Strange places and happenings!

                                                                                                        27.11.2012

Going west...... sailing into the sunset

When we left RSA, we were looking forward to cruising the wonderful Venezuelan islands and mainland. Colombia represented Noriaga, drugs and crime! How things change!

Sadly the stories of piracy, forced boardings, official corruption…. some true, some exaggerated,  led to our decision to cut Venezuela out of our plans. So many exciting anchorages and destinations, lost… thanks mainly to Mr Chavez.

 Many cruisers braver than ourselves report trouble free sailing in their waters, but there have also been enough first hand tales to justify our “wussiness”!

Monjes del Sur

We actually did visit Venezuela, and spend a night anchored behind a rocky outcrop belonging to them, Monjes del Sur. Certainly this was the strangest place in which we have ever spent a night! It is a real back of the moon, rocky little island(?), devoid of vegetation, and inhabited by a handful of Lighthouse attendants and officials. An artificial bay has been created by building a seawall between the big rock and the adjacent little rock. Across this bay, a polyprop rope has been rigged , on which there is room for 2-3 yachts to attach themselves.

Strange anchoring technique!

As we approached we were treated to a Spanish Inquisition on the VHF, regarding our intentions, destination, passport numbers, country of origin, registration etc.. We couldn’t understand a thing, but Chris on Scott-Free did pretty well, answering their queries. We just played dumb…Noa comprehendo, desculpa….(Actually that’s Portuguese anyway!)

We tied up in the fading light, and were troubled no further. Once again the inaccuracies of the Navionics charts were evident. Safely moored between the two bits of island, our plotter showed us well outside them!

Can't rely on the chartplotter all the time

Steve on Scott-Free had caught his first big fish while cruising , a big wahoo, and had invited us  for supper…. He’s a great cook too, and it was delicious! They are still eating Mr Wahoo morning, noon and night, 4 days later! We too finally got into the fish, catching 2 dorado…….yay!!!!

We were also visited several times by dolphins, big and small, playing in our almost nonexistent bow wave. Very special!

We slipped our lines at 5.00am and set out for Cabo de Vela, some 80 miles away. Now this stretch of water is where Petr Muzik had his personal best day of 220 miles in his Shearwater, “Shoestring”. Sheer Tenacity also set a record for herself….. the lowest number of miles logged in a day, in her life… 74! BUT, we landed (or shipped) another lovely dorado!!  There was little or no wind, and we saw no point in pushing Lord Perkins, only to get there in the dark! We elected to sail on, plodding along at 2.5 to 3 knots, until we reached the point where we needed to maintain 4 knots to arrive in Santa Marta at our planned time of 8.00am. So Lord Perkins was called upon to supplement the sails with 1400rpm for the last 48 miles, lifting our speed to about 4.2kt.

No wind and flat seas.........can't have everything

AIS, as I have mentioned before, is a great new bit of kit, and we would never sail without it now. It uses VHF radio frequencies to transmit a ships position, name, speed, course, and assesses any risk of collision.

It did however come up with a really unusual “Dangerous Target “ message on my last watch.

We were at risk from a ship coming backwards towards us, at 13.9 knots, apparently while at anchor! I was waiting for his name to come up (but it never did!) so that I could advise him that he was apparently dragging anchor rapidly in the direction of Santa Marta..

He passed us about a mile off, going forwards, but with no green (or red) lights showing, with the AIS still showing him at anchor and going astern!

A while later, I spotted a pair of ships coming towards us just off the starboard bow. I waited for them to show up on the AIS, just to confirm passing distance. It showed 0.8nm, which was fine, but that there was only one ship. By now the angle of the approaching vessels made it look as long as the Blue Train, if it really was only one vessel! My curiosity made me turn on the radar, which confirmed that there were 2 ships, one behind the other. Clearly ship no.2 had forgotten to turn on his AIS, much like my previous fellow had forgotten to change his status from “At anchor” to “under way”!

 Perhaps it was just a little reminder that there is no substitute for continuous watch keeping?

Approaching Santa Marta, Colombia, at dawn

We arrived in Santa Marta as the sun was rising to reveal that we were now in Latin American ,Colombia, having finally left the Eastern Caribbean , the island chain, and all its people, culture and music behind.

Santa Marta feels good, vibrant, and different, and exciting!

Sheer Tenacity in a strange place.........a marina

ARUBA

 
 11/112012

Main St, Oranjestad

The “A” of the ABC’s, and the third of the Netherland Antilles, which are each so very different! Aruba is a self ruled protectorate of Netherlands, and once mined gold, has its own oil and refinery, (hence the massive American presence during the Cuban crisis, and the resulting enormous American tourism business.) The airport has one terminal for itself and the rest of the world, and one for US citizens!                                                           

Pink confection!

