Tropical Storm Felix

Islas des Los Testigos

A small portion of Real Beach to the left and the cut between Testigo Pequeno & Testigo Grande.

The swell coming through the cut looked like reversing waves crashing towards us.

As always, our plans are due to change, usually dictated by the weather.
Friday August 31st we slept in and woke up to a weather forecast of potentially nasty weather. It was too late to run to the mainland so the anchorage between Isla Iguana and Isla Cabra looked like our best option.

We left the beach area and got settled for the coming storm. At this time it was just a Tropical Depression but something not to fool around with. We set 2 anchors and sat back to relax & wait. It was really fun watching all the activity as the local boats started to arrive. They have beautiful fishing trawlers that double as their major form of transportation. Some of the boats brought the locals back from their mainland shopping trip while other boats brought people over for the weekend party. They set up tents on the beach and played load Spanish Music. It was fun for awhile. By 3:30 am the first rain squall blew through (no wind) and the shore party continued despite the rain. The second rain shower at 4:30 calmed the party. By 6:30, the next downpour brought the wind. Felix was then officially a Tropical Storm and the centre of Tropical Storm Felix passed 25 miles to the north of us.
With 2 anchors down, the company of 2 other sailboats, 21 fishing trawlers, and over a dozen pirogues, we Comfortably rode out the storm.

Looking West: View of the village before the Storm. Looking East: View after the worst of the storm was over.

By 11 am the worst was over; by 2 pm the sun peaked out and the locals started going about their business setting traps and fishing. The weekend visitors emerged from their tents on the beach and continued their party. Such is life after a storm. Later that afternoon we enjoyed Happy Hour and Dinner with a young couple from Holland on board Tranquillo. Such is cruising life.

We just Love these Boats!

When we last visited our land home, the 2 most common questions were; Did you run into any pirates? & Did you run into any bad storms? So far the pirates are behaving themselves (since the Venezuelan Guardacosta have increased patrols in the high risk areas) and Felix passed us by before turning into a Hurricane. Our luck will continue.

Fair Winds,

Miriam

11°21.4’N
63°07.8’W

P.S. I forgot to mention how really fabulous these little islands are. It's too bad we lost a couple of days of exploring while waiting out Felix. It is another place we would love to return to some day.

Sand dunes on the East coast of Testigo Grande

Intriguing driftwood anchored in the sand

Goodbye Trinidad

The North Shore of Trinidad

One of the numerous caves in La Vache Bay. There were much biggger ones but our camera battery died. Great dinghy exploration though.

View from the anchorage in Scotland Bay

We have had an interesting time in Trinidad since arriving from Tobago July 30th. As one definition of Cruising is “Boat Maintenance in Exotic Places”, we thought it time to take advantage of all the facilities here. Chaguaramus Bay is a Yachting Haven with over 5 marinas and even more boat yards, numerous chandleries and all kinds of service providers. It is also a commercial working port so there is always lots of activity going on. The anchorage in the bay is the absolute worst we have ever been in. Not only does it suffer from a horrible southwest swell, the water is terribly polluted and is a dark brown colour from the silt of the Orinoco River. The humidity averages around 97% and is unbearable at times. You can’t swim to cool off but the marina we stayed in for a week had a nice little pool. It is also the rainy season, so guess what. It rains every day. Needless to say we have gotten lots of boat chores done, added some improvements such as a 150 watt solar panel, and still managed to have fun.

Rhiannon's New Solar Panel

Jesse James is the local Cruisers Guru. He runs Members Only Maxi Taxi service, does tours on request, has regular runs to the Supermarkets and the Fruit & Vegie Market, helps anyone in need and is a genuinely outgoing friendly guy. While in Chaguaramus we went on a day tour to the Asa Wright Nature Centre, saw tons of birds and a snake in the rainforest before getting drowned by a torrential rainfall. That afternoon was a boat tour of the Caroni Swamp to see the Scarlet Ibis, a beautiful gorgeous red bird.

It is also very easy traveling around by Maxi Taxi, the local public transport system. Port of Spain is the Capital City of Trinidad with more than a million people. It made for very intriguing exploring one Saturday Morning.

The Lighthouse in Port of Spain

painted to resemble the Trinidadian Flag

Monday August 27th marked our 2 year anniversary. That was the day Rhiannon, Pat & I sailed away from the Rothesay Yacht Club. WOW! It’s really hard to believe sometimes. I still wake up thinking it is all a dream. Needless to say we celebrated by going out to the Lighthouse Restaurant at Crews Inn for a nice seafood dinner. To celebrate our last evening in Trinidad (Tuesday August 28) we took Jesse’s bus to Port Of Spain to the Movie Town Complex, complete with 9 cinemas. It was probably the nicest Cinema we have ever been in. We were able to sit back in reclining chairs with more leg room than at home, and enjoy The Bourne Ultimatum. What a good action packed film that was.

Wednesday August 29th. We cleared out with Immigration & Customs Wednesday afternoon and by 4:30 pm we were waving goodbye to Chaguaramus. The forecast was for light winds and calm seas. We motored for about 2 hours then the wind picked up and were then able to sail all the way to Ilas de Los Testigos, 108 nautical miles in 20 hours. The only down side was the fear of Pirates off the North coast of the Peninsula de Paria, Venezuela. To avoid these guys, you leave the Bocas in Trinidad and set your course heading North, so they think you are going to Trinidad. We sailed north to 11° , about 20 miles off the coast and then altered course to 270°, West with an East Wind. Now Rhiannon does not sail the best directly downwind, and since it was blowing 18 knots plus, we ran all night under a reefed main. The genny would have helped cut the roll a little but we furled it in as you don’t want to run the risk of being overpowered at night with a short handed crew (2). During the night we were able to alter course, thanks to the Radar, to avoid a big squall, and enjoyed the company of an almost full moon. By 12:30 pm, Thursday August 30th, we were anchored off a little village on Isla Iguana. We Made it to South America! (Although not the mainland yet) Isla Iguana is one of the small islands that make up Los Testigos, a group of small offshore islands with about 160 inhabitants. There is no customs here, no one speaks English & we don’t speak Spanish, but the Guardacosta gave us permission to stay for 4 days. Yeh!!!. 4 days of playing on sandy beaches and snorkeling. We haven’t done that for a while.

Fair Winds,

Miriam
11°21.4’ N
063°07.8’ W