Caribbean Sea
17.28.086N
67.22.690W

Our luck held throughout the night. We passed under 3 distinctive bands of clouds and only found a light shower under one. Not enough to rinse off the boat or even its handkerchief sails.
Thankfully, our second day was much more comfortable. It was a bright sunny day with both the wind and seas diminishing. We shook out each reef one by one until we were flying full sails by mid-afternoon. Dale was starting to feel better, at least he was eating. However, we continued with our arrangement of eating and sleeping in the cockpit because it seemed easier than trying to make our way up and down a listing stairway.

With nightfall, we saw a band of clouds on the horizon, so once again, we reefed the main and jib to the first reefing point. Later, as we passed under the clouds, the winds picked up again, but with the sails already reefed, it was a non-event.

Our calculation this morning approximated a Tuesday morning arrival in Boqueron. However, as we came out of the west setting current the closer we got to Puerto Rico, the earlier in the morning it became. Dale was on watch as Puerto Rico came into view and at our 2am watch change, it was obvious we would be making landfall before sunrise.

Our approach led us up the west coast of Puerto Rico and from our last time through, we knew that our chart plotter was spot on (within reason). There were a few reefs and shallow spots to avoid so we rolled in the sails and turned on the engine. I found no problem in avoiding the hazardous areas and as soon as we spotted the channel light to the Boqueron harbor, we altered course slightly and entered without mishap.

We eased our way up to the coastline and started looking for the boats we knew would be anchored there. We could only spot one, so we selected a spot to the outside and behind it. As we were trying to anchor, we spotted a light that at first appeared to be on shore but then was clearly moving towards us. The bright light stayed on us making it extremely difficult to see but Dale was able to drop the anchor and about 80’ of chain before he headed back in my direction. I was starting to get nervous but as the bright light got closer, I could see a small blue flashing light beneath it.

I don’t recall that they ever identified themselves but assumed that they were either harbor patrol or homeland security. A male voice with a Hispanic accent asked us (in English) where we were coming from, how many people were on board, and how long we were planning on staying. Dale answered each question and soon they went on their way; heading back out and toward Mayaguez. Maybe they were Customs & Immigration looking for illegal aliens. In any event, I’m sure we looked and smelled our best at 4am and 3 days with no showers.

We went back to anchoring, letting out more chain and despite not getting a good tug when we backed down on the anchor, we put on the bridle and dropped below for a couple of hot showers before dropping into bed.

Caribbean Sea
14.49.223N
67.58.561W


We gave our hugs and kisses to Gerry & Nicky, choked back the lumps in our throats and dropped our mooring ball at 4pm. We unfurled our main to the first reefing point, as the wind was pretty gusty even in the bay and motor sailed to the end of Bonaire in incredibly deep water. We rounded to the north, unfurled the jib and set our course to Boqueron, Puerto Rico.

The wind was blowing 20-25 kts but was forecast to moderate back to the normal 15-20 kts range by Mon. The seas were supposed to be 5-6’ with a 6 second interval. I swear that more of them were in the 6-8’ range, as we were taking green water over the bow and occasionally over the cockpit. When we started seeing 26-29 kts being registered, we put a reef in the jib and continued on.

The sunset was particularly beautiful (no green flash) but once gone, conditions that had been challenging during the day became nerve racking after dark. Only the ¾ moon gave us any type of reprieve. At the 11pm watch change, we added another reef to the jib. Dale lost his favorite hat when he climbed out of the cockpit to check on the lines; there was no question that we wouldn’t be going back to retrieve it. During my 11-2 watch, I eased my grip on the jackline holding my tether and me in place, and looked back to identify the Southern Cross for the last time on our voyage. At the 2am watch change we added another reef to the main and discussed the option of turning around and heading back. Cooking was out of the question. Even hove to, I could only microwave something quickly; I’m glad I picked up that bucket of chicken. Sleeping was confined to the cockpit in case of emergency and the fact that Dale was starting to feel the effects of the nasty conditions. Going below for any reason was a challenge that we saved for the watch changes. Our bicycles that have never shifted before, were now a jumble on the forward cabin sole along with everything else that had been packed around them. Dale reasoned that if the conditions moderated as they were predicted, we would have lost 12 hours by turning back. We weren’t in any danger, the boat was handling well, it just wasn’t very comfortable. We sallied forth.

The skies lightened with the approaching dawn and with it, our trepidation. Slowly throughout the day, the winds died back to the 20-25kt range. By afternoon, the seas also seemed to be decreasing so we shook out one of the reefs in the jib and grabbed a couple of books to read. I spotted a few bright purple man-o-war jellyfish heading west during the day but didn’t want to jeopardize my camera in the boisterous conditions.

With the nightfall, we saw a line of clouds that lay directly over our path, so we put the reef back in and hoped that we wouldn’t encounter any squalls during the night. (In case you’re not keeping track, we’re back to 2 reefs in each sail.)

Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.532N
68.16.895W

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we had been planning on leaving at first light tomorrow morning for our 3-4 day trip to Puerto Rico but when we radioed and spoke with Chris, the weather guru, we reconsidered and are leaving this afternoon. The winds are forecast to be 15-18kts out of the east (good); seas 5-6’ with 6 second intervals (a little choppy for me). However, showers and squalls are predicted the closer we get to Puerto Rico on Monday and Tuesday (not good). We asked about better conditions when he said that it wouldn’t be an easy trip but do-able; no better conditions are forecast until possibly the middle of May. So . . . It’s now or next month. We’ll be leaving this afternoon. I hate saying good-bye to Gerry & Nicky in any event and if the timing had been just a little different, we might have gone all the way to Australia with them.

As soon as the decision was made, Dale scooted over to the marina to pick up our mail and on the way back dropped by Orpailleur to let them know of our decision. We started preparing the boat the way we normally do, when Dale found that our water strainers for the engine and genset were filled with jellyfish. All those little practically invisible kind found their way in some how.

We met up with Gerry & Nicky in town about noon and grabbed a quick bite before heading off to check out of customs and immigration. Since immigration was closed, we had to go to the police station to check out. Dale said that the procedure was infinitely better. Next we hiked over to the customs office who cleared us out and gave us back our flare gun. I even dropped by the local KFC and picked up some chicken for dinner. It took longer to give me back change in US dollars than it did to get my order. But when I explained that we were on our way out of the country, they were kind enough to get authorization from the manager and between what they had on hand and what I had in my purse, were able to make change without involving an act of Congress.

At this point, we’ve taken the engine off the dinghy and put it on the back railing. The dinghy has been hoisted and tied securely to the arch. I’ve changed into my bathing suit/T-shirt cruising ensemble and most things that we know will shift have been tucked a little more securely into corners and crevices. Right now, we’re waiting to say good-bye to Gerry and Nicky for the last time and we’ll be heading out.

Wish us luck. We’ll catch up on the other side.

Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.532N
68.16.895W

Happy Birthday Dale!

