May 17 - 30, 2008

Islas de Aves

May 17

With a wary eye on the dark clouds to our east, we weigh anchor and depart Cayo de Agua in Los Roques at 7:00 A.M. Within half an hour, the dark cloud has caught up and unloads a brief rain shower, the first since January. It's just enough rain to wash the salt off the decks and replace it with dirt flushed from the standing rigging. The course is downwind, typically rolly and uncomfortable, but we find a reasonable angle to wind and waves and settle in for a six-hour trip to Islas de Aves, the western-most archipelago in the Venezuelan out-islands.

Around noon with the sun high, we arrive at Isla Sur in Barlovento on the eastern edge of the Aves. As usual, I'm perched on the hard top to identify the navigable water as we zig-zag our way between coral patches into the middle anchorage. A line of frothy white waves break on the reef a mile to the east. Inside the reef, the calm water is brilliant shades of turquoise and green. The shoreline is a dense thicket of mangrove trees, some rising 40 feet tall, from which resonates a cacophony of squacking. In Spanish, aves means birds, and this area is aptly named. The most predominant species are the boobies, notably the red-footed variety.

Three other boats are already anchored here, which alleviates our security concerns. For the remainder of the day, we relax and let the birds entertain us.

May 18

Today we follow our usual morning routine by running the engine to charge the batteries, make water, and charge the refrigerator. We overhear the boat behind us telling his friend on the VHF that they're sitting in an oil slick. Nick takes a look and sure enough our engine exhaust is leaving an oily trail behind our boat. Nick pulls out the Nigel Calder boat maintenance "bible" and researches possible causes. He concludes that the oil cooler most likely has a small hole in it that is allowing water to mix with the oil, although the dip stick still appears normal. This could be a major problem and we're in the middle of nowhere!

Later, we do some dinghy exploration and make the acquaintance of some of the neighbors, with apologies offered for the environmental faux paux.

May 19

One of our neighbors is the converted shrimp boat Twilight. In addition to a regular dinghy, they have a Boston Whaler with a 90-hp motor. Power boaters have some great toys! After lunch, Nick joins them on an excursion to the far end of the reef to pick up a fish trap and do some hunting on the reef. Nick returns with a small lobster, which I transform into a lobster salad that we take when we have sundowners later on Twilight.

May 20

Nick's worst fear (or at least one of many worst fears) is having the engine break down in a remote area. Yes, we are a sailboat and we could sail out of here and make it to Bonaire without an engine if necessary. The reality is that we rely on our engine for manuevering in anchorages, keeping our electronic systems charged, and supplementing the sails when the wind is uncooperative (a frequent occurrence). Fortunately, we have a generator so we've been able to keep our systems running these past few days while our engine sits idle.

So today Nick tackles the engine problem. First he drains two quarts of water from the bottom of the oil pan, confirming his suspicion that there's a leak in the oil cooler. He also receives some advice and moral support from other boaters on the Coconut Telegraph (SSB 4060 @ 0800 AST). The temporary solution is to route the oil and water lines around the oil cooler. Once this is done, the oil has to be changed several times to remove the water that has accumulated in the system. Unfornately, Nick's collection of hose odds and ends does not include the size he needs to reroute the water, and we only have enough oil on board for one change. Fortunately, Willie on Twilight has a piece of pipe that fits and some extra oil. By the day's end, my greasy captain completes the job and runs the engine without any signs of oil in the exhaust water. Thank you Twilight! Now the question is whether the engine will run too hot without the oil cooler.

May 21

Around noon our Los Roques buddy boats arrive: Rainbow Rider, Dreamweaver, and MiLady. In the afternoon, we snorkel on a nice patch reef where Nick spears two lobster. Dinner is lomito (filet minon) and lobster. Yum!

May 22

The morning agenda includes burning trash and leaving our stone at the cruiser memorial. In the afternoon, Nick joins several of the guys on a fishing expedition, but they don't catch any keepers. In the evening, we gather on Rainbow Rider to celebrate Gary's birthday.

May 23

Good news! Rainbow Rider receives an email on our behalf via their satellite phone from the Ford Lehman expert at American Diesel Corporation. He says we shouldn't have any trouble running our engine without the oil cooler. Nick runs the engine for an hour and all appears to be fine.

The down side of this anchorage is the lack of a sandy beach, and Dakota is showing the stress of being boat-bound. We load him up in the dinghy for a long ride to a beach off the western point. A blinding white curve of sand borders shocking flourescent green water. The water is so clear we can see a barracuda cruising by just off the beach. And the best part: we have it all to ourselves. It's just what every cruiser wannabe dreams about.

