KRALENDIJK HUSTLE

aka, The MOORING SWAP


0725 The crew of sv EXIT STRATEGY release their lines from the mooring and slowly back away.














0726 The crew of a dark blue hulled Dutch flagged sailboat align their yacht with the mooring pennants and eventually secure their lines.









0727 The crew of sv LADY REBEL loosen their mooring lines and glide away towards the island of Curacao.











0728 Captain Dan expertly maneuvers his vessel toward the mooring that was just vacated by LADY REBEL and his First & Last Mate secures their lines.








Such is the dance that’s been going on all hurricane season long here in Bonaire.  Most often it is carefully preplanned by the boats involved and carried out with precise orchestration. It is truly a beautiful ballet when everything is timed just right.

Those of us who have spent a number of summers here have noticed many new vessels.  That is no surprise, though, because we have been touting the relative safety from fierce weather conditions here in Bonaire for a number of years.  It appears, that after Irma and Maria reeked havoc throughout the mid and upper regions of the Caribbean last year, boaters (cruisers and liveaboards) have taken Mother Nature more seriously and are seeking more secure anchorages during hurricane season.

So, while boaters within the hurricane belt are praying for fair winds and calm seas, new arrivals in Bonaire are praying for an available mooring ball.  Every boat in the mooring field has been pestered by multiple sailors seeking information on when we might leave. This was especially true during the entire last month and Captain Dan likened them to "sharks" hunting for prey.

Landlubbers may ask “WHY?” 

All of Bonaire is a Marine Park and anchoring of any sort is not allowed.  Along the length of Kralendijk's seawall, a limited number of moorings have been put in place by the Marine Park. The daily mooring fee is only $10 USD, while the dockage in the marina is about $1 USD/length of vessel/day. (For example, if we kept Exit Strategy at the dock, it would cost $46 USD/day.)  Use of the moorings are on a first come, first serve basis. 

We arrived in mid May and are allowed to stay for about two more months.  However, we plan on leaving before then some time later in November when the Hurricane Season of 2018 has just about fizzled out.

The Captain is happy to have a change in scenery on a new mooring.