9/25/08

Today started with waking up at 4:30 am. I woke up to the sound of the
engines, and Daddy closing my hatch. First I freaked out, but then I
remembered that today is the day we sail to Los Testigos. (Los Testigos is a
bunch of small islands off of Venezuela. They are totally deserted except
for one, that has a coast guard station.) Our plan was to sail along side
Independence, one of our friends, all the way there. This all changed when
at about 4:45 am, they informed us over the radio that they were having
difficulty lifting their anchor (this is called a fowled anchor). Since our
goal was to get there before night came, we had to leave them in the harbor.
Since we had no success calling them over the SSB, or long distance radio,
we don't know when they left, and how far behind us they are. Daddy guessed
about 4 hours. Any ways, when the sun finally rose, I could see that the
trip was going to be really calm with enough wind. Perfect weather for
sailing fast. The weather lasted for about half the trip. Then the wind
died, and we had to put up our light wind sail, the code zero. This sail is
absolutely huge, and is perfect in light winds (and blocking the sun, so you
get some shade). Cole and I soon got bored, and so we went to watch a movie.
On my way down, Daddy told me to run and get a water pump, bucket, and
sponge, because he overflowed the starboard water tank. So for the next half
an hour Cole and I mopped, pumped and sponged all the overflowed water.
Finally, I get to watch the movie. About fifteen minutes into the movie we
had to take the DVD out because Mommy's computer (what we were watching the
movie on) had 9 minutes of battery power left. As soon as we went upstairs,
we were given sandwiches and yogurts for lunch. When I went outside to eat
on the trampoline, I was so happy to see Los Testigos, even though it was
really far away. Now, at 4:40 pm we are in between all the islands and 25
minutes away from the anchorage. Daddy has to use the chart on the computer
now, so I have to go. Bye!