Bright and early this morning, the guys dinked over to the marina office and returned with our laundry and propane tanks. Two out of 3 is good, I guess. We’re still waiting for our mail to arrive.

They also returned with one of the marina attendants to record our use of electricity and water, so that we could check out of the marina and return to a mooring ball. Thank heavens we had elected to use the electricity to charge our batteries and rarely anything else as Gerry’s electrical bill was quite large for only 3 days. We, however, used $50 of water in cleaning and replenishment of our tanks. With that done, they dinked back over to the office and paid our bill.

On their return, Gerry & Nicky untied and kicked us away from the dock. The wind carried us toward the deeper water and when clear of the docks, we turned and headed out the narrow entrance. We turned south and made our way back toward town looking for 2 mooring balls that were close together and hopefully near a WiFi hotspot. Not finding any close to town, we headed back toward the marina and secured two spots. On the first mooring we attached to, we had no sooner tied up when the wind shifted and I didn’t care for the way we swung close to another boat nearby. So being a nice guy, Dale agreed to move to another mooring behind the guy. This time when the wind shifted, I felt we had a lot more room between boats. Orpailleur is either beside us or behind us depending upon the way the wind blows.

As we were nearing the time to run the genset again and I knew we wouldn’t be going anywhere for the next hour, I grabbed my snorkel gear, pestered Dale into joining me and then jumped in. We had been able to see that the water was crystal clear when we first arrived in Bonaire and knew that each mooring ball was designated as a dive spot. Now we know why. The bottom drops dramatically as you move away from the shore line. Where the Palace rests while swinging on her mooring lines is where the water changes from the bright turquoise to the deep blue. So right below us is where the bottom shifts from being predominately sand to coral and reef fish.

Immediately upon jumping in, I saw a turtle swimming below our swim ladder on the bottom. A porcupine fish was loitering around the blocks of cement the mooring lines were attached to, a huge trumpet fish chased a smaller one through the coral, and a trunk fish was seen heading off in the direction of Orpailleur. There were of course the usual schools of sergeant majors and chromis loitering around looking for a handout. Once again, I wished that I could find the wallet with my dive card as all of this beauty, no matter how clear the water, was too deep to truly enjoy with a snorkel. Although, over the next hour, I did my best.

When the genset was done, we followed Orpailleur into town, stopping briefly to say hello to Moon Goddess who had arrived while we were in the marina, and tied up to the dock by Karols. While Gerry checked on some parts he ordered at Budget Marine, Dale took off in the opposite direction to check about the procedures for departing on a Sunday. That left Nicky and I to do what we do best. Methodical shopping. Up one side of the street, checking every store and then down the other. That way we see everything that is available and know who has the best prices. The guys hate it. At one point I mentioned to Nicky that the guys would never believe that we had hit just about every store without finding anything we wanted. Then again, the last couple of stores had some nice souvenirs for the kids and I found an optical shop that could replace a screw that had fallen out of my glasses.

We finished the day with dinner at a place called the Rib Factory. We sat on the balcony and listened to a mariachi band playing at Karols. We even sang Happy Birthday to Dale quietly in 3 part harmony. Well . . . Maybe it was 3 different keys.

Harbour Village Marina
Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W

Today’s big project was getting some major provisioning done before turning in the car. Dale & Gerry had dropped off the propane bottles for re-filling and while in the marina office checked on laundry and mail. Nothing yet.

We took off about 9am and were able to find just about everything that we needed. I actually found bread that is good for a month. Can’t wait to try that. We also found yogurt that doesn’t have to be refrigerated; that should be interesting too. We took turns returning to the boat since the little Suzuki couldn’t hold us and the groceries.

Once we were back, Nicky needed to make a quick trip to the dentist because one of her fillings fell out during the night. All of this needed to be accomplished before the car had to be returned by noon; and we did it.

Back on the Palace I needed to take anything in cardboard out, vacuum seal larger purchases into smaller ones and put everything away. For all of you giving me a rough time about toilet paper, I did not buy any on this trip. (I’ll restock when we get to Puerto Rico). Dale excused himself and stayed out of the way due to the fact that I tend to get Touret’s Syndrome when things don’t fit; turn about is fair play and I've learned from the best. Really there was no need, I hadn’t over shopped on this trip and the only time I got frustrated was when a tube of biscuit dough burst before I had a chance to get it into the refrigerator.

Have you ever noticed that we seem to always be trying to work around various island holidays to check or check out? Bonaire is no different. The weather looks good to head north on Sunday and the holiday celebrating Queen Beatrice’s birthday is on Monday and Tuesday, which means we need to check out and retrieve our flare gun on Friday or Saturday. Since we’re still in the marina and can walk to the nice Argentinean restaurant across the harbor, we decided to celebrate Dale’s birthday tonight instead of tomorrow. Nicky and I had bought the guys gifts at the El Conquistador back in February. Gerry had to wait to get his gift until now because we figured that as soon as Dale saw it, he’d know what he got.

The restaurant was right across from our boats and we had window seats. The prime rib was excellent (we’ll be eating it for the next 2 days) and the guys seemed to like their new shirts.
We waddled back to our boats and said good night. Tomorrow we’ll leave the marina and head back to a mooring ball. Hopefully, we’ll get some snorkeling in before we have to leave.

Harbour Village Marina
Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W

This morning was devoted to multitasking. Dale and Gerry headed over to Budget Marine to pick up a bearing replacement kit for our wind generator and a few other things that he couldn’t live without while Nicky & I stayed back and worked on the inside of the boat. I borrowed Nicky’s laundry machine for my delicates and ended up having about 3 loads. So I ran a clothesline in the cockpit again. In between loads, I’d work on my blog posts.

When Dale got back, I helped him take out the anchor chain to re-mark the depths on it; then helped to put it back in when he was done. Again, between calls I’d drop back below deck and try to catch up on my typing.

At one point, Dale ran Gerry up Orpailleur’s mast so that he could put hose on the ends of the spreaders so that their sail wouldn’t catch on the spreaders.

About the time I decided that each day in my posts was sounding like the previous, the internet dropped its signal. Good time for a break.

We piled into the little Suzuki and took off for downtown. We walked through a few jewelry stores and decided that they were extremely overpriced and then found our way down the quayside to the vegetable market, when the guys spied a sign advertising a Heiniken special. That was the end of our sightseeing. We had been looking for a “Bali” restaurant but it apparently went out of business since the cruising guides were last published.

Instead, we went to a restaurant called Salsa. It’s claim to fame is that it is located where the trash dump used to be and that they are into nature and natural things. Their laminated menus were inside cedar boards and their thatched roof had plastic webbing holding it in place but they had unique table settings where carved wood blocks held the salt & pepper shakers, cloth napkins and utensils. And even though the salt shaker reflected South Africa as its origins, the waitress assured us that the salt came from right down the road and they just refilled the shakers when needed.

We had a great time and although we didn’t solved any problems in the world, we recognized the fact that some do exist.

