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Larry's LogTuesday, December 14, 2004 Our first full day back in Venezuela and we all got up early and the flotilla was underway by 7am. Diane called them our ducklings, which I guess, makes us the mother goose? Anyway, the wind was very light from the west when we got up the anchor but that didn't last long and we had east-south east for a while and then south-southeast. We were, of course, motoring in the under 10 knots of breeze but the main was doing some work and steadying the boat. It had rained last night and we had mosquitoes in the early evening and then they left us alone, but in the early morning they came back in force. There must have been hundreds all around. Luckily we left and although they tried to hitchhike, we killed or got rid of most of them. The trip was mostly boring except for a visit by the Guardia Nacional, Vigilancia Costal. Around 11:30, in the middle of a huge bay out of sight of land, we saw a large gray boat obviously a small military type ship, approach Lady Diane. Diane got on the radio and asked Lady Diane what they wanted but since neither Don or D2 (Diane on Lady Diane) speak Spanish they weren't sure. The boat then went to Pisces III with the same result. Finally, they sped up and reached us. Since Diane speaks passable Spanish, it appeared that all they wanted was to ask where we came from, where we were going and if we had stopped along the way so far. We answered their questions and Diane went below to call the other 2 boats, thinking they were now going to leave. They stayed on my stern though and finally asked me if we had any whiskey, the most popular alcoholic beverage among Venezuelans. I said we didn't (true) because we needed to buy everything in Venezuela (also true). Diane came up again and I told her what they wanted and she called across if they wanted some beer. The 'spokesman' said yes so Diane went to get 3 cold beers and she threw them across, as they got closer. Amazingly, she threw them straight and all were caught. They then said gracias and we wished them Feliz Navidad, they said the same and left. It was obviously an official boat but the 3 men had no uniforms of any kind, but we had been told that the men don't get paid much and many local businesses 'subsidize' the service this way - why not us. An interesting encounter, certainly not one you would have with the US Coast Guard. The rest of the trip was easy and we even got to sail the last 2 hours - the wind picked up to about 8 knots from the east and we had a very nice, if somewhat slow reach to the little bay we had picked for the night. We reached the entrance about 4pm, so it was a slow and easy trip, about 9.5 hours. There was some excitement again though once we got into the bay. I took the mainsail down inside in the middle and we motored to the eastern side of Ensa Cata toward the beach. We were still a good distance from it when Diane saw a fishing net, stretched from the headland to a small float that was barely visible about 300 yards away. We made a quick turn and went around the float and into the anchoring area. I called the other 2 boats to warn them about the net but could only raise Pisces III. At that point I had to anchor our boat and the anchor was barely down when Diane tried to call Lady Diane again. They were right behind us. Luckily she got them before they hit the net. Pisces III then came in with no problem and we all anchored safely. The place was a little rolly, especially since we couldn't all get in close to the beach and tucked in behind the headland. After getting settled and eating dinner, we all spoke again and agreed to leave at 3am to get to Caraballeda, our next stop about 52 miles further east. We figured that if we left first and headed toward the apartment buildings on the opposite side of the bay, we would clear the net easily. The others could then follow us out. December 15, 2004 As I write this after the fact, I still can't really believe it all happened but it did. It was a very long day, long and difficult for us and even longer and harder for Don and Diane on Lady Diane. The end situation is still not resolved. We all got up at about 2am and onboard Destiny I made coffee and then got everything ready to leave. I called the other boats and they were ready by 3am, when we had agreed. Also as we discussed, Destiny left the anchorage first. I got the anchor up, having to play with the chain going down the pipe, but eventually it went OK. We motored out past where we knew the net to be since we couldn't see the small float, by using the lights on shore as a bearing, and I raised the sail in the very light westerly that had come up overnight. Next was Pisces III who had been anchored furthest in - they came out fine. As we waited in the western part of the bay, Lady Diane tried to get out. Since we couldn't see exactly what happened, I have to go by what Don said at the time - that they had a problem getting the anchor up on the bow roller (their windlass was not working still) and subsequently got caught in the net. Since it was so dark, they said we should go ahead and they would re-anchor and straighten everything out at first light and follow as soon as they could. We talked about it a bit but since we couldn't safely go back in and re-anchor in the dark with the net still there, Pisces III and we continued out and started motoring in the light breeze and calm seas towards our next stop, Marina de Caraballeda. It was 3:30am. Minus one boat, we motored down the coast with no problems - our autopilot was working and so while