Departing for Panama

After three months in Bonaire we're departing for Panama this morning. I think I've talked at length about the fish and the wonderland under the water. But to balance things out, here is a shot to show that there is also life above the waterline. Eventually I'll post a lot of photos of Bonaire. Departing soon.

It's a wet, small world

Fay returned from visiting family last week and we've been diving this week. Thus far the diving off the back of the boat has been the best. We literally put on the tanks and jump off the back of the boat, swimming not more than about 100yds from the boat, and diving to 40'-60' on wall that drops quickly to 300'! So that gets the wet started.

Then, after three months of dry weather which produced a very dirty boat constantly covered with red dust, it started raining. We had good solid rain on and off for two days. Everything was thoroughly rinsed which was really welcome. Unfortunately the leaking chain plate and forward hatch were not as welcome.

Then last night, small world. We went out to dinner at Capriccio, the only Italian restaurant in Bonaire, and the only restaurant we've enjoyed in years that also has a Wine Spectator award winning wine list. The wine list, virtually all Italian wines, was 20-30 pages of small type. But the small world story was figuring out over the course of the evening that I had previously enjoyed Capriccio's chef's cooking in 1988 at Vista Panoramica in Ivrea, Italy! Ivrea is a fairly obscure town about 50 miles north of Turin is probably best known as the headquarters of Italian computer maker Olivetti, which was had brought me there in 1988. From Ivrea to Kralendijk, Bonaire, Dutch Antilles an unlikely move. But fortunate for us as we had an excellent dinner!

Site updates

When not in the water I've had a lot of time to update the web site. The Systems section in About New Morning has lots of new material and is almost complete. Minor updates and changes were made elsewhere throughout the site to improve formatting, correct minor errors, etc.

Still Bonaire

In addition to snorkeling, the last couple of weeks have allowed me to focus on some chronic problems. The autopilot / plotter / navigation software interfaces now all seem to be working well which is a big improvement. Then I had to replace a voltage regulator for the engine mounted alternators and in the process I discovered and solved a problem that had been there since New Morning was launched. A wiring short cut had introduced an error in the temperature compensation causing the voltage to be too high, but that had been partially offset by the default parameters of the regulator which were too low. By correcting the wiring and setting the correct parameters in the regulator the batteries are now getting much better treatment which should contribute to their longevity and reliability. As they say, cruising is the endless process of fixing your boat in paradise.

Life is pretty easy here, though Bonaire is somewhat of a conundrum. Below the water is a lush marine wonderland, above the water is a desert. Most of the development is clustered along the western, lee shore. Businesses (and diving is THE business here) are along the shore, backed by residential areas. Our friend Joel Simon who runs snorkeling trips around the world (www.seaforyourself.com) took me on an expansive tour of the island. Half a mile away from shore is desert. Real desert, with open expanses of powdery red soil and cactus. Once I saw this it completely explained why the boat is caked in red dust. Trades blow off the Caribbean on the east shore, pick up the dust and deposit it upon everything else clustered on the western shore. The annual rainfall is just 20". Think of Los Angeles (annual rainfall 15"), but without water from Northern California and no snow covered mountains to the north and east. Bonaire makes all of it's own water, desalinated from the sea.

The population is just 14,000, but most people speak four languages - Dutch, Spanish, English, and Papiamentu (close to Portugese). Everything works pretty well, the food is excellent (though no patisseries), people are friendly and it's noticeably less expensive than Guadeloupe or Antigua.

A Polar beer is about $1.50 in a bar. It's only 8oz, but they're happy to sell us as many as we want!

The weather has been a bit odd. It's cloudy in the morning about 70% of the time, then it clears up later on. Kind of like San Francisco, except I don't know what's driving the cloud cover because 2/3 of the island is flat and it's no more than 5 miles across. And a persistent haze hangs on the horizon, producing sunsets like the one in this picture, but are so different than those east Caribbean sunsets.

Below the water is amazing. Literally right off the back of the boat are big parrot fish, eels, angelfish, squid, and all manner of tropical fish. And they're big, much larger than the same fish when we saw them in the east Caribbean. We're moored about 100yds from the main street of Kralendijk, and right off our bow is what I call the "lap pool", Bonaire style. Why build a pool when you have 80 degree crystal clear water at your doorstep? They've laid out long course (50m) lane lines and different groups come down on different days to train and go through all the stuff you'd see at a local pool. People swim laps, kids fool around when they should be paying attention, a coaches blows a whistle and yells at people, etc. I haven't seen a proper swim meet yet, but if they held one I'm pretty sure this is where they'd hold it.

