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Making Winlink Friends - The Tourist TrapThe next leg to Aruba was the longest during our cruise. To arrive there at about midday required leaving our Knip Baai anchorage at 3:00 AM. There was a full moon and it was nearly as clear as daylight. The alarm woke us up at 2:00 AM and within 40 minutes we were underway. Walter would take the first watch. Sails were set and would not require any adjustments till we approached Aruba. Walter put his safety harness on and tethered himself to an anchor bolt in the cockpit. Although minimal, there’s always the risk of an occasional rogue wave hoping to catch the unwary sailor and wash him or her overboard. I stayed in the cockpit with Walter and took the same precaution. The ship’s bell, an antique Wempe original, rang every half hour to tell us the time. A few large commercial vessels passed in the distance but soon disappeared out of sight. After a few hours, I asked to be excused and turned into my forward cabin berth. When I woke up the sun was rising already and Gisela had taken over the watch. The winds had freshened considerably when getting close to Aruba. It’s interesting to observe how a major landmass affects the speed and direction of wind flows. Winds were consistently 30 or more knots. While traveling at close to seven knots and with only another five or so nautical miles to go Walter (and I) didn’t like to shorten sail but Gisela, the more prudent sailor, didn’t like the additional load on the old main sail. A new main sail had already been made and received from Hong Kong but was being kept in reserve. With care there would be many more miles in the old mainsail. Arriving in a new port always requires the usual checking-in protocol. When close to Oranje Stad, Aruba’s capital, we called the Port Authority to ask about the local routine. We were directed to one of the vacant cruise ship terminals where, as the Harbor Master told us, we would be met by Immigration and Customs officials. The Harbor Master and Customs arrived very promptly and Immigration took a little longer as they had to dispatch one of their officers who was on duty at the airport. Clearance was courteous and quick, that is, after completing the crew list in multiple copies. The Harbor Master gave permission for Atlantis to stay in the commercial harbor for that night because the next cruise boat wasn’t due until two days later. We took the opportunity to explore Oranje Stad, so named after the color of the Dutch Royal family – "The House of Orange.”
Oranje Stad is clearly geared to receiving the many cruise ships that visit the island, particularly during the northern winter. The buildings in town are a rather gaudy imitation of old Dutch architecture; every second building was a casino; and every second shop a jeweler. Many were closed as they appeared to open only when the cruise ships are in port. Exploring the town doesn’t take very long but the new marina and casino built by the founder of the US “Toys ‘r Us” chain store fame was interesting to see. There is a wide range of stalls selling the usual tourist trinkets. Near the marina are some interesting waterfront restaurants. To the delight of my hosts there were a number of excellent supermarkets with a wide range of goods at reasonable prices. Dining out is expensive in Aruba but excellent service was given by waiters many of whom had come from as far away as the Philippines.
As agreed, we had to move out of the commercial harbor the next day. We moved to the far northwest tip of the island with the intention of anchoring close inshore near the strip of high-rise hotels. Approaching that shore was a little deceiving because a number of sailboats were anchored or moored very close to the beach. However, Atlantis couldn’t get in that close and we anchored rather far offshore. That’s a location that one would not normally use but for the fact of the reliable and constant south-easterly winds. As elsewhere, right throughout the Netherlands Antilles, the sea water was clean and crystal clear. Our anchor was securely set in a large sandy patch but coral heads and sea grasses could be seen closer to shore. The beach along the hotel strip is beautiful with a large number of palm trees. These are hard to grow on the island because it has very little rainfall.
For all intent and purpose this was the end of the cruise for me. We had allowed a few more days spare time to make sure to meet my travel schedule. Walter suggested that it would be nice to have a rental car for a few days to look around the island. We agreed also to have our farewell dinner at one of the swanky hotels along the strip. Cruisers are extremely resourceful and my hosts explained that it is possible to get a rental car for free for a few days and also get a big donation towards our dinner. Simply, one sits in for about 60 minutes listening to a timeshare presentation, then politely decline and collect our rewards. It might seem to be a waste of time but, for example, instead of staying in marinas and cruisers anchor-out and always seem to find ways to minimize cash outlays. As per prior agreement among ourselves, my hosts selected the car rental after the timeshare talk and we took the opportunity to explore the island. It has a number of interesting historic sites to visit. Aruba has a rich history covering Spanish and Dutch colonial influence and it has close links with the people of Venezuela. It used to be the site of many oil refining installations but at this stage only a small refinery remained. It was interesting to see an abandoned housing estate that in earlier days must have been a hive of activity for refinery staff and their families. I had selected the $50 contribution to our dinner. Before going back on board again we went to one of the restaurants listed on the dinner voucher and, being early birds, the voucher covered a large part of the cost of the dinner for three together with a nice bottle of wine.
Returning back at the boat in a mixed happy but also a little sad mood, it was time to pre-pack. I played another game of chess with Walter. He’s quite good. My excuse is that I hadn't played for years and was not really in the mood to make too many demands on my brain while on a cruising holiday. On departure day my flight was scheduled for 3:00 in the afternoon but with the heightened security alert all US-bound passengers had to be at the airport at least three hour in advance. That left us just a little time in the morning to send email and review some of the features of Atlantis' navigational software. When it was time, we dinghied to shore, secured the dinghy in a small fishing charter boat marina and loaded my gear in the car. We briefly stopped at the supermarket where I bought a whole wheel of Gouda cheese at a fraction of the cost that it would have been in the US. We arrived at the airport well in time and my hosts thought that we still had time to look at a small marina at the other side of the airport. However, the huge crowd waiting there for checking in convinced me that it was best to join the throngs. We bid our sad farewells. Just as well that I joined the lines because the three hour pre-departure check-in was barely sufficient time and the plane left half an hour late.
When the plane took off I looked once more at Aruba’s blue waters. It had been a great little cruise. Walter and Gisela had been perfect hosts. Making Winlink friends had been a rewarding experience. Tony (KN4VM/VK1VM) To view the extract from the Ship's Log click on that link. | |||||||||||||||||||
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