Monthly Archives: November 2017

Bonaire 50th Regatta

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Bonaire celebrated 50 years of hosting its annual Bonaire Regatta while we were on island and even though we did not participate as we had in the other regattas, we did manage to watch several races over the course of 3 days.

Most of the races were across the bay (which is right behind the mooring area) and to Klein Bonaire from Bonaire.  So, we had perfect viewing seats right off the back of our boat.  The smaller boat categories included micro-boats, optimists, and sunfish.  They also spent many hours restoring old fishing boats “boto di piskado” that raced in the original regattas.  They managed to restore four of them which were in pretty bad shape.  We watched the transformation over many months.

Bonaire Regatta

Boto di piskado racing in Bonaire Regatta

They also had J-boats, CSA boats, kite surfers, windsurfers, and multi-hull boats racing.  The interesting thing about this regatta is that big boats and small boats end up in each other’s way even though they had separate courses, causing a bit of a calamity around some of the marks.

Bonaire Regatta

Opti’s in the way of the large boat trying to round the mark

Bonaire Regatta

Crowded mark for a little Opti

Bonaire Regatta

Bow to stern kiss but no visible damage on either boat.

Bonaire Regatta

Everyone heading downwind for the mark

Bonaire Regatta.

Opti’s and Sunfish getting started

They also raced these  non-motorized micro-sailboats.  The owner holds on to them at start line and sets them off with just the wind guiding them – they were really pretty mini-boats.

Bonaire Regatta

Micro-Boats racing in Bonaire Regatta

In addition to all of the excitement on the water, there were lots of activities ashore.  They had events spread out all over the coast line in Kralendijk.  With a large adult themed carnival by the stadium, a smaller carnival area for the kids by the cruise ship dock, 5 music stages, dozens of food booths, bingo, and booths with people selling their wares – there was something for everyone.

Event and Activity Map Bonaire Regatta

Bonaire Regatta Site Map of Events

Despite being a small island they have a pretty impressive music line up for the evening events.

Music Schedule for Bonaire Regatta

Bonaire Regatta Music Schedule

A much different experience than the other large scale regattas, but it still provided a lot of fun and entertainment!

Parrot Happy Hour

A Parrot’s Happy Hour

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Echo Bonaire is an amazing parrot sanctuary that is working towards conserving the endangered Yellow-shouldered Amazon Parrot.  Through conservation management, research, and restoration of their habitat they hope to increase the population.

This sounded like something I had to see so I organized a girls day out which started with lunch at Between 2 Buns and then a road trip to Echo Bonaire.  Our group consisted of Marilyn (from “Cardera“), Cindy (“Tranquility“), Jane (“Cheetah II”) and I.

Ladies Day Out

Me, Marilyn, Jane, and Cindy

The trip to the sanctuary is 35 minutes from downtown Kralendijk where our boats are located.  Marilyn took us along the beautiful coast line across windy roads and over a few hills.  When we arrived, we were very surprised to find over 20 people waiting to go on the tour.  Matt and I had tried to take the tour the previous week, but a freak wind/rain storm came upon us just as we were heading out. We decided to skip the tour thinking the birds wouldn’t want to be out in that weather either.

Echo Parrot Entrance

Entrance of Echo Parrots and People Sanctuary

Our tour guide, Rose, spoke several languages to her guests and was very knowledgeable, professional, and kind.  She is a student volunteer who lives in the volunteer quarters on the property which are pretty rustic with no running water or electricity.

There are 7500 Yellow-Shouldered Amazon Parrots in the world and about 800-1000 live in Bonaire at any given time.

One of Echo’s primary goals is reforestation which is important to preserving these birds.  The tour started at the nursery where several green houses host native plants and trees that are preferred by the parrots.

Their goal is to plant 2000 native trees across 7 hectares (7.4 acres).  They have established three hectares and have planted over 400 trees.  The hectares are created to keep the donkeys, goats, and pigs out in order to give the native trees a chance to grow.  There are 50 species of trees native to Bonaire and they have been able to replant 45 of them.  Each tree is planted by hand and watered, by hand, once a week during the dry season.

Native trees at parrot sanctuary

Green house at Echo Parrot Sanctuary

Green house at Parrot Sanctuary

Echo Parrot Sanctuary Green House

Volunteers retrieve hurt birds and bring them to Echo where they are kept isolated for a few days for observation.  Once they are eating and healing they are put in the “Release Aviary.” There the birds are observed with other parrots for three days.  The other parrots will “test” the new bird – kind of like a new kid in school.

Parrot release aviary

Release Aviary for parrots

Most parrots come in with a broken wing (at the shoulder) which is very hard to care for and heal.  It can take well over a year for the bird to relearn how to fly again.

In order for a parrot to be released, they must know how to fly and they have to be afraid of people.  They are trying aversion programs to desensitize the parrots to humans.

The tour was a walking tour through a portion of their property, over a small trail covered with prickles and cacti.  But Rose brought us to a beautiful overlook of Lake Grotto which was incredibly beautiful.

