Leaving Cartagena

Leaving Cartagena for the San Blas today, planning to visit some of the islands off Cartagena (Tintinpan etc) then across the bay to Sapzurro where Russ hopes to maybe score a wave which our friend from Afar had 6 amazing weeks, then north to the famous San Blas Islands.

We are looking forward to the coming month, so much to see! Cultural encounters with the Kuna Yalas, the only try caribs left (tiny people, second only to the pigmies in Africa!). Their ladies make the famous Molas, intricate stitching work, very colourful for which they are well known world wide.

Be in Colon for the Canal Crossing by the end of March.

Cartagena - Colombia

Who would have thought that we would be drifting under kite all the way from Curaçao to Cartagena? The notorious tricky seas in Santa Marta delivered the expected 30 to 40 knots but very little swell, 2 meters at its worst, the only time we put the kite down and drifted (again) under bare poles - just a little slither of genoa for maneouverability - for about 6 hours until we put the kite up again and off we went to lovely Cartagena. Took us about 3 days. So we have been here since saturday the 18th.

So here we are and what a pleasant surprise! Cartagena is a big city, but pleasant to see and be in - even Russ is enchanted and this is big news as you all know. The old town is magnificent, the supermarkets world class and way better priced than the Caribbean thank you very much, and only a 2 minute walk from the ancorage which is great!

Checking in is pricey and we thought we could get away with it but it was not to be as we saw the Coast Guard boarding a few boats today (tuesday the 21st) so we decided it wasn't worth the risk. You have to use an agent and all up it costs about NZ$ 100 for an one week stay. The Clube Nautico charges NZ$27 for a week of water, dinghy dock, internet and facilities. A taxi ride around the inner city area is NZ$4 and a meal out for 2.5 (got to include Bri) is around NZ$30 including beers, juices and ice cream!

Bri simply loves the street dancers, with their colorful clothes, big skirts and energetic African drum beat. She just starts swaying and shimming away as she hears them and when she sees the dancers she is just mesmerised and stunned by all their moves, she kind of tries to imitate but eventually just watches and shuffles from feet to feet. The problem is keeping her in the perimeter of the audience, she wants to be there in the middle of all the twisting legs, torsos and hands! And when they end, she squeals, laughs and claps saying " ais ais ais" (more more more!). She stole the dancers show the other day by just being Bri. Oh God we were so terribly unashamedly proud of our little girl!!!

Anyhow, we are having a ball and will enjoy this amazing city for another week before going across the gulf to the San Blas islands, where we expect to see some pretty amazing things too... all in all we are have a feeling we are about to enter some of the best times of our lives.  

Venezuela's Blanquilla, Los Roques & Las Aves Islands

We had an overnight sail from Prickly Bay to Blanquilla. We had no navigation lights on at night but it wasn't on purpose, they had a bad contact. But apart from a few ships we saw nothing and had a pleasant sail. The swell is a bit confused getting out of Grenada so it takes quite a few miles to really feel the “ open sea” and it was fine.

We anchored on the Western side of Blanquilla and were happy to see two other boats there. We thought it may be a bit of a tight fit as the guide said so but it is not the case. There was us, a brand new Hansen 60 and a 40ft, both from Venezuela. We felt safer by being with them and realized they were not flying any flags (not even Venezuelans) so we quickly hid ours too. Next day the skipper of the big Hansen came around to say they were moving to another anchorage and he just wanted to make sure we were ok with that and to reassure us that we were perfectly safe staying there. They had been sailing the Venezuelan coast for years and said Blanquilla was a very good island, even the officials were totally fine to deal with but that we were not going to see them unless we went to the anchorage further south, they tended to visit them too only to have a beer or something.

They were from Margarita Island and said it was a no go zone specially for foreign yachts. Apparently the dangers are very localized in the Venezuelan Coast and off Shore islands and as long as you avoid these areas you should be safe enough. The trick is to know which areas are safe...He recommended Testigos Islands but they were past us already and gave us good tips on where to go in Los Roques and Aves. He advised that we pass quite far (10 miles at least if during the day) from the Militar Island of Orchilla. Not because there are problems but the military may hail you by radio and if you don't understand spanish it can be a hassle. As we were passing it at night we didn't care. Actually for the sailors whom are going that way the light in Orchilla can be seen almost 20 miles off the coast and it says only 5 miles on our CMAP so I got a bit of a fright when I spotted them at night as I was unsure of where we were then.

We bypassed Grand Roque in order to avoid officialdom and went straight to Sarqui. It was just beautiful. We stayed 3 nights there. The snorkeling was good but not great, actually it was like that everywhere in Roque as the reefs are dead and bleached. The fish life is interesting and quite plentiful but lack the variety one would expect. Some big scary barracudas always lurking around... they gave me the creeps and made me go into the water without any jewelry or sparkly bits as I am told they are attracted to them. The mistake I made was dropping the spear of my spear gun right in front of one... shivers she was not moving away and as I moved she moved too... it took me ages to reload my gun...Ok Ok Ok for the greenies there... Los Roques is a national park and in theory you are not supposed to fish with guns and if it makes any difference I caught nothing. However I may add that every other boat is fishing with some serious gear and there are many fishing camps around. Plus cigatera is a problem in Los Roques so the gun was more of a safety, or just in case something happens to impale itself...

