Pitufa.at

Incredible, but we’re still in Curacao. The expected 2 weeks have already turned into 5, but at least we’ve finished all repairs and maintenance jobs on the engine. We’re theoretically ready to leave, as soon as the weather allows it. Sailing down to Cartagena is a bit tricky, because the cape in the north of Columbia (Cabo de Vela) is infamous for strong winds and… Continue reading »

After getting all the love and attention it had obviously missed, our Yanmar is now happily purring again (even the turbo works…). We’re now finishing some minor works, waiting for fair winds and getting in touch with “agentes” in Colombia (that sounds more exciting than it is. These agents don’t have the licence to kill, but the licence to speak to the harbour master to… Continue reading »

We’re still in Spanish waters, but now without a working engine (vital parts of it are at the mechanic being cleaned etc.). The little bay we’re in is fairly protected from the wind that constantly howls over Curacao, but we still get unpredictable, strong gusts from different directions, so we’ve brought out 3 anchors to be on the safe side… Another disadvantage of our little… Continue reading »

The mixing elbow on our engine has been leaking for a while, so we seized a chance to get it repaired here in Spanish Waters on Curacao. Additionally, since it may become more difficult at our next, more remote stops, we even organized to get a proper engine overhaul. Unfortunately the mechanics are busy until mid of next week, so we have to stay in… Continue reading »

Today, June 11th, is an anniversary for us. Exactly one year ago we set sail towards the horizon. Browsing through our log book of this first year reveals some interesting numbers: 6746 nautical miles. 120 days at sea, of which 49 daysails. 9 countries. 65 anchorages. 36 islands. 15 days in a marina. 21 days on the hard. 406 engine hours. 638 litres of diesel.… Continue reading »

During the last few days we fell into a nice routine: I worked on my translations in the morning, while Christian did maintenance jobs on Pitufa. In the afternoon we packed our dive gear into the dinghi and explored the dive sites in the vicinity. With the wind blowing between 20 and 25 knots (gusting up to 30) we didn’t dare taking our small dinghi… Continue reading »

I wasn’t really in the mood for writing any posts last week, because I damaged my ears on our second dive, got a “don’t stick your head under the water for 1 week” from the doctor and had to watch from the surface while everybody else had a good time in Bonaire’s underwater wonderland… Yesterday I tried going down for the first time again and… Continue reading »

We hired a car (or rather something in-between an SUV and a truck) yesterday and visited the Washington-Slagbaai National Park in the Northwest of Bonaire. We didn’t expect too much at first since the island is rather dry and barren. Then we were surprised how stunning, bizarre, almost overwhelming the landscape of this island can be. Pics will come soon so you can see for… Continue reading »