So, Cheryl got us to Customs and Immigration in Curacao. They were very accommodating and we went through with no problem. Next morning, Tuesday, we were able to leave with only the minor problem of the anchor chain jamming in the chute that directs it below decks. The skies were fairly clear but there were lots of clouds on the horizon so we knew we might run into some weather.
Our first objective was to clear the south end of Curacao. We had considered sailing down to Klein Curacao the evening before so that we would start off further south and maybe get away with one beat from southwest to northeast. The wind had originally been forecast to be from the east and of course Bonaire is pretty well straight east of Curacao so we were looking for some way to get at least some wind into our sails. After checking the forecast last thing Tuesday we found it indicated that the wind might be from the ENE so we decided that leaving from Klein Curacao would likely put us directly into that.
It turned out that what seemed the longest part of the trip was down the west coast of Curacao. Of course in real time that was not the case but we thought we would never get around the end. We had thought since we were sailing southeast we would get some beam wind but it was not to be. By tacking and bearing off the wind somewhat we were finally able to clear the island at which point we set a course for the north end of Curacao (no ENE – straight east wind). Although we had pretty good wind, we of course found ourselves eventually being pushed further north than we wanted to go so it was tacking time. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the rest of the day except to say that we were again joined by a pod of dolphins, this time a much bigger pod. Since the weather and the seas were acting up we were not able to get any pictures and the video we took would likely make weaker stomachs somewhat nauseous so you won’t get to see what we saw which is unfortunate. There were 12-14 dolphins in this pod, including babies only about 2 1/2 ft long. This time they also did a lot of leaping right out of the water, perhaps because the wind chop was churning up lots of froth. Sorry but any time you want to join us, you are welcome to see your own dolphin pod!!!
To make a long story shorter, we finally arrived at Bonaire about 6:15 PM. Sunset was at 6:30 so we had 15 minutes to find a mooring and get hooked up. Although we knew there were 40 double moorings along the coast, we didn’t realize that they were not all in good repair. The good ones have two lines coming up from 6 ton blocks. Both lines are attached to floats which in turn have lines coming from the other side of the float that you lift with a boat hook and attach to the boat lines. The reality is that some of the moorings only have one float and line, others one float and two lines, others two lines with no floats and in our case two floats with no lines. If we had known how they were laid out, we would not have made the mistake we did.
In previous moorings we have tied up to, when there is a float with no line attached, you catch the metal loop on top of the float with your boat hook and the line then comes up out of the float. No problem. Well, when we saw two floats, both with loops on top, I assumed this is what we needed to do. NOT!! I put the boat hook into the loop and tried to pull it up and guess what happened – nothing – except that the boat was still drifting, I couldn’t unhook the boat hook, and I couldn’t stop the boat using just my arm strength on an 8 ft very slippery pole. Result – boat hook in the sea, boat not attached to the mooring and it is getting darker. Of course the boat is still moving and the underwater mooring lines are now under the boat. Next thing we knew, the mooring lines had caught on the prop and there was much clunking and banging under the boat. Cheryl was very quick to go to neutral (thank goodness) but now we had no way to power the boat and darkness was nigh! I grabbed my mask and jumped over the side and luckily was able to unwrap the mooring lines from the prop without having to take a knife to them, even though they were pretty thoroughly wrapped. While I was doing this Cheryl was putting the swim ladder over the side so I could get back on board.
Once we had power again, rather than look for moorings that had everything they were supposed to have (none in close proximity but we couldn’t really see that well by then), we decided to go to the double float that was closest, even though it also didn’t have a connect rope on its floats. I hopped in the water and Cheryl passed me down our lines, one on each side of the bow, and I connected them to the two floats so we could settle in for the night.
By the way, the water was wonderful – just what I needed after sailing all day!!!
Next day we moved over to another mooring. This one only had one mooring line but
I dove down with another line and attached it to the 6 ton block so here we sit on two mooring lines, snug as an eel in its hole. The water along the coast is 10 to 30 ft deep until about 75 meters from shore when it drops off to 120 to 150 ft. Our boat is moored with the front over the shallow part and the stern over the deep part and it is so neat. The water is incredibly clear so we can really see the delineation where it starts to go deep. When I dove down to attach the line to the block, there were about 10 different species of fish ranging in size from 4 inches to about 4 ft feeding off the algae and plankton that is on the blocks. We can look over the side any time and clearly see fishes swimming around the boat. Randy, you could aim your fishing hook at them!!!
Wednesday we cleared into Customs and Immigration. They were very friendly people and I am sure we are going to enjoy our time here. The map of Bonaire shows all the dive spots around Bonaire and Klein (little) Bonaire and there are so many it looks like a necklace on the map. A favourite way of diving here is to load your gear and tanks on a truck and drive around the shore road. All the dive spots are signed on the road so you just get out, walk in, swim to the drop-off and Bob’s your uncle. More about all this later.
