Learning the ABC’s

I feel I should emphasize that we love our boat – despite all the breakages, problems and challenges we have had, we don’t believe this is anything more than usual when undertaking a journey like ours in a 28yr old boat, although the type of things that have failed have been a little more challenging!  Sadly this is just part of the adventure and we have learned to understand that this journey is 10% sailing, 10% exploring and 80% maintenance.   Our regular servicing and checks have definitely prevented us from experiencing more issues but there will always be things that break or wear away that are hidden – only a boat that stays in one place stays in one piece so we just have to find a way to repair things and sometimes be creative!

We left Grenada mid-morning and headed North West, catching sight of Tokimata, our buddy boat, as we rounded the south western headland.   This was the first time we had buddy sailed with another NZ boat and it felt like we were in good company as we heard Peter’s familiar kiwi accent coming over the VHF radio!  

We had decided to try a different sail combination and had rigged another large jib to a removable forestay before leaving the anchorage in Grenada.   With clear air, we hoisted the hanked on jib and then unfurled our poled out yankee, leaving the mainsail in its sailbag.   The boat immediately responded, picking up speed and cutting through the Atlantic roll, giving us a fast and comfortable sail away from the green hills of Grenada.   We watched some large rain clouds pass either side of us as we continued our sail North West and into the night.   Our plan was to stay about 60NM north of the Venezuelan coast as we had read reports it could be unsafe to sail too close due to piracy, although we had not met anyone who had experienced any problems.

The moon was ¾ full and shone brightly until it set at about midnight on the first night as we tried to get into the slow routine of passage making and sleeping on cue!   Steve always takes the first 3hr watch from 8pm while I rest in our cabin.   Hilda, the hydrovane, was set and working perfectly as we continued on our 400+NM passage to Bonaire, meaning we could turn most of our instruments off and save on power consumption.   During passage our solar in-take is reduced due to more shadow on the panels so we carefully monitor the level of our batteries to make sure we are not letting them run down too low.    Steve had been on watch for about an hour when a large squall hit us.   These squalls are hard to see at night but can be monitored on radar, which we regularly scanned, particularly at night and considering most boats, like us, had turned off their AIS so were not as easy to keep track of.   We knew there was a weather system approaching but it sped up and hit us a lot quicker than anticipated.   I rushed up on deck to help reef one of the jibs as the rain fell in torrents, lasting only five minutes and giving us both, and the boat, a refreshing shower, cooling us down from the tropical evening heat!  The boat settled down again, still with our two headsails working well as the night passed quickly with very little traffic while I spent most of my watch stargazing and in quiet awe of the vastness of the ocean and sky around us.   I’m often amazed how I can sit and do absolutely nothing but observe the light on the water or look up at the millions of stars above me and feel at total peace.  

Each night we talked to our friends on Tokimata, Escapade of London and ZenAgain on SSB Radio to give position reports, weather updates and news on the day’s events!   Tokimata were following a similar track to us about 20NM behind while Escapade and ZenAgain were still in Grenada and it was comforting to know they were keeping track of our progress!   

We were still making great headway with Hilda keeping us on course at speeds of upto 8knots.  On day two our dreams of catching another Mahi Mahi were realised and we hauled a beautiful fish on board which Steve masterly bled and filleted so we could have a wonderful dinner that night and for the next couple of dinners.  By now we had altered course so the wind was more on our beam and we stowed the second jib and pulled up the main.   On our last night five swallows joined us on board, four perched on one line and one on another rope facing them.   The four kept vigil all night, swaying as the boat rolled until the morning when we discovered the solitary bird had died.   We gave it a burial at sea and watched as the remaining four birds took flight and headed out across the ocean.

On the morning of day three the faint outline of the lowlands of Bonaire slowly came into view until we could finally make out the glaring white pyramid shapes of sea salt mounds on the shore line.    A large pod of dolphins played in our bow wave as the morning sun accentuated the clear deep blue waters we were cutting through.   The three day sail had been one of the best passages we had experienced with some real champagne sailing, calm seas and clear nights.   We felt rested and happy as we made our way towards the next island adventure.

Bonaire is the second largest island in the Netherlands Antilles, a group of three main islands located 50NM off the coast of Venezuela, comprising of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, generally known as the ABC’s.   Each island has its own distinctive flavour with Bonaire being known for its world class diving, due to a protected reef that surrounds the island.   The island is small – only 285sq km and about 40km long with a population of around 20,000 – the same size as Ashburton in NZ.   A number of the population are descendants of slaves who were brought in from Africa to work in the salt fields.   After the abolition of slavery in the mid 1800’s the island, and the people, were largely forgotten with the salt production closing down.   All this changed after the war when the salt fields were re-opened and the tourism boom started. 

