No 2: Passages 2025/2026 - Curacao and Aruba – plans change quickly.

 

Passages leaving Curacao
- taken by Deanne on sv/Pleiterik

Curacao and Aruba – plans change quickly.

There have been a few times since the last blog post, when we have felt we are going one step forward and two steps back. But then that is life on a boat – Maintenance on the water or paradise.

 

It is Monday 10 November as I am writing this blog entry and we are STILL waiting for the stainless-steel tradies to start work on modifying our arch. We would dearly love to leave for Aruba on Thursday as there is a good weather window. So, it is the same in most countries – ‘Hurry up and wait’ for tradies to appear.

 

In between waiting, we have once again had issues with the fridge – it is so frustrating as Mel regularly checks and maintains the refrigeration system. Our microwave also went on the blink but that has been fixed and is ready for collection sometime today. While Mel has been trying desperately to sort out all the mechanical issues, I have been cleaning and polishing and doing some sewing. I finished the courtesy flags for the three countries we will be visiting, plus I am trying to reinforce our bugs nets on our porthole screens. The “no-see-‘ems” are the worst as their name suggests, you cannot easily see them but boy as I am sure many of you know and have experienced, you sure feel the little buggers.

 

It has not been all work and no play, as like most things in life, when you have a problem or a tricky situation to deal with, sometimes walking away from it for awhile gives you better clarity to deal with the situation.

 

We decided to travel to the most western point of Curaçao. Along the way, we stopped off at Hofi Mango.

Hofi Mango | This Is Curaçao

 It is a nature park with mango trees over three hundred years old. It is set in a valley, so the vegetation is quite different from the rest of the island. It is lush and green. It is always lovely to be able to walk around in amongst the vegetation. Unfortunately, like most places within the Caribbean, this was once a place where slaves worked in the sugar cane industry. However, the sugar cane industry in Curacao was not successful due to the arid conditions found on the island, although there is a small rum distillery  in Hofi Mango. We enjoyed a lovely leisurely brunch after walking through the gardens.

As in many parts of the world, tourism is the main money earner in Curacao, and the government officials are expecting a huge increase of tourists to visit Curacao over the next few years. Many companies and restaurants are trying to prepare for this increased influx. Hofi Mango is one such place as while we were there, we could see the construction of the new Zip Line.

After Hofi Mango, we took a leisurely drive further NW to the bay of Santa Cruz. We wanted to check this bay as our sailing plans were to check out of Curacao, then sail along the coast to Santa Cruz, where we would spend the night anchored and leave early the following morning for Aruba.

Mount Christoffel through the
gap.

Unfortunately, in Curacao, you must physically check in and out at Customs and Immigrations. No online formalities like in most Caribbean countries. This is a pity as while we were driving along the coast (Leeward) we stopped at one or two lovely places where it would be magical to drop anchor and spend time there.

It is always fascinating to see how the vegetation quickly changes from lush green to once again the dry desert type vegetation as we approached the western point and drove along the west coast of the island. The main national park of Curacao is the Christoffel National Park, where the highest point of the island, Mount Christoffel (370m) can be seen. We stopped off for a late lunch/bite to eat at an appropriately named restaurant, Daniel. (FYI – my maiden name was Danielsen and our nephew in law’s, name is Daniel).

 

While we were waiting for the stainless steel to be done, and the last bits of our woodwork to be completed, we decided to visit the Jewish Museum and Synagogue in the main centre of Curacao. The

Mikve Israel- Emanuel Synagogue is 350 years old and is the oldest synagogue to be in continuous use in the New World. While we were there, a young guy and his family were preparing for his Bar mitzvah.

Mikvé Israel-Emanuel – , where ancient Jewish history and ritual meet in the Dutch Caribbean

 

During this time as well, Monica and Dave from the sv: Evy arrived back in Curacao from Canada, ready to start preparations for the sailing season. It was lovely to see them once again but bittersweet, knowing they are going north towards the BVI’s while we were going west towards Colombia and Panama. We met up with Monica and Dave, several times before we left Curacao.

 

The vibrant and colourful floating vegetable and
fruit market.

As I mentioned earlier, we were waiting for the stainless-steel tradies to complete the work we needed on our arch for our dinghy. Well on Tuesday 11 November, by 4.30pm, everything was completed and we were chuffed. It meant now we could focus on preparing for the start of our sailing season and start heading towards Aruba, Colombia and eventually Panama.

