It is only 29 miles to 'LOS AVES' off the coast of VENEZUELA which is just long enough for a good sail and short enough to be able to navigate with the sun overhead and clear visibility so as to see the shallow reefs ....... This place, just like 'LOS ROQUES' takes your breath away for sheer beauty and splendour ..... And the skies are filled with swarming birds ......This is truly the 'LAS VEGAS FOR BIRDS' .......
Some local fishermen came by the next morning to do some "TRADING" ....... They wanted to exchange lobsters for snorkels and fins, and produced this 'ratty yellow and blue fin sewn together with string', and a painful expression of 'need and want' ..... Had the feeling that they may have been tutored by someone direct from HAITI ..... Anyhow, we handed over two extra sets of fins and two masks and snorkels to their great delight ...... Lobsters are nice, but they were definitely on the winning side of that 'trade' ....... Cruisers in BONAIRE later told us that the same 'ratty yellow and blue hand sewn fin' has done the rounds on all passing yachts, generally with the same beneficial effect ....... Never underestimate the 'pitch' of a fisherman or a horse salesman ....... The yacht EQUINOX II, part of our travelling convoy, had left earlier in the morning and missed out on the lobster fest ......
But what we had really come for was to see the 'BOOBIES' that nest in the mangrove trees ...... We took the dinghy to get a closer look ... Close enough for us to see the 'boobies' and far enough for the mosquitoes not to see us ...... BOOBIES in their various stages of growth from juveniles to maturity ........
When fully grown they are an ash-grey brown and all have bright red feet .......
In most cases we were only a few metres away from them, yet there was no fear or fright in the birds, who sat silently on their perches and were almost oblivious to us in our dinghy ..........
They are awesome to watch in flight, as they swoop low to the water level and scoop a fish up with their open beak ........ And the wing span is sizeable too ...... This is one place not to drag a lure behind your yacht, for you are sure to catch a booby, which under 'entirely different circumstances', might not be so bad at all .......
You should really do a double-click on these photos to see just how many boobies are roosting in the branches ........
Felt just a little guilty about not showing you what a home-cooked lobster meal looks like ....... Felt even more sad that Ray and Lea (EQUINOX II) were not there to join in, but the four of us made sure that there was nothing left to go to waste ...... Peter even took all the legs back to 'FREYA' to make a lobster bisque for the next day .........
Now we know that we are safely anchored in 12 feet of water well away from the shore, just like 'FREYA', even if our chartplotter shows us clearly to be on land ...... Up till now at least, the navigation has been accurate, but here in these remote atolls and reefs, far removed from normal shipping lanes, you have to do everything with eye-ball navigation and certainly never at night ..... But once you have your track recorded on the chartplotter, you are generally able to exit safely backwards along that same line, which kind of helps, if you need to get out of there in a hurry ........
Once away from the reefs and birds we dropped a fishing line in the water with some pretty quick results ....... A nice juicy 4ft long WAHOO, and far too excited to estimate the weight ...... Amazing how one can be so sensitive about fluffy birds and so totally insnsitive about bloody fish ... Now why is that so? .....
We anchored for the night in another part of 'LOS AVES' and invited another yacht from Argentina to join in our fishy feast ......... Sashimi appetizers, lobster bisque and grilled wahoo, served with chilled white wine .... I'm telling you ...... WAHOO ...... And in the morning we were out exploring, despite the strong winds at over 20 knots .......
The fishermen in this area have made their living harvesting conch shells ....... Mountains of them are lying bleached in the tropical sun ....... In fact, the highest part of the islands are the hills and heaps of conch shells, if you don't count the few struggling palm trees or a flagpole ...... These shells are not endangered, for their growth and reproductive rates are sizeable and the shallow lagoon environment is near perfect for sustainable growth ....... By far the greater danger lies in the trash and spilled oils that drift in over the barrier reefs ..........
Another passage is planned for the morning, this one about 40 miles heading for the Dutch island of BONAIRE ......... There is just FREYA and ARITA left of our convoy as we head west with the prevailing wind and sloppy seas behind us ....... At least we are sailing and that's always good ........ A good night's sleep and we will be off at 0700hrs and should arrive some six hours later ......
So nice to get FREYA to take photos of ARITA and vice-versa ......Getting photos of your own yacht under sail is never easy ....... Your hand just won't stick out far enough ...... And duct-taping your camera to a boathook gets you a photo of your boathook ....... And loses your camera in the drink ...... This method is much better .......
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