Heading East!

Our great friend Russ Wolf flew to Bonaire for our two week trip east to Trinidad. He and his wife Marty had joined us for a long weekend in the Chesapeake Bay five years ago but work and family obligations kept him away until now. Luckily for us, he has semi retired and has a more flexible schedule. We really tested his flexibility this time.


Despite his arrival at 5 AM we dropped the mooring at Bonaire that very afternoon at 4 PM and motored off to Los Roques, 115 miles east. During his short time on Bonaire we ate a huge breakfast at "It Rains Fishes", drove him around the south end of the island to Lac Bay to see the salt pans, slave houses, flamingos and wind surfers, and still had time to swim and snorkel!

Needless to say he was exhausted that night and we kept him off the watch schedule till the morning. Going east is generally very difficult. Both the prevailing winds and currents are against you. During normal trade winds this would be almost impossible but in the fall months the winds are often lighter.

We had been listening to Chris Parker's weather report and watching the grib files for over a week. At least three days of favorable conditions were forecast and possibly longer. Our first night was very pleasant - about 10 knots of wind and 3-4 foot seas. A swell from the north was building so we were thrown around a bit but everyone got some sleep.

We had some rain and clouds at first but then it cleared off, the full moon rose, and it was unusually bright.
As we approached Los Roques the sea calmed down and the sun was just high enough to see the depth of the water by the colors. All of the islands are flat except for El Gran Roque at the far northeastern end. Within an area of 14 by 25 miles are a hundred of more small islands and reefs. It is a Venezuelan National Park.

We threaded our way through the deep water channels between the islands to the anchorage at Noronsquis. Three little islands and a barrier reef enclose a deep blue lagoon with several pretty white beaches. Over the reef El Gran Roque made a pretty picture. We stayed there for two nights; eating, swimming, snorkeling, kyacking and exploring the little islands.

At 3 PM on Tuesday we carefully threaded our way out the channel and headed east again, passing close to Gran Roque. The hills there are 360 feet high and rugged. It's the only island in the archipeligo that has a village. There are no cars: people arrive by boat and plane. That's it above left. Our next destination was Blanquilla, 120 miles east, another overnight passage.

The seas were rougher, confused by the north swells and wind chop, but it was a clear bright night with no squalls. We saw almost no boats but Russ had some excitement on his watch as we passed Ochilla. It's a military base and we stayed clear of the boundaries set up on our charts. They were conducting bombing runs with flares and planes - practice only of course, but pretty exciting for Russ!

Blanquilla is very low lying but we could easily see the Los Hermanos Rocks far beyond - six of them, one 600 feet high and coming straight up out of the sea. We anchored off a pristine white beach snuggled in between two rocky reefs. It's a one boat anchorage and very protected.

A little further to the south were several other sailboats anchored off Playa Yaque beach and it's distinctive two palm trees. We had two relaxing nights here as well. Our second day we very carefully motored north in our dinghy to Americano Bay. With three of us in the dinghy and choppy seas it felt a bit precarious.

I'm going to digress a bit here and talk about our dinghy choice. Most people have a rigid inflatable. We've had our 10 foot Port-A-Boat now for five years and it shows it. Scott has reinforced the stern with plywood and replaced the seats. He designed a bumper of navy blue sunbrella material which fits over the top edges on both sides too.

It is a very unique looking dinghy and has provoked many comments but is an unlikely target for thieves as a result. We haul it up on the dinghy davits every evening so it's comparitive lightness is a boon. And when it's just the two of us the also light 9 horsepower engine gets it up on a nice plane. It is very roomy and can hold a lot of provisions or all our diving gear.

So on the whole we've been happy with it and will be buying a new one and having it shipped to Trinidad this winter.
Back to Americano Bay. It was named for an American, Mr. Blankenship, who built a little house here, now in ruins. He came by private plane, landing on a dirt strip nearby. Rocky cliffs enclose a small bay with a lovely white beach. On one side are dramatic caves and on the other a large arch.

We could cross over the arch to a small still obvious patio with a outdoor fireplace. It was hot in the sun so we were glad to slip into the cool water and snorkel around the cliffs and under the arch. The landscape above reflected the one below, with many holes and even arches under the very clear water. There were lots of fish and very healthy coral.


