[PUP] Long, long, long story! Part two from Diesel Duck

[Benno Klopfer]

> Dear Friends,
> This is the follow-up of the first part of our Diesel Duck
> 41 story, which was published in January on this list.  This
> part will cover briefly our travels.
> 
> With a finished new Duck we left Whitby, Canada in Sept.
> 2005 the way Ontarians do, down the New York Canal, Hudson
> and the ICW.  By the time we reached Miami, our seamanship
> skills were sharpened up.  While in Canada my theory in
> navigation was paper charts only, having done a big trip on
> our sailboat 20 years ago with two Atlantic crossings, the
> use of paper charts was burnt into my system.  Well, from
> Miami on, I basically used electronic charts, C-Map, which
> came with our Furuno Navnet.  Oh, what a joy these
> electronic charts can be.  Our paper charts were not thrown
> overboard.  I still use them for route planning and as a
> back-up.
> Our route brought us through the Caribbean with all the
> pleasant islands like: St. Thomas, St. Martin, Martinique 
> etc. all the way to Margarita, Venezuela.  The diesel fuel
> is dirt cheap there and very clean, but high in sulphur
> content. (Not a bad thing, really).  3000 liter (800 gal)
> was US $36.  Unbelievable isn't it?
> The winter 2006/7 was spent in St. Thomas close to sources
> for Butterball turkey and the whole works for Xmas.  2007 we
> did the Caribbean cruise again and stopped in Cumana,
> Venezuela to fill up the Duck with the good, inexpensive
> diesel.  Here is some food for thought.  Two 24 pack of
> excellent Polar beer cost US $12, and 1000 liter (265 gal)
> cost the same.  What would you buy?
> 
> We managed to get a cruising permit for Venezuela and the
> permission to go to Puerto Ordaz up on the Orinoco river. 
> The route to get there logically is to bypass Trinidad in
> the Gulf of Paria and entering south of Trinidad the Rio
> Macareo, one of the delta arms of the mighty Rio Orinoco. 
> The Orinoco forms 5 delta arms emptying the water into the
> Atlantic.  Three of them used to be navigational, but not
> any more.  The arm Rio Manamo got closed up with a dam to
> save the city of Tucupita from flooding.  The arm Rio Grande
> is still used for shipping and ore carriers use it.  The arm
> Rio Macareo was used during the war and dredged.  German
> U-boats kept a check on the mouth of the Rio Grande, but the
> Rio Macareo flows into the Gulf of Paria and this section
> was too shallow for the U-boat.  Dredging stopped in the
> fifties, but with the knowledge of a few way-points, Diesel
> Duck was able to venture into an area which is pure
> undisturbed jungle with the exception of Indians and drug
> runners.  No law and order.  Even the chief of the village
> works with the Columbians and Trinis.  Fast pineros loaded
> down with 50 gal drums of Acetone passed us.  The Indian
> women were employed by the Columbians in plants hidden in
> the delta to manufacture Cocaine.  Twice we were stopped and
> checked out by drug bosses and every time we convinced them
> we were only a mom and pop boat and gave a dickens about
> their business.  It cost us some cold beer.  After 120 miles
> in currents that ran up to 2 knots, we hit the Orinoco,
> which has a 4 knot current running.  Almost no tourist boats
> go up there.  Maybe one boat every few years.  The Orinoco
> is being used by commercial shipping and patrolled by
> Guardia National toting machine guns on fast metal crafts,
> with two 250 hp Johnsons on the back.  We caused quite an
> upheaval with our presence and the teniente told us:
> "You cannot anchor here.  It is too dangerous.  Mucho
> banditos!  You have to go for the night to Puerto Ordaz
> which is only two hours away."  20 miles and more
> upriver with a current of 4 knots.  It would take us about
> 10 hours to cover this.  We were doing only 2 knots over the
> ground in one hour.  But the Guardia National boat would
> cover this in a breeze.  I almost convinced the teniente to
> leave one of the FN Assault rifles with us for protection,
> but after consulting with his superior over the cell phone,
> the deal was off.  The following day we got to the Armada
> base in Puerto Ordaz, where we were incredibly well
> received.  They even brought us supper to the boat.  There
> at the base they told us to always lock up the boat.  I
> asked, "Banditos?"  "No" they said,
> "Ratas."  Marlene couldn't get the DD fast
> enough closed up.  The whole trip was 185 miles upriver. 
