Joy of Shamrock Quay

After a couple of weeks of excellent weather here on Bonaire, on Wednesday night we had a very dramatic electrical storm. Lightening cracked overhead interrupted occasionally by booming thunder which rattled the rigging.  All accompanied by torrential rain, but luckily no wind, so Joy had a much needed fresh water wash down.  The sky since has been very cloudy and overcast, although still around 30 degrees, and a distinct short chop entered the bay making boats lurch around a little more than usual for a few days.   Despite the distinct lack of direct sunlight, our solar system has performed brilliantly and we have still managed to run our watermaker for an hour each day as well as top up the batteries without running the generator.

The day after the storm we took advantage of the cloudiness, and walked to a small marine centre near the supermarkets just out  of town, in search of a new AIS antenna as ours isn’t working.  AIS is an automatic boat tracking system, all commercial vessels have it and now quite a few private vessels too.  It links in with our Raymarine chart plotter, so when another vessel is in range (30-40 miles) it appears on the screen.  It gives you details of the boat, name/call sign/length as well as important things such as distance from you, its direction, and whether you are on a collision course.  Our lifejackets also have AIS transmitters on them, so in the event of ‘man (or woman) overboard’ not only can the person left at the helm track the person in the water, but also any other vessel in the area will also pick up the man overboard alarm and exact location.  It hasn’t been receiving other vessels until they are within half a mile for a while now and so it is important we get this fixed.

The long walk to the marine shop was a fruitless one, but we felt we needed the exercise and it is quite a nice walk when the sun isn’t too fierce, although a large part is unpaved so it’s strictly ‘eyes down’ as the local donkeys seem to pooh everywhere, whilst it isn’t particularly offensive you do run the risk of being ‘billy no mates’ at happy hour in the bar.

We found the antenna we were looking for in the office of the marina, purely by chance, and only a short dinghy ride away. We had gone in to ask them for some workshop space to get a few jobs done which we didn’t want to do on-board Joy (granted, the staff are so kind and helpful) and there it was on the shelf amongst a few other items mainly antifoul paint. And it was only US$50, the local chandlery said they could order one from St Marten at $90 plus the carriage, so we were delighted.  Today with the new antenna in place, we picked up vessels 27 miles away, so we have another job we can tick off the to-do list.

The tourist season is about to start here, this morning the first of many cruise ships docked right next to Karells Bar, it was quite a sight coming in and it dwarfs everything around it including the buildings ashore. As you can see from the photo, it is more than three times the length of the dock.

A flurry of activity continues on Joy, many jobs still to finish before we leave on Thursday/Friday next week and we also have to get some provisions in for the journey north.  Countdown has started, we will be sad to leave Bonaire and all our new friends but we are both excited and looking forward to the next part of our adventure.

After a very sleepless night for two reasons, the nut cases from the den behind the bar had a very active night – and with no wind at all it was not only incredibly hot but the sound carried across the glassy water and straight into our port holes.  There are two particular men that get severely agitated and during the night there was a lot of high-pitched screaming and shouting – they obviously have a lot of demons. This morning they were still there – one with a bottle of beer and the other just finishing off a bottle of rum, completely wasted at 7am but still showing no signs of needing to sleep.

We waved goodbye this morning to Ta-B as they left the island playing the Haka with Jane doing the dance – she does it rather well!

The new solar panels are performing really well today, we have two installed on the front deck and two temporarily on the boarding ramp/diving board as we can angle this towards the sun. We have clocked 33.3 amps going into the batteries as well as charging our computers and phones. So today we can make water for an hour without having to run the generator, brilliant!

Wednesday was a break from maintenance jobs on Joy, we were treated to a day out on Ta-B, a catamaran owned by Russell (Kiwi) and Jane (British) who now live in Vancouver.  We had a great sail southwards to the Salt Pier, still used by ships today to load the salt.  Jane and Russell have been here before and really wanted to come back before they leave the island.

The mooring buoy was a short distance away from the pier itself, so we had a fifteen minute swim against current to the pier but boy it was worth it.  The fish are in abundance here, the corals forming on and around the pier structures are quite stunning and host a huge variety of fish and critters.  Two large tarpon fish passed us by inquisitively on several occasions, and a group of half a dozen barracuda circled one of the pier structures with their teeth glinting in the sunshine bursting through the water.  The dive is not deep, at only 25 to 30 feet the light reaches every part and the visibility was excellent.

We had lunch on board Ta-B, Jane had made a delicious carrot soup, and then it was time to head back to the mooring off Kralendijk and we arrived back in town as the sun was slowly going down. Jane and I laid on the trampoline listening to the sails humming and the water swishing between the hulls, and of course some girlie talk whilst the boys helmed and trimmed sails. A fabulous day all round.

