Leg X Panama to Grenada
Note: Most recent entries are first. To read in order, scroll down to the beginning.
Los Roques to St George, Grenada - the end of Leg X
11/21-11/23 Friday to Sunday - Two Overnight passages
Latitude: 12:02.00 N Longitude: 061:45.72 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 60-1300 at 6-18kts. Sea: Beaufort: 4/6
Barometer: 1004 Passage time: 1800 to 1800/48 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1549 Fuel used/on board: 143/703-143=560
Distance trip/to Date: 289/9787
By late afternoon, WS is ready for serious sea duty. This is the last nasty stretch we have been dreading since we left Panama - the waves come right in off the Atlantic all the way from Africa and it is notorious for strong currents and high wind as well. Added to this mess are drug runners, pirates, and occasional lightning squalls and you can have a really fun time crossing these last 300-miles. In fact, it is so bad most yachts plan there whole Caribbean experience so they can avoid going “East against the Trades.”
It is late afternoon as each of our fleet starting with Dreamweaver nuzzles up to the “mother” ship swinging at anchor and takes on all the fuel we can hold before heading out to open water. WS takes 210 gallons bringing us up to 700 for only $100US. I could have fit another 100 gallons in but wanted to keep the new stuff separate from my already “clean” fuel. This allowed me room to clean the Venezuela fuel while under way before mixing the two. The last thing I would want is more engine trouble in these dangerous waters.
The first night at sea is both lumpy, with 4 to 7 foot waves, and windy, gusting often up to 20-knots. While WS handles these conditions beautifully…plunging down each wave and then rising up, shaking water off her foredeck before going up and over the next crest just to do it all again, the crew does not have it so good. Meals are kept simple when even possible while snacks are life sustaining and always handy. As long as you stay sitting or lying down all is well, it is the moving about that gets to be a challenge. It’s either slide on your butt or risk life and limb lurching about holding on for dear life. Being a small boat, WS provides lots of hand holds everywhere and you need them all!
By morning, everything has calmed down considerably, the sun is out and we make a steady 6-knots against a 1-knot current at 1500 RPM using 2.8 gallons per hour. Reading, napping and taking turns at the helm fills out the day nicely. We even have a fairly normal dinner just after sundown with only a huge, tanker making 16-knots running up on WS from behind to worry about. In fact, there are lots of big boats in the area all night as this is the Atlantic gateway to the Caribbean as well.
Jo takes much of the night watch our second night at sea as the captain did not get much sleep so far on this voyage. I take over again at 0300 till dawn and beyond while Jo gets her share of sack time. We are within 90-miles of Grenada at first light and are soon buzzed by very large and low C-130 military aircraft we assume is looking for drug runners. Sure enough, the US Coast Guard cutter comes over the horizon next and pulls to within a mile of our stern before calling us on the radio. We play 20 questions about who we are and where we came from with the Coasties before they are finally satisfied and break off again to the south.
At 20-miles off, the hills of Grenada are just visible through the clouds. Voyager will go into St George Harbor first this time with WS right behind. Both crews are very relieved to have made it before lights out with about an hour to spare. Unfortunately, Dreamweaver won’t be in to help us celebrate the passage till tomorrow. Besides their slower speed, she needed to make a quick stop at La Blanquilla Island to deal with some water leaking into her swim step.
Peace at Last…Port Luis, St. George, Grenada
Once inside the harbor at St George, Dockmaster “Junior” of Port Louis comes out to greet us in their dinghy and offers us side tie berths on their newly completed dock. This is a welcome alternative to another night at anchor and both boats jump at the opportunity. Just before dark, WS and Voyager are secure stern to stern along the sea wall, powers hooked up, waters turned on and the champagne is flowing as we gather to celebrate the conquest of the southern Caribbean…1,000 miles east against the trades!
###
El Grans Roques Anchorage
11/20-11/21 Thursday & Friday
Not much works in El Gran Roques including the internet most of the time. We did manage a signal from our Verizon phone - the first time we’ve heard from it since we left Mexico. Pedro, the owner of the best pizza place in the village, is cruiser friendly and provides free internet when and if it is working so we immediately became good buddies with him. He was raised in Florida, speaks good English and is the clearing point for all island boating info including fuel, money exchange, and just about everything else.
The Roques Islands are known for bonefishing and serious fisherman from all over the world come here to indulge. Even George Bush senior has been here fishing several times before his son became public enemy number one with Presidenta Chavez whose unrelenting anti-US propaganda, have the people of Venezuela afraid of us as well. No one middle class and above much likes Chavez here either but that’s another story.
Dottie & Ken pull into the anchorage on Thursday morning so the gang is together again and a pizza feed is organized at Pedro’s for an early evening diner followed by a Survivor watching party on Voyager for later. All of us have become hooked on the show (Jo and I have been fans since the beginning) so this has become the Thursday night ritual.
On Friday morning, the weekly supply barge, really a very old converted ex US Navy landing craft, arrives out of Caracas. On the QT, everyone here knows that the captain also sells black market fuel at 1950’s prices to visiting yachties. Les and I pay him a visit by dinghy and are able strike up a deal for 57 cents a gallon for 1,200 gallons split between our three boats. Not bad considering fuel in Grenada is currently over $6 US/gallon.
Later in the day, we are able to finally get internet weather ashore and along with calls to our weather guru’s, discover that there is a small weather window for Saturday and Sunday. Since the goal has always been to get to Grenada for Thanksgiving, it is quickly decided that this just might work if we jump on it before it slams shut on Monday so we hurry back to our boats to start making them ready for sea.
