Wind-Borne III - Journal

Tortuga to Las Aves, Venezuela 

June 1, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

The wind was extremely strong overnight, which brought our batteries up nicely.  The large fishing boats (we call them the Mother Ships) left early in the morning.  We were guessing that they would deliver the catch and return in a couple of days.  We finished breakfast and took the dinghy ashore.  We walked across the sandbar to the windward side of the island and waded along the shore collecting a few seashells as we went.

(I know that my niece Diana will be pleased to hear that.)  We walked to the one end of the island and around the point so we were again on the leeward side.  There are five fishing camps on the island and as we walked by one of them a fisherman came to meet us.  He indicated that he had an eye infection and asked if we had any drops.  We told him we did and that we would return with them.  We were hoping for an invitation to visit the camp but he came out to meet us again.  We gave him drops and a pair of sunglasses to wear.  When we left that area of the beach we went by dinghy to the other side of the bay to see the lighthouse which actually works.  Most navigational lights are unreliable in the Caribbean.  As we were leaving the lighthouse we noticed a trawler had arrived and was anchoring near us.  As we dinghied by we stopped to say hello and found it was our friends Rene & Annie (Atrea).

Back onboard we had a light lunch, ran the watermaker for a while and had a siesta.  Although the large fishing boats were gone, some of the fishermen remain at the camps.  One of them was Jose.  As a pirogue full of fishermen went by our boat he stood up and asked if we wanted more lobster.  His method of asking was to point to himself, make like he was diving into the water and then using his two index fingers on top of his head as antennae, he then pointed to me.  I shook my head yes and he smiled and waved.

We were invited to Atrea in the afternoon for drinks.  While there, we tried to keep an eye for the fishermen but we were indoors so either they never returned or we missed them.  Chris and Bella (Lady Bella) arrived in the bay while we weren’t looking as well.  On our way back to our own boat we stopped to say hello to them.  Dinner was (Chinese Food) followed by a quiet evening on board.

June 2, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

The winds were extremely strong all night long.  This in itself was not a problem but I started thinking about it and was awake off and on all night long.  Our anchor is very well set in nice deep sand however we are in no way prepared for an emergency.  The secondary anchor was not even attached to the rode and our engine probably wouldn’t start if we needed it.  So as you can imagine the first thing I mentioned over breakfast was the fact that I would like the anchor properly attached and on it’s roller.  No problem, the captain does not like to have a concerned crew, the problem was corrected immediately.  Next, I wanted to know if the engine would start.  First we took a reading on the starter battery and it looked fine.  We attempted to start the engine and nothing.  Checked the battery again, still fine.  Rick then checked to make sure that there were no loose or corroded wires.  Again everything looked good.  We got out the user’s manual, and started on the trouble shooting section.  Some of the things it mentioned we knew were not applicable so they were ruled out.  The fuel filter was one thing that had possibilities especially in Venezuela.  The fuel is very cheap but not very clean.  We do use a Bahia filter but the fuel filter was about due for a change anyway.  Sure enough, that was our problem.  With a new fuel filter installed the engine started immediately time after time.  We’ll restart it and let it run for a while under load tomorrow.

After accomplishing so much in one morning we both jumped in for a swim.  I took a floater and Rick took a noodle.  After horsing around for awhile we both swam ashore.  I swam with my snorkel and fins however Rick had a real workout and swam with bare feet.  We returned to the boat in time for lunch and a siesta.  It was a little after 2PM and the fishermen hadn’t come by our boat yet.  I was worried that maybe they weren’t going to so we went to their boat.  I put a package of cigarettes in one pocket and a little cash in the other and we went over to one of the Mother ships (they’re both back).  We asked if they had any Catalana (similar to Red Snapper but meatier) they didn’t.  They asked if I would like some Pargo (Red Snapper) and held up a couple of good size fish.  I certainly wasn’t going to refuse so I asked how much?  Nada!  So I thanked them and gave them a package of cigarettes.  We went back to the boat happier than if I had caught them myself.  Dinner was the Red Snapper, sweet plantain and fresh green beans.

June 3, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

When we left Puerto La Cruz, I removed the ice cube trays from the freezer compartment.  I needed every inch of space in the freezer for meat.  I promised Rick that it wouldn’t be for too long.  He could have ice cubes again as soon as we ate some of the meat.  Well at the rate we’re going he may never have ice cubes in his drinks again.  We were both sitting in the cockpit having buttermilk pancakes for breakfast (I used up the last of the buttermilk) when we realised that one of the fishing boats was headed toward us.  I had to pop below and quickly put on a dress because I was still in a skimpy little nightie.  I didn’t want the fishermen to fall overboard laughing.  They came to bring us some Catalana.  Word had spread that that was what I wanted.  I gave them a pack of cigarettes for two good size fish.  I was feeling a little guilty because a package of cigarettes in Venezuela only costs about 25 cents.  So I also gave them 4 chewy granola bars.  They thanked us and as we watched them leave they appeared to be huddled in the centre of the boat looking at the Granola bars.  It didn’t dawn on me until afterwards that although I had purchased the bars here, they were imported and the labels were all in English.  The fishermen probably didn’t know what they were.  So fish not meat was on the menu again tonight.

We had a lazy morning and so did everyone else.  We didn’t see any of the other cruisers go for a swim or dinghy ride.  It was a nice comfortable day to just sit in the cockpit and read a good book.

We did run the engine under load and make some water that was the extent of our morning chores.

By the afternoon we were feeling a little more energetic.  I made some Rice Krispie Squares using Kellogg's K Rice Flakes to give to the fishermen.  My sister cringes at the thought of using Kellogg's K but Rice Krispies are not available in Venezuela.  Heather my niece suggested using Special K and although it doesn’t taste quite the same, it works.  Rick took the paper garbage ashore to be burned and then we both jumped into the water for a swim.  Nanou called, he had asked the fishermen to bring him crab.  They brought 3 huge crabs so we’re invited for dinner again tomorrow.

