Charming Santa Marta

The following photo is of the Monjes del Sur anchorage where we landed on the rocks (red line)

We were looking forward to spending a nice and quite Christmas just with our friends Debi, Rob and Captain Jack, but the weather had other plans for us. A tropical wave came by and brought us one squall after another with a sustained 22 to 25 knots of wind and gusts up to 35 knots. The holding in this bay is great but we did get the wind chop and started hobby horsing up and down and were unable to leave the boats and visit each other. It was rough so we celebrated Christmas via VHF radio and took some photos of each others boats during a squall or when a rainbow towered over a boat. We managed to get some sleep but it was like being underway but we were not going anywhere. 

The fishermen even stayed away from our boats. We couldn’t even enjoy our Christmas decoration, it was wildly swinging in the cockpit therefore it was stored down below. It blew for 5 sad days straight and we were stuck. Originally we had planned to spend Christmas here then sail to Cabo de Vela for one day then to the 5 Bays and arrive in Santa Marta just before New Years Eve.

Christmas Zopf

Mario

Blue Button Jelly

Happy Birthday Debi

 

On the 27^th we finally departed and we had only a 2 day weather window with 15 to 18 knots before very heavy winds would start. Although the next anchorage Cabo de Vela was only about 30 miles away, we decided to head straight to Santa Marta a 160 mile stretch. The weather prognoses didn’t look too good for several weeks so we didn’t want to get stuck in another rolly anchorage. We had a fairly good sail for several hours then the wind started to pick up and the swells 7 to 9 feet were from beam to quarter. With the wind behind us we had to double reef the main, then a couple hours later triple reefed and before sunset we took the main down since the boat was twisting from side to side bringing the high waves on the beam, not a good thing with swells up to 12 feet and only 5 to 6 seconds apart,wind 25 + this could be disastrous. The Jib was on a tipple reef as well and we still did over 7 knots and an occasional swell pushed us as fast as 8.7 knots. Our hull speed is 6 knots so we had to slow down again (don’t you hate when that happens?!!!) to make it more comfortable. We also had a 1 ½ knot current with us which shortened the trip by many hours.

Towards the morning the swells seemed to relax a bit so did the wind but when we were 40 miles away from the 5 Bays the wind started to blow with 20 knots then a steady 25 with higher gusts and the swells picked up accordingly. 10 miles out from the 5 Bays we finally started seeing land and in clear conditions the snow capped mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta can be seen. Unfortunately we did not have a clear day but what we saw was non the least spectacular. The coast is surrounded by tall lush mountains with mountains in the background towering over them while several fords cut into the mountain range along the coast which is the Tayrona National Park (referred to as 5 Bays by cruisers, beautiful bays to spend days and days but with 30 plus knots of wind it would be too rolly in there). Around the corner from the Tayrona National Park some 15 miles away lies Santa Marta. 

7 Miles out of the 5 Bays we encountered so much debris it took all our concentration to dodge around the many lily pads, wooden boards, banana trees and tree trunks it was a big challenge. 5 miles out, we now encountered winds at 30 plus knots and then it went up to a steady 38 knots as we rounded the corner and headed towards Santa Marta. The wind kept howling at 38 knots but at least here we were sheltered from the 12 foot seas as we motored towards Santa Marta. Wind Shear was 5 miles ahead of us and had arrived in front of the Santa Marta Marina. An hour later as we were just outside the bay next to Santa Marta “Taganga” Wind Shear called us, the Guarda Costa forbid them to anchor in front of the marina and there was no way they could go into the marina in 38 Knots of wind.  They also said it was too shallow too anchor, (later we found out that they tried to anchor where the small fishermen keep their boats therefore shallow and no room for a sailboat their size, hence the Guardia sending them away. To the right of there just before the entrance of the marina it’s suitable for us to anchor. When they told us about this we changed directions towards the Taganga anchorage to check it out if we could anchor over night. It turned out to be not just a beautiful and well protected anchorage but the closer we came to land the calmer the wind became and when we anchored in 12 feet of water we only had 15 knots of wind while it still roared 38 knots outside the bay. A while later Wind Shear dropped the anchor behind us lowered the dinghy and joined us for a Swiss Cheese Pie I had prepared for us. This bay is absolutely gorgeous surrounded by tall mountains belonging to the Sierra Nevada. 

At one point the Guardia came buy and tied up next to us. We thought they wanted to see our paper work and we might be in trouble for not being checked in yet in Sana Marta. But that was not the case, they were very friendly welcomed us to Colombia and told us that this anchorage is only good during the day as it is questionable safety wise at night and recommended us to anchor in front of the Santa Marta Marina. Wow that was nice of them, good to know that the Coastguard here look out for us cruisers. Around 4 PM the wind seemed to have died down a bit so we pulled anchor and headed to the marina. We were going to anchor out but the marina hailed us on the radio and invited us to take a slip and since the wind was only blowing 15 knots we took them up on it. Not  even 20 minutes later securely tide up in the slip the wind started to blow over 30 knots again and stayed that way for 5, 6, 7 days straight with gusts over 40 knots. The funny thing about this is we’re in a marina and the stove is on gimbal. The not so funny thing is the wind blows sand from the beach and covers the boats inside and out. Not even here could I enjoy my Christmas decoration as the wind blew it all over the place so on the second I took it all down.

