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locAl           Tuesday 7 March 2023
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            Don’t forget to visit Aruba’s famous Red Anchor



             At  the  south  east  coast
             of  the  island,  standing
             alone  on  a  windswept
             and  barren  land  stands
             a  popular  Aruba  land-
             mark  –  a    large  anchor.
             It  overlooks  the  sea  just
             beyond,  watching  over
             the  shipping  lanes.    It
             stands  there  in  memory
             and  in  honor  of  all  sea-
             men who have lost their
             life at sea.


             Where  to  Find  the  An-
             chor?
             The  anchor  is  a  “must
             see” landmark when you
             visit  Aruba.  It  is  among
             the  most  photographed
             historical  landmarks  for
             the  island.  You  want  to
             make  sure  you  add  this
             stop  on  your  itinerary
             when  your  visiting  the
             south  coast  of  Aruba.
             The  bright  red  anchor
             against  the  backdrop       by  Hoesch  Dortmund         get the time to walk out     men  that  he  would  like   and  poured  a  concrete
             of the deep blue Carib-      Horde,  at  a  foundry  lo-  the  extra  tackles  and     to  come  up  with  some-    pad  around  it.  On  April
             bean sea and the azure       cated in Germany.            because  of  the  tension    thing  innovative  for  the   17,  2005,  the  anchor
             blue skies, make a great                                  exerted  on  the  winch,  it   San Nicolas area to draw   monument  was  rededi-
             backdrop for your vaca-      Where  did  the  Anchor      broke,  and  they  lost  the   tourism to the area.       cated  “To  All  Seamen”
             tion pictures.               Come From?                   anchor and its chain.“                                    in  a  formal  ceremony
                                          There  are  a  number  of                                 The   “anchor”,   which      in  memory  of  Charles
             The anchor is located at     stories as to the origins of   Story 2:                   at  that  time  was  being   Brouns Jr.
             the  entrance  to  Gate  6   the  anchor,  which  one     “Mr. Curiel also said that   stored at the Oranjestad
             to the former Lago Colo-     do you think it was? (Un-    at one time a small tank-    harbor,  was  suggested      Today, the anchor stands
             ny. It is on the outskirts of   fortunately  the  mystery   er  with  a  Korean  crew,   as  an  option.  Charlie   both  as  memorial  to  all
             Seroe  Colorado,  on  the    has  never  been  solved,    while  lifting  their  anchor   liked  the  idea!  He  then   seaman  who  have  lost
             south  east  point  of  the   so your imagination can     also  lifted  another  an-   contacted the President      their lives at sea, but also
             island at the “T” junction   pick which one you think     chor  near  the  inner  har-  of Lago for permission to   as a silent reminder that
             to Baby Beach.               it might be!)                bor. When the ship asked     acquire  the  anchor.  He    Seroe Colorado is part of
             Depending  on  where         Story 1:                     for  assistance,  he  went   was  granted  permission     San Nicolas and that San
             you are staying on the is-   “According  to  Mr.  Man-    with  his  tugboat  along    and the anchor was then      Nicolas  is  still  a  vibrant
             land, follow the signs that   uel  M.  Curiel,  an  ex-   with a barge, to help. But   relocated  to  its  present   and  important  part  of
             indicate the way to Baby     Lago  Tug  Captain,  a       eventually  they  had  to    location  and  dedicated     the island of Aruba.
             Beach. Once you reach        fully  laden  VLCC  (Very    cut the chain and let the    “To  All  Seamen”  on  the
             the  T-junction,  it  will  be   Large   Crude   Carrier)    anchor go to the bottom   occasion  of  the  closing
             right in front of you.       was  seeking  a  mooring     because they could not       of  the  Lago  Oil  Refinery   The Best Time to Visit
                                          at  the  15-mile  anchor-    untangle them. ”             on March 31, 1985.           When your planning your
             About the Anchor             age,  known  as  Bara,  on                                                             visit  to  the  south  end  of
             Size                         the  southern  part  of  the   How Did The Anchor Be-     Through the Years            the  island,  you  will  want
             It will be hard to miss the   island.  This  is  the  usual   come a Landmark?         Through the years the An-    to  include  in  your  itiner-
             anchor, it’s huge! The an-   shallow mooring location     Sometime between 1980        chor was slowly weather-     ary  the  many  things  to
             chor  that  weighs  21,772   for ships awaiting orders,   and  1985,  three  gentle-   ing  from  the  wind  and    see  and  do  there.  The
             kilos, is approximately 10   etc.  The  weather  was      men  (Mr.  Wim  Martinus     salt. As time passed, sad-   anchor  will  be  just  one
             feet  6  inches  wide  and   rough  with  strong  cur-    –  the  Harbormaster  of     ly the origin and purpose    of these stops, (keep an
             15 feet, 6 inches tall.      rent.  The  normal  proce-   Aruba; Mr. August Gens-      of the anchor slowly fad-    eye out for our future edi-
             On the anchor there are      dure  is  that  they  would   er  –  the  ex-Division  Su-  ed  away  from  people’s   tions, we publish our rec-
             some numbers. The 4112       walk  out  three  shackles   perintendent  of  Lago’s     memories.                    ommendations!).
             and 4115, which are be-      (about  90  feet)  until  the   Laboratory;  and  Mr.  Wil-
             lieved  to  be  the  serial   anchor touches the bot-     lie Davis – Owner of Filtec   After  Charles  Brouns  Jr   With  that  being  said,  I
             numbers that refer to the    tom while the chain must     at  Zeewijk  in  San  Nico-  died  on  September  15,     have to say, if you enjoy
             “fluke” or horizontal and    rest on the bottom. Sub-     las), were having a con-     2004,  his  friend  Mr.  Sam   catching  a  sunrise,  the
             vertical  parts  of  the  an-  sequently,  they  will  walk   versation with Mr. Charlie   Speziale, requested assis-  anchor is one of the best
             chor,  respectively.  The    out  some  extra  shackles   Brouns  Jr.  at  his  famous   tance from the manage-     places  on  the  island  to
             number  21772K  refers  to   and when the ship starts     Charlie’s Bar and Restau-    ment  of  Valero  Aruba      catch  the  sunrise.  But  in
             the weight of the anchor     to swing or lean on one      rant in San Nicolas. Char-   Refinery  to  help  main-    reality, anytime is a good
             in kilos.                    side, the anchor is prop-    lie,  who  was  a  visionary   tain  the  monument.  The   time  to  visit,  depend-
                                          erly  set.  Because  of  the   and had dreams for de-     Valero  Aruba  Refinery,     ing  on  your  personal
             This  type  of  anchor       rough  weather,  unfor-      veloping the San Nicolas     graciously  sandblasted      schedule.q
             was        manufactured      tunately  they  did  not     area,  told  these  gentle-  and painted the anchor
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