Ta-B leave tomorrow, Sunday, so a group of us went for a beer at the strange little outside bar opposite our mooring (strange because when it shuts in the evening the homeless come out of their den behind it and occupy the seating area, one old boy even sleeps there on occasion – it can get very entertaining  of an evening as we sit up on deck cooling down before bed). It was packed with locals and tourists, a little too early for its other visitors.  Then on to the infamous Bobbyjans BBQ ribs, a takeaway for us all to eat in the park on the seafront with a bottle of wine and some beers.  A lot of laughs, we will certainly miss Jane and Russell as they are full of life and adventure and they are known for doing the ‘haka’ (an ancient Maori war dance/cry now used by the NZ rugby team) at other boats as they cruise past with it blaring from their stereo and often over the VHF.   Seems we have been saying a lot of goodbyes lately, many yachts are heading west towards Columbia and Panama. All moorings are full here now, as soon as someone leaves their buoy is snapped up by a new arrival. Some boats are on moorings that are in a very poor state of repair and if/when we have another wind reversal I am pretty sure there will be trouble.   The weather is still reasonably settled, very hot at about 32 degrees with a gentle breeze.  We have had a few cloudy days and yesterday it rained a little, but this didn’t seem to lower the temperature.

The regatta has finished thank god. It brought a lot of dirty stink boats to the bay and therefore lots of wake and noise.  On the plus side we watched the local Dutch kids racing their little ‘bath tubs’ and it seems that a young girl won most of the races, she was up front most of the time and the boys just couldn’t catch her.

We had a visit from a small bird too, he found the newly varnished handrail somewhat too glossy for his liking.

Andrew and Claire from ‘Eye Candy’ have taken us out for a few dives on their yacht too, so we have been rather spoilt and visited many new dive sites around the island. We have started doing half tank dives, so we get two different dives in on one tank, about 45 minutes each time so this has made some lovely days out.

Every dive has been a personal hunt for a seahorse, apparently they are here somewhere but difficult to find.  So we were pleased to hear that a fellow cruiser had found one snorkelling by their boat, so we swam over there a couple of days ago to check it out.

He was rather shy, hiding by a bit of old rope at the bottom of a concrete mooring block and mostly wanted to face away from us.  This is the best shot we got and I have had to enhance it a bit so that you can see him, he was about 2 inches long.

We took delivery of our new solar panels and raw water pump for the engine late last week.  The solar panels were delivered to the marina, cleared through customs and delivered in the same day that they arrived on the island – unheard of in the Caribbean (must be the Dutch influence!). The pump however took all day to sort out just getting cleared through customs.  Three trips to the airport, two to DHL and one to customs, then a two hour wait for the customs officer to hand it over. Good job we were able to take the dinghy to get to all these places, luckily there is a small harbour opposite the airport and we tied up against the rocky bank and walked across the road.

So the next day Jez was up with the lark, eager to catch every ray of sunshine to generate power, and we had topped our batteries up by 11.30am as well as run all our equipment.  Our 12v watermaker uses a lot of power though, and after running this for two hours followed by two very cloudy days, we had to run the generator for three hours to get the batteries back up.  Not bad going though in a week, when we were running it every day for 2 hours before the new panels so we are saving a lot in fuel and putting less hours on the generator.  We also installed an MPPT controller, this boosts the solar panels charging by up to 30% and makes a huge difference.

Other jobs undertaken in the last week include tracing the fault for our poor AIS signal and muffled VHF transmission, Jez found a corroded joint on the aerial at the top of the mast.  I have got 10 coats of varnish on the name plate, it is looking so good and we have had a lot of compliments from other boaters. Two more coats to go and this should be good for a while.  Our weather has been very settled, no more wind reversals (whoops, tempting fate there) and so it has been a lot easier to work on the boat.

Its 6pm local time now and still about 32 degrees, the sun has just disappeared over Klein Bonaire so it’s time for a quick dip before it gets dark to cool off.  Here is Jez working hard, it’s all go, go, go on Joy….

The last couple of weeks have been a real mixed bag weather-wise.  We decided on a change of scenery, and also to get away from the noisy fisherman who wake us up at 4am, so we moved to a mooring furthest away from the town, close to the marina entrance.  We had previously snorkelled the mooring to check its condition and survey the underwater obstacles, as this mooring was in the shallower part over sand, and quite close to the shore. The wind here predominantly blows from the east, offshore and nice and consistent. But on rare occasions, the wind reverses with a weather system going through, making a westerly wind blowing onshore and bringing in a choppy sea into the bay.  The marina manager had told us that this was rare, in fact the last one they had was 2 or 3 years ago, it usually makes the town moorings where we are untenable forcing boats to move into the marina until it passes.  So we thought that we would be safe enough on the new mooring, providing we don’t get a wind reversal.  We had a wonderfully quiet evening here, away from the hustle and bustle of the town.  So it came as a shock to be woken at 4am with lightening and strong winds building, and looking out the porthole windows we realised we were beginning to back onto the shore getting too close for comfort.