The view from the marina was incredible as the sun was just setting the city lights lit this place up into the brightest Christmas scene. Since my childhood in Switzerland I have never seen Christmas decoration as bright as this. The Malecon was covered with lights and there were people all over the place, it gave it this incredible homey feeling. The Christmas season here is until 3 Kings day,  which is held on the first Monday after the 6^th of January, this years on the 10^th. From early morning to late at night the streets are filled with people and Happiness.

New Year’s Eve approached and Fine Line, Bamboo and Paradise decided to celebrate with the locals. We heard that the locals stay home until Midnight than all come out and the fireworks show begins. At 10 PM we all left the marina and headed into town to find the normally bustling streets and beach empty, there was nobody but us on the streets,  it was like a ghost tow. A few restaurants on the Malecon were open and were only visited by a few people, probably tourists like us. We sat down and enjoyed a drink wondering when all will come out to the beach. Three minutes before midnight of the New Year we paid the bill, crossed the street to the beach and waited for midnight. Midnight came and only a few people were on the beach and it stayed that way, no fireworks either. After wishing each other a Happy New Year we disappointedly went back to our boats and I was even more disappointed as nobody was interested in a champagne toast so a bit later I sat on deck by myself with a glass of champagne in my hand toasting into the New Year. Happy New Year everyone!!!

We realized that the marina was a better deal than anchoring out especially with these wind conditions. The marina is fairly new and the slips are now all hooked up with water and power but around the marina there is still a lot of construction going on including the bathrooms and showers so for the moment we have to take sun showers in the cockpit until the bathrooms are finished (another month we were told). Luckily there are no boats next to us so we do have our privacy. At the moment the price is negotiable and pretty much everybody gets 20% off the price. The dock boys clean the docks in the morning and take our trash away. Around 9 a security guard comes by with coffee which they call tinto (a shot of strong coffee served with lots of sugar, in every street of every town you find tinto sellers each carrying up to 6 bottles walking tintos for 10 cents). If we need ice we can just call the marina and they will deliver ice to the boat. Margy a nice Colombiana comes to the marina on call to pick up our laundry and two days later they come back not just clean but nice smelling and ironed. There’s nothing better than the feel of an ironed T-shirt on your body LOL. 

Oh by the way boat “B” is just half way down the dock from us! After he greeted me like we are old pals or friends for life, I had a few questions for him, why he let his boat drift into our boats hindering us from escaping. His answer was when you’re tide up to a line you never let go. And to the fact that he was hindering us he just said that he gives a sh… about other’s property! Nice guy.

The dock across from us harbors our friendly neighbors Fine Line, Bamboo, Sandial, Dragon Fly and Wind Hound and 2 more Dutch boats. One dock further out on the big docks is Wind Shear also happy to have made it safely here before the wind kicked in. Occasionally we all get together on the middle dock for Sundowners. It was great to catch up with every body and share each adventure story sailing along this wild coast. By the way I read that this trip from Aruba to Santa Marta is one of the 5 most treacherous    places in the world to sail! I believe it!!!

 Santa Marta is a very charming town and is the oldest surviving city in South America and the second most important colonial city on the Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Although the city’s glory days are long past it still is a bustling commercial city. The long waterfront beach is a favorite vacation spot for Colombians especially at Easter and Christmas time. Every morning right after sunrise the beaches are filled with the laughter of children splashing in the water. The Malecon (Boardwalk) is lined with venders selling anything from cotton candy, souvenirs, snow cones, beers, arts and crafts until the sun sets and the streets seem never to die down, (except for New Years Eve LOL).

Even cruise ships sail into Santa Marta a couple times a week and the stores are open every day even on most Holidays.

After the first few days of cleaning and straightening up Paradise we realized that this was an endless effort as the wind was howling 30 knots and gusts over 40 for days and days tugging on our nerves, not to mention the sand that accumulates in every crack and corner. Sunglasses are a must at any time as the sand will get into your eyes. Going into town makes you forget about the wind misery. Santa Marta is an amazingly charming town with narrow roads and alleys reminding me of Cartagena except not as well kept up but they are trying hard to make it more comparable to Cartagena. The grocery stores are great and along the every street there are many vendors with tropical fruits sweet and juicy as they can only be freshly picked from the trees. It’s nice to be in a place again where a dollar goes a long ways, a bottle of beer costs 60 cents and a local cigar only 15 cents, not bad either we heard just as good as good Cuban cigars. The restaurants are wonderful and the meals are around 10 dollars for good quality food. Our favorite so far is “Agave Azul” a Mexican/Cuban type restaurant with the yummiest Mojitos (rum, sugar and mint blended with ice) on Happy Hour daily from 5 to 8 PM. The food is fabulous. 

