Bonaire
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December 2011 - A very windy Christmas Carole's Bit The aircraft touched down pretty much on time despite a couple of earlier delays. The aircraft doors swung open and that wonderful warm evening breeze hit us as we descended from the plane. After collecting our luggage and rental car from Budget we set off to our villa along the long road – quite a few donkeys were about and quite a bit of foliage. The illuminated villa looked welcoming in the dark of night – 12-months is far too long to wait…. Even though it was 2am body time we were famished, so had a light supper at Kontiki before collapsing into bed. We awoke excited at 6:30am in time for sunrise and a cup of tea on the porch – how wonderful. The colours of Lac Bay never cease to amaze me – the turquoise is truly awesome, and now we could see how lush the island was looking – there had obviously been plenty of rain – the garden was looking lovely with an abundance of birds. By 8am we were ready for our Kontiki breakfast, and very soon after we were loaded up and headed for the beach. They had been working hard at Jibe – a new storage area for the locals, a much improved storage area for visitors, a great verandah with benches surrounding the Jibe office and shop – quite a transformation to a year ago. Also, lots of new kit: Neil Pryde sails and JP boards and a happy team. They have also changed their opening hours to 8am until 6pm, which is great as quite often the wind is at its best early and late in the evening. We were rigged and ready to go, but for the next few days there was little sign of wind and Nic was getting grumpy, BUT on the 5th day we pulled into the driveway with a car full of food, when it suddenly just kicked in and we rapidly stuffed everything into the fridge and rushed to the beach. I sailed the 6.5m Naish Redline with the Isonic 11 which was very nice. Next day, 16th December, the wind was still blowing and I started on the 5.7m Naish Force with the 111 Isonic, but found it too much of a handful so swopped it for the 76 litre Isonic and wow what a brilliant sail I had – fully powered. It’s great that the villa is so close by so that we can nip home for lunch, a rest and retreat from the sun for a bit. In the afternoon I used the same kit - there was a bit more chop but it was still enormous fun. Sam and Chris arrived in the evening and were delighted to hear that the forecast for the next week was looking pretty good. Next day, Saturday 17th December, I had another session on the 5.7m and 76 litre Isonic. Nic meanwhile sailed with Caesar, Taty, Bjorn, Charlton, Chappy and Stephen at an alternative location to Lac where the water is really flat – we collected him several hours later on the way to dinner – he was exhausted, but very happy. We ate at Capriccios at their new location on the waterfront close to where the cruise liners dock – it is very modern and quite stark, but I like the way that the extensive wine cellar is on full display – Lola really knows her wines and the fresh pasta is always very good. 18th December: Thankfully the winds were a lighter today, so I used the 7m Naish Redline with the 111 Isonic, which made for easy planning across the bay. Today is Sam’s birthday and he chose Patagonia, an excellent Argentinian steak house, for dinner. Inis and Pablo are always so welcoming and the fillet mignon and rack of lamb are highly recommended. It’s a lovely setting overlooking the small harbour. What a great evening. Monday, 19th December: Once again I used the 7m in the morning and whilst we could have returned to the beach I spent the afternoon preparing food for the evening’s blow out. A super evening with great friends. Tuesday, 20th: The wind was back up, so out on the 5.7m and 76 litre Isonic again and in the afternoon I went down to the 4.7m – what a blast. Overnight we had torrential rain and howling wind. Wednesday, 21st: The wind was still howling