Diving in Bonaire more photos

There are a wide variety of anemones in Bonaire but I was unable to spot any anemone fish. I need to do some research to find out why. The tube worms and Christmas Tree worms were in great abundance which was nice to see. Moray eels popped up everywhere along the reef wall and were great to watch when they ventured out of their lairs in search of food. The fish in this photo got a bit too close for comfort I think. If you were a parrotfish or angelfish enthusiast this was dive heaven as they were just everywhere. The sandy ledges before the coral reef drop offs also provided an abundance of interesting creatures if you were prepared to sit and observe. Tomorrow we plan to dive off Klein Bonaire which is a small island and bird habitat 2 miles west of our mooring.

Lionfish Removal

The beautiful but venomous Lionfish is an unwanted species in the Caribbean. It was accidently introduced to these waters from Florida in the 1980's and has severely upset the existing marine ecosystem with it's rapid breeding and predation on juvenile fish species. If you see them whilst diving you are meant to report or kill the fish with a short spear. We decided it was a bit dangerous for us to try and spear them so just took photos instead with the intention of reporting their location to the dive shop. The dive shop gives free air fills to people who go out and spear them!

Anode Inspection

There is always some kind of work to be done on a cruising yacht even when you are having fun and on our second dive Ian couldn't resist the temptation to check out the condition of the anodes we had replaced in Martinique on the hull of Faraway to stop corrosion. Ian was satisfied that the anodes were doing their job correctly.

Diving in Bonaire

With some of the best diving beneath us we decided to check out the reef below us. The photo shows Ian doing a giant stride jump from the deck of Faraway. It's a bit of a drop but the easiest way to get wet! We immediately came across an abundance of marine life and my head was spinning from the volume of fish that swam by. There was so much to take in that I stopped taking photos and just watched the action. The fish weren't scared of divers either and would come right up to look at you! Amazing for the first time I felt like I was in a fish bowl. Ian got pestered a lot by a French Angelfish it just wouldn't leave him alone. I suspect it was something to do with those well worn board shorts he was diving in! There were loads of moray eels (golden and green), cowfish, file fish, soft and hard corals, Christmas tree worms, tube worms, anenomes and a huge Tarpon fish.

Bonaire - "Divers Paradise"

Bonaire is probably one of the most amazing places that I have been to for diving. The whole island is a marine park from the waterline out to 60 meters offshore. It is also know as 'Divers Paradise' and the name rings true. We sailed into the southern end of the island after our 4 day journey and were both relieved to finally see land. When we picked up a mooring ball (I broke the gaff hook duh Ian hasn't forgiven me yet) in Krandeljik. We soon realised that this was a truly special place. The middle photo shows the yachts that were moored next to us along the coast. The kids actually did their swimming training in buoyed lanes next to the sea wall in front of us. There were dive shops on the beach, divers in the water, dive sites everywhere (93 in total) and lot's of yachts. Around 3pm we took our dinghy over to the dock to clear customs. They had brochures all over the place about diving. The brochure that caught my eye with every dive site described and marked on the island map was 'Too Many Dives So Little Time'. I quickly picked the dive sites we just had to do and we rushed off to buy a $25 permit. Here you could get 21 air fills for US$107 and they also have a drive through air station. You could dive wherever you liked and all the sites were marked with a post or buoy. Some of the best dive sites could be accessed from shore as well and you didn't need a dive guide . Our yacht was moored over one of the dive sites along a beautiful reef wall teaming with marine life and we did 2 dives there on our first day. Pretty awesome.

