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Larry's LogThe next day, the strike went into its 4th day and we heard that the Opposition leadership is trying to get the oil companies to honor the strike also, which would certainly cause some action on the part of the government. Diane went shopping this morning while I stayed on the boat and worked on getting the logs ready to update the web site. We did though, go into Jak's later and had dinner. We saw Patty and Randy from Passagio, who had just come in earlier. We hadn't seen them since we were here in July, and then only briefly. The next morning we heard on the BBC broadcast that the strike is still on, but Diane still went shopping while I worked on some boat projects - running a new wire from the ignition switch to the voltage regulator and a separate wire from the cockpit outlet to the a different switch on the main panel, except I only finished the regulator wire (and it still doesn't work right as I discovered when we ran the engine later). We also brought in some laundry and later Anna and Clyff from Koncerto came over later and stayed pretty late. We had a nice reunion since we hadn't seen them since Ste. Anne, Martinique. The next day we started to get ready to leave if we had to. Diane went to shore with Anna, Kocerto, and John, from Ocelot, this morning to see if they could find a DIY laundry. I stayed on the boat to get water and diesel again, so if we had to leave quickly, we would be set as far as vital liquids. I also planned to change the oil and do some other maintenance over the weekend since it's due. Once Diane got back, we didn't do much except talk about what to do if the strike continued. Sunday morning there were some problems. I found that the container of olives Diane had bought and transferred to a leaky container had indeed leaked all over the aft berth. I found this as I was moving everything off the berth so I could get to the locker underneath to dig out an oil filter. Naturally, she blamed me and I yelled at her for even getting a gallon of olives that there was no place to store. Anyway, I wound up rinsing out the sheet we keep on the aft berth and trying to get the stains out of the cushion we just bought. Fortunately, the stain came out pretty well and the sheet was dry by the end of the day. I also managed out get out the new oil filter. Diane had met some Americans staying at the Hilton Hotel on Margarita while looking for the laundry and Koncerto, Ocelot and we were invited to spend a day there. I stayed but Diane went with Koncerto and Ocelot, (Clyff and Anna picked her up) and I started to change the fuel filter. I got the old filter out with no problem but after I cleaned the bowl out and tried to put everything back together, there was an air leak since the filter wouldn't fill with fuel by just running the fuel pump, as it should have and had done before. After much swearing and trying several more times to get everything to fit, I wound up taking the entire filter off by removing the flare fittings to the tank and pump. It seems the plastic drain inside the bowl has a small indent that has to line up with a tab inside the housing as well as the o-ring fit inside the housing between the bowl and the bottom of the housing. It was impossible to see from the angle I had and I couldn't seem to do it by feel so I had to remove everything to see what I was happening with it, rather than frustrating myself trying to work with the filter in place but the screws up side down and backwards. Of course, in removing the flare fittings, the filter's wood mount pulled off the wall of the engine compartment. Working on the filter, I saw the problem as soon as it was off and it was easy to fix, just line up the indent with the tab on the housing and everything fits well. Now I just had to get everything back together. It took almost 45 minutes to get the flare fittings back on, the wood mount re-attached and the filter completely assembled, but after running the engine, it worked fine. I didn't have the energy to change the oil and oil filter, so that will have to wait. It had taken about 3 hours to change the fuel filter, something that should have been only 10 minutes. The next day the strike was still on, now into day 8. We went over to Koncerto at about 9:30 for haircuts. Mine was obviously easy but Diane just wanted a trim anyway. Clyff and I talked about multihulls while Diane was getting her's cut. After that we just talked some more while some other cruisers got their hair cut and then we went back to our boat for lunch. After lunch, Diane worked on an article for the Caribbean Compass (a very nice regional monthly magazine) while I changed the engine oil and filter, put everything away, and then put the aft cabin back together after the sheet had dried. I then emptied the used oil into the containers the new oil came in. All that took until almost 5, at which point it was happy hour and all works ceases. Early the next morning, we got a call on the VHF to turn on the SSB, that Taffy and Shirley on 'The Road' were calling us. We got on and spoke to them - they had been hit twice, although unintentionally, by a large fishing boat during the night on their way to Los Testigos and had lost their jib, several stanchions and their babystay. They were limping back to Porlamar slowly with just the main. They were OK, and in no imminent danger but we set up a radio schedule with them for every hour on the half hour and said we would announce the situation on the Security Net and the local radio net. The entire day we spoke to them every hour and got regular reports about position and ETA. While waiting, Diane organized some other dinghies to help them when they got close enough and worked on her article for the Caribbean Compass. I worked on installing a new wire for the cockpit 12v outlet since whenever we used the cockpit light, it meant that the compass light was on also. That took me until about 2pm. The American couple that Diane met in town last Saturday coming over to have a get together at about 3pm on Koncerto. That was about when The Road was due in. It was going to be a busy afternoon. It was about 3:30 when The Road was close enough to be in VHF range and we