Living on a Sailboat exploring the world
It’s sometimes hard to believe that we moved onto Sava two years ago! December 5, 2018. Which means we’ve spent two years living on a boat. Happily, we’ve survived and in some cases even thrived through all the crazy twists and turns that boat life – and life – have thrown in our way. We started out so ignorant and naive about life aboard, but we’ve done and learned a lot in two years.
We knew what we were getting into but it’s still a challenge. After arriving in Bonaire, our requirement was 2 weeks quarantine on the boat. Currently on day too many, here’s what it’s like to be in quarantine on a sailboat in Bonaire.
Sava is docked in slot B52 at Harbour Village Marina in Kralendijk. It’s our first time in a marina since last November when we bought new batteries in Martinique.
I can’t talk about the marina because I can’t see or explore it being stuck on the boat since the moment we arrived.
The amenities include water, power, and wifi. The wifi is the best part because we haven’t had lengthy access to that since before the pandemic lockdown in Antigua. That explains the profusion of blog posts since I’ve arrived.
I am sure it’s a fine marina, but all I can see are some rental villas behind our boat, water, and a few other boats on our dock. We are next to the end of B dock with only one occupied boat near us. The couple on that boat are very nice and have even loaned us some boat equipment. They’re kind of keeping us sane too. Quarantine is lonely so it’s nice to have some interaction with other humans.
Our other marina friend is the very nice guy who works here. His name is pronounced Eeedee, but I don’t think that’s how it’s spelled. He comes around a few times a week to check on us and take garbage. He’s been great to us.
We have a little dock next to our boat which we are allowed to walk on but not for more than a few minutes. Each of us goes on the strip of wood at least once a day just to turn on the water. It doesn’t feel like freedom, but it’s all we’ve got.
We made it to Bonaire safe and sound. We made a successful multi-day passage which was a huge relief since it was by far our longest sail yet. It wasn’t a perfect sail but sailing from Antigua to Bonaire went much better than expected.
Brian and I love Antigua, but after five months in the country, we were ready to go. Checking out was so easy but a little sad too. Over our last weeks in Antigua I realized what a special time we had there and I’ll always cherish the memories.
We received our approval to enter Bonaire on Friday, June 26th, with an entry date of July 1st. Our provisioning was already done except for a few last minute foods which we bought in Falmouth on Saturday afternoon: hummus and pitas, and peri-peri chicken. Otherwise, Sava was packed up, filled with gas and water, and we were ready to haul anchor and set sail for our longest trip ever!
Continue reading “Sailing from Antigua to Bonaire”