 We were encouraged to go to Aruba for two reasons…….

1) It would cut down the duration of our trip along the  sometimes hairy passage to Santa Marta by 80 miles, and                   

2), The northern end of the island is a beautiful diving and snorkelling area.

However, Oct 1^st saw the introduction of some really stupid new rules, imposed by bureaucrats with either a resentment of cruising yachts, or at best, a total lack of understanding. Unless things change, Aruba will stop being a destination for cruising yachts.

A yacht may no longer check in or out in the capital, Oranjestad where they tend to anchor. They have to check in at the dirty, inadequately set up commercial port of Barcadera. They may not anchor first, and go in by bus to check in or out, but must present the yacht for inspection.

Barcadera commercial port and clear in place for all yachts

 There are 3 jetties. One for ships and freighters with deep drafts, one for vessels with 7-10ft drafts full of Venezuelan traders, and one for yachts and boats with 6 ft draft, also usually full of Venezuelan fishing boats. This last jetty is on the other side of a shallow reef, which lies about 50ft off the jetty. I had to go behind the reef, do a 180 deg turn within the 50ft  channel, in a 20 knot crosswind, and slot into a 40ft gap between two fishing boats.

Never have I had to spin “Sheer Tenacity” using her reverse prop walk to port, together with bursts of full ahead to starboard , (and get it right first time) in so tight a space before. Nor is anyone on hand to take a line on the jetty which is 5ft higher than our deck! With our hearts in our mouths, we got it right, and had a whole 20cm under the keel as we made fast along side. It was nearly enough to make me rethink the need for a bow thruster, which so many Shearwater 39’s have chosen to fit!

Clearing out at Barcadera

 The 2^nd really stupid new rule in Aruba, involves one having to declare the yacht itself, for “Temporary Importation”. This has to be done if you wish to stay for more than 5 days, even though Immigration have granted

one permission to stay 90 days. There is no duty, or fee for this Temporary Importation, provided the boat is in Aruba for less than 180 days………But …..one has to employ an Agent, at a cost of $65 US , to fill in a form  for Customs, with exactly the same information you have already given to them, confirming that you will not be staying in Aruba for 180 days, and would only like  to stay a few more days than five!!

We said “stuff the agent and his $65, we will stay for 5 days!” But, what happens, we asked, if the weather turns foul, and we can’t leave on day 6? Talk to us, and we will allow you to stay until the weather clears. Super!

Last Question? Can we check out on Wednesday (our last day), sail up to Malmok in the north, anchor for the night, and leave at 5am in the morning, to simplify our departure?

“No, when you check out you must leave immediately”

Why?  Most countries give you 24 hrs to leave?

“That is the law. I will ask the boss if you can do what you request, because I also think it is a stupid law.”

Sadly, the boss was a typical bureaucrat, used his very best thinking said …..“NO!”

This is the 3^rd bit of stupid thinking on their part, and is sure to stop yachts contributing to the economy of Aruba for much longer.

This single act made it impossible for us to follow the often sailed 78 mile leg from Aruba to Cabo de Vela (in Colombia), and arrive in daylight  to anchor for the night. Either one has to approach and anchor at night, or sail on by!   

So back we went to the  airport anchorage, where the non stop screaming of jet engines is only interrupted by the lower level  rumbling of fast ferry boats, with their 4 ft wakes, ferrying hotel guests between the Renaissance Hotel and the hotel’s private beach resort.

All in all, we started to run out of goodwill towards Aruba, thanks entirely to the bureaucrats. The island has quite a lot to offer cruising yachts otherwise!!

4 official languages on this public bus sign

 We did manage to squeeze in a trip by bus down to San Nicholas in the south, and visit the famous Charlies Bar, popularized by all the Americans sent over to protect the refinery. Its quite a pub!

Chris, Steve,Rod and Mary adding to the clutter!

We went on to have a really great sea food lunch, at a restaurant called Zee Rover, aimed mainly at the local market. It was a simple formula and represented great value. All the seafood you choose is weighed, and sealed in a bag for the chef to cook up (deep fry!!) in an open kitchen, and is served within 10 minute of ordering. We ordered a portion of Baracuda, a portion of Wahoo, and 2 portions of prawns. 

We ended up with 4 big crosscuts, 2 of each fish, and a bucket of prawns. As side dishes we had fried plantains ( humungus bananas, which one finds throughout the Caribbean, used as a vegetable, rather than a fruit), plus a pile of chips….. and the cost? About R180 for the 4 of us!

Zee-Rover fishermen's restaurant

This little day outing did much to restore our Wa!

