Once bitten twice shy

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From Las Aves, we faced a great day sail across to Bonaire. The winds were in our favour and we hauled out the asymmetrical (the colourful bit up front for the benefit of my book club friends and other land folk) and romped across the Caribbean sea with great flair.

Its quite a job to get the asymmetrical up  but Chris and Alan took on the challenge with gusto and we raced along at close to 11 knots every now and then. 

The colourful thingy up front.

Bonaire is a diver’s paradise and the authorities are fanatical about preserving the environment for the tourists who sustain the island economy. No anchoring is permitted so we took up one of the especially provided moorings close to the town centre.

 The snorkeling just below the boat looked really inviting and in fact 25 years ago when we were here on Legend 1, I was surprised (to put it mildly…I nearly walked on water to get out of its way) by a massive whale shark while snorkeling alongside the boat in this same spot.

We were to be denied the pleasure of diving Bonaire however….we arrived at Customs and Immigration on Monday morning and were told that as South African citizens, we need visas for Bonaire . We have 5 year Schengen visas which have been  thus far been valid for all the European islands in the Carribean…but Bonaire is a law unto itself it seems.

We were handled rudely and  peremptorily by a huge lady…also packing a large pistol…seems the uglier these officials are..the bigger the gun ..who told us that we had to leave the country in the next hour!!

She was totally unmoved by any of our explanations as to how it is impossible to get visas for Bonaire in any of the destinations we had visited thus far and we  were totally under the impression that Schengen visas would be valid, etc. …beg, plead, get annoyed, give up….

“Schengen visas are for Europe, “she stated firmly..”this is not Europe..you need a visa for Bonaire”

“Where do we get the visa for Bonaire?” we enquired politely…eyes on the gun….

“In the Netherlands, in Europe “..she replied..totally unaware of the irony.

She capitulated somewhat when the pleading phase included a reference to the fact that we had been at sea for 10 days and had no food, fuel or water on board and we may have to invoke maritime law to allow us to stay long enough to re provision.

Who knows what Maritime law really says but she paused momentarily in her diatribe and gave us another 3 hours before she would send the marine police to remove us.

This ghastly woman reminded me of the fact that when we were in Bonaire all those years ago,  (when in fact there had been no problems with immigration in spite of the fact that South Africans were persona non grata on virtually all the other Carribean islands) I was bitten by a dog…a nasty little cur that tore a hole in my calf…perhaps that should have been a message to us to stay clear of this island…lots of  unfriendly natives!

Alan working out the quickest route out of Bonaire

Los Roques Venezuela

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LOS ROQUES VENEZUELA

We waved a sad goodbye to Nicole from Antigua this  week . She had been convinced that 6 weeks on the boat would be the death of her but in the end was really sorry to leave -the cruising life had won her over….not surprisingly of course.

Nicole and Manuela loving life!

Its back to the grindstone at University for her and out into the deep blue for Legend and her crew. We stocked up to the gunwales with food and drink and set off from Antigua to points further south.

Our destination was 3 days away…Venezuela and the Islands of Los Roques,

With Chris and Helen on board to help with sail changes and watches, the trip was literally a breeze. It was a real treat  for Alan and I to be able to sleep for a full 6 hours at a stretch while the boat was managed by keen and competent sailors.

On our previous trips, when there was just the 2 of us on board or when the children were younger, Alan and I  stood watches of 3 hours on and 3 hours off. On one or two occasions when the going got rough, we did 2 hours on and 2 hours off –so  a full 6 hours feels like heaven. Thank you Chris and Helen!

Helen and Chris- watching the weather!

We arrived in Los Roques in the early hours of the morning and waited offshore until dawn to enter the bay of the main island . We anchored here for a few hours  in order to clear customs and immigration before heading to more interesting looking spots .

We had heard horror stories of the clearing in in Venezuela but Alan managed to run the gamut of several offices each requiring different bits of paper to be filled out. A few bolivers changed hands but we were given a receipt for them and Alan avoided what seemed to be a request for a bribe by an official who we nicknamed ‘scarface’ but who had very shiny boots!