###
Bonaire to Los Roques, Venezuela
11/18-11/19 Tuesday/Wednesday - Overnight passage
Latitude: 11:56.77 N Longitude: 066:40.87 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 80-1400 at 8-20kts. Sea: Beaufort: 3/4
Barometer: 1002 Passage time: 1600 to 0800/14 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1501 Fuel used/on board: 40/493
Distance trip/to Date: 101/9498
All-in-all, it was a milder trip than we expected. Except for a rough patch after the Ayes Islands and the occasional squall with torrential rain, it was a fairly easy crossing. The current has died back down so it was possible to do 6+ knots and still only burn 2.3 gallons of fuel/hour. A bright half moon would have even made for some visibility but the heavy clouds kept it obscured most of the night.
Morning found us off the west end of El Gran Roque, the only “real” island in the 14 by 24 mile group. It even has a protecting hill, lighthouses, and a small village. The rest of the area is mainly reefs and atolls…great for snorkeling but providing no wind protection or shore services. Fourteen other cruising boats are already anchored in 12-feet on a narrow shelf just off the village so we pick an open spot and join the fleet.
Mosquitoes are the problem in this slice of paradise. Many of the boats have come back to the town anchorage because they are so thick elsewhere in the Los Roques. We have screens on WS which work well but also cut off the cooling breezes so it is less than perfect. Other than shutting things up and running the generator for the air conditioning, there is not much that can be done.
Things ashore went from bad to worse. First we got beat up on the price of lunch which approached US dinner prices because we didn’t yet understand the exchange rate. Then the 1st office of the four we needed to check in with, the Venezuela Coast Guard, said we could only stay two days because we are in transit and have not checked in with at mainland which we have no intention of doing. After much by lingual discussion and negotiations, it was stretched for two more days if we check back on Friday. We know the weather is poor till Monday so we will still will need to fudge a couple more days.
It took from noon till 4:30 to cover all the other paperwork bases which included the National Park office, the police station, and then hike all the way out to the airport to pay the fees which they waived anyways because we were only in transit. By the end of the day, we sure know our way around town. We also think we figured out a way to buy blackmarket fuel cheap but that adventure will unfold on another day. For now, it’s back on board for quiet dinner and good nights rest.
###
Bonaire
11/14-11/18 Friday/Tuesday
Our mooring in Bonaire
Hands down, this is our favorite island so far. For a tiny atoll, smaller than Catalina, Bonaire has it all…especially underwater. Yes, it has the required nice, but non-high rise hotels; good, inexpensive restaurants; happy, helpful people and decent, well stocked grocery stores but it is the snorkeling and scuba that really makes it shine. Over 100 crystal clear dive sights line its narrow leeward shores.
Our three crews enjoyed four days here with Jo getting the prize for most accomplished. She signed up for an all day scuba refreshers course which included both a beach and a boat dive and had a great experience getting back into a sport she all but gave up on.
Rainy days kept the rest of us from reaching the full dive potential of the place but we all did take our required circle island tour. The south island area includes a huge salt harvesting operation, a nudist beach, a really authentic beach bar, and a lagoon renowned for its wind surfing and kite boarding..
Even the occasional cruise ships don’t seem to impact the islands nice quiet atmosphere. Conspicuously absent are the assorted Little Switzerland’s type jewelry shops, hoards of overstuffed, sunburned passengers wandering aimlessly in the streets, and the feeling every islander is out to make a buck. Instead, the locals set up modest pop-ups, each day and offer the usual tourist stuff in the calm of their neighborhood park.
We did discover a gourmet wine shop, the best so far since we left San Francisco which even featured vintages from Napa Valley. The personable Indian owner Depok, was a delight and cracked several bottles of his best for us all to share and soon a full fledged wine tasting party was in high gear. By the time we were done, several cases of his finest where on board all boats, ready to sustain us in style for the next several weeks of inebriated cruising.
Since the wet weather never did break and the window for moving on was ready to close again on Friday, we reluctantly, checked out, rescued my speargun for customs, and stowed the dingies. By late afternoon, Voyager and Wandering Star were on their way east towards the next stepping stone island east in the march to Grenada, Los Roques.
###
Curacao to Bonaire
11/13 Thursday
Latitude:12:08.55 N Longitude: 068:17.33 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 1400 at 12-15kts. Sea: Beaufort 4
Barometer: 1005 Passage time: 0930 to 1435/6 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1484 Fuel used/on board: 14/533
Distance trip/to Date: 37/9397
With our spare replacement raw water impellor onboard we are ready to depart Curacao for Bonaire. Up early, there is always a lot to do to get ready for sea - especially when they can be a rough as we have experienced so far getting to here. A bike and dinghy to stow, water tanks to top off, shore-power to disconnect, decks to wash down (covered with fine dust from construction), portholes to shut, and cabinets to secure make up just part of the long morning check list prior to departure. By 0930 though, we back out of our tight fit slip to take up our position following Voyager out of the marina and the Spanish Waters Lagoon.
The first few hours are spent in the lee of the island so the seas are still calm and the wind does not have much effect till we round the south point and made the turn for Bonaire. Here the waters are quite lumpy as the ocean swell and wind waves approach the shallow waters of the windward shore. This lasts for about an hour then things smooth out nicely for the five-hour ride to the main town of Kralendijk (means coral dike in Dutch) about midway down the lee side of the island.
Dreamweaver departed for Bonaire at 0630.so they arrived first and were ready to help us pick up a mooring as we approach in early afternoon. To protect the reef and underworld habitat, anchoring is not permitted anywhere around the island but a nice set of about 40 secure moorings have been provided just off the main town’s shoreline. Once attached to the underwater block of concrete, it’s time again for the bureaucratic shuffle as we all pile into the Dreamweaver dinghy and head ashore for customs and immigration formalities.
I even had to check in my spear gun with customs as they view it as a weapon here (and probably don’t want you maiming all their fish anyways). Then it’s up the street on foot to happy hour at a local cruiser’s hangout bar. This is followed by some of the best pizza I’ve ever had at the highly recommended Pasa Bon Italian Restaurant before loading into the dinghy and a full moon ride back to our little fleet waiting quietly at the moorings.