After Sarqui we visited Carenero, just off Felipe Island. It had a few boats and a fishing camp close by so it was a busy area. Moved then to Becqueve which was very pretty and had nesting birds on it. Russ had a field day of photos. We went then to the leeward side of Cayo De Agua for the day with the day visiting tourist boats as aparently the snorkeling was good there... no a fat chance, all dead. But the average tourist just wouldn't know better. I guess they are happy just to see fish scrapping coral. The beach and land was very pretty and made for picturesque photos.

We spent the night on the inside on Cayo De Agua anchored with an Argentinean boat. It was nice to meet such a young excited couple. We had a great night with them and moved on the next day to Los Aves.

We visited only Aves de Barlovento as Sotavento has officials. In Barlovento there was a couple of fishing camps but they kept to themselves unless they had some medical issues, which happened to one of them with an infected toe. The anchorages are good and the eastern most anchorage in Isla Sur is very good for shallow draft boats. Even being exposed to the wind a bit it was dead flat if you managed to tuck yourself right in. We had a couple of night there with heavy winds. And another 3 nights on the second anchorage from left to right, just by the nesting birds. Russ had another field day taking photos. We spent one night in the Isla Oeste but that was not so good but we had hauling trade winds and were a bit too close to the fishing camp to my liking. Walking around the islands is lovely. The yachting shrine in Isla Sur is real cute and we left our contribution. The snorkelling can be excellent in some areas, the further way from the island usually the better. Had crays for dinner one... I caught one and Russ the other.

With an aching heart we decided to cover the 65 miles to Bonaire after a wonderful week in Aves.

The sailing was great, we were doing real good speeds, the sweel was not very high and with us. As we approached the lee side of Bonaire the real fun started... flat water and still 20 knots of trade winds made for perfect sailing grounds for our beloved sailing machine. In no time we had kite surfers and windsurfers coming to greet us. It was super nice the contrast of dry land, turquoise waters and the salt ponds with its colorful obelisks.

We got a mooring in town as there is strict no anchoring policy in the island. We were happy to oblige but not too happy to have to pay US10 a day for the privilege. But hey its all for a good cause at the end. Bonaire is trully lovely and hassle free. Very accessible and friendly. We enjoyed immenselly. It would have been perfect if we didn't have so many outboard problems. Because of it our exploration of snorkeling sites was very diminished. But I managed to have a couple of good dives and can see why Bonaire is so famous for its diving. It's pristine.

However, as the spoiled brat that I am, Indonesia (namely Sumatra and Komodo Area), Chagos and some areas of Madagascar are still much better. I love the soft corals and I didn't see much of that there. AND NO SHELLS! I was beside myself. The no spear gun policy was strictly adhered to but it hurts to see awesome eatable fish swimming by at a hands touch... I saw some of the biggest snappers I have ever seen here. No barracudas thank God! Or sharks for that matter...wonder what happened to them...no sharks in Venezuela either come to think of it... hum... better not too think too much of it... it brings memories of walking into a fishing camp off the coast in Madagascar to see massive boxes full of salted shark fin (“chinamen buy” the fisherman's smiley face said).

So now we are here in Curacao after a super sail again, hoping to stock up, see a bit of the island then move on to Aruba in order to get a good window to Cartagena – Colombia. Apparently the seas are very rough at this corner of the Caribbean thanks to the very end of the Caribbean seas, so a rather long fetch for the swell to grow plus the end of Andes funneling winds plus the depth of the sea which encourages fairly big swells too. So it should be an interesting ride but thankfully short. Russ is preparing mentally for the worst, comparing it to the going around northern Madagascar... I guess we have to think of the worst so if we get something a little less bad we may be able to smile all the way there!

Check the webalbuns guys, shortcut on the left here. Heaps of cool photos there.

Tobago to Grenada and Grenadines

Wow, it's been a fair while you guys... well, I can give you all the excuses in the world and they will be always true but I really should just drop a few more phrases here and there for the blog followers... I guess the convenience of Facebook and the easy webalbum updates I have been giving makes me a bit lazy to write on the blog when I have the rare opportunity like this afternoon.

I will start by describing our present situation from Bonaire where the top speed was 17 knots. Moonwalker was loving it, and Russ had a lovely grin on his face. Brisa and I took the chance to read a book and catch up on sleep. We are good at that when we sail! At this very moment Bri is sleeping after falling asleep on the dinghy ride back from a local marina where we went to get water, and Russ is in the hospital with the son of the said marina as he had a bad accident with a piece of glass I am told. I not even noticed Russ was gone as Brisa was running around the courtyard after three very friendly dogs. Therefore I have the boat for myself for a wee while I hope. Can't not even remember the last time I had such peace even if the circumstances are odd!

