December 27, 2009 - August 4, 2010
Isla Margarita, Venezuela


Okay, so I haven't written anything in awhile, but part of that is because my mother told me if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. I've pondered what to write about our experiences in Isla Margarita, and have decided to focus on the positive and forget the negative, which means this blog will be relatively short.
Ocean Jedi was completed (sort of) in Margarita, which was not an easy task. Isla Margarita could be a beautiful tourist destination as well as a marvelous place for yachties to have work done if the government was not so screwed up and you could get the parts and services you need. There is a great marina there "Astivamar." Michael, the owner/manager is great for helping you to find the services and parts you need within the limitations that it is an island and it is in Venezuela. However, if something is available he will know where to get it. The other great thing about Astivamar is the cost for hauling out, which was about $70 and included the lift out, 5 days on the hard and being put back into the water. The marina is located in Chacachacare, which is about an hour or so from the main town of Porlamar so if you think you will need parts you'd better pick them up before heading out for the day.
One of the other nice things about Margarita was the beautiful penthouse, beach front apartment we stayed in. The view was spectacular and each morning the sunrise was incredible. We looked out over Isla Farallon Dillon and enjoyed watching the sea birds as they soared by the windows.
We made wonderful friends in Margarita including David and Hedy. I don't know what we would have done without them. They showed us the ropes and made it so much easier to spend the 7 ½ months there. We had a few boat days with them which were lovely and enjoyed countless dinners visiting with them.

The other person that made life much easier was our cab driver and now friend Pedro. He is definitely the "go to" guy for anything you need. He knows where to find anything from coffee to hard to find boat parts.

My sanity was saved by the discovery of kite boarding. (I didn't invent it - only discovered how much fun it is) I took many hours of lessons from Margarita Xtreme in El Yacque. Murray and his instructors are a lot of fun, and make learning a difficult sport fun. My instructor was Lev who must has the patience of Job because he stuck with me through all my training, and I know his frustration must equaled mine, but he never showed it. I can't even tell you how frustrated I would become and Murray would say, "you will get it, and once you've got it- you've got it." After 40 hours of lessons I was beginning to doubt that, but one day a miracle happened and I was up and riding. I have not had the opportunity to keep it up, but plan on doing much more during our travels. Now you might wonder why someone my age would consider taking up a sport that is mostly done by teenagers to 30 or so year olds, but maybe the picture answers that question for you. LOL!

Okay - back to Ocean Jedi. After many months and a more frustration and setbacks than I can explain, Ocean Jedi was put back into the water. Her first journey as a sailing catamaran was captained by the boat builder, Giorgio Ballotta. As OJ made her way out of Chacachacare and made the point at Punta Piedres the mainsail was raised and within the first 5 seconds the battens were gone. The crew watched in horror as they blew out of the sail. The sailmakers had forgotten to sew them in. It is amazing how fast a batten will sink. There was no way to retrieve them and made one more thing to have shipped into Margarita.

Shipping to Margarita is not easy. Customs is a difficult procedure at best. Pedro introduced us to a company called Rosemar owned by Charito, a very nice man that could not have been more helpful. We found we could have parts to his shipper in Miami on Tuesday at 2:00, it could be flown into Margarita by Wednesday and get through customs generally by Friday. The cost to ship to Margarita is incredibly expensive no matter the way you bring it in, and as with any government agency in Venezuela, the way to get things done is to throw money at it (or him or her).

The day we finally were able to leave Margarita was a happy one, although it was mixed with feelings of sadness in leaving our friends. On the way out we were escorted by dolphins along Farallon Dillon (a small island) and experienced probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. We were anxious about the journey along the Venezuelan mainland coast. The Gulf of Paria is known as the area for pirates in the Caribbean sea. We ran without lights until we went through the boca and entered into Trinidadian waters. As we turned the lights on we sighed with relief and were excited to see what Trinidad would look like in the morning. Seventeen hours after leaving Margarita we were safely docked at the CrewsInn in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and ready for a good night's sleep.