Los Roques - NORONQUI

After we left Gran Roque, we headed for Noronqui. Paul and Joyce were staying behind for Joyce to do some diving, and we wanted to get out and explore some of the islands. Noronqui was about a 2 hour sail from Gran Roque and only here did we really realise how badly off our chart plotter was. To get to this anchorage you have to thread your way around a small peninsular and through some reefs and according to the chart plotter, we steered our boat directly across the peninsular - right across the land. So getting in and out, P had to stand on the bow and guide me through the reefs - a little tricky but on the whole, not too bad as long as the sun stayed out so you could see the shallows and the reefs.

Noronqui was a deserted island apart from a permanent wooden "gazebo" on the beach, and when we arrived there were lots of day trippers ashore, loads of beach umbrellas that had been erected, and one other sailboat with more day trippers on it. It was a very steep anchorage so as we motored in towards the beach, we were in about 35 feet of water and not even 10 feet away, a swimmer stood about chest high in the water, looking at us. So that's how quickly it got shallow.

At night all the other people left and it was the first time that we were the only boat in the anchorage. We knew nobody would be coming in at night so we turned off our anchor light (which is in our cockpit and not at the top of the mast) and just enjoyed the night with no lights other than stars and the moon. It was wonderful. During the afternoon we snorkeled on the shallow reef, which didn't get deeper than 4 feet so the marine life was abundant but tiny - and all within arms' reach. I saw a tiny moray eel hanging out with a fish that was bigger than he was, but they weren't scared and didn't even try to move away - and they were about 3 feet from me.

In the photo above you can see the wooden gazebo.

A storm came up the following morning, so we waited until about 11 am to leave (normally we like to leave an anchorage at first light).

Leaving Noronqui I just followed the track from the day before on the chart plotter - it still took me over land but as I knew it was a safe route in, I could trust that it would still be a safe route out.

Ode to Paul and the Lady H

Here is a shot of LadyH with her spinaker out. Phillip took this picture - I was too busy hanging on - it was VERY rough out there. My camera doesn't have much of a zoom as you can tell.


Phillip and I were thinking and reminiscing about our times with Paul and Joyce and the LadyH and what a gift it has been having the LadyH to buddy boat with. We have had so many great times with them, great snorkeling, fabulous dinners, endless games of Mexican Train and too many laughs to mention. Yes, we know Paul gets worked up about politics and that we are on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to that sort of thing, but apart from that subject, which we steer well clear of if we can, Paul has been such a delight to travel with - helpful, patient, kind, good natured and able to laugh when we come up with constant nicknames for him (Slick, Big Paulie, and our current favorite, Minobio).

One memory in particular comes to mind. Joyce and I were snorkeling in Ave de Sotovento (the Aves islands) and we thought the men were right behind us. Phillip's mask had broken so while Joyce and I were in the water, we saw them in the dingy zooming back to Delphinus (to get a spare mask I thought). Joyce and I carried on snorkeling and assumed the boys were going to be getting in the water as soon as they got the mask. When we next looked up, we saw Paul and Phillip in the dinghy, hats on, sunglasses on, big smiles on both their faces, the dinghy drifting gently by us, and a beer in their hands. Talk about contentment - they looked like the cats that got the cream - so happy, just drifting on the dinghy near us (so they could be there for when we finished snorkeling), chatting away at times, other times just silent, both with smiles on their faces - I don't think I've ever seen them both look happier. (I didn't have my camera with me, fortunately Joyce did and took these pics, which I borrowed from her)

What more could they want? Their own company, on the water in a dinghy and a beer in their hands, they looked so happy. Every time I looked at them I burst out laughing, filling my mask with water, but I couldn't help it - it was the most delightful "kodak moment".. That image will always stay with me when I think of Paul. Phillip is so fond of Paul, as we both are, and I could completely understand this complete contentment, the "all is right with the world" feeling that they had....