We explored the ruins, imagining how it must have looked when still occupied. It is certainly a fabulously beautiful spot. The beaches here and near our anchorage are pristine and very white - none of the trash we've seen many other places.
The next day we explored the beaches and land around our anchorage. There are two small ruined houses around a small almost dry pond. We didn't get close enough to find out if it was fresh, but there must have been water somewhere for these homes to have been occupied. The cactus were everywhere, including on us! We learned the hard way about jumping cactus. Balls of spiny cactus attach themselves to your skin and are very difficult to remove. As soon as you pull one spine out (your skin stretches out as there are little hooks in the end) two more spines grab hold. Painfull! Luckily we had a doctor with us!

Los Roques to the Aves

There is a beautiful walk from our anchorage down to the sand bar connecting Cayo de Agua to West Cay and then across that cay to the lighthouse at the west end. We did it twice, once with Val and Dave, swimming every half an hour or so off the pristine white beaches on either side. The snorkeling and kayacking were all wonderful. Just sitting in our cockpit and watching the view beats most anything.
Sunsets are a ceremonial occasion for cruisers. The traditional "sundowners" are prepared and the crew lounges in the cockpit watching the show. Sometimes the sound of a blown conch shell heralds the last rays of the sun. Val is a talented conch musician and Scott is still practicing. The elusive "greenflash" is supposed to occur when the horizon is perfectly clear, with no land, clouds or haze. Perfection has still not occurred for us as we've never seen it!
As beautiful as our anchorage was, we still wanted to get going to the Aves so after a few days we got the boat ready for a rolly trip and set off at 8 AM, following our track out on the computer navigation. We had 15 to 20 knots of wind and it was directly from behind, so we tacked downwind, jibbing the sail with a preventor when necessary. It was a fast trip and soon we were circling the lighthouse at the Aves de Barlovento and followed "Angel" through the long passage into our anchorage behind Isla Sur. We were anchored by 2 PM and had a late lunch, seranaded by hundreds of birds roosting in the surrounding mangroves.

The noise level was deafening up close but we were forewarned and anchored far enough off. Two birds claimed our dinghy as theirs despite Scott's earnest efforts to dislodge them. They look here like they're having a heated discussion about it.

Los Roques, Venezuela

Los Roques is a beautiful cruising area made of about 14 by 25 miles of protected, reef-studded water, dotted with hundreds of pretty little islands. The colors of the water shade from the deepest blue and greens to pastel hues over white sand. There are some 80 species of birds that live or migrate through here. It is a Venezuelan National Park and with regulations aiming on preserving the reefs and islands in their natural state. There is a small community on Gran Roque, a few fishing shacks around, and one research station. Other than that it remains pristine. The few small hotels on Gran Roque send motor boats out with their guests to the more remote islands for the day with umbrellas and coolers. They and the fishing men were the only people we saw during our stay here (and then only occasionally). There were very few other cruising boats.
We spent two nights at each anchorage over the next eight days. At our first, as at each, we kayacked, snorkeled and walked the beaches. Our second night "Angel" had us over for drinks and homemade pizza, one with salsa and cheese and the other with rosemary and olive oil. Fabulous! Our next anchorage was Sarqui, another small flat island with a lovely long beach. We tucked in behind a protruding reef close up to the beach. Bonefish and tarpon fishing is a big sport here and the rest of our stay we kept company during the day with sportsfisherman ferried out to the reefs by guides and left for hours to fly cast. Early morning and late afternoon were the most popular times. I wouldn't want you to get the wrong opinion about how crowded it was here. We saw the same three fisherman (from the States) only during our stay.
Scott made his first loaf of bread in the bread machine on board - a milk and egg bread on the fast bake cycle. It turned out great. We were inspired by Val on "Angel"'s flax seed bread. She baked two loaves a few days before and gave us one. A few days later he made an olive rosemary bread. The winds picked up again here: we were seeing consistently 20 knots, but we were well protected. At night we had "Angel" over for mexican train dominos - fun!
Our next anchorage was tricky getting into but so beautiful. Two small islands, Felipe and Remanso off Isla Carenero's eastern end, and a reef form a 9/10 circle around a deep lagoon. The entrance is divided by a 4 foot shoal. Still at 10:30 AM with the sun behind us, the deep blue channel was very clear. Once inside there was lots of room to anchor and it was very calm. We kayacked over the Carenero to walk the long beach. There we met a fisherman who invited us into his shack (picture) and Scott was able to have a long talk with him.
I made encouraging faces and noises - it was very convivial. At the end he indicated that although the lobster season was over, he'd been keeping some aside. We had to admit we had no money (no cash given our problems in Margaurita). Our friend was nonpulsed; vino tinto would be the perfect exchange. Needless to say the lobsters were fantastic and we like to think he felt the same about the French wine he got in exchange.
Besides cash our other problem was water. In Margaurita we had ferried jugs to the boat and hadn't gotten a lot. On the trip from there to Blanquilla, the faucet in the bathroom had opened slightly, but enough to drain one tank. We were low on water. Luckily "Angel" had a water maker and every other day we filled up 2 - 5 gallon plastic jugs. Thankfully this solved the problem. With severe rationing we would have managed but we are used to having a nice fresh water shower every day.
Our last anchorage in Los Roques was the most beautiful, although it's a hard choice. This most western group of islands is comprised of West Cay, Cayo de Agua, Elbert Cay and Bequeve. It's a bit of nervous navigation into the anchorage on the north side of Cayo de Agua but worth it once we got there. Again the sketch map in Doyle's guide is very accurate. We looked first at the west side of Cayo de Agua but it looked tight and rolly, although the next day several boats went in there. A huge pod of dolphins escorted us into the channel and out again several days later. We've seen dolphins of course many times before, but this was one of the largest groups.
On the way here Scott caught a three foot barracuda. We have thrown these back many times before but our guide book (and friends Diane and Mitch Korbey) have said that cigatera is not a problem down in this part of the Caribbean so we decided to eat it. On advice, Scott ate a small portion and waited an hour. He felt fine so we had a wonderful two meals of it, very white and delicious.