Scarface (packing a magnum) spoke no English and our Spanish is rusty to say the least . He kept on gesticulating in the time honoured international language for ‘hand me some cash” . In response Alan handed him every piece of paper in his briefcase one at a time until the infuriated gentleman in question waved him away in the internationally recognised gesture for “get the hell out of my office , you idiot ..” or words to that effect!

The islands of Los Roques are a cruiser’s paradise. There are many magical anchorages within a short sailing distance of each other. The winds are steady and consistent and there is good shelter behind the reefs or the mangroves.  

Jean and Alan Los Roques 1987 - we were young once!

The islands closest to the main island where the man with the shiny boots presides are stunning…azure water and fine white sand…but they are swamped with day trippers from around 10am until 5pm. These are mainly Venezuelan and South American tourists…all very well fed apart from the odd young Spanish beauty in a tiny bikini frolicking in the waves to the envy of all the big fat mamas  on the beach whose husbands’ eyes are out on stalks…(possibly including mine although he denies it!)

Searching for lost youth

We moved on to more deserted, just as magical spots and were joined by Steve and Sarah and their family and crew on “Valentine.”

Still Young and Charming (almost)!

 Steve and Sarah bought an Oyster and signed up for the rally on the strength of a trip with Alan in Sicily on Legend III. They have their 3 children on board and we look forward to sharing the delights of cruising the tropics with them.

In Los Roques we introduced them to the delights of hermit crab races in the sand and shared a driftwood barbeque …which was very sandy and smoky but a good time was had by all..especially the sand flies. (The hermit crabs are still traumatised though!)

The crew of Valentine wisely stayed on board during the barbeque and dined off the bone china rather than paper plates .  They enjoyed the sunset in the cockpit in comfort wondering why anyone would  choose to brave the 1 star  rigours of the beach as opposed to  the 5 star luxury of boat. It’s the atmosphere we were after I suppose.

Beach Braai ala Los Roques

From Los Roques we headed for Los Aves..the Islands of Birds. The spot lives up to its name and is alive with roosting boobies, frigates and terns.

I went for a snorkel and was mobbed by curious avian creatures who were fascinated by the sight of my rear end bobbing through the reef…not a pretty sight for them and a shock for me when I put my head up to orientate myself and found myself in the middle of a Hitchcock movie!

Los Aves Mangrove swamps

We had a truly memorable dinghy drift from one end of the island to the other at sundown..G and T’s in hand and the horror movie confined to the mangrove forests..

Eyeball navigation required

This stop was truly  memorable and we were sorry to leave...but there will be many more island jewels ahead.

 

ON OUR WAY!

The Oyster fleet in English Harbour just before the start.

A very eventful week has delayed my blog post somewhat. I will do my best to post a blog every week to keep up to date on our progress.

The highlight of the week was of course the start of the Oyster World Rally on Sunday 6th January. This date has loomed large in our psyches for over 2 years and it lived up to all our expectations and more.

On the penultimate eve of our departure Oyster held a briefing for the skippers and I attended in my capacity of second in command. This may be my official designation but in reality Alan is the Captain and I am the Admiral!

The briefing was followed by a very elegant dinner at the Admiral's Inn. Elegant is a long stretch if you are living on a boat but we had a wonderful evening and the Oyster owners and their teams are bonding well.

On our final evening in Nelson's dockyard we were serenaded at Happy Hour by Eddie  Jordan, the formula 1 racing fellow. His 2 man band is called " Robber", apparently an insult hurled at Eddie by Bernie Eccelston and happily adopted by him as the name of his rock and roll duo.

Robber entertaining the fleet.

The company on board Legend IV expanded that evening with the arrival of Chris and Helen Tibbs on Saturday evening. Chris and Helen will be joining us as far as the Galapagos and are both experienced sailors so will be a great help to the Captain and the Admiral alike.

Chris is also a highly esteemed sailing  weather guru so in times of doubt will be in big demand from the Oyster fleet...expect to see them hot on our  heels in the doldrums..(not sure if we'll hit the doldrums literally or even figuratively but it sounds good and we did muddle about for days in the Pacific on the way to Galapagos on Legend I)

The big day dawned on Sunday and the start was set for 12 pm..... Anchors were weighed ..actually weighed down in some cases..in the tight confines of English  Harbour boats regularly drop anchors on top of one another and  a tug o war ensues when they are lifted. Divers patrol the harbour like ambulance chasers hoping for tangled chains and a 120 dollar fee to free the trapped boat...a lot like the tow trucks at home who race joyfully to the scene of accidents..or vultures..many metaphors and I am sure you get the picture.