It’s been a long but gratifying day. We are poised, at last, for our 400-mile jump off across the outer islands of Venezuela towards the final destination for this leg and beginning of the Windward Islands, Grenada. A cool night breeze makes going to bed early a real treat and a good night’s sleep very promising indeed!
###
Curacao
11/07 - 11/12 Friday - Wednesday
Hot and buggy would best describe our stay in Curacao. Perhaps that is a bit harsh since we do always seem to have a great time. The Seru Boca Marina at Santa Barbara Plantation is two miles into a huge Hyatt condo/hotel/golf course construction project so it was always a hassle getting in and out of the guard gated, heavy equipment laden site.
Then it was a good 1/2hr ride into the only town of Willemstad on a rather loosely scheduled public bus to a transportation plaza and you walked everywhere else from there. We did this exercise twice, once to check into Curacao and again to check out. The only other day out and about was when we rented a car to do our now traditional circle island, cram it all into one day, explore the whole place tour.
Willemstad’s main claim to fame is a floating pontoon bridge connecting the two halves of the city dating back to the late 1800’s. It is very picturesque, especially when lit up at night. The bridge opens up access for the big ships to a huge inner harbor and perhaps the largest oil refinery in the Caribbean. The city itself is a warren of small streets, shops and restaurants geared to the cruise ship passengers whose daily visits keep the locals in the tourist business.
Curacao’s landmark floating bridge
The crystal clear waters of the ABC’s (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) are known for some of the best dive and snorkel sites in the world. Not to miss this opportunity, we off loading the big dinghy, joined up with Dottie and Ken, and headed out the long entrance channel to the open sea in search of the wreck of a tug boat we knew was in 15-20 feet of water.
After several false but interesting snorkel stops along the way, we found the tug in the midst of a most unusual underwater photo show tied to the bottom in 12-feet of water. No idea who or why but it did make for something different to see rather then just pretty fish and coral covered wrecks.
Underwater Photo Gallery
Our driving tour took in the north end lighthouse where we had lunch at a very nice but deadly quiet resort, the old fort turned restaurant above Willemstad where Jo and I dined when here on a cruise ship with Heather some 30-years ago, and visits to the first, very welcome marine stores since Panama. We also did some provisioning before calling it a day and heading back into isolation at the marina.
Been having some difficulty with our Northernlights 12kw Generator overheating and shutting itself off so I used this opportunity to take it apart and discover that the raw water cooling pump impellor had self destructed. This is a fairly “normal” failure and easy to replace with the spares we have on board.
I also used this occasion to check on the impellor in the massive raw water pump used to cool our Cummings main engine. It was in good shape still but should be replaced on the general principal of being over a year old. I did discover that the spares I carry for this purpose where the wrong size so had to have the correct size flown down Fedex from Seattle - which arrived in three day flat with a day off for customs…pretty amazing!
Of course, as you should know to count on by now, the rest of our time here was filled with the usual happy hours on each others boats, shared dinners on board, and general socializing between new friends and old. To this mix we did manage to fit in a sunset dinghy raft-up where cocktails and appetizers are served with the small boats tied together and anchored in some other scenic arm of the huge Spanish Waters Lagoon.
###
Aruba to Curacao
11/06 - 11/07 Thursday/Friday - Overnight Passage
Latitude:12:04.26 N Longitude: 068:50.57 W
Weather: clear Wind: 0800 at 10-15kts. Sea: Beaufort 4
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 1800 to 0700 2nd Day/25 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1465 Fuel used/on board: 31/547
Distance trip/to Date: 77/0361
Checking out went smoother than checking into Aruba. An immigration official showed up on WS and stamped her heart out on our documents. Dreamweaver and Voyager came over and got theirs done too. We still had to walk over to the port office though for customs clearance but this time we didn’t need to bring the boats like when we checked in. By sunset, all three boats of our little fleet had slipped out past the breakwater reef and were on our way for the 77-miles overnight voyage to Curacao.
The seas stayed calm the first few hours while we were still in the lee of the island but then kicked up a bit as we became exposed to the long ocean fetch that seems to go all the way to the west coast of Africa. From dark till midnight, it was bumper cars again with all sizes of tankers, freighters, and a dozen or so small boats running between the islands. At one point, I had a “stealth” (no-lights on) 100plus foot boat I hope was military sneak up behind me within a few hundred yards. They left without making contact once they heard us talking about their presence with DW and V on the VHF.
By 0200, we were coming into the lee of Curacao Island and the seas calmed back down for the 20-mile run up the west coast to Spanish Waters Bay and our marina. We arrived at the harbor entrance just at first light and thankfully, our new charts of the area are spot on, so coming into the 80-foot wide, mile-long entrance channel is not a problem. By 0700, we were in front of the marina slips and since the office had not yet opened, we dropped our hook and were able to relax again over breakfast while waiting for the staff.
WS in Seru Boca Marina, Curacao
No time for naps, even though I was running on 2-hours sleep, it’s off by local bus to the customs and immigration offices in the port town of Willemstad. This is a beautiful, UN World Heritage city with much of the old buildings and narrow warren of streets are still as they were when first built by the Dutch in the early 1800’s. Paperwork done, the crews settled in at a open air bar for some refreshment and at another for a late lunch before heading back to the marina.
Downtown Curacao
Early lights out tonight for all as I couldn’t even make it to prime time television before nodding off into a much needed sleep.
###
Aruba
10/29 - 11/05 Wednesday/Wednesday
Our marina slip location was right in the center of all the action. Cruise ships coming and going, tourists walking the docks, the hustle and bustle of a small city, and really cool restaurants within an easy walk made for a very pleasant stay in Aruba.
Our crew rented a car for one day and did a complete circle island tour from tip to tip. We saw lighthouses, high-rise resorts, beautiful beaches, butterfly and ostrich farms, wind blown sea cliffs, caves and the “outback” where the road even disappears for much of the time. Not to mention the final stop at the islands famous Balashi Brewery where the brew is made from imported everything and desalinated sea water.
