Captain's Log Page 10

Tideline Yacht Sales
17 Lockwood Drive
Charleston, SC 29401

PHONE: 843.813.3711
FAX: 866.467.8840
Email: glen@tidelineyachtsales.com

      When we decided to go ashore, we lowered our dinghy and came up on the beach. We dragged the dinghy above the tide line, and paid someone to keep watch for us. He did this everyday for all the cruisers. We would walk across the beach barefoot, and put our sandals on once we reached the promenade.

Venezuela is a good place to have work done, as well a cheap place to purchase equipment. I needed to have my chain re-galvanized, all 330 feet, and decided to have it done in Puerto La Cruz. I lowered the chain into my dinghy, and distributed the weight as best I could. Obviously I had to go slowly and eventually reached the dock where it would be picked up. Three days later I had newly galvanized chain, and had to reverse the process of getting back on board.

After about a week in Puerto La Cruz we decided to move on, back toward Trinidad. The prevailing winds are Easterlies, and they die out overnight. We made the decision to motor at night, and spend the day at anchor in one of the coves along the shore. We stayed about a mile offshore and headed east. Our last stop in Venezuela was in a bay called Cabo San Francisco.

It is a small anchorage that is completely unsettled. Depending on the tide, there is either no beach or a small strip about 10 feet wide. The lush tropical jungle comes all the way down to the water, and there is a river that cascades into the sea. It was a pristine place to spend a couple of days before returning to Trinidad. We decided to have dinner with our friends on "Three Ships", and after dinner retired to bed. At about 11 p.m. we were awoken by our wind charger, and got up to see what was happening. Our friends' anchor light appeared to be smaller, and on closer inspection we decided that we were dragging anchor. Fortunately the wind was blowing off the land, and we were being pushed out to sea. Usually one finds oneself on a lee shore, and that can prove to be very dangerous.

We spent the entire night trying to get anchored, including re-anchoring, changing anchors, and eventually dropping a second anchor. By sunrise the next morning we were exhausted, and some fishermen who had spent the night in their tiny little fishing boat came over to assist us. They came aboard, raised the anchor, and showed us the best place to anchor. I would not have chosen the place they pointed out, as there were submerged rocks that were clearly discernible. However, they were the ones who had had a good nights sleep, not us! continue to page 11 >>