Blurry eyed, we cursed the damn weather – why oh why tonight of all nights – and made an instant decision to get off the mooring and head out to sea until it passed.   By the time we had got the ropes ready to drop we were directly backing on to the shore only a few metres away, and only had 60 cm under the keel as we horsed up and down in the big swell now coming in.  The empty boat moorings close to shore now posed a problem as one was almost underneath our rudder and therefore too close to our propeller.  Luckily the horsing about actually released the rope from underneath the rudder after a few minutes and we grabbed the opportunity to drop the ropes and get the hell out of there.  Motoring into the blackness, a squall was hitting us full on bringing torrential rain and strong winds. We spotted another yacht heading into the marina so decided to follow and tie up on the fuel dock until the squall had passed.  The marina is incredibly protected, with plenty of depth and turning room, so we had no hesitation in entering in poor visibility and soaked to the skin.   We secured ourselves to the large fuel dock behind the other yacht, and watched as dozens of local fishing boats did the same thing to get out of the weather. It was bedlam in the marina for an hour or so.

When the sun came up, the wind had returned to the east and so we ventured back outside to return to our original ‘safe’ mooring closer to town.  There was still a choppy swell coming into the bay making all the remaining yachts roll uncomfortably, and a neighbouring boat kindly helped us tie up onto our mooring.  This one has plenty of sea room, it is just on the edge of the 20m contour so we have ample depth all around us and the mooring is in good condition. Nevertheless with 37 tonne of steel Joy yanking on it, we decided to add a third line (the moorings here have two blocks and two buoys to attach to, one on each side of the bow) and have attached our own shackle to the block with a loose rope attached to Joy so we have a safety line if the others fail.  The rules state that you are not supposed to do this, but lots of other yacht owners have as many of the moorings here are in a bad state of repair.  We have also added anti-chafe piping to our ropes where they drop over the bow roller, whilst doing this Jez unfortunately impaled his foot on a split piece of teak decking. It broke off in his foot, like an arrow.  Pliers managed to get it out in one piece, although he had a very swollen sore foot for a few days and couldn’t walk very far. However, there is nothing like having a goal in life to motivate you, and with the thought of his beer stocks running low, day three saw a vast improvement with a walk to the supermarket.

So we went on to have two more wind reversals in under a week, they all started with lightening late evening with a drop in wind before suddenly the wind builds and turns 180 degrees. Beautiful Bonaire is ravaged, with crashing waves hitting the small sea wall along the shore sending water across the road.  It is usually so tranquil and calm here, it is hard to comprehend how it can all change so very quickly.  We are therefore always ‘ready to go’ at a moment’s notice.

On a much nicer note, we have had many great dives here.  Our friends Tim and Paula, from the USA, on a boat called Hooligan took us to a site called Eighteen Palms, we saw several turtles and two huge spotted eagle rays amongst the usual reef inhabitants.   Andrew and Claire from Australia have taken us several times on their boat, Eye Candy, to various different sites which have all been great.  As many of the dive moorings are quite close to shore and this past week has been very windy, we boat sit for them while they dive and then they boat sit whilst we dive. So this has worked very well, although we did all manage to dive together yesterday as the mooring was quite safe.

Today has seen the start of the Regatta, the place is very busy with all kinds of watersports.  I had decided to sand down the name plate as it is desperate for a varnish, this entails standing in the dinghy tied on the back so that I can get to the plaque – but not a good day to choose as with all the boats whizzing past us the wake has almost tipped me out the dinghy twice and I now have one arm longer than the other holding on. So I have given up for now.  The wind is forecast to drop over the next couple of days, so I will concentrate on interior varnishing for now.

We visit our underwater friends off the boat daily,  they are usually under the same rock or in the same hole.  The small octopus has been a real treat to watch, it can be quite a hunt for him sometimes as he can change colour and blend in completely with whatever he is holding on to.  A sad day came a couple of days ago as we watched a moray eel trying to drag a dead octopus into a pipe. He was shaking it like a rag doll and yanking hard to try and get it in the hole.  I prayed it wasn’t our little ‘Oco’ but we have yet to find him again.