Harbour Village Marina
Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W

What a miserable night. We are facing away from the wind, so all night waves slapped again our transom and dock pilings and the wind generators in the area seemed to buzz right in my ear. I finally got up to sleep in the salon but it was hotter in there. I’m going to have to be careful not to be cranky all day.

First thing this morning, Nicky and I took our laundry over to the marina office for the laundry service, while the guys attacked boat projects. The remainder of the morning, I spent going back over my old blog posts and adding pictures while, bless his heart, Dale defrosted the refrigerator and freezer for me.

About noon, Gerry went into town and rented a little Suzuki car. He and Nicky had lunch in town and then returned to see if we wanted to take a tour of the island.

The car was small and although all four of us could sit comfortably, whenever we saw a photo op, it was a pain to get in and out of. So we did the next best thing. The top consisted of two rag tops. One over the front two seats and one over the back two. We lowered the back one and then maneuvered the car so that Nicky and I could stand on the seat and shoot over the top whenever we wanted to take a picture. Of course, there were times when we still needed to crawl out of the car but Gerry did his best to keep us in and pointed the car at least in the vicinity of where we were interested.

It was a whirlwind tour. We started by going through the main part of town to figure out where the large grocery stores were. Then we headed south towards the airport. Past the airport to where the salt flats and the colored obelisks that directed ships to the proper loading facility were. Here and there old slave quarters were restored for historical interest.

We followed the coast looking for the famous pink flamingos that were supposed to be abundant on this island. At last we found one area that had a hundred or so. Nicky and I tried to get close enough for pictures but they are evidently shy birds and kept just our of picture range.
We continued along the east coast and found a lake that had windsurfers darting here and there but again, not close enough for pictures.

We headed back to town and started along the northern route. This side seemed to be predominately cactus covered. In fact, it reminded us of Mexico, except that Bonaire has more cactus per square foot than our memories of Mexico. We traveled past clever junk yards lined with corrugated tin painted to resemble the flags of the nations and continued north through hillsides of rock and more cactus.

What had appeared on our map to be a highway that circled around the north half of the island, ended up being more of a dead-end as it stopped being a narrow paved highway and continued to be a dirt path we would be hard pressed to get the little car down. So we doubled back and backtracked until we once again found the main town.

We dropped by one of the grocery stores we had sought out earlier and made a couple of quick purchases to get us through until it was closer to our time of departure. We couldn’t purchase much as there was no room in the little car but we did manage diet cokes for me and a couple of yogurts for Dale.

We headed back to the marina to deposit our purchases, cleaned up and then headed back out in search of dinner. Nicky had read about a place called “Richards” which was created by a cruiser who decided to linger longer when he found Bonaire. It was a wonderful restaurant with excellent food. We all ordered steak and were impressed with the quality.

We made our way back to the marina and waddled down to our respective boats at the end of the dock. We’re trying to get as much done on the boats as we can while we’re dockside and take advantage of having a car handy. Today work and fun was balanced rather nicely. Tomorrow, we’ll try to do it again.

For now, I’ll try to work for as long as I can on the internet before it disappears.

Photo 1: Our view out of our cockpit at Harbour Village Marina.

Photo 2: A new way of looking at corrigated tin.

Photo 3: Dinner at Richard's.

Harbour Village Marina
Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W

The guys cleared us into customs and immigration this morning. Apparently customs was easy but when they went to immigration, they ran into problems. Grenada had not stamped our passports the last time we were there and immigration was having a problem with that. The guys went back to customs (in the tourquise building) and got a copy of the exit document, so that immigration (in the pink building) would allow us in. It was also the first time that we had to turn in our flare guns. (We heard that you now have to turn them in Trinidad as well.)

Nicky was close enough to town to get an internet connection, so she elected to stay on board when they returned, while Dale, Gerry and I took off to check out the marina to the north of town that had fuel, propane, laundry service, showers, a pool, water and 127 volt electricity. Humm . . . That might be a problem. We’d better check out our other option at the marina at the southern end of town. Off we went across the deep blue water to the opposite end.

The southern marina didn’t seem to have an office and no one knew much about the docks. We stopped by the dive shop we found there and asked about NAUI affiliations on the island. Seems they’re all PADI. I still haven’t found my wallet that I put away for safekeeping which has my NAUI dive card in it and thought I could perhaps get a replacement copy of the dive card. Sure you can, it only takes a week to ten days.

We went back to the boat and proceeded to tear the back stateroom apart looking for the wallet. It’s got to be here somewhere. Dale said that he saw it after we took off and thought that it was in a good spot; he didn’t realize that I hadn’t been able to find it. Unfortunately, it is still in safekeeping and probably will be until we get back to unload everything.

Eventually we elected to move to the north marina, where we filled up with fuel before taking a berth along the T-dock at the end of the slips and be very careful with the 127 volt outlets. Orpailleur is about 3 feet off our stern. The rest of the day was spent scrubbing the filthy, dirty, salty, grimy boat we call the Palace. Gerry & Nicky did the same on their boat.

By 6:30 pm we were exhausted and hungry. For some crazy reason, neither one of us ate anything of substance all day long. There was a little restaurant in the marina called Vespucci that our slip neighbor suggested trying. It had excellent food. I had a shrimp and avocado salad and Dale had a lobster bisque.

We assumed that we would sleep well tonight but when we returned to the Palace, the air conditioner was already overheating. Guess we won’t be using it while we’re here. Hopefully, no damage has been done.

Photo 1: The Carribean is alive with color. This house seemed to have its fair share.

Photo 2: One of the oblisks that ships of old would be directed to by hoisting a flag with the same color.

Kralendijk,
Bonaire
12.09.849N
68.17.088W


43.8 NM
5.8 Avg.
7.3 Max.
7.35 Hrs.


We lifted anchors at 8am and unfurled our main sail for the trip to Bonaire. With only 10-12 kts from directly astern of us, there wasn’t enough speed to get us in before nightfall, so we turned on the engine and motor sailed the whole way.

Bonaire, particularly the southern end of the island, is very low and cannot be seen until you’re almost upon it. We rounded the southern end in very deep water and passed by the salt flats which had mountains of salt piled along the shoreline waiting for cargo ships to carry away. Brightly colored obelisks that once served to guide cargo ships into the loading areas still stand starkly against the blue sky. We looked for the flamingos that are famous here but didn’t see any, so we’ll have to take a tour of the island to find them.

We rounded again along the western coast and approached the town of Kralendijk. Orpailleur took advantage of the sudden onset of apparent wind by cutting the engine and sailing again, so we followed them in and waited for them to select a mooring ball. We were in the process of taking the one next to them and slightly closer to shore, when a neighboring boat called across to tell us that they had been getting some strange winds which would blow you towards shore in the night. So, we moved further down and found another mooring ball about the same distance from shore as Orpailleur. Its amazing how clear the water is here. Particularly this close to town with commercial ships coming and going. We can’t wait to jump in. Each mooring ball is designated as a dive sight.

