One day our 14 year old dog Star wouldn't get up to eat. I had to take first water then food over to him so he could eat. He finally did get up but his back legs weren't working right and his eyes were running. Wade, the vet, came to see him the next day and said his condition was irreversible and he was in pain. Charlie and I decided to have him put down the following Monday and have some of our friends over for a wake afterwards.

Meanwhile another couple who were friends of ours from New York flew in to join us for a couple of weeks on the boat. On Monday, a couple of days after their arrival, Wade put Star down and we all celebrated his memory with a fine wake. After he died, Sadie, our cat who was a rescue case from the South Bronx, started sleeping in exactly the same place Star had slept - at the top of the steps leading down into the hull where our cabin is located.

We had originally planned to sail to Tobago with our northern friends. However, the weather wasn't favorable for the trip so we sailed to Scotland Bay, which is just a bit north of the Chaguaramus anchorage. It's a great place to get away from all the activity in Chaguaramus and commune with nature. The hollerin' monkeys were a particular attraction although we heard, rather than saw, them. While snorkeling there I saw 2 spotted sting rays.

Our peace and quiet was broken the next day by the sudden arrival of the Trinidad Coast Guard who were going to do maneuvers there. They arrived in large inflatables, roared through the anchorage, then went ashore firing their guns. Before they started the exercise they politely warned us what they were going to do so we knew it was just an exercise. A while after they finished, we headed back to Crews Inn.

Our northern friends finally opted to go to Tobago via plane since the weather was still not favorable to sail there. Remember the trade winds blow from the east and when you sail to Tobago you're sailing right into them. Coming back is a breeze but getting there is often impossible, especially at that time of year.

Once our friends returned from Tobago, we had a last dinner together at a beautiful, and expensive, restaurant in downtown Port-of-Spain that serves Thai cuisine on the lower level and East Indian on the upper level. The food on both levels is good but a bit overpriced. The Indian food is also spicier than I normally like.

Once our friends left we turned our attention to Carnival, cruiser parties, boat repairs, etc., and I found a way to make a tiny difference in the life of one of the locals.

To be continued.

In Trinidad we were pleased to find some of the best veterinary care available anywhere. This, despite the fact that pets are not generally allowed to get off the boat on this island, so the vet must come to the boat to treat the animal.

Dr. Wade Seukeran from Tenderheart Veterinary Services has an amazing way with animals. At this point we still had 4 cats and the German Shepherd, and he spent at least 10 minutes with each animal getting to know it before examining it. Even Sadie, a feline refugee from the South Bronx in New York, responded well to Dr. Wade's attention. Also we were now hauled out of the water in Peake's boatyard to make needed repairs to the bottom of the boat, so Wade had to climb up a ladder to get to the animals.

He picked up 2 of the cats for operations to remove growths. He returned them the same day in good condition, but I isolated them from the other 2 cats so they could have some peace while they recuperated.

The next day, January 15, we went on a fascinating tour of the mas camps. In Trinidad Carnival is a very big deal. People save all year long so they can buy the expensive costumes that they wear in the Carnival Parade. The costumes are sewn in little factories called mas camps. Each camp has a completely new line of costumes each year, which are judged at Carnival. The competition is fierce with the designers at each camp trying to outdo the others. Some of the costumes are very brief indeed, but some are quite beautiful. A few of the cruisers buy costumes and participate in Carnival. We would be content to observe, an experience in itself.

This tour also stopped at a few of the panyards where the 100-member steel bands practice. There is a competition for them as well. These bands don't sound anything like the small groups that play in some of the tourist spots on the various Caribbean islands. Instead they sound like full-fledged orchestras. Indeed, the sections of the band are named for orchestral instruments: violins, horns, etc. rather than percussion.

We stopped for a wonderful dinner at Fort George, overlooking Port-of-Spain. Also had some excellent rum punch made by the owners of this tour company, Trump Tours. It was so good we ordered a case of it.

There didn't seem to be a guide on this tour, but then we discovered that the guide was actually the husband of one of the cruisers on the tour.

We went back in the water the following day and docked once again at Crews Inn. Went to an event called "A Taste of Carnival" which presented a sampling of all the different kinds of entertainment that we'd find at Carnival. It was especially interesting for us since this would be our first time at Carnival.

To be continued.

It's been less than a week since the last post so I'm slowly getting back on track with these poststhings. Back in Trinidad we took another tour with Members Only to Ajoupa Pottery where we were treated to a demonstration of first class pottery skills. As with many attractions in Trinidad, Ajoupa Pottery is located in a beautiful rural setting seemingly in the middle of nowhere with wonderful views of the surrounding hills. Their ceramic designs, especially the hand painted pieces, are amazing, with some depicting complete scenes of life in Trinidad. However, they're too fragile to carry on the boat, so we didn't indulge.

After Ajoupa we stopped by the Hindu Temple In The Sea which is a beautiful temple built out on the water and connected to the shore via causeway. History has it that Siewdass Saddhu, a devout Indian labourer in colonial days was determined to build a temple. First he tried constructing it on land, but the estate owners tore it down. So he built his temple in the water instead, since the sea didn't belong to anyone. For access he constructed a 500-foot causeway out of stones and built much of the temple with his own hands. That structure has been replaced by a simple, elegant structure which attracts visitors for its location and its spectacular 180-degree of the water and shoreline.

Continuing our tour we went to the Wallerfield Wild Fowl Conservatory where I was able to get closeup pictures of the red ibis, Trinidad's national bird. Unlike Asa Wright, Wallerfield is located near a swamp, not in a rain forest, providing a whole new range of flora and fauna to delight viewers' eyes.

Just prior to returning to Chaguaramus we stopped at a marvelous spot overlooking the town of San Fernando, which we had previously visited. All this on one tour!

To be continued.

Realize I've let things go again and it's been over a week since I posted so let's get to it.

A lot of people, myself included, don't realize that quality healthcare is available outside the U.S. at a very affordable price. It turns out that many of these doctors trained in the U.S. For instance Charlie had developed some lumps on the side of one of his fingers so we went to see a hand surgeon to get them removed. The procedure was done on an outpatient basis but still required being in the operating room for at least an hour with the surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses. The cost for all of this? Around $2,000. Just imagine what that would have run in the States.

The operation was done on December 31, 2001, so we had a quiet New Year's Eve aboard "Blue Star". Chaguaramus wasn't quiet, though. Several boats set off flares, none hitting us although some came close. At midnight many boats blew their horns. Meanwhile there was constant loud music from the New Year's Eve party at Crews Inn as well as from other places.

Once Charlie recovered we rented a car and toured a bit of Trinidad, driving over narrow, curvy roads. First we went south to San Fernando, a large noisy town where there were many street vendors selling underwear in particular. The next day, January 6, we took another tour to the north shore over roads that were even worse than yesterday's tour. Many times the road was so narrow that there was room for only one car, and there were steep hills. The locals drive down the middle and play chicken with you, a bit unnerving to say the least. The beautiful scenery was worth it, though, and we made our way to Grand Riviere where we stopped for lunch before heading back to Chaguaramus. From now on we'll use a tour company, that way even the driver gets to enjoy the sights.

With this idea in mind, we took a tour with Members Only to a steel drum factory. "Factory" is a bit of a stretch here as the building looked more the size of a large house than a true factory building, but the method they used to build the drums was fascinating. I especially enjoyed watching them tune the drums using an electronic keyboard for pitch. We also stopped at a lovely waterfall where a dreadlocked man was calmly bathing in the nude.

That evening we had a special birthday party for me and 2 of the guys from the couples we met in Curacao who all had birthdays around this day, January 8. Naturally we had it at Joe's Pizza, just one of the many occasions we celebrated there.

To be continued.

I finally finished cleaning the boat just in time for my son, Eric's, arrival on December 18. The first thing we did was go shopping at a couple of malls in Port-of-Spain, the capital of Trinidad. Trinis really go all out on decorating for the holidays. The malls there are trimmed as well as any I've seen in the U.S. These are large malls with the kinds of stores one expects to find in the U.S., just the store names are different.

The next day we went on a tour with Members Only to the Asa Wright Conservatory, located up in the rain forest and filled with exotic plants, birds and butterflies. Our informative guide had extensive knowledge of everything we saw, and anything he didn't know, Jesse James, a native of Trinidad and owner of Members Only, knew. At one point humming birds came to a feeder so close I could have touched them. We had a wonderful lunch at the Conservatory lodge, which also has accommodations for those wishing to stay overnight.

I've mentioned several times how the cruising community is like a kind of utopia where everyone helps others and no one cares what you did before you started sailing. Even the size of your boat is no stigma against participating in all cruiser activities. Especially on an island like Trinidad which is thousands of miles from the U.S., all cruisers have had to have a certain amount of sailing experience just to reach the island on their boats. The only exception would be someone who purchased a boat in Trinidad, but even they have to sail away from the island at some point.

