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Larry's LogWe got up early Tuesday and continued to get ready. Ray helped me get the bags on the dock, which was very nice since they were pretty heavy. We were bringing 6 bottles of rum back as gifts (and maybe for us to drink) and some clothes and things that we were going to put into storage. We got to the bus station in plenty of time, had no problems since we already had tickets but got to Caracas about 45 minutes late since the bus was delayed leaving and also hit a lot of traffic once in Caracas. Giulio picked us up, drove us to the hotel and then we went out to dinner. It was very nice to see him again and he said he would send me the information on the shipper he used from Miami to send things down to Venezuela. We might do that with the new windlass (whichever one I picked) if it was too big and heavy to bring on the plane. He dropped us off back at the hotel around 9, having helped us make arrangements to get an early cab the next morning and making sure the hotel would give me a wake-up call. It was very nice to see him again, and we would probably stay an extra day or so when we got back to see him again. Giancarla and Lucas, his family, were in Italy for Giancarla's sabbatical so he was living with just his older daughter, Samantha (and she wasn't home much). In the room, I took a shower (cold water only) and I tried to get some sleep. Three thirty would come very quickly - my flight was at 7am and I needed to get to the airport 2 hours early. Wednesday, April 14, 2004 Everything with my trip went fine. I got the wake up call early (3:15) but got up and got my things together. Diane helped me down with the small bag and computer while I took the big duffel and the cab was waiting for me at 4am. Surprisingly, there were several other people in the lobby and several cabs besides mine also waiting. I got to the airport and went through no less than 4 security checks before getting on the plane. Luckily, the American Airlines staff almost all spoke English so that made it easier. I got to the Dallas airport and waited the 6 hours until my flight to Sacramento. Eating in the airport was real sticker shock though; I wasn't spending Bs anymore! Wednesday, May 5, 2004 We got back to the boat yesterday after arriving in Caracas on Sunday. After the cab from the airport to the hotel in Caracas we just collapsed. We had a very good flight though, and no problems with Customs or Immigration. Needless to say, we had a LOT of boat parts and Diane brought back US products that we can't get here (peanut butter, different types of cereal, etc.) so that made the luggage very heavy. We made sure though, that each duffel didn't weigh more than 70 pounds since the airline won't accept it if they're heavier. Amazingly though, the bags weren't weighed since we had a Skycap help us through. The weeks spent in the States were nice but very hectic. While in California, I ordered the windlass from Maxwell, a HWC 1200. Its being sent to a shipper that Giulio, our good friend in Caracas, knows from using him may times before. He's in Miami so I had it sent there where he will then forward it to Giulio, who will then send it to us. Hopefully I'll get it in 2-3 weeks. It was really great to see my brother and his family again after almost 2 years. The girls, now 5 and 8, have gotten really big and both are really adorable (what can I say - they had me wrapped around their little fingers). Eric and Debbie were nice enough to let me stay with them and we had a really nice time, seeing various things around that part of northern California. The time in NY was good too but really crazy since I got most of the boat parts there. We wound up going to West Marine several times but they were very helpful and we both appreciated it tremendously. Naturally, we went to Home Depo and several similar stores. We did make time to see our friends, like Tony (he helped bring the boat to Bermuda), Joe (my fantastic diesel mechanic and now good friend), and many others. We also took care of some business things like renewing Diane's drivers license, getting absentee ballots, getting the car inspected, replacing the windshield and buying 2 new tires. We also (finally) cancelled some more magazines but I had to renew Practical Sailor (I have every issue since 1980), Blue Water Sailing and Cruising World. We saw Giulio for a little while on Monday but he couldn't stay long since he had some things to do that night and we didn't want to stay another day - we needed to get back and start fixing things and getting the boat straightened out. I knew we were going to be in PLC for a few more months (I still had to replace the chainplates and install the windlass when it arrived) as well as getting the boat back together after the varnishing. We also wanted to finally get to Merida and possibly Los Llanos. Maybe we'll also consider Angel Falls. Yesterday was spent traveling, getting the stuff on the boat and making room to sleep. Elias had finished the galley and the small things we asked but didn't have time for the cabin sole. He also was prevented from coming into the marina last Saturday and Monday. Evidently, the marina is now asking for a 'fee' from each independent contractor, not much by our standards but a significant percentage for a local worker. So far, Elias had gotten away without paying but now the marina is serious. Diane went to talk to Carlos, the manager here, so we'll see what happens. In the meantime, the boat looks wonderful. The wood has new life and I'm very glad we had the work done; I just wish I didn't have so much to do to get the boat back together. We ate dinner at the marina restaurant with Plenum, Janice and Weedie) and Happy Ours (Bob and Norma). Today, while Diane went food shopping since we had nothing on board, I got the stove back on the brackets (after re-mounting them) and started unpacking since most of the stuff was either boat parts or things like vitamins, liquid body soap (unknown here), and various food items. The only things that didn't make it were a bag of cereal that burst inside a bag (with my clothes of course) and a