> Many times pure jungle and lots of floating rafts of
> hibiscus.  One morning a tarantula was already halfway up
> the anchor chain before we could persuade her to get back
> onto the floating island which had rapped itself around the
> anchor chain.  Finishing the trip back down river, DD
> sometimes topped 12 knots over the ground.  Amazing!
> 
> For the winter 2007/8 we sailed from Bonaire to Puerto
> Rico, to spend another Xmas in St. Thomas.  To be more
> precise, only two months while fitting a furling jib to the
> Duck and to replace the guts of the freezer.  We had the
> furler shipped from Defender and the jib made locally.  The
> freezer's 12 V compressor and the evaporator plates came
> from Sea Frost in the States.
> 
> On 2. Jan. 2008 we started moving.  A real Diesel Duck
> blitz.  12. Feb. Margarita, Venezuela.  After a visit in
> Puerto La Cruz, we stopped in Caya Borracha to clean
> DD's bottom while diving and from there onto Carabelleda
> to fill up with diesel fuel.  Please click up Piracy at the
> noonsite webpage of the recent terrible pirate attacks in
> Borracha and Caraballeda.
> http://www.noonsite.com
> With a 2 day stop in Curacao we arrived in Panama, Colon on
> Easter Saturday.  Darn!  We missed tons of action there just
> by a few days. Part of the new James Bond movie was made
> there in the Shelter Bay Marina, Colon and surrounding
> waters.  All participating cruising boats were paid $100/day
> up to 16 days to take part in spicing up the scenery while
> Daniel Craig (James Bond) was shooting holes into boats.
> Leaving DD in the marina we took a trip to Germany and
> after our return hauled her out of the water for a bottom
> job.  A problem emerged from the Panama Canal Authorities in
> Apr. 08.  Canal transit time was backlogged up to 10 weeks
> waiting time, because the canal pilots operated on a work to
> rule campaign.  Having blasted through the San Blas islands
> before our trip to Germany, we then decided to sail back to
> the 350+ islands of the San Blas to explore the reef
> surrounded islands before they sink away by the global
> warming.  These islands are on the Atlantic side of Panama. 
> You don't have to sail 1000 miles west to lay hand on a
> paradise like this.  Almost every day we spent snorkeling
> exploring the underwater world.  One time in the Coco
> Bandero Cays, a group of extremely scenic islands situated
> behind a four mile long protective outer barrier reef, we
> noticed a 35-40 ft. speed boat coming in at sundown.  The
> guys on it went overboard diving and before nightfall the
> boat took off again toward the open sea.  Next morning an
> outboard powered Kuna Indian boat with three men arrived and
> chased away another Kuna Indian in a dugout who started
> diving at the same spot.  We didn't think much of it at
> the time, but a few days later, the same exercise repeated
> itself.  Being curious and always looking to explore new
> areas, I snorkeled past the spot on the way to a reef I
> hadn't explored yet.  There I noticed a 20 ft container
> with an open door in 30 feet of clear water on the sea
> bottom.  It looked like a little underwater warehouse.  What
> the hell is going on here?  Columbia was less than 100 miles
> south.  Well, I leave it at that.  Marlene purchased several
> Molas from the Kuna women.  At times we were totally swarmed
> by industrious Indians pushing their wares and we tried to
> explain that we already had enough and didn't want any
> more.
> In the Eastern Lemmon Cays on Banedup island lives a Kuna
> family running a little bakery for Kuna bread.  Kuna bread
> looks like a hot dog bun, but tastes like French bread. 
> Kunas are very business minded  and  dollars  are very much
> on their minds when they spot foreigners.  This family
> counts the anchored boats and how many people are on board. 