For an example of the lengths cruisers will go to help other cruisers: our friends, Jerry and Linda, had run into a bit of bad luck with "Heartland"; their engine wasn't running and they couldn't use their sails for some reason that I fail to recall so Fred had towed them most of the way from Puerto La Cruz to Trinidad with his catamaran. Now both boats were coming into the Chaguaramus anchorage and "Heartland" needed help docking. A small dinghy flotilla materialized to help them. I was in one dinghy with the husband of one of the couples we had met in Curacao. Charlie and Eric boarded Fred's boat, and another couple we knew from Curacao were in a second dinghy. The dinghies were positioned on either side of "Heartland" and maneuvered her into her berth at Coral Cove Marina, having unhooked her from Fred's boat, all without harming her or the surrounding boats. Afterwards we all went to dinner at Joe's Pizza.

On Christmas Eve we went to a pot luck supper at our marina, Crews Inn, then on Christmas we had another pot luck on our boat with several cruisers we knew from Curacao. Finally on the day after Christmas we took Eric to the airport for his flight to the States.

To be continued.

Once in Trinidad we hit the ground running: visited several workmen about making needed repairs, went to lunch at a roti place, went to wine tasting, supper and a Christmas concert by local artists at Crews Inn, our marina. In addition to the wonderful performances, the highlight of the evening was dancing with Charlie, something we don't do very often.

All of this activity took place in Chaguaramus. The marinas, chandleries, and boatyards are so close together that it's easy to walk from one to the next. However, they're mostly located on the side of the anchorage opposite Crews Inn, so if you're at Crews Inn, you need to take your dinghy over to the other side. It's possible to walk around the anchorage, but a dinghy saves lots of time.

I should also explain what roti is for those of you unfamiliar with the term. It's a chicken, beef, shrimp or vegetarian curried stew which is wrapped with a flour substance similar to a tortilla. It can vary but I find it's usually delicious. It's very popular in Trinidad and can also be found on islands throughout the Caribbean. One caveat with chicken roti in particular - order it "boneless" or you will find the entire contents of the chicken, including bones, in your roti.

On December 14 we visited Joe's Pizza for what was to be the first of many visits over the course of the next 5 years. In addition to great pizza they have all kinds of pasta, salads, calzones and other Italian specialties. Their chicken salad is huge and laden with many different ingredients. Truly delicious. Joe's is still a main gathering spot for cruisers in Chaguaramus.

The next day we finally moved into a space at the end of one of the docks at Crews Inn. One of the problems with a catamaran is finding a slip wide enough to accommodate our 24' width, so usually we're on the end of a dock.

Christmas season in Trinidad is full of special events. One is Carols By Candlelight at the President's Mansion which is held at dusk on the lawn outside the mansion. Everyone receives a candle, and as the sun goes down, the sight of everyone singing Christmas carols holding their candles is incredibly lovely. Some of the best music I've ever heard was played in Trinidad, and this carol gathering was no exception.

The next evening we went to Parang, stringed-instrument music that is only played at Christmas. This was a very different event from the previous night as it was held in a kind of amphitheater somewhere up in the hills and was very crowded. After weaving our way once through the crowd, we opted to stay on the periphery where we could still hear the music and see the musicians without getting jostled by the crowd. Musicians were mostly playing acoustic guitars and other stringed instruments. A really fun event that we'd heard about from the people we'd sailed with from Margarita to Trinidad.

To be continued.

The first day out of Margarita we anchored at Puerto Santos, a small fishing town on the north coast of Venezuela. Although the town is poor enough that many houses appear to lack doors and glass in the windows, all houses have electricity because it's free in Venezuela. Even at this point when it was still relatively safe to anchor in this area, we were glad there were other cruising boats with us as our boats definitely stand out anchored among the local fishing boats.

Next night we anchored at Medina, where we swam into shore and explored the beautiful little resort we found there. On the following night we anchored at San Francisco, one of the loveliest places we've been, where the rainforest covers the hills and runs right down to the sea.

On December 12 we finally arrived in Trinidad, which would become one of our favorite islands. Since we arrived earlier than our planned arrival date, the Crews Inn Marina didn't have space for us yet so we anchored out in Chaguaramus Bay. Anchoring in the soft mud proved more challenging than usual due to the numerous squalls hitting us, but we were finally successful.

For anyone not familiar with Trinidad, our approach involved sailing through a narrow channel called the Boca, then navigating around several islands until we came into the anchorage proper which we recognized by the hundreds of masts in evidence. The masts belong to the many boats which are not only anchored but also docked in the many marinas or ashore in the boatyards. It's truly an impressive sight.

Chaguaramus is the cruising center of Trinidad. Whatever repairs you need, whatever parts you want, you'll find craftsmen and chandleries that can provide everything you can imagine. Also, Members Only, owned by Jesse James, runs all of its tours from here as does Trump Tours, another local tour company.

To be continued.

Once again we cast off the dock lines and started on our way to Isla Margarita, a Venezuelan island off the coast. Before we left Charlie and Jerry had switched out the port engine starter motor in an attempt to fix the starting problem with that engine. However, the problem was apparently caused by water vapor lock, not the starter. We decided to turn the water off to that engine and continue on to Margarita and Trinidad.

We had no sooner left Puerto La Cruz than the heat exchanger cap on the port engine blew and we lost all our coolant. However, Charlie was able to fix this problem and replace the coolant when we anchored at a small island just outside Puerto La Cruz.

Next day the engines behaved themselves and we sailed to another island, encountering hundreds of dolphins on the way, a sight that brought an instant smile to my face. It seems that whenever we see these playful guys, we always have a great sailing day with no problems. We again anchored out that night.

On the third day out of Puerto La Cruz we arrived at Isla Margarita and spent lots of time anchoring because our CQR anchor refused to dig in. We finally threw out our second anchor, the trusty Danforth, and then we were secure, which was important in this crowded anchorage. that night we had an excellent dinner at a French restaurant with 2 other couples we'd met in Curacao.

The following day we did a major provisioning, especially for wine, beer and liquor, because, being a tax-free zone, Margarita has even cheaper prices than Puerto La Cruz. We went to Rattan, a huge store that sells just about everything.

Speaking of cheap prices, diesel fuel and gasoline are cheaper in Venezuela than just about anywhere else in the Caribbean. Last time we filled up fuel was going for approximately 10 cents a gallon. The next cheapest place to fill up is Trinidad where diesel goes for $1.00 a gallon.

Unfortunately due to the impending general strike, we didn't have time to tour Margarita; instead we left at dawn on December 9 with 4 other boats all headed to Trinidad. Lots more boats left Margarita that morning but were going straight to Trinidad; we opted to take a slower route which allowed us to anchor each night at different points along the northern Venezuelan coast. This turned out to be a fortuitous choice because currently there is such a problem with piracy on this coast that cruisers avoid it at all costs, a shame since it's one of the most beautiful areas we've seen.

To be continued.

Continuing with our adventures in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela - one day we took a bus to Los Altos, an artists colony in the hills just outside the city. Since we neglected to go with a guide, we didn't know exactly where to go but, as we got off the bus, we spotted a woman with a donkey carrying 4 cases on Polar beer, the local brew in Venezuela, and followed her, thinking she was going to a restaurant but she ended up at a house. Someone partied well that night!

On one of our marina sponsored shopping trips we bought a couple of boards, and Charlie made a ramp, making it a lot easier to get on and off the boat. Since we were backed into the wall that surrounds the marina, we were able to run the boards from the back steps onto the wall. Even Star, the dog, had no trouble getting onto the dock.

We also met another couple on a catamaran that pulled in right next to us called "Cat House". They made a very speedy approach to the dock and didn't really slow down until they hit the concrete wall, slightly damaging their boat - not a great way to arrive at a dock, but at least they didn't hit us. Of course we were standing by, fenders at the ready, just in case.

They were a nice couple, and the chief thing I remember about them is the wife kickboxing in the cockpit as a video played in the salon. She was around my age and in terrific shape Turned out they hadn't been sailing very long, and their subsequent fate is a cautionary tale for all sailors, especially newbies.

Sometime after we left Venezuela we heard that "Cat House" was wrecked in Tortuga, another Venezuelan island off the coast. Seems they had decided to leave Tortuga at night with only the autopilot navigating while they were both below deck and ended up on a reef. The boat was a total loss along with many of their personal belongings. As far as I know the boat is still there, slowly disintegrating on the coral, a reminder to other foolhardy sailors who might be tempted to do something similar. We always enter and exit a new harbor in daylight, and both of us are keeping a careful eye out for any possible obstacles in the water.