went out to meet them in the dinghy along with several others. Jim and Pat on Lady M III were already at the boat and tied alongside ready to help tow them but they were still under sail - their engine was also having problems. There was lots of damage; the jib was ripped from the foot to almost the head and of course there was a small patch that was holding it on at the top; the furling extrusion was badly bent about 10 feet off the deck so the sail couldn't be pulled down and the halyard couldn't be lowered, the pulpit was bent, several stanchions were bent or broken and a good portion of the rub rail on the port side was broken. Once we got further into the anchorage, several dinghies nudged them into the wind and the main came down without too many problems. There were about 6 dinghies all told and once we had them anchored, several people got on board, including me and we hoisted Frank from Amphitrite (actually, he mostly climbed up, we just held two safety lines) and he cut away the remainder of the jib. Once the sails were down, we upped anchor and towed him in a little closer. Graham, from Maha III, and Taffy dropped the anchor again and they were set. Diane then offered to give them some leftovers for dinner since they had already been up for 24 hours and so we went over to Koncerto to say we would be back soon, went to Destiny to get the spaghetti and meatballs for Taffy and Shirley on The Road and the snack she had made for the party on Koncerto, brought the dinner over to The Road and finally went back to Koncerto. The Road was safely back. Now they just had to deal with the damage. I finally met the people that everyone else knew already from the Hilton, and we had a nice little party, explaining the cruising life a little but generally just talking about things and the strike, now in its 9th day. Dick and Marci were worried about how they would get back to the States since they really didn't want to fly through Caracas right now. They were possibly going to get a charter flight from Margarita. We all left about 6, with Dick and Marci going to Ocelot with John and Susan to see their boat before heading back to shore. Day 10 of the strike and we're still just waiting for a resolution. It does seem that things are/have started to heat up since the oil company workers and now aluminum industry workers, airline pilots and banks have joined the strike. Things were still available in Margarita, but if the strike continued, we weren't sure for how long. In the morning I attached the nylon cleats to the mast to hold the lazy jack lines against the mast and allow them to be stored there. I had temporarily tied them on to see how it worked and since I was satisfied, I attached them permanently. While I did these things, Diane worked on another article for the Compass. The afternoon was not too busy, all I tried to do was take apart the old rotary tool. It took about 30 minutes to actually get it apart but I didn't have time to clean it since 'happy hour' was coming up. The next day, with the strike still on, we're seriously considering leaving for Trinidad soon. We tried to contact Mima to see if they're interested in going back with us but couldn't raise them today. We'll send an email tonight. In the morning, I occupied myself with completing one side of the lazy jack system. I didn't have enough line to do the other side but I'll see how it works on the side I finished before spending the money for new line for the other. We went in for drinks and dinner at Jak's in the afternoon, and watched a video back at the boat while running the engine to charge the batteries. We did see something on CNN at Jak's that was encouraging - the government and opposition leaders were talking about a 'truce' and possibly having early elections, as wanted by the opposition. We'll see what happens. On Friday the 13th, we went shopping for some groceries in the morning and just stayed on the boat in the afternoon. We wanted to stock up as much as possible and we talked about leaving next week assuming the political situation doesn't improve dramatically. After speaking with Mima that morning via SSB, we found out that they will be coming to Margarita so we will probably wait for them. We figured that we would see Carnival in Trinidad, haul the boat for a while and then come back to Venezuela as early as possible next year, assuming its possible by then. So, the next day, Diane went shopping with Shirley from The Road while I did some chores around the boat and got some diesel from the diesel boat for the jerry jugs. I had filled the tank before. They came around 11 and the jugs took 110 liters, more than I thought they would and I also got some gasoline for the outboard, only 10 liters. Total cost, 12,500 Bs or $9.61 USD, still pretty cheap. I decided that if we were going to Trinidad, at least I should get some more cheap fuel. It was more expensive to get it delivered that way, but still cheaper by half than Trinidad. Unfortunately, in filling the last jug, there was a slight overflow and after the delivery boat left, I untied everything along that side, the diesel jugs, the gas container and the Avon dinghy and cleaned up the spilled diesel with a wet rag and some Joy dish detergent. I had just finished retying the dinghy when Diane called on the radio that she was back. So I cleaned up a bit and went to the dock to get her and Shirley. After dropping off Shirley at her boat we went back and had lunch after Diane pit away all the perishables. After lunch, I tied the diesel and gas container down again and finished cleaning up from the slight spill. Luckily none had gotten into the water. We hadn't slept well last night because of the loud music from shore so we were both very tired and just relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We got some water from the "Waterbaby" delivery boat that afternoon since the tanks were a little low and we wanted to be full if we needed to leave quickly. Dan from Sojourner came by to invite us for a drink at Jak's as a thank you for relaying a message for him but we took a rain check. Diane did call Jan later though and they made arrangements to shopping at Sigo tomorrow. The only thing we wanted to get now was more liquor. |