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.
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