Our last few days with Pannikin were great fun, we went to burger night at a bar in the marina on Wednesday which was a laugh as there were 12 or so other cruisers at the table so lots to talk about. It was a cheap night as drinks were half price, so we drank twice as much…well we are on our holidays.  So Thursday was recovery day, a chilled day filled with snorkelling off the boat along the shallow reefs close to shore. We had drinks with Jane and Russell on a Kiwi catamaran that evening with a few others, as a farewell to Pannikin night.  Then Friday was our last day with Steve and Ange, so we had a dive further north in the morning.

The afternoon would not have been complete without a game of dominoes followed by takeaway pork ribs in the evening from Bobbejans,  a small place in town, just off the sea front.

Pannikin sailed out of Bonaire on Saturday morning, it was tearful goodbye (well, for us girls anyway), it has been such good fun cruising with them over the last year and we have experienced so much of our journey with them.  They left in style, flying their spinnaker in 20-25 knots of wind, heading towards Curacao.

We were able to take Pannikin on quite a few occasions to dive sites and dive from the boat with Steve, whilst Ange snorkelled and kept an eye on the boat.  After a recommendation from another yachty we sailed south to a wreck called ‘Hilma Hooker’, a ship sunk in 1984.  We went down off the boat and then ventured into the dark blue deep water, visibility wasn’t brilliant. Steve pointed to something ahead, I squinted expecting to see a fish, then realised the vast ship was right in front of us like a wall.  It would be a strange place to dive if you suffer from vertigo, swimming up and over the hull, lying on its side, and down the other side is a strange experience as it drops to about a 100 feet beneath you.

There were a few corals growing on the topsides laying on the sand, and three large tarpon fish patrolled the entrance to the interior (that didn’t stop us going in for a peak).

This was the ‘wall’ we came across, one side of the hull.

Steve, such a poser…

Going up.. That’s Pannikin’s bottom in the background.

This week has been a very memorable one, Pannikin arrived following their haul out in Trinidad and took up residence in front of us, and I passed my PADI Dive Open Water certificate.  I was very lucky to have one to one tuition (believe me, I needed it!) at Carib Inn just south of the town, and after training in the pool and then off the beach I had four reef dives, one off the beach also and for the other three I joined their dive boat and visited some great sites further north and off the small island, Klein Bonaire.    We spotted five turtles on the second dive, two of which came right past my goggles very slowly so I had the most amazing view, and on the third we spotted an enormous green moray eel, its head as big as mine so we reckon its body, hidden in its rocky hole, would have been 5ft!

It certainly was a relief to pass and be able to dive with Jez, and after kitting myself out we have been on several dives since, including a night dive last night off the boat.  We were hoping to see ‘ostrocods’ (a very small crustacean the size of a tomato seed) lighting up like fairy lights just after sun down, but they either didn’t appear or we were a day late as it only happens once a month. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience diving at night and we had a couple of good sightings of moray eels out hunting and unfortunately dozens of moon jelly fish which we did our best to avoid. There were so many at one point it was difficult dodging out of their way in the dark.    Here on Bonaire there are 63 official dive sites, with a further 26 around Klein Bonaire, all named with a mooring buoy attached so we can take the dinghy and tie up or better still we have taken Pannikin (as Joy is too big for the mooring) so we really are spoilt for choice.

We have also had a day touring the island with Steve and Ange, they are here only for a fortnight before heading off towards Panama to get ready for their canal transit in December.  This is the last time we will see them until we make it to Australia as they are returning home next year, and we won’t go through the canal until early 2016. So we are spending lots of time together before our farewell dinner a week from now.

The coast road to the north is quite narrow and there are large areas completely uninhabited.  The huge Gotomeer lake close to the park is beautiful and has lots of wading birds and, of course, flamingos.

The easterly wind has been blowing 25 knots all week across the island, and so the east coast was particularly rough looking out to sea, the coast is rugged and wild with a few little deserted bays which would be impossible to get into with the sea crashing into the entrance.  There is a network of unmade roads venturing off the one main road that circles the island, and we discovered a blow hole after a ten minute drive across a sandy dirt track where only the goats dared to venture.

The south of the island is my favourite, the piles of salt provide a dramatic back drop to the glimmering pink salt lakes.  Apparently 2,000 tonnes of salt can be loaded per hour along a conveyor belt system across the pier to waiting ships.

Further along the coast there are the slave huts, one pink set and one white set.  Each hut housed four adult slaves working on the salt lakes, they ate, slept and kept their belongings in here, a space not even big enough for four people to lay down.  At the weekend, the slaves were ‘allowed’ to walk to the northern village of Rincon to visit their families, a 40 mile round trip.