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Larry's LogThe next morning, the first set of beachgoers arrived at about 9 and we slowly started to get our act together around 10 by launching the dinghy. By the time we got everything ready, it was almost 11 so we went exploring around the little bay. We went down a very small, pretty channel in the mangroves just big enough for a dinghy and explored the other side and came back to the boat from around the other way. We didn't see too much bird life but it was too late in the morning. We went back to the boat for a minute and then went into shore to look around the beach and have a beer or 2. The place was much less crowded today and we went to the only restaurant that was open and had some beers, after dropping off the accumulated garbage since Bonaire in one of the trashcans. We decided to have lunch as well so we both ordered fried calamari since they didn't have any pargo (snapper). It was pretty good and we talked to the waiter and owner a little. During the meal, the owner said they had just gotten some pargo and brought over 5 fish. They were so fresh they were still breathing! He said we could have one of them for lunch tomorrow. After finishing our pleasant meal (except for the flies), we walked around the beach area and I took some pictures. We went back to the boat and while Diane went to lie down I went back through the little dinghy pass. On the way in, I saw a large Yellow Crowned Night Heron, not at all scared and I got some good shots. I then went through and came back the same way and the bird was still there. Diane and I wanted to come back that way in the evening to see if there were any Scarlet Ibis that roosted on the other side. We both relaxed in the afternoon - Diane and I were both still tired from all the night passages recently and the lack of sleep during the day. I did though, check the engine over, and ran it to charge the batteries. Everything seemed to work OK so I think that the switch I had to put in for the voltage regulator caused the problem yesterday. It is a simple surface mounted switch meant for lights and probably just has some corrosion. I'll replace it with a marine switch when we get to PLC. Wednesday, January 14 was very dreary - with rain almost all day long. We did manage to move over to Carenero around 11 during an hour break in the rain but after we dropped the hook off the Carenero Yacht Club in 12 feet of water, it rained almost continuously for the rest of the day. We were going to get fuel but by the time it let up just a little, the fuel dock was closed. I did some work on the PC and wanted to work on the windlass switch but couldn't. The windlass had refused to work at all when I brought up the anchor in Bahia de Buche - a lot of work to raise 70 feet of chain and a 60 pound anchor. I managed but I really didn't want to do it again. At least I didn't have to let out as much scope in Carenero. We also wanted to go see the Scarlet Ibis come in to roost nearby but didn't do that either. Mostly we just relaxed, read or complained about the weather and the bugs. It rained a little off and on during the night but we got some sleep. The hatch was open when we were awakened around 6:30 by the sounds of parrots squawking overhead. I don't mind getting up for that. In the morning we got fuel at the Carenero Yacht Club fuel dock. There wasn't enough depth for Destiny so we took the dinghy and got 6 jerry jugs worth of diesel (about 170 liters or 45 gallons) and one 5-gallon jug of gasoline. Of course all that took some time and since we had to wait for the rain to let up, we didn't finish getting it until almost noon. The fuel was pretty clean, based on what I emptied of the funnel/filter that I use. After lunch, I worked on the windlass, cleaning the switch contacts. Although they were a bit corroded, that didn't seem to be the problem so after putting the switch back together; I took apart the other connection - also OK. Finally, I took off the motor housing and although I couldn't get at the motor itself without dismantling the windlass entirely, I sprayed it with WD 40 and that seemed to help. Hopefully it would continue working until we got to PLC and I could take it apart and really find the problem and (hopefully) fix it. Once the windlass was working and Diane finished the emails she was writing, we went into the yacht club and walked around the little town of Carenero. There wasn't much to it but the little square, featuring a bust of Simon Bolivar of course, was very pretty with nice flowers. We found 2 small markets and Diane bought some bananas, bread and beer (only essentials). We walked back to the club, walked around that for a while (it was very nice with a big swimming pool, tennis court and restaurant) and then went back to the boat. Later on, at almost dusk, we went out in the dinghy to look for roosting Scarlet Ibis. Our guidebook said that they were in the area by the yacht club through a little canal. We went over after spraying ourselves with bug spray, taking the camera and binoculars. We saw lots of birds, and some Scarlet Ibis, but none of those came to roost in the mangroves in our little bay. It was a pretty place though and we enjoyed it. We finally got back to the boat around 6:30, and while Diane started dinner, I raised the dinghy. Amazingly, there was no rain overnight but it was hot since there was also no breeze. We got up early to listen to the weather and it seemed good for our last big passage to Islas de Piritu tonight. We were planning to leave around 7 to take advantage of the katabatic winds, although the breeze was predicted to be very light anyway, only about 10 knots. Still, since we would be motoring into it, calm winds would be the best. And since the next set of islands were about 70 miles away, I figured it would take us from 12 to 14 hours. We spent most of the morning getting ready. I checked the windlass again and it was still working. The autopilot also seemed to be OK so hopefully they will both be working while underway. Diane made some enchiladas to have tonight and tomorrow so she wouldn't have to cook anything when she was too tired. We then went to shore to buy some bread for tonight and tomorrow and stopped on the way back at the yacht