Back in Puerto La Cruz I observed at least 10 cats roaming the marina grounds, keeping the rat population down. Apparently they were doing a good job because some of the cats in our section of the marina looked a bit thin, so Charlie gave them some of our cat food. Being an animal lover I wondered what would happen to them once we left but have since heard they're being cared for, not sure by whom.

Every day we read an English language paper published in Venezuela called "The Daily Journal". It was so critical of the Chavez government we wondered how they were able to publish it, and, indeed, when we visited Venezuela in 2005, we couldn't find it anywhere. In addition to being a good read, "The Daily Journal" also contained the "New York Times" crossword which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Our plan now was to go to Trinidad, where my son Eric would join us for the holidays. After that we would sail back to Connecticut to deal with the 10 palettes of household furnishings I had in storage there. In addition, they were calling for a general strike in Venezuela to protest the Chavez government, so we wanted to be out of there before that took place. There were also rumors of a possible coup to overthrow the government, so, on December 4 we cast off the dock lines and headed northeast.

To be continued.

In Puerto La Cruz we saw many of the people we'd met in Curacao. Unlike gatherings of land-based people, in the cruising world, the last thing you know about anyone is what they did prior to going cruising. You're more likely to know what kind of boat they sail and how they're latest passage went. Liveaboard cruising tends to be a greater equalizer since the wind and waves don't really care about your past life. However, I did find out about the previous lives of a some of our friends, so to give you an idea of their varied backgrounds, I'll describe a few couples we knew.

First there was a older couple in their 70's who'd sailed around the world 3 1/2 times in a 32' Westsail. They grew up literally blocks from one another in a small town outside Buffalo, New York and went to school together from elementary on up. He'd been in the Merchant Marine and was retired from the Navy. I believe they're now land based.

Then there was a couple from Kentucky who had a trawler - yes, we have friends on powerboats as well as sailboats. They both had worked at a bank and his family owned the bank. He once told me "the difference between a house and a boat is that in choosing to live on a boat, you've chosen a home that could kill you". As far as I'm concerned I feel every bit as safe on my boat as I used to in my house; safer, in fact, because if the neighborhood goes down, you can always move. I think they were in Trinidad last year continuing on their voyage.

Another couple we know now sails half the year in the Mediterranean and spends the other half land based in the U.S. The husband, born in Cuba, was formerly an executive with a large oil company and once told me "everyone who is not a leader either follows or gets out of the way". Apparently he was still working on that concept with his very nice and feisty wife.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with all these people and more at Mares Mares, a nearby luxurious marina with a wonderful swimming pool. Even though we were in Venezuela, we had an all American Thanksgiving buffet, which included turkey with all the trimmings as well as a number of other dishes. We really enjoyed swimming part of that meal away in their wonderful pool.

To be continued.

With our dock slip in Puerto La Cruz booked for an entire month and not being able to take any trips to the interior of Venezuela because we didn't feel comfortable leaving our 6 pets, we had plenty of time to explore the city as there didn't seem to be any day trips available. Puerto La Cruz is a regular destination for cruisers, especially in hurricane season, and, as such, has a full complement of services available to boaters. At Bahia Redonda services included weekly bus trips into town for provisioning, a laundry, a small grocery store onsite and public phones.

One of our first errands was taking my little male cat, Tiki, by taxi (these were available at the street entrance to the marina) to the vet who was a Dutchman and so spoke a little English, a rare commodity there outside of the marina, and I was able to tell him about Tiki's eating problem. He gave me liquid vitamins which seemed to help for a while, and Tiki started to gain weight.

Unfortunately his improvement only lasted a couple of weeks and then we had the very sad task of returning to the vet to have him put to sleep. By that time he wasn't grooming, eating or even purring and was extremely thin so I made the only humane decision I could for him. He was 15. This was also my first experience with being there while the vet gave him the shot, and I found it so comforting that I now ask to be there when the animal is put down.

We also took the provisioning bus into a major shopping area near the marina. The bus made regular stops at a grocery store, hardware store, home improvement store, and a branch of Citicorp before winding up the tour at a deli/bakery where we got some of the best Sicilian style bread I've ever eaten, and I'm not much of a bread eater.

In addition to going on the provisioning bus, we also took the public bus into the center of Puerto La Cruz. You may recall that I'm originally from the heart of Manhattan in NYC, and Puerto La Cruz reminded me of nothing so much as the way Third Avenue used to look when the El train was still in existence. Of course Puerto La Cruz has no El but the street scene is the same: very crowded, hot and dirty with lots of small shops lining the streets where you could find goods even cheaper than the stores in the shopping area near the marina.

The first time we went into town on the public bus, Charlie needed cash and decided to use an ATM located right near where we got off the bus. Now he was used to the machines in the U.S. which keep your card until the end of the transaction so when this machine spit the card right back out, he put it in again, and again, and again until the machine kept the card and wouldn't give it back. Remember there was a huge language barrier here as very few people spoke English. We went inside the bank where Charlie finally found someone he could explain his predicament to, and he finally got the card back. Very lucky for him.

We also made many trips to a large mall near the marina. To reach the mall we took the dinghy from the marina through a series of canals along which were some very expensive-looking houses and a couple of townhouse projects built to resemble houses on European canals. I even learned enough Spanish that I was able to make the waiter in a restaurant in the mall understand that I wanted to take my leftovers with me. I was greatly pleased.

Another fun thing we did was go to one of the small local restaurants on the beach near the marina for fresh fried fish and beer. For $2 or $3 we got more food than we could eat and drink, and the fish was caught locally, most likely by one of the fishermen whose boats were moored in front of the restaurant.

To be continued.

Now to continue with our passage from Curacao to Trinidad, a voyage we were making because that's where all the friends we'd made in Curacao were going. The few times I've been seasick have all been after we sat in port for a while and then started sailing in moderately rough seas. The trip from Bonaire to Las Aves was one of these times. I really had to struggle to stand watch, and, to top it off the heat exchanger on the starboard engine sprang a leak so we were once again down to one engine.

If you're wondering why we use our engines so much in addition to our sails, remember the prevailing winds in this part of the world are the trade winds that blow from east to west and we were traveling from west to east, directly into the trades. Of course purists would then inquire why we didn't tack. Our catamaran is not easy to tack plus we like to know that we have ample time to reach our next anchorage before dark; hence we run our engines.

Another navigation note: at this time we were using a combination of paper charts and a cruising guide written by Chris Doyle to get our waypoints for our GPS. We also have an autopilot that we frequently use so that we don't have to constantly be at our helm located at the rear of the boat and totally exposed to weather. We've since added electronic charts and now have our GPS hooked into our autopilot making it even easier to sail the boat. Of course when we're on watch we're in the cockpit at all times keeping a lookout for other boats, oil rigs, etc., and with radar on at night.

At this anchorage we put down 2 anchors to make sure that we kept our distance from the mangroves and the mosquitoes they contained. Even so we had quite a mosquito barrage that night. When we attempted to raise the anchors the next day, we discovered the chain of one had wrapped around the other. Worse, while trying to sort it all out, we drifted into the mangroves. Fortunately the boat was unharmed and we were able to get the chain straightened out and raise the anchors.

We motor sailed on to a second anchorage in Las Aves and finally met up with the many species of boobies, large birds that make the islands their nesting ground. The boobies made a real weird sound that reminded me of a Steve Reich (American minimalist classical composer) piece of music. As there were no mosquitoes here, we figured the birds must eat them or scare them off somehow.

Charlie determined that the heat exchanger was OK but there was a leak in the water exhaust system so we turned the engine off once again on our passage between anchorages in Las Aves.

The next day we motor sailed on to the first of 3 planned anchorages in Los Roques, another island group belonging to Venezuela. Unlike Las Aves, Los Roques is populated and even has an airport on one of the islands. Both engines were running now so we had no trouble reaching the anchorage early enough; however, that night the anchorage became rough and we had lots of rain making sleep difficult.

After a small problem raising the anchor the next morning, we continued on to the second anchorage in Los Roques where I snorkeled and saw my first starfish. While listening to the daily weather report, we hear that in 72 hours the waves will increase due to swells from storms in the area so we decide to skip the third anchorage in Los Roques and go directly to Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela. In addition to the weather, Tiki my little male cat who had eating problems on the way to Curacao, was once again very thin and needed to go to a vet.

And so the next morning we set out for Puerto La Cruz, a two-day sail. We arrived there without incident on November 5 and docked at Bahia Redonda. Several of the people we'd met in Curacao were already here as was Fred's boat, but not Fred, who was in Merida, a Venezuelan town high in the Andes, for an intensive Spanish course. Linda and Jerry were there also.

A sad note - Fred died suddenly a week ago in Trinidad. He will be missed.

To be continued.

Bonaire is a desert island with cacti similar to Curacao. There are a couple huge white mountains of salt which we passed on our way into the anchorage at Bonaire. These salt mountains attest to Bonaire's lively industry in salt mining. There is a flamingo sanctuary near the salt flats but these birds kept their distance when I tried to photograph them.

