On Our Way to Columbia

Aruba

On Nov 5th, we motored most of the way from Curacao and as we sailed up the coast of Aruba, we were greeted by a long line of smoke belching refineries, power plants and rusty metal structures. We were instructed to tie up at the customs dock and were greeted by surly Aruban officials. We won’t go into any more detail except to say that the customs and immigration people certainly lack in being customer focused. What looked to be a nice, sheltered anchor the first night turned out to be a couple of miles downwind from four or five large smoke stacks that left our boat covered in black soot by next morning. The next morning we moved to an anchorage just south of the capital, Orangestad. It was a nice anchorage in the flight path of their principal airport. We had planned to leave soon but our stay was extended due to an accident incurred by our friends on S/V Lunasea. Their dinghy was rear-ended by a resort hotel launch which ripped their motor off and destroyed it. Consequently we hung around to give support and to determine their fate. After some vacillating, the resort put them in a slip for their inconvenience offered to compensate them for their loss. We left the next morning with several boats also headed for Cartagena, among them S/V Panda, folks we had known since Margarita.

Columbia
Cabo de la Vela

We agreed to do a 120-mile overnight sail to Cabo de la Vela, Columbia so on Nov 10th we headed out. With the exception of a 2-hour torrential rain beginning at midnight, we had a rather uneventful sail there, making it to our first Columbian landfall at 1:30PM. Upon joining us at the anchorage, S/V Panda shared 3 large tuna filets from their catch that morning. Dinner was superb! After only one night’s rest, weather conditions prompted us to embark upon another 24-hour passage the next morning. In a short while, we found ourselves sailing in perfect conditions with flat seas and wind at 10 to 12 knots on the beam. This continued all day and was made even more spectacular by the company of a large pod of playful dolphins who entertained us all afternoon. As the sun set, however, the wind left us and as it got dark we could see clouds moving in and lightening (you know how we don’t like lightening). About 9PM Pam woke Bill who went on deck to put a second reef in the mainsail. Just then, the full force of the thunder storm hit, making it impossible to complete the task. Pam had the engine at almost full throttle and could not hold Songbird into the wind so we stayed with one reef, sheeted in the main and weathered the blow that way. Our friends on Panda later reported that they had clocked the wind at 48 knots. Happily things gradually calmed after that.

Bahia Cinto (5 Bays)

On Nov 12th, as dawn broke, all was forgotten as silhouettes of the Andes bloomed into view. Such a sight. As we approached Bahia Cinto the verdant details of the foothills on shore emerged. We entered the third bay. Bahia Guayraca, sailing into a kind of tropical fjord. We stayed in this beautiful spot for five days enjoying the scenery of the mountains, the coral reefs and the quiet nights. While we were here, we were cheered by the arrival of our friends from S/V Lunasea (sporting a new 15 hp outboard motor) and S/V Maria Alisa.

After leaving our lovely little bay around 9am, we made a short 15 mile hop to spend the night in a lovely Columbia resort town, Rodadero. Our next stop was o be Punta Hermosa, just past the mouth of the Rio Magdalena and 53 miles downwind, if there were to be any wind. We left at 3AM in order to make the river mouth by mid-day and hopefully avoid the typ8ical afternoon build-up of wind and seas. Boy, was this forecast off. As dawn broke, our little fleet of seven boats found itself screaming at unimagined speeds across mountainous seas (every boat set a speed record). By 8:40am, we’d past the mouth of the Rio Magdalena and were making our 15-mile approach to Punta Hermosa, the first five miles being through water the color of chocolate milk. We found our way into the Punta Hermosa anchorage behind a long, uncharted reef with the aid of a French skipper on a boat named Figi who had picked up our radio transmissions and gave us new directions (compass coordinates) on the fly. He is a saint. We ended what was supposed to be a full day sail at 12:30 – what a while ride.

Photos: Approaching 5 Bays: Luik's 12th B'day Party on S/V Marguerite; Salt Ponds; Smiling Sully the young whale; Joque the giant angle fish.