June 4, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

I had noticed the fresh water pump going on a few times for short little bursts when no one was running water so Rick’s first chore this morning was to find and fix the leak.  He seemed to know exactly where to look and sure enough he found the problem connector.  He had replaced this particular connector before so this time instead of using another plastic one he replaced it with a brass connector.  Later, while we were in the cockpit talking to Renee and Annie in their dinghy, one of the fishing boats came by and asked if I wanted fish today.  I told him not today but for tomorrow I would like some Bonito (tuna) and I gave him the Rice Krispie Squares.  Later in the morning another of the fishing boats came by and offered some fish but I think he really just wanted some cigarettes so I gave him a pack.

I made pizza for lunch and we had just finished cleaning up when Chris and Bella called to see if we were busy.  Chris wanted to come for a visit to have a look at our wind vane.  They had just arrived long enough to pour them a glass of iced tea and pull out a few videos to loan them when the sky darkened and the wind picked up.  They didn’t even stay long enough to drink their tea.  They were very concerned with the strength of the wind so raced back to their own boat to sit out the storm.  It was just wind.  We were hoping for a bit of rain to wash some of the salt spray off the boat but no such luck.  The wind was averaging 35 knots with gusts to 40 knots.  

When the worst of it had passed, I laid down for a siesta.  It was 4PM when I awoke and we got ready to dinghy over to Nanou.  We had a nice evening and the crab was great.  It was 9:30 by the time we returned to our own boat.

June 5, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

It wasn’t long after we went to bed that the wind picked up again.  It was strong enough that our wind generator kept spilling air (which it does at 40 knots) and stalling.  I finally got up and turned it off but it didn’t help me sleep any better.  The wind howled all night long.  It was after 8AM when I got up and yet I sure didn’t feel very rested.  The wind was still strong but the forecast was for it to start to ease up over the next few days.  Meanwhile during the heavy seas and winds last night the big powerboats started arriving from the mainland for the weekend.  A few more arrived in the morning so the bay is quite busy now.  All of the powerboats are at least 50 feet in length.  Their dinghies all have a centre consul and 90 HP outboard motors on them.  We spent most of the day relaxing in the cockpit with a book.  The weekenders provided a little entertainment by trying to erect sunshade type tents on the beach in the wind.  As the day wore on and the waves settled down a bit they all started buzzing around in their dinghies with skiers in tow.  Days like this make us appreciate Mondays when the bay again belongs to the fishermen and cruisers.

June 6, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

The winds have finally dropped off a bit.  The salt build up on the boat was terrible so Rick washed the outside while I washed the inside.  We have had to clean the salt spray off of the screens twice a day lately.  Hopefully with lighter winds it shouldn’t be as bad.  I invited Tim and Pauline for Sunday night turkey dinner so that was another good reason to clean.  It also means that by removing the turkey from the freezer Rick now has room for the ice cube trays again.  We finished our chores about 10:30AM and we were just about to sit down and read for a while when the fishermen came by with my bonito (tuna).  They gave us four fish for a bottle of rum.  Although they were not really what I wanted I know they had to work hard to get these for me.  Tuna is not their main catch around here.  I was hoping for one large tuna so we could have steaks but it wasn’t important.  Rick cleaned them and we put them in the fridge for tomorrow night’s dinner.  Later as I was making a salad for lunch another fishermen came by offering some nice bass type of fish.  He wanted a pack of cigarettes.  I was just going to give him the cigarettes and not take the fish.  Rick said to take them, so if he didn’t mind cleaning more fish they certainly looked good.

I finished all of the dinner preparations and then we went in for a swim.  Rick picked Tim and Pauline up at 5PM as they had raised their dinghy on board for an early morning departure.  They and Lady Bella are returning to Puerto La Cruz tomorrow.  Everyone was sitting in the cockpit having a drink, I was down below making gravy and another fisherman came by.  This one had a couple of nice crabs for us and wanted to trade for something sweet.  I gave him a stack of Oreo cookies and he was ecstatic.  Tim put the crabs in a large pail for me and I left them until after dinner when Tim and Pauline had gone.  It was a good dinner and afterwards Rick washed the dishes for me.  The last thing I did before going to bed was to cook the crab.

June 7, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

We were up a little after 5:30AM to wave goodbye to Nanou and Lady Bella as they left the anchorage.  The wind was still quite high overnight so we called them when they had left the protection of the island to find out how the seas were.  Not nice they said, the waves were uncomfortable and the wind was on their nose.  They had no choice, they both had to return to Puerto La Cruz today.  A couple of the powerboats remained in the anchorage.  They had children on board and set themselves up to spend the day on the beach with umbrellas, chairs, toys etc.

After listening to Eric for the weather I made breakfast.  We had scrambled eggs and arepas.  I impressed myself with how the arepas turned out.  A lot better than the rocks I made on my first attempt.  When breakfast was finished and all of the cruiser nets were over Rick announced that his chore for the morning would be to check the macerator pump.  Fine with me, I’m out of here, I said.  In fact what I did was retire to the forward berth (upwind) to read.  It didn’t take him long and he announced that the impeller and pump had really had it.  Great timing, he had just purchased a spare pump a couple of weeks before we left Bahia Redonda.  The job suddenly became much easier, just replace the pump.  He finished in no time and with morning chores complete, it was time to relax and read which we seem to be doing a lot of lately.

When the fishermen came by today I took a picture of them.  All Venezuelans are big hams and love having their picture taken and they wanted a copy.  I promised them a copy manana but I knew I had no black ink left in my last colour ink cartridge.  I had to use a little innovation to solve this problem.  I took a syringe from our first aid kit and removed some black ink from a normal black ink cartridge and inserted it into the black of the colour cartridge.  It worked but I wouldn’t want to have to do it again.

A little after lunch Rick announced that a catamaran was coming our way.  He quickly got out the binoculars and checked.  Sure enough it was Tony and Benta (Side by Side).  They anchored a little ways behind us.

At 5PM Renee and Annie (Atrea) came aboard for Happy Hour.  It was a very enjoyable visit and they left just before dark.  Even in the bay, the waves were such that both Renee and Annie ended up quite wet from the dinghy ride between boats.

Dinner was easy, since I had cooked the crab last night, we just pigged out on the 2 large crabs.