What a fabulous cook Paul is too - I can't tell you the number of fantastic dinners we've had with them, the garlic bread, lobster, fillet steak, FAJITAS (Phillip's favorite), long cool cocktails in their cockpit, and let's not forget Paul's Salad Dressing. It's just fantastic - I love it SO much that I have it with everything pretty much - salad, toasted sandwiches, lasagna, left over cold fish or chicken, fajitas, hot dogs, garlic bread, humus on crackers etc. I have the recipe but we had a salad dressing evening when, on their boat and under his direction, I made gallons of the stuff so I can take it back up to the Chesapeake. The main ingredient of course is GARLIC (we all ate so much garlic that we turned it into a vegetable!)! I would say there was about a head of garlic in every meal, and we all just loved it.

There were many happy games of Mexican Train where they are constantly accusing Phillip (good naturedly) of cheating or trying to hide the tiles or taking to long to move, or pointing his train at them - really delightful evenings and memories we will treasure. I also have to mention what a fabulous baker Joyce is - the banana bread and banana muffings we have had that she's made, usually warm and dripping with butter - well, pure bliss, just pure bliss.

This photo below captures everything more or less - rum and beer on the table along with freshly baked banana muffins and a huge block of butter for the muffins and good old Minobio.


We are really sad to be getting to the end of the Caribbean trip. They leave from Curacao and head to the Rio Dolce where they will leave the boat for the summer and head off here and there and do their thing. Phillip and I leave for the Chesapeake, but our hearts will be with the Lady H and we look forward to meeting up with her again and some more sailing.

We send our love with you and safe sailing.

Los Roques - GRAN ROQUE

We loved this little town - doesn't look much special from my photos but it was charming. Sand roads, almost no vehicles anywhere, friendly people, and the best bread rolls we've had in ages!

I couldn't resist taking this photo.

Paul and Joyce came over for dinner and we played Mexican Train, aka "Snake".

We had met up with a Canadian boat (Artemo) in La Blanquilla and they sailed with us to Los Roquas - a really nice family Julie, Graham and two children, Amelia and Alex. The sail from La Blanquilla to Los Roquas was not fun - very gusty winds up to 30 (even 35 knots), waves up to at least 10 feet and to be honest, I hated every second of it. Paul and Phillip have been sailing most of their lives so they don't even notice it. Joyce has been sailing for a couple of years, doesn't get seasick, and their boat is bigger with hydraulics, so neither of them have to worry about going up on deck to adjust the mainsail or anything like that - they just press buttons. Plus their boat is made for downwind sailing - for them to put their side poles out is no big deal, but for us we have to lug this great big pole and physically lift it up, clip it on to the mast, thread the sheet through it and secure it - even when we're on completely still waters in broad daylight with two of us doing it, it is a HUGE task. Phillip has done it by himself in rough waters in the middle of the night (when we left Grenada I think) - at the time I had no idea what he was doing - he just said he was going to put the pole out, like he was going to have a nice stroll round the deck. Once I found out how difficult it it, I gave him a really good talking to about doing it himself. Don't think it had any effect on him though. Having a pole out means you can move pretty fast with a wind right on your tail but it means your boat really pitches from side to side, rolling heavily.

