Sunday 4th August 2013
Well today is the day, we are out of here...yay
So we are up running, well kinda, we did have to have a few coffees to wake up first.
We had so much to do before taking off, so it was all hands on deck.
After checking the weather window, The Captain decided that we needed more fuel as there is not much wind around, and it looks like we will be motor sailing a lot.
Now the problem is its Sunday, and not much is open on a Sunday around here, so he jumps on the radio, and asks around, there is one place here that he should be able to get fuel, so off he goes with all the jerry cans.
Me I start getting the boat organised, from tying down to closing and locking hatches, wrapping stuff that we know moves around a lot, turning the galley once again into its sailing mode, this I hate doing, but you have to do it, all breakable stuff gets packed away, we put pot guards on the stove, we have a wooding divider thingy, that holds cups and plates in one spot, all the anti slip mats come out and the dreaded arse sling, man I till hate that thing.
This takes several hours to get everything ready, after all that, The Captain had still not come back and it was getting close to 10am, he wanted to leave around 9am.
So I start doing The Captains jobs on deck, he usually ties and secures all the stuff on deck, so I get stuck in and do all this, and still no Captain in sight, I do the final walk around inside and out, to make sure all is secure, and decide to sit down and turn in all the nav gear and get it up and running.
The Captain finally comes back, puts the diesel in the tanks, and ties up the jerry cans, secures the dingy and we are set to go.
Well we thought we were, we could not get the AIS working, after about an hour, of fiddling, downloading updates still no go.
We made the decision to just go, and try and fix it when we get there.
Now it's about a full days trip to Las Perlas, and a long time ago after seeing how bad the charts around islands are and seeing rock formations that are not charted at all, well we decided we will never go into an unknown area, unless its daylight, it's just way to dangerous.
So we opted for a little uninhabited island instead, that was a lot closer and we could get there at dusk.
We were wrong, with a current going against us and a lot of growth on the bottom of the boat, it slowed us down a lot.
Resulting in it being dark when we got here, talk about stress levels in overdrive.
For a start there were a few lights on shore ( buildings ) so that got me thinking its not the right island, but they had a flashing light in the right place so maybe it was.
Things are so confusing in the dark and it's not like you have street lights to light your way, it's so so dark and scary.
We managed to get the anchor down, but it took several times, with the boat not behaving like it should, and almost running aground, I watched in horror as we went from 3 meters of water to .01 meters in a matter of seconds, well I just panicked and threw her in the opposite direction, and the captain came barreling back into the cockpit, to steer her back out to sea, and then try again, we were so not having fun, I would of been happy just to go back in the ocean and just go around in circles all night till daylight.
But no we tried again and eventually got the anchor to set, man what a relief.
A very stiff drink was called for, but once again, no ice, yeap the new freezer is about to be chucked over board, we should of just let it go into Davy Jones's locker, the first time.
So we settled for white wine, at least it was cold if nothing else, and we are both sleeping in the cockpit, with a spot light handy, just in case.
Well tomorrow is another day.