November started as October ended: waiting for a weather window during which to sail to Bonaire. Following Hurricane Tomas and his unsettled after effects, an exceedingly powerful cold front blew down out of North America, remaining strong as it hit the South American landmass and the isthmus of Panama. The air piled up against the mountains and was forced east, creating west winds across most of the southern Caribbean Sea. This being the zone of Trade Winds, west winds only occur briefly as a component of a vortex. This current system, though, was a broad band a thousand miles long -- not a good time to contemplate a westerly passage. So, we waited.
For diversion, the original factory fresh water pump finally wore out. I had spares in storage. Rarely does anything go smoothly, though. The manufacturer discontinued the original model. The replacement had a slightly different footprint, so I had to cut and file bits out of the fiberglass sound-dampening cover for plumbing ingress. The small input filter had a crack in it, so I had to find a new filter and change the plumbing a bit. With the trip to the chandlery, it took the whole day. Our freshwater system does have a foot pump, though, and we still had potable water. On this day, vote counts showed that the G. O. P. and the Tea Party had won a majority in the U. S. House of Representatives.
Most cruisers have by now assumed that Tomas was the last hurricane of the season and are getting ready to leave Grenada, their summer home, just like it has been for us. On Thursday, November 4th, we joined a potluck dinner with many other cruisers for one final visit with friends we may never see again, or at least not until next season. This same day, we got an e-mail from dear friends, Charles and Leslie, S/V Phaedrus, noting that they would be leaving Trinidad, bound for Grenada, and would like to see us if possible. They would arrive the following Tuesday or Wednesday. In the meantime, we took the bus downtown for one last shopping trip for new towels, some clothing, and to eat out one last time at our favorite Chinese restaurant.
By mid-week, the second week of November, the Trade Winds were reasserting themselves, at least lightly, in the southern Caribbean, so on Wednesday, the 10th, we took the dinghy from Clark’s Court Bay to Petite Calavigny Bay to the nearest Customs and Immigration offices to get out exit papers from Grenada. At noon, we took the bus to the head of Prickly Bay and walked into the boatyard to “De Big Fish” restaurant to have lunch and a good visit with dear friends Charles and Leslie. Later in the day, we worked to get the boat ready for a passage. Joan secured all loose items belowdecks and I took down shade tents, deployed lifelines, checked the engines again, topped off the water tanks and deck jugs, and we took the outboard motor off the dinghy and hung it on the stern rail.
Early on the morning of the 11th, we finished getting ready for sea except for the little window air conditioner. Lucky for me, friend Bonesy came around to wish us well and stayed to help remove and stow the window air conditioner. By 11:00 a. m., we cast off our dock lines and motored out of the bay and around the south end of Grenada. As we cleared the inshore waters, I hoisted the sails and we were bound for Bonaire. Our passage would be around 380 miles, so we were looking at around three days at sea.
It was not a nice passage. The winds were lighter than predicted, so we had to leave the motor running. I cannot carry enough fuel to make the entire trip under power, so was hoping for the winds to fill in at some point. A strong northerly swell was still running, caused by that powerful cold front. With little wind in our sails, we rolled horribly side-to-side much of the time. Also, it was hot! On Friday, twenty four hours later, we were off Blanquillas Islands and it was 92 degrees air temperature over 86 degree ocean water. The winds were so light and seas calm enough and the northerly swell abated that I dumped my four deck jugs of diesel fuel into the tank we had been using -- a good job to get over with when the boat wasn’t rolling. Friday evening, as we were nearing Los Roques, a terrible squall stuck with strong southerly winds and blinding rain. The squall set up southerly wind waves that collided with that northerly swell, causing horrible steep, blocky seas. It was over in a couple of hours, and gradually, the seas went down.
By early Saturday morning, a nice southeasterly wind had developed and we put out all of the sails again and shut down the engine. We got in about sixty miles as the day passed. By evening, as we neared the Aves, the winds died completely. We left up the stays’l and started the engine again. By 04:00, Sunday, we made Lacre Point, the southern end of Bonaire, and passed into the relatively protected waters on the lee side. By the time we made Kralendijk and the mooring field, another terrible squall hit. It rained so hard, it was difficult to breath unless I held my head up near the underside of the bimini. With nothing else to do, I motored slowly offshore, waiting for the storm to end and enough light to find a mooring. (The entire shoreline of Bonaire, out to a depth of 300 feet, is a National Marine Park and anchoring is strictly prohibited.)
We took showers and a nap. Upon arising, we took the dinghy to town and checked into Bonaire Customs and Immigration. Returning to the boat, we went for a snorkel in Bonaire’s beautiful clean, clear waters.
It was overcast and squally when we arrived. It didn’t change. We’ve been to Bonaire a number of times since 1992. It is truly a desert island, clothed in acacia and cactus. It’s always hot and dry. This fall, however, we were not to see much of the sun through the balance of November. It has been raining so often and so much that we’ve only had to catch water running off the decks to keep the tanks filled. It appears that the equatorial conveyor belt of moisture has not finished migrating south. It should be over the equator and the edge of the southern hemisphere, but it’s still up here at 12 to 15 degrees north. On Thursday, November 18th, we experienced a “reversal”, which occurs when a storm cell attempts to rotate into a tropical depression or tropical storm. By about 1:00 p. m., we could feel a serious westerly wind. It kept rising in strength to around 30 mph. Mind, we are moored on the normal lee side of the island in the open sea. If the wind reverses, we are moored on a lee shore with waves passing under the boat and crashing on the beach about 150 feet behind us. If a mooring line broke, we’d be on the beach in seconds. By about 3:00 p. m., the winds had reached 35 and I instructed Joan to drive the boat while I cast off the mooring lines. We called ahead and got a slip assignment in Bonaire’s only marina, Harbor Village, fully protected from the open sea by massive stone jetties. By dusk, the west wind had blown out and the night was peaceful. Early next morning, we left for our outside mooring again.
On Friday, the 19th, we made it to one of the dive resorts that deals with cruisers. We bought our Bonaire Marine Park permits, made arrangements to have our SCUBA tanks refilled after each use, and did our checkout dive. We were finally ready to dive Bonaire! Even though the Caribbean reefs are in such poor shape, we are never disappointed in what we see. On this, our first dive, we chanced upon a big Hawksbill turtle that was digging up coral rubble and stones to gnaw off the crust of seaweed. Naturally, overturning the rocks exposed numbers of tiny critters for something else to eat. The turtle was accompanied by several big French and Queen Angelfish and a Rock Beauty, all waiting to pounce on something each time the turtle overturned another rock.
Other than the frequent rains and squalls, life in Bonaire has settled into a routine. We rented a car for a day of laundry and shopping. Most days, if the weather isn’t too unsettled, we dive in mid-afternoon. We eat out occasionally in one of the many fine restaurants here. Some old cruiser friends are here, and we get together for drinks or a meal or just visiting. There’s Tom & Bonnie of S/V TuJours, Clive and Margot of S/V Revid. There’s always boat cleaning, fixing, care of SCUBA gear, and the like.
The corals, already beat up, took a big hit this summer from overly hot sea temperatures. They’re mostly bleached out down to about 50 feet of depth. Many are still alive. Some will recover. Still, the reef is losing diversity. For example, brittle stars, formerly so very common you don’t even stop to look, are absent this year. There are no Queen Triggerfish left anymore. The vase sponges are disappearing. The infamous Lionfish, a Pacific Ocean species that escaped an aquarium in Florida, has now invaded the Bonaire reefs. I think the release of imported exotic plant and animals should be subject to capital punishment.
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