Diane had her Walkman playing, I went below to sleep. A little after 6 (time starts to get hazy), Diane woke me up saying that Lady Diane had put out a PAN-PAN (a non-emergency distress call) on the VHF. She knew because Roland on Pisces III had called asking if we had heard it. We were about a mile ahead of them and although that distance shouldn't have mattered, we had not heard the call. Both boats had been motoring and gotten a slight counter-current to help go east so we were already about 15 miles away. I tried calling Don on the VHF and finally raised him and got something about drifting and rocks. We finally used the SSB and I got the situation. They had tangled a line in the net (their anchor rode?) and were bumping the bottom of the shore (rocky) near the beach where we anchored. It was a west breeze (under 5 knots) but enough to blow the boat around. There was also a surge coming into the bay from around the headland so there were waves hitting the beach. At that point the situation was serious but not dangerous. We were already too far away to help quickly so I tried calling for help and then Diane suggested going on the morning radio net from Trinidad and asking for help that way. I did that and Eric, the net controller and an excellent weatherman, was already into his report on the daily weather when I broke in. He took the call immediately and I explained the situation. He understood and had handled calls like this before so he tried contacting the Venezuelan authorities but without much luck. I gave him the pertinent information and had to get some more information from Don so I went back and forth between them. Eventually, we got North Post Radio, an official maritime station of the Trinidad government, and they tried through official channels. At this time, the 2 boats were still motoring east in flat seas. At one point, I spoke to Don and he said that the boat was now bumping harder on the rocks and starting to lean over. At that point, Pisces III and us turned around and motored hard back towards Ensa Cata. Also around that time, North Post Radio called and said that a Venezuelan 'Search and Rescue' boat was on its way and would be there in an hour. That was great news but Lady Diane was having an immediate problem. We finally heard that a group of 5 fishermen in their boats pulled Lady Diane off the beach and they were now back anchored in the bay. When I spoke to Don, he was assessing the damage but there was one intermediate shroud that broke, and the rudder had sustained some damage (Diane had gone in the water). They had taken on some water but in retrospect I don't think the boat was holed or anything like that since he eventually got the bilges dry. We continued motoring back west for about an hour but were now making poor time since we were still in the counter-current that had helped us go east earlier. In the meantime, we were on the radio almost constantly, talking to Lady Diane, North Post Radio (who were terrific at trying to help), Eric who was also trying to help contact someone n Venezuela (but who finally had to leave) and several other interested parties (the Safety and Security Net, etc.). We had motored west for about an hour but after talking to Don, who suggested we just continue back east, Pisces III and we decided to turn around and motor slowly back east until help actually did arrive at Ensa Cata. An hour passed, then 2, and still no help arrived for Lady Diane. We started our calling again and North Post Radio again tried to contact the Venezuelan authorities. They had no luck this time. (I'm condensing the events of all morning into just a few paragraphs here.) Finally, we got closer to La Guaira, a main port on the coast and Diane managed to contact the Port Captain. Speaking in Spanish, she managed to convey the problem and although they seemed to understand, we didn't get much action. We were still in close radio contact with Lady Diane and relayed information as we got it. We also were in touch with North Post radio but since it was getting later in the day, propagation on the frequency we were using was getting difficult. We tried other ones but getting and sending information was getting increasingly difficult. By then, it was about noon and we had continued back east since we still expected the 'search and rescue' boat to show up eventually. About 1pm, Diane spoke from the Venezuelan Guardia Costa on the SSB, using the same frequency we had been used to talk to North Post Radio. Evidently, the good people in Trinidad had finally gotten through and relayed some information to the Venezuelan authorities. Again, she explained the situation, gave the coordinates (for the 10th time) and they said a boat would be there in '40 minutes'. We relayed this good news to Lady Diane. We had been talking about their alternatives and it seemed that since they wouldn't be able to sail (broken shroud) and it was still 200 miles to PLC, they would be better off going to Puerto Cabello, 16 miles to the west, going into the marina there and getting the boat repaired. Don and Diane felt that was the best choice. They were still sitting in Ensa Cata, waiting and trying to get the boat ready to either motor or be towed again (they had been towed from 18 miles out into Bonaire with engine problems which seemed to have been solved). Tired of waiting, they finally said they would try to get to Puerto Cabello on their own and not wait for a Venezuelan boat that might not come. That was about 2pm. Diane had been trying to find out from the port authorities in La Guaira when the rescue boat would be going to