Lazing About in the Aves

Isla de Aves are two separate little island archipelagos separated by about 10 miles of deep water. Huge numbers of birds make them their home, mostly boobys but also heron and other seabirds. The first island group is Aves de Sotavento and is about 40 miles east of Bonaire. We and Tony and Hilary of "Miss Charlotte" (a 46 ft. Halbery Rassey shown below left at anchor) decided to spend a few weeks there lazing about. You can see a picture of them at the end of the this entry.

Both our boats had been in the Bonaire/Curacao area for almost 6 months and needed to leave the country to restart the 6 month customs period. Traveling east means bucking the wind, waves and current so we carefully followed the weather and left Bonaire with a two day forecast of less than 15 knots of wind and 4 foot seas.

Miss Charlotte at anchor

The first part of the trip around the south end of Bonaire was rougher but then the predicted weather kicked in.
The Aves are part of Venezuela and there is a small coast guard station at Sotavento. Our plan was to spend one night there then proceed on to the Aves de Barlovento for most of our stay.

Hilary and Scott

We'd then stop and get our papers stamped by the coast guard on our way back to Bonaire. Once they see you, they want you to leave within 48 hours if you haven't legally checked into Venezuala. Which of course we hadn't.
A large reef surrounds the clear water, islands and smaller reefs. Most islands consist of no more than sand, a few plants and an occasional palm tree.
One larger island anchors each of the two island groups and these are dense with mangroves on the protected lagoon side and bare and windswept on the other. This section is really lovely and colorful with "meadows" of southern glasswort, seaside purslane and saltwort all in different shades of green and gold. See the picture below.

Hilary and Scott get ready for some snorkeling. You can
see the channel through the reefs

The Dutch once mined guano here and the ruins of old forts are now all that remain. Today a few fisherman maintain simple wood huts on a few of the smaller islands for occasional trips but they have wiped out the conch population and are working on the lobsters. Scott saw two conch and no lobsters for two weeks.
He left the conch not wanting the distinction of eating the last two alive.
The water varies enormously in depth. This results in a huge variety of blue green colors that at some times of the day meld into the sky. The snorkeling is excellent and there are many protected spots to anchor. To get around we practiced "eyeball navigation". The charts show the configuration of the reefs, islands and the depth of the water between them. But after studying them we put the chart down and us our eyes to follow the deep blues and dark turquoise/jades paths among the more pastel shallow areas.

The path to the Memorial from the mangrove entrance

There's a gap in the mangroves where you can pull in your dingy and
then follow the path above 

The channels are often narrow but easy to see when the light is good. This happens when the sun is above you or behind you. It's almost impossible when it's in front. So we time our arrival and departure accordingly. We found a lovely spot just north of Isla Sur, the second bay in from the west, with great holding and well protected by a series of small reefs.

Hilary gets our hors d'eouves ready - that's our Scott
Free sign behind her on the left. It's brown as we
varnished it.

Hilary, Scott and I took our dinghies out to several different reefs each day to snorkel. They varied enormously but all had lots of great fish and some, healthy vibrant corals. Storms and fisherman have caused a lot of damage. Once I came across a 6 foot nurse shark sleeping on the sand inside a coral corral - and backed out very quickly. That is the first shark we'd seen since we began our trip, while in the water.

We painted and varnished boat signs to place there  in Bonaire and one lovely evening left them there, drank wine, and saluted the many sailors who came before us.Scott and I had been here two years ago with "Angel" on our way to Bonaire from Grenada and knew about the boater's memorial on Isla Larga. A small gap in the mangroves allows access to the "moors" on the windward side and there with the ocean pounding behind is this beautiful spot.
Every other morning Hilary and I dinghied over to a beach and did our exercises and yoga. What a beautiful spot to meditate afterwards - and have a swim. That's me at the top of this entry.
It was hard to pull up anchor from this peaceful spot and return back to civilization. But weather windows only come once in a while so when a good one arrived we sailed for Curacao. Scott and I needed to apply for a 90 day extension on our immigration visa. Tony and Hilary are hauling their boat in two weeks and returning to London and Tuscany (tough huh!).