Parrot Sanctuary Lake Groto

Lake Groto overlook from the Parrot Sanctuary.

Parrots can live for 30-60 years and are most vocal at sunrise and sunset.  Rose informed us that as the sun is setting the parrots congregate together and ask questions.

What do the parrots talk about:
  • How was your day?
  • Where did you find food?
  • Where are you going tomorrow?

They do the same thing first thing in the morning as the sun is rising.

Parrot Happy Hour

Parrots meeting at happy hour

Parrot

Parrot didn’t like the small talk

Echo Bonaire is subsidized by Bonaire, the Netherlands, and tourists. They also just started selling their trees to locals to help spread their reforestation efforts.

These two birds were found being smuggled into the country by a tourist at the airport.

parrots being smuggled in to Bonaire

Two birds confiscated at the Bonaire airport.

These two beautiful macaws were donated by a family on the island when the owner passed away.  One was really depressed and picked his feathers out which will never grow back.  But they were both so pretty and friendly.  These macaws can live up to 135 years.

McCaw parrot

McCaws donated by local family

As we were nearing the end of our tour, we came to a small opening surrounded by trees.  The sun was setting and just as Rose said, the parrots started communicating with each other and asking all sorts of questions.  It was so musical.

Lake Groto sunset

Sunset at Lake Groto

Yellow bellied finches

Yellow bellied finches.

Yellow headed amazon

Yellow headed amazon – show off for the humans.

 

 

Dive Buoyant

Buoyancy An Art or Skill?

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Buoyancy is something you have to constantly practice and perfect while diving.  It is not something you learn once and then move on as there are so many different variables.  The water depth, tank weight, BCD, weights, and your breathing all impact your buoyancy.

Diver buoyancy

Photo Courtesy of Diving Frontiers

Matt has it mastered and can literally site Indian style in the water, gently moving up and down with each breath.  Sign of a skilled and controlled diver and flexible yogi.


My new BCD has helped tremendously.  The original BCD was a unisex BCD which did not fit me correctly.  The torso was too long and it sat below my hips and was overall just too big.  I sold it and bought a female Aqua Lung Pearl which fits much better and gives me far more control.

I am pretty flat (or neutral) while I am diving.  But I do tend to struggle when I want to stay in one place to take a photo, look at a critter, or wait for other divers.

Work needed to be done so I jumped at the chance when Eric on “Ad Astra“ offered to do buoyancy skills with a few of us.  Eric is a dive instructor and has over a dozen certifications (rescue, first aid, deep, technical, side mount, etc…) and is the perfect person to teach us new techniques.

Me diving.

Me, before I learned my new skills, pretty neutral.

Jane from “Cheetah II,” Daryl and Janet from “Maple” joined me at “Ad Astra’s” mooring where Eric had rigged a little skills course.  He put up a diagonal line creating a space that got smaller as the line met the sea bed on opposite side.

Eric had us practice fin kicks where you leave the tips of your fins on the floor and raise your body up with an inhale and down with an exhale.  After we “mastered” this exercise, he showed us different fin kicks.  Most people do the flutter kick which tends to kick up sand and can disturb the sea life so we were learning alternative kicks that are less disruptive to the animals.

Types of Kicks:
  • Flutter kick
  • Modified Flutter kick
  • Frog Kick
  • Helicopter turn

After displaying our new skills, we used the modified flutter kick to get under the line, then helicopter around and swim back under the line without touching the line or the ground.

Next, we used the same kick to swim barely over the line, then we headed straight down (perpendicular to the ground, head first), then swam under the line belly up (tank closest to the ground).  Of course, I looked at him in disbelief when he demonstrated it and indicated I might not be able to do it, but to my surprise, I killed it!

The next skill I had heard about and swore I would never do – but here I am preparing to do it in front of 5 other people.  You swim slowly, just above the floor (18″), up to a spoon that has been buried in the sand (the top part of the spoon showing).  As you slowly approach the spoon, you gently nudge it with your regulator, then slowly and calmly remove your regulator, grab the spoon with your mouth, look at Eric, and then replace your regulator.  I am not sure what the spoon’s problem was but it kept evading my mouth or jumping out of my mouth- it was comedic for everyone but me. Goin in, miss, goin in again, miss, spoon flops on sand – try the entire move again.  Eventually, I got it, but man it was irritating.

For the last skill we slowly swam up to the mooring, 18″ off the floor, hovered at the mooring for 5 seconds.  We then used our breath to raise up over the mooring then headed upside down, holding for 5 count (basically doing a “U” around the mooring.

Mooring Block

Mooring Block – Not Eric’s, but similar.

When we came up to the surface, we were all surprised to learn that we had been down for 90 minutes!  It was an incredibly educational and useful session that we are all very grateful to have received.  It certainly should be included in the basic Open Water or at least in Advanced training – which it is not.

None the less I feel much more equipped to handle my buoyancy and look forward to putting my new skills to work while diving.

Matt upside down

Matt pretending to be a trunk fish – upside down.


Salt Pier dive

Me at the Salt Pier.