The Secret Cove

(Continued from Post 1     and 2   of sailing to Colombia)

The seas grew minute by minute we raced to the boat and managed to pull up the anchor in record time. Especially considering that the swell of the seas had gotten so rough that the bow was now dipping into the sea before coming up high enough to see the beginning of the keel. With John man-handeling the anchor, Paul on the wheel and me waving a bunch of kids foolish enough to be swimming out to us away Sunrunner headed back out to sea. As we wearily watched Riohacha fade away behind us we prepared for another all-nighter until the next possible anchorage. Though we did get a few smaller squalls and some drenching rain falls in the early half of the night by the time the midnight watch was winding down the wind had disappeared completely. It is said that you always have either too much or too little wind when out sailing. This night was a case and point. My watch was from around 2 am for three hours, but as John had to practically pull up the anchor by hand in Riohacha, due to the rough sea conditions, I decided to let him sleep longer. Plus, I have always loved night-watch all alone with my trusty shuffle providing the background music. Enveloped by the dark night and sea with only Orian as your fellow company is not a bad way to spend a few quiet hours of your life.

With no wind we were barely making a couple of  knots. It did not truly matter  as we were off schedule anyway with the mad-dash out of Riohacha it worked out better to be barely moving and just waiting for the sun to rise. We were looking for Rio Palamino and were sailing only a mile or two offshore. In the dead of night as we were very, very slowly approaching land I started to see lights from shore. Not knowing the topography it was very disconcerting to see red lights hanging in various heights along the coast. Normally at sea you can tell a lot by the lights you see on the horizon. Red, green, and white at dirfferent alignments can tell you what type of ship going in what direction even if you can see nothing else. Thus seeing random placed red lights up high and low with randlomly flahsing white lights was starting to play games with my mind. When the sun finally began to rise I saw the reason for the floating lights, the land rose dramatically out of the water and shot up into mountains. The lights were from power poles strung through the mountains. The long and tiring night was rewarded by one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. From the ocean looking east onto land we saw rising up, white beaches, then lush tropical green jungle hills, then behind it the snow capped mountains of the Andes. We all got on deck and watched in awe for at least an hour while we slowly sailed along the coast.

 
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Cabo de la Vela: the Cape of Sails

John & Aly on SunRunner

(Continued from previous posting):

The next morning we awoke around 4am.  Surprisingly, the weather forecast from the day before was correct.  I couldn’t believe the drastic change in conditions.  The howling 30 knot winds had just abated.  The seas were reasonably calm.  It seemed so unreal that weather could switch from such harsh circumstances to practically nothing in under an hour.  It was as if someone had flipped a switch.  Afraid that it was too good to be true, we didn’t waste any time.  We pulled up anchor and ‘got the hell outta Dodge’.

With renewed spirit we set off for the small Colombian village of Cabo de la Vella.  As I said before the winds had seriously dropped, and SunRunner was making only 4 knots under Genoa and mizzen.  The roughly 40 mile trip would take us a little over 10 hours, but we didn’t mind.  Better to be going somewhere than sitting in Bahia Honda.  The sun was bright.  The skies were clear and blue.  It was a nice, lazy and relaxing sail. 

Alyson tanning on deck.

By mid afternoon we had cleared the Guajira Peninsula and sailed into the nice little bay off Cabo de la Vela.  It was an interesting little place.  The village was settled by the Wayuu indians, and now the town functions as a fishing village and ecotourism destination.  Yes, now we had arrived in backpacker country.  And every year dozens or perhaps even hundreds of backpackers venture to the tiny village of Cabo de la Vela to enjoy the beach and sleep in authentic Wayuu indian houses (they are made from the hearts of cactus, you know). 
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Sailing into Curacao

July 9th

Spanish Waters

As “Land Ahoy!” echoed through Quercus, our sailboat, a flock of neon pink flamingos flew past us headed back to Bonaire. We had sailed out of Kralendjik, Bonaire, earlier that morning and after another quick down wind sail we were rounding the southern tip of Curacao. The wind was 20-25kts with the waves around 5-7ft and we were under full genoa and main. Our destination in Curacao was Spanish Waters, one of the most protected natural harbors in the Caribbean. A perfect hurricane hole outside of the main hurricane paths. Curacao actually has two such natural harbors, and ever since Columbus’s scout “discovered” Curacao there has been a political tug-of-war between the Spanish and Dutch over the island. In the 1800s Dutch finally gained total control and it has remained a Dutch island for the past two hundred years.

