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Larry's LogIt was now Friday and yep, we had decided to stay another day, leaving on Saturday morning. We still had things to do since we had visited with Suzi and David. I had to get the rig tuned and tie down the new jerry jug. I also wanted to get the last off the "stuff" below put away and finally we had to get the main awning off and put the air conditioner away. In the morning then, while Diane went shopping for the last time, I washed the awning. Taking it down wasn't too bad but it got hot very fast and it was hard work in the sun. I washed it with a brush and Ivory Snow detergent and got all the bird dropping off and lots of dirt besides. I then hung it out to dry. I washed off the deck from the dirt, filled the port side water tank, and put the side-boarding ladder on. Diane finally got back around 1 and I was exhausted already. We had lunch and Diane started getting the food she had bought put away. I was going to put the air conditioner away but we decided to wait until the morning to leave so we would have the a/c that night. I could now tie down the dinghy without worrying about not getting any air below. Steph stopped by and made the suggestion about leaving later and we agreed. It was too hot to bother with at that point anyway. This way, we could enjoy the night in cool comfort and get started after taking a shower the next day. We might just go all the way to Los Roques in one shot. I went to the Internet to download the latest financial statements and check email one last time. Suzi and David stopped by and even suggested that we leave Sunday. Well, we have to leave soon, we're already checked out. Diane and I went to the pool around 5 and saw Suzi and David there. I hadn't been in the pool in weeks ands it felt good, even though the water was warm, after working all day in the sun. Everyone agreed to meet for dinner at 6:30. Steph came by and said they would meet us also. We had dinner at the marina restaurant and it wasn't quite as good as the night before but I enjoyed it; Tom wasn't too happy though - the meat was a little dry. Well, Saturday morning came and went and we were still tied to the dock. It seemed like it was getting more difficult to leave rather than easier. We had gotten different advice from Mima and Ariyl about when and where to go first. We finally decided that since it was so calm, at least according to the weather reports, we would go directly to Los Roques and bypass La Tortuga. We would leave tomorrow morning around 8am so we would arrive at Los Roques in the early morning the following day. So, that morning, I finished up some small things like waxing the bottom of the dinghy and tying it to the deck and rearranged the starboard cockpit locker a little to make more room. I tied on the last of the jerry jugs (the old cover sort of fit the new jug) and put away everything. I couldn't believe that everything was finally put away. Diane did some last minute hand laundry, including the gas tank cover, and cleaned up a mess from where a laundry detergent bottle had leaked. After lunch, I checked on the engine and adjusted the alternator belt. It was pretty loose and I had to adjust the mount on the engine to make it tighter. I may need to move the arm that holds the alternator to a different spot on the engine, but that's something I'll do when we get back to PLC. I checked the oil and transmission fluid levels and they were fine. I looked over the engine in general and everything seemed OK, just a little oil drip under the air cleaner but there's not much I can do about that. I'll change it when we come back as well. I cleaned up the remaining things in the cockpit and we were basically ready. We went over to talk to Tony on Side by Side, he and Benta had come back just that day, and he gave us some good information about Los Roques and Las Aves. It was also nice to see them again. (They had sailed down to Bermuda at the same time we did although we didn't meet them then.) He gave us some good information on Bonaire also since they had spent about 2 months there. After that we ate dinner and went to see Tom and Steph for a drink. All we had to do in the morning was remove the air conditioner and store it, fill the water tank one last time and take showers. Might we actually leave? Sunday-Monday, September 21 to 22, 2003 We actually did leave this morning although it was a bit of a problem at first. We got up early, and I got everything ready to take down the a/c. John, on Timentide, helped me with it and we got it below without any problems. Diane and I readied everything else, I filled the port water tank, we took showers and Tom and Steph met us at the dock to release our lines. Everything was ready so I started the engine and heard a terrible noise. I stopped the motor and quickly diagnosed the problem as a slipping alternator belt and bad vibration. I had just adjusted it a few days before so I suppose the bracket it was in the wrong position. I adjusted it again and it was fine this time. Just 30 minutes lost but of course I was hot and sweaty already. We left at around 9:30 after saying goodbye and waved to Tom and Steph. Arnaldo was also there if we needed help with lines. He was a very nice guy and a good dockmaster. We had no problems though and got off, waving at our friends. Suzi and David blew a horn from their boat as we started past the breakwater. We were on our way after over 3 months at the dock. The wind was light and from the southwest that morning, as it sometimes is along the Venezuelan coast early in the day. So we motored, slowing down in the bay formed by the near islands to put in the first and second reefing lines on the main, which I didn't do when we bent it back on the boom a few days ago. We went past Isla La Borracha and saw many local boats in the small anchorage and about 1/2 mile past the island, I put on the autopilot and it didn't work. It gave me an error message that a strong magnetic field