June 8, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

It was another windy night, which I’m both getting use to and tired of.  We didn’t have much planned for today so in the morning we both caught up with some of our email and read.  We’re going through books very quickly, I hope they have a good book exchange in Bonaire.  The fishermen came by with more fish for us.  I’m starting to freeze it because they’re bringing it faster than we can eat it.  Rick and I had a swim then went for a walk along the beach with Benta and Tony (Side By Side). 

Tony and Benta invited Atrea and us to happy hour onboard Side By Side.  It was a lovely evening.

June 9, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

We had very strong winds again overnight but at least we didn’t get the rain that the rest of the Caribbean seemed to have had got.  Today was laundry day.  I put the clothes to soak overnight and since we just about live in our bathing suits there wasn’t too much laundry.  Today also became a splicing day.  I had made a perfect snubber line for the boat with a nice eye splice over a thimble.  This we attached to the bottom of the bobstay and then just hooked the line to the anchor chain.  Well, when we put the anchor out this time we dropped too much chain after the snubber and with all of the strong winds we’ve had, the chain chafed the middle of the snubber line so that there was only core of the braided line left when we discovered it.  Rick wanted me to make another snubber the very same.  The problem was we didn’t have any new line.  He said he had some line that was hardly ever used and asked if I would try to splice it.  Well not only had the line been well used but it was damp.  I spent about an hour trying and then gave up.  We will have to use a bowline knot instead of a splice until we can buy some new line.

My fishermen came by again in the morning.  I had asked them for a barracuda for today and sure enough they had a perfect barracuda for me.  It was not too large or small but a nice size for steaks.  Again we had to freeze them as we can’t eat the fish as fast as they bring it.  Later some more of the fishermen came and had seen the pictures I had taken of their amigos and asked if I would take some pictures of them.  I told them I had no “la tinta” (ink) but I would put them on a CD for them.  They’re leaving for Margarita Island tomorrow and wanted to take them home.

We had a fish fry for dinner and caught up on eating our stockpile of fish.  We have decided that we cannot miss a day of eating fish while the fishermen are still here.  Rick has lost his ice cube space in the freezer again this time to fish rather than meat but if the fishermen are getting ready to leave for the season we want to take advantage of not having to catch it ourselves.

June 10, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

Finally a night with light winds.  It may not last long because there’s another Tropical Wave that should arrive before the seas get a chance to settle down.

I made English muffins for breakfast and they were fantastic.  Granted, breakfast was a little late as we waited through the rising process but it was well worth it.  The recipe (Joy of Cooking) makes a couple of dozen so we put some in the fridge to keep.  We have tomorrows breakfast menu already planned “Wind-Borne Egg MacMuffins”.

Rick’s into a new project.  He has found that a local product “Combat” that has phosphoric acid, cleans brass beautifully.  He is cleaning a lamp a day first with the Combat and then polishing with good old Brasso.  The ones he has done look like brand new.  If we had some clear gloss boat paint on board he would coat them with that as he thinks it would work much better than lacquer.  Since we don’t have either we are just going to have to polish them once in a while.

I finished the laundry yesterday so today was rag day.  That’s sort of similar to a laundry day but it doesn’t matter if I don’t get all of the stains and spots out of the rags.

Benta called and asked if we wanted to go snorkelling and we agreed to meet about noon.  It was a nice swim but we couldn’t really find any reef to snorkel on.  We did have a lot of fun getting into the dinghy.  It dawned on us that we hadn’t yet tried to get into our new dinghy from the water and the tubes on this dinghy are much larger than those of our old dinghy.  First I tried the dinghy ladder but the stitching had rotted and it fell apart.  We have added fins to the outboard motor and some of the other women cruisers have told me that that’s how they get into their dinghy.  Sure enough, I knelt on the fins and then sort of stood on them while I climbed and crawled over and straddled one of the tubes.  I was then stranded and couldn’t get any further but with a little persistence I eventually got my body turned around and my feet on the floor of the dinghy.  So problem solved, there is nothing to it.  I can snorkel on any reef now without fear of having to be towed back to shore.

We had a siesta in the afternoon and then Renee and Annie aboard Atrea invited Side By Side and us for Happy Hour.  We all discussed leaving for Los Roques tomorrow night but we decided to save the decision for in the morning so we can see if the seas have settled down.  It was almost 9PM when we all left Renee and Annie.

June 11, 2004, Tortuga (Cayo Herradura)

Another night of light winds.  It makes for wonderful sleeping but it doesn’t help keep the Amps up in the batteries.  We were sitting peacefully in the cockpit eating our Wind-Borne Mac Muffins in the morning when a huge mosquito (well maybe not as large as Canadian mosquitoes but it was big), came by and landed on my leg.  We hadn’t encountered any mosquitoes until this time.  In fact, other than the odd fly there hadn’t been any insects.  I guess that with the wind being way down they’ve moved in.  That’s ok because we’ve decided to move out tonight.  We were going to wait another couple of days but Tony (Side by Side) suggested that in a couple of days the seas may be lower but there may not be enough wind to sail.  We would definitely prefer to sail and not have to use the motor.  It is an overnight run to Los Roques so we got the boat ready to go, had a late lunch or early dinner and then read and rested until 5PM when it was time to lift the anchor and raise the sails to leave.  Wouldn’t you know it, the engine didn’t want to start again.  Rick said that for sure it is the battery.  We got it started and lifted anchor right on time.  We left first and Side by Side left about 1½ hours after us followed shortly by Atrea a little while later.  Side by Side is a large catamaran and travels much faster than us.  Atrea is a trawler and travels faster than both of us.  We were only about 7 nautical miles out when I said to Rick that I didn’t like the conditions and I thought we should return and wait a couple of days.  The Captain however felt confident that the seas would settle down and conditions would improve.

