A CRUISER'S VIEW OF BEQUIA - Caribbean Compass

OCTOBER 2008 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 22
Errol
Flynn
Marina
& Boatyard
PORT ANTONIO, JAMAICA
Out of the Water Storage
up to 95 feet
Full Service Marina
100 Ton Travel-lift
24 Hour Fuel
Paint Sheds
Engine and
Parts Specialists
Duty Free Zone in Marina
Protected Harbor
Depth up to 25 Feet
at Face Dock
Open Air Market
1 Min. by Foot
Downtown Nightlife
24 Hour Security
Gated Marina
Restaurant, Beach
Bar & Grille
Free Wi-Fi Always
Mega-Yacht Docking
to 600’ Alongside
CONTACT DALE WESTIN
876-715-6044 or 876-993-3209
INFO@ERROLFLYNNMARINA.COM
VHF CHANNEL 16/9
WWW.ERROLFLYNNMARINA.COM
— Continued from previous page
The Gulf of Cariaco has great sailing where you can travel up and down or tack
side to side with lots of safe and attractive anchorages. You can go ashore by dinghy,
walk the streets, take a beer at the local bars, and visit the local markets and shops.
We anchored for a few days off a pretty village called Guacarapo and then at the far
eastern end at Muelle de Cariaco. Here we dinghied up the river to see the hundreds
of Scarlet Ibis return to their nests and, as darkness fell, watch the fish-eating bats
stream past our heads. I’m glad they had good sonar — they missed us by inches.
No worries here about security, but at one anchorage we were advised by one of
the cruisers to lock our dinghy. He told us there had been “two robberies one month
ago”. How stories spiral! We informed him there had actually been only one robbery
two months ago. A couple of thieves stole a dinghy that was tied to the back of a
sailboat. The owner heard a noise and saw a pirogue silently drifting away with his
dinghy. He shouted and then fired a flare, which landed beautifully in the pirogue. I
suppose it ruptured the fuel line because the boat burst into flames. The crew
jumped overboard because they themselves were on fire. They swam ashore, leaving
the pirogue burning and the dinghy drifting (which was later recovered). The thieves,
needing some hospital attention, walked into the village, where they were recognized
by local fisherman who knew them for what they were. When the Guardia arrived
they were carted off to hospital, where I am told they are making a full recovery, after
which they will be sent to jail. So, it would appear the only thieves that operated in
the area are now off the scene. Of course, the local people themselves want a theftfree
environment; they wouldn’t want to allow any bad elements in, which could
jeopardize their livelihood and good reputation.
On the subject of security there have, as we know, been one or two serious boardings
and thefts around the northeast coast of Venezuela and Margarita, which is far
too many and nobody would wish that to happen to anybody. Of course there are
places renowned for problems, such as Puerto Santos and much of the north coast
of the Peninsula of Paria. Araya, too, is known to be problematic as is Robledal and
the Boca del Rio area in Margarita. It’s a shame, though, to tarnish a whole country
because of a few bad areas that for some reason cannot be controlled. I do still
believe that much of Venezuela is a safe place to be, but the reputation of Venezuela
as a whole, this huge country, gets tarred with the same brush. If you have a bad
meal in New York, you don’t say, “I’m not eating out in the States again”.
Boat parade parties are part of Venezuela’s annual Virgen del Valle fiesta
I know for a fact that some of the reported incidents were, shall we say, an exaggeration
of the truth. In fact, a couple of the incidents that were described on
Noonsite and in the Caribbean Compass were so exaggerated by the writers, they
were almost fictitious. One such reported “attempted boarding” was in Margarita. At
3:00AM a call on VHF 72 reported fishermen trying to board a vessel in the anchorage.
The nervous owner saw a pirogue close to the stern of his boat, maybe ten
metres away. The fishermen were pulling a net, but our paranoid friend considered
that was a ploy to avoid detection, so he fired a flare at them and they quickly
started their outboard to get farther away, dragging their net with them. They continued
to pull their net, by now of course under floodlights from every yacht in the
anchorage. These guys had laid their net the previous afternoon between the
anchored yachts — that’s what they do — and we saw them do it on this occasion.
But of course now it’s in the record books as “another Venezuelan pirate attack”.
Another “armed boarding” was also not quite as reported, but I wouldn’t want to
report what really happened.
I know dinghies are stolen in Margarita — it’s not a good place to leave a dinghy
unlocked — but I’ve also seen dinghies drifting away from the dock when a worn
painter had broken or wasn’t tied properly. I collected one of these, and on another
occasion a French boat found another. They had been reported “stolen”. We returned
them to the owners in the morning, but the reports had already gone in.
On the other hand, new friend of ours, aboard Saltberg 7, told us that once when
they were anchored at the eastern end of the Golf of Cariaco, they were approached
by a fishing boat with a family aboard. After a brief conversation, they invited the
fisherfolk aboard for a beer. The old granny with the fishermen asked if she could
use the toilet. The granny remarked how lovely the boat was. Three days later,
Saltberg 7 was approached by a pirogue — no, not pirates, but fishermen, and the
same old granny was aboard. She said, “You have a lovely boat, but it is missing
something.” She handed them a crocheted toilet seat cover and toilet roll holder.
I love to hear these stories, but they rarely get mentioned. Many people come to
Venezuela reluctantly, just to escape the hurricane season, and don’t go outside
Puerto La Cruz. They listen to rumors and wait impatiently for November, when it is
safe to leave and return to “civilization”. There is so much to see here — Yvonne and
I have only scratched the surface. As I’ve said before, in my experience traveling
through Venezuela I have found it a safe place to be and the people some of the
friendliest we’ve encountered.
Carúpano is a town not to be missed. It has beautiful beaches and a lovely, clean
town center, with good shops and friendly people. Tourism hasn’t really arrived in
this part of Venezuela, so we foreigners are just treated as visitors and not wealthy
tourists. Jean Marc and Yoleda took us to Carúpano by car through some stunning,
lush scenery. They showed us some of the sights, but we have to return again —
there is too much to see in one day.
We’re back now (September) in the Medregal Village anchorage to witness the fisherman’s
fiesta of the Virgin Del Valle. Many of the fishing boats from the local village
of Cachicatos take part, decorating their boats with flags and balloons and parading
up and down the coast. Plenty of rum and loud music is involved.
Chaser will take off again in a few days and explore some of the other delights of
the Venezuelan coast, but will return to Medregal for a haul-out and bottom paint in
November, then we’ll do some more inland exploring.