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Larry's LogI got up early the next morning and after a little while heard Steph calling us from outside. They had left PLC last evening, motored all night, and were now anchored next to us. We talked for a bit on the radio and then Diane went shopping with Dan and Jan from Sojourner and Steph and Tom went shopping with Peter and Lena from Marnel 4, who they had traveled with from PLC. After dropping Diane off at the dock, I went over to Lady M III and borrowed some CDs to copy and then went to say hi to Mima and found out that they were planning to leave with Marnel 4 for Grenada later in the afternoon. Bummer. Well, after that piece of bad news, I went back to the boat started what I needed to do to get ready to leave. I got in the water and cleaned the prop, through-hulls and waterline, which was really bad. That took about 90 minutes. I rinsed off everything and rinsed myself as well and started the other things I wanted to do. I started making copies of Christmas music CDs that we had borrowed from Lady M III and had gotten some done, had started running the engine and watermaker, when Diane called saying she was back. I just left everything running and went in to get her. She had gotten 4 cases of rum, groceries and some other stuff. There was no Polar beer in the supermarket she went to. After we got back, had lunch and put the stuff away, I returned the CDs to Lady M III as they were leaving tomorrow morning and then brought in the empty liquor boxes to shore. We don't like to keep them on board as they harbor roaches and their eggs. I then went over to Mima and went on board for a bit. Diane was preparing dinner and wouldn't be ready for a while so I stayed there for about 40 minutes and then went to get Diane. We visited with Steph and Tom for about an hour when Steph and Diane went to bring Clem to shore. I helped Tom get the boat ready and when they got back, Diane and I left. We saw Tom and Steph up anchor about 30 minutes later. I had tried to convince them to stay, at least until the next day, but Tom said they had a good weather window and wanted to take advantage of it. So, we waved goodbye and hoped we would see them in Trinidad after a month or so. We heard from Mima the next morning - they stopped in Los Testigos because they had a very rough trip and Steph got seasick, for the first time in 10 months. They were going to stay there until Steph felt better and then continue to Grenada. We decided that day to leave the next morning. Steph had said that Motu was also coming east and we hoped that Mo would come in and wanted to go along the north coast of Venezuela. She had been that way before, but we also decided that we would leave tomorrow even if she didn't come in. I think we'll go along the coast in any case but we may not stop along the way. After breakfast, I got out the jacklines, put some things away and checked over the engine. I did find a slight weep of oil under the engine oil filter connection where the remote filter was attached. I changed the oil absorbent pad under it and would keep an eye on it for any more oil. The oil level in the pan had not gone down at all so I wasn't too worried. I also tightened up the alternator belt. Diane was busy preparing meals for the trip back to Trinidad. For lunch, we went into Jak's and had the Fried Calamari, which were very good as usual. We saw Jan and Dan and talked to them and they also said they would go in the morning, as the weather was predicted to be good for the next several days. Graham, from Maha III, had stopped by in the late morning and said there were about 4 other boats going tomorrow along the north coast and invited us to join the group so we said we would go that way as well. We wanted to see the coast anyway, as its supposed to be spectacular. After lunch, we stopped quickly at Ocelot, went to Motu as we had heard she did come in, and had a quick beer and talked a bit and then went back to Destiny and got ready, which involved taking up the dinghy on deck, always an adventure, as well as taking down the sun canvas, solar panels, etc. Mo had said she wanted to go shopping first before leaving so we said we would catch up in Trinidad. About 7, Jose, Elena and Marina from Nausica, stopped by to say goodbye. We had seen Jose earlier in the day as he came by to just say hello. It was late and they just stayed in the dinghy - they were going to Trinidad also but in a few days. Seemed almost everyone was leaving. We learned later though that there were still about 20 boats still in Porlamar, down from the normal 150. The next day we left about 6am and had 3 boats traveling with us: Pamela, Gonzo II, and Maha III. There were another 2 boats leaving that we saw - but it seemed they were going to Los Testigos. It was very light winds, about 8 to 12 knots from the east most of the day and we motor sailed all day, although