Wind Shear, Bamboo, Fine Line & Paradise

 We like it so much here we singed up with the marina for one month and if we can find a place that will have Super Bowl on we’ll stay a bit longer. In the mean time we have lots to do, I found myself some sewing projects (Bamboo blew out their spinnaker on the way down, the other day over cocktails we cut it apart and all got a piece of he material, I’m sewing laundry bags and I’m sure I can come up with other ideas). I have a lot of fabrics which I will turn into dresses and tops. Our boom took a beating weather wise, Sid is sanding all the corrosion off and his quest will be to find primer and paint for it. Of course we are planning to travel this area a bit as well. So if you don’t hear from us in a couple of weeks, we’re still busy sewing, painting, repairing and discovering this incredible part of Colombia. 

PS: I posted the new Turtle Express from Curacao to Aruba, if you like to see the photo stories go to:
http://turtle-express36.blogspot.com/ and scroll to the end. Enjoy!

Licking our wounds

It’s time again to change our location,

As we head out to see to visit a new Nation.

Mother Nature doesn’t know yet what to due

Will the wind pick up? We have no clue.

The waves are coming any which way

As we motor sail further away from the bay

The sky is blue and on the horizon arise some clouds.

Sitting back relaxing and in our mind we have no doubts,

That the next anchorage we will drop the hook,

We’ll have new stories to write down in our book.

Maybe about the dolphins playing around our boat

Or maybe what it feels like to be so remote.

Or to be away from civilization out on the blue sea

Where your mind just wonders making you feel free.

Or when a big squall approaches very fast

You worry if it will hit or if it will pass.

Or especially about the big tuna that bit the hook

Will definitely make a good story for the book.

Whatever the story may be

Tells that we love to be out at sea.

Manuela Olshefski 12/20/2010 on our way from Aruba to Colombia

Little did I know what was in store for us when I wrote the poem, this will be a long story we never will forget and hope never to live through again.

We left Aruba on 12/19/10 and had an uneventful motor sail to Isla Monjes del Sur a Venezuelan island offshore the Maracaibo Bay. The trip was 50 miles long and our buddy boat Wind Shear a 58 foot sailboat of course a heck of a lot faster had only 4 miles to go while it was still 13 for us a difference of 3 hours. The Venezuelan Navy stationed on the island called them to find out what their intentions were. Knowing neither of them speak any Spanish I answered for them and told the authority who we were and that we were planning to spend the night on the island and asked for permission. The guy was very friendly and stayed in contact with us until we got to the island. Isla Monjes del Sur is actually two islands where a man made wall of rocks connects the two and between them they attached a very thick rope to which fishing boats tie themselves off and also put a stern anchor out. Paradise ventured first into the anchorage and noticed that it was easy to tie up as the rope had several floating lines attached for easy pick up. We tied up with one on each side of the bow. Done so we motioned Wind Shear to come in and Sid already in the dinghy helped them to get hooked up. The rope is about 175 feet long and can hold 6 or 7 boats with a reasonable distance between them but we heard they had as many as 36 boats on the line. The wind blows mainly out of the East but if a westerly should blow it’s not safe to be here. There were already 4 fishing boats tied up and later a 5^th one arrived.  On the left side is a long concrete dock and as soon as we had the engine turned off Debi and I went ashore to check in with the Navy guy. As we arrived at the dock we could not believe how tall it was, there was NO way we could get up there. The fishing boat closest or almost tied to the dock saw our predicament and offered us to climb onto their boat and then from there to the dock. It was easier said then done, the boat was still very tall and as we climbed inside and out the other side and walk the railing holding on to the roof, they pulled the boat closer to the dock and we hopped off, wow. We didn’t quite make it to the Guardia station as the Navy guy came towards us. He greeted us politely and asked if we wanted to check in on land or on our boats. I had a hunch that he wanted to see our boats so I let him decide. So we walked back to the dock and all three of us had to climb like monkeys again across the fishing boat. We did have a pretty good view of the anchorage plus the other side of the island and noticed another sail boat approaching, Boat “B” we briefly had met in Aruba and were warned by other boaters to stay away from them they are irresponsible people, drinkers and don’t care about anybodies property.

Checking in was easy he just wanted to see paper work and asked safety questions and of course wanted to see the boat. After he had checked Wind Shear and us in he wanted to see our boat as well. There we offered him a coke but he wrinkled his nose, when we asked if he wanted a beer he smiled and was quite happy to sip on one and we chatted away. The sailboat we saw earlier approached us now and so I gave them directions to come in. To protect the innocent and the guilty we are not going to mention their names, we’ll use “B” for them. I brought our Navy guest over to their boat to check them in. Boat A brought the official back to shore and while getting up on the dock the poor Navy guy fell in the water including his cell phone in his pocket.