and squally rain showers kept coming through, so I gave the morning a miss as it was pretty choppy and we didn’t have a sail small enough, but in the afternoon I got out on the 4.7m which was fabulous. Thursday, 22nd: We awoke to prolonged rain showers and strong gusts of wind, so I gave the morning a miss and took the 4.7m out after lunch and was fully powered. In the evening we did Yankee Swop with our friends Ann and Maggie and played Articulate, which was great fun. Friday, 23rd December – such a wonderful session in the morning – I used the 4.7m plus the 76 litre Isonic - I just didn’t want to stop. However, I was getting tired and it was time for lunch and a rest. Later I went up to the 5.8m and 86 litre isonic, which I really enjoyed. It was a good job that the ribs had finished cooking as just after we returned from the beach the power went off. We ate by candle light which was very atmospheric. Fortunately the power came back in time for us to put on the aircon for sleeping… Christmas Eve - rain, rain and more rain first thing. Had a lovely sail on the 6.5m Naish Redline and the 86 litre isonic. Had a gastronomic blow out at At Sea with our friends Jim and Kayla – 5 hours of eating and drinking !! Fabulous food and beautiful presentation. Christmas Day – A morning session on the 6.5m and the 111 Isonic – lovely easy planning. The wind dropped in the afternoon, so time to relax before dinner at Kontiki. Boxing Day – I sailed the 6.5m and 111. In the evening we had supper with friends in Sabadeco – they have a lovely house with beautiful views over Kralendijk. 27th December – fairly light winds, but a lovely sail on the 7m. 28th December – For the morning session I took the 5.7m but had to change the 111 -to the 76 litre – it was too much of a handful and I managed to hurt my knee trying to control it, but it didn’t stop me windsurfing. Later I took the 6.5m and the 96 litre, but was overpowered despite it being fully down hauled – I really needed the 5.7m !! 29th December – 5.7m and 86 litre in the morning, 6.5m and 86 litre in the afternoon. 30th December – started on the 5.7m and 76 litre which was perfect for a while, but then I became completely overpowered and had to return to the beach. This combination worked well in the afternoon and I sailed until the sun went down – wonderful. New Year’s Eve – the forecast was for strong wind, so we decided to derig and sail at the flat location where we were hoping to set some new speed records. However, apart from a couple of squalls when the wind really whipped up it was disappointing. So back to Jibe and as we were pulling in the wind kicked in – so I quickly grabbed the 6m and 86 litre which were too much, so I had to change to the 5.3m and 76 litre, and was still overpowered !! We had a fabulous evening watching the fireworks explode over Kralendijk. This year was much better than last year because they all seemed to wait until midnight, so each resort seemed to synchronise with each other and there was a continuous sky full of colour for a good 20 minutes – exceptional. 1st January – a fabulous morning on the 5.7m and 76 litre – another one of those sessions when you really don’t want to come in because you know it won’t be the same later. I even ventured out into the deep blue water where there was a really nice swell, which made jibing fun. I’m pleased I stayed out in the morning because the wind had gone by the afternoon. 2nd January – light winds, so a day to recover. In the evening we thought we’d go to La Barca having had a great meal there last year, but sadly it turned out to be a terrible meal, and we had to wait 2 hours to be served food that we didn’t order !! 3rd January – no wind, so a swim in the bay and in the evening it was time to catch the plane home ………. Just six months until we return again …………. So, out of the 18 days of windsurfing I used the 76 litre Isonic with the 5.7m x 8 times, the 4.7m x 4 times, which is pretty good …….