Tony and Hilary on "Miss Charlotte"

Close up of the Miss Charlotte sign

Windsurfing Camp in Bonaire

Not long after we tied up to the mooring Stan on "Inner Wisdom" easily convinced Scott to join him for a week long windsurfing camp at Lac Bay on the other side of Bonaire. This beautiful lagoon is only 2 - 4 feet deep, perfect for windsurfing and people come from all over the world to do so! Internationally ranked windsurfers served as trainers - they run these camps in several spots around the world.

Stan had rented a car and windsurfed almost every day. Scott had only tried this three times before so he was a little nervous - all day for five days! He was in fact the least experienced but they divided the group into three levels. Maggie and I went over several days to lay on the beach and watch. That's Stan and Maggie above.
Several small restaurants line the beach. Scott's day started out with on land training, then two hours on the water in the morning and afternoon, with video taping and analyzing last. It was exhausting for him but very rewarding. He has learned to land start, water start and jib!


Sounds a bit like Women's Alpine Adventures at Okemo doesn't it? Why didn't I go you may be asking? For one thing this sport has never interested me that much. I hadn't ever been on a board.

And I'd have missed my mornings at the gym. Yep! We joined a great exercise club here and I went five days a week while we were in Bonaire. Barbara has been teaching me a yoga and exercise routine and I attended step aerobics and body balance classes. Hilary, Tony, Jackie, Mel, Bob and Scott, when he wasn't windsurfing, joined us.

Back in the ABCs

With a little substitution that is; the Aves (Venezuela), Bonaire and Curacao. Our S/V Scott Free spent a few months on the hard at the Curacao Marine Boatyard this winter while we returned home to Vermont. Scott flew back to Curacao 2/4 and I joined him 2/24. This gave him time to accomplish a long list of projects without cleaning up after himself every evening (as I wasn't there to care).

The most serious and precarious job was removing the mast to replace the step at the base and then rethreading it through the deck. A big crane accomplished the heavy work and a rigging team did the fine tuning.
We really enjoyed our next "door" neighbors, Harold "Smitty" and his wife Jackie on their boat "Windy" from Newfoundland. .
They were lots of fun and we hope some day to get up there and visit. Not sure however it will be for a skiing vacation as they have urged us. Who knew there was a great ski resort in Newfoundland? Jackie returned home to work and "The Judge" joined Smitty (close up above shows Smitty on the right) for his trip west to Cartagena. We hated to see them go.

Just before we left we lucked out when the "Green Boat" was launched out of our boatyard and the party was fun! Free drinks, excellent hors d'oeuves (really dinner) and very short speeches are a great combination. Two young dutch men are sailing around the world to promote environmental issues facing the oceans and reefs.
Early in March we sailed back to Bonaire with one night at Klein Bonaire on the way. Many of our cruising friends were waiting for us and it was a joyous reunion. Hilary & Tony on "Miss Charlotte", Ellen & Cal on "Patience" and Karen & Ralph on "Kara Dream" and of course Bob & Barbara, formerly of "Enkidu" and now living in Bonaire. We met new friends Stan & Maggie on "Inner Wisdom " and Mel & Jackie on "Feisty".

Away from it all in Klein Curacao & then "On The Hard"

Friday morning after Thanksgiving was a busy one. Scott had cleared out of Bonaire with Customs & Immigration yesterday but we still had to fill out our tanks with water, do some last minute shopping and pay our bill at the dive shop. It was 10 AM before we finished battening down the interior and dropped our mooring. Ellen & Cal were joining us for a few days at Klein Curacao,
a small flat island 17 miles away. At one time this had a mining operation but now it has a picturesque lighthouse, a breathtaking white sand beach (that's our dinghy to the right with "Patience" behind) and a small day bar/restaurant for boats from Curacao that come for a few hours. We've been here before three times, once alone, once with Sean & Sarah, and last with Brent & Wilma. It's great downtime (from our "stressed out days???") with nothing to do but swim, snorkel, walk and read. Ahead, particularily for Scott, is the dreaded repairs "on the hard" for nine days in December and then three weeks when he returns in February.
He's planning to rebed all our windows and hatches among other big projects. Without me there he can leave his tools around, the floor boards up and work without interuption (cleaning up). We're hardly ever apart for even one night, so that'll be the hard part!

