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Columbia Passage Sunset Night 1

Columbia Passage

The Columbia passage is 280 nm (nautical miles) from Aruba and we wanted to arrive in daylight.  Matt uses several apps for weather, but a new favorite is PredictWind Offshore which is an app that charts your course based on your boat model, and the current wind and wave conditions.  We set our sail plan based on the average of several models provided by PredictWind Offshore.  Basically, we were looking at a downwind sail with a wind speed average of 17-19 knots and less than 1 meter waves.  It predicted we would arrive in 40 hours.  Based on this data, we decided to leave Aruba around 1400-1500 with the hopes of arriving Santa Marta around 0800-0900.

We reserved a slip at the Marina Santa Marta arriving on 4 November. The marina’s hours of operation on Saturday are from 0800-1700.  If we arrived before 0800 we would have to find a place to anchor or moor.  Unfortunately, we were not able to find out if there were any moorings or anchor spots near the marina before we left.  The one map that we found showed an anchorage in 10-15 meters of water which is too deep for us as we only have 100 meters of chain.

We always seem to learn a thing or two on each passage. One key learning was that we should have made meals before setting sail.  It is not terrible cooking when the boat is on a downwind tack, but it is easier if meals are prepared ahead of time.  The day before we left, Matt cooked up a huge batch of fejuiada which is a Brazilian bean stew with pork shoulder, black beans, sausage, spices, onions, tomatoes, and a few other bits of yumminess.  We also had an extra meal from Maria (our Venezuelan chef) and tuna salad for sandwiches.  We were all set.

At 1400, we pulled up our anchor, raised the main, hoisted the small spinnaker, set our course, and put out the fishing lines and teasers.  Our Columbia passage begins.

Columbia Passage with Small Spinnaker

Columbia Passage with Small Spinnaker

Matt is sitting at the starboard helm and I am at the port helm.  There are fishing polls behind each seat.  2.5 hours into our sail, the fishing pole behind me starts to do a small dance, but doesn’t “zing.”  Matt happened to be looking at me and I caught it in my peripheral vision – yep, something is hooked.  Matt reeled in a tuna which was pretty small but would still make a great snack!  The drag was set too high and our fish was too little which was why it did not zing.

Big Eye Tuna #1

Big Eye Tuna #1

About 45 minutes later, the same line sang out loud “ZING” and spooled out.  Before Matt could get to the line, a second line went “ZING” and we suddenly had two “fish on.”  I brought in the two teasers as Matt hauled in the next tuna and then pulled in a bigger tuna.  Sweet, three big eye tuna’s, two caught on a cedar plug and one on a skirt.  We didn’t even have to turn on the engines, slow the boat down, or alter course.

Big Eye Tuna #2 and #3

Big Eye Tuna #2 and #3

With the freezer full, we decided to pull in the lines so we did not have to worry about them during the night.  We were settling back in when a pod of dolphins decided to play with us.  They were fairly small dolphins, but very playful and stayed with us for well over a half hour.

Matt enjoying some dolphin time.

Matt enjoying some dolphin time.

Just as I was thinking this sail could not be any better, the sun started to set providing a spectacular sunset!

Sunset on first night.

Sunset on first night.

We decided on 3 hour shifts for the night.  Matt took the first shift at 2030 as I took a nap.  The rest of the night rotated on and off with only one sail change around 2330.  The wind shifted slightly so we had to jibe the sail.  We turned the engines on to give us forward motion in order to take the kite down before resetting.  All went smoothly and we carried on for the night with just the main and kite flying.

Matt was sleeping (or trying to) as I listened to my music during my 0500 shift.  My mom, or the Heavens, or the universe were trying to get my attention, because as the sun was rising, “Alive” by SIA started playing and it just got my blood pumping.  Hearing this song at such a majestic moment took my breath away.  I am grateful for every waking moment of every day.  But some moments are extraordinary reminders of just how far I’ve come – all I can say is “thank you!”

We rounded Peninsula de la Guajira just after sunrise with wind in our main and our spinnaker, we were on track to have a 200 mile day.  We were averaging almost 9 knots and had a top speed of over 15!  Just cruising along with good winds and waves.

