pools among big, dark boulders. Kind of a smaller version of the Baths in Virgin Gorda. There is also an old stone lighthouse, built in 1880, located at the highest point on the island at 305 feet. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to visit the baths or the lighthouse (although we did so a few years ago on a previous visit) but we enjoyed a swim, the view and dinner on our boat. It was only after our visit here that we learned that the Spanish Virgin Islands offer a year-round lobster season. Dang! We love grilling the local lobster on our BBQ!

The old lighthouse at the top of the hill

The next morning, we were off to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We had about 65 miles to sail and expecting 15 knots NE and bright sunny skies. We would have liked to enjoy a few more days at Culebrita, but getting to the US is a priority!

Leaving Culebrita in our wake

San Juan, here we come!