Day 105, Year 1: Preparing to Leave Curacao

Day 105, Year 1: Preparing to Leave Curacao
Date: Monday, January 30, 2006
Air Temperature: 84 degrees F
Water Temperature: 80 degrees F
Location: Spanish Waters, Curacao

Our division of labor today was successful. We are checked out and ready to leave. Water maker parts have arrived and are ready to be installed and the necessary supplies are on board. Our weather report indicates decent sailing weather through Friday morning. Then the report is for building winds. It may be possible to move fast enough to beat the worst of it. We’ll just have to take it day by day.

We have met several people going our direction and plan to meet up with them along the way. They will be leaving here over the course of the next week or so and we should see them again in the San Blas and then periodically as we each make our way across the Pacific.

So, we plan to leave Curacao tomorrow morning and will check in each day with our status and any changes in our plans.

060130 Day 105 Caribbean, Curacao–Leaving

Days 103 and 104, Year 1: Hanging Out in Curacao

Days 103 and 104, Year 1: Hanging Out in Curacao
Date: Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29, 2006
Air Temperature: 82 degrees F
Water Temperature: 80 degrees F
Location: Spanish Waters, Curacao

Where does the time go? We arrived here on Thursday, went to town and checked in with Customs and Immigration on Friday, and now it is Sunday. We did take the shuttle bus to the grocery store on Saturday morning and we were able to pick up our copy of The Panama Guide from Budget Marine. We were able to buy most, but not all, of the supplies we need for the next leg of our journey. When we leave here on Tuesday or Wednesday, we will have a full 7 days of sailing – maybe more – before we reach the San Blas Islands. We will stay there for 2 weeks and then head on to the Panama Canal. There are no facilities in the San Blas for food, water, or fuel, so we need to be fully stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, water, and fuel before leaving here. Mark spent most of the afternoon yesterday taking the dinghy into shore, filling our two 5 gallon water cans with water, bringing them back to the boat, and pouring them into our water tanks . . . 10 gallons at a time. We were completely empty so we knew it would take about 18 trips to complete the job. I think he has 9 trips left to go so he will finish the job tomorrow as nothing is open on Sunday, not even the water faucet!

The weather report yesterday was not good. It sounded as if we might not be leaving here for a few days. Today, however, our weather guru, Herb, said that we might be able to leave on Tuesday if we head northwest to 14 or 15 degrees North and then head west to 78 degrees west before turning south. What that means is that we will go about 120 miles further north than the direct course to the San Blas and then head south that same 120 miles when we reach Panama. In other words, we are adding 240 plus miles to our 600 mile trip because of the high winds and seas off the Columbian coast. But from the reports we have been hearing from those who have opted not to head north before heading south, I’d rather go the extra miles rather than sustain damage to the boat. The seas can be terribly rough between here and Panama, and seem to have been exceptionally so recently, so we will take the longer, but safer route.

When I check in with you tomorrow night, I will have more specific information on our exact departure time, but in the meantime, we are preparing to leave on Tuesday morning. I will head into Willemstad tomorrow to check out while Mark heads to the grocery store and Budget Marine on the morning shuttle. That will get him back here by noon so he can make sure we get our water maker parts that should be delivered tomorrow. The trip to town takes longer and I will probably not get back until mid afternoon. One thing I will do while in town is check our gmail account. There is no high speed internet here in Spanish Waters, so I will take the computer to town to check in.

For those of you who send comments to our website: We have to be connected to a high speed connection in order to check the website. The next time we will be able to do that is in Panama, so please understand that any messages you send in the next 3 weeks will not be read or returned until near the end of February. This will be the longest time that we will have gone without high speed connections, so just wanted you to know that.