The capital, Kralendijk, has an array of Dutch architecture stretching along the waterfront facing onto the anchorage. A lot of the town reminded me of Willemstad in Curacao, but much smaller. Just outside Kralendijk there tiny houses on the waterfront which had once been slave quarters. We toured the island and stopped at the donkey farm where they take care of some of the stray donkeys on the island. We also had some great barbecue chicken and pork at a small restaurant that was only open on weekends.

Bonaire is known for its diving and we took advantage of the opportunity. Since we had originally planned to do dive charters, our boat was (and still is) equipped with a gasoline powered air compressor and 10 dive tanks. We still have the compressor but gave a couple tanks away and lost 1 to rough seas. One day we dove at a site called the Small Wall. What you want to do when diving a wall is descend, swim against the current for a distance then end by drifting back with the current to your starting point. Charlie, my life partner and intrepid dive instructor, determined the direction of the current. We left our dinghy on a dive buoy at a suitable point and proceeded to drift dive the wall, admiring the incredible selection of fish and coral as we went along.

We then turned to drift back to the dinghy and found ourselves swimming against the current. Finally we surfaced only to find that we were near shore, not near the dinghy, because the current was actually going in the opposite direction. Taking off our fins, we walked quite a distance still carrying our tanks on our back, over to a dock near the dinghy. Charlie then snorkeled over, retrieved the dinghy from the mooring, and brought it to the dock so we could load it with our dive equipment and return to the marina. A very long afternoon.

We dove again several more times, mainly at Klein Bonaire, a small island just off the coast which provides protection for the main anchorage located between Klein Bonaire and Bonaire itself. We made some of the dives with other couples.

After the usual round of dinners and parties, we left Bonaire on October 31, headed for the westernmost group of offshore islands belonging to Venezuela, Las Aves.

To be continued.

On October 14, 2001 we left Curacao and finally started cruising with just the 2 of us, plus 6 pets, on board. First stop was Klein Curacao, a tiny island 15 miles off the southeast point of Curacao, where I had a hard lesson in how to pick up a mooring ball. We had to make several approaches before I finally got it, but at least I did get it. We've since revised this procedure so that I'm driving the boat while Charlie picks up the mooring ball - works like a charm even in the most crowded bays. There's very little on Klein Curacao except a nice beach. It's mainly used as a swimming and snorkeling destination for boats making day trips out of Curacao.

The next morning we continued on to Bonaire where we again had to pick up a mooring as there's no anchoring there because the island is in a marine park. This time, however, we had help from the husband of a couple we met in Curacao who came over in his dinghy and handed me the line from the mooring ball so I could secure it onto our boat.

We moved into the marina the following day because the mosquitoes feasted on us during the night despite our best attempts to screen them out, with screens on every hatch and porthole as well as one on the entry door. We have since added another screen across the end of our berth and supplement that with mosquito coils.

Traveling with pets can get really adventurous at times. Once we were docked in the marina, we went ashore to tour the immediate area, leaving the salon door open and Star in charge of the cats. We returned to discover that Star had taken himself for a walk and was nowhere to be found. The boldest of the cats, Sadie (short for Mercedes) was lying on a mat outside the cabin. We finally found Star quite a distance from the boat and ushered him home.

Since Sadie was the only cat who might wander around the boat and possibly take herself ashore, I decided to introduce her to salt water. Now we had life preservers for each of the pets aboard so I put Sadie's on her and took her down the steps off one side of the back of the boat and sprinkled some salt water on her. The next thing I knew I was holding an empty life preserver and Sadie had zoomed all the way into the salon. She never got curious about salt water after that.

To be continued.

Now for a brief run-through of what had to be one of the longest 2 1/2 month stretches of my life. I say longest merely because so much happened during that time that I can't believe we were in Curacao for such a short time.

First, this was our real introduction to the cruising community. When we left Connecticut I had no idea that people lived on their boats and traveled on them all over the world. I also had no idea that cruisers would turn out to be some of the most interesting, courageous and warm-hearted people I have ever met.

They came from all walks of life: one couple was in banking; Fred, the singlehander on the catamaran was in construction; the husband of another couple had been an oil company executive; the wife of another couple was a chemist; another singlehander was a retired commercial pilot. We also met Jerry and Linda, who are now here with us in Green Cove Springs. He's a retired Navy Seabee and mechanic; she's a nurse - two valuable skills for cruising.

In addition to the endless round of potluck dinners and happy hours, we toured the Westpundt area looking for good dive sites; we rented an old beat-up car that was cheap but took us on our many errands; we discovered Mambo beach where on Tuesday nights you can lie in lounge chairs on the beach and watch a free movie on a big screen; we took our dog Star to the vet and finally got his paw straightened out; we went to the movies in Willemstad several times; we had the boat taken out of the water for a week to repair the damaged keel; we had several business meetings; we took the boat sailing twice with our new friends aboard; and finally, we started the lengthy residency process (you'll recall our objective was still to set up a dive charter business).

We also rented a house, an event in itself. Ideally, we wanted a house either with a dock for the boat or located somewhere in view of the boat. There was no Multiple Listing Service on the island so we had to go to several different agents to see what they had available. Finally we settled on a large house with several fruit trees in the backyard but no view of the boat. The entrance door was a split door that opened individually on the top and the bottom, so you could close the bottom portion, leaving the top open. Like many houses, this one had bars on the outside of all the windows and outdoor florescent lights that went on automatically at night to deter thieves. Our yard was completely enclosed with an electric gate at the end of the driveway. The windows all had different key locks on them; the house came with a set of 10 keys. The first night in the house, the 5 dogs next door barked so we couldn't sleep much; the second night was better but the 5 dogs at the house in back of us now barked a little; finally, after we spoke to the neighbors who had the first group of 5 dogs, they removed the female dog which was in heat, and the barking ceased. Charlie never did get used to the cold showers, though; very few houses in Curacao have hot water heaters.

On 9/11 our lives changed forever. That morning we were standing in line at the phone company in our 3rd attempt to get phone service to the house (we had the retired pilot, a local resident, with us this time and were successful) when I heard people saying the Papiamentu (the official spoken language here) equivalent of "Oh no!". I turned to look at the TV monitor which was tuned to CNN and saw smoke coming from the first tower. As I watched the live broadcast, to my horror the second tower was hit and then both towers came down one by one. Remember I was born and raised in NYC, and this to me was an unconscionable act of destruction to my home town on a scale I could never have imagined. All I remember of the remainder of the day was going to the marina and Linda asking me if I wanted to watch more of the broadcast on their TV, which I did gratefully. I was depressed for days. In a marvelous show of solidarity our neighbors at the house flew a U.S. flag at half mast.

Naturally this event affected tourism and the possibilities for our business. Charlie suggested that we go cruising instead of trying to start the business and I agreed heartily. The next day I made the necessary phone calls to get the 40' container full of our household belongings off the dock in New Jersey (it was set to sail to Curacao the next day) and back into storage and to complete several financial transactions.

We had to take the boat out of the water again to repair a bilge leak and have the prop on the port engine balanced. Next we moved out of the house back onto the boat. This time the cats were allowed the run of the boat since it was just going to be the two of us. The cats were much happier even though it meant they had to deal with Star. Before we left, Charlie, a PADI licensed Scuba instructor, taught the husband of one couple we knew how to dive so I got in a few dives along the way at a site commonly known as The Tugboat (yes, there's a tugboat sunk there) - the fish and coral were magnificent. We also had a barbecue for 20 people on our boat and discovered that while our cockpit really held 12 people comfortably, 20 was too many.

Next - the joys of cruising.

Finally we continue with our arrival in Curacao. After we docked we met the couple on the boat across the dock from us as well as Fred, a singlehander on a Fontaine Pajot Bahia 46' catamaran, whom we would meet again from time to time over the next 4 years.

Our crew left the next day to return to South Africa, and Charlie and I gave the boat a much needed cleaning. The boat across the dock left for Cartagena, Colombia, and I had my first experience with how it felt to say goodbye to cruisers I'd developed an attachment to in a very short time. That's one thing you learn to do while cruising since you're always meeting people only to go your separate ways sooner or later. It was hard at first but it does get easier, especially when you realize you'll probably meet up with them again somewhere.

On the following day we took a minibus into Willemstad, the capital of Curacao, anticipating checking in with Immigration, getting a cell phone, and renting a car. We accomplished the last two, but Immigration told us to return the next day. That is no small feat considering that to get to Immigration you need to walk from the bus station over the Queen Emma pontoon bridge that connects the Punda section of Willemstad with the Otrobanda section across the waterway, and then walk another half-mile along the Otrobanda waterfront until you reach the building housing Immigration, which is marked in Dutch, the national written language.

