Last of the Trip

Okay - as you must have known because you were faithfully following our position reports, we did not stop for long in Bonaire. When we were about halfway up the coast towards Kralendijk, where the moorings and customs et al are found I happened to be re-checking the guide book and lo and behold it said that "early in October" the Annual Bonaire Regatta is held. Of course in this case early meant the week starting 5 October, which was the day we arrived. Actually we went down the row of moorings to see if, just in case, someone was leaving (like anyone is going to leave at 7:00 AM on a Sunday morning!!) We spoke to a couple in a dinghy who were on their way to watch a swimming race between Bonaire and Klein (little) Bonaire which was the start of Regatta week.

Sunrise Over the Salt Flats in Bonaire

So, no choice but to go on. Truthfully we weren't too disappointed. Maybe it was the fact that we had just successfully completed a 400 nm, 69 hour trip, maybe it was the fact that the 35 nm to Curacao looked like a piece of cake, maybe it was just the sunshine sparkling off the water but whatever the case, it was "off we go". When we discussed it later we agreed that it would make our time here more interesting. Our original intention was to get to Bonaire and from there Cheryl would visit home and it would possibly be the place where we could pick up Rob if things work out. That would have meant staying there for anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks. Going to

Curacao would provide a different menu to enjoy.

There was actually very little wind that morning, a condition that didn't change much during the short hop. As a result we had to motor sail and to avoid the flapping and/or back winding of the main sail, we just used the foresail (genoa) for the extra 2 knots that the wind gave us.

Next came possibly the coolest thing that has happened to us since we started sailing. Not the most exciting, not the most beautiful but certainly the coolest. We were about halfway there when I thought I saw a fin slice the water off the port bow. On looking closer I saw that it was a dolphin so I immediately went to the front of Mystic Journey to see better. When I got there I was so excited I almost fell overboard. Not one but SIX dophins had joined us on our voyage. The were swimming around, under and across the bow of the boat, surfacing to blow periodically, nearly jumping completely out sometimes. You could see that they were having fun. As they crossed over they would also swim over and under each other. One or two would split off and next thing three would come back. Remember I am basing my beliefs they were playing on human perceptions, not dolphins. Perhaps they were doing what they did for an entirely different reason but if they were and you know why - DON'T TELL ME. I believe today and always will that they were having fun!! It was so amazing that I (Cheryl) even went up into the pulpit (the very front of the boat) to watch the antics. It was almost as if they thought the boat was another dolphin since they were swimming beneath the bow the same as they were swimming over and under each other. They stayed with us for about 45 minutes and eventually drifted off, maybe because we weren't paying attention to them as much as before - again a human perception but don't burst my bubble.

As we approached Curacao we began to meet a large number of boats on their way to wherever.
This is the first time we had seen so many boats out and about any distance from the islands we
had visited. We rounded the south end of Curacao and after about a 1.5 hour trip up the coast we arrived at Spaanse (Spanish) Waters, a huge lagoon/bay with a number of small islands inside the bay itself. The guide showed us there were 4 areas we could anchor and we weren't sure which would be best. Denny, our friend we had met in Grenada, was there and came aboard to "coach" us. Denny is the one whose website is on our link and who has been sailing since 1979. We met him in Grenada and saw him again in Trinidad. He left there to go to Venezuela and then do the outer islands and then continue west, expecting to be in Cartegena by this time. Unfortunately he had some back problems so has been getting treatment here but that was good for us because we both enjoy his company.

Anyway, we decided to anchor in a bay that is not as close to the hub of Spaanse so we would have more privacy and quiet. We let out anchor out and tried to "set" it. We had been told that the bottom was mud and therefore good holding so we didn't back the boat up really hard to set it because the anchor could slide. After we had settled into the anchorage, Denny told us he was taking us out to supper. Truthfully we would rather have made it the next night but there was a good possibility that Denny would be leaving the day after that and it wouldn't work well so we agreed.

The meal was good and we enjoyed ourselves but just as we were getting finished, lightning started, the wind started blowing (we were eating in the open on a dock) so we thought we had best get back. Just as we were approaching our boat, it started to absolutely pour down rain but we made it inside without getting too soaked. I forgot to mention that in this smaller bay there was another boat that had anchored directly in the middle towards the mouth of the approach. It left little room on either side but we were able to fit ourselves in. The reason we had not gone deeper into the bay is because there was a boat next in that had six (6), count them - 6 dogs on board. It was an old boat that looks like it is on it's last legs and we did not want to be awoken or kept awake by a chorus of dogs so we anchored where we did.

