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Islas del Cisne (The Swan Islands) lie in relative isolation in the Western Caribbean Sea at latitude 17 deg. N. and longitude 83 deg. W. off the coast of Honduras. (Approximately ninety-five miles north of the coast of Honduras and three hundred twenty miles west of Jamaica.) The islands are 400 miles from Key West, Florida, and 500 miles from New Orleans.
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Three islands constitute the Swan Island chain. Great Swan, Little Swan, and Booby Cay. Fringing reefs are developed around the perimeter of the islands with the most extensive reef growth occurring along the northern shores. Great Swan is nearly two miles in length with a maximum elevation of 68 feet. Little Swan is about 1.5 miles in length by 0.3 miles wide with a maximum elevation of 78 feet. Booby Cay is a small cay off the southwestern tip of Great Swan only about 100 yards long. One can easily walk to the cay from Great Swan at low tide.
The United States' later interests in the Swan Islands involved agricultural production in coconut plantations and aids to navigation and communications, resulting in continued United States occupation and use of the islands. In San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on November 22, 1971, American and Honduran representatives signed a treaty by which the United States recognized Honduras' long-standing claim to sovereignty over the Swan Islands. The treaty entered into force on September 1, 1972. In 1982, the Swan Islands were named as a territory of Honduras in the Honduran Constitution.
Swan Islands, Honduras Written by a PHD who researched the history of the Swan Islands, and visited himself. Great photos.
Swan Islands of Honduras Latest online encyclopedia version of the history of the Swan Islands.
Radio Swan This website has an interesting timeline, and claims that in 1850, a Cayman islander named Samuel Parsons attempted to claim the islands by placing upon them a number of goats which, over time, multiplied and eventually formed quite a large heard. When Parsons returned to the islands several years later, however, he found them occupied by an American phosphate Co. and all of his goats eaten by the miners.
We stopped at Swan Island (Honduras) on our way from Key West, FL, USA to Colon, Panama. There isn't a lot of info out there on Swan Island for yachts, so here's what we found...
The island was occupied by seven young members of the Honduran Navy (in our case, 16-26) who do a 45-day rotation at "Islas del Cisne", so the reception you receive will be somewhat dependent on the commander and group that is currently stationed there. They did a reasonable and lengthy but polite search, and seemed to be mostly interested in undeclared guns although they did ask about drugs as well and had lots of questions I didn't quite understand regarding Cuba. The detachment on the island didn't appear to speak any English and will meet you well-armed, so be prepared with a bit of Spanish, patience, and friendliness. This particular detachment spent the mornings working and then went hiking, beachcombing, and swimming/diving in the afternoons. It's a miracle they were all able to show up on the dock in uniforms with low-cost M-16s as quickly as they did. They didn't have any sort of customs/immigration capacity (they wrote down our passport numbers, names, etc. in child's school notebook that seemed to be the offical commander's logbook) so don't expect a zarpe, passport stamp, etc.
The dock itself is very rough concrete and will wear through lines quickly. The guys on the island don't have a boat, so you have to tie up there for them to board and search the boat. We anchored elsewhere afterwards because of the motion of the boat and damage to the lines. In general, the anchorage at the southwest end of the island had good holding, although it doesn't have a tremendous amount of swell protection.
We stayed a couple of days and enjoyed several social interactions with the Navy guys. We swam and dove with them, beachcombed, enjoyed an island tour, and played volleyball. I speak enough Spanish that we could have decent conversations and this group of guys was fairly friendly. As the rotation changes every 45 days, it's hard to say what you'll find, but it appears they're likely to be young, bored, and responsive to friendly, low-key overtures.
Keep in mind there are no supplies to be had. -- May 2009