we did get to use the jib for about 2 hours. We saw very few fisherman until we got close to Puerto Santos and even then, not as many as we would have thought. We got into Ensenada Medina, our first stop, about 4:30, anchoring in 18 feet of water. It had been a pretty easy trip since the winds were very light. The current was pretty strong though because it was almost a full moon. Once we got into the anchorage, we all discussed what to do tomorrow and we decided that we would stay for a day and then go on to Punta Pargo or Cabo San Francisco the day after. I think we were all very tired - we all got up early and there was a loud 'concert' the night before that kept us, and probably most of the anchorage awake (it started at about 11 and was still going when we left at 6am that morning). The wind was so light during the night that the boats turned around last night in circles. Of course, it was pretty cool (down to 75) so we were comfortable. We got up early though- not sure why. After breakfast, and listening to the weather, Bud and Judy from Gonzo II picked us up and we all went into the beach. The beach was beautiful golden sand and since it had been a coconut plantation, now a small hotel, there were lots of large palm trees. It was flanked by steep cliffs covered with trees, cactus and bromeliads, and, of course, birds (mostly pelicans). We then went over to Maha III since we saw that Pamela was there, and we decided to go to Cabo San Francisco the next day, leaving shortly after midnight since it was 60 miles. We then just talked for a while about Trinidad, Venezuela and Grenada. Graham and Denise had been cruising for about 4 years and had been in all these places many times before. After our visit, we just went back to the boat and relaxed although Diane made some meals for today and tomorrow and I did some things to get the boat ready. We listened to the weather again and all seemed OK. Several fishermen in a boat near us asked for some help with their outboard; I couldn't help but Bob on Pamela did, as did Graham on Maha. Bob had loaned them a wrench, which they said they would return when they got to Cabo tomorrow, but Bob didn't seem hopeful. We set our alarm for 1am and got up to leave. I got up first and made coffee and then tied down the dinghy and got some other miscellaneous things ready. We left around 2am, the last to leave, again. The wind was very light, almost non-existent, that night although the current was strong, about 1 to 1.5 knots until we reached Cabo Tres Puntas, some 18 miles away. After that, we had less current, although some till west-setting flow. The winds stayed under 10 knots all day, maybe getting up to 8 knots from the East at about 1-2pm. The coast past Cabo Tres Puntas is very empty, no towns and maybe just a few fishing settlements. We saw very few fishing boats. Later in the day, but still early in the morning, we got a call from Sojourner on the SSB that a boat, Mariah, had run out of fuel and could we or our group help. Bob, in the lead as he left first, said he would go out to meet them, (they were 5 miles north and a bit ahead). He passed them some diesel jugs and then continued to Cabo, but his detour put him into the anchorage last, but still in daylight. We passed some spectacular scenery and got to Cabo San Francisco at around 2pm, after motoring for 12 hours. The anchorage was tricky since it was so steep and we wound up dropping the hook in 30 feet only two hundred feet off a rocky beach. But since the wind was very calm and expected to remain that way, after setting the anchor well, I wasn't worried, even with just 4:1 scope on all chain. The scenery in the bay was really fantastic, with steep cliffs rising hundreds of feet within a few feet of the water's edge. There were palms and other tropical plants and flowering trees over the cliff side and it was really great. I took many pictures hoping to capture some of the feeling there but I know it was impossible. We knew people who spent weeks here and I could see why. On our last day in Venezuela, we got up around 7 and found that Gonzo had left already for Trinidad. We were planning to leave around 8 but saw that Maha and Pamela were going to leave earlier also so we got ready (although I did make coffee) and left around 7:30. The wind was again very calm and once we got out of the anchorage it was flat calm and we motored with the just the main until Punta Mejillones, where the wind picked up a bit and we also could head south east towards the Boca de Navios, between Huevos Island and Chacachacare. We had been running the watermaker at that point and when we got into the current past Punta Mejillones, where the Gulf of Paria pushes out water that originally came from the Orinoco, the watermaker output actually got up to 8 gph, the first time ever. The water's color at that point was very green, from the nutrients and algae. Past the point