Captioned Pics on Web

FINALLY! The new photos are all captioned. Check it out on the web page. www.sailastarte.com go to Photos 2.

Re-anchoring in Spanish Waters

Curacao has a great and quite large harbor called Spaansche Water (that's Dutch for Spanish Water). It has a tricky entrance but once inside it opens up into several anchorage areas. Since 2001, when we were here last, the anchoring rules have changed a bit. Now you need "permission" to anchor in certain areas and some areas are no longer allowed. This meant we tried one place, but before we got the anchor down someone told us - "can't anchor there." So we tried another - but didn't like how we sat - too close to a "thoroughfare" (a small channel into another area). So we moved again and anchored in this spot a few times until we liked where we were. (More on this later).

On Tuesday, we did our clearing in. We got the dinghy in and headed to shore to catch a bus. We met Lily and Otto from Vagabond who would be making the trek as well. As we were waiting for the bus, we met another few sailors - one spoke like 10 languages- fluently. He was filled with great info and could go from Hungarian to Spanish to English without blinking! We unfortunately missed the 0900 bus (it must have gotten there a tad early), so we waited and chatted until the 1000 bus. The bus is 1.60Naf (less than a dollar US). It was a brand new big bus, air-conditioned and very roomy and clean (eat your heart out Frank - these were no Grenadian minivans). We got to town and started the process. First customs. No problem (in fact it was new employee who gave everyone the wrong forms and had to chase us down the street to switch them). Then across the floating bridge (which opens and closes with people on it- no OSHA here) to immigration. No problem. Then on to the next building. We went upstairs to the Harbor Authority which gives you permission to anchor in the various harbors. A bit of a problem. We decided to ask for permission to anchor in each of the harbors in case we wanted to visit them on our way out of here. But you have to give specific dates for each location or the coast guard will make you leave. We said - it depends on weather - they said "give us specific dates." So we made it up!

We had a nice lunch with Lily and Otto and then split with them. We did a bank stop and picked up some nice fruit from the Venezuelan veggie market (watermelon - yum!!) Then headed home - finding the right bus. We got back to the boat in time for Happy Hour at a nearby sailing club. Before we left, the gentleman (Bill) from boat we were anchored near, came by and introduced himself and told us - he tried to move today but when the wind shifted, we were over his anchor. We told him we'd move in the morning.

Nice Happy Hour - we got lots of local info from Bill, Louis and Tom - all single-handers who have been in Curacao quite awhile. Tom was the only cruiser we've ever met who knew that Astarte was a goddess!

When we got back to the boat, Sweet Dreams was very close to us, having just anchored in the spot we were planning to move to the next morning. Bummer. The next morning, we re-anchored. Once. Twice. Three times. Now we were far from Bill's boat and not on anyone's anchor. The water was deeper - so we had to let out more chain. (Now freshly painted and easy to see - though the paint is chipping off quite quickly!)

On Wednesday, Michael ordered his fuel lines and our mail to be delivered here (Pricey!). Barbara did some baking (she made up a recipe for a mango/papaya bread). Then we invited some folks over for sundowners. Our Bamboozle friends Lucy and Jamie arrived - but they had other commitments. We invited the folks from "Casa del Mar" (from Portland OR) and "So Cal. So Good." It was a fun (although a bit long) night. Sundowners lasted until 2200.

Today, we'll go grocery shopping and more exploring. All require bus rides.

Happy Birthday mom (Gen) and Dad (Peter).

The "C" of the A-B-Cs

We are now in Curacao - the "C" of the ABC Islands. We had a terrific sail from Bonaire today - pretty flat seas, an easterly wind 10-15 and a full headsail. Currently anchored in a place called "Spanish Waters," we arrived around 1500 and after a few tries anchoring - found our spot. We'll clear in with the officials in the morning. We met some nice folks from a boat called "Vagabond" in Bonaire customs and they arrived at the same time as us and we'll head in together with them to check in.

There was no joy on the fish front - even though we had two lines in the water and most of the time we were sailing at fish catching speed. We're good at fishing - not so good at catching!

History.beer.history.beer.

Last night, we organized an historic walking tour and pub crawl in Kralendijk, Bonaire. Barbara found a brochure in the tourist office and thought it would be fun to do - especially by adding the pub crawl part. Our friends Jamie and Lucy were game enough to go along (they really are good sports and fun company!). There were 25 sites (not including the pubs) including a plaque dedicated to Eleanor Roosevelt, a WWII memorial (Bonaire lost more sailors than any other Dutch island in the war), a Simon Bolivar bust, some old British cannons (age being challenged by Jamie!), the W sitting bench and St. Bernard's church - though we're still trying to figure out why the statue of St. Bernard is holding a skull. Anyone know? It was a really fun and interesting evening. It ended up with a dinner at a Chinese restaurant and an ice cream finale.

