After five months on land, Audentes is finally back in the water. On Tuesday, the boat launched without any major incident. Just as the boat hit the water, a downpour began, sending the Travel-lift workers scurrying for shelter. As I stood in the pouring rain, it took the engine an agonizing 10 minutes to start. Relieved when it finally did, I puttered out to the petrol-laden anchorage and safely anchored in 35 feet of water. After dropping the anchor, I raised the American flag and tried to regain my sea legs. The past month living in the boatyard was at times rewarding, often frustrating, and always brutally hot.
Prior to splashing, I completed several large projects during the past week. The foremost of these projects was installing the new roller furling. As always, the process took five times as long and included a lot more obstacles than I expected, but the new furling system seems to work. The final step of raising the forestay was achieved with the kind help of my neighbors in the boatyard, Evie and Hans. On Friday, following the successful completion of the task, I grilled up some hamburgers and brewed some chai tea (Mom’s recipe) to celebrate. The true test of the roller furling will come during my sea-trial and the passage to Los Testigos, Venezuela.
My presumably last weekend in Trinidad was spent in the same way as most all of my other weekends here. On Saturday, I worked during the morning, went to Joe’s for a pizza and to watch English soccer, then attended a lecture on weather presented to cruisers. The main takeaway from the lecture was to avoid hurricanes. On Sunday, I drank coffee and read in the morning, then went to the movies in the afternoon, after which I went to The Bight to watch American football. On Monday, I prepared the boat for the launch. This entailed touching up the anti-fouling paint in the areas that were showing wear, doing laundry, provisioning, and cleaning the boat from bow to stern.
One of the advantages of sailing alone is that the captain, the cook, and the maid never complain about the sailing, food, or cleanliness. No dissention exists on this vessel and the entire crew is in harmony. Which is fortunate since the captain is a poor sailor, the cook doesn’t have a very wide range, and the maid is lazy. Needless to say, I am thrilled to be floating again. Unfortunately, the harbor of Chauguramas is too polluted for swimming, due to the large amount of commercial traffic, but I am eager to reach a destination where I can dive into the crystal clear water.
My next port of call should provide such a destination. In the next couple of days, I plan to sail to Los Testigos with a buddy boat, Caribe. The passage is only about 90 miles, as the crow flies. However, the eastern part of Venezuela, specifically the Peninsula de Paria, is known for pirate attacks and there have been an increasing number of reported attacks in the past few months. My father and I have an ongoing dispute about the danger of pirates. He contends that they would just steal everything worth taking on my boat, but would spare my life since they don’t want to deal with a murder charge. Personally, if I were a pirate and I came across a singlehanded sailor, I would kill the unlucky loner to eliminate the only witness, then just cut a hose to sink the boat in a matter of minutes – solo sailors disappear all the time and no one would ever expect foul play. Hopefully, I never learn which of us is right. To reduce the risk of such an attack, I am planning on sailing a safer course and staying within eyesight of Cheryl and Randy, who are making the passage aboard Caribee.
Although I have made quite a few passages among the Virgin Islands by myself, this will be my first true passage alone. The solo sailing in the Virgin Islands was daysailing and land was always in sight. The passage to Los Testigos will be overnight and should give me my first sense of whether I really enjoy offshore sailing alone. All that remains before I leave Trinidad is a sea-trial. Otherwise, my iPod is loaded and there is nothing between me and Venezuela except the random pirate.