Dominica to Bonaire - 4 day sail

On March 26 we set sail for the 440 nautical mile trip from Dominica to Bonaire. This isn't the normal route for cruising yachts but we are so far behind our timeline that we have cut a few corners. The trip started with a fiasco at the fuel dock. We tied up to the dock without any dramas but after 30 minutes of waiting for the guys to show up for work and 3 catamarans pulling in afterwards our brief stopped extended to nearly 2 hours. When it was time for us to leave the dock the winds had picked up to 21 knots. We had about 20 middle age French guys in their speedos from the catamarans trying to push us off the dock. If I hadn't of been so busy untying lines and moving fenders I would have certainly had the camera out with a zoom lens. Anyway luckily we got off the dock okay with cheers and claps from the guys. We will never see them again! Once we got the lines organised in the bay and pulled ourselves together we pointed Faraway towards Bonaire and set the sails. We were escorted out of the bay by a pod of dolphins which was relaxing to watch after the recent dramas. We sailed all day and into the night without seeing another ship visually or on the radar. Ian and I took 2 hour watches after sunset. This proved to be a bit of a killer so we changed the shifts to 3 hour watches which were a bit more manageable. Whatever way you did it the journey became very tiring. I was pretty nauseous for the first 3 days then seemed to settle into the motion. We definitely didn't feel like drinking any alcohol as you had to stay alert. Ian had to do most of the cooking until day 3. I foolishly admitted that I was well enough to go below and cook a meat pie for dinner! I also gave Ian a half decent hair cut on the trip and managed to patch my shorts. During the night we were always checking the radar for other ships (mainly tankers) and avoiding them. It was strange that on this trip we didn't see one other cruising yacht. On day 3 it was calm enough for Ian to get out on deck with his life jacket and jack stay on to try out our new whisker pole with genoa. It was some feat to set it all up but we were really pleased with the downwind sailing speed that we got from the new rig. It would come in very handy for crossing the South Pacific. The middle photo shows Ian setting the pole and the sail shape at sunset. In the middle photo Ian (post haircut) is proudly showing the chart of our route to Bonaire and how close we were to Venezuela.

Sea Horses x 3 - wow!

I was really lucky to have the chance to dive the famous local dive site 'Pole to Pole' and photograph 3 seahorses. It was hard work looking for them (I only spotted one) as we were distracted by so many other interesting marine creatures inhabiting the same dive site. The seahorses were really beautiful to watch and their eyes were very sensitive to light and movement. I loved the way they curled their tail around the sponges or soft corals to get a hold in the light current. I'm still in the process of identifying them on a seahorse website. They were the first seahorses that I have seen except for a small dead one years ago in Half Moon Bay.

Dive Critters Cruise Ship Dock

Today we did 2 nice dives with Cabrits Dive Centre in Dominica. The weather wasn't perfect so they were concentrate on small stuff dives but we were well rewarded. The first dive site had beautiful soft corals and a nice swim through. On the second dive under the cruise ship dock (see unexciting photo of the structure) we came across more unusual marine creatures including seahorses featured in the next post. The dive site itself is called 'Pole to Pole' and a lot of night dives are conducted there also as the ecosystem is so varied. The Divemaster spotted the head of a sand snake poking out and dug it out of the sand for us all to see. It swam off very quickly but I managed to get a photo of it's head. The first time that I had seen one of those. Another guy on the trip stirred up a flying Gurnard and this is a photo of it with his fins almost fully out. Also captured a bristle star (not amazing but I like the photo) and some kind of basket star which the Divemaster put on his hand then had a lot of trouble prying off. Also spotted another rather unhappy scorpian fish on this dive that had eyes that looked like it had been chewing some of the local weed. In one crevice on the first dive I spotted 5 lobsters sheltering from predators including the human variety.

Boat Boy from the Middle East

I couldn't resist taking a photo of this boat boy who had tried to capture the middle eastern market with his catchy boat name 'Lawrence of Arabia'. The name seemed to be working as he had 10 customers for his tour off one yacht which would have been good money for a mornings work. The tour company we were using was called 'Cobra Tours' and the guy Stevenson provided a good service. He also dropped by during the day with coconuts and mangoes 'from his garden' to keep us sweet.

Dominica Sunsets

In Dominica we enjoyed beautiful sunsets from our yacht most afternoons except for one when the heavens opened and the rain poured down. We still didn't miss having our local Kubuli beer for sundowners though. The colours at sunset were pretty amazing with a lot of oranges and reds lining the skyline and horizon.

