(1st to 25th February 2022)
On 1st Feb, our Round the World trip officially started with the arrival of Anthony ( USA) and Heidi (Norway). After doing some initial provisioning, we spent a great 10 days or so sailing through The Grenadine islands where we met up with friends to say our goodbyes and did a few dives. We even got to say a brief hello and farewell to our South African friends who we didn’t think we’d get to see before our departure which was really special.
We left for the 3 night sail to Bonaire from Union Island just after 3pm on the 12th Feb having discovered that morning that our Satellite Communication/tracking device had stopped functioning. We were unable to resolve the issue and so would have to leave without having it available which was really frustrating having only had it set up for 2 months, but there was nothing we could do. Having pulled out of Clifton Harbour, we didn’t even get to pull the main sail up as we found several tears that needed repairs. We pulled into Frigate Island to do the repairs, and as is typical, the clouds came in with associated wind and rain, just to make the job a more difficult one! We left once the job was done….but not before sorting out a prop wrapped mooring line/ball!!! 3rd time lucky, we got going – a little later than planned, but we were off. Unfortunately, the wind direction meant we couldn’t follow the direct route and ended up doing an extra 100 miles, adding another night onto our crossing. We wanted to arrive in Bonaire as the sun came up, but just as we wanted to slow down to delay our arrival, the wind picked up and we went with it – we ended up taking up a mooring at 05.50 under cover of darkness. After securing the boat, we all went to bed for a few hours before getting up to do the formalities.
The next morning, we all went ashore to clear Customs and Immigration and both were very friendly, cheerful and welcoming which was so nice after spending years in an area where good customer service isn’t really a priority. It set a theme for the rest of our stay – everyone we came into contact with was the same…nothing seemed too much trouble. Anthony decided to leave the boat that afternoon as he had spent almost the entire crossing suffering with seasickness – unfortunately any remedies he tried were too little too late. It was sad to see him go as the water was flat calm after arrival and we had diving to look forward to, but it was completely understandable, too.
Bonaire ( Netherlands Antilles) calls itself a Divers’ Paradise, and it truly is! They really have got it sussed and have made it really easy and safe for divers to enjoy the island. It is one, giant dive site and as such, no anchoring or fishing is allowed, but they have installed extremely safe and well maintained moorings which have a cheap nightly rate. All divers or snorkellers pay a “ nature fee” for unlimited use of the dive/snorkelling sites and these fees clearly go towards looking after the sites and monitoring water conditions etc. All dives are numbered and named with the names marked onto the moorings and you can dive straight off the back of the boat. It is beautiful down there! Just goes to show how it can be, if it is looked after and protected. Gorgeous colours, healthy corals and life everywhere…what an absolute treat!
On land Bonaire is very….dutch?! ( even though I’ve never been to Holland!) There are colourful, traditional buildings, it’s clean and neat and it just feels “nice”! Heidi did an island tour with us ( along with 10 or so German cruise ship passengers) which was a really lovely day. We love doing island tours as they give you a little insight to an area so you can decide if you want to explore somewhere further, but time was running away from us. We had our PCR tests before preparing to leave for Aruba a couple of days later than originally planned – we had diving to do!! lol
Being one crew member down, we did overlapping watches during the 18 hour sail to Aruba. We had to clear Customs and Immigration in the main shipping port of Bacerdera Harbour on arrival before moving off to an anchorage right underneath the flight path. I’m a plane lover so it didn’t worry me, but we were amazed that for a small island it sure was busy with constant flights in and out throughout the afternoon/early evening every day as well as up to 4 cruise ships a day. Although Aruba is also part of the Netherlands Antilles, it couldn’t have been more different to Bonaire! It had an entirely different feel about it – it’s much more of a holiday island meaning it is very built up with masses of huge hotels and designer shops along the main front street, 2 oil rigs off shore also mean an large oil refinery/ industrial area and the people, although friendly and helpful, didn’t seem to have the same enthusiasm and cheerfulness about them. The day after our arrival it was time for Heidi to leave us but we did meet up on the beach for an afternoon a couple of days later where we shared drinks, pizza and giggles for one last time. We spent the couple of free days we had looking for the best supermarkets to shop once our next crew arrived and cleaning up, doing laundry and doing some maintenance. Just like that, the first month is gone and the arrival of our next crew is imminent. To see more pics of our travels and adventures, visit our facebook page….. Sailing Crew Adventures with Scuba Diving | Facebook
