Liesbet's blog

The San Blas islands – locally called Kuna Yala – are inhabited by the indigenous Kuna Indians, who have mostly maintained their traditional lifestyle. The women dress in their colorful attire consisting of hand sewn mola breast pieces, a lively skirt, red headscarves, golden nose ring, long strings of beads wrapped around the calves and other jewelry. Men and kids wear western-style clothes. While there are a few modernized villages with concrete buildings, satellite dishes and a generator producing electricity, most families live in simple thatched-roofed huts without electricity, running water and sewer. Water is obtained from a river, the sky or a well, solar panels or flashlights produce light and outhouses take care of the other business.

 Kuna woman cleaning fish for dinner                           © Liesbet Collaert

Kuna Indians travel in dugout canoes called ulus. They paddle about, use an outboard engine or a sail to get from island to island. They catch fish, crabs, lobster, octopus or conch to survive and tend to plots of land on the mainland or off shore. The impressive string of idyllic islands is chock full with palm trees, containing an abundance of tasty coconuts. These nuts are their livelihood and are sold worldwide or locally or they are traded with the Colombian trading boats passing through the region. Visitors are not allowed to take any.

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Transiting the impressive Panama Canal is a dream of many people, water based or land based. Going from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean via this short cut takes about 12 hours and the cost depends on the length of the vessel and the urgency to go through. All boat things considered it is not that expensive for a 40’ sailboat to do the transit. If you don’t use an agent, the fee is well under $1000. The best news about transiting the Canal is that anybody can do it. You don’t need to go on your own boat. As a matter of fact, it is way less stressful if you don’t.

The monkey fist is attached and returned ashore          © Liesbet Collaert

All year long, pleasure craft (and massive cargo ships) transit the Panama Canal. March is the busiest period for cruising boats to go “west”, because it coincides with the best period to cross the Pacific Ocean and explore the many idyllic islands on the way to New Zealand or Southeast Asia. Every boat going through is required to have four line handlers, in addition to the captain. Most crew on sailboats consist of two people, so owners of sailboats are constantly looking for extra hands, and notices are found on bulletin boards of marinas, hostels, supermarkets, restaurants and bars near the Canal facilities on both sides. If you would like to be a line handler, it is not hard to make it happen, especially if you are already traveling in Panama.

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Geographically part of the Leeward Islands and politically part of France, Guadeloupe is situated in the Eastern Caribbean, with Dominica to the south, Antigua to the north and Montserrat to the northeast.  The territory is big compared to its neighbors and consists of many different islands. Basse Terre and Grande Terre are separated by a river and make up the “mainland”, while La Desirade, Marie Galante and the Saintes are lying in a semi-circle around the bottom. Even more islands are scattered about the mainland, making this area very attractive to sailors and cruisers.

 Deshaies anchorage                                                                                               © Liesbet Collaert

The “mainland”

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Recently, a reader of my blog asked a very simple question: “What do you miss while you are living on a sailboat full time for so many years?” The question – even though I never really think about it – is easy and interesting, coming from somebody who lives on land in the United States with all the comforts and conveniences imaginable. I thought the answer would be easy as well: “Nothing really.” But, when I give it some thought, I have to admit there are a few things that I miss. Well, maybe not really miss, but that I wish I could have or enjoy from time to time.

 Getting fresh water by dinghy                                    © Liesbet Collaert 

Conveniences

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For tens or even hundreds of years, Colombia has been a very dangerous country to visit, by land or by sea. In recent years, however, the bad reputation has lifted (Venezuela took over) and every day a constant stream of backpackers explores the region. Many cruisers follow suit, especially since Colombia is nicely on the way to Panama and its amazing San Blas islands. It is the perfect place to break up the long sailing trips west.

Cabo de la Vela, Colombia                                            ©Liesbet Collaert

Cabo de la Vela

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When you live a life on land, your day follows a certain routine. You get up at a certain time, have breakfast, commute to work, return home late afternoon or early evening, have dinner, watch some TV or entertain yourself another way and it’s bed time again. The weekends are something to look forward to and thoroughly enjoyed. Most things go the way you expect them to go.

 The weather forecast predicts wind, but if there is none, you have to motor...            © Liesbet Collaert

Living on a sailboat is a tad more adventurous and less straightforward. Part of the reason you choose to go cruising, is to get away from the familiar environments and the daily routines. Although sailing might sound exotic, things aren’t easy most of the time and definitely not predictable. After four years on the water, my mind wanders many a time to how life on shore would be. It sounds so easy, so comfortable, so much less tiring. I think about a comfy couch, vegging in front of a TV, reclining with a good book in the yard, anticipating and looking forward to a fun-filled weekend, filling a grocery cart full of enjoyable and affordable foods and a hot shower with water pressure… I think about the fact that you can actually plan something and follow a routine that rarely changes.

