Sail Boats

Lunch in Kralendijk is always a pleasure.  This day we went to Karels (don't know if it is pronounced "Carols" or "Carls").  Karels is built on a pier.  It is open air on all sides and has a thatched roof.  It is where the locals hang out and drink coffee and eat cake...which I think is a Dutch custom.

The piles in the sea are the remanence of a project to build a big pier for cruise boats.  It apparently never got finished. This is the main beach for the local kids.  They are always swimming in this area having a grand time.

One of the sail boats in the harbor is The Seahorse.  It is the boat of Andries Bik.  Andries is sailing around the world and videoing his experiences. His website is printed on the boat.  His mantra: "don't wait for the perfect moment, just take the moment and make it perfect".  He says life is short so do all the things you dream about doing and do it now.  He has sponsors printed on his sails and he is trying to be off-grid as possible. It did, however, take him 4 tries under engine power to hook onto the buoy. He must have been video taping and had to do retakes....so much for off the grid.

Most of the sail boats in the harbor have been buoyed for most of the lockdown.  Apparently, sail boats have the same problem as cruise boats. No one wants them during the Covid era. Bonaire accepted them in their harbor and so we have a sailing city just off the beach.  

The boats have solar and wind energy on board and are self sustained for the most part.  We often see laundry hanging from everywhere on the sail boats.  In the evenings, they have lights on their masts that make for a pretty view.

Since Bonaire is typically out of the hurricane and tropical storm area, many sail boats that used to dock in Venezuela waters now come to the ABC's to escape bad weather.  Venezuela is no longer an option and Bonaire reaps the benefits.