After lunch, we take a long dinghy ride out to a blue pool between the outside reef and an inner reef. Swimming over a shallow reef in bathtub-clear water we see deep blue water ahead. We pass over a steep coral wall which drops off sharply to a sandy bottom 60 feet deep. The coral is mostly living and populated with large green parrotfish, schools of blue tangs, and skittish snappers. We notice a four-foot long barracuda gliding by in the blue mist. Later I have the feeling that someone is behind me and turn to find Mr. Barracuda swimming up closer than I would like. I turn and face him. He comes within a few feet before casually turning away. The situation is repeated three times, with Mr. Barracuda trying to look innocent when we know he's looking for a free meal. Once our unwelcome stalker is gone, Nick spears a snapper, which later makes a tasty appearance on our dinner plates.

May 24

We were so impressed with the blue pool yesterday, that today we return with the rest of the group.

May 25

Nick rises early to try fishing inside a mangrove channel and returns with two large snook, a highly rated fish. He and Paul return there later, but nothing is biting. Rainbow Rider and MiLady move to the western anchorage to stage for tonight's trip to the Venezuelan mainland. Dreamweaver comes over for dinner and the snook is quite yummy.

May 26

Nick and Paul once again try the mangrove channel in the early morning, but they get "snooked." They are surprised to find Rainbow Rider and MiLady are still here. Apparently, they changed their minds at the last minute and decided to stay here a few more days.

After lunch, Dreamweaver gives us a dinghy ride over to Isla Oeste. While Karin and I snorkel, Nick and Paul troll the island for fish. Karin and I are shocked at the mounds of dead staghorn coral. It looks like someone took a wrecking ball to the reef. Meanwhile, the guys' lures fail to entice so much as a barracuda. After Dreamweaver drops us off, Nick is not yet ready to accept defeat. He dinghies off by himself and returns just before dark with three small snappers, enough for dinner. That night, while we alternately read and doze in bed, we're startled by a loud crash in the aft rigging. Nick says a bird must have crashed into the boat, so we turn off the light and think no more of it.

May 27

Today is too overcast for snorkeling and I content myself with a good book. In the afternoon, Nick and Gary plan to go spear fishing. However, Nick discovers that his shorty wetsuit is missing from the lifeline where it was hanging out to dry. He searches the mangroves behind the boat for the suit, but it's not to be found.

After stewing about the loss for awhile, he proclaims, "A bird stole my wetsuit last night!" I just roll my eyes. "Last night when we heard the crash, a bird must have tried to take my wetsuit!" he insists.

When he's still pouting over dinner, I say to the dog, "Dakota, somewhere tonight out in the mangroves there's a red-footed boobie that is the envy of all the other boobies because he's sporting your daddy's wetsuit." Nick rolls his eyes. I start to giggle as I visualize a feathery white head peaking out of the high neck of a wetsuit, with wing tips poking out of the sleeves, and little red feet sticking out of the baggy legs. Even the grumpy captain is amused, and the thieving boobie who wears a wetsuit soon becomes the running joke among our group.

May 28

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary. In the morning, our group snorkels another section of reef where the guys have a successful hunt. Rainbow Rider invites our group over for a potluck dinner of lobster spaghetti, fried fish, lots of side dishes and appetizers, topped off with Linda's amazing rum cake. They also invite a French boat that is anchored nearby. Olivier, Carmen, and 3.5 year-old Zoe are delightful company and a welcome counter to the French stereotype.

May 29

Today is our last day in Barlovento. What a fabulous place this has been! I haven't checked, but I suspect Nick has grown gills since we arrived here. We've grown accustomed to bird song and dark night skies where no city lights dim the bright constellations. In the afternoon, Dreamweaver takes several of us to a far sand island near the outside reef. Here we're delighted to find clear water, lots of healthy coral, and plenty of colorful fish. Nick even bags a few lobsters.

May 30

Today our group parts company, with Rainbow Rider and MiLady heading back to Puerto La Cruz and Dreamweaver accompanying us to Sotavento in the western Aves. Although cruisers have recently had problems with the coast guard in Sotavento, we learned in the past week that the Venezuelan navy recalled the guilty team and the new group has been treating boaters properly. We find the three young men stationed in this remote outpost to be polite and efficient. They refuse all offers of food or drink from us or from Dreamweaver, so I suspect they've been given strict orders not to take things from boaters.

Tomorrow we'll sail to Bonaire, a Dutch island that is part of the Netherlands Antilles and renowned for it's pristine reefs and excellent scuba diving. We've thoroughly enjoyed our time in the beautiful Venezuelan out-islands, but we're eager to start blowing bubbles in Bonaire.