I was happy to find a very talented computer guy who fixed a couple clichés in the on board wireless system. I even figured out, with the help of Greg back in Seattle, how to kick-start the Simrad autopilot system again so it could talk to the navigation/gps system so WS could steer herself without our constant input.
We eventually delayed our departure a few days to take advantage of the excellent medical services and various crew members could had some routine checks done. This was important here since we are able to converse and be understood in English. Being away from a Spanish culture for the first time in a year took some getting used too. A final “lost evening” visit to Senior Frogs for Mexico night made us feel misunderstood and right at home again.
Sunset in Aruba
###
Cabo de Villa to Aruba
10/27 - 10/28 Monday/Tuesday - Overnight Passage
Latitude:12:31.10 N Longitude: 070:02.33 W
Weather: clear Wind: 0800 at 8-15kts. Sea: Beaufort 4-5
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 1000 to 1048 2nd day/24 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1465 Fuel used/on board: 64/578
Distance trip/to Date: 140/9484
Well, if you are reading this you know we made it safe and sound to Aruba…by far the most difficult passage of our 9,000 mile voyage so far! Monstrous seas, relentless wind, aggressively unfavorable currents, and enough emergencies to last us a lifetime are behind us at last and we are all safe in our slips in Oranjestad Harbor.
We just did a drive by of Cape de Villa anchorage in the protected lee of Punta Gallinas without stopping in favor of pressing on to Aruba. As it was it took several more hours to complete this leg do to the 2-knot current directly out of the east, right where we had to go so instead of 7-knots we could barely manage 5-knots the most of the 25-hours.
Punta Gallinason the WS Navigation Computer
The seas were short, steep and miserable most of the way as well. With only 5-seconds between waves 5 to 8 feet high, the boats don’t have time to recover before the next wave pushes them off in a new direction. Also, as you surf down the wave you are on, the bow often pokes her nose into the oncoming wave, scoops up a big bunch of sea water, then throws it high in the air as the bow comes up where the 20-25 knots of wind picks it up and blows it right over the pilot house. Most of the time you feel like a submarine!
Inside, the crew needs to hang on for dear life, especially when moving about (which we do as little as possible). Cooking or even reading becomes very difficult so we just tend to nap when off helm duty to help pass the time. Lots of time is spent on the radio chatting with our buddy boats which helps relieve the time we are on watch but at night there is nothing else to do except keep glued to the radar as it is a black hole outside and you can not even see the bow rail 12-feet in front.
Oddly enough, it was rough all the way up to the Point where we thought we would be protected and, by comparison, calmer once we made the turn for Aruba. Jo was on watch at this point and had to deal with dozens of ships of all sizes coming straight at us for the entire time. This involves plotting their course on the radar and then adjusting our course so that we can pass with a mile or two between us in the dark. I had a much easier watch. By the time I took over at 0130, there wasn’t another ship in sight except our two buddy boats; Dreamweaver and Voyager.
By sunrise, things have settled down a bit, at least the waves seem better when you can see what is coming and prepare your body for the next direction you’ll be lurching. Remarkable our little boat does very well through all of this (as long as her engine is running). She does her sharing of rolling and stabilizers probably could help but I would tend not to use them because they work too hard in rough sea, when you need them most, and slow you down even more with the extra drag they produce.
Pulling into Oranjestad Harbor requires radio clearance with the port authority’s traffic control and after some confusion, we are directed to the southern commercial port to clear customs and immigration before heading to our marina. Once cleared into Aruba, we head back to the main yacht harbor were the very friendly staff at the Renaissance Hotel marina is waiting on the dock to greet us, help tie us up, and welcome us officially to Aruba. With in minutes, all crews have assembled on Voyager for the now traditional shots of tequila that follow all especially harrowing passages. Of course, one good thing leads to another and before long there is much singing, dancing, and eventually carousing around our waterfront looking for particularly disreputable “sailor” bars where we can continue the party till the toil of to little sleep for to many nights finally catches up with us and collapse, at last, into our very steady beds.
###
Rodadero to Cabo de Villa
10/26 - 10/27 Sunday/Monday - Overnight Passage
Latitude:12:12.27 N Longitude: 072:10.69 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 0800 at 12-15kts. Sea: Beaufort 5
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 1000 to 1000 2nd day/24 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1440 Fuel used/on board: 64/642
Distance trip/to Date: 138/9143
What a beautiful night at anchor. It takes a really bad day at sea to really help you appreciate the good nights of rest. Even though the non-stop party at several beach bars rocked till the wee hours, we were up early and fully refreshed…ready for the adventure to continue. Today, we are in no hurry to leave as we always try to time the departure so our arrival is during daylight. By 1000, we have taken WS for a little performance run around the bay and she seems good as new and Voyager has her anchor up so off we go.
As we pass Santa Marta Harbor, Voyager gets stopped by the Columbian “Coast Guard” - three guys in a panga with a girl working the radio - and are instructed to report into their office by radio. Les calls in with his boat information and they seem satisfied and finally pull away. I suppose we were far enough ahead that they didn’t want to bother chasing us over wind and waves.
Once out of the lee of the land, the full force of the wind and sea hits us square on the nose (bow). If anything, it is worse than yesterday for the first 20-miles but then settles down to a fresh 20-25 knot breeze and 4-5 foot seas for most of the day and night. Not a good sign for going around the roughest point in the whole Caribbean…Punta Gallinas.
Sunrise is at 0530 after an almost moon less night - a sliver came up at 4:30AM, to little to late. While for our log, we will consider Cabo de Villa a stop, we actually never put the hook down but just cruised through slowly while cleaning up the boat, making soup and pasta, taking much needed showers, and getting gear secured better for the thrashing to come.