June 12, 2004, Tortuga to Los Roques (Cayo de Agua)

Conditions worsened quite rapidly.  We had 10-foot seas with a wind wave (swell) on top of that, meaning that at times the seas would be about 15 feet.  The waves were aft of the beam making it very uncomfortable and difficult to steer.  The sky was full of stars but the moon wouldn’t appear until well after midnight so we were sailing into total blackness.  We had travelled far enough that to turn back would be very difficult because all of these conditions would hit us right on the nose.  We continued on.  It didn’t take long and Rick who had put a seasickness patch on early the previous morning was seasick.  So as he was hanging over the rails on one side, waves were coming in on the other side, while flying fish were hitting the deck everywhere, even in the cockpit.  We had enough for a meal if either of us felt like eating.  I tried to take the helm for a while so Rick could lie down but the minute he put his head down he felt sick again.  I couldn’t hold the boat on course and he didn’t seem to feel as bad when he was at the helm so we switched positions.  Meanwhile during all of this the engine is running in idle because we’re afraid that we might not be able to get it started again if we shut it down.  Things below in the cabin that have never moved are flying all over the place.  It was not one of our best passages.  Time passed, the moon comes up and clearly shows a nice line of heavy clouds that were moving in.  Finally daylight arrives.  Tony (Side by Side) has decided to go to the north end of the island so he is out of range on the VHF and I don’t want to go below and try to contact him on the SSB.  Renee called and he was about 5 miles off the lighthouse on the south side of the island (where we were headed) but it was too early.  He didn’t have enough sunlight yet to be able to see the coral heads if he entered now.  He had decided to continue along the south side of the island to another anchorage.  We still had a couple of hours before we would get there so we were hoping the sun would be high enough for us when we arrived. 

It was difficult for both of us to keep our eyes open as we were approaching land so I just kept talking to Rick and warning him that many boats have gone aground for exactly this reason.  Stay awake!  Poor guy had been at the helm now for 14 hours since Jane the Vane didn’t like steering in those seas either.  We arrived at Boco de Sebastopol (South East Entrance to Los Roques) at about 7:45AM.  We had travelled 85 miles in less than 15 hours.  The sun was high enough that I felt confident I would be able to see the coral.  As we got closer to the entrance both of us said no way!  We would have had to take up white water rafting to get through the gap.  There were huge seas breaking over the entrance.  We were a little wider awake after looking at that.  We decided to continue along the southern side of the island which was a little more comfortable than trying to go up the eastern side.  It was 20 miles to the next anchorage called Dos Mosquises.  We arrived just before noon and because of the whitecaps and wind we couldn’t see a thing under the water.  To get into this anchorage you have to get to a point where you can see the palm trees at a 60 degree angle.  At that point there is a nine foot deep channel through the reef.  Forget it!  We took a bearing of 60 degrees and in less than a minute the wind had blown us to 70 degrees.  Find me another anchorage, the captain said.  Next we went another 8 miles to Egbert Cay and Cayo de Aqua.  In the guidebook and on the charts the anchorage appears to have an easy entrance and looks well protected inside.  There are a few corral heads but they appeared well marked on the sketch.  We got in no problem but the charts and sketch did not appear to match the real thing.  Even though we were inside a reef we still had white caps.  I could see the coral heads under the water and I was directing Rick around them.  The wave action was lifting and dropping the boat so that sometimes I was sure we would hit one but there obviously was enough water below us.  It was difficult to tell with the conditions as they were.  Next problem was a band of clouds that rolled in.  Now it was impossible to differentiate between the shadows of the clouds on top of the water and the coral heads underneath.  In a gap between clouds, I directed Rick right out of that area.  It was getting too tricky and we still hadn’t found a good spot to drop anchor there.

Off we went again.  The only place that looked promising was Carenero but we had to go directly into the wind to get there.  We were more than half way there but the captain felt it wasn’t worth it, it was taking too long.  We turned back to Cayo de Aqua where we had noticed a beach area on the outside of the entrance near a lighthouse that was sheltered a little.  We were definitely running out of time and had to get the anchor down before the sun set.  We found the little beach, it didn’t have a lot of protection but it was better than nothing.  We anchored in between to reefs.  We were on a lee shore and the waves were coming around the reef in front of us causing a very uncomfortable roll.  We decided to put out a second anchor and secure it to our stern.  In this way we were able to pull the boat around so that the bow would face into the waves (we like this method better than using a bridle).  It certainly helped.  The side to side rolling stopped.  It was now 3:30PM.  We had both been up almost 24 hours so all we did was tidy the cockpit and cabin, check the email for weather and then got ready to go to bed.

June 13, 2004 Los Roques (Cayo de Agua)

We slept well and got up at our normal time in the morning.  Eric our weatherman for this location let us know that there is Tropical Wave on us that has a low associated with it.  That’s why the weather has been so very nasty.  It appears that the weather will close down again in a couple of days so although this isn’t great, we’ve decided to stay here another day and then move on to Las Aves before the next Wave.  We’ll spend more time in Los Roques when there is less wind, although, there is not supposed to be so much wind at this time of year.  We purposely waited for the summer months when the wind is normally light.

We didn’t do much during the day just rested and read.  The island or reef where we are anchored is extremely beautiful.  A boat from a resort somewhere nearby brings people and their lounge chairs to the beach each day.

In the late afternoon we both caught up on our email and I uploaded the waypoints for our sail to Las Aves tomorrow.

June 14, 2004, Los Roques to Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

The winds were strong again overnight.  I was hoping that they would ease off a bit so the seas would get a chance to settle down.  They didn’t and we had 2 choices.  We could stay in Los Roques but find a more protected anchorage or we could just get a move on over to Las Aves.  There is another nasty Tropical Wave due Tuesday night so we decided to leave.  A  catamaran (Luna-C) (pronounced Lunacy) that we met in Porlamar last year anchored near us yesterday.  They were on deck when we were lifting the anchors in the morning and we didn’t think anything of it.  Later when we were about 10 miles out I mentioned to Rick that either the catamaran was coming to Las Aves or the lighthouse was following us.  One or the other because I could see something tall on the horizon.

We ended up having a wonderful sail.  It was downwind all the way and we had 4 to 6 foot seas with a steady wind of 10 to 15 knots.  It was sometimes a little rolly and sometimes the cockpit got totally pooped over the stern but other times we were surfing gently down the waves.  It was 7:30AM when we left Los Roques and 1:30PM when we arrived in Las Aves, having travelled 35 miles.  It’s too bad every passage can’t be that easy.  

Las Aves is the island of the birds and it was easy to see because as we got closer to land we were either being greeted or attacked by hundreds of Red Footed Boobies.  Rick said that they were filling in for the dolphins as the greeting committee.