Prince Rupert Bay Anchorage

We had a beautiful anchorage in Prince Rupert Bay Dominica. The morning this photo was taken it was crystal clear and I could see 7 metres down to the reef below. The wreck in the photo (not me) was a relic of a recent hurricane. Along the beach front many other ship wrecks lined the coast and the supermarket had a wreck outside it's back door blocking the entire view of the bay. Some residents basically had a ship wreck of some description literally in their front yards.

Humming Bird

Dominica has over 3,000 species of birds and is therefore a bird lovers paradise. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the famous parrot which is part of the national emblem but we did stumble across a beautiful little hummingbird at a roadside viewing point. The little guy was keen on getting nectar from the flowers that were growing amongst the lush grass and luckily kept coming back for more while I had the camera at the ready. Obviously it was a pretty difficult bird to photograph as their wings move at such high speed. If you click on the photo to enlarge it you will notice the beautiful blue crest.

Rainforest and Ocean Views

We walked through beautiful rainforests and also drove along stunning coastlines. Dominica is an absolutely special place for land and sea lovers. The area is relatively unspoilt by development and we found the local people to be very friendly and welcoming.

Pirates of the Caribbean

We drove along very winding and steep roads across to the Atlantic coast and the scenery was spectacular. We saw the bay were some of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie was filmed. We didn't see any pirates but managed to come across a cow that looked pretty chilled out. The volcanic sand was an interesting contrast if you are used to walking along white sandy beaches.

The Emerald Pool

We arrived at the Emerald Pool to have our picnic lunch. This is a popular spot for tourists to visit and cool off. There was a small waterfall delivering fresh water to the pool and the water was crystal clear. The rainforest walk to get to the pool was spectacular and we enjoyed being in the shade of massive ferns and trees.

Iguanas Dominica

Along the road heading south we came across an interesting road sign put in place to protect the iguana population. This big green guy made it safely but unfortunately we saw one of his cousins lying dead just after this sign on the edge of the road (either that or he was having a long sleep).

Road Trip Dominica Style

On Wednesday, March 23 after a strenuous day of chores (including me attempting to hand wash all our laundry) we called up the 'Silver Lining' car company and booked a hire car for the day so we could explore the jungle. Hiring a car would normally be an easy task but in the Caribbean things happen a little differently than often expected. We turned up at the yard at 8am as agreed but nobody arrived until 8:20am. When they did show up to our surprise there wasn't a booking for us. Out of 27 cars in the yard only 3 were in working order and our selection was soon narrowed down to one black 4x4 with mad tinting that you couldn't really see through while driving. The lady did a thorough inspection of the car with Ian who promptly told her it would be easier to write down the parts of the car that weren't damaged. Just as we were about to depart Ian noticed a nail in the rear tyre. The guy came along and said not to worry they are new tyres and that he would fix it. We thought he would change the tyre but instead he ripped the nail out and plugged it with some gum like substance than proceeded to show us the spare tyre in the back in case we needed to change it! When we finally got driving the brakes made a terrible squeaking noise which drove Ian mad. The only solution was to put the stereo on complete with a reggae mix and keep driving. Despite all that we had an enjoyable and incident free day out touring the sites of Dominica.

Diving in Dominica

Ian and I went diving today with a local dive operation next to the bay where we were anchored. The dive boat was actually a fishing boat and doing the backward roll was more like doing a backward free fall. Getting back on the boat also proved to be tricky with a steep climb up the ladder. Apart from that the trip was worth it for the experience and we saw some amazing corals. Unfortunately the dive sites were also in local fishing areas and we didn't see any fish of great size. We saw garden eels that weren't very shy, scorpion fish, blue shrimp and beautiful soft corals. The dive guide told me about a location under the cruise ship dock of all places where you can see Red Lipped Bat fish and Sea Horses. Of course I have booked a trip to try that dive tomorrow and let's hope that I get lucky for a change with the unusual critter spotting! When I got back to Faraway I also called up the 'whale watching' company to book a snorkelling experience with the Sperm Whales. They sadly informed me that special permission is now required at a cost of US$3,000. I think we will skip that trip and stick with the small stuff for now. Hopefully we will see some more whales from our own yacht when we start sailing offshore again.