We had just enough time to shower and change for a dinner in town. We stopped at a place on the waterfront called Karel’s Bar which had thatched roofs along a pier out over the water and a dinghy dock to the side. We tied up and grabbed a couple of cold drinks. Strangely, after the first drink we realized that we were all fading fast. We crossed the street and ate at the Zeezicht restaurant where our conversation dwindled to nothing. As I’ve said many times in the past, fresh air and sunshine will kill you; we were all exhausted and couldn’t wait to hit the hay early.


Photo of salt mountain from camera of Orpailleur.

Aves de Sotavento,

Venezuela
12.01.230N
67.41.031W

The problem for me when I read, is putting the book down when it’s good story. Last night, I read until 3am to finish what I had started earlier in the day. Considering that the swell we first noticed coming in rocked the boat most of the night and the fact that there was no wind which made it too hot to sleep, it ended up being time well spent.

Late morning, we dinked in to a small sandy beach to go snorkeling with Gerry & Nicky. We walked around to the eastern side of the small island and found mountains of conch shells. No wonder we haven’t seen very many on our trip; they’ve all been eaten. We donned our gear and swam the nearby reef. Again, it was amazing. Clear water, abundant coral and great fish. This time we saw larger specimens of reef fish.

We saw several huge midnight parrotfish and large blue parrotfish, as well as the normal assortment of fish in the coral heads.

We were nearing the end of our snorkel when a large Venezuelan power boat came in and anchored outside of our beached dinghies. This, in and of itself, didn’t cause any concern but when they set up their beach umbrella 2 feet from our dinghies, we decided to call it a day.

Recent rumors abound that Chavez has shut down fuel to any foreign flagged vessels. We’d heard this before regarding the mainland but learned that some of the outlying islands still had fuel for purchase, you just couldn’t pull up to the dock to get it (jerry can only). We purposely made the decision not to refuel in Venezuela but we know there are those who wait to fill up on the cheap fuel that can be found there. Since you never know what the Venezuelan people think themselves and their president have likened Americans to cockroaches, we’ve decided to keep a low profile while in their waters.

By mid-day there were 3 power boats in the same little anchorage, blaring their music for all to enjoy. I did a little salsa in the galley while I made some banana nut bread and then started a pork tenderloin for dinner.

Tomorrow we’ll leave for Bonaire. The outlying islands of Venezuela have beautiful crystal clear water and a bountiful array of coral and sea life. I hope the next time we’re this down this way, tensions will have eased and we will feel more comfortable about lingering a while and enjoying the views. There is so much to enjoy here.

Aves de Sotavento

Venezuela
12.01.230N
67.41.031W

20.6 NM
5.2 Avg
7.4 Max
3.56 Hrs.

We lifted anchors at 10 am and ever so slowly made a downwind sail to Aves de Sotavento. We read books the whole way but occasionally looked up to make sure that we weren’t running into anyone or getting into anyone else’s way.

The highlight of the trip was when Orpailleur caught and landed their first fish. They radioed their success and then proceeded to describe the fish to Dale in an attempt to ascertain whether it was edible or not. As close as he could figure without seeing it, it sounded like a Wahoo! Excellent for the dinner table.

They secured their fish to the side of the boat and then motored up to us. Yep! It was a wahoo. Now for the fun part; learning how to get it from the hook to the pot.

We rounded the northern side of the group of islands known as the Aves de Sotavento and then down the western edge of the bank to a group of 3 small islands. Gerry spotted a slow moving swell and selected the south western side of the middle island and tucked between it and the farthest island in hopes of protection from it.

We anchored in about 14’ of crystal clear water and the anchors set in deep sand on the first try. Both Dale and Gerry jumped in to make sure everything looked good and then swam back to the boats. Gerry said that there was a barracuda as big as he was keeping close to his anchor. Dale spotted a King Helmet that we took several pictures of before returning it to its resting spot beneath our boat.

We lowered the dink, grabbed our books and cheat sheets on identifying fish and the various methods of processing the fish in preparation for the frying pan. Gerry was adamant about the fillet and release method, as he didn’t want anything to do with gutting the fish. I grabbed my camera and off we went.

As it turns out, Nicky is the one credited for catching the fish and they both participated in the cleaning process. Although he didn’t look too good when he first started, Gerry stuck to it and filleted the fish without passing out. I stayed upwind and noticed that it didn’t smell as bad as our tuna had. Maybe fish smell more if you gut them.

Skinning it took a bit of trial and error. Dale started it, but then Gerry took over and finished one side and Nicky did the other. They sliced it into giant steaks and bagged up most of it. They gave us a couple of steaks for our freezer, brought some over to put on the grill for dinner and still have several meals in their freezer.

Now that they are seasoned fishermen, we know that they’ll be eating well on their Pacific crossing. All they need are just a few more lures.

Aves De Barlavento
11.56.777N
67.25.919W

I had a rough night sleeping with my internal power surges, so I went up into the cockpit for some cool air. There was quite a bit of lightening to the south but overhead it was still pretty clear.

In the morning after our chores, we lowered the dinks and joined Orpailleur exploring. We went into the next anchorage and followed a wide channel that went fairly deep across the width of the island. The mangroves trees were loaded with birds; mostly a type of red-footed booby but a few pelicans and frigate birds were also there. Although you are cautioned in the cruising guides to not get too close, a lot of nests are in branches at eye level that extend over the water. All you have to do for a photo is point and shoot.

We meandered back as far as we could go then returned the way we had come. We dinked further down the coast to look at a ruin of a building and met Bob & Jeanie and Phil & Jan who were doing the same thing. We talked briefly with them then proceeded to photograph the ruin from every angle possible and speculate as to whether the structure beside it was a grave or shrine. When our creative sides were exhausted, we walked along the beach to the end just to see what was there.

With this end of the island explored, we dinked back in the direction of our boats and then past them to the other side of the anchorage to go snorkeling. What at treat! There was good light for photographs, a good reef but not as many fish as in Los Roques. By the time the camera had acclimated to the water temp, I had passed some of the best possibilities that had small pieces of stag horn coral alive with nurseries of tiny reef fish. Some of the weensiest parrotfish and sergeant majors we’ve seen to date. Still I managed to snap away in an attempt to catch the slippery little devils and not really get anything different.

By the time my camera was signaling a low battery, Dale was getting cold, so we returned to Palace to run the genset and recharge everyone and everything.

At dinnertime on Orpailleur, we decided to keep on moving, so tomorrow we’ll head west again to the other set of islands that make up the Aves.

Aves De Barlavento,

Venezuela
11.56.777N
67.25.919W

38.1 miles
5.6 Avg.
7.3 Max

We lifted anchors at 8 am, exited our anchorage behind Isla Carenero, turned into the wind and unfurled the main sail. We steered the Palace onto our course toward Aves de Barlavento and discovered that what winds we had (blowing 12-15 kts) were directly behind us. Once they died below 10 kts, Dale conceded and we dug into the big red bag that has been stuffed in the forward head since Puerto Rico and pulled the cruising chute out through the forward hatch. You may recall that the last time we flew our chute, it landed in the drink when the halyard severed.