Trevor's Bit (extracted from Facebook) 10th December 2011 12th December 2011 17th December 2011 18th December 2011 20th December 2011 Session Kit count? One broken boom and one broken UJ (all by others - well done Chris and Carole). Oh and my GPS got water in it :-(21st December 2011 22nd December 2011 23rd December 24th December 25th December 26th December 27th December 28th December 29th December LaterI forgot it was a Thursday and went to the Church of Lac Bay. The holy wind blew from the east and it was wise. The holy water stayed flat and the windsurfers they did fly back and forth. It was a day for the history books. Every day is for the books at the moment. I am beginning to get the hang of this high speed thraping. More wind is forecast tomorrow. And saturday we are going to the salt pans where the water is glassy flat and the wind is unfettered. 40 knots should be possible. Hehehehe. Board speed that is. OMG I need my helmet.30th December Gosh how we all ache. And the wind is howling already for tomorrow :-)31st December 2nd Janaury 2012 Please don't let the wind blow anymore4th January We have been sailed out. Sails are torn, luff tubes r ripped, footstraps are worn out, skegs r tipped, downhauls r stretched, harness lines r snapped.We broke a boom, a harness hook, a footstrap and we introduced the novel concept of Port gives way to Starboard by ramming the uncouth bastards who ignored it.All in all a magnificent end to 2011. Happy New Year to you all. We have another 8 days here to chill out and fix the damage.......9th January A chance for another cruising this morning so we are off to the beach. Catch you all later.Oh sometimes you just have to be a proud father. A couple of Bic Techno One Design hot shots were blasting the bay this morning. Sam took the 8.2 and iSonic 111 and buzzed them. Like they were stationary. Then he raced them or rather they followed then the Dad joined in and was soundly out-sailed.Well done Sam. Nice bit of sailing.11th January Lac Bay we love you...12th January The first broad reach hit 50km/hr and from then on it was OH MY GOD !!!!!!! 53 was the peak until the chop got too much (and I basically got knackered). We retired to the beach with the confidence that the Redline Team had earned RESPECT on the bay and left the rest of the blow to the amateurs. FULLPOWER See you soon, Bonaire.
Its been a while since we updated our Blog. But Christmas was a blast so we have to tell you about it ! Carole's Bit This trip we were to fit a new kitchen and had spent the last 12-months planning it, so off we set to the airport somewhat overlade with our windsurfing equipment, door hinges, handles, kitchen tap and sink, plus our suitcases, of course!! I did have my concerns as to how all this luggage, three lads, a guitar, Trevor and I were going to squeeze into our Seat Leon, but we managed it and fortunately had a smooth run. Arriving in Bonaire all our bags made it, we paid our duty tax and sailed through customs, which was a relief. We decided that we should spend the first week windsurfing before we got stuck into the kitchen and that really was a very good plan as this turned out to be the best wind. After that the wind just got less and less, and didn’t really pick up again until the last two evenings, which we made the most of and sailed until the sun went down. On day four I had my best sail ever on the bay using a 5.3m Naish force with Sam’s Starboard 76 – it was fabulous. The boys did lots of lightwind freestyle and despite the lack of wind it was just lovely being there. Also, the light winds did enable us to get on with the kitchen, and we were delighted that all went to plan: Willem turned up and ripped out the old cupboards and sorted the floor, meanwhile Clemens had built the cabinets and what a fantastic job he had done. Next Boris came along and fitted the corian; he and his friend worked really hard and did a fantastic job. The new kitchen looks stunning: modern and spacious:
It now has a dishwasher and a great fridge freezer with filtered water and an ice making machine. Taking away the old bar has created so much more space, and there is still somewhere to perch though we haven’t found the right stools yet !!
The old kitchen The boys decided to make their own skim boards as they were unable to buy some on the Island, and thought that the Starboard Tiki man would make a great graphic:
They were too flat to begin with, so they made them curve a little which made them slide better. They had great fun making them. Having had such a blast on Sam’s 76 Isonic, Trevor bought me an 86 Isonic, so we now have a family of Isonics. They really are great for Lac Bay.