The following day, we took a bus North, and explored the “High Rise Hotel” district, Eagle beach, and Malmok. High Rise Hotel area (that’s really what it’s called!), looks a bit like Sun City by the sea…. Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it is the Americans Hotel and Condo Capital of Aruba….. not a place where cruisers would choose to spend time and relax!

The shopping mall complex was wall to wall jewelry shops, Boutiques, up market expensive restaurants etc, and all the stuff cruising folk do their best to avoid!

Malmok looked wonderful, and would have been a lovely quiet anchorage, with no shops, no tourists, no jet skies, clean water, and good diving!

Malmok where we would loved have spent some time..............if only!

 Eagle Beach was not bad, but was aimed at the more budget orientated US tourists. The open beach was a forest of palm frond umbrellas and recliners, costing about $20 US per person. Beer in cans, cost $5 US a pop. Huge pizzas were also available for a small bond, but, despite that, a quick glance at the average tourists there would indicate a major marketing opportunity, or challenge, for Fit for Life!…… I have found better ways to spend a day!  

             

Overdressed on Eagle Beach

Definitely time to leave!!   One last stock up shop….. and wow…. A huge big supermarket, called Lings, and affiliated to the IGA group,

proved to be the very best Supermarket we have seen anywhere in the Caribbean! First world selections and choices, with first world prices too! But what a treat!

Green iguana at Renaissance Marina

Perhaps a few days more in Aruba would have changed our thinking, and encouraged us to spend more time , and money there….. sorry bureaucrats…. You blew it for us, and probably many others, for years to come!  

Cherio to Curacao

 7/11/2012

Venezuelan floating market

                                                   

 With tooth fixed, basic shopping done, it was time to explore the island. But first, as always, there are the repairs to be done!

This time it was the UV strip along the foot of the headsail, plus a small hole requiring our attention. We had to drop the beast, lay it out over the deck, lash it down, and spend all day hand stitching it back in place… through all 4 or 5 layers of cloth, using the hand held sail/ leather sewing “dingis” to push through the one side, with Mary using a needle on the other, to pick up the loop…zig zagging our way along the foot.

Next it was sticky back sail repair along the weakened crease line. The poor headsail is beginning to look a little worse for wear now….. I should never have let Quantum persuade me to use the more expensive “Cruiselam” fabric instead of good old Dacron! Our 20 year old mainsail, is still in fine shape, and will see us home, I think! The 5 year old cruise lam Genoa might limp along for a while, but it hasn’t a hope of getting us back to RSA!

The genny looks better than she is!

 Our cruising buddies (Steve and Chris, on Scott-Free), had been loaned a car for the day, so it was time to explore. We particularly wanted to see the north coast, and the Westpunt anchorage, from which we hoped to set off for Aruba, some 80 miles to the west, when it was time to leave.

 

The after effects of Hurricane Sandy left big swells, and breaking waves, which enthralled the locals on the beaches, but did not make the anchorages look too inviting! Nevertheless, we had a fun day out, lunch at a local dive resort restaurant, and saw the outback of Curacao!

Sandy roughs it up

Our return trip to Willemstad, to check out, also gave us a chance to wander around the very attractive city, the shops, markets and canal side restaurants. The checking out process was also a lot less stressful! At least we knew where to go, and did not have to fill out the same forms, again and again!

Fish straight from the boat

Cafes on the canal

View from the ferry coming back from Immigration

Beers before the bus ride back to Spanish Waters

 We hauled anchor at 6am, but had not gone 300 metres before Scott-Free reported a jammed windlass. So it was an about turn, and Steve and I spent the week end getting the motor out of the anchor locker, and removing the top side section. The shaft between these two halves was totally seized, with the bearing a solid chunk of rust. It took patience and a Dremmel cutting tool, to remove the bearing, which had been replaced less than 3 years ago when Scott-Free’s teak decks were replaced. We suspect that the guys in Turkey used the teak deck caulking to seal the underside of the windlass to the deck, instead of a Sikaflex sealant, or  3M 4200, allowing the salt water to get into the works!

We then had to wait until Monday to track down the cir-clips, seals and bearing needed to re assemble and fit the unit back in place.  By sunset the job was done….. and so were Steve and I!

Having already checked out on the Friday, we decided to leave at sparrows the next day, Tuesday, as we were now “illegal”!

We enjoyed a pleasant sail up the coast, from Spanish Waters, passed Willemstad, up to Westpunt, which was calm and beautiful! A swim, a couple of beers, a light meal, and early to bed, and we were ready to leave at 5am for the 55 miles to Aruba.

Westpunt anchorage before we leave for Aruba

Flat seas, with very light wind on the stern, saw us motor sailing, wing on wing the whole way, arriving at the Barcadera check in port around noon.

STILL NO FISH !!