 One of the challenges for this season was the sail to Colombia and the well-known and documented Katabatic winds that howl down the slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and a persistent Low-pressure system over the Caribbean coast of Colombia. There are a number of places throughout the world where if you get the wrong weather conditions, you can have wind against current which leads to standing waves. These waves can have dire consequences and challenging sailing conditions. This is not a situation we wanted to find ourselves in. One of the main reasons for leaving Perth a little earlier this year, was to sail to Colombia by the end of November, before the Christmas winds set in. We are always looking at the weather and accessing what  the best conditions are for sailing. While we were preparing Passages for our sail to Aruba, we looked a bit further than the forecasted 7-day weather and noticed that the weather from Thursday – Monday was perfect for sailing to Santa Marta, Colombia. After that, the weather did not look great for at least another 10 days. If we went to Aruba, we would be stuck in Aruba for almost two weeks, with an uncertain window after then. We weighed up the pros and cons. Yes, Aruba would have been nice to be anchored off the main town. However, the checking in and out of the country is tedious and challenging. Aruba’s bureaucracy is not encouraging for yachties to visit them. They would prefer the BIG cruise ships, with masses of people and people on planes. Plus, it would have been extremely expensive as the American ‘Thanksgiving’ weekend was fast approaching.

We decided to still check out of Curacao, on Thursday 13 November, sail up the coast to Santa Cruz and spend the night there. Early Friday morning, 14 November, the anchor was up, and we headed to Santa Marta, Colombia, sailing past Aruba. I will elaborate more in our next blog post, but it is safe to say, despite all the concerns etc., we had one of our best and fastest sails to date to Santa Marta, Colombia.

 

Hence the late blog posting……..

So, until next time…..

Take care, keep well, and stay safe.

Best wishes, always

Mel and Caryn

Hofi Mango

Mikve Israel- Emanuel Synagogue 

 

Sights of Curacao.

This is the opening of the Queen Emma bridge - we did exactly the same thing as this tug on our arrival and departure in Curacao.

No 1: Passages 2025/2026 - Curaçao - Marine Zone

 

Fort Beekenburg

Before I begin telling you our news, we would like to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone who contacted us, checking to see if we were okay with Hurricane Melissa, bearing down on the Caribbean. Luckily, Curacao is in the south Caribbean Sea and technically NOT in the hurricane belt but, one never knows. One of the first things we do, in the morning, when we are living on the boat, while the kettle is boiling, we check the weather. Our life on the boat is so dependent on the weather. THANK YOU to you all. Much appreciated.

 

Now let’s begin………

I know we often say this, but it is amazing how fast time goes. I can’t believe we are back in Curacao preparing Passages for our next sailing phase.

We had a great time back home in Perth. I know for Mel, Passages is never far from his thoughts as he is always researching something for her. As for me, she’s far away and the last thing I think about as I am busy enjoying seeing all my lovely friends and family, spending time in my sewing room and garden.

But here we are back in a very hot and humid Curacao after taking three flights to get here. I am thankful we stopped overnight in Miami after our 16-hour flight from Doha to Miami. We had arranged for Passages to be moved from the storage yard to the boat yard, so work on the various projects could start. In the meantime, we had organised to stay in some lovely accommodation, with air con and a swimming pool.

I spent the first week, enjoying myself in the Ritz Village, while Mel spent time working on Passages. The stern of the boat had to be repainted as the paint work and signage had been damaged when the wind vane was installed a few years back (2023). The woodwork in the cockpit and the caprails have

The Ritz Village - pool area.

been revarnished, and Mel had organised the boatyard to polish the boat. Passages looks so bright and shiny. Mel has also been checking all the thru-hull valves to ensure that they don’t fail when in the water. He has changed a few black water valves as they were clogged up (calcium build-up). It is amazing how over a period the salt deposits accumulate and close the flow of the pipes and valves. In between, Mel has worked on the dynaplate – this is the main earthing point for the electrics and for the SSB Radio.

As always, we had planned for Passages to be put back into the water last week but as always, our time frame very seldom works out, so we had to find some alternative accommodation. We couldn’t stay in the Ritz Village as they were fully booked. The Ritz Village was only 1.5 kms from the boatyard and it was easy for Mel to pop back and forth to our accommodation. We managed to find another self-contained accommodation a little further from the boatyard BUT closer to Budget Marine. There are always pluses and minus in everything. Our current accommodation is also closer to the beach although we noticed that many of the beaches are closed off and are part of multi-national hotel chains where you must pay for the use of the beach and sunbed.

We hired a car for the time we are here in Curacao, and it makes such a difference for exploring. On Friday we travelled down to the SE of the island to see the main anchoring area in Curacao, Spanish Waters. Many people anchor there when they first arrive in Curacao, but it is a very long way out of town, with immigration and Customs being in the city (Willemstad). There is public transport into town although the wait can be excruciatingly long. We noticed that a few boats seem to have spent the entire hurricane season in Spanish Waters.