Today the island is a mix of black, South American and Dutch, in fairness it is mostly white Europeans who have moved here on a free Dutch one way visa and this seems to have contributed to a building boom and a huge increase in the cost of housing.   The island became a municipal of The Netherlands in 2010 which means a Principal or Governor from The Netherlands, oversees the elected local council, while the two other islands in the ABC’s – Curacao and Aruba – chose to go independent, probably because their population base allowed them to do this.

After securing a mooring buoy, and helping our friends on Cushla (who we knew from Grenada and arrived just after us) and Tokimata do the same, we visited Customs and Immigration to check in.  This proved incredibly easy and quick with no mention of the US$70pp tourist tax we believed we would need to pay on arrival following it coming into force a couple of months earlier.    We were now free to explore the island and get familiar with our new surroundings.

We hired a car with Peter and Rachel from Tokimata and spent a couple of days exploring the south and then the north of the island, snorkelling from recommended beaches, bird watching, driving the unsealed, potholed roads in the National Park and befriending large iguanas who circled around us looking up at us expectantly!    Peter and Rachel were on a tight deadline so left Bonaire after a few days and just before the first of the nasty weather started!    As Bonaire is a protected area, anchoring is forbidden so picking up a mooring buoy in the shallow waters of Kralendijk (the main town) is the only option, apart from taking a marina berth.   For 95% of the time, this is fine, as the prevailing winds blow from the east giving great protection on the buoys on the west side of the island.   The problem comes when the wind blows from the west, known locally as a “Reversal” and suddenly the shallow protective mooring field becomes a messy, dangerous place with boats bouncing on buoys very close to the sea wall with an on-shore wind.   This happened three times while we were in Bonaire, not including another night which was very uncomfortable as Tropical Storm Julia formed overhead!   During one of these Reversals one boat ended up on the rocks after breaking their mooring lines but amazingly it was not badly damaged and we watched it being refloated the next day.

My sister, Judy flew out to join us on board for a very special week of exploring together.   We snorkelled some great spots together, but none were as good as the fabulous coral and fish on Klein Bonaire where we felt we were flying above a forest of brightly coloured trees.   The purple fan coral gently waved in the clear water while the incredible rounded shape of the giant brain coral mesmorised us as our eyes tried to follow the maze of the large head structure.   Large brightly coloured fish guided us through shallow water as we sometimes had to suck in our stomachs to avoid touching the coral that was just below the surface.   Beautiful angelfish, parrotfish, large schools of tang and goatfish swam amongst the underwater garden with a loggerhead turtle silhouetted against the darker blue of the deeper water as we swam over the coral shelf.   It was an experience I am so happy I shared with Judy as we both emerged from the water with big eyes and huge smiles!

Our mooring buoy was next to a dive school and on the edge of a coral wall so we were treated to an array of sea creatures every day.  We had an octopus visit us one evening, alerted to it by our neighbours on Beez Neez, and we watched it change colour as it moved from coral head to sandy seabed in search of food.  A small spotted stingray flew past us with a long tail and a large tarpon took shelter against Beez Neez keel.   Each day we swam and snorkelled around the boat to see what new visitors we had amongst the brightly coloured fish that hovered under and around us.

Judy left after a week and our friends on ZenAgain joined us after an equally good sail from Grenada.   We discovered other snorkel sites with Mike and Nicki, using a truck that was made available for cruisers to hire, to try out 1000 steps and CandyLand – both excellent snorkel spots.   We then headed to Salt Pier and swam with a couple of feeding turtles in the shallow water before experiencing the underwater beauty of an above ground ugly structure, as brightly coloured coral grew from the foundations of the pier.

Our last few days in Bonaire coincided with a sailing regatta which included lots of on land festivities.  Streets were closed, large stages erected, and food stalls lined the main street.   People came in large power boats from neighbouring Curacao and the town came alive with children and young families.   Together with ZenAgain and Cushla, we enjoyed some of the music and festivities as we bade a long farewell to Bonaire.   The day before we were due to leave, we took Cerulean over to Klein Bonaire for a final snorkel, inviting Mike and Nicki to join us.   As we approached the mooring buoy on Klein the wheel jammed and would only allow me to turn to the left.   Fortunately we were close to the buoy and Steve was able to secure us on the mooring before we started investigating the problem.   We discovered a partly shredded bearing casing was catching in the steering mechanism and once cleared we once again had full movement of the wheel.   There had been no early indication of the bearing failing – no scraping, friction or catching, so it was a little disconcerting that our steering could be so silently affected!   Fortunately it did not happen while at sea and we were able to resolve the problem, all be it temporarily.   

We decided to continue with our plans to leave Bonaire for Curacao where we felt we would be able to find a solution and get the parts we needed to make the repairs before heading off on a longer passage.   The sail to Curacao was only around 30NM and with a good breeze forecast we bade farewell to beautiful Bonaire, our home for the last month, with its clear blue waters, incredible reefs, colourful fish and good friends.   We set our course west, just as angry clouds were forming on the horizon ahead of us.