It takes some time to rig the chute but with the Palace on an even keel in light winds, Dale had all of the lines run back and forth along the decks and around the rolled genoa in no time. Once he gave the signal, I hoisted the snuffed chute until Dale have the sign to stop. He tugged on the ropes that slipped the sock skyward and the giant sail billowed out with a big whomp.

Sailing just slightly off wind would raise our speed to over 7 kts but as we were going almost dead downwind, we had to be content with a more conservative 4.5-5 kts. The winds continued to moderate and a couple of hours later, we were doing no more than 3.5-4 kts. Not enough to make our anchorage with the sun high enough to dodge coral heads clearly.

We doused the chute, coiled the sheets, and dropped the whole apparatus back down the hatch and into the big red bag again. As we secured the halyard, we noticed that once again, the line had been chafed severely. We are baffled as to what is causing the chafing and certainly the line needs to be respliced before another use.

We turned on the “iron wind” and made the southern tip of the Aves de Sotavento by 2:30pm; we rounded into our anchorage by 3 and dropped the hook.

Moon Goddess, Excalabar, and Island Dreaming, boats we had met previously in our journeys were already here and had, in fact, moved from the next island over from us in Los Roques to here the day before. Joe & Diane from Moon Goddess were just coming in from snorkeling on the reef and dropped by to say hi. They told us about the garbage burn later in the evening and said that everyone was meeting there to leave behind a decorated stone with our boat names on them. They pointed out the reefs they had already explored and suggested mangrove routes that provided good views of the nesting birds. We promised to meet up with everyone later on the beach.

Once settled, we lowered the dinks and took off to explore a little. We ended up at the designated mangrove route that led to a tiny landing spot and walked the rest of the way to the beach.

We introduced Gerry & Nicky to everyone and joined the gathering on the beach to burn garbage. We’d thrown ours out on the garbage scowl the day before but tagged along to decorate the stones.

I am no artist but I left my childish drawing of a sailboat with our names and the date on a smooth stone with the others piled by the pit where the trash was burned.

Isla Carenero,
Los Roques,

Venezuela
11.53.111N
66.50.697W

A chorus line of seagulls lined up along our back arch at the crack of down this morning and proceeded to screech and squawk for attention. I’m not sure if they thought we were going to feed them or what. Instead, they had a banshee come looming up out of the companionway waving her arms and screeching right back at them. They were perched over the dinghy cover Dale had just washed all the tuna blood out of the other day and I didn’t figure he wanted to repeat the process to get gull guano off the sides.

Since I was up, I sat in the cockpit and watched the flocks of pelicans, gulls and terns diving for fish along the reefs. About 7:30, a fisherman came through the anchorage with his catch of lobster. He stopped by Orpailleur and through all of the hand waving, I could tell that Gerry was negotiating a price based upon the idea that the fisherman had to cut the tails off first. Apparently, they did not come to an agreement.

The fisherman moved on to the next two boats and by the time he got to us, his selection was rather small. Still Dale swapped a bottle of red wine (the white was refused) for 3 small lobsters. This was after they could not agree upon a dollar price once the lobsterman found out we didn’t have any Bolivars. I’m sure we all felt we got a good deal.

After breakfast, Dale & I took the dink over to the next cove to explore and ended up with a simple photo op with a few pelicans in the area. We returned to the Palace and donned our snorkel gear. There was a small reef off the back of our boat, so we paddled over and spent the next couple of hours fascinated with all of the fish. There were 100’s of large bonefish that swam by us; 1000’s of silversides, schools of several varieties of parrotfish, and the usual assortment of reef fish. A couple of small barracuda made sure we didn’t wander too far and an octopus helped by keeping a couple of beady eyes on us. Dale spotted a burr fish in the rocks and I snapped about half of his green eyes watching us warily in a photograph. If it hadn’t been for the fact that we were getting cold, I think we could have spent the whole day there swimming around the coral heads and seeing who lived in the broken bottle on the bottom.

We returned to the Palace and warmed ourselves in the sun after radioing Orpailleur to tell them that a great snorkeling spot lay just off their stern.

Later, Dale took the lobsters over to the beach and cleaned them for dinner. Gerry & Nicky joined us for the grilled dinner adding Thai chicken to the feast.

The next leg of our adventure will take us to the Aves (Ahh veys). After much discussion, we adjusted our previous thought of leaving at 9am, to leaving at 8am, so that we are certain to have good light to enter another “poorly charted“, “reef-studded” island group. Never a dull moment. At least it’s a simple day trip.

Isla Carenero,
Los Roques,

Venezuela
11.53.111N
66.50.697W

The first water taxi came roaring passed us at 6:30am this morning; so much for the weekend traffic idea.

Since we were up, Dale and I lowered the dinghy and started our day with a little ride around the Francisquis anchorage and into the inner anchorage beyond. Both were surrounded by beautiful white sand beaches already sporting the occasional brightly colored sun umbrella in the morning sun.

We returned to the Palace, hoisted the dinghy into the davits, lifted our anchor and made our way to El Gran Roque, where there was a little village that housed the GuardiaCoasta, the Guardia Nacional, Inparques and Autoridad Unica. We anchored in 10’ of water on a the shelf that extends a little way from the beach before dropping off into 100’s of feet of water. Our guide book directed that visiting yachts were to check in immediately with each of the authorities and we anticipated that each one would have their own fees. However, after much consternation as to what to do with the “transitoes,” they waved us off and we didn’t have to pay anything. Dale and Gerry, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, made a hasty return to their respective boats, where once again, we lifted our anchors and made our way to another little island called Isla Carenero about 11 miles away.

Just as we were starting to round the island to enter into its anchorage, our chart plotter lost its satellite signal. I got it back for a second and then lost it again. Dale was already on the bow directing us around the various shallow spots, so it really didn’t matter today. I tried turning the chart plotter off, then on a couple of times and at least got the chart portion to work but it still wouldn’t connect to the satellite.

We anchored in 25’ and once we were secured, Dale went below and turned everything off and then back on and finally it reset itself and it worked as normal.

Due to its reliability, we’ve become lax in what had been our habit of writing down our longitude, latitude, heading and course over ground every couple of hours when under way. This was a reminder that there is a reason for doing things the old fashioned way and I will dig out our little book in which we wrote down this information so that we can start doing it again. (Not to worry Mom, we have 2 other GPSs that will give us the information to plot our course on paper charts, if needed).

After we settled in, Gerry & Nicky dropped their dinghy into the water and came by to pick us up for a little exploring to get the lay of the land. This island is more mangrove with pelicans, terns, and other fowl. Gerry told us that the water was very clear when he dove on his anchor, so we’ll be checking out the nearest reefs tomorrow. I’d also like to explore the inlet we passed coming into this anchorage. As it was upwind and would be a very wet ride, we put it off today as the O.P. Duck took on water with all of us in it and headed into the waves.