So where did we last leave you all? Tobago! Yes, lovely Tobago. We had a blast there. Spent a month as we had two weeks by ourselves and another 2 with my uncle Tadeu and his family. It was a very nice place to cruise around. The anchorages are fairly good but some can be rolly with the northerly swell which we had when we arrived in Charloteville. We pretty much seen the entire island and were astounded to discover so few people visited it. Eventually we came to understand why: weather. We were at very end of season to visit it really. As when the infamous “ Christmas Winds” arrive from the Northeast predominately most of the anchorages become unattainable I believe.

To tell you all the truth Russ and I hadn't really done our homework and had no idea these winds were so severe. We discovered when we got to Trinidad to drop my uncle off and ended up being stuck in Trini for over a week – which is probably as much time as you need to be there if you got nothing to do on your boat. It was like, when the weather Gods hear a Christmas Bell they just turn on the fan into maximum! It was 20 to 30 knots daily from North to Northeast.

We managed to score a lighter easterly to just north of east winds on the 27^th December which allowed us to go to Grenada without too much trouble (just a bit of pain in our pockets as we had to pay extra in order to check out of Trinidad on boxing day– super expensive if you ask me at almost US150 for a bit over a month there!) but still with a very unpleasant swell. The plan was to by pass Grenada and anchor in Carriacou and head to the Tobago Cays in the Grenadines as soon as possible but as we approached St Davis Harbour in Grenada the days was coming to an end and the wind was getting stronger and more northerly (in other words right on our nose!). So into St Davis Harbour we went. There we realized there was no way we were going north anytime soon. The weather forecast was very strong winds all the way to the 4^th of January so we headed back down the island to more populated anchorages of Clarks Court and Hog Island. Eventually we settled to spend New Years in Prickly Bay and were very pleasantly surprised to meet many good friends, some from South African times.

Eventually we got a lighter wind forecasted – 15 to 20 – and thought we should give it a try. We decided to take the lee of the island even though it added 10 miles to the trip. The sail up the lee side was good, we had the company of another 10 boats which added to our confidence that we had made a good decision until we got to the end and had a glimpse of the channel to Carriacou... it was white foamy caps of 25 to 30 knots gusts Russ was fumming. He yelled at the winds and to whomever wanted to hear that he had thousands of miles to go so why the f?!@k should he sail up wind so come stupid Caribbean island? Oh well... I told him, as a good girl that I am, that I didn't mind we could just turn back to Grenada and carry on West, no harm done. However Russ kept checking all the other boats coming and everyone was doing it, even Filipe's Trimaram (a nice Italian sailor we had met in Prickly) was there bashing up wind... so Russ bit the bullet and off we went. Every time a wave crashed, the boat bashed or got slapped under Russ would growl... it wasn't a pretty sight. But we did it and anchored for the night in Carriacou. We watched as most of boats entered the same anchorage after us all weather beaten and salty. Russ with a cold beer in his hand exchanged pleasantries with them all from the salty deck.

Next day we moved up the chain into Union Island, still a bashing upwind but Russ seemed a bit more resigned into it and actually had some fun laying out plans wind angles and anchorages we could see while utilizing the wind to our advantage. Well, reality is we hadn't until then, to deal with contrary winds! Quite astounding I know. So I was a whole different game. We anchored on the lee side of Union, for the night and next morning we checked into the Grenadines by going into the crowded and tight harbour there. Winds were still hauling at 20 to 25 constantly. We moved after checking in, as Russ didn't want to stay there, to Petite Martinique, which was actually back tracking a bit but a good wind angle and not so bad with the high running swell. Next day the angle was good to sail into Tobago Cays.

The Cays is very pretty with picture perfect anchorages, beaches and turquoise waters but crowded. The wind was relentless and everyone was bashing in the main anchorage area of Horseshoe Reef so we decided to check our luck in between the two islands right behind it and managed to tuck ourselves off the main channel up against the shallow waters of the beach. It was paradise. Lovely beach just next door, off the strong wind and still. It was great. But the weather made snorkeling a pain with its constant chop and going out on the reef was pretty hard. So after 3 days we packed our stuff and moved on. Probably the coolest thing we saw was the biggest cruising catamaran in the world called Hemisphere. It is 120ft and looked enormous, but that is all it was, a very big cat. Not quite the statement we expected when we hear about a boat with that title. Russ made me visualize a down scaled hemisphere, and asked if I thought it was a nice boat. I had to agree with him it wasn't such an interesting boat after all. But man, it was big and flash...

We eventually returned to Grenada via the windward side in order to visit the Salina Islands off Carriacou. There we had an incredible time, with the anchorage just to ourselves, beautiful beach and water loaded with turtles. It was quite amazing to think that just a few miles north we had to share anchorages with dozens of boats. It was a great tip from an Irish sailor we met in Brazil.

In Grenada we did a good stock up bought a couple of guides for Venezuela and ABC islands – say whatever you want to say about cruisers net, but the Grenada net on VHF is absolute priceless and incredibly helpful in all matters so good on them (channel 68 at 730 am local time) – and off we went against everyones advice to the Venezuelan Off – Shore Islands!