Needless to say, Legend  avoided the 120 dollar fee and headed into the bay where we were thrown into the teeth of what seemed like a maelstrom after the calm of the harbour. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 knots and the seas were rough...4-5 metre swells.

With 27 boats jockeying for pole  position on the start line in these conditions, I was very glad of the help of Ryan and Chris and Helen who pulled ropes and tweaked sails like the professionals they are. I was most grateful to avoid the maritial discord that no doubt would have ensued if I had had to manage the tacking and gybing etc!

Crew members hard at work

Nicole was, as always, happily ensconced on the aft deck in a bikini with her phone- much to the amazement of one Oyster whose crew was bundled up in foul weather gear and harnessed into the cockpit!

The competitive spirit of all sailors came to the fore at the start and I have heard several claims from several skippers of "being first across the line".

Alan had assured me when we signed up for this mission that it would "be a rally and not a race". This first rush for line honours makes this claim blatantly untrue and I am sure there are several other wives in the fleet left feeling that they have been duped...we will however soldier on and keep a quivering upper lip in the face of the friendly (I hope) rivalry to come.

Our mascot ..casually facing rough seas and high winds.

There are great pics of the start on the Oyster website..I am still battling with the technicalities  of the blog but am improving...won't tempt fate by trying to link the Oyster photos directly to this post. Hopefully my amateur video of the start has loaded here.

 Most of the fleet sailed off south from the start to various destinations. We have a month to get to Panama so we can take our time and meander through the islands from here. Legend IV is still in Antigua. Ryan and Manuela and Nic leave from here and we will miss them enormously. Alan has promised full airconditioning at all ports along the way in order to encourage their eager returns.

For those of you who don't know the details...you can track the progress of all the Rally participants on a 4 hourly basis on the Oyster yachts website..we have what is called a 'Yellow Brick" on board (I presume as per the road followed by Dorothy on the way to Oz...very appropriate) .

 The yellow brick updates our position and speed every 4 hours...on the way up to Jolly Harbour we hit 11 knots surfing down a wave and we hoped that the brick was recording at the time. If not...you will have to take my word that we were flying along.

The Yellow brick says anything different, it is because we caught another big dorado on the way up and had to slow down considerably to land it.

The dorado  has fed admirably and deliciously for 2 days..a change from the Med where we trolled a lure for 4 summers and never had a nibble. I have consigned the cans of tuna to the most inaccessible locker just to let the Universe know that we are completely trusting in the ocean's bounty from now on and expect sushi all the way!

Happy New Year

Wishing all our friends and family a wonderful New Year. All on board the good ship Legend IV send their love and hopes for shiploads of blessings to you all...land lubbers and fellow sea men  alike.

New Year on board was spent having a champagne dinner on the boat. I baked a Devil's food cake for the crew ...no mean feat with Alan and I yelling at each other when the oven didn't perform and I "haven't read the manual yet.... idiot !"

The fireworks on the dock were magnificent. We saw the New Year in at the Dockyard party and along with probably most of the free world "Gangnam style"  blared out from the stereo at regular intervals with people (not me) making drunken attempts to look as if they knew the moves.

The youngsters headed to a club to get their share of Antiguan nightlife which to all intents and purposes involves much the same stuff as any where else in the world. We could get no more info from them but the ruckus that accompanied their noisy boarding  at 5am spoke of a good time had by all. 

We are on our way back to Nelson's dockyard after spending 2 nights at anchor in Falmouth and then up at Green Island on the south coast of Antigua where we were taking a break from life in the marina at Nelson's dockyard. All every festive but living cheek by jowl with ....GOT A FISH...have to go!! I'm in charge of the anesthetizing  them with rum (just a small tot)

Dinner cooked by Manuela

Early morning hike up the hill to the cannons guarding English Harbour. Took the same shot of Ryan and Nic in the same spot 15 years ago on Legend II.