Tortuga to Los Roques

Leaving Tortuga, the evening was clear with 10 - 15 knots of wind, mostly behind us. The boat rolled a lot with large confused swells making it difficult to sleep. Later the wind died down some and we decided to turn west away from the rhumb line to move onto more of a reach. This kept our speed up and made the boat's motion more comfortable, although it added miles. Early in the morning the wind picked up again and we turned on a direct line to the SE corner of Los Roques. As we approached the long eastern reef the wind and waves accelerated as the water shallowed. This narrow entrance through the reefs is considered an all weather entrance but it was hazy (making visual navigation difficult) with a steady 20 knots of wind and uncomfortable confused seas. Our electronic charts have been consistently off by as much as one third of a mile in this region so good light is key. We radioed Angel and both decided to continue and circle around the reef to the more protected wider entrance to the north. Several large wrecks on the reef testify to the dangers here.
It was a huge relief to turn west again after passing the long eastern reef. The waves calmed down and it was beautiful sail for the next couple of hours into the protected waters of the archipeligo. The only hilly island of the group is El Grand Roque and a small group of houses stretches along the beach on the southern side. This is the Venezuelan National Park headquarters and if we had checked into Venezuela, we should be registering here, paying the park fees and getting a two week permit to visit. Since we were flying the yellow Quarantine flag, we were technically in transit through the area.
We circled the island and sailed further west to Noronsquis. Our guide book by Chris Doyle gives detailed sketch maps of all anchorages and they were critical. Our electronic charts were only generally useful - getting us to the vicinity. We used Chris's GPS points to confirm even that. This anchorage was in a deep lagoon surrounded by three small islands and reefs. The entrance was narrow and then we had to follow a twisty path through the reefs and coral heads to the deep blue round pool surrounded by beaches and coral reefs. The distant hills of Grand Roque were still visable over the waves crashing on the reef only 100 feet away.

All of our anchorages for the next few weeks had challanging entrances like this. Scott and I would carefully study the sketch map. Then I would steer and he would stand in the bow watching the water colors and looking for the light brown/dark spots marking the reefs/coral heads. Actually as long as we made these entrances in the middle of day (preferably with the sun behind us), it was pretty easy. Leaving was also simplier as we set our course on the auto pilot to the track we made coming in.

It is a huge relief to get the anchor down after a night passage: it was 1:30 PM. Angel settled in next to us a short time later. We were the only two boats there and it was so beautiful. We snorkeled around the reef, fixed a lovely early dinner and were fast asleep by 8 PM.