We also enjoyed a terrific snorkel yesterday. We saw some interesting fish including huge tarpon, big barracuda, a very large scrawled filefish, trumpet fish, porcupine fish and many more. The best part - as we headed back towards Astarte, Michael spotted a Hawksbill Turtle. Barbara stayed watching him quite awhile and he finally came up for air - and came up very close to her. She was within a few feet of him and he wasn't spooked. Very cool.

We got some fuel - but the good news was we only ran the engine 13 hours since leaving Grenada. That was 5 weeks ago! We only needed about 5 gallons of diesel. We're using more gasoline for the dinghy than fuel for the big engine. That's good for the cruising budget.

Today (Saturday), we made a run to the grocery store - in search if fresh fruit - the Venezuelan vegetable sellers haven't been here for 4 days! Then we went to a boat "So Cal, So Good" (from San Diego) to pick their brains about the San Blas islands. They were there for three months very recently - so we thought it would be helpful to get some local knowledge. They were great folks and offered lots of good info.

Tonight - we're off to a wine tasting at the Antillean Wine Company with some other boats. It should be fun.

SIX MONTHS ABOARD

It's been six months since Astarte and crew left St. Petersburg, Florida. We feel like it's been a good "shake-down" cruise. Astarte was a "new" boat to us - and as we both worked to build up the cruising kitty which meant being on the road a lot - we didn't get the chance to really use her too much. So these first six months, we've learned a lot about the boat and cruising on her.

We've traveled more than 2800 nautical miles and visited the Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Puerto Rico, US Virgins, St. Martins, St. Barts, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, The Grenadines, Grenada, Venezuela and now Bonaire. In some of those countries we stopped at multiple anchorages. We've experienced some big seas and some flat calm crossings; some heavy winds and some light air; we've sailed various points of sail and had to motor into it.

With every "major" stopping point (Georgetown, Provo, Salinas PR, St. Johns, St. Martins, Rodney Bay in St. Lucia, and Grenada) we were excited about the decision to continue to move on. And with each move we knew it was the right call. Every cruiser has his or her own tolerance for continuing the adventure - and it's certainly easy to fall in love with many of these islands - and stay. But we've moved on - maybe too fast for some, too slow for others.but we've moved on with our goal of the San Blas islands in Panama still in sight.

We've met many wonderful and interesting people along the way. Cruisers are great partiers and incredibly helpful and fun. You make "fast" friends while cruising because of similar interests. We've had the pleasure of dining with many aboard their boats or ours; drank with many more on boats for sundowners or at happy hours on shore; and, we've experienced fun local events with fellow boaters. The people are from all parts of the world - making it a small world community - and folks we've met from our own backyard - St. Petersburg.

We've had guests (not enough!) and enjoyed their company. We wish we were more prepared for the first guests - and had fewer outboard problems - but hopefully they understand. It's a continual learning experience for us - what works best for guests and us. We look forward to Kathryn and Mark's visit to Panama.

Astarte has been a great boat - she sails like a dream - but isn't such a great power boat. Michael's been terrific about fixing things that break. Barbara's adjusted to cooking on a two-burner stove.

We don't have a favorite island - every place is special and it is so dependant on the weather when you're there. We love remote, out of the way places as well as the bigger "cities."

Fish catching has been fair. We always have a line in the water when underway. Sometimes we get lucky - but we wish it was more often.

We've read loads of books and continue to trade them as we read them. We're trying to learn Spanish - and are committed to being more conversational by Columbia!

The most important thing is that we are healthier now than when we left. We've both trimmed down quite a bit and are more active. We eat healthier than when we were traveling for our jobs. And we are happy. We still love being with each other and enjoy our time together.

We do miss seeing family and friends - and that's what you give up when you cruise. Luckily our families are very supportive and understand what fulfilling dreams is all about.

Let us know if there is anything specific you'd like more info on. We're always looking for ideas on what to put in this blog.

We look forward to the next six months.

"Bon Bini" to Bonaire

On Saturday, Astarte left the beautiful waters of the Venezuelan islands and headed west 40 miles to Bonaire. It was a great sail with the headsail and a following sea - but a comfortable 15 knots of wind. We sailed at fish catching speed and had two lines in the water and changed lures to try various colors and styles. But no fish jumped on the line - bummer.