Close to Spanish Waters is Fort Beekenburg which is located at Caracas Bay. This Fort was built in

1703 on the orders of the Governor at the time, Governor Van Beek to protect the entrance of Spanish waters, as it was one of the few places where ‘enemies’ could make landfall to capture the capital of Curacao, Willemstad.

The vegetation of Curacao is very interesting as it is extremely dry, so the island is covered with large

Fort Beekenburg.

and very spikey cacti. It is amazing to see how parrots/bird life have adapted to the conditions and build their homes on the spikey cacti, while enjoying the juices from the cacti.

We spent some time enjoying a few of the beaches. After visiting Fort Beekenburg, we had a refreshing drink and swim at Caracasbaai, where many of the locals were enjoying their weekend. There were places to BBQ and beach pavilions.

We had a look at one of the popular beaches, Jan Thiel, but as mentioned earlier, it is surrounded by hotels and was quite crowded with holiday makers lounging away on the MANY sun beds.

Mambo Beach.

We spent some time on Mambo Beach, literally just down the road from our accommodation. We hired sunbeds (US$8 each) and enjoyed the lovely water. A sea wall has been built to create a HUGE sea pool otherwise it would be rather difficult to enjoy the beach. This is what has happened in many of the beaches in Curaçao so people can enjoy swimming in the sea with relative safety and comfort. The temperature of the water is what I would consider to be just perfect, although I know, Mel would prefer it to be a little cooler.

In between Mel working on the boat, I have enjoyed staying in our accommodation.

It is now Saturday 1 November and Passages is now in the water, and we have moved back on board. I am always amazed at how much stuff we put away when Passages is in storage. She has so many covers as the sun can be brutal. In fact, as I am typing this, Mel is working on the connections to our shore power. When we packed up at the end of the last sailing season, we noticed that our shore plug and extension was not looking very good and seemed to have melted. Mel has just checked all the connections and circuit breakers and replaced some bad wiring lugs.

When we are in a marina, we usually use the power on the dock instead of our batteries, so we have this very long and rather heavy power cord that connects to the electrical socket in the back of the cockpit. It’s times like this when we can use our air con, and boy am I happy with that, as is so hot and quite difficult to sleep.

Passages in the boat yard.

So, our plans are as follows: for the next week, we hope to have some adjustments made to our arch so our newish and smaller dingy can fit better when we haul her up at night when at anchor. There is quite a bit of cleaning and polishing to do and the provisioning never seems to end. Although I am not too phased by this as in Colombia, where we should be in about 3 weeks’ time (apparently from chatting to Linda, in another Island Packet, two pens down from us), there are plenty of grocery shops. I will be busy updating the groceries inventory and finish sewing the courtesy flags for Aruba, Colombia and Panama.

So, until next time…..

Take care, keep well and stay safe.

Best wishes, always

Mel and Caryn

 

Fort Beekenburg.

No 10: Passages 2025 – Our sail to and time in Curacao.

As I write this final blog entry for this year’s sailing season, I am sitting in a cool air-conditioned room in a lovely hotel here in Curacao after spending the past week preparing Passages for storage in the boat yard.

 But first……. While we were in Le Marin, Martinique attending to a few boat issues before moving from the mooring ball to the anchorage in St Anne, we decided to take a bus trip to Les Trois–Ilets. This

was where the Empress Josephine, Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife was born. The bus system in Martinique is reliable, comfortable and cheap, making it easy to get around. While in St Anne, we caught the bus several times into Le Marin for grocery shopping and to sort out the repair work on our boom. Les Trois–Ilets (Three islands) is a picturesque town with the L’Eglise Notre Dame de la Bonne Delivrance (Our Lady of Good Deliverance) being the main focal point of the town. This is apparently where Josephine’s parents were married, 1761, and she was baptised in 1763. We enjoyed walking around the centre of town and down to the small harbour where a few yachts were anchored. It was quite pretty with lots of flowering bushes and shrubs along the roadside and walkways. The bus trip there and back was also quite pleasant as we enjoy seeing different parts of the countryside and island. 