pack of instant oatmeal - not too bad. The days from May 6th through 8th were all occupied in putting things away and putting the boat back together. I did some electrical work to get ready to put the ceiling headliners back in, which consisted of fixing the wiring and putting in double pole connectors so I could mount the headliner and then put the light fixtures on easily, instead of trying to connect 2 wires while the headliner dangled below. Not too exciting. Sunday was Mother's Day and early in the morning, Arnoldo, the dockmaster here, came by to give all the women a small flower from the marina. It was a very nice gesture and Diane was pleased. She had decided to play dominoes and I was going to continue putting the boat back together. However, she had found out that Norm, a singlehander on a large sloop named Pawnee, was going out sailing to test his systems before leaving. Ray on Drivers Wanted had told her and Diane suggested I go to. I wasn't going to but Ray came by and said to 'get out of my hole' so I said OK. Ray and went over and got aboard. Lanie and Peter from Marnel 4 were there as well as 2 Venezuelan women and a little girl. Ray had explained before that one was Norm's 'girlfriend'. They didn't speak English and we didn't speak much Spanish, except Norm, so we really didn't have much conversation with them. We got underway and the sailing was really great. Pawnee is 80 feet long and had electric winches and several hydraulic systems to ease the burden on the crew, important for Norm since he sails by himself much of the time. He had come from Australia on the boat and was heading for St. Petersburg, Russia next. We anchored in a small bay on an island near PLC, and had lunch during which time Norm checked his autopilot. It seemed OK although it had been making some noise. We then went for a beautiful sail in about 18 to 20 knots of wind. The boat was making 9 to 10 knots in that breeze with flat water and hardly felt like it was moving at all. Amazing. We got back around 4:30 and it was something of an adventure mooring the boat in a crosswind but with Edgar, the assistant dockmaster in the marina's chase boat, we did fine. It was a nice day off. Monday to Friday, May 10 - 14 - It was a busy week putting the boat back together. I did some electrical work first to straighten out the wiring before hiding everything behind the headliners. Once that was done, I scrubbed the headliner panels on deck with detergent and bleach since they were so dirty. Most of the dirt was the accumulation of years of being fastened under the deck but some was the result of blowing dust. All was fine except that I had to trim the several panels before re-attaching them. The fit was now so tight with the varnish on the bulkheads that they wouldn't go on properly. It required that I remove the staples, peel back the white leatherette and the thin foam under that and finally sand down the edge of the plywood forming the headliner. I was very glad I had recently bought back a stapler and monel staples. Everything worked OK except when I put the last large headliner back in on Friday afternoon, the lights on that one and forward stopped working - very strange. I'll have to take it down again Saturday. Diane, besides normal shopping, also bought a DVD player, a small one so we could watch or buy some of the cheap DVDs that are floating around here. It seemed to work pretty well but of course, we don't have any DVDs right now. I imagine Diane will remedy that fairly quickly. I heard from Giulio who said that the shipper in Miami informed him that the windlass was on its way. Hopefully it will make it to PLC with no problems - of course, then I need to install it. The shop making the chainplates had another ready and the holes were aligned perfectly this time, and the right size. The only problem was that when I examined the chainplate carefully, it appeared that the metal had small 'voids'; in other words, there were small spaces inside the metal - visible where they had made the holes. I spoke to George, the guy who does the chain galvanizing, about it. He's a nice guy and I remembered from talking to him when I had my chain and anchors re-galvanized 2 years ago, that he has a degree in metallurgy. I asked him about the quality of the stainless steel here and he assured me that it was pretty good. He said the spots I saw might have been from the drill getting stuck in the metal. That was possible, but the spaces were a place where crevice corrosion could start, regardless of how they got there, so I brought it back to be redone. Another would be ready on Tuesday. That will be the third one so maybe I'll be lucky and it will be perfect. To top off the week, we may have a problem with the refrigerator. The compressor runs constantly but the box doesn't get down to the temperature that it used to reach. I got the email for the company and it sounded like the evaporator was loosing refrigerant. If that is true, the evaporator would need replacing; but since my system is old and uses the now banned R12 refrigerant, I might need to replace the entire system. More fun!!! Some friends on Galadriel, Mike and Patty, came into Puerto La Cruz this week. We met them in Bonaire although I think we also saw them before that and Steve and Connie on Kristali were good friends with them. They made their way back along the coast as we had done but they had a problem along the way. They had anchored in a small bay in Carenero and were boarded and robbed but fortunately, were unharmed. The robbers didn't get much but it was very sad to hear. They were staying at PMO. Saturday wasn't too exciting, I just did some more small boat projects. Sunday wasn't really busy either although I kept did some miscellaneous little projects like putting things away and attaching bungee cord to the inside of the navigation locker so the storage boxes wouldn't fly out when we were sailing heeled over. I also rearranged some storage while Diane went to play dominoes again. The power to the marina, which comes from the barrio near the marina, was on and off all day, but it finally came on and stayed on at around 7 that night. |