Dinner was on Orpailleur this evening. Gerry grilled steaks and Nicky added potatoes and salad. We took brownies with cream cheese filling for dessert. It’s a quiet little anchorage, so after a wonderful meal, we’re all looking forward to a good night’s rest.

Francisquis,
Los Roques,
Venezuela
11.57.342N
66.39.027W

Thank heavens each time we had to dance with a freighter in our path last night, Dale was on watch at the time. The first time, I woke up hearing Nicky on the radio telling Dale that from her perspective, a freighter was heading straight for us. Seconds later, Dale turned on the engine and I was scrambling out of bed and grabbing my life jacket. Apparently, the big guy had decided to go between the two sailboats.

The second time, Dale had been watching the approaching lights for about 30 minutes and knew, through the old adage about Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range, that we were in his way. That time, he rounded up and sailed behind the freighter as it passed in front of us.
On my watches, I was content to study the stars and with a cheat sheet in hand, was able to determine the various constellations; including the Southern Cross and the false cross. The first constellation I remember being taught as a child was the Big Dipper. Tonight as falling stars came streaking to Earth, I watched the Big Dipper reach down and touch the water just when it was Dale’s turn to come up.

On my morning watch, I saw several fish traveling with us, so . . . Feeling lucky, I tossed in a line. A while later, we saw a flock of birds and several dolphins directly ahead of us. We had no sooner gone through the birds when the line took off with a zing! I tightened the tension on the line and watched as the rod bent under the load. By this time, Dale was up and helped me get the rod out of the holder and into my lap as I sat on the back deck. About 5 minutes later, I landed a nice sized tuna. Dale leaned over and grabbed it with a gaff, while I ran for a camera. In the meantime, the dang thing splattered blood from one side of the boat to the other.

With the pictures taken, Dale pithed the fish through the eyes and blood spurted everywhere; I about lost my lunch; not from the blood but from the smell. I watched as he cut off the head and gutted the fish but it got to the point where I wanted as far away from that smell as I possibly could get. To his credit, he sliced about 5 good sized steaks rather quickly and sealed them in 3 bags (one inside the other) to keep the smell down. We hailed Orpailleur and informed them that fresh tuna steaks were on the menu for dinner later in the evening.

We made landfall about 11am and found the narrow entrance that separated the reefs we would be traveling between. Los Roques is a group of about 50 small islands over a 14 by 25 mile cruising area. The cruising guide calls the area “reef studded,” I’d call it a reef with navigable waters running through it and mangroves holding enough sand to create the occasional island. Of the first 4 boats we saw, only 1 was anchored; the other 3 (good sized ships) were permanent reminders of what could go wrong.

With Dale on the bow, we maneuvered through the blue-green shallow areas and followed the dark blue water along a path between 2 long reefs that led us north about 10 miles. It reminded us of the ICW in places; deep in the middle but outside of the channel meant certain grounding.

The northeast corner of this collection of islands holds the 4-5 islands that constitute the vacation area for the Venezuelans who come here in their private planes and motor yachts. We passed little islands that were no more than sand bars, covered in brightly colored sun umbrellas. We were surprised to see several Hunter sailboats, all of which were Venezuelan flagged.

We made our way to the anchorage behind Francisquis island and joined more than a dozen other boats. We chose a spot in front of a picnic area that looked like a cul-de-sac in the surrounding reefs. We dropped our anchor in 18’ of water close to the shore and backed into the cul-de-sac of water. We were just settling in when the local water taxis starting buzzing by us. We had anchored in the middle of their short cut. Since it was Sunday, we figured that it was weekend traffic and decided not to move.

As promised, we had tuna steaks for dinner. I made the side dishes ahead of time, then cleared out of the galley while Dale was kind enough to prep and grill the fish, then clean and rinse the galley to the point where all odor was eliminated. I stayed topside and upwind during the process. However, at dinner, I was right there with everyone else and helped gobble down the grilled fish.

Of course, our dinnertime conversation was about catching "the fish". There are those, who shall remain nameless, who have yet to land a fish. Nicky throws out her line from time to time and has gotten bites that have left teeth in her cedar plug and today something actually took the whole plug. Still she is rather disappointed in not having caught a fish herself.

The other problem is, who would clean it? Gerry faints if he gets more than 3 injections and adamantly states that he will not pith or gut a fish. However, he says that he will fillet a fish and has a sharp knife with which to do it. He says they have a strict ‘fillet and release’ policy on Orpailleur. Nicky is afraid that if they ever do catch a fish, she will have to do the cleaning because Gerry will be snorting an ammonia ampule at the first sight of blood (Sight! Wait till he smells it!!)

In any event, we’d love to be around when they do catch their first fish; I’m sure the event would keep us in stitches for weeks.

Cayo Herraduro,

LaTortuga,
Venezuela
10.59.596N
65.22.790W

Today we are again in awe of the beauty and tranquility of this anchorage. I sat in the cockpit all day either reading or gazing at the blue green colors of the water, the incredibly blue sky or blinding white beaches.

It was Gerry & Nicky’s turn to dink around the periphery, exploring what little is here and enjoying what is not. When they returned, we discussed how we would exit the bay after dark and make our way to Los Roques.

When the time came at 8 pm, we lifted our anchors and slowly crept out. Dale was on the bow with a megawatt flashlight and lit up the few boats that had found there way into the anchorage during the day. There was no moon and we had decided earlier in the day to remove our solar lights along the sides to help us maintain our night vision.

We set our heading and made a respectable 7-8 kts for a couple of hours. Then the wind shifted to aft of our beam and although we still had the 15-18 kts predicted, the sensation was that we were barely moving when in actuality, we maintained a 6 kts average throughout the night.

Cayo Herraduro,
LaTortuga,
Venezuela
10.59.596N
65.22.790W

Last night was another of those where you wish you had seat belts installed in your bed; and we weren’t even under way. So this morning it was unanimous that we’d move to another anchorage. We didn’t even dink around the anchorage to look at the air field or surrounding beach.

Instead, we lifted our anchors and moved 11 miles down the main island of Tortuga to a smaller one called Cayo Herraduro or Horseshoe Cay. Once we were behind the protective reefs, it was like finding a bit of heaven. One other boat was anchored behind the little island with its own lighthouse.

We cautiously made our way into the center of the shallow water and dropped our anchors in 9’ of water. The water was a beautiful turquoise color. As soon as we could, we jumped in to check out the local life. There were red star fish, tube worms, sea cucumbers, a snake, various small fish and one irate little worm attacking our anchor. We were rather disappointed that the water was still murky but the calm waters and serene view made it one of those special places that we’ll always remember.