We anchored close to where the Boobies nest so we’ve decided not to turn the wind generator on during the day.  They are very curious and just about fly right into the cockpit to check things out.  They didn’t appear to be flying around in the dark so we turned it on overnight.  Windmiller (Rod, Marci and Stephanie) called shortly after we anchored.  They were on their way to Las Aves and had about 7 miles to go.  It was nice to have company overnight but they’re leaving for Bonaire early in the morning and we’re going to stay a while.  There are two fishing boats anchored near us and Luna-C did arrive but anchored in another bay.  The fishermen cam to see us and needed cigarettes and sandpaper (400 grit non-the less).  They didn’t have any fish with them but I think there will be some for us tomorrow.

We had an early dinner and got ready for bed. It seemed nice walking through the boat without having to hold on.  The roll we have had to put up with since we left Tortuga last Friday is finally gone.  It feels good to be in a proper anchorage.

June 15, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

Rick waved good bye to Windmiller this morning.  It was just barely 6AM and I had had a wonderful sleep and wasn’t ready to get up yet.  Later in the morning we talked to Rod on the SSB and they were having a good passage.  We also spoke with Renee (Atrea) and Tony (Side By Side) who will both probably join us here within the next week.  Tony gave us a waypoint of an anchorage in Las Aves that has wonderful snorkelling.

Where we were was interesting but when the wind died for a few minutes we were suddenly reminded of home.  The aroma here was very similar to the aroma at the end of the Leslie Street Spit in Toronto.  Bird poop!  We raised the anchor and moved over to Tony’s spot in the morning but the location had huge breakers coming over the reef and white caps.  We decided to opt for a small bay within a reef recommended in our guidebook.  It was still wide open to the wind but there were no waves and lots of reefs to explore.  It was also still close enough to the Boobies that I could go ashore and see the babies (I thought).

After launching the dinghy, we went to the next bay to say hello to Luna-C.  It was not the couple we met in Porlamar.  Two couples own the boat and this is the second couple Hank and Christina.  We left them and dinghied ashore which was not an easy task due to all the reefs along the shoreline.  We made it ashore and walked across to the windward side of the island.  We had to walk over large hermit crab mounds and stacks of broken coral while many terns dive bombed and yelled at us.  We were obviously getting a little too close to their nests.  We eventually returned to the dinghy and followed as close to shore as we could on our way back to the boat.  We found a large Boobie nesting area ashore adjacent to the boat.  We saw their red webbed feet as they landed on the tree branches.  We saw juveniles who were still partially white learning to fly and younger ones still in the nest.  The juveniles looked like they were a plane in a crosswind.  They didn’t really have their wings totally under control.  The very young ones still in the nest were extremely cute with their white fluffy body and little black face.  I wasn’t able to get a picture of them because of the wave action in the dinghy.  I’ll have to try again on a calmer day.

Neither of us was hungry so instead of dinner I popped some popcorn and we watched a movie.

June 16, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

We awoke once during the night when the anchor alarm went off.  I had it set to go off at 50 feet because there are so many reefs all around us.  The alarm however sounded because the wind changed to Northeast, which is the forerunner to the Wave.  In the morning, the sky was perfectly clear and the wind had settled down a little.  Luna-C left for Bonaire.

The weather report stated that most of the convection activity associated with the Wave turned north to Martinique so hopefully it will miss us.  I wanted to dive on our anchor rode today, not to check the anchor because we were confident that it had set well.  In addition to our 100 feet of chain we had about 20 feet of line out.  I wanted to make sure that there was nothing under us that would chafe the line.  Rick jumped in to inspect it for me while I was doing laundry.  It was fun to watch because as soon as he hit the water the Boobies began flying all around him.  They wanted to play.  Everything underwater checked out fine so Rick climbed aboard and began washing the salt spray off the stainless steel using the rinse water from my laundry.  He hadn’t been aboard long when he noticed a very large barracuda circling our boat.  I quickly got out my fishing line and tried to bait him for quite a while but he just wasn’t biting.

This was really a Susie homemaker day because in addition to laundry I made some stove top bread using Blanca’s recipe (Promesa).  It wasn’t all that successful because it sort of slipped a bit as I was turning it over.  I like the recipe but next time I think I’ll try using the oven.  We were sitting in the cockpit having just finished eating lunch when the fishermen came by.  They had a couple of lobsters and a small barracuda for us.  There were six fishermen in the pirogue and they were asking for 3 packages of cigarettes.  I gave them those plus some Oreo cookies.  They were extremely pleased and so were we. 

When we showed them the large barracuda swimming by our boat they got all excited, whipped out a large tuna and sliced a thin piece of meat with the shiny skin, off the tail, quickly put it on a large hook and tried baiting him.  De primera, they kept saying.  They tried for a while from their boat and then decided to troll for him.  They waved good-bye and began circling our boat for the barracuda.  We watched them motor back towards their mother ship and they said they would see us tomorrow.  Other than the fishermen we are the only other boat on this island so there isn’t a lot of competition for their trading.  By the rate we’re eating what’s in our freezer, Rick may never have ice cubes again.  Dinner was wonderful.  Rick barbecued the lobster, I made some rice and heated some asparagus (from a jar, but it was still good).  We opened a bottle of wine and sat in the cockpit eating dinner, watching the sunset and listening to the Boobies who sound more like monkeys than birds.

Life is good.

June 17, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

It was a boring day in paradise.  The winds were to strong to dinghy anywhere without getting soaked and too strong to swim without getting swept away with the current.  We didn’t even have a visit from the fishermen.  Rick polished another cabin lamp and I did some more laundry.  We then broke out the Pringles and had a movie marathon.  By dinnertime the winds had started to settle down again.