That night we attempted to take the dinghy across Spanish Water to Sarifundy's, the main cruiser watering hole located on the other side of the huge bay. Needless to say with all the many inlets, small islands and shallow areas in the bay, plus not knowing exactly where we're going, we end up returning to the marina and decide to try again in daylight.

We had better luck the next day and were able to check in with Immigration and Customs. By the way, these are not near each other: Customs is on the waterfront in the Punda section, but at least now we had a car, which we had to switch because the first car had a tendency to stall and fill the interior with exhaust fumes.

To be continued.

To fast forward for a moment to our current stay in Green Cove Springs, FL, a few more reasons why I won't be ready to be land based anytime soon.

First, another cruising couple who are friends of ours arrived yesterday before noon, having sailed all the way from the southern Caribbean as we had done last year. Unlike us, though, it looks like they're going to sell their boat and move back to terra firma. For now we have 2 boats here with friends on them and a third scheduled to arrive next month.

Second , the shuttle launch. Last night while watching TV a small picture of the shuttle suddenly appeared in the lower left of the screen, and we rushed out into the cockpit. Looking a bit to the southeast we saw the huge, incredibly bright flame of the booster rocket as it pushed the shuttle upward at an amazing rate.

I then remembered the binoculars and used them to follow the shuttle for almost a half hour as it appeared to arc over to the northwest. Because the St. Johns River is about a mile wide here, we have a great view of the sky in almost every direction, making it easy to follow the shuttle's path.

I'd seen one other launch last year but the shuttle disappeared behind clouds shortly after liftoff. This time I could see it clearly for a long time. I don't know why these launches mesmerize me so, but I'm completely fascinated with them. I think it's one event that's better witnessed in person than viewed on TV. I hope they do a night launch before we leave here. Also, if you get the chance, the Kennedy Space Center is a must do. We went there last year, and I was astonished at how much there was to see.

Finally, today we had speedboat races on the river. All types of racing powerboats participated, but I'm drawn to the larger, exceptionally fast ones powered by very loud inboard engines and sporting very fancy paint jobs. Apparently there was a mandatory checkpoint at the town dock because all the boats had to slow down and check in here. They waited a few minutes then took off again at high speed.

Our boat is pretty well insulated for noise but when these puppies started coming into the checkpoint, I definitely knew they were there as the roar of their engines vibrated our boat. These boats were worth my leaving the air-conditioned salon and going out into the midday heat to observe them through binoculars. Since the town dock isn't far from our pier, I was able to get a good look at the boats as they zoomed past, rooster tails and all. If I'd gone down to the end of the pier, I would have had a closer look, but it was just too hot for that.

If I lived on land I would probably have missed all of the above. It never ceases to amaze me how much the scene from our boat changes day to day. If we need a break, we just walk the pier and the floating docks, as we did today, and see what new boats have come in. I consider myself lucky indeed to live this crazy lifestyle.

It's a good thing most of the really bad hurricanes seem to hit in August and September because we were still in St. Kitts and it was now July 30. We toured St. Kitts and then came the Showdown with our crew, especially the gal, whose attitude had been growing progressively worse. In addition to a misunderstanding over their pay for the week we had charter guests aboard, the crew also believed it was too risky to go directly to Curacao, now the current plan, because of all the problems we'd had with the boat. We made a deal with them over the money and compromised the float plan by saying we'd sail south then west so we'd be near islands in case anything broke.

Oh, if I'd only known then what I know now, we could have saved the money we spent on this deal and headed directly to Curacao from St. Kitts. However, you need to remember that Charlie and I had never sailed this boat with just the 2 of us. Even on our test runs in Long Island Sound we'd always had other people aboard to handle lines, sails, etc. and I was still new enough to sailing that I didn't feel comfortable sailing with just the 2 of us.

To be fair, even after sailing "Blue Star" over 17,000 miles, we still take crew on for any passage over 3 days and 2 nights because even with just one more person on board, we can do 3 hour watches, which translates into 3 hours on and 6 off. For us, anything less than 6 hours off is just too tiring. Before leaving St. Kitts with our now less disgruntled crew we did make a quick check for other available crew but no one materialized.

We sailed south for a day and a half down to about the 14th parallel, then on August 1 we changed course and headed directly for Curacao. The engines behaved themselves on the downwind run: they were mostly turned off. The generator, too, ran beautifully.

Finally on August 4 in a driving rainstorm, we reached Curacao. We had to wait for the weather to clear so we could see the narrow entrance to the huge inland bay called Spanish Waters. Once inside we tied up at Seru Boca Marina where we'd made reservations before leaving Connecticut.

We were now supposed to rent a house and start a charter diving business. But that's not quite what happened. Unbeknown to us the adventure had just begun.

To be continued.

It's now July 26 and we were still in Nevis repairing "Blue Star". Charlie and the male member of our crew removed the bracket containing the broken bolt and took it into town to be drilled out. The generator seemed to be working also so we've made progress today. To reward ourselves we took a longer tour of the island with a local named Almond who had extensive knowledge of every plant on the island. While touring we saw a house on fire and a long time later we saw the fire engine slowly making its way to the fire. Life is definitely in the slow lane here!

Our progress slowed the next day as the generator only ran for 1 1/2 hours and there was a major power drain somewhere on the boat. Charlie spent all day finding a piece of 1" radiator hose for the port engine. It never ceased to amaze me how even the simplest errands could take so much time in some places. We also took delivery of a new outboard, Yamaha Enduro 15 hp, for the the dinghy which actually cost less than it would have in the States. We took another break and went to Culturama, a local event consisting of many speeches and no music.

Port engine was finally fixed the next day. The generator still had a problem which Charlie believed was due to an air flow problem. It ran fine as long as the locker it was in was open, but stopped when the locker was closed. We got more fuel and thought about leaving but big seas in the weather forecast would keep us in the area for a few more days. We decided to make the short hop to St. Kitts the next day for a change of scenery.

That night was one of several "Hell Nights" we've experienced. As a bad thunderstorm was approaching, I went forward to close the hatch to the cabin where the cats were (yes, they were still in the fifth cabin which can only be accessed from the forward deck) and hit my nose hard on the compass as I returned to the cockpit. Amazingly the nose looked OK, it just hurt a lot.

In the early morning during another storm, our mooring line broke, so we moved to the next bay and set out 2 anchors. As soon as there was a break in the weather we moved over to St. Kitts and anchored. We kept an anchor watch initially due to the stormy conditions, but the storm finally subsided and we were able to get some sleep.

To be continued.

Continuing the saga of our shakedown voyage, you'll recall that we'd finally left Tortola for the last time and were in our way to Saba, a Dutch island south of Tortola. On the way one of the mounting bolts on the port engine broke so we shut that engine down. Then the starboard engine started heating up so we lowered the rpm and kept going. We were also towing the dinghy with only one rope but would add another when we got to Saba. I told you we were really novice sailors. Also I have a theory that the engines talk to each other and conspire to see which one can give us the biggest headache. Our progress was down to 1.1 knots.

The next day we fixed the bolt on the port engine so it was usable once again. Our speed increased to 4 knots since the starboard engine decided to run normally also. We finally arrived at Saba, which looks like an enormous rock sticking up out of the ocean as you approach it, and picked up a mooring ball. The island and surrounding water is part of a marine sanctuary so no anchoring is allowed. After a long, rough dinghy ride we made landfall with Star, the dog, on a deserted pebble beach.

A couple of years later we toured Saba and discovered its wonderful alpine charms. It's very different from any other Caribbean island we've visited and is one of our favorite places. On this first visit, though, we figured that while the island might have great diving, it didn't seem to have much else.

We left Saba at 6 AM the next morning headed to Nevis. We finally had over 8 knots of wind so we made good progress. The generator still had problems but we figured we could fix it in Martinique. Somewhere on the way to Nevis we lost the motor off the dinghy. At least we still had the dinghy itself. Arrived in Nevis in early afternoon and toured the island. Our plan was now to go to Montserrat and then Martinique.

The next day we started out for Montserrat but the new bolt we had installed on the port engine broke. Unable to drill it out, we returned to Nevis to fix it. On top of everything else our problems with the female member of our crew continued to worsen. At this point Charlie and I decided that if we could get the boat fixed we would head straight for Curacao.

To be continued.

Another digression from our shakedown voyage but I think you'll find it an interesting one. Today we went with Jerry and Linda to the Blue Crab Festival in Palatka, a town on the St. Johns River about 25 miles south of Green Cove Springs. Charlie and I had been to the festival last year but the sun broiled us to the extent that I couldn't enjoy my crab cakes and we left well before we'd really seen everything.

