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Larry's LogFriday we had a pretty busy day again, doing a final dive and getting some shopping done for things that we can't get in Venezuela. We did our dive at Petrie's Pillar although I thought we would go to Barcadera again. As we were going up, we saw a dive boat go onto Barcadera so we went to the closer site. It was a nice dive although it was cloudy and rainy. Of course, we can't tell when it's raining while under the water but having the sunshine definitely helps bring out the colors of the fish, coral and sponges. We didn't see anything new but since its such a pretty site I was glad we went there anyway. On the way back to the dinghy, we saw that a large dive boat had picked up the mooring also but there was no problem at all - the guy on the boat was very nice and even offered to let us take a warm shower on their boat. We went back to the shop and rinsed the gear well and went back to Destiny for lunch. About 2:30, we picked up D2 and I dropped them off in town to go shopping while I went to look for a good gasoline jerry jug. The cap on the one I had bought in Venezuela had broken and now leaked and we wanted another. I went to the hardware store first but they didn't have the kind I wanted so I walked to the NAPA store and bought the one there. I went back to the boat and waited about 30 minutes until Diane called on the radio that they were at the dock. I picked them up, dropped D2 off and we went back to Destiny to get ready for Ray and Ramona, who were supposed to come over about 5 for snacks and drinks. We only had about one-half hour to put everything away and get the boat straightened up a little. They came over and we had a good time. They had to leave early though since Ray's friend and crew for the next leg of his trip was coming in at about 6:30. They went to get him but as it turned out, the flight was late - but they called later saying everything was fine. After looking at the weather again that evening, it still looked like we would leave Sunday evening. We planned to leave about 6pm and decide whether to try to make Chichiriviche or Ensa Cata depending on the winds we found once clearing the southern point of Bonaire. We also had traveling company for the first time; Lady Diane and Pisces 3 said they would like to join us going back to PLC. I usually don't 'buddy boat' but I said if they wanted to come along, that's OK. Saturday was busy starting to get ready to leave Bonaire. It rained again overnight and was pretty cloudy and rainy all morning. Diane kept busy cooking for the trip and I started putting things away and also rinsed off the dive gear again during one of the rains. Diane and Don on Lady Diane were having troubles with their outboard again and I towed Don into the beach so the mechanic could get the engine. He loaned them a 2 hp engine while he had their 15, so at least they could get around. We went into the marina to throw out some garbage and stop at Zahi so we could pick up the CD she made of the pictures she took when we dove at Jerry's Reef a few days ago. We got that, along with some others she had taken of undersea life, and she also gave us a VHS tape of Tahiti underwater; we didn't get to look at it yet but it was a very nice gesture. After lunch, we went to the dive shop to pick up our tanks. We had a short swim at their dock, paid our bill, rinsed off the tanks and ourselves and went back to the boat. We had made plans to meet the crews of Lady Diane and Drivers Wanted at a local BBQ restaurant at 6 so we didn't have much time. We met everyone and enjoyed the place - Chuck, Ray's crew from Drivers Wanted who had just come in the night before, left just before everyone else did and without telling us, paid the bill for everyone. A very nice thing to do; unnecessary, but very nice. Afterward, we went to the ice cream place nearby and got back to the boat about 9. I tried to get the weather downloaded but there was a problem with Winlink to double check that our plans were still on. Fortunately, I got it early in the morning on Sunday and it still looked good to leave this evening. The new passenger liner the Queen Mary II had come in very early in the morning; I had seen her starting her final approach to the dock when I got up. She is the largest cruise ship ever built, I'm told, and they had modified the docks here to accommodate her. We would take a closer look later. We went into town to clear out, do some final shopping and see the Queen Mary II. We cleared out first, very simple, just one form at Immigration and no fees and then while Diane went shopping with the last of our guilders, I took some pictures of the ship. It was pretty impressive and dwarfed the other, much smaller ship. When Diane met me, she wanted to see it also so we walked around again and then went back to the boat to continue getting ready. Going back, we saw Pisces III heading out so we went over but they said they were just testing everything and would still be leaving with us later. There was still lots to do but we managed to get everything done; go into the marina one last time, take down the awnings, put everything away, put the jacklines on, hoist the dinghy, etc. We finished everything at just about 5, an hour before we wanted to leave. A little before, Ray had sailed by on his way to Cartagena. His crew had to be back in Colorado on the 18th so he had to get going. I told him about the weather I had gotten and it sounded like he would have a pretty good trip, at least for the first day or so - the north coast of Colombia is one of the worst in the world for nasty seas because the winds build and create big waves that get even bigger when they go from 3 thousand feet to under 600 where they hit the continental shelf. We wished him, Chuck and Daniel a good passage and they sailed off to the west, literally into the sunset. We spoke to them early the next morning on the SSB and they were having a good trip to that point. I heard some weather after that which indicated that the rest of their trip should be pretty good as well. After finishing our preparations, Diane made a nice dinner and we relaxed to about 20 minutes before hoisting the main and leaving the mooring. It was blowing about 15 knots from the east-southeast in the lee so we had a good trip down the coast. Lady Diane and Pisces III left at the same time and we were a small flotilla with us in the lead. We made arrangements for communications and decided that we would see how conditions were once we passed the southern point of Bonaire to determine our destination. The problem was that Pisces III had no self-steering so that would make going to the 105 miles to Ensa Cata directly a little difficult for them. Well, we got to Punt Lacre and the winds had actually calmed a bit and were only 10-12 from the east to a little ENE. It was almost 8pm by that point so I asked the other 2 boats what they wanted to do. I felt we could make Ensa Cata in one tack but we had an autopilot and a faster boat. The couple on Pisces III, Roland and Lorraine, said they would prefer to go to Chichiriviche and after talking to Diane about it, we agreed. It wasn't that important and Lady Diane also agreed to the shorter course. As it turned out, it was just as well since they wind got lighter and shifted to the ESE over the course of the night. The passage was probably one of the easiest we ever had. The wind, as I mentioned, was light but enough to sail well with the full main and jib, and we made over 5 knots much of the way, but the seas were only 2-4 mostly, with an occasional 5 footer. The autopilot worked fine after some balking and we both got some rest. The night was clear with no moon but the stars were beautiful and we both saw more shooting stars than ever before. We got to Chichiriviche at about 11am and anchored behind a small island called Cayo Sal. This was just north of the island we anchored near last year, Cayo Los Muertos, and was much nicer. Since we had no intention of going into the Golfo de Cuare, this place was just fine. We had the anchor down by 11:30 so it took us almost 18 hours to go the 75 miles. It had taken 13 hours last year for the same passage, but Diane had gotten seasick with the higher wind and seas we had in January. The anchorage was very pretty and the other two boats came in almost 2 hours after us. I had anchored so they would have enough room on the south side of the bay. We had already put the sail cover on, put up the sun canvas etc, and were eating lunch, but to be fair, Pisces III was much smaller and Lady Diane was having some engine problems. Anyway, we were all anchored in the small cove by 1:30. Everyone was pretty tired though so it was just rest or sleep for most of the daylight hours. Welcome back to Venezuela. |