Curacao to Aruba October to December 2009
We flew into back into Curacao via Miami. Just out of Miami we crossed the Gulf Stream and I could see the Biminis below and then we crossed the Ragged islands. Soon Iguana Cay and Matthew Town were below with its distinctive shape. Just as the sun was going down we started across Haiti and finally crossed Santa Domingo flying into the growing dark. For those of you, who think this life is all palm trees and Cuba Libras, think again. One thing I know after five years into this odyssey is that a boat is a consumer able item on more than one level. We had arrived to discover that our order was delayed for a few weeks, so we started other jobs. We painted new anti skid on the decks, which had turned into a skating rink last season. We then lifted our diesel tanks after inspecting them and then cleaning them, ripped out an old fridge and installed a new one along with a complete new battery array.
Add to this a new SSB radio and a Wind Vane. There always seems to be something to do and you don’t get paid for what seems to be harder work than you did in your previous life, in fact you pay. After five weeks in a cheap hotel we had enough done and moved back on the boat in the yard finishing up there in a couple of weeks. The yard let Seacycle slip on the travel lift when splashing her but this time there was no damage. The reinforcing we had added the last few years was paying off big time. We finally got in the water and checked out heading up to Santa Cruz at the northern end of the island where we jumped off to Aruba some fifty miles away. Aruba was different, kind of a Vegas by the sea, but that was alright for a short change of pace. We caught up here with cruising mates Audrey Page and then Equinox pulled in having jumped all the way from Annapolis and the boat show, a very impressive sail. On December 18th we got a weather window and nervously set sail for the Colombian coast.
To be continued