Since then, having helped him do it while we're in anchor, I just cannot imagine how he did it by himself. Anyway, with the wind directly behind us we needed the pole out to secure the genoa in place (or else it flaps from one side to another) - and it was a really rough night. It was so comforting to hear Julie on the vhf asking was anyone else panicking or worried about it - I jumped on the radio and said no, nobody's panicking, this is perfectly normal but it's so lovely to hear someone else who isn't feeling right at home and who is a little uptight about the whole thing and feeling unsure and nervous (like I was). I don't think Paul or Phillip or Joyce can relate to how it feels being brand new to sailing, in the middle of the ocean with high gusty winds, the boat rolling over from one side to the other, in pitch darkness, waves up to 10 feet - I just hated it and when it came time for my watch, I spent 5 minutes up there with Phillip, asking him if his head was screwed on the right way and did he REALLY expect ME to handle the boat BY MYSELF, AT NIGHT, UNDER THESE CONDITIONS, while he went downstairs and slept? And yes, he did. He seemed to think it was no big deal but I would not let go of the bimini rails, I would not budge out of the corner of the cockpit and told him frankly I was terrified and he'd better jolly well stay up there and sail the boat with me. He still looked at me with a puzzled look - like "what are you talking about? this is NOTHING." I got pretty mad with him and he really didn't seem to understand where I was coming from. I HATED it and felt very uncomfortable. When I say I was terrified, I am not scared of the boat sinking or turning over, but one strong gust has the boat off course, sailing down a wave in the wrong direction, the boat flips around quickly, the sails flap like crazy and sound like gunshots going off when they snap in the wind, the boat rocks and rolls even more, things fly all over the place, and to get her back on course is a job - the steering is heavy, and if there's no moon out I find it next to impossible to get her back on course. Yes I have a compass to steer by but it's so darned difficult - I'm looking at the compass and wondering where the heck we are, what direction are we facing, trying to see the radar and chart plotter to see the exact course, trying to find the auto pilot to turn it on again, and in broad daylight on a calm day, I would struggle with all these, let alone midnight on a dark night in rough seas. In the end he sent me below and he stayed up and sailed the boat. He's done that hundreds of times before, so it's no big deal for him to be up all night (and it was only one night after all) but under those conditions, only someone with serious sailing experience could handle Delphinus.

Only later on when I spoke to Julie the following day did she gawk at me in horror and say "YOU'RE KIDDING! He wanted to leave you up there by yourself? NO way would Graham leave me up there by myself, absolutely no way!!!" So that made me feel a lot better. Thanks Julie :-)

Anyway, after that slight digression, one night in El Grand Roque, we walked past them having pizza in a restaurant - they insisted we have a slice or two then and there and later on, they brought more over to us in our boat - how nice was that! (see below)

Such a nice family - we met up with them again in Bonaire too, they are now off to Cartagena.

We needed diesel from the fuel barge - so while we were filling up, they brought out beers for Paul and Phillip and they all had a whale of a time, drinking the beer and filling the tanks. Where else do you get free beer while you fill up?

One small point: as soon as we got to Los Roquas, we noticed that our charts were out (our electronic chart plotter). Not by much, but maybe 1/3rd to a 1/2 a mile - that meant that we'd plan our route in somewhere very carefully but when we saw our boat icon on the dotted route line and we looked up, we were nowhere near where we were supposed to be. Very disconcerting, particularly when you're gingerly finding your way into an anchorage, threading your way through the reefs and your chart plotter tells you you are now halfway across the island itself. According to the chart plotter, many nights we actually anchored several hundred meters inland and goodness knows how many times we steered the boat across land. Apparently it wasn't just us - many other boats had the same problem and it immediately rectified itself once we got out of those waters and into the ABC's. But that's not fun, let me tell you!

Delphinus WITH A FULL LOAD!

If you click on the photos, they should open up much larger. Try it.

The waterline doesn't look so bad in this pic, does it? We have just arrived in La Blanquilla and are about to go snorkeling.
Under sail with a full load of rum and beer.

Leaving Juan Griego (Margarita). Yes we're just coming down off a wave but look how low she is in the water!!!

Margarita in the background.

Looks like she's about to submerge like a sub.

Juan Griego to La Blanquilla

Here is a photo of Delphinus as we leave Juan Griego (Margarita) fully laden with rum and beer. See how low the waterline is!!! It's not quite this low (we were just coming down off a wave) but you get the idea. As Phillip says, with the rum stored on the starboard side of the boat, even if we're on a strong port tack our boat will still be upright. And in any anchorage, it will be easy to find our boat - ours is the one listing to one side!

