Wrecks lying in the bay with turtles, rays and clouds of tropical fish over them, lemon sharks in the shallows off the point…Wrecks lying in the bay with turtles, rays and clouds of tropical fish over them, lemon sharks in the shallows off the point, and, in season, one of the largest loggerhead nesting populations in the Atlantic coming ashore at night. Santa Maria was built on salt, the pans behind the town shipped to Brazil and Europe, and the pier the trade used still stands. Cape Verde's loggerhead colony is among the three biggest in the world, which is why the beaches are patrolled through the nesting season. Anchorage: Santa Maria bay is the standard Cape Verde anchorage and a classic Atlantic-crossing stop between the Canaries and the Caribbean. Hazards: The trades blow hard most of the year; the diving is on the lee side for a reason. Meer