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The “C” in the ABC-islands, north of Venezuela, stands for Curaçao. Until a year ago it was part of the Netherlands Antilles; now it is a country in itself. Unlike St. Maarten, the official currency (the florin or Antillean Guilder) is widely used. You can pay with US dollars everywhere, but expect change in local cash. The island is relatively big in comparison with its neighbors, but is easily seen in a couple of days: renting a car one day to see the western part and exploring the historical capital Willemstad by foot the other day.

 The waterfront in Willemstad                                                                                         © Liesbet Collaert

Checking into the country is a bit of a hassle and quite time-consuming, since all people aboard have to make their way to Willemstad from the only long-term and totally protected anchorage of Spanish Waters. There are buses about every hour or two, but they are not punctual and take a bit of time to reach their destination. Once in the center of town, you walk to Customs (Douane) a few blocks west of the bus station, across from the floating market and obvious by the huge sign on top of the building. The officials are friendly and in about half an hour, you have your first piece of paper free of charge. Next, you walk over the Queen Emma floating bridge, or take a free ferry when it is in the open position and follow the water north towards a big wharf.

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When cruisers and sailors are asked why they choose this lifestyle, many answer with the standard and cliché “Because it gives us so much freedom”. True, your sailboat is your floating home and you can drop and pick up anchor in many places worldwide, giving you an immense area to explore or settle for a while. You have your belongings with you wherever you go and to “just be out there”, sailing on a massive ocean or smaller sea, gives you a tremendous feeling of freedom. Wherever you are, once the anchor is down, there are restrictions and rules you have to abide by. You can read up or learn about these places ahead of time and, because you are free, you decide whether to skip them or pay them a visit. Most things you do are entirely up to you, except when (boat) problems arise.

  A grey day for a sail on the ocean                                                                           © Liesbet Collaert

The sense of freedom disappears, however, when you take that one, all important thing into account; the thing that really decides when you leave and how the trip and the schedule turns out. It is called the weather and it is ever-present and not always very predictable. Every prudent sailor checks the weather forecast, via different sources at that, before heading out, especially on a longer trip. We base many decisions on how “it is looking” and pick days that promise to be comfortable enough, wind and swell taken into consideration. These periods are called “weather windows”. The amount of rain is less important, unless they are part of forecasted periods of heavy squalls.

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Most people who are familiar with Bonaire are either avid divers or windsurfers. Or cruise ship passengers. Others who have heard about this small island north of Venezuela reside in the area or in the Netherlands. Together with a handful of other small Caribbean islands, it was part of the Netherlands Antilles until recently. On 10/10/10 Bonaire became an integral part of the Dutch Kingdom, together with Saba and St. Eustatius (Statia), while Curaçao and St. Maarten separated and became new countries.

 Almost every day a big cruise ship docks in the beautiful waters of Bonaire                 © Liesbet Collaert

The tri-island area Bonaire, Curaçao and Aruba is referred to as the ABC-islands, but much more than starting with the first three letters of the alphabet they don’t have in common. Curaçao is big, industrial and diverse, Aruba is very touristy and gears to an American market and Bonaire is most famous for its fantastic diving and environmental approach. It is a watersports paradise, whether you explore underneath the water surface or skim on top …

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People who have sailed are familiar with the usual preparations required to take the boat out for a (day) sail. You make sure there’s enough fuel, food and water and check all the safety gear, you take the sail bag off, start the engine(s), check the VHF radio and cast off by undoing and storing dock lines or by picking up and securing the anchor. You raise the sails and there you go, ready for some enjoyment on the lake, the bay or the ocean.

 Ready to go!                                                                                                          © Liesbet Collaert

Even though Mark and I have been living and cruising on Irie for over four years, our routines before leaving a harbor include some preparation as well, each and every time. We haul the dinghy and strap it tight, check the engines for any leakage, know the diesel level, write a log entry upon departure and arrival, go over the charts, plot a course, untie the boom, center the main, take the sail bag off, tidy the interior and exterior, secure loose items, close all hatches and the thru-hull of the toilet, take off instrument covers, install the handheld VHF outside, push all the cabinet knobs, take off the snubber and get ready to lift anchor and go. This process takes less than half an hour and we go through it religiously and simultaneously, as a well-oiled machine and perfect team.

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There is a reason people have been sailing around the world from east to west… for ages. That thought crossed my head very recently, when we were on our first long voyage west. Before, I never gave that reality much thought, except when having those big old ships of the first explorers in mind. They could basically only go to places downwind. Modern boats have way more flexibility and we basically sailed Irie wherever we wanted, except straight into or very close to the wind. Catamarans don’t go to windward very well.