As planned, we moved back to the St Anne anchorage on the Tuesday after the Easter weekend and started making the final preparations for our longest sail of the year to Curaçao. Our plan was to leave for Curaçao on Friday 25 April, after lunch time. Well like many times in life, things don’t go according to plan. Mel had noticed that the calibration of the GPS to the chart plotter and the autopilot wasn’t correct. To re-calibrate it, one needs very calm and flat conditions, so as we were leaving the entrance to Le Marin and about to enter the anchorage at St Anne, Mel started the calibration. We thought after we had completed it that it was a rather short exercise compared to previous times. It was only as we were setting sail towards Curaçao

Mel relaxing during our sail.

on the Friday afternoon, that we realised things were not right. We tried to recalibrate the autopilot about 4 -5NMiles from the anchorage but realised it was not coming right. After a few minutes of deciding on what we should do, we put the engine on and motored back to St Anne’s anchorage. We wanted to leave on the Friday as we were keen to arrive in Curaçao on the Tuesday, 29th as opposed to the Wednesday, 30th as we knew Thursday 1 May and Friday 2 May, were public holidays in Curacao. Despite us checking on the internet, we were not 100% certain what official agencies would be open for checking into Curaçao over the two days of public holidays. We knew the marina would be closed but we were unsure about Immigrations and Customs. In many countries, Customs and Immigrations are open 24/7. Some places are known to charge over time fees, but we also knew there would be no charges in Curaçao. Anyway, before we put the anchor down, we spent quite a while re-calibrating the electronics. This time, everything was much better than before. Thank goodness. So, after a restful night’s sleep, at 6.00am on Saturday 26th April, we started the 500NMiles (plus) sail to Curaçao. 

 

We spent four nights at sea, only seeing 4 huge container ships the whole time we were out there. The closest ship was 2 NMiles away from us. The wind speed wasn’t as predicted but was much lighter. The swell was comfortable despite us going downwind. We flew the spinnaker. Mel was really excited about that. We’ve had the spinnaker since we bought Passages, and it would appear that it had NEVER been used before. Mel had spent quite a bit of time making sure all the lines and blocks for the spinnaker, were in place on the boat, so when the opportunity presented itself, Mel was keen. I wasn’t, as I am never comfortable when Mel needs to go forward on deck, and we are in the middle of nowhere. It is a common requirement to go on deck when sailing downwind, for example to put the whisker pole up to stabilise the genoa, or to hoist or lower the spinnaker if the opportunity presents itself. During the sail, we also had to contend with currents. One worked slightly against us while another was with us and made us speed along. Like everything, you win some and loose some – ying and yang. 

We eventually arrived in Willemstad, Curaçao on Wednesday 30th May at 11.00am ish and arrived at the marina just after 12.00. We had to radio the port control to have the small, floating foot bridge opened for us to enter the harbour area. That was a rock star moment for us, as there are many restaurants along the waterfront. As I was directing Mel around the opening of the bridge, lots of people were watching the whole procedure. I waved…. and Wow, did I get a response. My short moment of fame! 

At the dockside waiting for us, was Dave and Monica from sv. Evy. They had only just put their boat, Evy, into the boat yard for storage and were waiting for us to arrive. They had been watching our progress on NoForeignland. It was lovely to be met by familiar faces and to have them help with the docking of Passages after our long sail. 

So…... for the next 6 days, we have washed and cleaned almost every part and surface of Passages. She was hauled out of the water on Tuesday 6 May and is now in the boatyard where she will be for the next few months. BTW…... we stopped Starlink at the end of April – the Wi-Fi at the marina and here at the hotel is not great but is manageable. We are spending the next 3 days enjoying the sights of Curaçao. The heat is quite a challenge so thank goodness there is a pool here. In the marina and boat yard, it was quite exhausting! Even the cold water in the showers was not cold so you felt you couldn’t cool off. The aircon on the boat struggled to work as the seawater temperature was 30 degrees and the cooling water pump relied on the seawater to cool itself as well as the aircon.

 Anyway…. Here is some information about Curaçao: It is part of what is commonly known as the ABC islands – three of the western most islands of the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao. These islands are along the north coast of Venezuela and are well outside of the Atlantic

Ocean hurricane belt, although with climate change, one never knows! Let’s hope it stays like this, hence one of the reasons why we have sailed here, so Passages is safe. Fingers crossed. The ABC islands are also known as the Dutch Antilles and are very different in their own way. Although these islands have strong Dutch roots, there are also strong Spanish and African influences. Curaçao is the largest of the three islands with its capital, Willemstad known for its distinctive UNESCO listed Dutch colonial buildings that line the waterfront of its historical district. The oldest synagogue in the Americas is in Willemstad – Mikve Israel – Emanuel synagogue. 

So, we will close off the blog for the next few months as we prepare to head back to Australia. We’ve had a successful sailing season – we have achieved what we set out to do and met some wonderful people along the way which always makes our time so much more enjoyable.

 Until next time – Take care and keep safe.

 Best wishes always. Mel and Caryn

Where Passages will stay for the next few months.

Some sights of Curacao - the street art is beautiful and very colourful.