About us

The Phoenix

Our sailing boat, the Phoenix, is a 45.2 ft Jeanneau Sun Odyssey from 2003. She is a spacious and stable ship with wide gangways and she has a large cockpit that suits up to 8 people. Other seats are at the side of the ship and on the nice cushions up front. Sailing is the most eco friendly way of cruising, reduce your footprint and come sailing with us!

Some Facts:

  • Phoenix offers very easy access to the water
  • Phoenix has a permit for 20 guests and 3 crew members
  • Phoenix has 8 covered seats under the bimini
  • Phoenix has a large cooling system for ice cold drinks
  • Phoenix has a double steering wheel so guests can sail along
  • Phoenix has 1 guest toilet and an outdoor shower
  • Phoenix is a non smoking  &  barefoot ship
  • Phoenix has oxygen and an AED on board
  • Phoenix has a National Safety Certificate
  • The captain is RYA licensed Day Skipper, Emergency first responder and  rescue diver
  • There are professional snorkel materials and floats on board for all guests
  • Sailing is not only fun but it's also eco friendly tourism
  • 80% of our catering is vegetarian (but not noticed until we tell...)
  • Go better go green! Waste is separated and ecological cleaning products are being used on board

A 360 peak below deck

skipper-patrick

Skipper/Co-owner Patrick's story:

Patrick grew up in the transportation world, after years under and on the trucks he started as a programmer and wedding photographer.
In 2011 he came to Bonaire for the diving industry and fell in love with Bonaire and sailing,
after spending some time in the diving world at Dive-friends-Bonaire and Belmar ocean front apartments, he took the RYA days-kipper course in 2018
on the island of La Gomera (near Tenerife).
After completing this there were a few trips ahead where he gained experience in the sailing world.
After crossing from Costa Rica to Thaiti on a sailboat, he knew for sure, life goes on with a sailboat.
By an incredible coincidence, shortly after returning from this trip, a sailing boat came up for sale, and it had another company.
Thanks to Norman van Holst, he is now the owner and chief skipper of SoloBon Sailing.
Patrick likes to take you through the waters of Bonaire and then tells fun facts with sometimes some jokes.
Are you going on a sailing adventure with Skipper-Patrick?

Linda Co-owner/crew

Linda used to work as a sports teacher with people with disabilities in the Netherlands.
In 2014 she moved to Bonaire and worked as a dive instructor for 4 years.
In this period she met Patrick 😁
Together They did the RYA day-skipper course in la Gomera (canary islands)
After this she worked as snorkel guide and as crew on sailboats
After the sail across the pacific it is time for a new challenge and chapter in life on the Phoenix with SoloBon sailing.

SoloBon Phoenix captain Marco

Captain Marco:

Marco grew up sailing as a child and for many years was a sailing instructor on open sailboats in Friesland, the Netherlands.

Just before Marco left the Netherlands, he was certified for the "Small vessel certificate I and II" and VHF Certificate.

When Marco moved to Bonaire in 2017, he decided to hire himself as a crew or captain with various sailing companies. That's also when he met Norman on the Phoenix. Marco is a certified tour guide on Bonaire and started diving to explore the fantastic reefs of Bonaire. Currently he's PADI Emergency First Responder & Rescue diver certified. It's always fun to be in or on the water and learn something new.

In addition to being captain, Marco has also been the operational manager of SoloBon Sailing since 2022.

 

Captain Bach

Captain Bach:

Bach, is our third captain and the man who can do almost anything. Always handy to have a guy like Bach on the team. He doesn't like to talk about himself unless you bring up motorcycles. Furthermore, Bach is a fan of diving and is therefore a Divemaster. Bach sails as captain on various vessels, but prefers to be behind the helm of the Phoenix.

Our Team

Sun halo Bonaire

Our boat crew

Our crew is a worldly salsa with a lot of Dutch influence. Our enthusiastic crew members all have a passion for Bonaire, sailing and the right feeling for hospitality. The permanent team consists of Tsjitske, Mirthe Daphne and Jochem, supplemented by a few great freelancers.

Dinner at sea Private Chef

Our chefs

For our catering and private chef sailing cruises we work with chef Corjan Hoogerheide (Red Palm Village), chef  Robert Reindsen (Chefs on Tour Bonaire) & chefs Han ten Winkel & Mark Tromop (Chefs Bonaire). We have Bonaire's best chefs preparing your Tasty Bites in a mix with some home made and typical Dutch products. Our goal is to give you a culinary surprise on board. Dishes you don't expect, all made and prepared with passion. Most of the catering comes from the hand of Corjan (daily chef at Red Palm village) who is also our main chef on board.   Do you want a chef on board? Let us know and pamper you culinary!

Beyond The Corals

Our Dive Guides

We operate with several professional dive partners on Bonaire. Beyond the Corals takes care of the dive operation on all the sail & dive charters. They have a pro-staff of enthusiastic dive masters and instructors that will provide you a safe and pleasant dive. On our Magic Night Snorkel tour Emma joins the team most of the time and for the weekly Sunset & night snorkel, skipper Norman (Padi rescue diver) will jump in the water to guide you.
If you like to do a Padi dive course or specialty (like boat dive). We love to organize this for you with Beyond The Corals!

Fun Facts

insert_emoticon 365 Sunsets
explore 12 Full moons yearly
directions_boat 52 laps around Klein Bonaire
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