10/19/2006, Dream Chaser getting splashed
We arrived back in VE on October 5, 2006. We are located at the Bahia Redonda Marina in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on the northern coast of South America.
The marina is very nice with secured gates and guarded 24/7. There are probably about 150 boats here from all over the world, but mainly Americans, Canadians, French and British boats of varying sizes but most all are cruisers, on tight budgets and sailing the high seas from England to the Caribbean to New Zealand and beyond. There is a boat here from Edina on our dock and another one from Alexandra, MN!
There are many shops and nice things within the complex at the marina; including 3 travel agents, a small boat shop outlet and paint shop, a doctor/dentist office, a mini mart, condos/apartments, copy/internet/phone services, a spa with yoga, massage and acupuncture therapy, two upholstery shops, a laundry service, a nice big pool, water aerobics, BBQ deck, and a restaurant. The docks are very nice with potable water and the brick sidewalks wind around and are lined with palm trees with white Christmas lights wrapped around the trunks.
During the two weeks prior to splashing we rented an apartment within the marina property rather than living on the boat. We won't bore you with the details of all the boat preparation, but we did hire out the marina crew to apply 3 coats of anti-fouling paint (keeps the barnacles off) to the bottom this year rather than doing it ourselves. They also replaced the cutlass bearing and re-aligned the engine to the shaft. Once we were in the water we hired two brothers, Jose' and Luis, to strip all the outside deck teak and re-varnished it. We also had the sail loft restitch all the seams in both sails and the uplostery shop recovered our interior cusions/sofas in the ultrasuede we brought with us from home. Dream Chaser is looking good!
| Year Three October 2006 - June 2007 |
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| Year Three October 2006 - June 2007 |
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Wild Monkeys in Grenada
We had a wonderful trip downwind from the last island (Grenada) in the Windward Islands. We left Grenada in 18-25 knots of E wind and 7 foot seas on the back quarter making for a pretty comfortable ride. We stopped for 3 days at Los Testigos first, a very small island with only 150 inhabitants. There were only 3 other boats anchored there; finally we were off the beaten path! We found out from another cruiser that huge leatherback turtles (the size of a dinghy) come to shore after dark to lay their eggs on the windward side beach this time of year. The next night along with Bert & Jan from "Not So Interim" we sat on the sand dunes from 7:00 to 10:00 patiently waiting. Finally we could see one huge dark blob off in the distance moving ever so slowly up the beach. We were able to approach the turtle once she started to dig the hole to lay her eggs in. We were right there next to her capturing it all on video. Absolutely nature at its best! There was one more turtle we spotted and we also rescued a tiny baby turtle who had just hatched but had fallen into a hole so we freed it and took it to the ocean.
Measuring the width of one of the turtle tracks in Los Testigos
The next evening we ate dinner a family's home on their porch. They cooked us local "Caribbean Salmon" rice, cabbage and sangria. We felt like we were part of the family.
Then it was on to Isla Margarita about 60 miles southeast -- with a major city that the Venezuelans go to "on holiday." Here you can eat out and have a nice local cooked meal of grilled fish, chicken & steak with all the trimmings for about $5-6. Also beer is 30 cents, a margarita is 60 cents, gas is 9 cents a gallon, Levis and Dockers about $12, and other clothing, shoes, are generally under $10.
Dream Chaser with the spinnaker flying
| Year Two September 2005 - June 2006 |
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