 Sailing downwind towards the rainbow and the west, with just the jib                         © Liesbet Collaert

The first year into our cruising life, we made it from the east coast of the US to the Eastern Caribbean. When you look at a map, this is not a direction boats like to go in easterly trade winds, so it involved a lot of timing and motoring. Once in the Leeward Islands, we went up and down the chain a few times, heading south when the winds had a southeasterly component (summer hurricane season) and sailing back north when the wind blew from a northeasterly direction (winter cruising season). This meant we always sailed close-hauled, with the sheets trimmed tightly and the boat bashing into the waves. On short occasions, we’d have the wind behind us – leaving harbors or moving along south coasts – and our minds on high alert, to prevent accidental jibes. During some of these downwind trips, we wouldn’t even bother raising the mainsail and just unfurled the jib.

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Giving up your accustomed shore life, to move onto a sailing vessel is a huge change that entails preparations and adjustments in many ways. Once that big step is taken and you have gotten used to living aboard, similar experiences of a smaller scale will occur. Every time you leave a place where you spent some time and made friends, it feels like you are leaving a part of yourself behind. It is a bag of mixed feelings and day to day adventures soon turn into fond memories, while you “move on”.

 When you leave a certain popular area, you leave friends and fond experiences.          © Liesbet Collaert

My husband Mark and I sailed throughout the Eastern Caribbean for the last three years. After going up and down the island chain once, we knew the “lay of the islands”. We anchored in our favorite spots, knew where to pick up decent internet signals, shopped in the best stocked and most affordable supermarkets, knew which day the local vegetable lady showed up, attended the greatest happy hours, saved our dirty laundry until we reached a harbor with a do-it-yourself washing machine and frequented the places we liked. Every year, we would sail to and explore a few different parts of this or that island, but those adventures were short and in close vicinity. Every time we ended up in St. Martin or Grenada, we stayed put for a few months to work or spend hurricane season. The excitement took place in between these destinations, when we mostly “did what we wanted” and during the occasional weekend.

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One of the "side-effects" of cruising full time as a couple is that you and your partner are together all the time! You share the same small living area at the same time and even though this might be a situation that you fully expected before the big adventure, it is not an easy feat to be around each other 24/7, no matter how much you love each other or how compatible you are. Even when in perfect harmony, break-downs, ominous weather, power hungry officials, language barriers with locals, rationing food and water and the relatively primitive lifestyle can put strain on any relationship. Compare it to a couple living together on shore and working in the same office, driving a semi together or being retired under the same roof, with added complications…

 A 35' catamaran is big enough for two people: you each have your own hull!       © Liesbet Collaert

Of course, the good things are shared as well and it isn’t all arguments and challenges, but before deciding to go cruising together for a long time, you and your other half better be sure you get along well and are plenty compatible. Once removed from your familiar habitat, family and close friends, your partner is the only one to fully connect with months or years at the time. He/she will listen to you, explore and sail with you, comfort you and be your companion, 24/7. More relationships than sailboats end up on the rocks, and a lot of cruisers we meet are in their second long-term relationship or marriage! Therefore it is important that you each can be independent and find personal interests and things to do. Not only will the “alone time” benefit you both; you will also have something new to talk about!

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How I sometimes wish I could jump in my car and run the errands I need to run within a couple of hours’ time. When the tank is running low, I’d pull over at one of the many gas stations and fill her right up! But, I don’t have a car and even if I did, it wouldn’t be of much use while I’m living on our sailboat in the Caribbean. As I have realized many times before and as I probably have mentioned before as well: life on the water is a tad more difficult and inconvenient than life on land and some of why we chose this life is because or despite of that.

 Leaving Tyrrel Bay in Carriacou to - maybe - obtain fuel in Clifton, Union Island (SVG)    © Liesbet Collaert

Mark and I try to sail our boat as much as possible which results in not needing all that much diesel. Normally, we take our dinghy to a fuel station on the water and fill a 5 gallon jug, whether it is gas for the dinghy or diesel for the big boat. Fuel in the Caribbean has become very expensive (compared to US prices; similar to European prices), but if you buy a little bit at a time, it’s not too bad. Now, however, anticipating a long trip to – for us – unknown territories west, we want to leave with a full diesel tank and some spare gasoline. Being on a budget and having principles, we looked into a few things to spend as little money as possible on this fuel mission.

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Not to be confused with the Dominican Republic, as one of the country’s tourist brochures rightly and amusingly states, Dominica is part of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean. It is located between the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique and is unlike any of its neighbors. While most tourists and sailors frequent the Caribbean for its pretty beaches and sunny climate, sand and sun are not the reasons to come to Dominica.

 Dominica's interior                                                                                                        © Liesbet Collaert

Dominica’s highlight is its nature. Some of the attractions can be found near the water, but most interesting sights are located in the lush interior and renting a car or taking local busses are your best bets to see what this little gem of an island has to offer. Good bases to do so are Prince Rupert Bay, where the town of Portsmouth is situated and Roseau, the country’s capital. Prince Rupert Bay is big, well protected and geared towards cruisers. They have nightly security patrols in the harbor and the boat boys are courteous and not too pushy. There is always room to anchor and the bay is easy to approach, even at dark. The town offers small stores, car rental places and customs and immigration on the waterfront.

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