It took a good day sail (50 or so miles) we arrived in La Blanquilla - what a lovely island. Along the way, P caught a 4 foot long Mahi-Mahi (they also call it dolphin, but not to be confused with the Flipper type dolphin). I feel awful whenever we catch a fish and make Phillip say something nice about him after he's done "the deed". By the way, Phillip just squirts some alcohol into the fish's gills and the fish goes to sleep very peacefully - there's no gaff or banging or violence and it really is the kindest way to do it. I can't even make eye contact with the fish while he's still alive or else I'd feel like I'd have to save him, so I just point the camera in its general direction and snap the shutter. Poor fish :-(

The guide books recommend checking in with the coastguard at La Blanquilla so Paul and Phillip dinghied over to the coastguard station and checked in.

We were in the most fabulous little bay, crystal clear water, great reefs, and we did some amazing snorkeling there.

I just LOVED snorkeling in this bay - it was wonderful!

Look how clear the water is - you just jump over the side of the boat and you're in snorkeling paradise.

There were literally thousands of fish everywhere - it was like skiing through a heavy blizzard, almost disorientating because they were coming at you from all directions and you could easily swim through them without them parting for you - as far as the eye could see, there were fish. Amazing. My camera isn't really an underwater camera, it doesn't have much of a zoom and the casing is really just a plastic bag, so my underwater photos aren't great and don't do it justice.

The Lady H sits peacefully at anchor next to us.

Another view of the bay. These photos really don't show how truly incredible the water is - shades of turquoise you just can't imagine.

The following day we moved around the corner to the west side of the island but it was much bigger and very very windy so the snorkeling wasn't nearly as good as the first bay. In fact the first night there it was so rough in the anchorage I felt like we were at sea sailing, with pretty big waves constantly bashing the hull. The following day we moved to a different part of the same anchorage where it was quieter.

Paul and Joyce did a dive - Paul caught a lobster but it got a way (yay for the lobster!) but Phillip and I just snorkeled. Here below you can see Paul with the lobster in his net. I was snorkeling above them.

Here is a photo of some trunkfish that Joyce took. There were 5 of these little fellas hanging around together, so adorable - Joyce managed to get these three on film but look at the expression on his face on the top right - with the big lips forming the "oh". Great shot Joyce!

Another superb photo that Joyce took, of the two palm trees in the bay.

This time the Lady H was anchored just in front of us.

Originally Phillip and I were going to part ways with LadyH there and head to St. Thomas (a 2 night, 3 day sail) while LadyH would head off to Los Roquas and then the ABC islands. Our new genoa sail was being shipped to St. Thomas, so that was the main reason we needed to get there. Anyway, at dinner on our boat one night and after long discussions and looking at the maps and charts, we decided what the heck, let's go with LadyH to the ABC's! We could get the sail shipped to Bonaire from St. Thomas and we heard wonderful things about Los Roquas, so it was decided - no more St. Thomas, but Los Roquas and the ABC islands.

Margarita: Porlamar to Juan Griego and the CoastGuard visit

After stocking up with rum and beer (150 bottles rum, 12 cases of beer) and lowering our waterline significantly, we headed for La Blanquilla. In order to do a straight shot there from Margarita, we had to move from Porlamar anchorage to Juan Griego which were told was the only other safe anchorage on the island.

Paul & Joyce had wanted to leave on Thursday for Juan Griego (they had all their provisions and had managed to buy all the rum they needed) but because our rum supplies hadn't arrived in full, we needed to stay on one more day. We pointed out that their going ahead by themselves was possibly not a good idea on the basis of safety and security (this was the ONLY place in the Caribbean where we buddy boated for safety and security - all the other places we were together just for fun and laughs and company) so it was a very important point. We didn't think they should go on ahead by themselves and I know we didn't want to go to Juan Griego by ourselves or to La Blanquilla, so we made a decision that if they were going to go on ahead without us, we'd simply go straight up to St. Thomas, which would be the safest route out of there if we were on our own. Everyone had warned us that these parts could be a little dicey, so naturally I was concerned. I guess we made a good point because they thought about it and agreed to wait for us - PHEW!!!! Turns out it was a really good thing - as you'll see as you read on.