help. There was very little response. A little after that, we called Lady Diane again and they were a little way out of Ensa Cata but having engine problems again. They were going to launch the dinghy and tow the boat back into the bay and re-anchor. At this point, Pisces III and we were about 90 minutes away from Caraballeda, our destination. We were going there specifically to get fuel (I was down to about one-quarter tank, not enough to get to PLC and we had used more motoring so hard earlier). The fuel dock closes at 4 so we might make it to get fuel today. Diane and I had been on the radio for all of the morning and most of the afternoon, trying to get someone in Venezuela to help Lady Diane. They had gotten back into the bay and anchored safely but then Diane (D2), called later saying that Don had gotten burned on his face and hands from opening the header tank on the engine before it cooled sufficiently (he was OK though). Although we all still had hopes of someone getting there today, they were fading fast. We contacted Lady Diane throughout the afternoon and kept them apprised of our progress or lack thereof. Finally, we were making our approach into the Caraballeda anchorage so we arranged to make contact again at 6pm that evening or at 7:30 the next morning. Diane and I made our approach and anchored in about the same spot as last year. It was 3:30 and really too late to go to the fuel dock so after Pisces III anchored, we talked about it and decided to stay the night here, get fuel tomorrow and push on tomorrow night. We were all pretty tired and Diane and I were really exhausted from doing all the calling and going up and down from the radio to the helm. At 6pm, we tried calling Lady Diane again but had no contact. I tried for about 35 minutes but eventually gave up. We figured that they had either forgotten, were busy on deck fixing something or asleep. In talking with Pisces III, they suggested that maybe they were talking to a boat that was helping them. We all hoped that was the case. I got up early on Thursday the 16th, to get on the early weather net out of Trinidad and spoke to Eric, the net controller I had first contacted yesterday when the problem first occurred. He actually called me right after he started up to get an update. I gave him the status to that point (I hadn't spoken to Lady Diane yet that morning) and he asked to let him know what the status was when I, or anyone else, knew it. I said I would certainly let him know ad thanked him and North Post Radio for their kind efforts. A little after that, at 7:30, I went to the frequency Lady Diane had used yesterday and called. They answered right away. They hadn't been on the radio last night because the Venezuelan Guardia Costa had come at about 6 and towed them to Puerto Cabello. They were now in the navy yard there, moored among the Venezuelan Navy ships and would probably move to the marina later in the day. Don joked that it reminded him of his days in the service, since there were orders being yelled and bells ringing at prescribed times. He sounded in good spirits if somewhat upset about the damage to the boat, of course very understandable. The boat's rudder was damaged; as was the prop, prop shaft, and 2 shrouds. He wasn't sure how long they would be there but in addition to the damage from the grounding I suspect they will want to address the engine overheating, the non-functional windlass and the batteries that won't hold a charge. Needless to say though, Diane and I, as well as Pisces III, were very happy that they were safe and sound. I asked if they would come up on the Security Net to announce that they were all right and he said he would. At that point, we were all very relieved. I called some people on the radio and got our friends on Mima - they were back in Laguna Grande after leaving Trinidad (having seen Judy off and selling the boat Survival for her). They were very happy they were there, that Lady Diane was OK and that we were en route back to PLC. We would like to try to meet them for New Years - Christmas will be too soon to get everything done. After the radio nets, we got ready to get fuel. Diane and Pisces III agreed that we would try to get a local boat to bring us to the fuel dock and fill the jerry jugs rather than bring the boats in to the rickety dock or have to launch a dinghy. I got the jugs ready and soon after, Diane had flagged down a very nice local guy in an inflatable who said he would bring us in. Initially, he said the marina's dock didn't have any electricity to pump fuel so we went into the more 'expensive' club down the channel in front of us. We got there and the dock was pretty good and I filled my 4 jugs, with Roland monitoring the flow and our local frie4nd going to a store nearby. I took 106 liters (a little over 28 gallons) and paid 6500 Bs (at the current exchange rate - about $2.71). Unfortunately, after I finished and paid, the attendant said there was no more fuel - he took back the hose and turned off the pump. I offered to let Roland have one of my jugs, I just needed enough to get back to PLC but he wanted to go to Tortuga to meet some friends for Christmas. When our local friend came back though, he said we would try the other marina just in case they had power restored. He also offered to use his car later to bring Roland to get diesel at a place in town. Luckily, the marina was now pumping and we filled Roland's cans and went back to the boats. When he dropped me off at Destiny, we offered him a beer or something but he refused. We did though give him a small gift of 10,000 Bs from the both