On the mooring

It's life on the moorings now. There are two rows of boats, all double tied to moorings and swinging in 15-25 knots of breeze. Bonaire is very dry so a lot of dust, and a few mosquitoes, blow off the land and onto the boat. But the water is clear and the fish abundant.

Today we picked up Christian and Josie-anne in the dinghy and motored over to No Name beach on Klein Bonaire (aka Little Bonaire). It was blowing 20+ so the downwind ride to the island was very quick and relatively smooth. Although at one point we plowed into the back of a wave which took us off a plane and buried the bow into the wave, filling the dinghy with water. Fortunately everyone shifted aft, the bow lifted and we didn't sink the dinghy. We beached the dinghy, walked east until the powdery sand ended, then put on our fins/snorkels and kicked out. We went though about 40 yards of very shallow water with lots of coral which was a really challenge with lots of wind and a big chop. Once we got off the ledge, the bottom dropped away like a cliff.

As we snorkeled along the edge we saw an amazing array of fish and Fay got this great shot of a big parrot fish. But we also saw barracuda, trunk fish, angelfish and all manner of tropical fish, mostly super-sized. And turtles! We saw at least four different turtles,

Again, Fay got this great shot of a turtle that swam right up to her. Bonaire is called the Divers Paradise and we can see why; there are lots of fish!

The ride back was very wet. The first ten minutes we had a fire hose coming at us every 20 seconds as motored into the 20-25kts of breeze at 5-10 knots creating 25-30kts of apparent wind. Very wet and wild. The breeze is supposed to lighten up a bit later this week so we're looking forward to a second trip.

Out of the trailer park

Yesterday we moved from the marina to a mooring. There is no anchoring allowed in Bonaire due to a variety of factors. The first is that the water drops off very quickly from shore; literally from 20' to 500' in a few hundred yards. The second is the preservation of the reefs and marine life in Bonaire since they are the core of it's tourism industry. They have excellent moorings with two large mooring blocks, each with its own mooring line so all the boats are double moored very securely.

There is plenty of breeze, but no fetch and thus no waves. Just the wakes from passing boats, with much more traffic when a cruise ship is in town. And, no mosquitoes, or at least very few, we're not entirely sure yet if there are none at all.

The water is very clear and we can snorkel right off the boat. It's nice to be back where we can dive off the back of the boat anytime we want to cool off. While we were out for a swim today, Fay spotted a Lionfish. This is a big deal because it's an invasive species in the Caribbean that is both venomous to humans and a very aggressive and able predator with respect to other reef fish. As such, there is very active effort by marine authorities to capture or kill them when they are spotted in the Caribbean. Fay reported this one to the National Park authorities so we'll see if they come out to capture it.

Back in Bonaire

We arrived back in Bonaire late Sunday night. New Morning was in fine shape tied up in the Harbour Village Marina. It's nice to be back in the tropics and 80 degree weather! Unfortunately the mosquitoes here are as plentiful as the tropical fish and much more aggressive. We battled them in the hotel Sunday night, and now in the marina. However, we did discover bug wands at the hotel; sort of like a badminton racket, but they zap mosquitoes (or any other bug I guess). They're definitely more effective than slapping them with our hands. We have a few things to do on the dock, then I think we'll head for a mooring in hopes of escaping some of the mosquitoes.

Once settled in we'll start looking for dive and snorkeling locations. Yesterday afternoon while having lunch next to the water we could see large fish right up at the surface, nibbling on the growth on the rocks. We're looking forward to getting into the water.

Briefly home

We came back to California last week for a very short visit and we return to Bonaire very soon. It's cold and rainy here, but the shelves of the stores are completely full! We picked up some provisions, parts, tools and the usual collection of stuff that is difficult to purchase when cruising, but available here within a 10 miles radius!

We also made our pilgrimage to the French consulate to apply for a long stay visa for French Polynesia. It appears all of our papers were in order, so now we just wait 2-3 months to see if they grant our visa.

It's raining again today with the temperature hovering around 50F. We're ready to return to 80F and warm water.

Bonaire and Updates

We arrived in Bonaire yesterday afternoon. We sailed from Los Roques to Aves de Barlovento in very boisterous conditions. With 22-25kts of true wind directly behind us we averaged 9.2kts of boat speed and had a new boat speed record of 13.8kts! But the seas were short and steep so we sailed with the true wind at 150 degrees and gybed back and forth down our course. The result was that our net speed for the whole trip from anchor to anchor was only 7.5kts. We anchored at Barlovento behind a large stand of trees filed with red footed Boobies. Fay got some great pictures which we'll post later.