Wind Shear had caught 2 tunas on the way over here and invited us for dinner which was fabulous. We were talking about this weird anchor arrangement when I said that this place will be a lot to write about in the Blog, again little did I know what was in store for us. Since the next day’s trip was 80 miles for us 16 hours we decided to leave already at 1 am so we made it a quick dinner. The wind was blowing anywhere from NE to SE and while eating dinner Paradise moved sideways to the cable and ended up on the other side. We just had finished dinner and it was getting dark when Sid had to jump into the water and free Paradise from the cable which was hung up between the rudder and keel, then we put a stern anchor out from Wind Shear and we rafted to them. Question was if we should leave already but we all agreed that we needed a few hours of sleep. It was nice and calm and we fell asleep the minute we hit the pillow. I woke up at 00:30 thinking I had another 30 minutes to sleep. Then I heard Sid running around to close hatches as it started to rain then there was this god awful bang, bang noise the whole boat shuttered we hit something, first I thought it was Wind Shear put a T-Shirt on and ran on deck. I could not believe what I was facing. On our starboard side was the high wall of rocks, Paradise had hit the rocks, but we were still afloat luckily the water here is deep enough. Next to us was Wind Shear. B was tied to the fishing boat and I saw both sitting in the cockpit smoking a cigarette. I cannot even remember what went through my mind and all from then on went very fast. It was like being in a nightmare you can’t wake up. While Sid yelled for Rob and Debi to get on deck I grabbed the mike and yelled into the VHF for help from the fishermen. In just split seconds all the fishing boats lights were on then a few splashes as some fishermen swam our direction. All fishing boats turned the engines on and left the rope. Rain was pelting down as the squall blew right into the bay. We immediately lowered our dinghy into the water while “B” now not tied up to the fishing boat anymore drifted right into Wind Shear. Sid took off like a rocket and pushed all three boats with our 15 hp engine towards the thick rope, while Rob, Debi and I moved bumpers and pushed the boats so we would not sustain damage. Man I tell you what an adrenaline rush, we were all over the place making sure we’re staying off each other when I noticed that our neighbors on “B” still leisurely sat in the cockpit both smoking a f%#(* cigarette, I lost it and so did Rob we yelled at them to get off their asses and help. He just replied with his German accent: “Vee have no motar!”  I yelled back at him and said: “then jump in your dinghy and help my husband”. “Vee have no motar” and he kept sucking on his cigarette. Their dog was barking wildly which was the most annoying thing we didn’t need and Rob yelled at the guy to shut the dog up or he will make it shut up. I think they took the dog down below. Actually both went down below with the dog and we didn’t see them for a while. Then we smelled an electrical fire or something smoldering and thought oh gosh is our dinghy overheating. Luckily that one was fine, Sid asked me now if I had turned on the engine on, nope and neither did Rob and Debi. No idea where the smell came from. A while later still fending the boats from each other including ”B” and Sid busy with the dinghy. The woman on” B” finally came on deck we all yelled to her to help us out here that’s when she told us that they had a fire in their engine. How stupid can you be, knowing that you were tide up on a rope with many lines attached to turn the engine on and put it in gear and now they’re prop was wrapped, unbelievable. By there stupid action they put us even more in jeopardy hindering us to get pulled free. They had plenty of time to turn the engine on and get themselves out of the predicament while they were let go by the fishermen and started drifting over here, even without motor he could have jumped into his dinghy with 18 hp outboard and pulled himself into deeper water. The guy from” B” never even came up on deck anymore but we all sure kept trying to tell her what to do and she ran round the deck like a chicken with her head cut off. Some fishermen were now on each of our boats helping us, some in the water. Our davits got hung up over B’s life line and one of the fisherman, god bless them all, was able to free us. The same guy motioned to the anchor that we need to get ‘SB anchor out so that they could pull us out. She wouldn’t have any of it just complained about Sid having taken her bow lines. I told the guy to just take their dinghy which he did. When he came back a I had her lower the anchor into the dinghy then he went out to set it but after only about 40 feet the rode came to an end. How the heck do they anchor!!!

Sid was busy with the dinghy and what I learned later had to drive back and fourth with some fishermen to their main ship and had to ask for permission to help us, the captain looked at his watch and allowed one hours wow, hey thanks a lot. To make an already long story shorter, if this is any possible LOL, Sid managed to get Paradise free although still on the wrong side of the cable we were tied securely to the rope and out of harms way. While he had to drive back to the main ship Wind Shear slipped back and hit bottom or rocks. Sid was pissed when he saw that when he came back. Between Sid and the main ship they finally managed to get Wind Shear out of there over the cable and into deeper water. Now it was Paradise time. They let the line go and I don’t know what happened but they lost the line as well to Paradise and we were floating back and headed to some nasty looking blocks that definitely would have crushed our rudder. Luckily we had a good moon shining and the lights from the guardia station lit so I noticed one of the yellow floating lines, grabbed the boat hook as fast as I could and pulled us back up to the cable. Sid then was able to tie us up with a long line that reached out to the fishing boat and Paradise was pulled towards the cable but was hung up on the anchor of boat B. After one of the guys pulled their anchor in, Paradise was pulled free while the woman on B was screaming frantically: “how about me, how about me and what about my bow lines and demanded them back.” I had no longer sympathy for that broad and told her to shut up and that the boats were more important than her stupid line. Man what incompetent people.