Back to the story. When we anchor, we always take a GPS reading so that we can tell if the boat should start to drift because the anchor is not set. The boat had seemed to be in almost the exact same position when we got back from dinner as it was when we left but since it was absolutely pitch black and raining to the point of invisibility, as soon as we got downstairs, I asked Cheryl to turn on the GPS to check. No sooner were the words out of my mouth when we heard several loud blasts from an airhorn. Well,that is a danger signal so I immediately ran up the companionway stairs to discover that it was the boat in middle blowing the airhorn because we had drifted - just in the time it took to go downstairs - completely over to the other side of the bay, heading for the cliff-like shore. I started the boat and stopped our drift and when Cheryl came up, she took the helm and I went up front and lifted the anchor. Now what. We couldn't see anything because of the dark and the rain and we couldn't go around in circles all night (well I suppose we could but we didn't know the bay well enough to know the shallow spots.

After puttering around a bit waiting for some visibility, we finally decided we would try dropping our anchor closer to the other shore. The wind was still very strong so it was hard to get the anchoring sequence done right (I won't go into details but there is a certain way to set an anchor properly and we had obviously not done it correctly the first time. In our own defence, we found out later that the bottom was not soft mud but hard clay. Had we known that, we would definitely have done things differently.

Anyway, after 3 tries, we thought we had done the job and that I had put out enough scope (chain) to do the job. By this time we were both soaked and unhappy and tired. The make things worse, when we first went upstairs to stop the disaster, Cheryl had needed to get back below quickly to turn the instruments on so she could see the depth we were in. Normally she would turn around and go down facing the ladder but because she was in a hurry, she tried it the other way - with wet feet - with wet ladder - with dire results. I heard a very loud crash and ran to the companionway to find Cheryl in a heap at the bottom. She immediately answered she was okay when I yelled and started down (but of course she woould have yelled she was okay if she was lying there with 2 broken legs and a fractured skull!!) Thankfully in this case it was true she was okay but I want to you all to know that if, when she gets home, she still has bruises, I had nothing to do with it.

We sat around for a bit checking our position and finally with great apprehension and mostly due to utter exhaustion (remember very little good sleep for the last 3 nights), we went to bed.

About 4 in the morning we woke again to find we were quite close to the shore in about 2 feet (below our keel) of water. This was not because the anchor hadn't set but because I had put out about 130 feet of chain, so much that it allowed the boat to move that close to shore. We started the engine and drove up on the anchor and were able to go back to bed for a few more hours sleep.

Next day the tiredness from the last days caught up so we didn't do much. We moved the boat (again!!) after some wind came up. Denny was going to the Chiropractor later in the day so we went for the ride and stopped in the grocery store and Budget store. Came back to the boat and went to bed fairly early. I was still very leery with the anchor - once bitten - twice terrified, so was hoping for some strong winds while we were on the boat but itdidn't happen this day. We were supposed to check into customs/immigration but we were both too tired so took the chance and we were not checked. Still slept well.

I'm trying to bring you all up to date so that we don't get any more hassle about being behind (you know who you are!!!:}) so I will finish up with our day yesterday. We left about 8:30 to go into Willemstad to do our clearances. You need to dinghy to the fishermans wharf and then walk out to a roundabout to catch a big bus. It was weird to be on a big bus for the first time since we got to the Caribbean. It was painted a bright green with polka dots and was easy to catch. It takes you to the main bus depot downtown, about a 25 minute ride. The city itself is really pretty and the dutch influence is readily apparent, even though Curacao has a strong Spanish component. The buildings are all painted bright greens and blues and yellows and the roofs are very European. There is a a system of waterways in the town reminiscent of Amsterdam although bigger channels and a LOT cleaner. The people are nice. It is a bit of a pain to check in. You walk across a foot bridge, walk down a waterfront street and find Customs. After that you come out and cross a big bridge that opens whenever there is marine traffic. You then walk to the docks and down about 1/2 mile. Immigration and Port Authority are close to each other. A bit of a sticky wicket regarding boat movement. We had to point out exactly on a marine map where the boat was and if we want to move it, even to another part of the bay, we have to go all the way back in to town and let them know. Same thing with moving to other bays. We had been considering going upt to the bay where our Christmas accommodation is but this may not happen. We are not sure yet but we aren't staying on Curacao very long this time because Cheryl is flying out of Bonaire and that is where I want to do the work on the coach roof. We will see what we will see.

Last night after we got back I got my wish for weather to test the boat anchor. We had eaten, played some cards, written some post cards etc etc and then gone to bed. About 1 in the morning a squall came through. It was actually a bit bigger than a squall, lasting about an hour and giving us a tremendous display of lightning. I got up and stayed up while this was going on as I wanted to see where the boat was in relation to the other boat that is in the centre of the bay and I also wanted to make sure the anchor stayed set. It did in spite of 30 kt winds so now I can leave the boat and be somewhat comfortable.

So that is it. Cheryl may do a blog about the city. She notices interesting things in that kind of environment much better than I do and I know we got some good pictures of the buildings. There were also some interesting people in town but I will leave that to Cheryl. I'm DONE.