Our first objective was to clear the south end of Curacao. We had considered sailing down to Klein Curacao the evening before so that we would start off further south and maybe get away with one beat from southwest to northeast. The wind had originally been forecast to be from the east and of course Bonaire is pretty well straight east of Curacao so we were looking for some way to get at least some wind into our sails. After checking the forecast last thing Tuesday we found it indicated that the wind might be from the ENE so we decided that leaving from Klein Curacao would likely put us directly into that.
It turned out that what seemed the longest part of the trip was down the west coast of Curacao. Of course in real time that was not the case but we thought we would never get around the end. We had thought since we were sailing southeast we would get some beam wind but it was not to be. By tacking and bearing off the wind somewhat we were finally able to clear the island at which point we set a course for the north end of Curacao (no ENE – straight east wind). Although we had pretty good wind, we of course found ourselves eventually being pushed further north than we wanted to go so it was tacking time. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the rest of the day except to say that we were again joined by a pod of dolphins, this time a much bigger pod. Since the weather and the seas were acting up we were not able to get any pictures and the video we took would likely make weaker stomachs somewhat nauseous so you won’t get to see what we saw which is unfortunate. There were 12-14 dolphins in this pod, including babies only about 2 1/2 ft long. This time they also did a lot of leaping right out of the water, perhaps because the wind chop was churning up lots of froth. Sorry but any time you want to join us, you are welcome to see your own dolphin pod!!!
To make a long story shorter, we finally arrived at Bonaire about 6:15 PM. Sunset was at 6:30 so we had 15 minutes to find a mooring and get hooked up. Although we knew there were 40 double moorings along the coast, we didn’t realize that they were not all in good repair. The good ones have two lines coming up from 6 ton blocks. Both lines are attached to floats which in turn have lines coming from the other side of the float that you lift with a boat hook and attach to the boat lines. The reality is that some of the moorings only have one float and line, others one float and two lines, others two lines with no floats and in our case two floats with no lines. If we had known how they were laid out, we would not have made the mistake we did.In previous moorings we have tied up to, when there is a float with no line attached, you catch the metal loop on top of the float with your boat hook and the line then comes up out of the float. No problem. Well, when we saw two floats, both with loops on top, I assumed this is what we needed to do. NOT!! I put the boat hook into the loop and tried to pull it up and guess what happened – nothing – except that the boat was still drifting, I couldn’t unhook the boat hook, and I couldn’t stop the boat using just my arm strength on an 8 ft very slippery pole. Result – boat hook in the sea, boat not attached to the mooring and it is getting darker. Of course the boat is still moving and the underwater mooring lines are now under the boat. Next thing we knew, the mooring lines had caught on the prop and there was much clunking and banging under the boat. Cheryl was very quick to go to neutral (thank goodness) but now we had no way to power the boat and darkness was nigh! I grabbed my mask and jumped over the side and luckily was able to unwrap the mooring lines from the prop without having to take a knife to them, even though they were pretty thoroughly wrapped. While I was doing this Cheryl was putting the swim ladder over the side so I could get back on board.
Once we had power again, rather than look for moorings that had everything they were supposed to have (none in close proximity but we couldn’t really see that well by then), we decided to go to the double float that was closest, even though it also didn’t have a connect rope on its floats. I hopped in the water and Cheryl passed me down our lines, one on each side of the bow, and I connected them to the two floats so we could settle in for the night.
By the way, the water was wonderful – just what I needed after sailing all day!!!
Next day we moved over to another mooring. This one only had one mooring line but
I dove down with another line and attached it to the 6 ton block so here we sit on two mooring lines, snug as an eel in its hole. The water along the coast is 10 to 30 ft deep until about 75 meters from shore when it drops off to 120 to 150 ft. Our boat is moored with the front over the shallow part and the stern over the deep part and it is so neat. The water is incredibly clear so we can really see the delineation where it starts to go deep. When I dove down to attach the line to the block, there were about 10 different species of fish ranging in size from 4 inches to about 4 ft feeding off the algae and plankton that is on the blocks. We can look over the side any time and clearly see fishes swimming around the boat. Randy, you could aim your fishing hook at them!!!Wednesday we cleared into Customs and Immigration. They were very friendly people and I am sure we are going to enjoy our time here. The map of Bonaire shows all the dive spots around Bonaire and Klein (little) Bonaire and there are so many it looks like a necklace on the map. A favourite way of diving here is to load your gear and tanks on a truck and drive around the shore road. All the dive spots are signed on the road so you just get out, walk in, swim to the drop-off and Bob’s your uncle. More about all this later.
THE VIEW FROM MYSTIC JOURNEY
2 comments:
Holy exciting times for you two eh? You sure have your share of adventures but you always seem to handle it in stride. Good on Ya! Alex is mad that we dont' get to see the video...he says you could still post it with a warning "Not for people who get sea sick"! Too funny. Thinking about cha. Julie
Hi you two... Sounds like your adventure is pretty exciting! If not a little heart stopping! Must be beautiful to see the fish and the dolphins and the sights though. We think of you every day! Take care and hope Bonaire is a lovely haven for a while. Love Hol and all
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