boats. He was appreciative and we were very happy to have gotten fuel so easily. After I put the fuel in the tank we had almost three-quarters; we then had lunch and just relaxed the rest of the day. We planned to leave for Ensenada de Corsarios (Pirates Cove), also know as Puerto Frances, at about midnight - it was 47 miles away. After some discussion, we left a little after 10pm since we weren't sure how fast we would go - the wind had been up a little from the east during the day. It calmed down again though but we left a bit earlier anyway, think we would still get to the next anchorage in good light. We actually had an excellent trip with very light winds and calm seas. Of course, it would have been nice to sail but if you have to motor, that's the way to do it. We found the counter-current again and got about a one-half knot push from that. Strangely, as we got to about 4 miles from Puerto Frances, the wind, which had been southeast at 3 to 5 knots, or calm, switched to the northwest. It was still only about 5 to 8 knots but it made the anchorage at Puerto Frances a lee shore instead of a calm place to anchor for the day. As we got closer, I told Pisces III we would check it out and let them know if I thought it was OK to go in and stay. We carefully went in at about 7am, slowly since the sun was at a bad angle and blinded us from seeing the anchorage completely. It looked fine though and since we were only going to stay for 10 hours or so, I said we would anchor and Pisces III came in as well. We anchored in 25 feet of very clear water, albeit green, and I let out a little more than 3:1 scope. It was still from the northwest, blowing directly into the bay but it seemed to be fine. It had taken us about 9 hours. After making sure the boat wasn't dragging towards the nasty looking rocks on shore, we had breakfast and Diane rested. I was still keyed up so I sat in the cockpit with my coffee, binoculars and the Venezuelan bird ID book and did some bird watching. The place we had anchored was very close to the headland and the cliff rose fairly steeply to about 600 feet. It was covered with various plants and was really quite pretty. There were also lots of birds flying around and although we weren't close enough for me to make out the small ones, I could see the hawks pretty well. The place was also very quiet with just a few fishermen tending their nets. Later in the day, the northwest wind increased slightly to about 10 knots but nothing I really worried about. It started to rain also and the boat got very warm. Fortunately, it started to clear about 4pm and when I listened to the weather, it seemed still OK to continue on tonight. We called Pisces III and they agreed so we figured to leave about 6pm; we were going to Isla La Borracha rather than Isletas de Piritu since it was closer to PLC and they to La Tortuga to meet some friends that were already there. We got the boat ready, had a light dinner and got underway at a little after 6pm. Just as we were getting the anchor up, a rain shower came, making visibility a little difficult. I managed to get the main up though and we motored around the Punta El Muerte in pouring rain. Immediately after we got around, the wind started clocking to the east and got light. We motor-sailed like that all night. Around 10pm, Pisces III called to say they were heading north so we said goodbye and made tentative plans to meet once they were back in PLC. We continued on through the night and had a very good trip although the autopilot broke at around 10:30. Before it quit altogether, I looked in the locker where the hydraulic arm is and saw what looked like a leak from the cylinder. I didn't think it was the wiring since I had inspected it closely after the last trip back to PLC and had changed some of it. Well, this wouldn't be as easy to fix though. I turned the unit off since I didn't want to damage the motor and we hand steered the rest of the night, about 12 hours. The wind stayed from the northeast to east-northeast but strengthened after sunrise to about 10 to 12 knots, just enough to get lots of spray. Well, once we got into PLC, Bahia Redonda had lots of water to rinse off the boat. We arrived a little after 10am and anchored in 20 feet of very clear, green tinted water. The breeze came into the little bay and made it very pleasant - last time we were here it was very hot. We just relaxed and got the boat a little organized in preparation for the marina tomorrow. We were in VHF range but couldn't raise the marina staff although Diane spoke to Karen who runs the little market there and asked if she could let the staff know we were coming in tomorrow, and also if she had the key to our storage unit so we could get our air conditioner out and installed once we got in. The little anchorage was a bit busy since there were some local boats that come in on the weekends but another cruising boat came in also around noon. He anchored a little too close first but moved and was fine after that. The winds were very gusty and the current was causing the boats to go in all directions. More cruising boats came in about 5 and then 6 and had a tough time of it. The one who came in first anchored near a local powerboat and dragged very close to him and had to re-anchor. The other anchored near the first and dragged once it got dark and had to move quickly since they initially didn't see they had a problem and were almost against the cliff by the time they saw it. We got up and used our big spotlight to illuminate the anchorage for them and they finally got re-anchored. The night was uneventful after that. |