1 January 2019 Isla Rosario

A new year and a new destination for us today – 17nm south to the Isla Rosario group of islands to enjoy peaceful island time and to check the state of the hull. With new antifoul have the barnacles been kept at bay?

We emerged from the sheltered waters of Cartagena harbour at the southern pass in to lively seas. The wind was blowing hard from the north yesterday and we have big seas on the starboard quarter as we reach down the coast in 25 knots true wind. The biggest waves are in the last couple of miles before we tuck behind the island reefs. Once behind the shelter of the reef and the seas flatten.

We dropped the anchor in the lee of Isla Grande near half a dozen other cruisers. First try and we missed the sand patch between rocks and didn't catch. Next try was in a larger patch of sand at 5m and this time we were good. With the wind still blowing 25 knots we needed to be sure we weren't going to drag.

The Rosarios aren't as peaceful as we had hoped – visited by numerous day trip boats who blast between the anchored yachts. We were rocked until sunset when the last departed for the bumpy return trip to Cartagena.

Next day I donned snorkel and mask to check the state of the hull. We had stowaways. Little barnacles dotted around and thick on the brass prop shaft without antifoul. This shows the value of antifoul in inhibiting growth and it also shows the tenacity of the Cartagena barnacle. David went straight for scuba gear and spent an hour flicking off our unwelcome guests while I scrubbed the green growth from our waterline between the incoming waves from the day trip boats. It was took careful timing to clean under the sugar scoop and avoid being hit on the head by 20 tonnes of bouncing boat.