Curacao July 1st-8th

We had a great downwind spinnaker sail from Bonaire to Curacao, arriving late in the afternoon. This was the first time we had arrived at an island with no cruising guide and it felt very strange!! We had downloaded some information from the internet regarding clearing in, anchoring proceedures and had emailed with some friends already there.

Curacao, part of the Netherland Antilles, is 171 square miles and has a population of 142,000 - the largest of the ABC islands. In addition to Dutch, there is a big Spanish influence (due to proximity of south America in particular Venezuela). The "local" language is Papiamento. We found the ABC islands to be very different to the Eastern Caribbean Islands - more organized, better infrastructure, better roads.

Most of the cruisers anchor in Spanish Waters, a very large lagoon type area. Its about 20 minutes from the capital Willemstad, where we had to go to clear in. We anchored up in “the kids bay” by Pacific Bliss (with Zinnia and Cosmo) and 3 other kids boats – Blue Sky, Bonaire and Jonathon A. It was nice for Charlotte to get a chance to play with some other kids for a while, although unfortunately not for long enough as we were soon due to be hauled.

We arrived Thursday afternoon. Friday night we went to a bonfire with some other kids on a nearby island.

Saturday Steve and Cathy rented a car and we all toured the island, first stop the capital Willemstad. Once again the boat "A" was following us:

The island is about 30 miles long and 5 miles wide. The north east coast was quite rugged. We visited the “Natural Bridge" and the "Blow Hole" – a bit similar to the east coast of Antigua.

Sunday was July 4^th (when the Brits allowed the Americans to try it alone!!) and some cruisers arranged a pot luck party on the beach.

Steve and Cathy headed up to Willemstad to check into a hotel while while we were getting the boat sorted. Charlotte stayed with Blue Sky for a sleepover with Pheby that night.

Monday morning we set off from the anchorage, first dropping Charlotte off on Pacific Bliss, who were going to look after her til the next afternoon while we got the boat hauled and sorted.

A 6 mile motor up to Willemstad and into the harbour. We had to request an opening on the footbridge and then on to the industrial bay to Curacao Marine.

Steve and Cathy came over to help us with a few bits and we anchored out that night. Early Tuesday morning took the boat into the dock – we were scheduled to be the first boat hauled at 9am. We were finally hauled at 11.30am …..

In actual fact we were lucky we were hauled at all, as that afternoon Holland played in the semi-final of the world cup and the whole yard shut down!! Tuesday was a late night working on the boat.

We checked into a hotel near the boat yard for Tuesday and Wednesday night, as staying on the boat while it is out of the water is not so comfortable. (no breeze, can't use the toilets, have to climb up and down ladders, etc ….)

Wednesday, Liz, on Pacific Bliss, very kindly look after Charlotte again, at the hotel, while Jimmy and I slogged on – preparing a boat for long term storage is a lot of work, not to mention all the packing of all of our possessions! By Wednesday evening the boat was all sorted for long term storage - we left the boat yard exhausted, with little time for emotional farewells to a boat we’ve been on for over 7 years!

We headed to the hotel, looking forward to a nice long shower and aircon. The water was scheduled to be off in the day and back on at 6pm – it finally came back on at 10.30pm!!

Early alarm call the next morning, and we headed to the airport with our full baggage allowance, packed to every last allowable pound. We had to change the rental car on the last day in order to accommodate all our luggage!!