Willemstad is the capital of Curacao and a very charming colorful Dutch city. A cafe lined canal connects the ocean to the big industrial lagoon in the interior. Connecting both sides of the city is a 1900 walking only bridge that floats on pontoons and is motored open to allow traffic to pass. That's the bridge opening on the left above and the view right as we motor through.

Curacao Marine is the haulout facility and now a small marina with the addition of 15 slips. Our boat was pulled from the water by a John Deere tractor! Shades of Vermont! Tony and Hilary of "Miss Charlotte" were there to greet us. We've been hearing about them for years from Bob & Barbara so it was lovely to get to know them.

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A Cruiser's Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day started off beautifully with a lovely sunset and no threatening clouds. It has been unusually rainy for this time of year in Bonaire and the last few days have seen some heavy precipatation. It has resulted in a much greener countryside though!

We were leaving for Klein Curacao the following morning so we had our last dive on "Little Wall" not far north from our mooring. We've managed several times to dive from our dinghy but it's no easy task getting in and out of it! I would be horrified if anyone but Scott saw me flopping into it. The water clarity if amazing here - you can see down 40 feet easily and this
was a lovely spot. In several places towering coral "islands" with a multitude of varied fish residents caused us to hover there obseving their civilization in action. Surprisingly we don't seem to cause the slightest concern to any of the fish. Well, French Angel Fish are very curious and keep you under survellience from the corner of their rather large eyes.

A parade of dinghies left the mooring area together to motor over to Barbara and Bob's condo at 4:30PM Four presently cruising couples were attending and two retired cruisers. Audrey's husband was in Texas working and so this holiday she was alone. Very sadly for all of us, Luray from "Pizzazz" was ill and so she and Randy couldn't come.

At the top left Ralph and Dave help themselves at the buffet. On the right Ellen & I pose and in the group picture just below, on the floor, left to right, are Audrey, Valerie, myself, Ellen and Barbara. Bob is in the chair. On the couch are Dave, Scott and Cal. Standing in the back are Ron & Bonnie, and Ralph & Karen. From top to bottom, a group shot out on the
porch, Ellen & Cal, Scott pontificating with Ellen and Audrey, the desserts, Barbara, and Valerie & Dave. Ellen & Cal have been friends for a year while we've been in Cartagena and arrived from there just after we did. They'll be sailing with us tommorrow and will also be hauling out at Curacao Marine. Valerie & Dave "Angel" were our buddy boat friends on our trip last year from Grenada to Bonaire. We've known Bob & Barbara "Enkidu" for several years and spent a summer in Trinidad with them at Cruz Inn Marina. They visited us last August in Vermont.


Although our thoughts strayed more than occasionally to our families back home, it was a wonderful cruiser family holiday!

Thanksgiving Prep in Bonaire

Cruisers are part of a movable but close knit community. We all depend upon each other in foreign countries and environments and everyone comes through for each other. Holidays are a special time to join forces and celebrate.

This year we had sixteen present and ex-cruisers at a Thanksgiving celebration at the home of Bob and Barbara Gilmour on Bonaire. Two other ex-cruiser couples have settled here and were present, LuRay & Randy "Pizzazz" and Bonnie & Ron "Forever". The present cruisers were ourselves, Ellen & Cal "Patience", Valerie & Dave "Angel", Audrey "" and Ralph & Karen "KaRa Dream". Six of us women spent a lovely day preparing for the meal the day before. Barbara made a lovely lunch for us and we took breaks now and then for a glass of wine & a chat. Barbara did a lot of the work in advance, including the shopping. That had to be done over some time as any one item is not always available on the island. Substitutions became inevitable.
The menu:
Shrimp Cocktail, Crab Meat Dumplings, Turkey with Stuffing and Giblet Gravy, Potatoes Au Gratin, Mashed Sweet Potatoes stuffed in Orange Shells, Beets, Peas & Carrots, Green Beans with olives, Rolls & Butter, Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, Mince Meat Tarts and Cookies
Guess we won't starve!

