Our time on Bonaire was delightful! The water was crystal cobalt blue, the clearest we´ve seen in all the Caribbean. We were able to enjoy our bikes on Bonaire, as well. Over the course of 2 days, we circled the island, and enjoyed everything from the salt pyramids & pale pink salt ponds on the eastern end of Bonaire to the flamingo refuge at Gotomeer on the west end. We rode past every dive site on Bonaire, and found incredible snorkeling as well. When we left the island after a 5 day stay, we stopped at Klein Bonaire, a flat, arid island just west. We found the best snorkeling there, a secluded mooring without a soul around. Bonaire was truly a highlight of our journey so far.
Sailing from Bonaire to Curacao was exciting as well. The winds in the ABC islands are breezy and steady. The crossing is less than 50 miles or so, and the winds did allow us to sail fast and surf the swells. Sea Child continues to impress us, with her ability to rise on the swell and slide down each wave effectively increasing our boat speed by several knots. We reached Spaans Harbor on Curacao well before sunset and found ourselves in a veritable cruisers haven!
We needed provisions and ice, as well as a good wash down after the time on Bonaire. While the islands are incredibly beautiful, the winds blow minute particles of dust across the decks and in no time did we have a build up of dirt. We were reminded of Maalaea Harbor on Maui, where our crew with Paragon needs to wash down the boats every day. This, too, is the way it is in the ABC islands. From Spaans Harbor, a local supermarket picks up cruisers every morning at 10:00 sharp. We were driven about 15 minutes to an inland center that had a very nice market along with a Budget Marine store. The perfect combination for every cruiser, and we took full advantage of our hour visit before the bus took us back to the harbor. Our time in Curacao was brief, however. Just the one day, enough time to provision and wash down, grab a bag of ice, and then onward to Aruba, 83 miles to the west.
Again, the seas were steady at 4-6´, winds easterly to 22, and skies clear. We were chasing a squall line for most of the sail to Aruba, enjoying the boat speeds that averaged well over 10 knots for the duration of the 8 hour crossing. Arriving into Aruba on a Sunday afternoon, however, was a pain. We were instructed by the port control to enter the Oranjestad Harbor at the cruise ship docks and to tie up alongside massive black tires. With just the two of us onboard and the wind gusts to 30, docking for immigration was a pain. There was not a soul around, so we waited for a few minutes until a friendly Atlantis Submarine worker came over to chat with us. The immigration officials arrived by car, taking our boat documents and passports with them as the two of us waited on Sea Child for clearance. When the process was finally completed, we moved over to the Renaissance Harbor in Oranjestad, a clean and friendly harbor that gave us a bit of a break from the steady high winds off shore.
Our visit to Aruba was very brief, less than 24 hours. We found Aruba to have beautiful water, but the island itself was dirty and the roads crowded. At least in Oranjestad, where we picked up hydraulic fluid for our autopilot. We were well provisioned for our sail to Columbia, 385 miles away.
Checking out of Aruba at 15:00, we began our journey due west, to start. The winds were steady at 25 knots, the seas were flat, then gradually started to build as we gained distance from Aruba. Our biggest gust of wind was well over 30 knots, and as the seas wrapped around the island, their direction was a bit confused. Dinner on our first night was treated by a visit of dolphins, a large group of bottlenose that played in our bow wake while we were sailing a steady 13 knots. As we neared the coastal islands of Venezuela, some 53 miles from Aruba, we were on a port tack broad reach with winds around 22 knots. Through channel 16 we were notified by the Venezuelan Coast Guard about the ´´danger danger danger´´ of the approaching small islands. There are about 3 islands, basically rocks with one coast guard outpost on them, in the Archipelago Los Monjes islands. We identified ourselves to the Venezuelans, jibed, and continued our sail to Cartagena.
Our total crossing to Cartagena was 410 miles travelled, as we needed to jibe several times for best winds. Sea Child sailed with the jib, screecher, and main in all combinations. Our 2nd night at sea saw winds increasing and the seas as well. Our largest swell, we estimate, was well over 20´and the winds averaged 15knots for the entire crossing. At times, the seas were so active that our watches had us hand-steering the entire time. And the closer we got to Cartagena, the more freighters and tankers we saw. In one 3 hour watch, we counted over 8 freighters on radar; twice we needed to divert our route to remain at a comfortable distance.
The crossing to Cartagena, while wild at times, saw Sea Child sail in exess of 16 knots on the main alone, hit 20 knots with the big screecher and main, and down to 4 knots as we neared the coast. We would jibe out to stay in fresh winds, and alot of wind it was. The crossing took us 42 hours, 2 night watches, and some mental strength. But we did it, arriving in Cartagena and making new friends at the Club Nautico Cartagena. Our adventure to San Blas, Panama begins in a few days time.
Cartagena, Colombia. Local Internet Cafe, pictures to be posted on next blog. 10°25' N, 75°33'W.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Sailing to Bonaire
We left the northern Caribbean island of Puerto Rico on Saturday, April 11, at 08:00. The weather window was perfect for a 400 mile sail south; the winds were east to 15 knots, the seas 3-5’, the skies were clear. All that was between us and Bonaire was the beautiful Caribbean Sea.
We headed around the eastern end of Puerto Rico, then set a course for 214 degrees. This southerly course kept us on a reach/broad reach for the next 48 hours, until we saw the island of Bonaire at around 05:30 Monday morning.
Some highlights of our sail south included a few wayward stowaways, i.e. flying fish, that found themselves on our decks Easter morning. Also, we hoisted the big screecher on Saturday afternoon as the winds lightened up. This lasted for about 4 hours until the tack blew. We rolled out the jib and continued our route, averaging 8.5 knots for the first 24 hours.
Easter Sunday brought us a beautiful sunrise and more wind. The winds picked up to around 17 knots, and with the screecher repaired, we continued our southerly sail and saw speeds of 16 knots. As night fell, we enjoyed pupus at sunset, reflecting on just how fortunate we were to be able to sail Sea Child with just the two of us on this 2 day crossing. At sunset on Easter, we were visited by a sperm whale, who popped up just on the starboard side, about 5 feet from the boat. She blew, turned 180 degrees, and continued swimming to the east, behind us. It was a joy to be so close to such a magnificent creature!
Around midnight, we decided to furl the screecher, since the winds were now steady at 18 knots true wind, on a broad reach. With just the two of us on board, we set the autopilot on a course of around 250, downwind, to take the pressure off the big sail and enable us to roll her in.Within a few minutes, though, we realized that the sail did not roll uniformly, so we had to take the entire sail down and stow it away. The moon lit the waters around us, and with us tied to Sea Child by way of harness, we were able to ease down the big sail, coil sheets, and stow away in around 25 minutes.
We rolled out the jib and sailed an average again of 10 knots. Our concern, if there was one, was that we would average 12 knots of boat speed and arrive at Bonaire before sunrise. A daylight arrival is easier to navigate unknown waters; we averaged 10 knots and witnessed another beautiful sunrise. This time, Bonaire was is our sights and just a few miles away.
Our watch system worked well for us, 3 hours on 3 hours off. But instead of the 3 days we expected, we picked up a mooring in Kralendijk, Bonaire at 09:00 Monday, April 13. The crossing had taken us 48 hours.
The meals on board were amazing! Saturday night we had Salmon with Quinoa Salad, Easter dinner was Grilled Chicken with Squash & roasted Sweet Potato. And what an atmosphere! We look forward to more sailing adventures, as we head west towards San Blas, Panama.
Aboard Sea Child, Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Antilles. 12 degrees, 9 minutes N Latitude; 68 degrees, 17 minutes W Longitude
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