After Dale replaced a hinge on our companionway door, we lowered the dink and checked out the island by putt putting the length of it. There were a few fishing shacks that had little Catholic shrines for each one at one end and a faded red and white lighthouse in the middle. We made our way to the opposite end and got out for a walk along the two beaches that came together. The beach that ran along the inside of the cay was composed of a sugary white sand, while the beach on the windward side was a more coarse grain. They came together at the end where we had landed our dinghy. We donned our snorkel gear and headed in again to check out the reefs on the inside.

The coral wasn’t as colorful as we’ve seen in other places and again, we were disappointed in the lack of clarity in the water but there was an abundance of reef fish and 2 particularly large porcupine fish that I chased with a camera for a while. In fact all of the fish seemed to be larger specimens of the reef fish we’ve seen so for.

We had dinner on Orpailleur this evening and we all agreed that we should have skipped Blanquilla and come straight here. There’s something magical about this place and by sundown 2 other boats had made their way into the anchorage to share in the magic. Or get a decent night’s rest.

Photo of shrine from the camera of Orpailleur.

Playa Caldera,
La Tortuga,
Venezuela
10.57.328N
65.13.642W

We got a good night’s sleep and hoisted anchor at 6am bound for La Tortuga. The winds were cranking 20+kts and within minutes of securing the anchor, the engine was cut, the sails were trimmed and we were flying at 7-8 kts. The seas were a kindly 3-4’ with the occasional 6’ thrown in to keep you on your toes, so the 66 miles were going by quickly. By 10am though, the predicted 12-15 kts settled in and we were cruising a respectable 6kts.

Dale started a new book, so I tweaked the sails and autopilot for most of the day. It was a very pleasant sail. Except for Orpailleur, we saw only 3 other boats all day. We heard the Venezuelan Navy hail motor vessels and ask them to identify themselves a few times, but never saw the “warship” they were on.

Throughout the day, however, the winds continued to diminish and by 2pm, the 7-9 kts weren’t going to get us into our anchorage before dark, so we were forced to once again, turn on the engine.

LaTortuga, is another low lying desert island which has miles of white sandy beaches. The eastern most tip has an airstrip with a couple of hangers and a few fishing shacks but that’s it. We chose Playa Caldera to anchor in as it provided a half moon bay and appeared to be sheltered even further by some reefs.

As we approached the entrance to the bay, the shell of a catamaran lay grounded on the beach; we steered an extra wide path to round up into the anchorage. We soon saw our depth meter rise from 50’ to 15’ rather quickly but continued on until we were in about 10’ and tucked up inside away from the swells rounding the point. There were only 2 other boats in the anchorage. Talk about getting away from it all.

We invited Gerry & Nicky over for dinner and as we ate, we were all astounded with the winds picking up again to well over 20 kts. It was howling and the Palace started dancing on her anchor chain. We feel that we are very secure having dropped our anchor in sand and felt its tug when it dug in to snap us around smartly. But when the wind starts whistling and the wind generator sounding like a DC10 winding up, it gets a bit unnerving. I’m sure transferring from the dinghy back to Orpailleur must have been a challenge for Gerry & Nicky but I’m glad that they were able to share dinner with us.

I think we’ll be staying here another day but I wouldn’t mind moving to another bay. Both Dale and Gerry spoke of seeing huge jelly fish in the water which already looks murky from the top and I was looking forward to the exceptional snorkeling I’ve read about.

Playa Yaque, La Blanquilla,

Venezuela
11.50.173N
64.38.816W

The winds finally picked up during the night and we made good time to LaBlanquilla transiting the 93 miles in 14.5 hours. When Dale came on watch at 5am, I had taken the suggestion of the guide book and positioned us square between the 6 little islands of Los Hermanos, having first checked to make sure that we could go between them. Orpailleur had chickened out and went around all of them (Gerry’s description, not mine). Dale took over at this point and he tells me that when the sun finally rose, there wasn’t much to see.

Even our final destination of LaBlanquilla, is a desert island with hardly a sole on it. However, as we pulled into the anchorage at 8:30 am to join the 3 other boats, the monthly Wind Jammer Cruise line came in and anchored behind us, depositing about 100 people on the shore for beach walking and snorkeling. They had no sooner dropped off a dozen loads of passengers, when they started rounding them back up again. They were loaded, with anchors stowed and gone by 11:30am.

Dale had gone down for a nap, when the LaBlanquilla GuardiaCoasta came to call. A loud knock and a hasty call down the companionway from me had him up. Five young men representing Venezuela came along side in their panga and asked if we spoke Espanol. Oh boy, here we go!

We secured their boat to ours and for some unknown reason all 5 boarded our boat and sat in the cockpit. The one who spoke the most English (and looked like a Martin Sheen offspring), led the conversation. For the next hour, they used all of their English and we used all of our Spanish to complete what appeared to be a safety inspection. They never actually descended into our living quarters but simply asked the questions and we answered. They were all very polite and seemed impressed with having ice in the water we provided when asked. Once our paperwork was completed, they thanked us and left. Considering some of the officials we’ve met in other countries, these guys were great.

Gerry radioed over later asking if we would be willing to continue on to Tortuga tomorrow since there really wasn’t much to see or do here. So, what little exploring we did, was done in the after noon with a dinghy ride around the leeward side of the island dotted with caves, as far as what is called Americano Bay.

According to the cruising guide, an American by the name of Blankenship built himself a house on the cliffs overlooking a beautiful bay. We found what was left and decided that he must have been a bachelor and this was his little honey spot. The house (from what we could deduce) was mostly patio and bar with what may have been changing rooms and showers. It overlooked the ocean, the bay and a grotto at the base of the arch in the coral leading from the ocean to the bay. I wish we had snorkeled there but we ended up snorkeling in the rocks on the beach in front of our boats. The water was very murky and we quit pretty quickly. We’ve been spoiled.

Tomorrow morning at 6 am, we’ll head south to Tortuga. We’re doing this to break up the long transit to Los Roques and it provides a better angle on the wind. We’re anticipating a fast sail and the way the wind is howling at the moment, I doubt that we’ll be disappointed.

Testigo Grande,
Los Testigos,
Venezuela
11.22.917N
63.08.123W

Heather radioed this morning to see if we would be interested in exploring the sand dunes today. It sounded like a great idea so after we finished with our morning chores, we picked up Gerry & Nicky and made our way to the little beach where we would leave our dinghies.

There was a mountain of sand in front of us and as we tied our dinghies to the trees at the base, we started looking for a way to climb up. Dale and Gerry led the way and made it to the top. They shouted back down that the best way to climb was to do switchbacks, zigzagging our way to the top. This worked but it was still straight up and considering we were all wearing “Croks” (rubber shoes with holes in them), we were lifting shoe loads of sand with each step and getting our exercise for the day.

Nicky has bad knees to begin with and a third of the way up, decided a swim at the bottom was more to her liking. Gerry joined her, so that left Scott & Heather and Dale & me to explore on behalf of the rest. I took a couple of breaks but did finally make it to the top where an iguana met me and kindly posed for a picture.