[Trevor] I just read
December 2006 and it started off with "We’ve just got back from the best
sailing ever in the bay...." December is a stormy month and we had been watching the daily forecast and the new webcam at http://www.breathebonaire.com/index.php?CURRENT_CAM=bonairecam4 and saw nothing but gentle breezes and rain showers. But the moment we stepped off the plane it started to blow! On the beach we were welcomed with open arms since we had obviously brought the wind with us LOL. No more of that infamous windsurfer's line.... "you should have been here last week/yesterday/this morning".... It blew. When it wasn't blowing normally (16 - 18 knots) it blew stupid and rained (20 - 30 knots). In such a safe place as Lac Bay, any number of lunatics could be seen making their way upwind as the black clouds heralding another squall approached the reef. Then for 15 minutes of outrageous gusts we would sail the bay blinded by the rain and the speed and praying that no one else was so stupid as to be sailing in that weather. Jim and I both sailed one squall together with me thinking ...."If he doesn't fall in then I will be OK" and he thinking ..."If Trevor doesn't fall in the I will be OK".... The blind leading the blind eh? So what else? Nothing. Simply nothing. We sailed every day. Morning and afternoon. We got some new kit. A bit by accident really. Kit Update For those of you that know us, we have rather a lot of kit. We need rather a lot. There are four of us ranging from 45 kg to 50 kg to 62 kg to 87 kg which means four light wind boards and four strong wind boards. Then sails to match - so we have quite a collection. But we always want to go faster or higher or turn better so we are always updating. This year was no exception. Nic is the freestyler in our family. 12 years old and without fear nor understanding of broken bones. Actually Sam had broken his arm 5 weeks before we were due to leave for Bonaire but more of that in a moment. 12 years old maybe but 14 in body and soul and kilos. His Starboard Evo 62 is a bit small now coupled with the rather large crack he put in the nose gecko-ing it back in August, it was time for a new one. The Pros on the beach are well known. Kiri, Tonky, Tati, Chico, Cisa etc. F2 Chillis are the weapon of choice with Tati and Cisa and Starboard still holds good for Kiri and Tonky and it just so happened that Cisa was selling on his 2007 Chilli 99 and it was too good a deal to miss. Autographed by EVERYONE, Nic fell in love with some fibreglass. So one more board to the pile. Add a 3.7m Gaastra Manic care of Jupe and he was all set for another year or two.
Now I have been sailing my old green Lightwaves 284 Custom for a long time. It is nicknamed the "Smoothrider" and has taken some verbal abuse as it is old old school. And until now has been irreplaceable. And I have been looking. I nearly decided on a Starboard S Type last year but they dropped the model from 2007 and so it became harder to decide. At 138 litres, the Smoothrider had also become a bit easy to sail and Mr Lazy was not anxious to learn new tricks. Along comes Starboard 2008 and they have revived the iSonics. If you don't know the iSonics then slap your wrists. They are the ones that are in front. The ones that are the fastest. And they are the ones to watch for 2008 http://www.star-board.com/2008/pages/products/v_isonic.php
So we bought two!!! The 96 for me and the 76 for Sam. Actually the 76 was used by Kiri a couple of times and was too small for him so he has requested another from Starboard (his Sponsor) and Sam fits it perfectly....Check out the Picture Gallery for sailing shots... Here is one to whet your appetite.... I managed 29 knots with the 7.0m Naish Redline and it wasn't that windy! Note the 2008 Redline. And join the queue to drool. It is simply beautiful..... On a Powerex 100% Carbon Mast and an X9 Carbon Boom it is unflappable. Civilised overpowered blasting. That is what I have been waiting 28 years (of windsurfing) for.
Villa Bits Cushions, curtains, roman blinds Garden Bits Landscaping Update from August We’ve just got back from the best sailing ever in the bay. We had 21 consecutive days of great windsurfing ranging from force 4 to force 6. The tides over the December period were super - not one low enough to touch the sandbars with the skeg.
Long Distance runs were the order of the day this trip with blasts all the way from the south side of the bay to the mangroves in the north. At just over 2km on one tack, it certainly made the legs ache.... The swell in the deep blue areas was quite excessive at high tide with the break at the coral on the bay's east side clearing the barrier easily and carrying on into the bay. And with the high tide came a vicious chop that made Spooning (Carole’s board) impossible, so she switched to the HiFly Move 95 which was much more suited to the chop than the out and out razor sharp rails of the Spoon. The boys got their Christmas presents on arrival - a Starboard S Type 72 litre for Sam and the Evo 62 for Nic. Both are now sailing with the pros, and Tonky Frans and Kiri, World #3 and #4, sailed with them to add to their excitement. Nic is into freestyle and Sam into speed so they did not compete too viciously with each other, which made for less fighting over all !! Temperatures were 29C by day and 27 by night, but by the waters edge in late afternoon it was getting cool enough to put on a dry shirt if you had just come off the water. Mozzies were non existent. Whereas the previous year had had excessive rain in November resulting in an explosion in the insect population, a relatively drier November meant one or two only. We didn’t have to spray the rooms, burn coils or use insect repellant, which was wonderful. This trip we didn’t get quite as much done to the villa as we had planned, because the wind just kept blowing. We did, however, move the large sofa from downstairs upstairs to create a cosy TV corner. We also bought a region free DVD player, so that visitors can bring along their own films and slowly we will build up a DVD library.
