Albuquerque Cays

(Colombian Islands off Nicaraqua)

Date: 25 Feb 2004

The Albuquerque Islands are Colombian possessions. They lay about 20 nm south of Isla de San Andres in the western Caribbean.

S/v Soggy Paws visited this area some years ago and provided waypoints for getting into this coral strewn region. We used their waypoints initially, but have added a few to provide a somewhat safer route.

These waypoints take you in at the NW corner and end between the two Cays. There are coral patches throughout the area and even staying right on the waypoints you will come very close to a number of them. The water is clear, but good light is a necessity. Use these waypoints with great caution.

Approach from the NW 12 deg. 11.483 N - 81 deg. 52.875 W

WP1 12 deg. 11.249 N - 81 deg. 51.831 W

WP2 12 deg. 11.219 N - 81 deg. 51.787 W

WP3 12 deg. 10.955 N - 81 deg. 51.686 W

WP4 (be real careful here) 12 deg. 10.102 N - 81 deg. 51.217 W

WP5 12 deg. 9.932 N - 81 deg. 50.975 W

WP6 12 deg. 9.864 N - 81 deg. 50.829 W

WP7 (be real careful here) 12 deg. 9.759 N - 81 deg. 50.699 W

Anchor between the cays 12 deg. 9.753 N - 81 deg. 50.449 W

We have triple checked these coordinates, but as the guidebook charts say, “Do not use for navigation purposes”.

This route will come within about 50 feet of shallow heads in some places. Otherwise, the water is deep all the way. The anchorage isn't wonderful either. As I remember, the depth is about 30-35 feet, but has good holding in sand. Bob on s/v Enkidu used these WPs, but said that in the anchorage his chain got wrapped around a small coral head and he had to dive to recover the anchor.

The marines on the north cay want you to check in with them, but they didn't have a boat when we were there. The landing is on the west side of the island. There is no dock, but you'll see the way. They are extremely nice and the island is beautiful. About a dozen marines are stationed there and they will appreciate some beer. Most visitors bring something.

The biggest problem we found was that from that anchorage we couldn't depart before about 9:00 AM because of poor light. Even 9:00 AM was pushing it for us and Francesca has a high fly bridge vantage.

If the weather is settled, you may be able to skip going to the cays and feel your way behind the north reef. Then drop the hook somewhere convenient to be able to get out when you want. Or you could go to the anchorage waypoint for a while and back to the north reef with good light the day before leaving. We didn't explore the north end so I can't help much on what is there.

We tried to find a way out in the SW quadrant, but with bad light even the dinghy trip was scary. There is a way through though; the fishermen use it. I think it is about due west of the anchorage WP. But there are also a whole bunch of hard to see shallow reefs all about.

The Albuquerques are well worth a visit, even if you have to work a bit.