As I was motoring about Sid went back to help B to help and found out that the guy was down below trying to fix the starter and Sid was asked to get on the boat and help him. No way, that starter could be fixed later, the important thing was to get the boat out of the mess as the wind still was blowing hard and the swells into the bay got bigger. Besides once you set foot on a boat in distress you kind of take over the responsibility and definitely not with a derelict boat as B. The fishermen cleared B’s prop but now the problem was they wanted money, without money they were not going to pull them free. I think Sid said they wanted 200 dollars per boat. After asking Sid how much she would pay them he just answered how much is your boat worth, he’d give them at least 500 dollars. This was not their problem between them and the fishing boat and so Sid came back to Paradise. After she gave them some money they pulled B free. They were in tow with the fishing boat, the boat was afloat, they have sails, they were OK so we decided to get underway, besides their destination was a Venezuelan port. Wind Shear had quite a big wad of Venezuelan money left over and wanted to give it to the Venezuelan Fishermen. Sid went back by dinghy but since we were low on fuel we had to exchange the gas tank. Man I tell you that was an ordeal in itself. While he hooked up the tank the davits missed his head just by a little bit so I pulled him closer in again. He then drove over to the Veni boat and handed them the money and couldn’t thank them enough. They were very happy that he came back and each one of them shook his hand. After he returned we headed to the lee of the island hoping to be able to put the dinghy back on the davits, but even there the swells were too high. We had no choice but to pull our dinghy which is in pretty bad shape as it is and we were worried we would loose it. Sure enough 5 minutes into the sail a loud pop told us that one of the lines had broken off the dinghy. We slowed down and Superman Sid climbed out the back down into the dinghy which was not easy, I let him a bit loose so he would not get hit by the boat up and down motion, he tied a line on had a hard time climbing back onto the boat and we kept on going. Wind Shear told us later that “B” was drifting with no sail up behind the rock. I almost forgot at one point the woman on B” told me that her husband had taken some sleeping pills so that he would have a good nights sleep!!!! We sure as hell hope never to run into them again. In the mean time we heard that they were kicked out of the Renaissance Marina in Aruba.

The wind was still coming out of the West with about 15 knots and was right on the bow, so we had to motor sail. Plan was to sail to Cabo de la Vela  80 miles and would take us 16 hours and definitely longer with the dinghy in tow, that slowed us down up by a knot and a half. So we decided to stop in Bahia Honda and get the dinghy up then head to Vela.

Bahia Honda is such a beautiful place we decided after all that we needed a rest and lick our wounds. And licking we did, we were all so sore for days to come, our necks were the worst. We found bruises where we didn’t even knew we hit, it was a well deserved rest. Besides on the following day the 21^st was Debi’s birthday we didn’t think she should be underway and miss a her day. We had dinner aboard Paradise and spoiled her with baked over lobster on Bechamel sauce appetizer, Sambucca shrimp as main dish and Swiss apple pie for desert. I even found some candles for her to make a wish. We had a very nice relaxed evening even though we went over and over what could have been a major disaster for all of us. We can’t say enough how lucky we were. We all were a super team working together to protect what we own, without any of us especially without Sid and his thinking and taking over the situation we would have not had a happy outcome. Sid is still my hero and always will be what a guy we all are so proud of him.

We found no damage on he hull not even scratches, we fended the boats off well. What’s below the water line is still a mystery. As we wanted to get in the water to check we noticed these little jelly fish the size of a penny, they look like a monster’s eye with blue iris and dark blue pupil and the many tentacles look like the veins in the white of the eye. They just looked painful so we abandoned the idea. Besides there is no water in the bilge so it’s just cosmetic damage if any.

Bahia Honda is a huge bay some 6 miles across in any direction and reminds us a bit of the Sea of Cortez, with barren hills and taller mountains in the background. We had two waypoints from the Pizazz route, which both were to rolly, so we ventured into the west side about 1/3 into the bay and found a pretty calm spot to anchor (12°21.06’N  071° 49.41’W).

The first night I enjoyed watching the lunar eclipse and the many blinking stars that filled the sky and realizing how lucky we were and how wonderful life is.

Fishermen keep coming buy in their self made boats all with about 10 hp gas engines with no gear. One kid in particular Mario from the Pueblo Bahia Honda to the East keeps coming every day and hangs out next to the boat talking to us. I noticed his pants were torn to shreds so Sid found him an old pair of his he does not wear anymore. The kids smiled the biggest smile. You should see his bilge pump a 4 inch PVC tube he inserts a wooden stick in it and starts to pull and push it through the tube like a plunger which fills with water, amazing. The anchor is a giant rock with a huge hole in the middle where a thick rope is tied through. It also has a short stick with a sail made out of old potato sacks. The first day when he came by with his father we gave them some water to drink and baseball caps since they asked for it. They were so happy he gave me a tiny lobster, the only thing I guess they had caught that day (that was the BD appetizer). Later on another fishing boat arrived from the village to the west end of the bay. They asked if we had paint, hats, rice, fishing stuff. We gave the hats away already but Sid found a big spool of fishing line and 1 ½ cans of oil based paint and of course lots of water again, Winds Shear had another can of paint as well. They were happy and returned a few hours later with a huge lobster for us and Wind Shear. As I was just in the process of making sandwiches I gave them two with more water and they were happy. We chat for quite a bit and so I found out that this area is safe from robbers, but he said to be careful from Cabo de Vela southward on. For any future cruisers stopping here in Bahia Honda, this is what the fishermen need:

Clothing, caps, fishing line and hooks, oil based paints for their boats, rice, beans, cigarettes, coke, just about anything you have too much of on the boat.

