Chapter 131: Mast adventures and Aruba!

We started our week continuing our time in Bonaire.  Sunday was a day to work on some of the recommendations brought about by our rigging inspection.  These included replacing our topping lift to the boom and two of our backstays, all of which meant Bob had to go up the mast.  Our current topping lift and the backstays were made of stainless steel wire and we were switching them out with dyneema. Dyneema is an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and is reported to be the world’s strongest fiber, 15 times stronger than steel.  We like strong; strong is good.  Also this would hopefully be cause less chafe on our sails.  The boom topping lift connects all the way at the top of the mast and the backstays connect at the upper spreaders to the mast.  So Bob gathered all the tools he needed, got out the top climber he uses to go up the mast, and we got our helmets out.  When he ascends the mast, he connects the top climber to the spinnaker halyard but he also connects the main halyard as a secondary safety line which I monitor.  So we both wear helmets since I will be on the deck beneath him controlling his safety line as he ascends and works.  We knew this would be a bit tricky as he needed to bring up the three new lines but also we could not let the old lines just fall to the deck as they are heavy so he would need to connect those to himself while he descended.  Of course, the wind decided to pick up and it was a Sunday so there were multiple water taxis going by and creating wake for Bob to contend with which can be challenging when you are dangling 60 feet off the ground! He got up to the top mast safely and made surprisingly quick work of getting the topping lift switched out.  One down, two to go!  Next he descended to the upper spreaders to begin the job of switching out the first backstay.  This was a little more complicated as he quickly realized that the thimble on the new backstay was a bit too big so he had to wrestle that in a bit.  He was just getting it attached when there was a crash. The handle of his toolbag broke and the bag came plummeting down. The bag had a variety of tools and Bob’s cell phone so it was not light.  It landed on our solar panels and miraculously, neither the solar panels nor the phone broke and it didn’t land on my head!! (Thank you, Jesus!) I retrieved the bag (removed the phone and kept it with me) and sent the bag back up tied onto a line.  Bob then moved over to the other spreader to work on the second backstay.  He was working on the second backstay when I heard a ping and swearing. Never a good sign.  The pin he needed to secure the backstay fell to the deck This was definitely not good. The pin was very small and we had to assume it just bounced off the deck when it landed and into the water.  We did not have a replacement pin so this meant we were not going to be able to install the backstay and we had to hope we could find the necessary pin on Bonaire.  Bob descended the mast so we could at least finish connecting the new topping lift and the backstay that he was able to install.  As we began to work on the topping lift, we quickly realized that the line was tangled up above the spreader. So back in the climbing harness and up the mast Bob went, trip #2!  With the line untangled, Bob came back down and we finished with connecting the topping lift and running the new backstay lines.  Bob was on the phone with our rigging inspector to see if by any chance he had a replacement pin when I noticed a pin sitting in the cockpit.  Could it actually be it???? Yes it was, somehow when the pin fell, it bounced through our open dodger window and into the cockpit. (Thank you again, Jesus!)  So back up the mast for trip #3 for Bob.  He went up and secured the pin and backstay.  He did however drop his needle nose pliers in the process which went directly in the water!! So down he came and when we had finished attaching the backstay below, it was time for a swim to retrieve the pliers which was successful! (Yep, thank you again, Jesus!)  So what we thought would be a fairly short and easy install ended up being a half a day, 3 trips up the mast, and a good reminder of why we wear helmets (thanks Drew for teaching us that!!) 

We had been looking for a good weather window to make the long passage to Panama but sadly nothing was looking promising in the next few weeks. We did however see a good weather window for Tuesday overnight to make a shorter jump and go to Aruba instead.  This would at least cut 100 nautical miles from the journey to Panama so it seemed like a good alternative. We had a final dinner out in Bonaire on Monday night at It Rains Fishes that was amazing. On Tuesday, we had a nice morning walk along the waterfront.  We got cleared out to leave and Bob had his final ice cream at Luciano’s!  We left Bonaire around 4pm to begin the overnight passage to Aruba.  It was truly a lovely evening to sail.  We had a calm sea state, decent wind for sailing, and so many stars in the sky.  We sailed past Curacao and at first light we could see Aruba.  In Aruba, you have to actually take your boat to the custom dock in Barcadera to check in.  This is the only country of the 18 we have visited so far where we have had to do this and it is a bit complicated due to the position of a shoal near the dock and the fishing pier.  Fortunately, upon arrival there were some very kind fishermen who helped us with our lines which we really appreciated.  We got checked in and then they told us someone would come onboard the vessel as well. Again, this was the first time we have been boarded by customs officials but the two agents were very respectful and quickly gave us the all clear to continue on to the anchorage.  We headed to Surfside Beach, the main anchorage in Aruba and put the hook down.  We quickly learned this anchorage is also in the flight path to the airport and Aruba has a lot of flights coming in and out each day! This would bother some people but I actually love watching the planes come and go!  We are also in sight of the cruise ship docking area and they have multiple ships coming and going each day so that is also fun to watch.

On Friday, we took the dinghy to shore and walked around downtown Oranjestad.  We had been told by other cruisers that Aruba feels very American and I now understand this.  There is a shopping mall right downtown that you would think could be in any town in America.  With over 30 shops from American Eagle to Ralph Lauren to Dolce and Gabbana.  We also saw Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts in prominent locations.  It was however a bit sad to walk a bit further out from the mall area and see how many empty storefronts there are in Oranjestad.  The pandemic had a huge impact on Aruba which relies on tourism for 90% of its economic activity. However, Aruba’s outlook has improved, and Fitch Ratings revised its outlook to positive in March 2024. Hopefully their economy will continue to improve.

We were hoping to only be here for a week or less before continuing on the final leg to Colon in Panama where we will transit the canal.  However, as always, the weather seems to have a different plan for us.  There MAY be a weather window this coming weekend but it definitely could change again by then. Because this passage will be our longest yet, 6-7 days, we need a good weather window to make it safely.  We will be rounding Colombia which notoriously has some challenging winds and sailing and then continuing on past the San Blas Islands to get to Shelter Bay. So more to come as we see what the weather holds for us!