This year the weather cooperated giving us some clouds and cooler temperatures, so we were finally able to enjoy ourselves. A good thing, too, as the festival seemed a lot larger than last year. A Blue Crab Festival wouldn't be complete without - blue crabs. Just past the entrance was a large booth selling the crabs cooked every way imaginable - deviled, boiled and made into the crab cakes that Jerry and I feasted on.

There were other types of food as well: Charlie had shrimp and Linda chose a bratwurst sandwich. All the seafood we had came with fries and hush puppies. Other concessions sold all the usual festival food - funnel cakes, corn dogs, Italian ices, and there were a couple stands selling homemade ice cream, one complete with a boy pedaling on a bicycle which churned the ice cream.

After our delicious feast we walked through the rest of the festival. There were booths selling all kinds of crafts, an art section, and more food, including one selling homemade fudge. Despite my heavy lunch I couldn't resist a slice of chocolate walnut fudge - delicious.

The Frisbee Dogs were there along with the very funny Pig Races, which we've seen before but missed today. They usually race the pigs at night due to the heat but were running them during the day here since it wasn't so hot. An amusement section had all the usual rides and carnival games.

Last year we'd seen jet ski races on the river but they weren't holding them today. They were giving air boat rides, though, on an air boat whose vast noise belied its relatively slow speed. Live musicians performed continuously everywhere including a small Peruvian group playing guitar, flute and mandolin and an electric blues group.

The Blue Crab Festival made for a thoroughly enjoyable day off the boat.

To return to our adventurous shakedown voyage...

By July 17 we had both engines in and running so we left for Saba, a lovely Dutch island south of the Virgin Islands. An hour and a half later we returned to St. Thomas with no generator, no autopilot, one bilge pump down and a leak in the hose to the hot water heater. Called Don who would come the next day to sort out all the problems.

The next day at 12:30 PM we left St. Thomas with all problems fixed. An hour later we returned to St. Thomas with a salt water leak in the starboard engine. Don fixed the leak and flushed the engine. At 3 PM we left again. At 4PM the AC input on the generator burnt up so its engine was running but no AC power was being produced. Despite this problem we headed for Tortola where we arrived at 8PM hoping to get the generator fixed the next day. Without the generator we have no air-conditioning and no 40-gallon-an-hour watermaker to produce fresh water.

The following day we went into a marina so the cats have air-conditioning once again and we arranged to have a new generator motor shipped for arrival the next day. To forget our troubles for a moment Charlie and I took a long walk around the bay to the Moorings complex of charter sailboats. The complex was impressive with many boats at the dock and several large buildings for customers and staff.

As promised the motor was delivered the next day, July 20, but too late to complete installation that day so we hung out in the bar/restaurant next to the dock and heard some good blues from a one-man band. The following day after we completed the motor installation, we toured the island with a taxi driver who had lived in New York City, my home town, for 10 years and had owned a nightclub on Tortola after that. We agreed that the north shore of the island was much prettier than the Roadtown side where we were.

On July 22 we left Tortola only to return with a non-functioning autopilot. It finally engages so we leave Tortola again for Saba.

To be continued...

I see the "tomorrow" in the last post has turned into 3 days from now but it's better than a week. Anyway to continue with the shakedown voyage...the day after our guests left we sailed back to St. Thomas to get the boat problems resolved. We'd planned to be in Curacao by August 1 before hurricane season reached its peak but at least we weren't taking on any more guests. Of course we were still planning on going down the eastern island chain to Trinidad and then go west to Curacao from there, so time was at a premium since it was now July 1.

The next day we pulled into Yacht Haven Marina in St. Thomas, contacted Don regarding the engines, rented a car and did laundry. On the following day one of our crew members helped Don pull the starboard engine to see if it could be rebuilt. We also ordered a new port engine which was supposed to be delivered by the end of the week In addition, Charlie was dealing with new parts for the generator, new block and tackle for the dinghy and a new shackle for the main sail.

While we waited for the new engine to appear, we bought 4 new house batteries, fixed all the bilge pumps and amused ourselves by going to the movies and having dinner with friends. Finally on July 12 the new engine arrived along with the parts necessary to rebuild the starboard engine and Don got to work.

About this time the female member of our young crew started to get a bad attitude but refused to discuss it with us. Not exactly helpful, especially considering our continuing time crunch. We monitored the weather constantly; lots of tropical waves but no hurricanes so far. In addition, I slipped getting off the boat one day and ended up in the water between the boat and the dock. I was fine except for a very bruised butt and a cell phone and PDA that were now toast.

To be continued.

Currently here in Green Cove Springs we're celebrating the return of our friends, Jerry and Linda, to Florida after 6 years cruising in the eastern and southern Caribbean. They're back here for the same reason as we are - make enough money to continue cruising. How they found their boat S/V "Summer Breeze", a 44-foot Gulfstar, is one incredible tale.

Originally they had S/V"Heartland", a 34-foot True North, on which they sailed until 2004 when Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada. We had been in the same marina with them and left for Trinidad the day before the hurricane struck Grenada. Jerry and Linda were on a visit to the States and were due back in Grenada the day after the hurricane struck.

Until we went to Trinidad we were watching their boat for them and so stayed longer in Grenada than we normally would have with a hurricane in the vicinity. Ivan was forecast to turn north; however, its actual course was almost due west. When we awoke Monday morning and Ivan was scheduled to pass 70 miles to the north of Grenada, we quickly decided to go south. As we sailed to Trinidad we heard that the storm was already north of the latitude for Trinidad and still well east of our position. We had a smooth sail and the seas didn't start to build until we reached the entrance to the Chaguaramus anchorage in Trinidad.

Ivan hit Grenada dead on the next day with the eye passing directly over the marina we had been in. In Trinidad we only had 25 knot winds although when the wind changed direction on Tuesday night our anchors broke loose and reset themselves, fortunately without incident except it took Charlie 1 hour to pull them up on Wednesday morning.

Since the airport in Grenada was closed we told Linda and Jerry to fly into Trinidad and we'd sail back to Grenada. The four of us made the trip on a boat laden with groceries and fuel donated by the cruisers in Trinidad. The Trinidad Coast Guard was monitoring all vessels going to and from Grenada since some of the boats bringing supplies to Grenada had been attacked by pirates. We checked in with them a couple of times. During the night while Jerry and Charlie were on watch they saw a small boat rapidly approaching. Both men went for the weapons we carried on board, and apparently the speedboat saw this because they backed off at the last minute. We sailed the rest of the way without incident.

Grenada, formerly a green island, was now a totally brown one with not a leaf to be seen anywhere. Of the 40 or so boats that were in our marina, only 4 were sitting on their anchors; the rest were piled on shore or jammed into the brand new floating docks that had broken loose. Unfortunately an aluminum sailboat had smashed broadside into several boats, including "Heartland" which was now minus over 3 feet of her bow. She wasn't taking on water since the boat that rammed her was now propping her up, but she was declared a total loss by Jerry and Linda's insurance company.

Another security incident I should mention occurred while we were in Grenada. There were numerous reports of looting and we had heard gunshots during our stay, so we weren't surprised when one of the locals swam out to our boat from shore and tried to board. When Charlie pointed a suitable weapon at him, he said he just wanted to make sure we were OK and left quickly. After that incident no more looting occurred in that area since the locals now understood cruisers were armed. A good example of why it doesn't pay to have a victim mentality.

Back to Jerry and Linda who are now minus a boat. We suggested that they load everything they wanted from "Heartland" onto "Blue Star" (thank God for 5 cabins!) and return to Trinidad with us. So after 5 days in Grenada, the four of us returned to Trinidad where Jerry and Linda ended up staying with us for 6 weeks until they bought "Summer Breeze" which had been sitting on the hard in Trinidad for over 4 years because her owners fell ill and were unable to return to the boat. With a bit of elbow grease and getting rid of all the stuff her owners had left behind, "Summer Breeze" turned out to be in great shape. Even her fuel was still good according to Jerry, a mechanic by trade, who fired up the engine using the original fuel. The rest, as they say, is history.

Tomorrow we'll continue with our shakedown voyage.

On our way to St. Thomas one of our guests caught a fish so we had fresh fish for dinner that night. After a rough night passage we arrived in St. Thomas and docked at the old Yacht Haven Marina. Amazingly our guests had actually slept on the trip over and were in good spirits. However, the air-conditioner on starboard had quit, and the starboard engine would not start. Since it was Sunday, nothing was open so we couldn't fix anything.

Next day our guests guests went snorkeling with our crew. No sooner had they left than we were on the phone and lined up a mechanic to fix the engines and generator and a guy to fix the air-conditioners. The A/C guy found leaks in the system and would fix them the next day when the mechanic would be there also. We rented an 8-passenger van so our crew could take our guests on a tour of the island the next day.

One of our guests was Charlie's grown daughter, Lisa, who was celebrating her birthday, so we all piled into the 8-passenger van and drove to Red Hook where we caught the ferry for St. John, one of my favorite islands in the Caribbean. After a delicious dinner there we returned to St. Thomas for cake and champagne aboard "Blue Star".