We arrived in Bonaire - having to tack into the harbor and tied to the mooring balls. It was great to be greeted by hearty waves from our friends Lucy and Jamie aboard Bamboozle a few boats away. It was about 1445 when we arrived and we decided to clear in immediately. We showered, put our "going to town" clothes on, launched the dinghy and outboard and headed to shore. We found customs open and the gents quite helpful and friendly. Because it was Saturday, immigration was closed so we had to go to the police station. That was also an easy process - forms to fill out and stamp-stamp in the passports and we're cleared in. We stopped for a few beers at the dock and headed back.

We had a wonderful invite from Bamboozle for dinner. This is a real treat after sailing all day - plus it was really wonderful to see Lucy and Jamie again. They are very experienced cruisers - having been through the Canal, into the South Pacific, ocean crossings under their belt. They are so fun and friendly, we really enjoy their company. They prepared a terrific dinner and ice cream for dessert!! But the company, conversation and laughs are always the best. They've been enjoying diving everyday in this "divers' paradise" (the motto on the Bonaire automobile license plates).

Sunday, we tried to pay for our balls (mooring balls that is), but the marina was closed. We'll do that today. Sunday was a slow day with a few projects completed. Michael took apart the outboard because it was squeaking. This was a scary prospect as he undid the giant spring on the recoil starter cord, and then had to get it back together. But he did it. Barbara defrosted the freezer. We paid for an internet connection for a few hours (couldn't find any free ones).

Bonaire is one of the "ABC" islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao). They are part of the Netherlands Antilles. (This also includes Sint Maarten, Saba and Statia). There are some political changes happening as to where the islands will be run from. But it shouldn't impact us.

The headline of this post is the unique welcome as they say it in the local patois. The island is very attractive - with charming bright colored buildings along the waterfront. It is very clean. The main industries are ecotourism and salt. As we sailed by, there were giant white pyramids of salt along the salt pans waiting for shipment. They are obsessive on the island about the environment. Giant wind generators were spinning as we sailed by. No anchoring is allowed, you must take a mooring ball or stay in a marina. If you dive, you must get a pass and go through an orientation session before you are allowed to dive in the waters. No spear fishing allowed. There are 200 species of birds on the island so bird watching is also big here. A lagoon on the windward side is supposed to be a windsurfer's paradise.

FLASH: NEW PICS ON THE WEBPAGE (see link) (Sorry no captions yet)

Fish Fans Cheer!

The fish are winning in the battle with the spear. Michael hunted again on the reefs in Aves de Barlovento - this time we went to some reefs that were further out. The outer edges of the shallow reefs provided a good ledge for some larger fish - and they were large and wily for a reason. They were quick enough and sly enough to avoid the hunter and refused to become supper. After a few different spots and many attempts - we had to pull something out of the freezer. It was certainly not for lack of trying.

We stopped by to say hello to some folks aboard the boat Gabriel. They are anchored way outside on the outer reef - being protected by the reef from swells - but very exposed to the wind. They've been at the Aves for ten weeks - and their line "four weeks short of being perfect!" This is indeed a beautiful place. They are doing some fish counting for an organization that works to preserve the reefs. Hopefully they didn't see Michael's spear in the dinghy! They later stopped by Astarte with a bagful of books for some book trading. We had lots to trade.

On Thursday, we made our way west about 12 miles to the other side of the Aves - to Aves de Sotavento. After threading our way through the reefs under power, we put the headsail up. We sailed - although slowly - unfortunately not a fish catching speed. We did put a line in the water nonetheless. The wind was light but it's always pleasant to not listen to the engine and save the fuel.

As we came to Isla Larga on the southern side of this island group - we checked in with the Guardacosta via the radio. Barbara had prepared her spiel in Spanish so she was ready. She called in and got through the spiel. It was obviously clear to the Guardacosta that she was not a native speaker - as they switched to English. But she continued to answer the questions in Spanish. All seemed good - though we did expect a visit from them around cocktail hour. But they never came by. Perhaps today.

We found a very secluded place in a bay surrounded by mangrove. Depths were about 10-15 all the way in - avoiding a few obvious coral heads. Though we are just a few miles away from the other Aves - this group has very few birds in comparison. We've seen a very small turtle stick its head up quite a bit - but it's pretty shy. We snorkeled from the big boat all around this bay - there are small reef and rock structures around the edges. Barbara saw a huge turtle underwater - nestled in some rocks. Michael spotted a large eagle ray underwater with the longest tail he'd ever seen. There was a giant lobster in one hole - and we actually thought about how good it would taste for dinner. But they are out of season and we do pride ourselves on not poaching - so we passed. (That was hard to do - lobster sounded soooooo good!)

We had a nice quiet evening in our new location. Today (Friday) we'll either stay in this location another night - or move out to one of the other little islands. The water in this bay is a bit murky for snorkeling and we want to leave early on Saturday to make the run for Bonaire - and getting out of this area is a little tricky in early light.