of Huevos Island though, the output changed back to its now normal 4.5 gph. The wind died again and we motored, and I revved the engine to 2800 to make sure the accumulated soot and carbon was blown out. The currents there were also strong and you could see tide rips all over. We had a wonderfully easy trip back from Venezuela though, one that many cruisers fear since its into the wind and current all the way. The n orth coast of Venezuela also had a bad reputation in terms of security but travelling as a group, and picking a good weather window, made all the difference. We continued on to the Customs dock at Crews Inn and had to wait a little as Gonzo was still there with Maja rafted up. There had also been a Venezuelan fishing boat there (we later learned he was getting fuel). Evidently, fishermen were coming to Trinidad to get the fuel they could now not get in their own country. As we waited by the dock, Maha moved to the space forward and Gonzo left. We then moved onto the dock, tied up and waited until Pamela rafted to us since we both needed to see Immigration and Customs. Graham and Denise helped us with the lines and Graham later said that he had mentioned to Immigration that other cruisers coming in later might not have clearance from Venezuela because of the situation there, to kind of 'soften' the blow. Diane went over to CrewsInn first though since it was just past noon and the offices were closed for lunch. When she came back, we had a reservation for the end of the month. I then changed clothes (to look presentable to the officials) and we went up to Immigration. Bob, from Pamela, who had clearance, was there first as were several others so we waited a bit and when Bob had to go back to his boat for his boat papers, we went up to the clerk and explained our situation and he had no problem giving us entry. They were clearly aware of the problems in Venezuela and were very understanding. Our passports were stamped. Now we had to go to Customs, which I felt would be the more 'sticky' situation. We had not cleared out of Venezuela and were worried that the officials in Trinidad would either refuse us entry (unlikely) or fine us (most likely). However, they were extremely nice and we had no problems at all once we explained the situation. Other cruisers had clearance out papers since they had cleared in at Margarita. We had cleared in at Puerto La Cruz and, technically, needed to clear out from there as well. We also needed to get another 3 months visa on our passports that were now expired, as of 12/19, yesterday. However, because of the strike, we had stayed in Porlamar and we wouldn't go all the way back to PLC for a piece of paper. We also wouldn't ask Juan to update our passports because it had just taken someone else 10 days to get theirs back and we didn't want to wait that long as we felt the situation was getting worse every day. Juan was also having some problems of his own and might not be operating much longer, at least as an agent, so we felt our only course was to leave without clearance, something we've never done before. The Customs agents were very nice though and we cleared in with no problems at all. Mo and her crew John, from Motu, were also clearing in with Customs (they had arrived the day before and had only done Immigration yesterday.) So we were now 'official' with Trinidad and felt better about our status. We went back to the boat and helped Bob off (he was going to TTSA, with Maha and Gonzo, and we were going to Scotland Bay to see Aryil and Sojourner who were there already). First though, we wanted to quickly say hello to Lady J, Jim and Jacque, who were on B dock at CrewsInn. We walked back and saw several people we knew already, from Trinity, Truelove and others and we finally made it to Lady J after 20 minutes. It was a nice reunion although we couldn't stay long since it was getting late and we needed to get off the Customs dock but we talked a bit and said we would see them in about a week or so. We went back to the boat, cast off and went out to Scotland Bay. We saw Aryil and Sojourner, anchored near them and got the boat a little straightened out. We invited Suzi and David over but they said that Jan and Dan were due there at 5:30 and so were Don and Nancy from Texas Reb, who were anchored across the bay so they invited us over too. Dan and Jan picked us up as our dinghy was still on deck and we went over and had a nice party with all the Texans. Don and Nancy dropped us off later after a very nice time. The only thing that spoiled the evening was a jerk on a boat anchored ahead of us ran his on-deck generator for about 4 hours that night, keeping us awake and then ran it again at 6 in the morning the next day. Diane tried yelling at him to turn it off but it was hopeless. Oh well, it was nice to be back in Trinidad again, even if we hadn't originally planned be here now. I hope Carnival is all they say. |