Mid-morning brought another pod of huge dolphins that were out to show off.  They were having a good ole time at the bow of our boat.  Some would then jet out a 100 yards in front of us and would jump out of the water and flip around.  So fabulously fun!

Second pod of dolphins on day two.

Second pod of dolphins on day two.

Just before 1100 the winds left us and our boat speed dropped to 3-4 knots.  We limped along with both sails up and tried our best to maintain our course.  Several hours later, we hit our 24 hour mark and here are our stats:

24 HOUR STATS for Columbia Passage:
  • 187 miles sailed (we so wanted to hit 200)
  • 15.5 Top speed (awesome speed for us!)
  • 7.9 Average speed (far cry from 9)

It was a bit frustrating with just the spinnaker out and no wind. We were forced to use the engines so we turned on the port engine but it would not start!  WTF?  This is the engine with the new alternator, but that one charges the house batteries, not the starter battery.  For $hit $ake.  It was not worth running one engine so we continued to limp along without the engines until the winds picked up which was around 1500.  We jibbed the spinnaker again and were clicking along at 7-8 knots.  Yeah!  Life is good.

Both nights were blessed with 95% moon (almost full) which produced a brilliant well lit sky and ocean for us.

Almost a full moon lighting our way.

Almost a full moon lighting our way.

Our original arrival time was between 2300 and 2400 when we were averaging almost 9 knots.  But with the decreased boat speed, our arrival time changed to 0300-0400.  About 15 miles away from our destination, we had to take the spinnaker down and turn on the engines in order to make the marina.  To our surprise, port started right up (thank goodness), but starboard was not spitting water, which is not good.  The engines intake sea water to keep them cool so spitting water is imperative.  Matt primed it–nothing.  He replaced the impeller–nothing. It wasn’t until he re-tightened the hose clamps and primed it again, that it finally started spitting water.  We were back in business.  We did not want to learn how difficult it would be to anchor or pull into a slip with one engine.

It is never ideal to arrive to a new place in the dark, but we had no choice.  We slowly motored around the anchorage just outside the marina with the hopes of finding a shallow place to drop the hook.  Luckily, I saw a boat just outside the marina entrance so we headed toward her, dropped the hook, and fell fast asleep!  And with that, the Columbia Passage comes to an end…Good Night.

FINAL STATS for Columbia Passage:
  • 278 miles sailed (we so wanted to hit 200)
  • 15.5 Top speed
  • 7.2 Average speed
  • 38:45 Moving time

Light It Up Sparky – Alternator Issue

Sugar Shack has four alternators on board, two for each engine.  The small alternator charges the starter battery and the large one charges the house batteries. One of our large, 130 amp Mastervolt alternators has “issues” and it was time to fix it.  Matt had already taken it a part, cleaned the brushes, and tweaked things, but it still wasn’t working.  He suspected it needed new diodes which we did not have on board.  He found a place called “Marlon’s Garage” in Aruba that had good reviews for rebuilding alternators.

 

Matt pulled the big boy out of the engine, placed it in a plastic bag and we hefted it to Marlon’s Garage.  When I say “we” I mean “he” by the way.  We scouted the location earlier so we didn’t have to walk around carrying a 40 lb bag.  The garage was nice, clean, and stocked with a variety of vehicles in 15-20 bays.  All of the employees had really nice embroidered shirts with “Marlon’s Garage” on the back and their names on the front.  Surprising since these are mechanics working around dirty cars and parts wearing these expensive shirts – but good branding!

The garage was filled with lots of treasures.  The owner, a lifelong car enthusiast, had a few Ferrari’s, a porche, couple of corvettes, classic mustang, and old caddy.  We later discovered that he has over 50 cars in total and he is still collecting.

We walked in and they immediately took the alternator in to be tested.  They determined that we needed new diodes and possibly a new rectifier but they could easily do the repair.  They asked us to check back just before 12 to see when we could pick it up.  We left an $80 deposit and went on our way.

