Slightly reluctantly we said goodbye to our friends in Bonaire, dropped our mooring ball and sailed the last short leg to the island of Curacao. We were taking Tintamarre straight to the marina and boat yard in the capital, Willemstad. Access to Curacao Marine boatyard is along an attractive waterway, fronted with pasted coloured Dutch style buildings


Willemstad Waterway

and necessitating negotiating a floating pontoon bridge. It's not quite on the scale of Tower Bridge opening, but it did feel pretty special.


Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge

Less special was the uncomfortably choppy sea we as we waited for the bridge to open.

The marina is small and workman like; the views from our berth swept over the tanks of the nearby petro-chemical works, and the neighbourhood was definitely not touristic.


View from the Yard

However, overall we had a good experience in Curacao - dealing with the boat issues we had with helpful staff (we ordered a new engine, solved the problem of our slightly leaky hull, and arranged for a long list of works to be carried out over the summer period). We had plenty of chores to do to put Tintamarre to bed for the summer - stripping off canvas and rigging, cleaning and oiling and packing. Tintamarre was hauled out of the water using an efficient trailer system (must less scary than the cradle system that was used last year in Puerto Rico).


Tintamarre Haul Out

A few times we escaped down to the historic town centre - a Unesco World Heritage Site, and at the weekend we took a trip to the beach for swimming and snorkelling. Knowing that we would return later in the year we focused on getting through the chores so Tintamarre was neatly tucked away for the hurricane season whilst we flew back to the UK to catch up with life at home.


Tintamarre in the Yard (pre tie down)