Aves de Sotovento

The big question we’ve kept asking ourselves recently is whether or not we should rest up a day or two or press on to Bonaire and extend our stay in the ABCs. The weather forecasts have been a strong influence on us in this respect. Ironically, had we had more time we would certainly hang around each location a little longer. With limited time we’ve tended to move each day which has caused some tiredness. Yesterdays wind forecasts stalled the lowering of the wind speeds for another day so Helen suggested we cut the distance to Bonaire some by moving the boat to Aves de Sotovento. This was after a leisurely morning when we read followed by a dinghy trip to photograph some of the hundreds of nesting birds.

So after snatching an early lunch we headed out of the easternmost Aves heading for the NW end of the western Aves taking advantage of an easterly wind to put us on a broad reach. Once we’d cleared most of the reefs, but not all, I threw out two trolling lines. Shortly after passing the western island of Aves de Barlovento I checked the lines only to find we caught another Barracuda. It was bigger than the previous one weighing in at 5lb. We hauled it in and gave it the rum spray. This time it didn’t go out peacefully. The gills bled out from the rum so I had to finish it off with the rolling pin on the top of the head. The fish was big enough to create some steaks and fillets – enough for 3-4 meals.

Once we’d cleaned all the mess and I’d had a shower I decided we had enough meat and it was not worth catching any more fish so I brought in the lines. On the second line I discovered we had caught a similar weight black fin tuna. Our thoughts of barracuda fritters were now instantly replaced with tuna sushi and seared tuna steaks for dinner. So in came the tuna and more mess on the stern transoms. Another clean up and another shower and we were done.

We made Aves de Sotovento on a single reach and rounded the NW end finally anchoring behind an island called Lighthouse Island on our chart. Probably due to the lighthouse on it. I fired up the the grill to make it very hot and munched some thin strips of the tender tuna meat removed from the back of the head with soy sauce and wasabi. Then on went the tuna steaks but not for long. Helen cooked up some stir fried vegetables. It was a delicious dinner. We still have four tuna steaks remaining so we can look forward to them – and the barracuda meat.

We have no intentions in staying in Aves de Sotovento. We have about 40nm or so remaining to reach Bonaire so we plan to leave here shortly after first light. In fact, we’ll be on the move by the time I send this blog out. I’d like to get a few things on the go before the weekend so sorting out an internet connection today will be important. Hopefully we can manage this from the boat. I want to complete our research on wind gens. We’ve had some useful information sent to us by family and friends and I’ve been able to use the saildocs service to send text versions of review websites. Once I’m online I should be able to make a decision and order before the weekend. I also want to get our tanks into a dive operator to have the hydrostatic tests done and then filled. We probably won’t get them back until after the weekend. If we want to do some diving over the weekend we can use the hookah.

Out guideline schedule for the rest of the year has us leaving the ABCs mid-November direct to Cartegena – a four day sail. We’ll spend the bulk of that time in Bonaire visiting Curacao and/or Aruba only if we need to – perhaps to break the trip down a little.

Finally, give or take a day, this is our one year anniversary from moving aboard Dignity. As always time has flown but looking back we’ve come so far. Our main aim, to spend the first season in the eastern Caribbean prepping ourselves and the boat, has been met and we are already transition into our next phase. We’ll always have more to learn and there will always be more to do with the boat but we have come so far. We also have so much to look forward to. The next twelve months will dwarf the last in terms of distance as we set our sights on crossing the Pacific. Plans could easily change and problems could beset us so it really is open as to where we will be a year from now. That’s all part of the fun.

I’m leaving Helen to write the one year look back. She’s started but probably won’t finish for a while as she’s had less practice writing. I think it will be interesting to see her perspective on all this. I’m not allowed to look at what she’s writing so I’m looking forward to the finished piece.