Of course there was a lot of peeling and chopping to do. "Bring a potato peeler or knives with you", Barbara suggested. Bob and Bonnie's husband Ron went fishing and then sat having a drink on the porch to stay out of our way.

Top is Ellen, Barbara, myself, Valerie, Audrey and Bonnie. Then Ellen cleans up the counter, Audrey makes potato au gratin, Bonnie & Val do dishes, and Barbara slices and dices.
Those of us coming from our boats are forming a dinghy train at 4:30 to motor up to their condo for the occasion. We'll all be wearing our "best" (not like home best) clothes and hopefully it won't be raining!

What do you do all day?

We get asked this question a lot! Well I thought I might tell you what I did yesterday for example. I usually am up around 6:30AM or so and immediately put the kettle on for coffee. We have a french press type, stainless steel and insulated. It's the only one I've seen that holds 4 large mugs worth. Our coffee comes from Columbia now and it's good, but we really prefer a dark French roast type. That's generally not available here.
We have two cups of coffee each. I sit outside in the cockpit looking at the sun rise and the sky change colors. This morning the full moon is still very visable as the sun comes up. That's the view heading north above left and the one towards the shore and east below right. Scott settles into the internet in the salon and checks out the news. We get the NY Times on line. The newspapers here in the ABCs are mostly in Dutch or Papiemento, the two official languages.
Breakfast is usually eggs or cereal. This morning I made eggs scrambled with onions, peppers, tomatoes and ham with toasted banana bread. I eat a bit less than usual because it's my Body Balance Class this morning. This is a mixture of tai chi, yoga and pilates - a tough hour, followed by five minutes of total relaxation (see the picture below left).
It's 7:30 AM and my turn to pick up the other women in the dinhy - Val on "Angel" and Ellen on "Patience". My friend Barbara, formerly of "Enkidu" and several Dutch women I met last summer here in Bonaire at a similar class, attend too. When we return Scott has finished several small projects. Our clock stopped working so he bought a cheap one and has exchanged movements with our formerly good one - yeh it works! He's also mended the teak step on our swim ladder. A productive morning and it's only 9:20AM.
A much needed rest follows. Both of us curl up in favorite spots and read. Scott's almost through with Richard Russo's "Bridge of Sighs" and I've just started Tracy Chevelier's "Virgin Blue". Most of our books come from trading with other cruisers or book exchange shelves in marinas and bars.
It's getting hot now. Bathing suits and snorkeling equipment are needed for a cool down swim. We snorkel/swim most every day for a half hour to hour, usually right from the boat. Today we get in the dinhy and speed (new outboard!) over to Klein Bonaire for a snorkel along the windward side and then a walk back along the beach when the current coming back proves exhausting.
We're starving when we get back. Happily there are lots of leftovers from last night.
This afternoon I'm doing my laundry and shopping trip. Zoe gave us a great folding cart which is invaluable for this. I hump the big load of dirty laundry and several shopping bags (they don't provide bags at the markets free) into the dinghy and take off (that's me above with the cart). It's about a half mile walk to the laundromat where I drop it off. It will be ready in two days, nicely folded. Then off to two supermarkets to do my shopping. They are small and vary wildly on what is available. We had no eggs on the island for over a week recently. This is a small island and most everything comes in by boat from Venezuela, the U.S. and Holland.

Another swim to cool down is necessary when I return. Scott puts everything away. Tonight we've been invited to dinner at the home of Randy and LuRay, "Pizzaz" (picture below). They are a famous couple among cruisers, the authors of the only cruising guide to Columbia, which they give out free. It was invaluable to us during our trip along that coast twice this last year.