was disturbing the unit's compass. I gave Diane the wheel, went below and took apart the locker where the fluxgate compass is for the autopilot and saw there was no magnetic field there, just wine bottles. So I took the connectors off the compass, after taking the compass off the bulkhead, and sprayed them with some electronic anticorrosion spray. I got them back on and remounted the compass and them sprayed the connector for the autopilot control. I said a little prayer and reconnected everything and it worked. Thank goodness, hand steering for over 24 hours would not be fun. So we continued on our way, motoring in the light winds, now on the nose from the northwest, so much for easterly tradewinds! Except for the disagreeable winds, most of the trip was OK with very calm seas. At one point, the winds even cooperated a bit and we actually had a very nice close reach for about 3 hours. But then the wind died and we were back to motoring. At least the diesel was cheap. A little after midnight though, while I was on watch and I noticed that a star started to move across the sky. These things aren't supposed to happen (at least not on a human time scale) - the autopilot had stopped working again and the boat was turning. This time, it was a different error message and I noticed that the rudder arm wasn't moving so the control head was giving the error message that the rudder feedback sensor was getting any signals. No signal because no movement. This was more serious. I couldn't even try to fix it then since it would require me to get inside the starboard lazarette, not possible even under these calm conditions. So we hand steered the rest of the trip. Since we had to motor, it turned into a very boring passage but at least Diane didn't get seasick. We saw a school of dolphins that night but very little else and finally got to the southeast entrance to Los Roques, Sebastopol, at 12:30 in the afternoon, 27 hours after we left the dock at PLC. The entrance was a bit tricky but not as bad as the chart would indicate, but you did need good light to see the reefs on all sides and arriving at midday, was perfect. We made it through easily in the still calm conditions and motored a bit north to the first small island where we saw 5 other boats anchored. We decided to go there for the rest of the day since we were both tired, even though we had slept a bit later in the night (early morning). The entrance was really quite beautiful, and the colors of the water on the sides of the channel were amazing. Our friends on Kiana called it the 'Blue Road" and with the calm water behind the reef, easily sailed even in the sometimes strong winds of the area. In a way, it's like the Tobago Cays, on a much grander scale. Of course, we haven't seen all of it yet, just the huge horseshoe reef that protects the eastern side. We got the anchor down in 34 feet in the lee of the first small island, Buchiyaco, got the boat straightened out a bit, put on the sailcover, put the sun canvas on and then just relaxed. I would have to try to fix the autopilot at some point. There was a nice breeze all night and we both slept well. After breakfast and just relaxing a bit, we decided to head on to Francisquis in the northeastern part of the archipelago. It was blowing about 12 knots from the East Southeast, and behind the reef the water was flat. We sailed north along the edge of the inside reef and it was one of the most beautiful sails we ever had. We used just the jib and since it was a broad reach, we moved along at about 2-3 knots, which was perfect. The water was spectacular and we were both very happy to have waited to do this when we were both rested and could enjoy it. We sailed about 2 hours to Francisquis and entered the lagoon, motoring between the reefs. We found a spot about 34 feet deep (the water here was either deep or too shallow) and relaxed. In the afternoon though, I did find time to whip the ends of the mooring lines that had been just taped and also replaced the blocks on the toerail used for the furling line. The line was not releasing easily and the reason was that it would catch in the small blocks. Although the line diameter was the same as the old one (I replaced it about 8 months ago) the old one must have been compressed by all the usage. Anyway, I found out why it was happening as I took some pictures on the way up "the Blue Road", as our friends on Kiana called it - the channel leading up alongside the reef. I also put away all the stuff from the dock - the mooring lines and the electrical cord. We were now "in cruising mode." The anchorage was not crowded and was pretty but there were a fair amount of boats and day-trippers from Gran Roque, just a short boat ride away. I don't know how long we'll stay. I suppose we'll launch the dinghy tomorrow and explore the place a bit. That evening we had a wonderful meal of Chicken Picatta - who says cruisers don't eat well. The next morning we got the dinghy launched and before going exploring, we stopped at another boat in the anchorage, Reflections, with Juliet and Dave. They got here a day before us and they invited us on board later for a drink, so we now had someplace to go later. In the meanwhile, we went to shore in one of the lagoons off the main bay and found a small beach to bring in the dinghy. We walked around and found it very pretty. Walking along the shore, we even saw a large (about 2 feet) Chain Moray Eel, a new species for us, trying to find a good hole. He couldn't have been more than 3 feet away and in less than 6 inches of water. We explored a few other spots around Fancisquis and then went for a swim near the beach where we tied the dinghy to a mangrove and enjoyed the warm water. We then went back to the boat and relaxed, although I had to dig out the computer mouse for the now resurrected (for the second time) laptop. We went over to Reflections around 5:30 and got to know them. We had a very nice time and stayed longer than we thought we would, almost 10:30. |