Note: Today would have been my sister Margie’s 78th birthday. I can’t let the day go by without paying tribute to her. She loved the cruising lifestyle and took me for my very first boat trip when I was 13. We went on her 26-foot cabin cruiser from Charleston, West Virginia, to Cincinnati, Ohio, motoring up the Kanawha River into the Ohio. I have onboard Windbird a dried yellow rose that I kept from Margie’s funeral last spring. It travels with me wherever I go and helps me feel as if I am sharing this trip with her. Margie, I’m always thinking of you . . .

060129 Day 104 Caribbean, Curacao–Tour of Willemstad

Day 102, Year 1: A Visit to Willemstad, Curacao

Day 102, Year 1: A Visit to Willemstad, Curacao
Date: Friday, January 27, 2006, AST 2200
Air Temperature: 82 degrees F
Water Temperature: 80 degrees F
Location: Spanish Waters, Curacao

We started our day taking a dinghy ride into the fishing village here in Spanish Waters and then walking to the bus stop. We had been told that the bus would take us to Willemstad, and indeed, it did. The couple from Double Dutch that we had met last night at Happy Hour at Sarifundy’s Marina were on the same bus and helped to give us better directions to Customs and Immigration. Until now we have had cruising guides to give us details on how to find things in each port, but the cruising guide for Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba has not been updated and is out of print. We had information from cruisers we met in Bonaire, but it was sketchy.

Customs was not far from the bus stop, but to get to Immigration, we had to take a ferry across the water from Punda to Otrabanda (the other side). Punda is the business center of Willemstad and Otrabanda is the old residential quarter. We then had to hike a ways and work our way through a maze of waterfront buildings to find the Immigration Office. Today was election day in Curacao and most everything closed at 1100, but thankfully Immigration was open until noon. Once we finished with that process we headed back to the downtown waterfront in Otrabanda and walked along Breedestraat. We found the Museum Kura Hulanda and had a wonderful tour with a guide named Dennisha. A Dutchman named Jacob Gelt Dekker privately funded the development of this anthropological museum that opened in 1999 and “it offers a world-class chronicle of the origin of man, the transatlantic slave trace, West African empire, pre-Columbian gold, Mesopotamian relecs and Antellean art”-all in a very small space. It was fascinating and we could have spent many hours there. Mr. Dekker has a home that is actually part of the Museum and spends time here every year. He is only 57 and got his start by establishing the One-Hour Photo development business. He has traveled widely throughout Africa and the Middle East gathering the relics for this museum. Whomever he has hired to be the curator has done a phenomenal job. I was very surprised that taking pictures was encouraged, but I took advantage of the offer and will have those added to the photo gallery as soon as I can get to a high speed connection to send them to the website via my son Justin.

We had lunch at the Gouverneur De Rouville overlooking the waterfront and enjoyed the view of all of the candy-colored waterfront buildings. The architecture here is referred to as “wedding cake” and that is evidenced in the yellow, pink, turquoise, purple, and green buildings with their intricate while trim.

Curacao has a population of 150,000, with 125,000 of them living in Willemstad. It is a city and comes with all of the problems cities have, but it does have a charm that comes from its mix of Caribbean and European culture.

Tomorrow we will take the Sarifundy Marina shuttle to the grocery store and to Budget Marine. They are holding a copy of the Panama Guide for us. If time permits we will try to get in a snorkel in the afternoon. We found out this afternoon that our watermaker parts that we ordered on Tuesday are already in Curacao. We called a distributor in California on Tuesday. They called the factory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the order was shipped immediately via UPS International. The order went from Minneapolis to Louisville and arrived here in Curacao yesterday-before we got here–and went through Customs. They were sent out for delivery this morning, but because it was Election Day, they will not be delivered to us in Spanish Waters until Monday-if we are lucky. This is island time.