> Then, in the afternoon, when the bread is ready, the baker
> blows a conch shell horn and the surrounding cruisers jump
> in their dinghies to purchase this warm, crusty, fresh
> bread.  We followed the example and brought a half a dozen
> loafs back to DD to be devoured with gusto.  However, my
> appetite diminished when I discovered the added protein
> baked within (weevils).
> 
> Our biggest problem in the San Blas was the rain and the
> relentless thunderstorms at this time of year.  Quite
> unsettling sometimes to watch lightening all around us.  The
> rainy season had arrived and the humidity climbed sometimes
> up to 100%.  Change of plans!  DD left the San Blas and did
> an overnighter to Boca del Toro at the Costa Rica border. 
> However, it rained a lot there too so we sailed into the Rio
> Chagres by Colon.  An old pirate holdout and pure jungle
> teeming with wildlife like jungle cats and monkeys.  There
> were plenty of wild mango trees.  Fruit ripe to eat and
> plentiful to pick.  Hoards of monkeys gorging themselves on
> these sweet fruits and they didn't mind when we helped
> ourselves also for an easy picking.
> While we sat in these still waters I used the opportunity
> to do engine maintenance.  Changed the timing belt, a 2000
> hrs maintenance requirement on our trusted Perkins diesel
> engine.  Then exchanged the transmission fluid and the
> engine oil.  We had heard that the canal pilots run the
> engines at full throttle.  Buggers they are!  Being prepared
> is better than having an engine problem in the middle of the
> canal.
> With a freshly serviced engine and a good load of juicy
> mangoes, DD arrived on Independence Day, the 4th of July at
> Colon harbor.  We visited the Panama Canal Authorities'
> office, paid the $600 fee and the $800 deposit to get the
> ball rolling for the canal transit and made an appointment
> for the Admeasurer, a name for the guy who is like some kind
> of inspector.  He inspects your toilet and makes sure the
> canal pilot does not have to use a bucket or bed pan on your
> boat.  I am convinced, these pilots have seen it all and
> have had wild experiences.  The Admeasurer measures as well
> the boat's length, width and heights and tells you to
> feed the pilot an evening meal, a breakfast and a lunch plus
> snacks in-between.  Just in case these meals are not up to
> snuff, the pilot will have himself meals catered from a
> fancy outfit to the boat and the cost will be deducted from
> your $800 deposit.  A dry cleaning of his clothes or uniform
> if your boat is filthy will as well bring your deposit into
> trouble.
> 
> In Balboa by Panama City, DD entered the Pacific Ocean and
> sailed on to the Perlas islands.  The Perlas get their name
> from when the Spanish conquistadores Casper de Morales and
> Francisca Pizarro robbed a large amount of pearls from the
> indigenous King Toe.  They defeated the king and enslaved
> his skilled pearl divers.  Queen Mary Tudor of England's
> 31 carat "peregrina" pearl came from these
> islands.  We snorkeled there also, but didn't find one
> single pearl.  However, on the northern shore of the Isla
> San Telmo, we noticed a beached
> U-boat.    It looked like a Japanese midget WWII submarine
> were you lash a torpedo on each side and with a kamikaze
> pilot it is steered into an enemy harbor and blows up an
> important target.  Later, while in Ecuador, I did some
> research on this sub and found some interesting web sites
> about this boat.
> http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,412287,00html
> http://www.thehunley.com/NEWSLETTER_62/Newletter_62.htm#THE_EXPLORER_MAY_JOIN_THE-HUNLEY
> http://wikipedia.org/wik/Sub_Marine_Explorer
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_H_Kroehl
> 
> The other attraction at the Perlas islands were the TV
> stages on the beaches for the TV series "Survivor"
> Brazilian and Columbian film crews were shooting their
> episodes.