In place of the old sofa downstairs we now have a more modern, but comfortable ‘L’ shaped seating arrangement. All in all it feels much less cluttered.
The broken sun loungers on the porch outside have finally been ditched and a couple of proper chairs and a small table make sitting outside more pleasurable. Our next big project is to create a car port to the north of the property, and to landscape the whole garden with plants that will attract wildlife such as butterflies, parrots, iguanas, hummingbirds etc. The first stage has already taken place: to the south drastically cutting the sea grape, so that it can be shaped into a nice hedge, and taking out most of the sea grape to the north. We will be moving the garage to the other side of the property to make it less conspicuous. The old concrete base to the garage will be made into a nice shady BBQ/seating area.
We have just got back from a classic windsurfing holiday so read on.... Carole’s Bit Trevor kept breaking his equipment – four masts in two days. He eventually stopped when he bought a lovely carbon Powerex Z-Free , which seemed to survive. http://www.powerexmasts.com/masts/index.html Sam (13) and Nic (10) had a blast and are really enjoying the speed and exhilaration of the sport. They have made some friends on the beach who have been teaching them some tricks and jumps. Some non-windsurfing friends joined us this trip and they thoroughly enjoyed their stay on Bonaire. Jazmine (13) and dad Graham decided to have a go at windsurfing and both did really well – from never having stood on a board; by the end of the holiday they were both able to uphaul, go along without falling in, tack and beach start. We’ve been checking the wind since our return and it still looks good. I think this year could match or even out do the statistics for 2002
The temperature was a few degrees warmer than our December trip, around 30/32 degrees, but with the doors open a nice little breeze blew through the villa keeping us cool. No mosquitoes, no storm flies. Bliss. May and June is obviously a good time for flamingos – every morning at around 6:30am a huge flock would pass by followed by the odd straggler or two. Every morning I would be there with my camera trying to get that ultimate shot of a flock of flamingos!! It was difficult to capture that beautiful coral pink as the sun rises over the bay and they become a silhouette. However, I did drive to the fisherman’s boats to see if I could catch the colour by having the sun behind me, and the previous mornings they had flown over that way. Of course, this particular morning they changed their route and flew right over our house, so they were just little specks!! It became a challenge, and I managed to get a couple of nice shots but I haven’t succeeded in getting the ultimate one just yet !
We carried out lots of new bed linen and some lovely curtains with us, so the bedrooms look a lot fresher. We also painted the walls and put up some colourful turtles, geckos and frogs (Check out the Floor Plan for the latest pix). RENOVATION NEWS RENOVATION NEWS RENOVATION NEWS.......... The floor upstairs was looking a little sad and quite “suspect” around the door to the sun deck, so we decided that it had to go. Frank at BSC (who has done a fantastic job of painting and weather proofing the house, rebuilding the front wall and replacing the sundeck) convinced us that we should replace it with a real wooden floor. So we have and it looks beautiful – the colours and quality are fantastic.
Whilst the floor was being ripped up, Trevor was able to get at the hall and living room lights, which had long stopped working. They are now all functioning, and it is nice and bright ! Our next task will be landscaping the garden, so watch this space ………..
