After a week in Aruba, where we treated ourselves to western amenities and a posh marina, we moved out to the anchorage by the airport. Good holding in 8’ of water and out of the swell. The weather forecast to Curacao was only OK but heck it’s less than 80 miles and the long range forecast didn’t show anything any better, so - on to Curacao.
We checked out with Customs and Immigrations Sunday afternoon. They were efficient; less than 30 minutes after we tied to municipal pier, we were back on Hobo ready to leave - with our confiscated spear gun in hand. On trips of this length, we like overnighters knowing that we have extra time if we need it, which we did on this trip. As we rounded the south end of Aruba we encountered a 1 knot contrary current that soon became 2 knots. We had 20 to 25 kts on the nose and quick (~6 sec), 2 m seas. We slowed down to match the sea state for a more comfortable ride. We had the 2 knot counter current all night and the winds increased - but heck it’s less than 80 miles.
About 10 miles from Spaanse Waters (our Curacao destination), we were boarded by the Coast Guard. They were professional and easy going. The funny part was they wanted to see what one of the “fish” looked like. I think it was more out of curiosity about paravanes than anything else – or maybe they thought we had an innovative way of smuggling drugs.
The next day we bussed into Willemstad to clear in with Customs, Immigrations and the Port Authority. The process took 45 minutes and cost $10.00 US (for our anchoring permit). Nobody came to the boat so it was even easier. When we were in town we stopped at the floating market. It is made up of vessels from Venezuela who come to sell fish and produce. One of the other pictures is of the security guard at the Port Authority with the sign in English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento (the local dialect). The picture of m/v Alexander I, shows a true manual windlass. Next stop Bonaire.
Here’s the trip summary for both Colombia to Aruba and Aruba to Curacao. On the Colombia trip we had some positive current and 15 kts on the nose (average). On the Aruba trip we had ~2 knots of contrary current and 25 knots on the nose.
Santa Marta to Aruba 279 miles 1.46 gph 3.82 mpg 5.6 knot average
Aruba to Curacao 76 miles 1.74 gph 2.11 mpg 3.6 knot average
We checked out with Customs and Immigrations Sunday afternoon. They were efficient; less than 30 minutes after we tied to municipal pier, we were back on Hobo ready to leave - with our confiscated spear gun in hand. On trips of this length, we like overnighters knowing that we have extra time if we need it, which we did on this trip. As we rounded the south end of Aruba we encountered a 1 knot contrary current that soon became 2 knots. We had 20 to 25 kts on the nose and quick (~6 sec), 2 m seas. We slowed down to match the sea state for a more comfortable ride. We had the 2 knot counter current all night and the winds increased - but heck it’s less than 80 miles.
About 10 miles from Spaanse Waters (our Curacao destination), we were boarded by the Coast Guard. They were professional and easy going. The funny part was they wanted to see what one of the “fish” looked like. I think it was more out of curiosity about paravanes than anything else – or maybe they thought we had an innovative way of smuggling drugs.
The next day we bussed into Willemstad to clear in with Customs, Immigrations and the Port Authority. The process took 45 minutes and cost $10.00 US (for our anchoring permit). Nobody came to the boat so it was even easier. When we were in town we stopped at the floating market. It is made up of vessels from Venezuela who come to sell fish and produce. One of the other pictures is of the security guard at the Port Authority with the sign in English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento (the local dialect). The picture of m/v Alexander I, shows a true manual windlass. Next stop Bonaire.
Here’s the trip summary for both Colombia to Aruba and Aruba to Curacao. On the Colombia trip we had some positive current and 15 kts on the nose (average). On the Aruba trip we had ~2 knots of contrary current and 25 knots on the nose.
Santa Marta to Aruba 279 miles 1.46 gph 3.82 mpg 5.6 knot average
Aruba to Curacao 76 miles 1.74 gph 2.11 mpg 3.6 knot average