> 
> Passing Isla San Telmo, DD steered toward the Golfo de San
> Miguel and stopped overnight at La Palma, the entrance to
> the Rio Tuira for an adventurous trip.  We traveled the
> Orinoco last year, so this year we had the Rio Chargres and
> the Rio Tuira on our plate.  The Rio Chargres is dammed
> after a few miles and is now part of the Panama Canal.  But
> the Rio Tuira is wild, forbidden jungle and not without some
> danger, we found out ourselves.  Our plan was to go all the
> way up to the town of Yaviza, a wild west town with a
> special police detachment to stem the flow of trouble from
> the nearby Columbian guerillas.  From Palma to Yaviza
> it's 52 miles of jungle river.  DD with 4-1/2 ft draft
> still had to use the rising tide to navigate this river. 
> Rising tide allows you to float free when you hit ground. 
> In Yaviza, the Pan-American Highway stops.  It begins in
> Alaska and ends at Tierra de Fuego, Argentina.  Between
> Yaviza, Panama and Arquia, Columbia are 60 miles missing to
> link the highway.  Stupid political reasons prevent this
> important road to be finished.
> 
> DD worked itself up the river with the tides to Yaviza
> covering the 52 miles in two days.  Not easy while dodging
> huge debris floating down river.  The wildlife was
> incredible.  Alligators, snakes and colorful birds.  When
> the tide was running out, the current reached 4-1/2 knots. 
> On the 3rd of Aug. we reached Yaviza.  While on the approach
> to the river harbor and the current against us (thanks God)
> concentrating our eyes on a pedestrian suspension bridge in
> front of us, we hit high power overhead lines, which stopped
> the boat.  Marlene screamed "Wire overhead" and I
> hit the gear into reverse, gunning up the engine.  DD
> separated from the cable and with shaking knees we anchored
> a few hundred yards down stream.  Somehow we weren't
> electrocuted but we felt the static.  All equipments worked
> still fine.  Only the extrusion of the jib furler was bent
> and the upper bearing block had deep scratches and burn
> marks.  The new furling jib took the impact.
> The locals of Yaviza were parading along the harbor front
> and over the small suspension bridge to have a peek at DD. 
> Two special forces policemen came by to see our papers and
> mentioned to us that they had never seen a tourist boat up
> there before.  After a night anchored off the town, we
> ventured back down stream, but against the tide.  During the
> night we struggled to free a huge mess of bamboo trees and
> logs that had tangled in our anchor chain.
> 
> Once back in the Pacific, we plotted a course to Isla
> Gorgona, Columbia, just SW off the city Buenaventura.  The
> island used to be a prison island from 1967 to 1984.  Now it
> is a presidential retreat for the president of Columbia and
> a resort.  It is heavily guarded by the Armada and special
> police troop when the president or family members are
> visiting.  When we arrived on Sunday, the First Lady and
> daughter were there but after they left on Monday, we were
> invited to come ashore and dine with the manager of the Bio
> Resort and to tour the prison ruins and area.
> 
> From Isla Gorgona, DD sailed further down the seashore,
> always hugging the coast to pick up a counter current in the
> lee of the land.  The sea is often calm at night.  We
> stopped in Ecuador at the Bahia de Caraquez, where we spent
> six weeks under anchor at Puerto Amistad socializing with a
> bunch of nice cruising folks.  Next stop was the very nice
> Marina of Puerto Lucia in Salinas, where we left DD to fly
> home to attend our son's wedding.
> 
> On Nov. 26th we started from Salinas, Ecuador on a nonstop
> sail to Iquique, Chile, bypassing Peru.  It took us ten days
> to sail these 1400 miles.  We were somehow a little late in
> the season to get down to Chile before the wind along the
> Peruvian coast picks up, but we just managed to slip by. 
> Yes, we had strong winds in the Golfo de Guayaquil where the
> Humboldt current meets the South Pacific Equatorial current
> and kicks up a sea.  Our outboard motor bracket with the 15
> hp Yamaha mounted on broke off.  But just in the nick of
> time we were able to lash the Yamaha to the main boom and
> save it from falling overboard.