We met our friends Dave and Tanya on “Dea Latis” and headed to Price Smart to load up with some groceries.  Half way through our shopping, I realized it was almost 12 so I went outside to try to call. After several failed attempts I went back inside and finished shopping.  Matt kept trying but it was a bad connection.  However, Matt was able to determine that our alternator would be ready before closing.  We returned our fresh groceries to the boat and decided to explore the town while we waited for the repair to be completed.

Around 5p we headed back to Marlon’s Garage to pick up our alternator.  All three diodes were replaced. The shop did not have a rectifier so they actually fabricated a new one for us.  All for the low price of $130.

We loaded her back up into her plastic and headed back toward the dinghy dock.  It was hot, with little to no breeze and we were both exhausted.  A cold beverage would perk us up!  We stopped in on a local bar to regroup.  After we addressed our more pressing needs by cooling down and resting, we realized we were famished.  We left after two rounds and stopped at a Cuban place by the marina.  It was really lovely, with a band, nice ambiance, and super tasty food.  28k steps later, we crashed hard!

Matt installed the rebuilt alternator the next day and was pleasantly surprised to find that it charged at 30-40 amps while the engines were in idle.  The other alternator charges at 10-15 amps at idle.  Then he pushed the engine to 1500 RPM it charged at 100 amps.   Whereas the other one charges at 30-40 amps at 1500 RPM.  Wow, this is amazing!

He was so excited that he took the other 130 amp alternator off and said let’s go have this one checked too.  We huffed back to Marlon’s, had them check it and they said it was fine. They suggested that the regulator might need to be tweaked.  Humf…Matt had checked that it was still not putting out the same amps as the rebuilt one, but it was still charging the house batteries.

The good news is that both large alternators are charging the house batteries.  Yeah.

Lazy Days and Happy Plays: Good Friends

We are all psyched up about the arrival of our good friends, Shawn and Sharon.  We anchored in Paardenbaai Key which is right by the airport.  It is a fairly nice anchorage but is blowing like stink!  We are seeing white caps all around us and the closest dinghy dock is the Renaissance Marina in Oranjestad Key which is a long and very wet ride.  We scoped out some meeting places, found the trash, got some gasoline, and completed some last minute cleaning chores.

One of the proposed meeting spots was this cool canal that led to a tunnel into the Renaissance Mall which probably was not meant for our dinghy and 25hp (2-stroke) outboard.  We were turning around when another boat came in hot and directed us out of there stat.  Well, that meeting place is out, but it would have been so cool to meet them here!

Renaissance Mall Boat Canal

Shawn and Sharon, loaded down with bags (the biggest belonging to us containing boat parts) and brought them back to the boat to get settled.  Not sure what got into us, but we decided to take a dinghy ride to explore a different anchorage.  It is still blowing 30-35 kn of wind and the anchorage was on the other side of the airport by the mangroves.  Unfortunately for us, it was upwind and we got drenched by the time we arrived.  At this point we all wanted was a cold drink.  We ended up at Amuse Sunset Restaurant which was not ready to open for dinner (at 4:30p) but they were willing to serve us drinks!  We ended up staying for awhile and enjoyed a really tasty, but filling dinner as we watched the beautiful sun set on the ocean.

Aruba Amuse

Sunset at Amuse Restaurant.

The wind would not let up so we could not do my noodling workout or play on the SUP.  However, we were able to enjoy a nice walk each morning. On their second day, we decided to try to find a giant wholesale grocery place called Price Smart.  On the way to the store, there were a dozen pieces of different work out equipment on the path – just keeping the tourists and Arubans in shape.

Price Smart is a membership box store so we joined for a year as it was a better deal than buying a one day pass (and they have locations in Columbia and Panama).  They did have a lot of bulk items but were lacking in fruits, veggies, breads, and sodas which is what we were looking for on this trip.  Somehow we still managed to buy enough to fill several bags so we called a taxi to take us back to the dinghy.

It was still blowing 25-35 knots so we decided to stay in for dinner.  Our friend Barry on “White Shadow” (also known as Adventures of an Old Sea Dog on YouTube) is on a smaller boat which was rocking and rolling, so we invited him over for pork chops on our more stable catamaran.  He is a fine story teller and made a nice addition to our dinner party.