June 18, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

Overnight Grenada and some of the other Windward Islands had gusts up to 50 knots.  It was hard to say whether the wind would make as far west as the Las Aves.  We remained on board and didn’t do much again all day.  We never did see the heavy gusts but the wind was still very strong.  The fishermen stopped by late in the afternoon with a single very large lobster for us.  There were only four of them in the boat so they asked for 2 packs of cigarettes and then smiled and also asked for dulce (sweet).  So I gave them some more Oreo cookies.  The captain told us that they were returning to Margarita tomorrow and wouldn’t be back until September.  We will definitely be isolated here.  It will be just the Boobies our pet barracuda and us.  We thought since this would be our last lobster for a while we’d have some champagne with dinner.  We have a good supply of champagne on board and haven’t been drinking it.  We put a couple of bottles in the fridge to chill.  Rick opened the first bottle but it didn’t pop!  He opened a second bottle but it didn’t pop!  Oh no, our great supply of champagne has gone flat!  I’m glad we didn’t offer it to any of our friends.  It will all have to go overboard.  The lesson learned is, don’t save champagne, drink it all immediately.

June 19, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

It was silly of me to assume that the strong winds would arrive during daylight.  Of course, it had to be dark so that we could experience a totally helpless feeling.  It was about 9:30PM when the howling began and it didn’t stop all night.  It’s a wonder we got any sleep at all because the wind was gusting up to 40 and 50 knots.  Every so often my eyes would close until all of a sudden a major gust would come through like a freight train and cause them to whip open again.  The sky was full of stars and if it wasn’t for the wind it would have been a beautiful night.  The good news was that because there were no other boats around we didn’t have to worry about anyone dragging down on us.  The not so good news was that if we were to drag we had only about 2 to 3 boats lengths in every direction between sharp coral reef and us.

At daybreak we were able to go out and check for damage.  It appeared that at least one of the major gusts caused the front handle on our dinghy to be ripped off.  The damage was not major and the handle can be glued back into place as good as new.

We spoke to Tony (Side By Side) on SSB in the morning.  Both Side By Side and Atrea are planning to join us here on Monday.  Since the winds are too high for us to leave before then we’ve decided to wait for them.  It will be nice to have company again.

In the afternoon the winds abated a little and the fishermen came by.  We were surprised to see them because as we thought they left for Margarita this morning.  Evidently their mother ship left but they stayed.  They had two more lobsters for us, which I’m sure at the rate we’ve been eating them both of our cholesterol readings are probably off the chart.  We certainly weren’t going to turn them down.  We enjoyed a lovely lobster dinner (again) and this time the bottle of champagne that we chilled was perfect.  The cork popped and it fizzed just as it should have.  If the wind remains as it is we should have a good nights sleep this evening.

June 20, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento)

Happy Father’s Day

We both forgot that to day was Father’s Day until dinnertime.  Still it was a very nice day.  I did some more laundry and there is now absolutely nothing left onboard to be washed.  All clothing, sheets, towels, settee covers, even the shower curtain has been washed.  

We finally were able to get off the boat for a while today.  The wind settled down a little, there were no white caps in the anchorage so we jumped into the dinghy and went looking for Boobie nests.  We had to go outside the reef a little to enter the next bay where there is a dingy landing at shore.  We walked down the island a while but found that most nests were in the trees (mangroves) by the water.  We returned to the dinghy and crept along the shore.  Rick paddled while I had the camera in hand.  We saw Boobies of all ages but couldn’t find another small white fluffy one with a black face.  The white ones we found had lost their fluffiness and had started flying lessons.  It was fun and we certainly saw a lot of Boobies, terns, herons, pelicans and even a small little bird almost like a swallow.  Our return trip to the boat (upwind) was a little wet but we had anticipated that and both of us were wearing a bathing suit.

We read and had a siesta in the afternoon with no visit from the fishermen.

Rick’s Father’s day dinner consisted of herb and garlic barracuda, rice cooked in tomatoes and sweet and sour coleslaw.  Not bad considering it’s been almost a month since we’ve been to a grocery store.

June 21, 2004, Las Aves (Ave De Barlovento to Ave de Sotovento)

The wind totally died overnight.  It was the first time in many weeks that we’ve had no wind.  We spoke with Side by Side and Atrea on the SSB in the morning.  They’re still enjoying Los Roques and have decided to stay a little longer.  There are three Tropical Waves headed our way, back to back so if they don’t travel today, I think their next window will be at least a week from now.  Since they decided not to take advantage of the light winds I thought we would.  It took us a while to lift the dinghy and secure it for a down wind sail.  It was almost 10AM when we raised the anchor.  We were only going 17 miles and the seas were down to 4 to 6 feet but with the light winds (10 to 15 Knots) we rolled a lot.  There was blue sky and fluffy white clouds to the north of us and a very overcast sky with a few threatening looking clouds to the south of us.  We just travelled up the middle and never looked south.  Gradually the southern sky was joining up with the northern sky but it didn’t come to fruition until after we were in the lee of the island.  Being in the lee was the most difficult part of the passage.  The wind was right on our nose and we were only able to make a couple of knots headway.  There were a lot of reefs and shallows but most of them we were able to motor over, as there was about 10 feet of water.  We arrived at Ave de Sotovento (the leeward group of islands in Las Aves) at 2PM.  We tucked into a very secure little bay right beside a fishing boat (mothership).  There were other anchorages but this was the most protected for sitting out the Waves.  

A couple of hours had past and another sail boat came into the same bay.  We couldn’t believe our eyes, it was a charter boat.  We hadn’t seen any charter boats since leaving Grenada almost a year ago.  This one was about 60 feet with a crew of 2 plus a captain, a chef and 4 passengers.  It appeared to be out of Bonaire and we think the guys had all just taken their Padi classes because no sooner was the anchor down and they were launching the dinghy.  The dinghy launching took about ¾ of an hour.  It was a huge dinghy with a centre consul and 40 HP outboard.  They used the spinnaker pole as a derrick to lift it off the foredeck.  They all suited up in their wet gear, with snorkels and spear guns in hand.  Meanwhile the sky was totally overcast by now and it was only about an hour until sunset.  I don’t think they would have been able to see much but it was probably on today’s itinerary so it had to be done. 

Rick and I sat in the cockpit after dinner with a cup of tea watching a spectacular sunset.  There were so many layers of clouds that we had every shade of pink, red and even purple in the sky.  We’re not sure what a red sky means in the Caribbean.  At home a red sky at night indicated that we would most probably have good weather the next day.  But at home our weather systems came from the west.  Here our weather comes from the east so a red sky at night in the west could mean anything.  

