21 November 1995 Bonaire
We picked up two scooters and had a terrific day out. We saw quite a few of the 15,000 pink flamingos that live on the island and saw the salt flats & salt mountains that are so important to Bonaire’s economy. We got fried in the sun and I swam back to Glencora to get some suntan lotion. Craig managed to knock a scooter over by jumping up and down on it – the damage cost me £15! After a very shaky start, Glenys got on really well and the boys loved it. We finished a fun day by having dinner at the dreaded Kentucky Fried Chicken.
22 November 1995 Bonaire
We did a bit of running about and a few jobs in the morning. After lunch, Glenys and I did a dive off the back of Glencora. The reefs are nice, but are all the same – a bit boring. I’m quite disappointed in Bonaire’s diving.
23 November 1995 Bonaire
Glenys did school work while I did a few jobs. I picked up our gas bottles and managed to get a second-hand water pump and impellor for the outboard which eases my mind somewhat. I got a fax from our housing agent saying that everything is fine at the house and the rent keeps rolling in. I got another fax from Paul Preston saying that the Inland Revenue will be issuing a residency ruling within the next month, so I’ll call him after Christmas. I hope to God that we get non residency and we can close the Trust down!
Carol (bless her) sent me a fax detailing all our mail, which I will sort out when we get to Curacao. We want to leave for Curacao tomorrow, but there is a low pressure area over Columbia which is showing signs of slow circulatory development. If it develops, we could get a SW wind here which is bad because we would be beating to Curacao. On the other hand, if we stay here, the anchorage would be a lee shore...
We went into town after lunch, I cleared out and Glenys did some shopping. In the evening, we went to the Club Nautico for a little Thanksgiving drink organised by Mo of “Motu”. We saw Stephan from “St Meloris” who we met in Hog Island last year.
24 November 1995 Bonaire to Spanish Water, Curacao
Miserable morning, rain and a hangover. I received a fax satellite picture and there appears to be no immediate problem with the low mentioned yesterday. We had to wait for half an hour while the heavy rain stopped. We dropped the mooring just as it started to rain again and motored towards Curacao in the pouring rain.
Thankfully, the rain soon stopped but we didn’t have much wind, so we motored all the way to Spanish Water. We only had a very small scale chart of Curacao so it was a little disconcerting approaching the island. We had a small pod of striped dolphins join us for a few minutes. We found our way into Spanish Water, which is a beautiful natural lagoon with only one narrow entrance channel.
We anchored and went over to “Kalida” to get a bit of local knowledge from Derek and Alison who have been here for two weeks. There’s a marina called Serafundi’s who look after the cruisers. You pay £10/week to become a member and you can send faxes and get free water there. They also hire cars, organise trips to the supermarket and sell cold beer. Anything you get from them is done by honour – you simply write down what you take on a list and pay at the end of the week.
25 November 1995 Spanish Water, Curacao
We caught a bus into Willemstaadt, which is the main town. I tried to clear in but immigration was closed. We wandered around the shopping area which has lots of shops like St Martin but more expensive. I managed to buy a new stereo for the boat for £45. It’s only 2W per channel, but is adequate for us; it has a CD input and two tape decks so I’m pleased with my bargain. The only problem was that it was 9V DC, so I have to connect it up to my computer PSU which was a bit of a fiddle but worked OK in the end.
To my great disappointment, we ended up having lunch in McDonald’s - I wanted to try out the local delicacies, but the boys won. There’s an amazing floating bridge across the river in Willemstaadt which is about 400 metres long. When a boat wants to enter the river, the bridge pivots about one end and swings open powered by engines on the other end. The bridge is built on boat shaped rafts and looks most odd when it is opening. I think the original one was a kind of ferry/bridge.
26 November 1995Spanish Water, Curacao
School work in the morning. In the afternoon we just messed about. A quiet Sunday.
27 November 1995 Spanish Water, Curacao
Glenys did school work in the morning, while I went into town to clear in. I managed immigration OK, but customs wouldn’t clear me in. They took my name and the boat name and said that their agent in Spanish Water would contact us to inspect the boat. I doubt it – there are boats here that have been waiting over a month! The only problem with this system is that I would like clearance papers when I clear out to Honduras. The customs said that they could provide this but it would cost me $15US – I don’t think I’ll bother!
While I was in town, I bought some leads and a microphone so that I can record the keyboard and me playing the clarinet on our new stereo. Unfortunately, the microphone I bought is uni-directional and doesn’t give a consistent level when playing the clarinet. I think that I need to buy a tie clip type microphone and clip it onto the clarinet. We went over to Sarifundi’s marina and registered with them. We booked a “Microvan” for tomorrow.
28 November 1995 Spanish Water, Curacao
Glenys did school work in the morning, while I wrote faxes to Carol and Oyster Brokerage. We’ve decided that we should try to sell the boat as soon as possible, maybe in Florida, maybe in the Azores or, as a last resort, sail the boat straight back to England in September.
At one o’clock, we picked up the Microvan and went into town. We did a huge food shop and then went to a couple of toy shops and the afternoon was gone! Steak for dinner.
29 November 1995 Spanish Water, Curacao
We declared today a holiday and didn’t get out of bed until half past nine. After breakfast, I put up the windsurfer and played all day in 18 knot winds – not quite enough for my 5.5m² sail (an eternal lament!) Glenys and the boys mooched about on the boat. Unfortunately, there isn’t a beach nearby.
30 November 1995 Spanish Water, Curacao
Glenys went off to a supermarket on a free bus from Sarifundy’s. I did a few minor bits of tidying up and rang around to get some oil and fuel filters for the engine.
When Glenys came back, we had a quick sandwich and then I went into town. I picked up my filters and then bought a clip-on Omni directional microphone to record the clarinet. Unfortunately, it cost £20 and Glenys thought that I was extravagant, considering that I prevaricated about buying a £25 Game Gear game for the boys. “It’s alright if you’re buying for yourself, but you’re really tight about other things”. It’s funny how the truth hurts!
We went to happy hour at Sarifundy’s, Glenys lost a contact lens and we had to go back to Glencora for dinner (which made her grumpy). I think she still hates me for buying that £20 microphone! (But it does seem to be good!)
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