Tuesday, October 06, 2015

CIEE Offers Opportunity to Learn About Bonaire’s Seafaring Past

In olden days, many men on Bonaire supported their families by taking to the sea.  In fact, Bonaire seamen were duly noted for their abilities to handle boats in any type of conditions.  Even components of Bonaire’s flag recognize its men’s abilities on the seas of the world as there is a black ring with the four points of the navigation-compass.

Today, sadly many of these sailing traditions are not being carried forward, as our modern-day conveniences do not mandate the same innate knowledge of the seas or of boat-building.  However, there is currently one effort being carried forth on Bonaire to keep that tradition alive–-the renovation of the sea-cargo sailing vessel, Stormvogel.

CIEE will provide an informative presentation this Thursday, October 8th, 2015 from 7:00 to 8:00 PM on the Stormvogel. The talk will be given by Johnny Craane and Patrick Holian and will be about Bonaire’s rich boat-building past, the history of Stormvogel, and the community effort to save Stormvogel, the last sailing cargo boat of the ABC Islands.

As always, CIEE’s presentations are free to anyone who wishes to attend, and the talk will be given at their offices at Kaya Gobernador N. Debrot #26. (Source:  CIEE and Bonaire Insider Reporter)