The following day while our guests were blissfully touring St. Thomas we played host to Don the mechanic who fixed the generator, at least temporarily, and gave Charlie advice on what to do with the starboard engine. Parts had arrived for the port engine so Charlie was able to get it running. As promised, the A/C guy fixed the leaks in the system so we could continue our trip.

The next day, after running errands and returning the van, we sailed to St. John in the afternoon and went diving. Charlie, a certified PADI dive instructor, gave one of our guests a great introduction to the sport. Next day we sailed over to Cinnamon Bay, St. John which I fondly remembered from a certain spring vacation fling in my youth. From there we moved on to Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands and investigated Foxy's a famous cruiser bar and restaurant run by a local musician appropriately named Foxy. Not much happening at Foxy's so we returned to the boat for dinner.

In the morning we sailed to Marina Cay, Tortola, and anchored there in the afternoon. A boat vendor selling everything from T-shirts to fresh produce pulled alongside our boat and our guests had a great time sampling his wares. Our passengers were all leaving the next day so we had a wonderful farewell dinner ashore.

The next morning Charlie and I had an unfortunate incident with the dinghy when we were taking our dog, Star, ashore. We ended up stuck on a reef and had a very hard time getting the dinghy off especially since neither of us was wearing shoes. Ouch! While Charlie took Lisa and her friend to the airport I snorkeled with our crew and the remaining 2 guests. In the afternoon we took these guests to the airport in Road Town. That night we and our crew collapsed in bed after an early dinner, relieved that our guests had had no inkling of our boat problems.

To be continued.

Continuing with the saga of our shakedown voyage, we were still in Grand Turk getting fuel so we could leave the next day. This was without doubt the hardest time we've ever had fueling the boat. We had to take the dinghy ashore filled with empty fuel cans, carry the cans to the gas station, fill them, carry them back to the dinghy, take the dinghy back to the boat and put the fuel in the tanks. As it turned out we should have made one more of these fuel trips but we decided we had enough fuel to get to San Juan, Puerto Rico, our next stop.

The next day, June 17, we left for San Juan and one of our crew caught another fish. That fish was the only highlight in what was otherwise one of the roughest passages we've ever made with wind and waves on the nose. Because of trips like this we now watch the weather more closely and never sail on a schedule.

June 21 we docked in San Juan, running literally on fumes and totally exhausted, but since our guests were coming aboard the next day, we did laundry, got fuel and cleaned the boat. We also made the acquaintance of a couple aboard a large fishing boat who normally divided their time between Alaska and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but had come east for a major fishing tournament. We had a very spicy dinner aboard their boat.

We could still operate the port engine only when necessary, and the parts we had ordered had not arrived in San Juan. In addition, the generator quit so now we had no air-conditioning, watermaker, hot water or refrigerator. Despite this we picked up our 4 guests as scheduled. Our boat has a total of 5 cabins and every one was now filled, with the cats remaining in the center cabin. Thanks to the ingenuity of our crew and us, at no time during their week aboard did any of the guests realize that anything was wrong with the boat. Because weather was brewing we decided to set sail immediately for St. Thomas.

To be continued.

Before continuing with our shakedown cruise I should mention a surprise we had in Ft. Lauderdale. You may recall the handheld VHF radio we'd given to the people on that small fishing boat that lost its engine. Well, it turned up in Ft. Lauderdale with a lovely note saying how much they appreciated the radio since it was the only way they kept in contact with the tow boat until they were rescued.

Once in the Bahamas some of us dove down to work on the boat and discovered one keel had sustained some damage probably from our antics in the ICW. The damage won't sink us though so we'll keep going. A more serious problem is the oil leaking out somewhere around the water pump on the port engine. Because of the leak we can only run that engine to keep the refrigeration going.

Tonight Star finally peed - first time since Ft. Lauderdale and an event which took 5 minutes to complete and half an hour for Charlie to clean up. Of course it happened just after Charlie went to bed. The next day we took Star ashore in the dinghy.

Continuing south, now it's our male cat, Tiki (short for Tequila), who has a problem. He's refusing to eat due to motion sickness, so I take him out of the center cabin and introduce him to the rest of the interior of the boat - and to Star. Tiki starts to eat normally.

Since we've always had crew on the boat, I'm just now learning how the sails work and try my hand at working the genoa for the first time. (You'll recall I had never been on a sailboat before this one.) We have a 150% genoa and to raise it, you first determine the direction of the wind and let out the sheet on the opposite side. Then you let out a bit of the line running from the cockpit to the roller furler at the bow. Finally you grind the other sheet to shorten the line and unfurl the sail.

We're running the generator at least 4 hours a day to provide air-conditioning to the cats in the center cabin as it's entirely too hot otherwise. That cabin has 2 hatches but neither can be opened due to the waves. Star seems to be using the fake grass mat we have for him - quite a feat since he's about 12 years old and not easily trained.

After 3 days of rough seas we finally anchored at Grand Turk on June 15. By the way, we're taking on 2 paying guests and 2 family members in San Juan on June 23 for a weeks sailing in the Virgin Islands so we're really making time. We took the dinghy in and docked it at a rusty old ladder and climbed up. As we started walking, we met up with guys from Customs who gave us a ride to their office where we filled out a mountain of paperwork - love those British islands.

We also need diesel fuel but will have to use our jerry cans to get it at a gas station in town. Noticing a Peter Hughes diveboat "Wind Dancer" at the dock we start talking to a guy on board who offers to take us and our jugs to the station. We made one trip which filled the generator tank and one fuel tank partially. We still needed 80 gallons more.

Grand Turk was also celebrating the Queen's Birthday which was why mostly everything was closed. We did find a phone and ATM though. We also found a local restaurant where we had dinner. Prior to dinner Charlie discovered he'd lost his wallet, probably on the truck while we were hauling fuel. As we were eating, the guy from "Wind Dancer" appeared with the wallet fully intact.

To be continued.

Returning for a moment to our present day life here in Green Cove Springs, FL, the weather continues to be interesting. Yesterday the smoke from the Florida wildfires was so bad I kept everything closed up and Sunny had to stay in as well. You could still smell a bit of smoke since the wind was from the south so it was blowing right at the door to the salon.

In addition we've had really high water here lately, due to Andrea whirling offshore and sending water up the river. One of our many lines is tied to the stairs leading from the dock to the boat and was pulling the stairs up a bit so Charlie loosened it a little which makes it very difficult for me, at 5'2" to get on and off the boat. I keep my trips ashore to a minimum.

Fortunately we had some rain last night and the wind is now from the north so, while we're stilling bouncing a bit, at least the smoke is gone. Wind is supposed to calm down by tomorrow. Hope so.

Continuing with our shakedown voyage, you'll recall that Charlie and I, our 2 crew members, our dog Star and our 5 cats had finally made it to Ft. Lauderdale. With the air-conditioning installation starting tomorrow, we had many things to do to get ready. We rented a car, took the cats to a really nice kennel, and we finally took Star to the vet (broken tendons but nothing more serious.

May 30 the air-conditioning installation got underway. This was a major undertaking as there were to be 2 split units, one in each hull and a central unit. Due to this layout, the installation affected every part of the boat, including the 5th cabin which is in the center of the boat and reachable only from the outside. That cabin was particularly important since that's where we kept the cats. The engine rooms were affected as well since that's where the compressors were going. In addition the genset which would run the A/C and the watermaker was going in a locker in the cockpit. The 40 gallon an hour watermaker would be installed in the starboard engine room. We also had someone working on the refrigeration and had ordered new lifelines. What a zoo! One day I counted 6 workmen on the boat, all working on top of each other.

To add to this chaos our fresh water pump broke so we had no water. However, that was fixed by the second day of installation. In between trying to move things out of the workmen's way, I was trying to get our new SSB going. Thanks to the primer on the Sailmail website , I had figured out all the parts I needed and had ordered them prior to leaving CT. I was just now putting the system all together though. I also visited the cats every day which they seemed to appreciate. They did really well in the kennel even though this was the first time they'd ever been boarded.

Two days before we left Star inadvertently bit one of the mechanics on board. The guy raised a fuss so we paid him $100 and made him sign a release of liability so we could leave. We returned the cats to the boat the day before we left. On June 9 after provisioning and returning the rental car, we left and arrived in the Bahamas late that night.

To be continued.

I'll get back to our shakedown voyage tomorrow but today I'd like to give you a glimpse of our current life on board S/V Blue Star at the dock here in Green Cove Springs FL. I plan on doing this from time to time whenever something interesting occurs here.

Saturday we went up north to the Shrimp Festival at Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, FL. Now I'm not a great one for shrimp. It makes me a bit sick in fact. But you don't have to like shrimp to appreciate this festival.