Day 101, Year 1: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Day 101, Year 1: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Date: Thursday, January 26, 2006
Air Temperature: 82 degrees F
Water Temperature: 80 degrees F
Latitude: N 12 degrees 04.78 minutes
Longitude: W 68 degrees 51.74 minutes
Location: Spanish Waters, Curacao

We left Bonaire at 0830 this morning. Parting was difficult, but the time to move on had come. Last night was the first night since we had been there that we did not have rain, so we took that as the omen that it was a good time to move west. We had an uneventful trip to Curacao with 25 knot winds coming from the east as we headed west. We rolled out the head sail and used that as our only sail. Without the main sail up, it was a little rolly, but we made great time. We arrived here in Spanish Waters at 1430. It is windier here in the anchorage than it was in Bonaire, but that will help to cool us down. The average temperature inside the boat in Bonaire was about 85 degrees F and that is the case here, so any wind is welcome. The outside temperature here is still 82 degrees but the water temperature in this protected bay is only 80 degrees. . We are now only 80 miles from the Venezuelan coast and I think as we travel further west to Panama, the temperature will begin to climb.

It was too late when we arrived to catch the bus into Willemstad to check in with Customs and Immigration, so we will do that early tomorrow morning. Willemstad will be the first city that we have been in since leaving the US, so that might take a little adjustment. The terrain here looks similar to Bonaire, but I can tell already that the culture here is very different. The bay where we are anchored certainly doesn’t have the character that the waterfront in Bonaire had. Willemstad is supposed to be a tropical Amsterdam, so I think it will be beautiful but will feel a little too big for me. I miss Bonaire already.

Today’s sail took us above 3,500 miles traveled since we left Boston. Those are miles traveled over water, so during our passage to St. Martin from Hampton, Virginia, we traveled more than 1200 miles when the true mileage as the bird flies is only about 800. I guess we traveled 400 miles up and down those huge waves!

We went to shore to Sarifundy Marina for Happy Hour and met lots of boaters from here. Many here are from the Netherlands and from South Africa via the Netherlands. Tomorrow, we will meet more folks and report in on our impressions of Curacao.

060126 Day 101 Caribbean, Curacao–Kura Hulanda Museum

Day 100, Year 1: A Success Story (not for the squeamish)

Day 100, Year 1: A Success Story (not for the squeamish)
Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Air and Water Temperature: 82 degrees F
Location: Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

I must admit that I have been keeping a little secret from you. On Sunday, we discovered that we had a little critter onboard and our fear was that it was . . . yes, a rat or a mouse. Yuck! When we got up Sunday morning, I noticed that something that shredded part of a paper egg carton that I had left on the galley counter. We wondered if a bird had flown into the boat during the night looking for nesting material, but in the back of our minds the truth was lurking. We probably had an unwelcome rodent onboard. When we had dinner with Beth and Ken aboard Eagle’s Wings on Sunday evening, we mentioned this and they shared their horror story with a visiting critter. On Monday, they offered their arsenal of critter catching devices and we accepted as we had found more evidence of an intruder. Monday night, there were no takers, but last night I awoke to the “snap” of the trap. We had caught the critter. He was a very healthy looking little rat. We have no idea how he got aboard and we certainly hope he is one of a kind. We stopped by Eagle’s Wings today to return the “arsenal” and Ken asked if we had taken pictures. Pictures! No way. I didn’t want to admit to this invasion, much less document it. But he insisted. He asked if we had the little friend with us and indeed we did. We were on the way to the marina to dispose of the evidence. To make a long story short, we drug our little friend out of hiding and took pictures to document this episode of our story. Please tell me we won’t have a repeat performance.

Our day was a full one. We spent part of our morning exploring the Harborside Marina area to our north and part of the afternoon visiting Plaza Marina to our south. We stopped to talk to some folks onboard Galadrial from Coos Bay, Oregon. We asked how long they had been here and they said five or six years! They stay here for six months and then cruise the Venezuelan Coast for the remainder of the year. Owners of the boat next door to them, Bango, are petitioning to become citizens here. Evidently the charm of this place has rubbed off on others.