Yesterday we sailed from Barlovento to Bonaire, with slightly less wind, only about 20-23kts. Our average yesterday was 8.6kts, but again we had to gybe down the course so our net speed was a little lower. As we rounded Lacre Point and headed up the lee side of Bonaire the seas smoothed out and we thought the wind would lighten up. Were we ever wrong. The wind increased to 25kts true, with gusts to 28, and right on the beam. With the jib rolled up a bit, and a reef in the main, we flew up the lee shore at a constant 9.5kts which is pretty much our maximum hull speed without waves to push us forward. An exhilarating ride, but we would gladly have had less wind. Dropping the sails in that much wind was not fun.

Fortunately there was a little protection at the fuel dock in the Harbour Village Marina so we had no problems docking and tying up. This morning we moved from the fuel dock to a slip. Tomorrow we leave at 5am for a short trip back to California.

There are pictures of our most recent time in Les Saintes, and an update to our planned schedule.

First bread

Just before the lobster was another first on New Morning. The first fresh baked artisan breads.

First Fay made focaccia from an Alice Waters recipe, to which she added machego cheese, basil pesto, caramelized onions and spices. That was dinner one night. Then the next day she stretched it into a pizza for lunch!

Not to be out done, I took my hand to the bread baking. First flour (white + rye), salt, water, and a pinch of yeast which fermented overnight. In the morning, a quick fold and 15 min rest, followed by shaping (I tried two) and two more hours of rising, then into the oven. We were very worried the oven wasn't up to the task, but with our baking stone in place and 45 minutes of pre-heating, it was great. The breads came out really well, easily exceeding my expectations.

Since we both love good bread (with olive oil and balsamic it's practically a meal in itself) we now know we can always have good bread. What a relief to no longer be at the mercy of the grocery store, mercado or supermarché.

Death in the afternoon

Death was expected to come swiftly. The pick was plunged quickly and decisively between the eyes, through the skull and into the brain. But not today, not this afternoon. The langousta fought back with all it's being, flipped and flopped and defied the "the most humane way to kill a lobster..." instructions in the cookbook. Fay fell back, then plunged forward again and again, stirring the contents of whatever lay behind the forehead of the langousta. To no avail; it would not die.

As it seemed weakened, she positioned the long chef's knife the length of it's body and tail. With a swift blow of the rubber hammer the knife bifurcated the langousta. But still it's twitching body tormented Fay's gentle being. Eventually, with it's body cut in half, the tail separated from the body, the legs from the body, and the antennae from the head, it ceased to move. Relief and sadness settled on the transom.

None the less, grilled and served with freshly baked bread and a bottle of La Crema chardonnay it was a tasty meal. Pictures will be posted.

These are not plastic

It's not often you see pink flamingos in the wild. Fay got some great shots of these birds, but this is a quick one to show you what we saw. There was actually a huge flock of them, but after we made one pass fairly close quite a few of them moved away.

Much better!

Today we moved from out on the eastern reef to a really nice little lagoon on Isla Carenero. The eastern reef was beautiful in a desolate sort of way, but we got tired of whipping around on the end of 200' of chain in 20kts of wind. Now we're in a tranquil lagoon with 25' of water, shielded from the wind, but plenty of breeze to keep us cool. The small island keeps out the waves and chop. Seems like a pretty nice spot.

And as a bonus, on the trip today we went by an island full of pink flamingos! Fay was in awe and shot a bunch of pictures. We'll post them when we get an internet connection. And to top it off, after the anchor was set and we were starting to settle in, a turtle swam up to the boat as if to say "welcome".

Moved on

We departed Grand Roque yesterday and motored about 8 miles to a very remote anchorage. There is no land here, just the barrier reef, and a lot of smaller shoals and coral patches. The Caribbean is breaking on the other side of the reef, giving us a constant line of white surf above the expanse of light green reef which borders the blue water in which we are anchored.

To the northeast is a wrecked ship sitting on the reef, slowly rusting and disintegrating. It's not really a warm and pleasant sight. Another lies to the southeast. To the north we can see the hills of Grand Roque, and to the west we can see the low profile of land and mangroves that fringe the inner reef which is the center piece of the archipelago, though unnavigable and a restricted area.

The reef blocks the waves and swell, but there is nothing to block the trade winds so we have a steady breeze, quite boisterous this afternoon at 18-22kts. This is basically an isolated and desolate place. This morning with just 10kts of wind it was very tranquil, but at 20+ it becomes less pleasant.