The entrance to Spanish Waters is a very narrow channel no wider than 50-75ft at the most. It is extremely difficult to be certain exactly where the entrance is just by eyeballing it from the rolling ocean for the first time. As we neared the marked spot on our charts Mom and I went forward as look outs and John and Captain manned the helm and sails. Just as we were approaching this critical point in our trip I spied a Coast Guard cutter steaming full speed at us from our rear. While we had to contend with a stiff breeze and choppy seas this ship’s wake was twice as large as the waves in the ocean, some 9-11ft! As it continued toward us at that reckless speed I could see that it would cause wet and rough trouble for us.
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These are the people in your neighborhood

The crew on a Swan 86 Racing Yacht.

The time we spent in Bonaire, gave us the opportunity to make several new friends and meet up with old ones.  Since most boats sailing in the westward Antilles have to visit the same islands, you get the chance to see some of the same people over and over.  You come to remember them more by the name of the boat and less by the names of the actual people.  Here is a quick blog about some of our favorite people and most memorable days while in Bonaire.   

The Young American Vacationers:

Our first week in Bonaire we met Richard and Tiffany.  They are a young American couple from Springfield, Missouri who had come down to the island on vacation.  Tiffany, who is a dive master, had visited Bonaire before and had returned with Richard to share the experience.  We happened to bump into them while having sundowners at Krael’s dockside bar.  They rocked and exponentially improved the already great time we were having in Bonaire.  It was great to sit, have a few beers and talk with people our own age, especially such interesting people.  Tiffany has spent years diving and told us all the good spots to hit along the waters edge.  She even does spelonking or cave diving.  Richard was awesome, too.  He kept us entertained and laughing with stories of bar tending, his stand-up comedy, touring the states with his band, and driving an ambulance.  We had such a great time with them that we all decided to meet the next day to do some snorkeling together.

We make friends with Tiffany and Richard while having sundowners.

Late the next morning, we headed out together in Quercus’s little dinghy to a spot they recommended.  The reefs along the island sit under about 30 feet of water.  The water is so clear though that the fish and corals are clearly visible from the surface.  We swam along watching the countless varieties of tropical fish passing beneath us.  The colorful coral sloped out of visibility and into the dark blue backdrop of the sea.  We even passed over scuba divers unaware of us swimming through their bubbles above.  I now regret not having purchased an underwater camera to document some of the incredible sights.  

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Welcome to Bonaire…Land of Flamingos, Topless Dutch Girls and Free Rum Punch

Scene of Kralendjik from the boat

Welcome to Bonaire…Land of Flamingos, Topless Dutch Girls and Free Rum Punch.  The above is all true, but actually Bonaire is really famous for its diving.  Renowned internationally as a scuba paradise people come from all over the world to explore the waters of this exceptional diving mecca.  It was Sunday, June 21st (the first day of summer, Fathers Day, and my little brothers birthday) and we had just motored into the alluring bay of Kralendjik (pronounced Kra-len-???).  We had spent the past month making our way west through the windward islands of the Lesser Antilles.  Finally, we had arrived in Bonaire (the B of the Netherlands ABC isles).  We couldn’t have been more ready.  As we eyed the colorfully painted buildings along the waterfront, we couldn’t help but salivate over thoughts of ice cream, cold beer and cheeseburgers.  Soon those dreams would be coming true, but first things first.

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