June 22, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

It was a pretty relaxing day for us we didn’t even splash the dink.  There were white caps in the bay so we left exploring for another day.  The sky again today was beautiful.  Huge white cumulus clouds built higher than normal.  It looked more like an artist’s conception of a cloudy day rather than the real thing.  We had a sprinkle of rain that did not amount to enough to even bother closing the hatches.  The more easterly islands experienced extremely strong winds with gusts between 40 and 60 knots in squalls.  I hope it’s not headed our way.

Rick filled the fuel tank from the jerry cans today and other than that we read and watched the fishermen all afternoon.  It appears that the fishing boat we are anchored next to is a conch boat.  It’s very different from the conch boats in the Bahamas that have conch shells piled about two stories high on the deck.  The Venezuelan conch fishermen appear to clean the conch before storing it.  The shells all go overboard and they only store the meat.

Rick almost demanded that room be made in the freezer for some ice cubes today so we had a fish fry for dinner that consisted of barracuda and red snapper.  After dinner I put a tray of ice cubes in the freezer for him.  We had just turned off the weather on the SSB when we heard voices calling us.  It was the guys from the charter boat who had just returned from their late afternoon dive again.  They asked if we wanted some fish (can you believe it)?  Of course we’d love some, I said.  We learned that the boat was chartered out of Los Roques and the guys that were on vacation were all from Cancun Mexico.  After they left, Rick cleaned the fish, a nice bonito and a good size grouper.  Now of course, the first thing I asked was should I freeze them.  Rick then asked if he would lose his ice cubes.  Yes was my answer so his answer was no.  I explained that there was an awful lot of fish there for one meal.  His response was that we could eat fish for lunch and dinner tomorrow.

June 23, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

Well, we’re still boat bound!  It could be much worse.  We’re just stuck onboard because of the high winds.  At least the boat is wide open and we have a beautiful breeze (gale) blowing thru.  It’s much better than being closed in and stuck aboard due to rain.

There are a couple of English speaking boats somewhere within VHF range.  We listened in on their conversation today.  They were playing chess and watching movies.  I did a little baking, we watched movies, read our books, Rick cleaned stainless while I ran the watermaker.  It was almost dinnertime when the dinghy from the charter boat returned from diving.  They quickly raised their dinghy and prepared the boat for departure.  It was almost 6:30PM when they left which gave them just enough light to navigate out side the reefs for an evening sail back to Los Roques.  We called to them as they were leaving and wished them a safe trip.  Hector, one of the guests said he would email us.  Meanwhile our dinner was just about ready.  After they were gone we enjoyed the wonderful fish they had given us last night.

June 24, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

Finally, we had a beautiful day.  The winds had dropped considerably.  In fact Rick and I were commenting that it’s been almost a month since we’ve had light winds like we had today.  We took advantage of the winds and lowered the dinghy to go snorkelling.  We went a few miles out to the edge of the reef where there is a wreck of a freighter /commercial fishing boat, broken into two pieces.  We didn’t actually snorkel on the wreck because it was on the windward side of the reef and the surf was still too strong to attempt such a thing.  We dropped the dinghy anchor and jumped into the water and found that we were in a true aquarium.  The reefs were nice in places but there was a lot of storm damage.  The fish however we found in abundance.  There were many varieties of tropical fish and they were a size that normally you would expect to see during a dive rather than a snorkel.  I took too many pictures.  I say that because the camera creates heat when being used and within no time the underwater case had fogged preventing me from taking anymore pictures until it cooled and cleared.

It had been a very wet ride across the bay to the wreck but it was a wonderful downwind ride back to the boat.  We continued past our boat to a very small but pretty white sandy beach in the bay where we were anchored.  Our intention was to see if we could get ashore there and maybe go for a little hike.  We got ashore without any problem at all however the little beach was exactly that. Very little and enclosed by mangroves.  Unless Rick wanted to play with his machete and chop a path through the mangroves (really he would need a chain saw) we weren’t hiking anywhere.  We returned to the boat where I had another swim before showering.  Then after lunch I put the frozen meats in a cooler bag and turn the fridge off to defrost while we both had a siesta.  Defrosting the freezer only takes about an hour here.  When I awoke, I washed the interior of the fridge and put everything back in before turning it on.  Rick had said he wanted to run the engine for a while today as there were no winds for the wind generator, overcast skies hindering the solar panels and the starter battery no longer holds a charge.  Since he was going to run the engine I thought it would be a good day to defrost the freezer.  He started the engine using the house batteries to assist, I turned on the watermaker and also turned the refrigerator back on.  The watermaker didn’t sound right to me so I had Rick clean the filters.  It then sounded better but was only producing 7 gallons of water an hour rather than 14.  He checked and one of the feed pumps was not working.  

Now, the engine is running, I’m trying to get the fridge back down to it’s correct temperature, I’m turning the watermaker on and off, the boat is now pulled apart as Rick was trying to troubleshoot the watermaker problem, I’m cooking black beans and we’re late for happy hour.  He eventually removed one feed pump that will be checked out tomorrow and we concentrated on happy hour.  The black beans were a success!  I truly feel almost like a local when I can make good black beans (with the help of Knorr package of spices for black beans as our fresh peppers are long gone).  Dinner was barbecued pork tenderloin, black beans and rice.  Not that I want to emphasize how good the black beans were but Rick raved about them all through dinner.

June 25, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

Last night the wind died for awhile and I had almost started to enjoy it until suddenly we were attacked by multitudes of no-see-ums.  They ate me alive.  I applied my favourite “Off “cologne but if I missed a small patch of skin they found it.  So, when we awoke in the morning and found that the winds were back up I was a little pleased.  I say a little because I was hoping they would stay down for a while so that the seas would subside a bit.  We had talked of moving to another more open anchorage tomorrow to stage for an early morning departure the next day to Bonaire.  The weather forecast has changed from yesterday and we now have a strong, fast moving Wave that should be on us by morning.  This Wave was originally forecast to reach us late Sunday.  We’ll wait and see what happens but it sounds like our nice protected anchorage might be a good place to stay for a while longer.