###
Point Hermosa to Rodadero - Unscheduled Stop
10/25 Saturday
Latitude: 11:12.20 N Longitude: 074:13.87 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 0800 at 10-12kts. Sea: Beaufort 3
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 0800 to 1640 8 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1406 Fuel used/on Board: 22/707
Distance trip/to Date: 64/9005
Today is a day that will live in infamy…the day the engine on Wandering Star quit at sea but I’m getting ahead of myself. After a squally night’s rest, the crew was up early to start what was already known to be a difficult day of passing the huge mouth of the Rio Magdelena. This river empties most everything it finds in Columbia, trees, tangles of brush, trash, and tons of dirt into the Caribbean Sea. Even three-miles offshore, it’s brown, earth scented waters stretch on for 15 or more miles in the crossing. Even more daunting are the confused and decidedly unfriendly waves generated by the merging of the two powerful currents and fresh water with the heavy salt.
No sooner were we through this mess and the unthinkable happens…our trusted engine for 1400 hours and almost 9,000-miles just quits. By this time, the wind is well over 20-knots with gusts much higher and the seas are outrageous, at least, Beaufort 6. Short, steep, over 5-feet tall and hammering us every 5 seconds. Wandering Star makes a valiant effort to keep her dignity but she is soon rolling beam to beam and inside she is a maelstrom of flying objects.
In the midst of this fear and chaos, it is into the engine room with the skipper. Thankfully, Les and Rose are close by with Voyager to lend their moral support and most welcome technical advice. From the symptoms, it seemed our usually dependable Cummings Engine is just starved for fuel. The Racor fuel filters are full of air so our first thought was that somehow air was getting into the inbound fuel system. After many purgings of air from the filters, checking hoses, and attempts to restart, nothing was working. She would start, run for a few minutes, get our hopes up and then choke to death and stop. Remarkable, Jo stayed calm and confident in her captain through it all. But by now it is getting late, seas, and the wind are steadily getting worse, working further in the engine room nearing impossible, and WS was indeed in a precarious position for the 1st time.
A very rough ride for a powerless Wandering Star
“Time for a tow” the skipper cries! While towing in to shore from 17-miles at sea is not an easy option, especially in the current conditions, it seems the only decision now possible short of abandoning ship. The Voyager crew rigs up a 100′ double tow line while we use our strongest dock lines to make a bow bridle. It takes several passes to finally get lines passed between the two careening ships but, with patience, we managed to get them hooked together, bow to stern and the long, slow, careful movement towards shore can begin.
Not a pretty sight…
Now the real holding your breath can begin. Each time to two ships fall into the trough, the tow line would completely disappear in the intervening wave. Then it would reappear. as WS was dragged up over another crest as tight as a cello string… could they hold together with a wildly tossing, 54,000 pound whale, on the end of a fishing line? .Thanks .to a combination of Voyager being a much larger, more powerful ship, her highly skilled crew, the tow lines being exactly the right length so the boats fit trough to trough between the swells, and a good deal of prayer, all went well.
It took some six hours at 4-5 knots to reach the bay of El Rodedero, a local Columbian beach resort area. While we had several closer options including the fairly large seaport of Santa Marta, this wide-open bay seemed easier and safer to approach in the dark with a distressed boat in tow. By 8PM, our hook was down with a sigh of relief and Voyager was rafted along side. Now the real work could begin as Les and I try to figure out what went wrong in the engine room.
On a happy note, Billy K., an expat from Eugene, Oregon, gave us a call on his handheld VHF from his condo’s 21st floor balcony to welcome us into the bay and offer his help if we need it. Bill keeps a sport fishing boat here and has lived here in his private paradise for 5-years now…really nice to hear a friendly voice after our horrendous day - thanks Bill!
Several hours later and thanks to Les’ much appreciated diagnostic skills, we figured our there was a complete blockage in the fuel line leading from the fuel intake manifold to the Racor engine fuel filters. A strand of wire, left in the hose by the factory when assembling the hose coupling, began to accumulate debris from the tank (stirred up by the rough seas?) until it was completely clogged - much like plaque in an artery. The cure was to simply run a electricians snake through the hose to clear the obstruction and the problem was solved. The Cummings fired right up and is feeling much better.
Thanks to Les & Rose our voyage continues…we appreciate you both very much!
Both emotionally and physically exhausted crews had a late dinner and turned in by midnight for a much needed rest. Quite a day at sea to say the least!
P.S. Just completed our 9,000 on this segment…too bad it was on the end of a tow rope
###
Cartagena to Point Hermosa
10/24 Friday
Latitude: 11:12.20 N Longitude: 074:13.87 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 0800 at 10-12kts. Sea: Beaufort 3
Barometer: 1008 Passage time: 0800 to 1640 8 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1398 Fuel used/on Board: 17.3/504+241=746
Distance trip/to Date: 53/8941
Alas, it is time to leave…the weather, while not perfect, is the best we can expect for a long while so not wanting to stay here till spring we must depart.. It takes most of Thursday to finish boat tasks, provision, and stow all in the gear from shore-side living. Our agent David takes care of exit formalities saving about a day of running around to immigration, customs and the port captain’s office. So by 3PM we are finally ready to cast off Zarpes (boat exit visas) in hand from our cozy spot med-moored next to Voyager.
Our first stop is the fuel dock to top off the tanks only to discover their last 1300 gallons was just poured into a thoughtless sport fishing boat with a broken engine and not going anywhere for weeks. With assurances all around that a fuel delivery would be there bright and early; we negotiate a stay on the fuel dock overnight so we get one more evening ashore in Cartagena. Yea!
Tomorrow marks 1st Mate Jo’s and your captain’s 38th year together on life’s high seas. An event we have already celebrated with several romantic dinners this past week, so we plan an evening and last dinner in Cartagena with the Voyager crew, Les and Rose at the yacht club’s very elegant waterfront restaurant Candlelight and wine with soft mandolins set the mood for a great farewell meal.
