It is not defunct, out of business, decrepit, falling apart, or controlled by cartels. It is packed full, all abuzz with activity of all sorts including significant progress on the new buildings, which are close to being ready for occupancy and appear to be quite upscale. The office will probably occupy its new space in the new building by late August. The bar and restaurant, based on the progress at this time, will open later in 2013. Unfortunately, the showers and bathroom for the cruisers look to be completed last, as they are dependent on razing of one old structure which is still in use (the office).

Being packed full means that obtaining a berth here might be unlikely except that there is quite a bit of turnover so spots do open up on a daily basis. The other marina nearby is Club de Pesca, it was said to also be full and have high prices. We found this to be true.

Not being able to reach anyone in the office by phone or VHF (this is probably a language issue),  and not wishing to anchor out and put together the dingy in Cartagena’s heat and humidity, we wondered how to get a berth at the dock. However, we spotted a place at the corner of the dock where we thought we could squeeze in and we simply dropped the hook and backed in. A boat worker nearby took our lines. Ashore we located the marina owner Pablo Bennett, and found him to be helpful and speak excellent English ( rare in Cartagena,). He chuckled when he saw where we were tied but he allowed us to stay there, had the power box modified to give us a connection and meter, and even had his guys put down a new mooring screw and heavy lines to make us safer when the squalls come (more on the squalls below). They helped us recover our anchor which we didn’t want to leave town due to the reportedly rapid and thick growth which would accumulate on the chain.

It turns out that few cruisers come into Club Nautico, most choose to anchor off the marina and use the marina dinghy dock for access to the town and for fresh water; we are not sure why. Many of the boats in the marina are either long-term liveaboards, parked yachts of wealthy Colombians or Panamanians, or charter boats shuttling backpackers to the San Blas Islands. The mix of boats here makes it interesting and busy.

Club Nautico is Pablo’s family’s business, has been for a long time, and it looks like it will be for a good while in the future too.

Culo de Pollo (Serious squalls in Cartagena)

Wave action and weather conditions can make Club de Nautico unpleasant at times. The worst problem is the occasional Culo de Pollo which means “Ass of the Chicken”, which is the name that has been given to the violent squalls which hit Cartagena during the wet season, as often as once a month. They come suddenly and carry winds of 40 knots or more, but last only a few minutes. Other squalls, less severe, but more frequent, last long enough to allow a wave action to build. In addition, there are constant boat wakes which rock the boats at Club Nautico (and, to a lesser degree, Club de Pesca). Fortunately, except for the Culo de Pollos, which seem to prefer 04:00 for their arrivals, the nights are calm.

For all these reasons, tying up to the concrete piers at Club Nautico is tricky. There is room for about 50 boats, most tied either stern to or bow in with the outboard end on underwater moorings. Boats must be well secured and far enough away from the dock to prevent damage when the wind and waves come. Fortunately, the marina has good mooring blocks and “tornillos” (mooring screws). Most boats are tied up about 6 feet from the dock and long “diving board” planks are used to allow access. This makes coming and going from your boat quite an adventure and makes one think twice about arriving home inebriated after a night in the town.  It is important to have multiple lines to the moorings. The marina helps with this.

Lines left in the water accumulate heavy growth in about one week.  Rotating lines and cleaning them is a good idea.

The possibility of these Culo de Pollos makes us very wary about leaving the boat here, or even in the anchorage where dragging is common. For inland travelling, we think Santa Marta or Puerto Valero would be safer. In fact, we keep an eye on the sky when we are in town and if thunderstorm activity looks likely we hurry back.

For photos, look at the wingssail images blog: http://wingssail-images.blogspot.com/2013/08/club-nautico.html

Fred Roswold and Judy Jensen

SV Wings, Cartagena – based out of Seattle Washington, USA

Related content

Cartagena