We swam out towards the reef and the water was noticeably cooler than in the east Caribbean. Despite the fact that we sailed at least a couple hundred miles south, the water and air are both about 2-3 degrees cooler. OK, the air is still 81 and the water is still 80, but it's definitely cooler. Unfortunately our our swimming navigation was poor and we were not swimming to the closest point of the reef. We started to feel awfully small as the boat became more and more distant so we turned back. We did find a small school of Caribbean reef squid under the boat, same cute little squid we saw last spring in Les Saintes.

I think tomorrow we'll move to the western side of the archipelago and try to find something more protected.

Venezuelan shake down

Today we attempted to check in to Los Roques. Although not an official port of entry for Venezuela, the Doyle cruising guide and Noonsite both advised that it was possible to stay for 14 days by visiting several government offices and paying some fees. The fees would come to about $130 and be paid to the Los Roque authority to help with the preservation of the area as a marine park.

However, when we went to the Guarda Costa office to check in, we were told we could only stay for two days. After some further discussion they explained that it might be possible to stay for a week and that they would come by the boat in a few hours. True to their word, they did come by the boat a few hours later and advise us that for $500USD they could grant us a "special" permit to stay for 7 days. We declined to purchase the "special permit" so they told us we had to leave by Friday.

Arrived in Los Roques

We had a fast and uneventful passage to Los Roques. We departed Les Saintes at 9:30am on Saturday and had the anchor secured (second location) at noon on Monday. It was 385 miles in just over two days, anchor to anchor.

We anchored off Grand Roques (check the Where's New Morning page). We'll inflate the dingy, go ashore and check in tomorrow, then move to a nicer anchorage. Right now it's burgers, beers, and more sleep.

Bouncy night

The north swell returned and last night was a bouncy and mostly sleepless night. We're up early, preparing for departure to Los Roques. We'll sleep better underway than we did last night.

Les Saintes

After a pretty idyllic three weeks, we're getting ready to leave Les Saintes (click on the picture for a slightly larger version).  On Monday, with Vivian's help, Fay was able to check in and check out so now we're legal.  Christian and Joesian departed yesterday, Liz and Ed departed today and Jean-Marc and Vivian will depart Saturday.

Today, with the help of Jean-Marc's hookah, I scrubbed the waterline to get rid of the grass growing on the shady side.  Fay also used it to clean the hair off the shaft and prop, then verified the prop was opening and closing easily. We're stowing everything and generally cleaning up.  Tomorrow we'll top up the batteries and the water tanks.

Saturday we'll depart for Los Roques, about 380 miles, roughly southwest.  With E or ESE trades it should be a pretty quick trip.  We're expecting a two day passage, plus or minus a few hours, so we should be settled in there on Monday.

We'll miss the fresh baguettes, pastries and friends we've enjoyed here.  Les Saintes is a pretty sweet spot!

Birthday madness

Last night we had dinner with Ed and Liz from Massachusetts on their Swan 441, and we were joined by a French couple, Jean-Marc and Vivian. We had all had drinks and dinner a couple of times before and continued the conversations learning about each other, where everyone had sailed, boat gear, etc.

But in the course of the conversations we learned that Liz, Vivian and I, all shared the same birthday - October 10th! And this is a big year because our birthdays will be on 10/10/10. What are the chances of three people out of six at a social gathering having the same birthday?

And then the remaining three all have birthdays on national holidays or celebrations. Jean-Marc on Halloween, Ed on Hero's Day (Antigua) and Fay on Bastille Day. It was birthday madness night.

Happy New Year

We started the day with a nice walk over the island to plage de pampierre. We've spent a month here and never knew about this beach. Ed and Liz from Gypsea had told us about it and it was really delightful. We did a little snorkeling (not great visibility), had a picnic lunch and snoozed in the shade on the sand. After a refreshing shower we shared a bottle of Chilean chardonnay with Jean-Marc and Vivian from Jeanvi and reviewed the anchoring practices of the many boats that have filled the anchorage in the last couple of days. Vivian personally dives on many of the anchors and gave us the news that our anchor was buried deeply.

Earlier in the day Fay had purchased some mahi-mahi right out of the boat and asked them to filet it on the spot. She grilled the mahi-mahi, and also grilled some fresh endive garnished with 12yr old balsamic. Add a side of rice and a glass of Laurent-Perrier champagne and voilà, New Years Eve dinner a là New Morning!

Just before dinner we watched the blue moon (2nd full moon in the month) rise over the village. Truth be told, we didn't make it to midnight, but we were awakened at midnight by lots of noise, including a full fireworks show which was a total surprise. Though as Fay watched piece of a burning missile arc over the bimini, the thought of burned sails crossed her mind!

About 3am the boat started rocking and the wind started blowing as some weather moved in and through our anchorage. We've been bobbing and rolling all morning, but it's supposed to calm down this afternoon. Say hello to 2010!