Trevor’s Bit Sailing Report Simply put, this trip was the best so far for out and out blasting. The wind had been howling F5/F6 for several weeks leading up to our trip and the major worry was turning up on the beach and getting the classic “You should have been here last week” !!! So we turned up all excited. Budget had the keys for the pick-up waiting with a note to sort the paperwork out later (nice one Dirk-Jan) and so it was straight to the villa and unpack and wait for dawn (ahh the pleasures of night flights LOL) A quick breakfast next door at Kontiki got us to the beach by 09:00am and “Daddy” then rigged a 3.0 m for Sam; a 3.0 m for Nic; a 5.5 m for Carole; a 5.8 m for Daddy; another 5.8 m after the first mast broke; and yet another 5.8 m when that one lasted all of 4 minutes. AND A 6.3 m when that mast broke and trashed the luff tube on the 5.8 !!! So indeed a shake down of old worn out masts on Day 1 and it was only blowing F4- F5 max !!! That last 6.3m mast turned out to have a crack in it around the boom area so it was lucky that it didn’t fail on Day 1 or it really would have been a record. I ended up with that 75% carbon Powerex that Carole mentioned above and “touch carbon” it survived the rest of the holiday. Most days we sailed with 5.1/5.5/6.3 (I persuaded Carole to stay smaller than me to at least give me a chance of overtaking her but the strategy did not always work !!!) One silly day we managed 4.1/5.1 and the last week after Carole and the boys returned home I was on 5.5/5.1 most of the time with one 6.3 day and the last morning after I had packed up everything except the 5.5 I should have been on a 4.1 !!! I got blown away splendidly. 17th January 2006 We had heard mixed reports of the weather around December / January time and so this was an opportunity to check it out first hand. Firstly it is wetter at this time of year. Not that it is a problem when the air temperature is 28 Deg C. It's just that Bonaire does not drain very well - all that coral - with the result that there is a lot of surface water about just now. The island is green and there are ponds, lakes and just puddles in places we have never seen before at other times of the year. With water comes the inevitable mosquito. If you are thinking of going to Bonaire at this time of year then be prepared. They are a hungry persistent bunch of munchers !!! We found that burning the coil things and putting on the BUGOFF cream/spray or whatever made it acceptable but a good spray of the rooms at night certainly helped !!! Wind. Well it blew most of the time. Out of 21 days we had two spells of no wind of note. A two day and a three day block. This allowed us to rest our aches and pains and to actually go snorkeling. We finally got to inspect Donkey Beach which is actually at the end of the runway at the airport but hides some amazing coral and the indigenous life just 2 metres off shore. If you go snorkeling then don't forget to leave EVERYTHING of value back at your hotel/apartment/villa as some of the locals see a hire car as open sport for a rummage. It still amazes me how some people are surprised when they get back from a dive or whatever and find their passport, mobile phone and credit cards, that they left on the back seat, missing..... You wouldn't even think of doing that back home so why should Bonaire be any different. So back to the wind. Out of the days left (16) maybe 5 or 6 were marginal Force 4 days when Carole got going with ease and us heavier (read "fatter") males were left with just the odd blast at times !!! (Note to myself - must loose weight or tie a bucket to the back of Carole's board next time) As for the rest of the time it blew "old boots". In other words Force 4 - 5 with occasional Force 6 to 7 squalls in front of the odd rain shower !!! We sailed all; sheltering under the sail for the odd occasion when the rain was hurting the eyeballs LOL. The beauty of Lac Bay is that it doesn't matter what the wind does - if you get in to trouble you just stand up ! Or if you get in to deep sh*t then sit on your board and drift to our villa !!! Christmas on the beach was busy. Boy was it busy. The whole island seemed to turn up on the beach for a few days ! Father Christmas turned up on his Harley Davidson and the whole mood was superb. We plan on going back next year so it must have been good !!! Villa Update Kitchen News 30th September 2005 Check out these pictures
(courtesy of BSC Painting Bonaire) Walls & Drainage
Boundary Wall
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20th September 2005
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