We actually tried twice to get there. We aborted our first attempt, around 1PM, because traffic was blocked up from I95 all the way to Fernandina Beach. So after visiting the Pecan Park Swap Meet, we decided to try again around 3:30 PM. This time we succeeded and even found a $5 parking space within easy walking distance of the festival.

Once on site we quickly learned where all those cars we'd seen earlier had gone. Arts and crafts, not shrimp is the mainstay of this event. Thousands of people perused the hundreds of art-filled booths lining the streets which were all closed to traffic. Rather than the usual knickknacks that you usually find at these things, these were artists and craftspeople of the highest caliber. Wall art was made of everything from oils and acrylics to wood and metal. Sculpture of all kinds was well represented also. Every known craft was represented by more than one booth.

One neat thing about living on a boat, in my opinion, is that I can go to an event like this and really appreciate the items on sale without ever being tempted to purchase an item since I'd have no place to put it. That's not to say I wasn't tempted by the guy selling hand-carved frogs with serrated teeth on their backs and removable sticks through their bodies. The idea was to rub the stick along the teeth, producing a sound eerily like...a frog! He had crickets also. Just the thing to annoy our cat, Sunny.

Yes, there was shrimp cooked every way possible including fried, which Charlie pronounced excellent. Many other types of food and drink were also available in mass quantities. Several side streets were lined with antique and swap meet dealers, but we didn't feel the need to browse these after our earlier visit to Pecan Park. Live musicians played everywhere, including one guy that I could have sworn was an old delta bluesman until I saw him. He was white and probably only in his 20's. Quite a performer.

Next year we'll go up on Friday when there will be fewer people. The crowds made it really difficult to see things.

Some of our long-time cruising friends are coming in this week and more will arrive in June and July. Seems everyone ran out of money at the same time. A 30-knot wind suddenly blew in yesterday causing one of our canvas hatch covers to blow off into the water. According to Weather Bug, these northerly winds won't let up until Wednesday so we'll be bouncing around a bit until then.

Many thanks to the person who reminded me to post. I realize it's been a week since you've heard from me so from now on I'll actually schedule a time to post so I don't forget. Glad you like this stuff.

In Beaufort NC our crew gets the starboard engine running again, and we head out into the Atlantic, planning to sail direct to Jacksonville FL. However, heavy waves and high winds against us force us back into Beaufort and into the ICW once again.

One of our major problems navigating the ICW is depth. Remember S/V Blue Star is a catamaran and our depth finder is on the starboard hull. There may be lots of water under the starboard hull but the port hull could be almost aground. This was the situation in the small sandbar incident we had today. "Small" meaning we were able to get off the bar quickly by maneuvering with the other engine. We docked at Sail Marina for the night.

In addition to the depth problem we also have a 63' mast with a VHF antenna at the top, making for great excitement going under the 65' fixed bridges on the ICW as the antenna goes click, click, click against the bridge. Fixed bridges are my specialty. For us navigating the ICW is an 8-hour a day job with 2 people on duty, one at the helm and one following the charts and sometimes using binoculars to find the next markers. For this reason we prefer to go out to sea whenever possible.

The next day we closely avoided another sandbar and discovered there really is a Surf City. It's in NC. Some of you may remember the 60's hit song of the same name by Jan and Dean. In the afternoon a mattress we had put out to air fell into the water. Normally, not a big deal, just circle around and pick it up. Now, however, we had only 5 minutes until a bridge opening. We circled to port, retrieved the errant mattress and had it on board with 1 minute remaining until the opening. Docked for the night at Bald Head Island.

Next day we finally head out to sea with calm seas and winds from the northwest. Our crew caught a bonita so we feasted that night. Building seas in the middle of the night almost caused us our dinghy. It filled with water and flipped over as one pulley on the davits broke. We fixed the pulley and got the dinghy back in the davits. All secured, we continued on to Cape Canaveral rather than Jacksonville.

On our way we spotted a small fishing boat displaying a distress flag. Their engine had died except for going 2 knots in reverse. As they had no means of communication, we called the Coast Guard and got Towboat US on its way to them. We also gave them one of our 2 handheld VHF radios so they could keep in touch with Towboat US. We gave them our upcoming address in Ft. Lauderdale so they could return the radio to us. Of course we never really expected to see it again.

A fishing tournament at Port Canaveral nixed our plans to stop there so we continued on to West Palm Beach where we docked for the night and fueled up. The next day, May 28, we finally arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, 2 weeks after our scheduled arrival, to have air conditioning, genset, and watermaker installed.

To be continued.

Our first night out was so cold that I saw our young crew sitting at the helm wearing most of the clothes they'd brought with them huddled under our heavy quilt. In the morning after our first dolphin sighting, we arrived at Atlantic City and dropped anchor, planning to spend only a day to replace engine hoses; we left five days later.

First, the hoses were the wrong size, then the weekend intervened so we didn't get the parts until the 15th. In the meantime we moved into a marina for water and power as the batteries were low because we couldn't run the engines very long with no water circulating in them.

May 16 - we're heading for Cape Hatteras on the outside when the waves increased uncomfortably so we went inside at Norfolk and continued down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW). The next day we spent the morning stuck on a sand bar. Once off, we continued south through a canal where we shared a lock with a tug boat pulling a large barge.

May 18 was our first trouble-free day, and we were finally warm. The troubles returned the next day when we hit a tree stump and were pulled off almost immediately by a large power boat. Worse, one of our crew noticed the starboard hull laying low in the water. Seems the automatic float on the bilge pump had failed and there was water in the engine room. We pumped the water out, replace the float, and anchored for the night.

We arrived in Beaufort, North Carolina on May 20 for provisioning and fuel. Also tried without success to find a vet for our dog, Star, who's paw was continuing to hurt him. We're also trying to fix a problem with the fuel not switching properly between tanks.

To be continued.

People often wonder what it takes to actually get a boat and go sailing. Everyone's story is different: some people plan for years before even starting to look for a boat; then there's us. I met Charlie in June 1999. In August 2000 I signed the closing papers on a 43' sailing catamaran which had spent 7 years in charter, and we sailed her from Ft. Lauderdale to Bridgeport CT, staying out of sight of land for 9 days straight except for a 2 hour stop for fuel in Beaufort, NC. This was probably the most uneventful voyage we have ever undertaken on S/V "Blue Star".

We had a teaching captain and his mate, wonderful people from South Africa, with us for the trip, a good idea since I'd never been on a sailboat and Charlie had owned a small sailboat for 2 years 30 years ago, which he'd sailed on Lake Ontario. I was also amazed to learn that I was actually very unhappy when we stopped in Beaufort; I'd rather have stayed out on the ocean. That trip was the only education we, mainly Charlie, received on how to operate and maintain a boat that is the equivalent of a small city in that it has separate electrical, sewage, plumbing and fuel lines in addition to the 2 engines and 2 sails.

We had the boat hauled over the winter with the idea of working on her on weekends, but it snowed so much that winter that all we ended up doing was removing the snow every weekend. Of course the boat was built for warmer latitudes so many lines froze and broke, keeping us busy especially as the weather warmed up.

On April 30, 2001 Charlie had sold his business, I had sold my house, and we moved aboard Blue Star, now back in the water, along with a German Shepherd and 5 cats. The next day we picked up our new crew, another couple from South Africa but very young - only in their 20's, and moved them aboard as well. We completed the last repair jobs and had our official Bon Voyage party on May 4. May 8 Star, the German Shepherd, fell off the boat while we were running errands. He was rescued but had hurt one ankle. An omen? Quite possibly. Nevertheless we set sail from Cedar Marina in Bridgeport CT the next day, May 9.

To be continued.

And now for the downside of living on a boat. All day long we've had about 30 knot winds, first from the south then switching to easterly and finally all the way around to northerly, stirring up the water unbelievably. The turbulent water makes one look like a drunk when walking on the boat.

Charlie, he of the sensitive stomach, vanished to the mall and movies for the afternoon. I stayed aboard and watched one of my Netflix rentals. For those of you who might wonder why we spent a Sunday apart, please consider that we spend, on average, almost the entire 24 hours of every day together, so an afternoon apart is a necessity for me to retain my sanity.

I also need to fill our water tanks but that will have to wait until the winds die down tomorrow. even keep our cat, Sunny (short for Sunshine) that I rescued from the desert around the marina in Curacao a year and a half ago, inside for the day so I won't have to worry about the possibility of her falling off the boat.

She did fall off the boat the last time she tried to leap from the boat to the dock, effectively ending her wanderlust. Fortunately, she swam around to the aft steps where I fished her out. She was fine, if a bit traumatized. We used the occasion as an opportunity to give her a much-needed flea bath so the episode had a relatively happy ending.

From the high seas of the St. Johns River: stay safe, stay aware.