They designed and supervised construction on their beautiful spacious home, high on a hill overlooking the island. The huge deck stretchs across the whole front with a sapphire infinity pool in the middle. Wonderful use of local materials, soaring multi shaped wooden ceiling design, and windows bringing in the views everywhere create a feeling of floating in space above the sea. Furniture and personal items shipped in from home make it homey and inviting. Watching the sunset there was a spectacle indeed and it was a lovely night.
They drove us back to the marina and we motored back to the boat in the dark, stars lighting the sky only as the moon had yet to appear. It's 9:30 PM and time for bed in cruiser land. And that's a fairly typical one day in the life of Heather and Scott on "Scott Free".

Diving and Partying in Bonaire!

First let us celebrate the election of our new President!!! Yeh!!! We sent our absentee ballots in from Cartagena - two of the many many votes for President Elect Barak Obama. How we love saying that. We watched the returns at Bob and Barbara Gilmore's home in Bonaire with friends Andrew & Kerri on "Mariposa" and Ellen & Cal on "Patience".

It was midnight Bonaire time when the California polls closed and they finally confirmed what we all already knew. We were all fiercely partisan - even Kerri (New Zealand) and Andrew (Britain and South Africa). Barbara brought out the noisemakers and we screamed and yelled out on their balconey over the waterfront!
We were particularily excited about the wins in Colorado and Virginia as that's where Sean worked so hard. It was wonderful to talk to him that night and congratulate him! Barbara and Bob were perfect hosts (that's them above right on our boat) - the food was fabulous and champagne to celebrate. Two of the culinery hits of the evening was the sushi Kerry made (shown here with Cal above right) and Barbara's sausage and egg breakfast casserole after Obama's inspiring acceptence speech.



"Mariposa" was our neighbor on the moorings and we did a lot of diving with them. Kerri is a PADI instructor and has a compressor on her boat. She sailed with three young inexperienced crew over from South Africa and her boyfriend Andrew joined her in the Caribbean for the remainder of the cruise. They are delightful and we were very sorry to see them sail off east for Grenada a few days ago. Happily we hope to see them again in Panama next year as they too are considering departing across the Pacific in early 2010. That's Kerri above and Andrew in their galley.


The rules have recently changed to allow boats up to 45' use the dive moorings so we and Mariposa, their friends "Blue Water Cat" and "Patience" (that's Ellen above and ourselves on Patience at the top of the page) all took turns bringing our boats out for dives and lunch. Most memorably we did a dive on the wreck "Helma Hooker" and a night dive. The former was a medium sized freighter at about 85 feet and my first wreck dive. The lurking huge silver tarpons inside and under the freighter were the same ones that followed us so closely at night. I'd catch a glimpse of movement near me and see them practically touching my side! They are looking for prey in our flashlight's beam. When we inadvertently spotlight one they gulp it down whole.
Kerri certified Andrew and myself for our PADI Advanced Night Dive. That involved reading the appropriate material and taking a test, then practicing some skills underwater - such as a simple navigation exercise (not quite as simple in the dark!). Scott already has his Advance Diver Certification. I'll need four more advance dives before I finish it.

Diving takes a lot of equipment. We've been collecting pieces for the last year and now have everything for the two of us. Well, except for a dive computer - a big loss as far as Scott is concerned. It is possible to work out the needed information with dive tables and a dive watch but not as accurate and, of course, not as much fun. We now have two of each; BCDs (Boyancy jacket), a main regulator and a secondary safety one with an "octopus" to connect them, full insulated dive suit, booties & hood, tank (one big and one smaller - we still come out with the same amount of air left as I use less) and weights (Scott's on a belt and mine integrated in the BCD). This all costs and arm and a leg but will last a long time.
Bonaire is one of the premier diving centers in the world. They created a Marine Park that surrounds the island and protects the reefs. Boats can not anchor but permenant moorings are installed all along the protected western shore. A small island called Klein Bonaire lies off that coast and is surrounded by dive moorings. Other dive only moorings line the north west and south west coasts. In between are 40 moorings for cruisers, $10 a night. They are only 100 feet from shore - the view here is the walkway and road across from our mooring. The second picture above left is looking from our boat north. That's "Mariposa" next to us. We often have rainbows after the usually short lived showers!,