A Sailor’s Plans Are Written In The Sand…
Prior to Aruba, we knew to go back to the Panama Canal and into the Pacific would be an easy downwind sail. But, a sailor’s plans are written in the sand, and after a lot of discussion and soul-searching, we made the decision to head north in the Caribbean with the goal of returning to the Mediterranean this year. We are officially not going into the Pacific on this trip and with this boat.
Why? We are “destination people” not “journey people”. This is something I’ve learned about myself on this trip. I don’t love sailing. I enjoy being on the water and living on the boat (when it’s calm). I enjoy new anchorages, meeting new people, exploring new places. The Pacific is a multi-year commitment that involves a bigger percentage of our time sailing. Spending days and days sailing to remote places is not something that excites me right now. Further, after two years on the boat, we aren’t sure how long we will want to continue, and selling in the Pacific or Australia isn’t the best market; it would require bringing the boat back or paying high taxes. Being in the Med gives us the most options for places to go with minimal sailing in between, an ideal platform for choosing where we want to settle longterm, and the best chances of selling the boat when we’re ready.
The hardest part about these decisions? Letting go of that part of me that wanted to “sail around the world” and visit the most places, like collecting properties in Monopoly. What is it that ties my view of success to miles traveled and countries visited rather than lessons learned and experiences had? Giving up what we thought was our goal and replacing it with a decision that ultimately just feels better is so hard. It is also a relief.
In light of this, our goal was to get a better wind angle to go to Jamaica by heading further east to Curaçao and Bonaire, the other two islands that make up the ABCs along with Aruba. These islands are the southernmost in the Caribbean and only 20 miles at points from Venezuela. We left around 3am for Curaçao hoping to catch better winds and waves for the 12 hour trip from Aruba, but alas, it was rough seas, dark and rainy. No bueno!
The anchorage in Curaçao at Jan Thiel was very pretty. We were able to tuck away in a little cove and had easy dinghy access to shore, even though the tradewinds had arrived and blew consistently at 15-20kts all day every day. All of the ABCs are Dutch islands and the people are friendly, speaking a mix of Dutch, English and Papiamento.
We didn’t meet any new friends in Curaçao because we were long after the sailing season in this area, but we toured the island, visiting several pretty beaches, hiking in the north and on the west coast, and spending some time in cute cafes and restaurants in Willemstad, the colonial-feeling capital. Perhaps I’m late to the party, but I discovered that geocaching — finding hidden treasure or logbooks that are marked on an app — was a great way to get the kids excited to hike. The kids eagerly signed their names and re-hid their first geocache. Also in Willemstad is an incredible floating vegetable market where Venezuelans bring their local fruit and veg by boat. It is all fresh and beautiful, and it made us a bit sad that we are so close to Venezuela but can’t go.
Klein Curaçao is “little Curaçao”, a small uninhabited island south of the main one. We lucked out with weather and were able to stay one night in the unprotected anchorage. The water and beaches are gorgeous. The only building was a remnant of the island’s use during the slave trade to quarantine slaves prior to bringing them to Curaçao.
A day sail later and we were in Bonaire, the prettiest, smallest and most low-key of the three islands. It is renowned for it’s scuba diving and it was quite humorous to see divers emerging from the clear water in full wet suits with tanks on their backs all around town. The entire island is dotted with dive sites, and although we didn’t scuba here, we did do some snorkeling. Bonaire fiercely protects its marine life, so anchoring is not allowed. There are mooring balls for boats under 60’, thus we were required to be in the marina, which gave us easy access to walk and rollerblade to town, sometimes multiple times a day.
The best part of Bonaire was renting scooters, and over two days we toured nearly the entire island. There are pink salt pans with huge mounds of Morton salt, food trucks with great food at the popular kite surfing spot, and really cool graffiti at points around the island. Flamingoes dot the inland ponds and the salt flats host car races. We only got caught in a downpour twice!
We met one kid boat in Bonaire, a British family that we hung out with for a bit before we had to leave. Bonaire was hosting a fishing tournament and we had to leave the marina, which meant leaving the island, so we headed back to Curaçao to wait for a weather window to get to Jamaica. We used that time to stock up on groceries because once we left Curaçao, it would be expensive and disappointing shopping in Jamaica and the Bahamas over the next three months.
How do the ABCs add up?
Aruba - I would give it a ‘B’ - perfect holiday and resort vibes but very touristy so not generally what we’re looking for.
Bonaire - Gets an A! Beautiful, quiet, lots of outdoor activities, easy walking around town, super cute AirBnBs and very few hotels, didn’t feel the influx of cruise passengers. Would return.
Curaçao — Rated B, I don’t feel any need to return but with a rental car, there was enough to see and do. Beaches are European-style and very crowded, but the hiking was great.