Today the 24^th of December there are still tropical waves underway and so we decided to spend Christmas here, there can be a slight roll heading into the bay but it stayed comfortable for us so far. The wind picked up to 15 knots and knocked the swell down, the wind brought us then a very tolerable 2 foot wind chop. The beaches here are of brown sand and when the sun plays in it, it sparkles with gold and silver, really neat. We found lots of really nice conch shells one even a king’s helmet conch which is rare to find.

On the second beach we found lots of brown seeds not sure what they are called but they are used for jewelry. From this beach we had a better look further west into the Bay and it seemed the water was even calmer there so Sid and Rob pioneered with dinghy and hand held depth sounder to check the area out. They found a perfect spot for catamarans in 7 foot of water but there is also a submerged rock close buy. In general we found 30 feet of water in the bay, it shallows quickly towards the shore so we are about 300 yards away from the beach anchored in about 14 feet of water.

WE LIKE TO WISH YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST THINGS TO COME IN 2011. Ok off to cooking, I have to bake some Swiss Christmas Cookies and the traditional Swiss breakfast bread "Zopf".
Hugs and kisses to you all from the Boatbumms

Merry Christmas

After 3 days of solid rain a bright disk appeared on the sky, we were told it was the sun, wow!!! With the sun out it was a perfect day to venture into town but not without an umbrella as there still were occasional squall passing by, some passing by and some passing right over us. The ground is so saturated that no matter were you go you have to dodge huge puddles and on our way to the Marina Office we were concentrating on where to step and where not to. At one point we had no choice but head across a soaked lawn and doing so we carefully stepped across in fear of slipping or stepping in deep puddles. I didn’t know that Aruba is a Hollywood fan, they have a walk of fame too, just like in Hollywood you know where you find the foot and hand prints of celebrities. Best part Sid and I are the first celebrities leaving our foot prints here in Aruba! I did a giant step out of the grassy area onto the side walk to avoid a huge deep puddle but instead I was stuck in ankle deep cement and by the time my brain realized what just happened I was in the middle of it. Sid had one foot in it but managed to back track. I felt horrible for the workers, for having ruined their job and kept apologizing but they felt bad and apologized back it was a lot of apologizing I tell you. While I was standing in the bucket of knee deep water washing the muck off they marked the danger zone with a yellow tape, hmmm it may have been their fault after all. We all had a good laugh especially a couple hours later when we returned I walked up to the guys asking if I could do it again and take photo (forgot in the first place that I had the camera with me, hey can you blame me I was star struck at that moment!). Aruba sure knows how to treat tourists not just did they give us the feel of fame status but the first night they welcomed us with an enormous fireworks display that after what several times we thought was a finale ended in a magnificent explosion of one of the best finales ever. Welcome to Aruba!

  

Bill on Bamboo was returning after a 3 week State visit and his wife Roxanne organized a welcoming party for him on their beautiful and huge catamaran. Since it’s been nothing but raining here for the last month we all awaited for him with snorkel and mask on, some even wore fins. It was a heck of a party and Roxanne went all out with a giant buffet with all homemade delicacies, it was a feast and Manuela had to prepare some rum punch twice which was potent enough to sedate a few of the party members. It was a fun party that started at 14:30 and we don’t remember anymore if it was 22:00 or 23:00 when we went to bed. We met new boaters and one particularly stood out, Sid just knew he’s met him before. Sure enough they knew each other some 20/30 years ago when Barry was a tow truck driver for the police impounded cars, small world. The two had so much to catch up and it was truly fun listening to them.

Bill coming home

Anne and Steve Fine Line

Aruba is an amazing shopper’s paradise the stores are huge and you can get pretty much anything from Europe to the States. Every single Isle I entered it was all over “Merry Christmas” again, oh that’s write almost forgot Christmas is just around the corner, silly me. I found Orville Redenbacher popcorn, frozen Limeade for Silver Fizzes, Clamata juice, Hooters wings sauce, real sharp cheddar, boiled peanuts……..

Anne Fine Line took this priceless photo

The weather has cleared no more rain other than an occasional squall and amazingly it went from humid and hot to pleasant and cool and at night you almost want to pull the blankets over your shoulders. Aruba has been a very fun stop with many wonderful meals in the many good restaurants. The best though was with Steve and Ann on Fine Line and Bill and Roxanne on Bamboo to the Brazilian Restaurant “Amazonia”. This restaurant is a must and you’ll leave not just pounds heavier and so full you want to roll home but with an experience that you will never forget. First they give you instructions on how the dinner works then you go to the huge salad buffet and you go ohmygosh if I try everything I will not have room for the main course and so you just pick out the very best: grilles asparagus, marinated Portobello mushroom and artichokes, colossal olives, sushi, the best ever sun dried tomatoes, delicate pumpkin soup, Brazilian black beans, roasted peppers and on and on. After you’re done with the appetizer, yeah right sounds like a full meal already, you turn that wood plug sitting on the table over from red to green and in less than a minute 6,7,8,9 or even more guys show up with huge swords filled with meats from chicken legs, wings, bacon wrapped breasts (chicken breasts that is), to fillet of pork, leg of lamb, huge hunks of sirloins and rib eye, fillet mignon, sausages and grilled pineapple and each cuts a good junk off the sword onto your plate. The plate was filled with all these wonderful pieces of meat we did not know where to start. 