Not untypically, the fuel truck is late so both boats don’t finish refueling till after 10AM. WS puts on 241 gallons to Voyages over 600 at the new low rate of $2.80/gal each. Then it’s out passed the old submerged breakwater and on our way east again. Today’s 53-mile run will take us to cove well protected from the seas behind a long reef. Here we will overnight and rest for tomorrow’s adventure. The seas are getting more noticeable short and steep as the day progresses. Not much swell but just highly stacked wind waves with little time between each often breaking crest…so different than our smooth pacific swells.
It is late in the day by the time we pull into Punta Hermosa Cove. Aye, there be whispers of marauding pirates in these waters so it is not without some care we pick our spot in the middle of the bay - as far as possible from every hostile looking beach. These rouges are said to be seeking far more than just an occasional dinghy motor so all boat safety measures are in full effect tonight including me sleeping on the main saloon couch…bear mace close by. Not much around this bay on shore, a couple of fish camps, some homes and what looks like a bunch of day beach palapas similar to the ones seen all along to west coast of Mexico.
Night passes quietly with no raping and plundering visitors, only the occasional lonely fisherman returning late after a long day at sea.
###
Cartagena at Club de Pesca Marina
10/13 - 10 23 Monday thru a second Thursday
We’ll stay here now for at least a week, touring, doing boat projects, and waiting for a perfect weather window for the 3-day, 368 passage over the hump to Aruba. Depending on the weather, this may be the most difficult section of our voyage.
I’m sure Jo will have lots to say about Cartagena…one of our new favorite cities right up there with Sidney, San Francisco, Key West, and Hong Kong. It is a magic place and defies my more mundane commentary so I’ll leave it up to her to describe in her “Jo’s Reflections” pages.
Typical street in old Cartagena
From a guy’s point of view, it is a great place to work on boats. I have my own personal “boatboy” each day for $25US who toiled from sunrise to sunset polishing stainless and waxing fiberglass. With only an occasional watering and a couple cans of coke each day, Ernan worked on and on in the driving rain and blazing sun. One could get very used to this concept.
My new best friend and “Boatboy” Ernan
In addition, with the help of our ships agent - David ” Does-it-all” (our name), I was able to get my failed alternator replaced and a badly corroded head motor repaired, go for an eight-ten mile bike ride through the waking streets of old down town early each morning and still have time for sightseeing, afternoon nap, and all important evening festivities. See Jo’s page for all the details…
Maintenance note: changed genset oil/filters at 336 hours - next scheduled at 536 hours. Also added 241 gallons of fuel bringing our total on board up to 746.
###
Holandes Cay to Cartagena, Columbia - overnight passage
10/11-10/12 Saturday-Sunday
Latitude: 10:23.43 N Longitude: 075:34.28 W
Weather: cloudy Wind: 120 0 at 10-12kts. Sea: Beaufort 2
Barometer: 1005 Passage time: 0700 to 1130+24/28 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1398 Fuel used/on Board: 363/583
Distance trip/to Date: 193/8888
Been up since 5AM…just a little excited I guess. This is our first overnight passage since June and the first across a large, open bay between countries since leaving Mexico last Spring. It does tend to get you a little amped and anxious. Weather, as usual, is the main concern. While reports seem good on both internet and weather services there is a large low settling over the area and that usually means bad weather depending on how steep the pressure gradient…how hard the wind is likely to blow and from where.
First light still looks like large storm cell just offshore. Weather data indicates it is dissipating as it heads north so Dreamweaver decides to take off ahead of us as planned. By 0700 it still looks marginal but Dreamweaver’s weather offshore is still okay so WS and Voyager decide to follow and the move to Cartagena is on. As it turns out, the storm was completely gone by the time we crossed its old location so all went well for the rest of the transit.
The all day seas were about as smooth as could be hoped for and the wind never got much above 12-knots. A very mild day in the Caribbean Sea. By nightfall, a full moon made visibility good, not that there was much to see. We had caught up to Dreamweaver by dusk and soon all three boats were in a row marching across the rest of the 190-miles to our destination By daybreak we could just make out the land ahead with the Cartagena skyline coming into view a couple hours later.
We pull past the breakwater at 1030 to an already Sunday morning busy inner harbor with jet skis, harbor ferries and go fast boats going in every direction. All quite exciting and festive really. It takes about an hour to cross the bays and weave our way up the channels to get to our very posh new home, Club de Pesce Marina - one of the deluxe old yacht clubs similar to Acapulco YC. Here about a dozen assorted ships agents, dock boys, marina officials and curious YC members have already gathered to help us “med moor” (back up to the dock with the bow tied to a piling and/or anchored). And in short order, our immigration documents have been whisked away to be processed, our shore power cables are installed so the AC is on, and our boat’s outsides are being cleaned from top to waterline. Great service!
After all the excitement dies down, we each settle in for an afternoon nap before heading out on foot to explore the fort enclosed old town and find some dinner. The city is as exciting as we remembered it, street dancers in every square, sidewalk artists, fountains, statues, narrow cobble stone streets with few cars, and lots of locals of all ages - all in a holiday mood (Columbus Day weekend). After cocktails overlooking the city, an extensive ATM search for some pesos to spend, and a superb dinner on a breeze cooled, upstairs balcony restaurant overlooking one of the larger plazas, we head back over the bridge for the Club and our floating home. While it is getting past 11PM and late for us, most of the locals are just arriving as the night clubs here don’t even open till 10:00 and carry on till no one is left standing…they know how to party it seems.
###
Eastern Holandes Cay
10/10 Friday - Day of rest before the crossing
Sun out this morning and the winds of yesterday have died completely. It takes me more the a few minutes just to bail the 2-inches of rain water out of the dinghy. Today we will finally get the chance to explore our new bay. Jo and I take off to BBQ Island, which is just a few hundred yards off our stern, around 10AM. Previous cruisers have built a picnic table out of boat parts that washed up from wrecks on the reef and there is evidence of many campfires on this otherwise pristine little island you can walk around in a half-hour.