Meanwhile during the day, Rick pulled the water maker feed pump apart and had a good look at it.  He feels it probably needs a new head, which means our water maker production is down by half.  Instead of 14 GPH we can only make 7 GPH.  I may have to cut back on the amount of laundry I do (ha ha).  I baked some bread from scratch today (did not use the bread maker).  It turned our pretty good.  It was a braided loaf but next time I think I’ll just make the braids a little tighter so it doesn’t spread all over the pan.  We had pork tenderloin sandwiches for lunch and there were no crumbs to be found afterwards so I think Rick enjoyed the fresh bread.

June 26, 2004 Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

We spoke with Side By Side and with Atrea on the SSB in the morning.  They had travelled from Los Roques to Ave De Barlovento yesterday where Tony and Benta have decided to stay for a few days.  Renee and Annie however said they wanted to travel to Ave de Sotovento tomorrow and join us.

A Wave was due today and we watched it pass from noon through the rest of the afternoon.  It really was a non-event Wave.  We’ve had light winds for a couple of days now so I mentioned to Rick that I would like to raise the dinghy and leave tomorrow.  Rick however felt that although the winds seemed lighter they were still over 20 knots.  He preferred to stay a while longer especially since Atrea was coming to join us.  That was ok with me, as there are still places I’d like to explore around here.

June 27, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

Atrea and Side By Side called to tell us they were on their way to join us.  Just before Atrea arrived the fishing boat that was here before we arrived left.  The anchorage became our private little domain.  The Americans (Side By Side), The French (Atrea) and ourselves (Canadian) jointly sharing the secluded little Venezuelan anchorage.  Rick and I went for a swim in the afternoon.  Afterwards we were sitting in the cockpit (Happy Hour) when Side By Side announced on the VHF that he wanted to test his PA speakers.  Believe it or not booming over his external speakers, he gave us a Walmart special sale on aisle 7.  We’re going over to Side By Side for popcorn and movies tonight so on our way we’ll check out aisle 7.

We know (or at least we hope) that some time this week we will make our way to Bonaire.  It was time to start using up the last of our fresh vegetables.  I had half a cabbage but no carrots left, so coleslaw was out of the question.  I had a couple of apples so although I didn’t have red cabbage I had enough of the ingredients to fill the requirements of the Flemish cabbage recipe.  I cooked up a bunch of fresh beets that would be nice eaten as they were but would also become pickled beets before the end of the week.  That left us with onions, potatoes and one christophine (or chayote, depending upon where we are) to work with later in the week after which we would be into canned vegetables.  I put a chicken breast in the oven for dinner and while it was cooking, both Rick and I were almost drooling with the smell.  We’ve been eating so much fish that we had forgotten how good chicken could be.  So it was chicken, cabbage and beets for dinner with a bottle of wine.  Although it wasn’t a normal combination we enjoyed it.  

June 28, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

The strong Wave that was forecast to charge by us travelling at 20 knots came and went overnight.  The winds it brought remained with us all day so it was another day of us being boat bound.  Rick cleaned and adjusted all the hinges of the cupboards in the main salon.  By special request I baked some more of the braided bread.  It turned out so good that Rick is talking about getting rid of my bread maker.  He asked for more pork tenderloin for dinner and I think it’s really the left over he wants as a sandwich for lunch tomorrow.

The water maker is not working properly so it’s number one on the repair list when we arrive in Bonaire.

June 29, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

What a difference a day can make!  The winds although very strong overnight died to almost nothing during the day.  All three boats went by dinghy across the bay to the reef near the wreck where Rick and I had snorkelled last week.  It was much better today.  The water was much clearer and although most of the coral is dead, there were again multitudes of fish.  We snorkelled near a deep drop off for a while.  Eventually I left the deeper water and was snorkelling along in a shallow area that I decided was getting a little too shallow for my liking so I headed back to the drop off.  I was almost there when I saw Rick’s friend the oversized Barracuda buddy from our previous anchorage.  All of a sudden the shallow water seemed ok.  I didn’t need to swim by and disrupt his concentration.  He seemed content where he was.

On our way back to the boat Rick and I went to a beach that I’ve wanted to explore since we arrived.  It has been too rough to get to this beach until today.  Well, I was almost sorry we got to it.  It looked beautiful from a distance but it was covered in garbage.  We had watched the fishing boat that was anchored next to us throwing plastic garbage into the water last week and by the appearance of this beach, they have been doing this for years.

Later in the afternoon, out of nowhere, a small fishing boat came by and wanted to trade some fish for a few cans of coke.  We didn’t have any coke onboard so I offered them a bottle of rum.  With a big smile they gave us 7 bass type fish.  Atrea doesn’t eat fish but Side By Side has been trying unsuccessfully since they left Puerto La Cruz to trade for some fish so I called and told them we would share.  Previously Tony had told me that since they were from New York they were only familiar with fish that had no head and came wrapped in saran.  So after Rick had cleaned the fish I called Tony on the radio and told him that his deli style saran wrapped fish was ready to be picked up.  He dinghied over to our boat laughing.

We all went to Atrea for Happy Hour in the evening and it was going on 9PM when we returned to our own boat.

June 30, 2004, Las Aves (Ave de Sotovento)

The fishermen came by early in the morning to deliver some lobster that Atrea had asked them for.  Side by Side had also asked them for some fish for today but they only had Barracuda.  Tony wanted the same type that we had given them the night before.  The fishermen told them that that wasn’t a problem it would take them about half an hour to go and catch a few.  Meanwhile, they stopped at our boat and gave us four lobsters.  When I say gave, that’s exactly what they did.  I asked them if they would like to trade or if they would prefer cash but they said it was a gift from them.  That was one of the nicest gifts we’ve received.  The lobsters were a little under a pound each but four lobsters made a wonderful meal for two people.  We put the lobsters in a pail with some salt water because we were about to get underway.  We didn’t go far just to a little island called Isla Palmeras.  We left at 10AM with Atrea and had our anchor down again by 11 AM.  It was only 5 miles but now we were anchored outside of all the small reefs and coral heads so we can leave for Bonaire without having to wait for the sun to be above us.  Shortly after we arrived, Rick cleaned the lobster and asked me to put some champagne in the fridge.  I put 2 bottles on to chill just in case one was missing its fizz.  Side by Side left at noon but they were going to join some other boats inside the reef.  

Dinner was wonderful