Fortunately the rum arrived first thing Friday morning and they also picked up a couple of extra cases, so at 10 am on Friday 24th April, we all left Porlamar together and headed the 30 miles to Juan Griego. Along the way we discovered a leak in our waterpipes (a hose had come off) so again we lost all our water into the bilges. Fortunately we knew that Paul could give us some of his water (he's a real saviour!!!) so when we arrived in Juan Griego, we tied the two boats together (which took some doing) and Paul's water hose fitted right into our water tank so we got about 100 litres that way - thanks Paul, we so appreciated your help!


About 5 pm that day (it was a Friday, can't remember the exact date), a GuardaCosta boat came out with 4 youths on it (all in their late teens) wearing camo gear. They tied up to our boat, not asking permission, and all four boarded us quickly, barely allowing us time to get our fenders out, telling us they needed to do paperwork. I was nervous and called Paul on the vhf to let him know what was going on, and the four guys came down below and searched our boat from top to toe. I can't say it was a comfortable feeling, I had only got my p.j's on at the time so had to rush around looking for a shirt to put on as they came down below, but they didn't care about that. I don't speak Spanish so fortunately P's Spanish was enough to get us by but they looked everywhere, opened every cupboard, every locker, every lazarette, asked all sorts of questions, asked about our alcohol (due to our leak we had all our provisions, cans, tins, jars and bottles out on the table drying), played with the airhorn (made me jump out of my skin, they laughed like crazy), played with our binoculars and just hung around. While not exactly threatening us in any way, we were well aware of the power they had and they intended to show it to us. They showed no respect to the boat, clumping all over our cushions with their big boots, looking in the dinghy and seeing if everything was tied down (it was). We had no firearms fortunately so after an hour, they filled out some paperwork and left. We think that they wanted to see if there was any stuff they could pilfer or come back for later, anything that wasn't secured. Fortunately all our stuff was very secure, we didn't have any firearms so they couldn't confiscate anything and they left empty handed.

They went to LadyH and boarded them. Paul carries a shotgun on the boat and they asked him if he was armed, he of course said yes and showed them the weapon. They tried to confiscate it (Joyce speaks some Spanish and refused to relinquish it, although the coastguard was well within their rights to take it away as it had not been declared.) They told Paul and Joyce that they needed to go ashore to see the big boss. Again Joyce said no, if your boss needs to see us, bring him here. The guards weren't too sure how to handle that, but they took some of the shotgun shells and tried to load the gun. What a disaster if they had managed to load it. Joyce put her foot down and said absolutely NO WAY, you will not load the gun. Anyway, after some very uncomfortable moments, the guards put the gun down and told Paul and Joyce that they were going to give them a gift by letting them keep their gun. In return, Paul and Joyce must give them a gift, and took a bottle of Kahlua and a lot of chocolate. They also confiscated Paul's extra shotgun shells. Then they left. If they had loaded the shotgun, who knows what would have happened, what their purpose was, but even if they were just doing it as a joke, they seemed so immature and childish that they probably would have accidentally shot either one of themselves or Paul and Joyce - it doesn't bear thinking about.

And yes, we had been warned about petty theft in Juan Griego but didn't know it would come from the coast guards!!

It could have been a lot worse, fortunately nothing else happened and at first light the following morning, we left for La Blanquilla. We were all just so thankful that we had buddy boated there and that our boats had been so close together - if only one boat had been there, goodness knows what the outcome would have been but we were in vhf contact all the time and it was reassuring for both of us to know that another boat was right there, just in case. Bottom line - if you're going to Juan Griego, don't go alone - buddy boat with someone.

Chocolate

See why I'm so happy? this is the chocolate section in Sigo Supermarket.