A call to our fellow shipmates and a picnic lunch is soon organized for the early afternoon. The WS crew works up a treasure hunt for before a lunch of great BBQ chicken, salads and, of course, lots of beer. By 3PM the rain is starting again in earnest so the picnic breaks up early. Before we head back to WS, all hands help Dreamweaver find a pass through a shallow spot in the reef so they can anchor just outside and be in position for an early start in the morning.
Just the two of us for dinner on WS tonight featuring two huge lobsters bought from locals for $5 each earlier in the day.
###
East Lemmon Cay to Eastern Holandes Cay
10/9 Thursday
Latitude: 09:35.4 N Longitude: 078:40.5 W
Weather: cloudy Wind:022 0 at 10-16kts. Sea: Beaufort 1
Barometer: 1005 Passage time: 9:30 to 12:30/3 hrs.
Engine Hours: 1369 Fuel used/on Board: 3603/583
Distance trip/to Date: 13/8695
Calm this morning after some more rain during the night. By 0930 we are on our way back over the reef to the open channel. Today’s adventure calls for exploring the entire Holandes Cay group of islands that sit upon a 7-mile long barrier reef. My Nobeltec charts have finally completely given out with little resemblance to any thing we see in the real world - very disconcerting!. With the help of our cruising guide and our radar, we are just able to figure out where we are going with some degree of certainty. The new C-Map charts on my laptop are of some comfort but I have yet to upload them to my boats mainframe nav system. I’m running them in parallel and can see a huge improvement in both accuracy and detail. I’ll install them on the WS navigation computer before we leave Cartagena.
At the Eastern end of the Holandes group there is a very popular anchorage called the “Swimming Hole” by the cruisers’ for its crystal clear water and usually calm conditions. Today, of course, is the exception. By the time we arrive and find enough room between the surrounding reefs to anchor, the wind has picked up to 16-18 knots out of the north. While well protected from waves, it does cut down on any desire to mount the very wet dinghy and explore the local area. Perhaps once the sun starts down conditions will improve and we can go ashore and do some hiking around BBQ Island at least.
Rain and blustery wind continued for the rest of the day and into the evening. We stay on board for a quiet evening at home.
###
Chichime Cay to East Lemmon Cay
10/8 Wednesday
Latitude: 09:33.8 N Longitude: 078:51.5 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 0 at 5-10 kts. Sea: Beaufort 1
Barometer: 1008
Engine Hours: 1367 Fuel used/on Board: 3600/586
Distance trip/to Date: 7/8682
Leisurely morning departure. Today’s run will be more exploratory than getting anywhere. Most of the islands are fairly close together. There are just so many of them that they take up miles and miles of the eastern Panama coast. We’ll need to be content with just doing a fairly representative sample before we must push on for Cartagena which now looks like Sunday morning.
The anchor is up by 1000 and we head out in line from our snug little lagoon and turn south towards to Lemmon Cays. In route it is decided to just pass through West Lemmon Cay which turns out to be a rather tricky bit of navigating and white knuckling as the water gets very skinny (down to 6′) in places. Dreamweaver had been through the area several months ago so we were able to follow her as she followed her old track over the shallow spots.
Once clear of the shoal, we head further west for an open anchorage of East Lemmon Cays, close to Dog Island where we want to snorkel today. This area is known for the wreck of an old island trading ship lying just off the beach in 8-feet of water. It is so rare to have such a complete wreck in such shallow water so it is something not to be missed. So as soon as the anchors are set, we pile in the dingies and are not disappointed. It is spectacular…teaming with coral and reef fish, dark grottos and yawning holds, all within a breath of the surface.
Afternoon is spent resting from the dive trip and getting ready for company. Tonight, its WS turn to host the party with BBQ shish-ka-bobs, ratatouille, yams and finished with Rose’s fresh baked chocolate cake! Life is good at sea. By ten, our guests are gone and it is pouring serious rain, first we have had all week, but the timing was perfect and all hands made it back to their boats before the mêlée began.
###
A day in Chichime Lagoon
10/7 Tuesday
Woke early to watch the natives come to life on shore at first light. Life, while simple, takes on a definite routine and most serious work seems to get started early to avoid the heat. By noon, the men are often back from fishing, the ground swept clean with palm branches around the huts, and everything is in order for a leisurely afternoon. We’re not much different on the boats but today, instead of leisure, we will head out by dinghy to the ocean side of the reef to do some snorkeling.
But first, morning finds us with Venancio (master Mula maker) on board with about a hundred of the finest mulas we’ve seen yet. Mulas, by the way, are pictures made from many layers of different colored cloth, cut and sewn so the image comes through in the exposed layers. A very colorful, 3-D effect with the intricate designs taking many, many hours of hand sewing and great skill. We manage to narrow it down to three at about $40 each and will use them for gifts, pillow covers and wall hangings when we get home.
Jo and I then pile our gear into Dottie & Kens hard bottom dingy for the skin diving expedition. It is about a ¼ mile fast ride across a large coral shelf that surrounds most of the lagoon and gives our boats protection from the open ocean swells and breaking waves. The coral here, while not as spectacular as in Bocas del Toro, is still interesting and teaming with life. We did see the largest single piece of Brain Coral yet…the size of a Volkswagen in about 10′ of water.
After lunch, we settle in like the natives to rest during the heat of the day before the usual afternoon showers can cool the place off. Dinner is on our own and WS crew feasts on a huge crab (so big we had to get a kettle from Dreamweaver for it to fit) we bought for $5 from our local boys. 
There was plenty of meat for the two of us with some to spare for our dinner while we opted not to watch the 2nd probably indigestible debate on the TV, and instead enjoyed another episode of Boston Legal. Turned in early…much like the natives ashore.
