“B” is for BONAIRE

Sample of Bonaire's art: this was on a particle board fence surrounding a construction site. 

Bonaire is the “B” of the ABC Islands- AKA, the Netherland Antilles- that lie 40 to 50 miles north of Venezuela’s northern coast. Many, many years ago, a friend in Indianapolis raved about the endless natural beauty in the reefs that surround the island of Bonaire. When he said the island was an unspoiled diver’s paradise we were heartily intrigued. Then last year, our friends on Tiger Lilly cruised there, loved it, and encouraged us to sail to Bonaire.  How could we not go?

Can't identify this one, but I like the mask.

French Angelfish

  

The waters surrounding the island comprise the Bonaire National Marine Park.  More than 100 public moorings line the western coast, as well as the coast of Klein Bonaire- its small uninhabited out island. However, vessels can only overnight at those situated just off the main town of Kralendijk- a small town by US metropolitan standards, but during the tourist season can berth two cruise ships and double the population of the island for the day. We snorkeled right off our stern where the reefy bottom dropped into the dark abyss and saw a pair of large French Angelfish, Yellowtail Snappers, Peacock Flounders, hordes of Sargent Majors, and schools of Blue Tangs and Bar Jacks. Bonaire has eighty-seven specified dive sites. Many of the people we met there were divers and they motored their boats around to different sites every few days, while we dinghied to some that were recommended by acquaintances. We were surprised at the size of the fish even in the shallower waters.

Kralendijk's main drag

The free water gym at Karel's Bar

  

The official local languages in Bonaire are Dutch and Papiamentu. Papiamentu sounds like a mix of mostly Spanish and Dutch. Lucky for us, many of Bonaire’s residents also speak English and Spanish. We got along fine except under two circumstances.  The first was at the grocery store where everything is in Dutch and second was at Sunday Mass where every word was in Papiamentu.  At the store, I got needed translations from some Dutch cruisers we met, but at Mass all I could sort of decipher was the page number of the hymns so I sang along in the best pseudo-Papiamentu I could muster and prayed for forgiveness!

I was barred from getting a closer shot of the flamingos.

One day we road the island bus to the town of Rincon in Bonaire’s interior.  The trip was short, passing plenty of desert scrubland. Rincon was the first settlement on the island set in the shallow inland valley hidden from pirates on the sea. Over time, though, Kralendijk became more developed and populated because of its accessibility on the coast.  The bus driver took us beyond Rincon to see where the flamingos live and the iguanas waddle rampant. (They eat iguana on Bonaire and I wanted to try some, but we were never in a restaurant the day it was on their menu.)

Cadushi Distillery in Rincon brews with CACTUS!

All homes are brightly painted; my sister Lee would love this one.

 

We liked Bonaire for many reasons. The island’s reefs are rich and inexhaustible, and we plan on returning to see more. The people made us feel right at home and the shop keepers didn’t haggle us to “come in and look” when we walked through Kralendijk’s tiny tourist “malls’'. The businesses welcomed yachties with a good number of daily activity/dinner/drink specials. We met cruisers there from Holland, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and America. When all was said and done, we all laughed in the same language. 

Oh, yes, we’ll go back to Bonaire.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight

DR to BONAIRE Crossing

We thought we were fully prepared for our longest crossing of our cruising experience- 435 nautical miles.  That equates to nearly 501 statue miles to landlubbers. This distance is miniscule when compared to passages made by acquaintances who have sailed across the Atlantic or have circumnavigated the globe. Nevertheless, it would be OUR longest crossing to date and I, for one, approached it with a degree of trepidation.

The life raft was lashed to the deck, the jack lines were in place, simple meals were prepared and stowed in the refrigerator, and the intended float plan was filed with our family. The winds from various reports during our travel window were predicted to be easterly at 10-20 knots per hour. We calculated that the trip would take a little more than three full days if we averaged a speed of 6 kph.  We were also cognizant that our estimated travel time could be adversely affected if we did not successfully manage the easterly seas and northerly currents near the ABCs that tend to push vessels off course. No squalls were predicted although we saw intermittent rain clouds, but none fell upon us.  Yet, we donned our heavy weather jackets early on because there was so much sea spray flying as we raced southward through the waves, averaging 7.5+ kph.

Our rain gear needed a thorough washing afterward.

To improve our angle on the wind, we motored east from Boca Chica-DR for the first 6 hours. By the time we turned south, the wind measured a steady 18 kph, gusting to 22 and he main was immediately reefed to reduce the angle of heel. Our comfort was not improved, so a second reef quickly went into the main, followed by reefing the headsail well beyond its third reef mark.  The motion and heeling was constant and neither of us had much of an appetite, leaving the prepared meals untouched. The boat was rocking so heavily that Dan felt it was too much trouble to make our morning coffee which added to my discomfort. We didn’t even try to troll while underway because it might have been impossible to safely land the fish if one was caught. To make matters worse, I lost my prescription glasses and had to ‘D. Bohle’ an old pair to wear and they kept sliding off one ear. Another problem occurred when a stainless tube on our davits broke due to the repeated swinging of the dinghy.

FYI: bandage adhesive tape on a ROLL works best

The last night of the trip while I was on watch, Exit Strategy sailed parallel to the island of Bonaire. When Dan relieved me to begin his watch, I was excited to think that I’d be able to see the island when I awoke.  However, at daybreak when I got up, we still couldn’t see Bonaire! By that time we both just wanted to drop anchor and relax. In an hour or so, the haze had lifted and we were close enough to see the flat southern end of the island.

The southern end of Bonaire is extremely flat and produces salt.

We’re so glad to be here for this hurricane season and are looking forward to exploring the ABCs.