When we returned to downtown Kralendijk, we walked to the local hardware store about a mile from the waterfront to buy rat traps to fortify us from future invasions. No luck. But they sent us further north to the local Chinese shop. It was the Bonaire version of a Dollar Store, and they not only had the much needed traps for our arsenal, but they also had plastic boxes needed to store food when an invasion is underway. We got back in town just in time to check out through Immigration and Customs to prepare for departure tomorrow morning. In the Immigration Office, Mark met a couple that we had seen in Bequia. He learned that they are ending a seven year circumnavigation and returning to Eugene, Oregon. We hope to see them again in Curacao and get a chance to hear about their experience.

We stopped by Eagle’s Wings to leave some information on Curacao and to tell them that we hope to see them again along our way to the South Pacific. We also stopped by Sirius to give them an update on the weather and to wish them well on their trip east and then north back to the US. We then returned to Windbird to prepare for departure tomorrow morning. We are having a hard time prying ourselves away from here, but we know that that we must move on.

In between trips here and there today, we did get back to the boat in time to catch Southbound II’s weather this afternoon. Herb said that it looks like we can move on to Curacao, but that we need to wait there until we get the go ahead for the San Blas. Since we have to wait there for the delivery of our water maker parts that works out just fine. It is only 35 miles to Curacao from here, so we should be there by tomorrow afternoon. It is still a little windy out there, but we should be fine. We’ll update you on the trip tomorrow night.

As I close this log we are listening to music booming from the seaside avenue onshore in front of us. There is an election coming up here and the campaigning has been increasing during our stay. As we look onshore we see a parade of a couple of hundred people following a van blaring live music Caribbean style. May the best person win.

060125 Day 100 Caribbean, Curacao–Arrival

Day 99, Year 1: Delayed in Bonaire One More Day

Day 99, Year 1: Delayed in Bonaire One More Day
Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Weather: Rain Overnight, Very Windy
Air and Water Temperature: 82 degrees F
Location: Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Darn. We have to stay here one more day. The weather around island is very windy and Herb says we should wait. So we will wait.

During the night last night, the boat was rocking and rolling on the mooring. And then it rained a real rain, not just a drizzle. By the time we got up the rain had stopped-but just for a short time. We actually had rain on and off all day today. We listened to the morning weather and then took off for a snorkeling expedition. My hope was to use the new underwater camera to try and catch some of the underwater beauty here to share with you, but the unsettled weather has stirred up the water and taken away some of it’s clarity. We revisited some sites we had been to earlier, but the water was cloudy and there was not the variety of fish today. I guess I’ll have to try again in Curacao as I don’t expect the seas to settle tomorrow.

After snorkeling, we made arrangements to have the new water maker filters (membranes) sent to Curacao for pick up there and then we took a taxi to the Warehouse Supermarket to stock up on fresh veggies and other provisions. It was then time to head back to the boat to listen to Herb on Southbound II. After that, we headed back into town to do some research on the internet but stopped by a neighboring boat on the way to give them a weather update. George and Becky Dunn aboard Sirius are waiting to head east along the Venezuelan coast and they have had a hard time hearing the weather reports. Becky had some great information for us about Curacao and we delivered the news that they too need to wait until Thursday to leave. Their boat is named for the constellation, not the satellite radio network, but that started a radio conversation. We discovered that George is past chair of the public radio system in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and does actually have Sirius radio so he can listen to NPR. He and Becky are also good friends of an NPR Foundation member that Mark knows well. Small world.

By the time we got into town, it was sundown and the daily cruise ship visiting in port was ready to leave. We did our internet research and then had dinner in town.

Tomorrow we will visit the two marinas on either end of town to check out future possibilities for staying here for longer periods of time. I really do hope to get back this way. I also want to walk to the hardware store which is a mile or so out of town to try and buy some plastic containers. If there is anytime left and if the water has cleared, we’ll also try to get in a snorkel. There will be snorkeling in other places for sure, but somehow I don’t think we will see the same diversity of sea life that abounds here. I’m hoping to make a list of all of the different varieties of fish we have seen here and will share that with you when it is completed.

060124 Day 99 Caribbean, Bonaire–Last Day