###
Isla Granda to Chichime Cay, San Blas Islands
10/6 Monday
Latitude: 09:35.27 N Longitude: 078:52.62 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 2020 at 5-10 kts. Sea: Beaufort 1 - 2
Barometer: 1007
Engine Hours: 1364 Fuel used/on Board: 3598/588
Distance trip/to Date: 41/8674
Up early as planned. Did my daily dozen, had a quick breakfast, and we were off the bottom by 0730. Once we cleared the end of Isla Granda, it was obvious we were set for another beautiful, calm day at sea. Water temp is exactly the same as the air…82 degrees and with a nice apparent breeze it feels cool and comfortable on board WS for the 6-hours it takes to cover the 41-miles to the San Blas.
Not much to excite a mariner along the way other than a few high spots on the ocean bottom. Dreamweaver & Voyager took the outer track around the ocean side of the banks to deeper water hoping for some good fishing but we took the shorter, direct path to Chichime Cay. Ken did manage to catch a nice 28-pound Wahoo but Voyager did not fair as well today.
When visiting coral islands the idea is to arrive early in the day while the sun is still high in the sky so one can see the coral reefs as you approach the small bits of land. With Jo on the bow and a slow 4.5 knots it is fairly easy to thread our way around the coral into to inner lagoon. We drop our Rocna anchor the 25-feet to a hard pack, sand bottom and before it is even set three native filled ulu’s (dugout canoes) are on their way to welcome us to their corner of the Caribbean.
The four Kuna families on the tiny island do not stay here full-time, they take one month turns from the main village to guard their coconuts and subsist by selling Mulas (colorful layered needle point) and trading for food and water with visiting yachts. Each family has a couple of palm thatched huts on their own private section of the 200-yard long island The men paddle out to the reef to fish, catch lobster or crabs most days while the women mind the kids and do the needle point from hammocks at home.
Our afternoon is spent swimming, walking around the island, and doing some minor boat chores. Evening finds all three crews on board Dreamweaver to partake on today’s bounty from the sea; Dottie’s great Wahoo ceviche and Ken’s BBQ fillets. The late evening trip back to our boats turns a bit stormy as the offshore winds pick up to 12-knots and a light chop rolls into the anchorage…lightning all around adds to the drama but soon the moon is out and all returns once again to a quiet night in paradise.
###
Shelter Bay to Isla Granda
10/5 Sunday
Latitude: 09:37.57 N Longitude: 079:33.85 W
Weather: partly cloudy Wind: 2860 at 5-10 kts. Sea: Beaufort 1
Barometer: 1009
Engine Hours: 1354 Fuel used/on Board: 3580/640
Distance trip/to Date: 28/8633
Finally broke the bonds with life ashore this morning at 9 AM! What a great feeling to be on our way again…at last. It is a perfect morning too. Bright blue skies, light wind out of the west, and a sea so calm it could pass for a hot tub (84 degree too). Lots of friends, new and old were up and about to wave and wish our little fleet (Voyager, Dreamweaver and Wandering Star) well as we set off to circumnavigate the Caribbean.
Once we cleared the breakwater, checked out with the Panama Canal traffic control and weaved our way through the big ship anchorage, it was a straight shot across the bay to Isla Granda. This small island lies just a few hundred yards offshore and is a popular weekend swim beach for the Colon locals. It supports a couple of bars and shops along it’s pristine, white sand beach and by 1300 we have dropped our hook in 25-feet just off a sandbar covered by native waders.
All three crews take it easy most of the afternoon until about 4PM when it is decided to take an expedition ashore now that most of the native revelers’ have departed for home and the island town has reverted to its natural, tourist free state. We all pile into the posh Voyager dinghy and slowly feel our way over the reef to what looks to be a promising watering hole called the Congo Bar. A fitting name since the island is inhabited mainly by descendants’ of the run-away slaves from our Civil War. Indeed, Bob Marley seems to be the patron saint of the village and is featured both in wall paintings and music.
We med-moor the dinghy and gather on the bar deck for a local beer before taking a quick walk through the single foot path town (no cars) in the waning light of our first day of cruising. All of the visitors are now gone and the locals relax on there porches and parks, having a beer while carefully watching us gringos enjoying their space.
Then it is back aboard Voyagers for a fresh, tuna fish dinner complements of Les and Rose before turning in early in deference to tomorrows early departure. Back of WS, Jo and I take a moment to enjoy the cool quiet night air, star filled sky, and the gentle role of Wandering Star…oh so good to be cruising again!
###
Shelter Bay at Rest - the beginning of Leg X
6/12-10//5
It has been a great summer!
Several trips home for fun and business, lots of work done on Wandering Star, and even some land trips around Panama but it is finally time to begin the quest again…this time due East right across the top of South America. For the foreseeable future, our three boats; Dreamweaver with Dottie & Ken, Voyager with Les & Rose and Wandering Star will continue on together, not only for fun but prudent too in the remote, still pirate infested waters of the south Caribbean.
Yesterday, we officially checked out of Panama and will drop the dock-lines first thing tomorrow morning, Sunday the 5th and head for our first stop, Isla Grande, an anchorage just southeast of Colon. Monday will find us on our way to the fabled islands of the San Blas. Home of the Kuna Indians, their Kuna Yala area is the home of one of the last primitive, pre-Columbian cultures to be found anywhere. Here we will spend a week or so at anchor; snorkeling, relaxing, trading with the natives, and getting our sea legs for the 100-plus mile overnight voyage to Cartagena, Columbia.
Cartagena is one of those magic, old world cities that is a step back in time. Much of the city is still within the walls of the old fort built by the Spanish in the 1500’s to protect their gold shipments back to Spain from the early Jack Sparrows. From here, depending on weather (hurricane season should end around the 1st of November, it is up and over the Peninsula de La Guajira to the A,B,C’s…Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire before tip-toeing across the upper, offshore islands of Venezuela (they don’t like us much and we now understand the Russians are in the area teaching them naval warfare), hoping to cover the 1000+ nautical miles to Grenada, the first of the windward islands, by Thanksgiving.
Hope you will join us as the adventures of Wandering Star continue…