We crested the top and beheld a desert stretching before us that ended at the water’s edge. A goat and her tiny kid were scavenging for leaves but made a hasty retreat when they saw us coming their way. The descent to the other side was less severe and we rewarded ourselves with a dip in the water when we reached it.

The breaking waves reminded me of California where you could wade out up to your knees and seconds later be crushed under an avalanche of water.. We were the only people in sight. I snapped loads of pictures but unfortunately, not many are without water drops or vapor on the lens.

On the way back we saw a sea creature rising from the sand but it didn’t seem interested in coming after us.

We returned to our respective boats and tried to nap for the remainder of the afternoon. Some of us were better at the attempt than others. At 5 pm, we started making our final preparations and by 6 pm, we lifted our anchors and pointed our bows towards La Blanquilla. We had hoped for the perfect sailing conditions that we had encountered on our way to Los Testigos but unfortunately, the winds were just a little too far aft.

First we tried sailing with both sails but the main would blanket the jib, which would cause it to flap and jerk the boat when it filled again. Then we decided to furl in the main and just use the jib. This worked as long as we had fairly strong, steady winds but if the wind eased below 10 kts, it would flap again.

As it happens, I’m not one who likes to sail downwind as there is no sense of speed and if the waves are following (as is the usual case) you have a tendency to wallow. Within an hour or two of leaving and traveling at speeds of 3-4kts, Dale was ready to throw me overboard with my never ending suggestions on how to improve the situation. So, of course, when he went below and it was my watch, I implemented a few of them. This meant unfurling the mainsail without turning into the wind and rolling in the jib in the same conditions. I did both a little at a time so as not to arouse suspicion. By the time it was his watch, I had swapped the two sails and had gained about ½ -1 kt of speed.

When he came up for his watch 3 hours later, I told him that he should be proud of me for the fact that I let him sleep without waking him when two ships passed us in the night; one within one mile of us, setting off the radar alarm, the other showing red lights (and we all know how much I love those). But you know, I’m getting better at reading the radar and getting the most information I can out of it. It was only after my little debriefing that he noticed that the jib was missing. He added a preventer to the boom and let the sail out more which increased our speed at least another knot. Now we were cooking! At least we were sailing in the 6 kts range!

Testigo Grande,
Los Testigos,
Venezuela
11.22.917N
63.08.123W

First thing this morning, Dale collected Scott and Gerry and headed to the GuardiaCoasta station on the little island further down from where we are anchored to ‘check in’. Dale reports that the young officers were very polite and spoke English. He had taken his various cheat sheets, books and English to Spanish dictionary with him to help in the communication process and was much relieved when it wasn’t necessary. Although, the station does not clear you in for customs purposes, it is suggested that you let them know that you are transiting the area.

I can’t say that we did anything of interest today. We were entertained with the frigate birds diving for fish and saw a couple of small turtles between the two boats.

Gerry came over and the guys went over the charts that we have. The paper ones that we purchased in Trinidad, we aren’t going to be using after all, so we gave them to him and he had some software charts that provided greater detail than the ones we have of the Caribbean islands we just passed through. I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to upload the software charts and ended up getting an error that can only be fixed by connecting to the internet. I suspect that we’ve violated some copyright code that recognizes which computer it was originally loaded onto. Oh well, we’ve managed to survive so far.

We cleaned the Palace and made a rib roast on the barbeque. The last time we had done this, we ended up cooking the roast to a cinder; Gerry & Nicky were our guests that evening as well. As I recall, they were good sports about it and picked around the extra crispy bits to find something edible. This time, Dale was jumping up every 15 minutes to check on it. Good thing too. Our little canister of fuel had emptied and he caught it before the temperature dropped too far. Still, we managed to cook it too long for the medium rare middle I was going for.

Our scare for the night came after I had gone to bed but Dale was still up reading. I awoke to what sounded like something hitting our boat. It was definitely loud. Dale jumped up and went topside with a flashlight and I grabbed our big megawatt spotlight. We searched every inch of the boat, the mast, the boom, the hardtop and the water surrounding us looking for what could have made the noise. When nothing could be found, Dale told me to start looking inside the boat; maybe something had fallen. I checked the forward cabin and head and found nothing. Nothing appeared to be out of place in the main salon area, so I started looking around the back cabin.

We started to analyze what each of us had heard and the direction that we thought it had come from and suddenly Dale found it; with his foot. One of the water glasses we hang from a stemware caddy on the overhead, had fallen. I had made little quilted koozies for each one to keep them from hitting each other while underway and bungee cords around the stems to keep them in place. The bungee cords had been removed at dinnertime and it had fallen straight down, landing on a rug but breaking the stem. They are rather substantial glasses so I guess that was the reason for the loud thud we heard but I’m still amazed that Dale didn’t realize the noise came from directly in front of where he was sitting. At least it wasn’t the radar reflector crashing down; that one gave us a startle too!

Testigo Grande,
Los Testigos,
Venezuela
11.22.917N
63.08.123W

When the morning dawned, there were islands on the horizon. We had pointed our bow a few degrees south of where our intended destination lay in hopes that the 2-4kt current would lift us up and in the right direction. It did but we tweaked the autopilot a few times after checking our progress on the chart plotter.

On my 2-5am shift I had shaken out the reef as we had been reading a constant 12-14 kts of wind from our aft port quarter. We were flying but Scott Free and Orpailleur were starting to pull away from us; this at least kept us in the pack. A half hour later we started getting gusts up to 25 kts of wind before returning to the 12 kts regular ones. The autopilot did fine at the lower wind speeds but with the higher gusts, I had given it too much sail to handle and it would round us up and then off course. So we ended up hand steering when the wind would gust and then back to the auto pilot when it died back down. I think next time, I’ll just leave it alone and fall behind.

Approaching the Los Testigos islands we had seen flocks of birds circling ahead of us and as we got closer, we saw they were feasting on the fish jumping out of the water. What we hadn’t seen until we were surrounded, were the dolphins. There must have been a hundred of them. They were very dark on the whole but some were mottled, and I swear I saw a couple that looked like they had a red tinge to them. I ran for my camera but was too slow to capture anything.
We dropped our anchors behind the main island of Los Testigos called Testigo Grande, having traveled 99 miles in 13 hours. Not bad at all.

The Los Testigos are small, desert like islands with a very small population of mostly fishermen. However, there is a beautiful white sand beach and runs along the leeward side and this is where we chose to anchor amongst 10 other boats. It is quite deep until you get fairly close to shore but we were able to find a patch of sand in 20’ to sink our anchor in. Once settled and certain that we weren’t going anywhere, we went below and finally got some sleep.

Later in the afternoon, we lowered the dink, collected Gerry & Nicky and explored the little island. There’s not much here and life must be quite extreme for those who do live here. Still, there is a raw beauty in these remote, desolate islands.