> 
> We sailed along the coast of Chile with pit stops in
> Mejillones des Sur, Coquimbo and Algarrobo to pick up diesel
> fuel or to break up the voyage without night watches for a
> night or so.  Our plan to sail from Algarrobo to Valdivia we
> had to change NW on Isla de St. Maria, when a weather
> warning of 30-35 kt winds and going to 40 kt forced us to
> turn around and run back to Talcahuano, which we had past
> during the night.  The last couple of hours of getting into
> the safety of the protected harbor were slaughter motoring
> into 30 knots with an ugly side effect.  The rapidly
> dropping barometric pressure caused our compass to develop
> an air-bubble.  This compass is a Venus from C-Plath,
> apparently one of the best.  Our plan was to spend Christmas
> in Valdivia, but now we were here, 220 miles north of
> Valdivia and being guests at the Chilean Armada's own
> marina.  They furnished us with a special pass to get
> through the gate of the military compound.
> 
> Up to now the weather gods were kind to us.  it was a beat
> from Panama on against current and wind.  Our trick was to
> use the lee of the land, hug the coast and most nights there
> was no wind or variable winds caused by the land effect. 
> Many times we picked up a counter current and the Duck was
> doing up to 7 kt.  But my diesel fuel usage calculation was
> down the drain.  In the Caribbean the Duck managed to burn
> 4.2 - 5.0 liter/hr and the sails were helping too.  At the
> run along the western south American coast the fuel use hit
> 7 to 7.5 liter/hr.  A price we had to pay beating into
> prevailing winds and current.  We left Talcahuano and from
> that day on, to Valdivia and later to Puerto Montt, getting
> closer to the 40th latitude, everything started to change. 
> The winds blew stronger out of the south or southwest.  The
> night temperature went down to 7 deg. C.  There were days
> where the Duck had to beat into 28 kt for hours on end.  It
> was uncomfortable, but doable.  Marlene produced lots of
> ready meals that just needed to be heated or cup a soup
> where you just add hot water instead of cooking elaborate
> dinners.
> Puerto Montt is a wonderful place to stop.  The marina, in
> our case Club Nautico Reloncavi, was inexpensive, about
> $5/day + electricity for a finger dock.
> 
> For cruising in the Patagonian canals, you have to get or
> buy at least 2 mooring lines, floating polypropylene lines,
> each 120 m long to tie up to trees or rocks while stopping
> for the night in addition to your anchor.  The charter boats
> mount the lines on big stainless steel reels, but we stuffed
> them into empty sail bags, which worked fine.  Luckily, the
> winds blew strong from the north in the Patagonia canals. 
> We experienced 40 kt and when you are tied up for the night,
> rachas (williwaws) roll down the mountains fiercely, shaking
> the whole boat.  Now you appreciate the two extra 3/4 inch
> polypropylene lines tied to the trees.
> 
> After a restful couple of weeks in Puerto Montt, the DD
> moved on to Puerto Williams, the most southern town on this
> planet.  A 1000 miles through winding canals and sometimes
> open waters.  The Glaciers were a special attraction to us,
> waking up with thousands of ice floes next to the boat.  We
> have not sailed the inside passage in British Columbia to
> Alaska, but this must be in comparison similar.
> Here is a little adventure which lurks beneath the water
> surface.  One time in the channel, moving also, our
> propeller hit something soft, cutting through what turned
> out to be kelp.  The rails of the DD started to vibrate and
> the boat lost speed.  We hit the neutral gear and cut the
> RPM.  Shifting into reverse or forward did not help.  The
> propeller was rendered useless!  The water temperature was a
> whopping 45 deg. F inviting me to jump overboard.  I was
> really sorry at that moment I was not an owner of a wetsuit
> or better yet a dry suit.  I had to investigate the state of
> the propeller.  My tools were swimming trunk, mask, fins and
> a hooker for air.  I did my fastest dive ever, cutting free
> the propeller from a pile of kelp which had rapped itself
> around the prop like a frigging mess in less than 60
> seconds.  Hey, speed is everything!
> 
> Now we are in Puerto Williams, tied to the famous
> "Micalvi", a retired Armada supply ship, serving
> now as a club house and bar.  Meanwhile 40 miles further
> south a strong gale blows around the horn.  Shall we go to
> the horn?  It is only a few hours of cruising time away.  We
> are ready in our minds.
> So long to you all.
> Benno and Marlene "Diesel Duck"