 Wow what a feast and not just that during our affaire with all the yummy meats all the waiters and probably cooks were all in the main dining room area playing all kind of instruments from drums to who knows what and singing some Portuguese songs it was awesome. When we were done with the huge plate full of meet we were ready to pop but wanted to test the green and red plug and turned it again so that the green was showing and swoop the boys were back with more meat. We of course felt bad now that we had called them over for nothing and oh well just had to have a few more slivers of this or that, yeah write on feeling bad. Then some of us (the smallest ones) still had room for desert!!! We literally rolled out of the restaurant and to the bus stop. They should weigh you before you eat then again after and charge by the pound. What an incredible experience and we swore we would not eat for at least 3 days. Next day’s lunch some of us were spotted at Taco Bell!!!!

Then after a long 8 months we received an email from Wind Shear that they arrived in Bonaire and wanted to know where we were. Only 3 days later they dropped anchor next to us. It sure was great to see Rob, Debie and Captain Jack again and from here on we’re sharing our next adventure of sailing along the coast to Colombia, yeah, we’ll have fun.

Together with Fine Line we rented a car to do some serious provisioning and oh boy did we provision. We hit every store there is it seems twice. Anne and I had to go back to the kewl Christmas store next to Price Smart and both bought a cute 1 ½ foot plastic Christmas tree plus some ornaments. Mine is all nicely decorated and hanging upside down in the cockpit and looks just wonderful. 

  

After two long days of nothing but shopping we decided we deserved to go out for dinner and both Anne and Manuela wanted to visit the famous Charlie Bar. That was the day Wind Shear arrived so we squeezed 6 bodies into the car. Like a sardine can on wheels we drove south and found Charlie’s like we owned it. Truly it is a fun looking bar which takes you back many years in our youth when hanging around those fun bars with all kinds of junk and nick nacks hanging from the ceiling. 

  

 Each couple ordered the special of one pound peel and eat shrimp, which disappointedly was 5 shrimp on a plate = 1 lbs?? I don’t think so. We had a wonderful time but we all agreed it is a total tourist trap and a rip off and very expensive. We did meet a fun fellow though, he brought a chair over to us and sat on it cowboy stile lifted his cowboy hat and introduce himself as “Boa Bob”. We had no idea that Aruba has a huge Boa problem as in those long slinky huge snakes which can swallow humans. Yep that kind, he offered to cook up some Boa for us next week.

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Our membrane we ordered for our water maker arrive the very next day, amazing fast, but then Customs kept it for 5 days before releasing it to us. Wind Shear had to order a new tuner for their SSB which they did while still in Bonaire but had it shipped to Aruba and this one arrived one day after we finally had our membrane out of the Custom custody.

We all were on a countdown to leave Aruba for Colombia and all agreed that the weather looked perfect for Friday. Two nights before that Friday we woke up to a swell heading into the anchorage rolling us now and then sideways. By 7 in the morning the roll was getting uncomfortable as the swell grew bigger and bigger and when some started to curl and break about a boat length behind us we re-anchored a bit further out. 30 minutes later huge 6 foot swell came rolling into the anchorage and within minutes you saw one boat after another pull anchor and leave for the south anchorage which is very protected behind the reef and mangroves (normally you can not anchor but in bad weather it is OK. Even all the tourist boats came in). I think we were one of the fastest out of there. Later on that day we took the dinghy into town and had to cross this anchorage again and couldn’t believe the size of the swells and the pipelines outside the reef, a surfer would have died to be here for that. As we went into reverse to set the hook a loud knocking was echoing through the hull, not good. We did have reverse but the sound, Sid found out that the shaft came out again by a 1/4 inch. Again the shaft zinc saved the shaft but was rubbing on the strut in reverse Sid went back to work this time it is fixed (hope hope).

Our view of the airport is really kewl now as we are halfway along the run way and really get an incredible view of takeoff and landings, awesome!!!

The heavy west swell lasted for two days and was still unsettled on Thursday night. That morning when we heard the weather report Wind Shear and Paradise backed out on leaving on Friday, there is no way we would go out in 20/25 knots of wind with 7 to 9 foot seas on the beam with a 7sec interval, and so we postponed our departure for Sunday. 

 

And with all this we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful and Happy New Year!

