Introduction
The body of water between Cuba’s west coast and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, called the Yucatan Straits, is one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the Caribbean Sea. Shallow fringing coral reefs border both sides of this pass that is notorious for its strong northerly moving current. On it’s western shores, in Mexico and Belize, world class dive resorts have been built catering to divers anxious to see pristine coral reefs. On the eastern side of the Yucatan Straits begins a very long bank reef called Arrecifes Colorados that wraps around the north western end of Cuba stretching eastward to within 50 miles of Havana. In a setting very similar to the Florida Keys, a chain of islands called the Archipielago de los Colorados parallels the inside of this barrier reef. A channel between the keys and the reef spans the entire length of this Archipielago, making it possible to safely navigate inside the 120 mile long barrier reef. Very little information exists about the Archipielago de los Colorados or its associated reef, the Arrecifes Colorados. The most current information is covered in two recently published cruising guides about Cuba (Nigel Calder’s Cuba: a Cruising Guide and Simon Charles’s The Cruising Guide to Cuba).
In June of 1998, Craig and DeeVon Quirolo sailed to Havana in order to transit the inside passage of the Arrecifes Colorados on board their 30 foot sailboat, Stormy Weather. The goal of this expedition was to fulfill an agreement with the Cuban Institute of Oceanography to survey Cuban coral reefs through this second-year expedition. During the first expedition in 1997 the reefs at Cayo Cocos, Playa Flamingo and Maria la Gorda were surveyed. Our plan was to snorkel on as many of the shallow coral reefs in ArrecifesColorados as time (June1-25) and weather would permit. Eight shallow reefs, Bahia Honda, Cayo Levisa, Puerto Esperanza, Cayo Jutias were surveyed during this expedition. The lower portion of the barrier reef bordering the Yucatan Straits was transited but not surveyed because of bad weather that prohibited diving.
The complete multi media report includes seven CD discs of slide images, five video tapes (covering all transects) with indexed time counts, notes from the log of Stormy Weather and various charts depicting the course of the expedition.
Acknowledgements
The Coral Nursery Project was made possible through the support of the Mark Collins, Sr. Memorial Fund. Our thanks to the family and friends of Mr. Collins who established this fund in his memory.
The Reef Relief Photo Monitoring Survey, directed by Craig Quirolo, documents change in Key West-area coral reefs on a slide and video format. The survey began in 1991 with the cash prize accompanying the first Robert Rodale Environmental Achievement Award. The survey has been expanded to include coral reefs in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Mexico, Bay Islands of Honduras, and the Bahamas. In the past six years, this effort has been made possible through the support of the Edith and Curtis Munson Foundation, the Henry Fund, the Turner Foundation, the Norcross Wildlife Foundation, The Bailey Wildlife Foundation, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, the Chingos Foundation, the Royal Caribbean Ocean Fund and the members of Reef Relief. The City of Key West has generously provided boat dockage and office space as well.
This survey has led to the discovery of several new coral diseases and has documented the damage from storms and accidental boat groundings at the reef. It is this first-hand knowledge of change on the coral reef that led to the awareness and motivation to restore the coral reef after the Ground Hog Day Storm. After documenting the extensive damage that occurred at Western Sambo Reef , Reef Relief’s founder and Director of Marine Projects, Craig Quirolo, became concerned. The many fragments of coral generated by the storm would not survive unless they were stabilized. He contacted Harold Hudson of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (F.K.N.M.S.), whose experience in coral reef restoration has earned him the title of “Reef Doctor.” Harold responded by designing the Coral Rosette method utilized for this project. His direction and guidance in this project is especially appreciated as is the support of G.P. Schmahl, Lower Keys Manager of the FKNMS, John Halas, of the Upper Keys Region of the sanctuary, and Judi Halas.
The mission of the Coral Nursery is to rescue pieces of storm-damaged Elkhorn coral that would have otherwise died. This has been a community-based effort in coral reef restoration. With appropriate supervision, a brief training session, and a preliminary orientation prior to entering the water, we have established that small teams including volunteers can accomplish a lot in terms of restoring corals that have been damaged by storms. Under the direction of Craig Quirolo, Reef Relief mobilized a volunteer force eager to help protect the reef and the project began. Special thanks is due to all of the volunteers who have been a part of this project, especially Dave Liggett of the Columbus Zoo, Clyde Hensley, Bill Reese, Mel Eaton, Sharona Setlock, John Maceli, Joe Hubchenko, and the Reef Relief team that participated, including Michael Blades and DeeVon Quirolo. We hope to continue these efforts at coral reef restoration.