club's restaurant and decided to have lunch there. The meal was pretty good and Diane got into a conversation with the staff about what we were doing and about the state of Venezuela. We enjoyed the meal and got back to the boat around 2 and started getting ready to leave. Getting the dinghy on deck was easy in the calm water inside the bay and everything was ready by 3:30. We both just relaxed until it was ready to leave. At about 6pm, we started leaving. The windlass worked until the anchor was actually on the bow roller, then it stopped. Of course, by then I could just pull the anchor the last foot by hand easily. The motor just stopped working and I think I'll have to disassemble it completely to figure it out. Hopefully I can anchor in fairly shallow water at Piritu. It took a while to get the anchor up even with the windlass since there was mangrove mud on the chain and anchor and I had to wash it off before letting it go down the chain locker. Once the anchor was up and secured, I raised the main - the wind was from the northeast so the main would help. Actually, if there had been more breeze instead of just the 5-8 knots we had, we could have sailed the course to Piritu easily since it was 120 degrees magnetic all the way and with the northeast breeze, would have been a nice beam reach. But, the batteries were low, we wanted to run the watermaker and there wasn't enough wind anyway so we motor sailed the entire way. Just after the main was up, with Diane at the helm, we were motoring out of the anchorage when suddenly the boat hit something and stopped. There were no shoals in this part of the anchorage so we assume that we hit a sunken log or boat, but in any case, luckily we going only about 2 knots so I figured there was no damage and we backed off right away. We went around whatever was there and motored out into the open Caribbean and started on our way. The seas were a bit big for the breeze, about 3-5 feet, but still very manageable. A few minutes after we started, we put on the autopilot and it worked for a little while. Then it quit and we had to hand steer the remaining 12 hours of the trip. Ordinarily, while this is a bore, its not difficult, but on this passage we had several squalls that made sitting behind the wheel and trying to focus on the compass pretty tough (and cold). At least the wind stayed down, except for an increase for 5-10 knots during the squalls, and the seas stayed relatively smooth. The trip wasn't bad except for the stuff that broke. As well as the windlass and autopilot, the alternator was also acting up again although it kept the batteries charged. I was getting more projects to do once we got to PLC. We arrived at Isla de Piritu Afuera at a little after 8am, and anchored in 13 feet over a nice sandy bottom. The trip from Carenero took just about 14 hours - we could have gone faster but I didn't want to arrive before we could see the water depth easily. Once we got settled, we slept until about noon - it had been a long night. After we got up, we straightened out the boat a bit and I got out the dock lines, electrical cord and generally prepared us to go into the marina tomorrow. I then went for a swim to check the anchor and, more importantly, check for any damage to the keel from our recent bump. Although the bottom paint was pretty well scraped away, the keel and hull looked fine. The problem now was that if we didn't haul and repaint, we would have to keep scraping the keel to keep the growth down. We'll have to decide what to do once we get in the marina. The rest of the day we just relaxed. Sunday night we slept well - no bugs and a nice breeze to keep us cool. Tomorrow though, we would be even cooler with the air conditioner. We left Isla Piritu Afuera at 9am and fortunately, since the windlass wasn't working, we were in relatively shallow water. We motored to Puerto La Cruz and got into our slip just about 3 hours later. The breeze was about 10-12 knots from the northeast and the seas just 2-3 feet and we had no problems getting into the slip, even with a slight cross breeze. Unfortunately, the slip was on the seawall instead of the floating docks, a long walk to the pool and little mini-market for Diane. It also meant that we still had no cable TV since the seawall slips still didn't have cable, although the floating docks did (they were just installing it when we left 4 months ago). It was also bow in, so we had to climb over the railing to get on and off the boat but the bright spot was that the wall was higher than the floating docks so the step up and down was not as great. There were also showers on this side so we didn't have to walk all the way around. Except for the cable TV, it wasn't so bad. We got situated easily and started to go into 'marina mode', hooking up the electricity and water. Both worked fine and after hosing off the boat to get the salt and some of the dirt off, we brought up the air conditioner. It took some effort to get it on deck but once it was in place, it was more than worth it. The temperature in the cabin had gotten to 90 degrees after we got in but went down to 74 after a few hours of the a/c. I wasn't looking forward to doing all the work in front of me, like fixing the windlass, autopilot, boom vang and all the other maintenance projects that had built up, but the coolness and bug free environment was nice. Our trip east, against the Trade Winds and the current had taken us 10 days. The breeziest part was from Bonaire south to the coast of Venezuela. After that, conditions were pretty calm, but for the long passages we took advantage of the katabatic winds at night to make the passages even easier. We also had absolutely no security problems going along the coast although we were traveling by ourselves. I wouldn't do that along the coast from here east to Trinidad (although we did it with 4 other boats in 2002) but we had an excellent trip back here, better than I thought we would. After having a drink in the growing coolness of the cabin, Diane went to the pool. I just took a shower (wow - unlimited fresh water) and came back to just relax before dinner. We would put up the awning tomorrow and then go shopping and get haircuts. We hadn't had one for 4 months - I was tempted to start a ponytail (almost). |