Good friends.

Matt, Barry, me, and Sharon

The next day we moved to Malmok Beach which is at the Northwest end of Aruba.  It is in between two wreck sites and a nice stretch of beach.  It is also a lot more protected than where we were by the airport.  With a little less wind, 15-20 we were able try out a few water activities.

This is a very popular site for all the local charter boats, so we got up early and hit the first wreck dive called SS Antilla which is 400′ in length.  Stay tuned for more on this wreck as Matt and I will dive it later.  As we hopped in the water we were surprised to see the stern of the boat as it was only 7 meters away, clear as day!  We barely made it to the bow of the boat when a huge “pirate ship” full of tourists descended upon us.  We quickly escaped and headed back to Sugar Shack.

Aruba wreck dive

SS. Antilla Wreck Dive

Many a lazy days were spent at this anchorage as it was so beautiful and peaceful.  Plus there was an array of entertainment watching all the charter boats, tourists, swimmers, and divers.

A look at the beach without the charter boats:

Malmok anchorage

Enjoying Malmok anchorage without the charter boats.

The charter boats stop for 45 minutes at the Antilla wreck site for a snorkel first which is behind our boat…

Antilla dive site

Antilla dive site behind our anchorage.

…then make their way to the swim area which is in front of our boat.

Charter boats in Aruba

Charter boats descend on the small swim area for 45 minutes at a time.

The SUP came out, but neither Sharon nor I were as successful as Matt.  The inflatable boards are made for smaller people and they are only 8’9″ in length.  The longer the board, the easier it is to balance and most people use 10’9″ boards.  We did not get these particular boards because we are rock star SUPers, but rather because they were a good deal and we wanted to try them out.

Matt and I were both able to stand on the boards in Bonaire (Matt a lot easier than me), but in Aruba, with the winds and waves it was beyond ridiculous.  Matt fell over twice, which he had never done before.  Sharon and I fell in trying to get on and then only managed to get on our knees.

I had been “patiently” waiting for Sharon to arrive to break out a new boat toy.  This sweet thang came back with me from the States in July and she has been stoically waiting to make her debut ever since.  Sharon and I were enjoying the water, sitting on noodles and holding on to a line trying not to float away to Venezuela. Matt surprised us by inflating our new toy, drum roll….meet Peggy Sue.

Big float

Peggy Sue comes out of hiding.

It was a bit of a $hit $how watching us try to mount her as she was very slippery, the wind was howling, and the waves were not cooperating.  Shawn and Matt had a great laugh watching us try to get on several times, but we eventually tamed the wild beast.

Big float

Peggy Sue 1, Sharon 1, Christine 0

Big float

Peggy Sue 4, Sharon 1, Christine 0,

Big Float

Yeah, we win!

Good friends.

Yep, we are feeling pretty good about ourselves.!

We moved over to Palm Beach or hotel row for our last two nights to experience more of the island life.  This anchorage is right in front of all the big Aruba hotels and has a lot of actives going on all the time.

Aruba Anchorage

Aruba anchorage in front of hotel row at day break

The charter boats leave and return from here, the para-sailors, kite surfers, tubers, and fishing boats are all here too – and then there is one pleasure boat – Sugar Shack.  We found a good anchorage, explored a few dinghy dock options, and set out to find the best happy hour.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.  It was so hard to say goodbye to our friends.  They are always such a joy to have on board, so full of love, laughter, and kindness.  Of course, the girl’s rule and kicked butt in dominoes the first night and then Sharon won Cards Against Humanity the next night.  The boys did make a come back to tie the dominoes score but we just don’t talk about that night 🙂

Shawn, me, Sharon – ahhhh

 

Good friends

Shawn and Sharon

Matt and I – happy day!

All sorts of trouble

Yes, Matt’s hair is that long and bleached out.  He was a toe head when he was younger and those days seem to have returned.

It’s nice to have good friends!  Thank you Shawn and Sharon for such a fun visit.