 PS: we don't know yet how long it will take us to sail to Colombia, most legs will be all day trips and so I'm not sure if I will post anything for especially the next two days, but but I will post our position on http://www.aprs.net/cgi-bin/winlink.cgi?KG4EZH 

Lumpy, bumpy, wet but fast ride to Aruba

Amazing whenever we get ready to leave for the next destination how time just runs away. We did have a fun Pizza night onboard Fine Line and played "Shit Head" a fun card game with Anne, Steve, Christa, Judy and Ed until late. The following day was provisioning day and for dinner we went for a last time to the Portuguese restaurant again where they serve the wonderful skewers. On Friday morning Howard knocked on the door, he just arrived from the States and had our parts well part of it. The lights Sid ordered he placed in his backpack and the NyQuil in his luggage and that did not arrive, How, lucky can we be that he had stuffed our bulbs into his carry on. Then there was the sad "see you later" part to Christa, Ed and Judy. We left the marina around 11 and had a pleasant sail up to Santa Cruz Bay, although the wind was gusting down the different canyons. Seeing Santa Cruz from the water side, is actually a lot prettier than what we had seen by car. There was a swell wrapping around the northern end of Curacao coming into the bay but they were gentle and it was quite comfortable. We enjoyed sitting in an anchorage all by ourselves again even if it was just for one night. We woke up to heavy rain and decided to wait until daylight before heading out. Nothing worse then getting up in the dark and having to stand in the rain to pull anchor (Sid); we finally left at 7:30 still raining. It rained pretty much the whole trip long and as we left the lee of the island the swell grew(6'to8') and the sea became pretty unsettled, that washing machine effect again. We had just the jib out with motor on as the squall were unpredictable and too numerous. Max the Autopilot did a good job steering us on course and Sid had not really much do to with the jib while I laid down not trying to get seasick. The wind was 10to25kts. Didn't get seasick but we did get wet, both of us. It was a lumpy, bumpy, wet but very fast trip. At one point we were going 9.1 knots over ground and maintained between 7 and 8 knots all time, had a current with us that helped, boat did a steady 6.8 to 7 through the water which is above hull speed and it took us only 7 hours to sail the 56 miles to Aruba. A nasty stink from the oil refinery greeted us, not very pleasant, but at least the water was calm again as we were in the lee of the island. It stopped raining as well and when we pulled into Barcadera to check in with the authorities we found a space on the dock and didn't have to tie up to a Venezuelan fishing boat, what a relief. The Venezuelan crew was very friendly and helped us to get on the dock. Checking in is very easy although I had to wait 45 minutes for the Immigration guy to come back (I was hoping for him to come back as I really didn't want to spend the night on this dock because it was full with nasty flies and gnats. Why is it that Immigration employees have an attitude and most are never friendly? With serious face he wanted to know how long we wanted to stay, we knew that they give up to 6 months so I asked for the maximum. "No" was his answer, so I asked him how long the max stay was, he said 30 days. I looked at him and said, "No I don't think so, it's 90 days to 6 months!" He looked back at me and surprise had a huge grin on his face then said we could have 3 months. Customs was a lot easier. For anybody checking into anywhere from the Virgin Islands down to Trinidad to Aruba, they all are on the same system called eSea Clear http://www.eSeaClear.com you can check in online in advance and when you get to the destination clearing in just tell the officer you checked in online. They then print the paper work out and all you have left to do is sign the paper and you're in, no more filling out paper work, as fast and easy as that.
The friendly Veni guys helped us off the dock and we handed them 7 beers for the crew as a thank you and headed 4 miles further north to the north anchorage of the airport where Fine Line anchored a day before us.
Approaching the anchorage the depth sounder did not work, something we knew was on the fritz, so doing a few donuts(that's circles) and Sid hooking up our back up system we dropped the hook in 8 feet of water. I reversed the engine and Paradise started backing up slowly but then when I tried to set the hook there was no reverse or forward gear. Sid found the shaft came out of the coupler and was just at the edge and if it wasn't for the zinc the shaft would have jumped all the way out and prop would have jammed up the rudder, could have been disastrous, yikes!!!! Transmission works just shaft wouldn't work. Cruising after all is finding exotic places to work on your boat. He jumped in the water right away to assess the problem. Early the next morning he jumped in again and pulled the shaft a bit further out to look for the key which luckily didn't fall out. He went back into the water to push shaft back in but that was not possible so he took the coupler off the transmission and of course the key fell out and disappeared into the bilge, oh did I tell you yet that "Murphy" still lives on our boat?!!! After a lot of funny words, Murphy wouldn't even like Sid found the little runaway key and was able to fix the shaft. The engine is purring away and the gears are working, thank you Sid.
Had Limo driver Steve with Anne pick us up at noon and met with Roxanne on Bamboo in town for a wonderful lunch. Bamboo is at the Renessance Marina which is surrounded by wonderful restaurants, expensive stores and casinos, very nice. While having lunch the rain pounded down for what seemed an hour. I've never seen a downpour like that.

The weather has just been horrible with nothing but rain. Venezuela and Colombia are having major flooding, in Colombia alone 1 ½ millions are homeless and many were killed in floods, the rain just won't stop. It looks like we're stuck here in Aruba for at least 2 weeks until the weather clears. Actually it's fine with us as we have to order a new membrane for the water maker anyway. Isn't boating fun???!!!!! Well it's time for some rum, it;s been just another adventure. Bottoms up!!!