Merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year to all our friends and family from Marlene and Benno aboard Diesel Duck. Along with our best wishes for happiness and good health we would like to give you a little update on the whereabouts of DD. We are now in St. Thomas, USVI, having arrived here on Monday, 20. Nov. After having spent a week in Tortola, BVI, watching the Caribbean 1500 Rally from Hampton, Virginia to Tortola coming in. DD got to Tortola after a 50 hr. cruise from Martinique nonstop (313 NM). It was a dream cruise with the wind out from the east and a course which brought the 12 knot breeze over the starboard quarter. DD was flying both jib and mainsail and with reduced engine RPM, we logged a speed of around 6 1/2 knots. To our dismay, the wind lost strength after 10 hours and for the rest of the trip stayed between 5 and 7 knots, which forced us to lower the jib and sheet in the main to stabilize the boat. Still, we only burned an average of 4.8 liter (1-1/4 gal.) fuel an hour. This shows us, the Diesel Duck is a very fuel efficient boat. Having the belly full of cheap Venezuelan diesel (3000 liter) the trip cost us a whopping US $23. Wow! Lets pick up from our last report to you, which was sent from Porlamar, Margarita Island in Venezuela. This Year's hurricane season ended early and so when our 90 day permit for Venezuela ran out on Oct. 14th, we decided not to extend it and to start moving northeast toward our Christmas target of St. Thomas, USVI. First, we headed toward Los Testigos, only a 50 mile adventure into the wind, which blew light between 10-12 kt NE. Our Duck, not being overly beamy, knives right into it and takes it with ease. Los Testigos is a cluster of islands nestled 40 miles offshore of the Venezuelan coast. They belong to Venezuela and only two islands, the Isla Iguana and the Isla Testigo Grande are inhabited by approximately 160 people. Mainly fishermen with family. The bulk of them lives on Isla Iguana, the smaller of the two. On Isla Iguana is a Coast Guard detachment with two outboard powered boats. One of the boats needs serious fixing. There are also a school, church and small store in addition to the modest houses on the island. A radio tower on the hill acts like a repeater and beams over a dozen FM stations, including Gospel, down to the folks. I've been wondering what the padre in the church thinks about his sheep being soaked by a la gringo gospel station. On Isla Testigo Grande, which is really the largest of all the islas, some 50 or so people are living. But it has a bar with restaurant named "Te Erotica" There you can go in your dinghy, have a bite to eat and have a few cool drinks and have some... No, we are not going to write about this. Consider the fact that Venezuela has a healthy ratio of 4 women to 1 male. Los Testigos is safe. There is no known crime and the cruising sailor is treated as welcome guest. But you cannot buy any fuel there, it has to be brought over from the mainland. While we were waiting for favorable weather conditions to make the crossing to Grenada, some 80+ miles into the wind and current, we snorkeled, swam and made friends with young fishermen who tried to sell us fresh fish or swap them for cigarettes. My heart went out listening to the bleating goats living on the tiny speck of Isla Langgleta, which didn't seem to hold any vegetation but cactuses. Armed with the last fresh carrots from our refrigerator, I made Benno navigate the dinghy through reefs and sharp rocks so we could anchor it close enough to climb onto the rocky shore. There I went in search of the goats to deliver my offering. After chasing several of them around and around the tiny place, I gave up and left the carrots at a clearing, where one of them started to take a look as we withdrew. The rest of the afternoon I spent picking cactus spines out from the soles of our shoes. The trip to Grenada was relatively smooth following the advice from the weatherman Chris Parker, who transmits on SSB radio frequencies. About half way, we were approached by a French flagged warship, a Corvette with the I.D. number P685. The commander asked to speak to the captain and then requested our MMSI number (Maritime Mobile Service Identity) while we were to proceed on our course. No one has ever asked us that before and I believe most pleasure boats do NOT even have one. Therefore, I am sure of it, the Commander was totally surprised when Benno immediately gave him the 9 digit number. We were then advised to stand by. Meanwhile the Corvette circled us three times as they were unable to slow the ship down to match the cruising speed of the DD, until the Commander came back on the radio. He compared and verified our personal info he had obtained and then wished us a nice day. If you are wondering what a French warship was doing in front of the Venezuelan coast, we had heard a few months ago that a French yacht enroute from Trinidad to Margarita Isla was plundered along the coast de Paria by pirates onboard a coast guard vessel. Yep, it happened and now we know why Chavez is replacing all the coast guards at that coast. The French sent warships down from Martinique, sometimes a destroyer and sometimes a corvette to show the tricolour (flag). They cruise up and down the coast in front of Isla Margarita to show the Venezuelan officials "we are here" and "don't mess with the French." During this sail, our guest, a brown booby, flew in to have a rest. He sat on the inflatable to sleep. Boobies are pretty tame birds and quite large. It would let us almost touch it, but not quite. They are wonderful fishers and after it had flown off we were left to clean up. What a job. Just before darkness our anchor went down at Prickly Bay and since we had been there before, the landfall was easy. The next ten days we anchored in various bays waiting for our cruising friends on "Dreamtime" to arrive from Trinidad. They wanted to purchase our Avon dinghy. Benno and I had treated ourselves to a new Caribe dinghy in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela and we had been traveling with both dinghies since then. After the exchange and a turkey dinner onboard Diesel Duck, celebrating Grenada's Thanksgiving and meeting our friends again, we left to cruise the Grenadines. A word to Thanksgiving. DD celebrated the American Thanksgiving with a turkey, the Grenada Thanksgiving with a turkey and the Canadian Thanksgiving with a tu..., no, with BBQ steaks. As you can see, we take every opportunity to celebrate. Cruising is just wonderful. Arriving at Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, we were soon paid visits from local vendors in their small boats offering oysters, lobster, limes, beer and wine. Benno and I are not fans of oysters, but offered a FREE beer every night to the seller as he came calling in his old rowboat and he never missed a night. One guy said he remembered us from our last visit and he still had a good supply of the Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile which we bought from him last time. On shore we found the best bargain yet. Double scoops of delicious ice-cream on a cone at the Yacht Club for 75 cents! The Grenadines offer beautiful spots for diving and snorkeling in clear, turquoise colored water with teeming marine life in colorful reefs. The islands (cays) have while sand beaches with occasional palm trees on it. Standing by a full moon in the very early midnight hour in the crownest and looking down onto the water, watching stingrays and other larger fish cruising, is breathtaking. We could spend months there and not get tired of it. After the southern Grenadines (Petit Martinique, Petit St. Vincent, Tobago Cays) DD continued on to Bequia, bypassing St. Vincent but stopped for some R&R in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. An easy 4 hour trip brought us afterwards to Martinique. Benno changed quickly the engine oil and in the morning, after a good nights rest under anchor, we started the diesel, pulled up the sails and pointed the bow toward the Virgin Islands. While swinging on a self made mooring shackled to a beefy hurricane chain just off Water Island, DD is waiting for Christmas and the arrival of a new generator to replace the original Entec gen set we have on board. I am talking about the 4.2 Kw diesel generator. From day one on, after launching DD last summer in Canada, the Entec generator was a troubled child and turned into a bummer. It quit right in Toronto, We got it finally going at the boat show in Annapolis with the help of the competition generator manufacturer. Quit 3 days later, blew two diodes on the rotor. The manufacturer sent new upgraded type diodes. Down the road new heat exchanger, numerous fuel control valves, more diodes and varistors popping. The diesel engine really worked, but the generator manufacturer's modifications to the diesel's cooling system are crap and starved the diesel of cooling. Nope, we've had enough. No power for the washer-dryer, watermaker, deep freezer and battery charger. So, the Entec diesel generator gets the boot. As you can see, even on Diesel Duck we have issues and cruising is not always smooth sailing. With our best wishes, we love you all! Marlene and Benno Klopfer on board Diesel Duck

I came across this website when the idylwyld was crusing around and we were in Grande Prairie Alberta CANADA - since that time the Gray crew has succeeding in their mission but I still enjoy hearing your adventures. My husband works in the oilfield on the rigs and we have since left Grande Prairie and are now in central alberta near Red Deer. Seasons greetings to you and yours . . . Mike and Kelly N. Blanch Blackfalds, Alberta[IMAGE] -------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Georgs Kolesnikovs <georgs@trawlersandtrawlering.com> Reply-To: Passagemaking Under Power List<passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com> To: Passagemaking Under Power List<passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com> Subject: [PUP] Diesel Duck in Venezuela: Taking every opportunity tocelebrate Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 07:49:31 -0500 >Merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year to all our >friends and family from Marlene and Benno aboard Diesel Duck. Along >with our best wishes for happiness and good health we would like to >give you a little update on the whereabouts of DD. > >We are now in St. Thomas, USVI, having arrived here on Monday, 20. >Nov. After having spent a week in Tortola, BVI, watching the >Caribbean 1500 Rally from Hampton, Virginia to Tortola coming in. DD >got to Tortola after a 50 hr. cruise from Martinique nonstop (313 >NM). It was a dream cruise with the wind out from the east and a >course which brought the 12 knot breeze over the starboard quarter. >DD was flying both jib and mainsail and with reduced engine RPM, we >logged a speed of around 6 1/2 knots. To our dismay, the wind lost >strength after 10 hours and for the rest of the trip stayed between 5 >and 7 knots, which forced us to lower the jib and sheet in the main >to stabilize the boat. Still, we only burned an average of 4.8 liter >(1-1/4 gal.) fuel an hour. This shows us, the Diesel Duck is a very >fuel efficient boat. Having the belly full of cheap Venezuelan >diesel (3000 liter) the trip cost us a whopping US $23. Wow! > >Lets pick up from our last report to you, which was sent from >Porlamar, Margarita Island in Venezuela. >This Year's hurricane season ended early and so when our 90 day >permit for Venezuela ran out on Oct. 14th, we decided not to extend >it and to start moving northeast toward our Christmas target of St. >Thomas, USVI. First, we headed toward Los Testigos, only a 50 mile >adventure into the wind, which blew light between 10-12 kt NE. Our >Duck, not being overly beamy, knives right into it and takes it with >ease. Los Testigos is a cluster of islands nestled 40 miles offshore >of the Venezuelan coast. They belong to Venezuela and only two >islands, the Isla Iguana and the Isla Testigo Grande are inhabited by >approximately 160 people. Mainly fishermen with family. The bulk of >them lives on Isla Iguana, the smaller of the two. On Isla Iguana is >a Coast Guard detachment with two outboard powered boats. One of the >boats needs serious fixing. There are also a school, church and >small store in addition to the modest houses on the island. A radio >tower on the hill acts like a repeater and beams over a dozen FM >stations, including Gospel, down to the folks. > >I've been wondering what the padre in the church thinks about his >sheep being soaked by a la gringo gospel station. On Isla Testigo >Grande, which is really the largest of all the islas, some 50 or so >people are living. But it has a bar with restaurant named "Te >Erotica" There you can go in your dinghy, have a bite to eat and >have a few cool drinks and have some... No, we are not going to write >about this. Consider the fact that Venezuela has a healthy ratio of >4 women to 1 male. Los Testigos is safe. There is no known crime >and the cruising sailor is treated as welcome guest. But you cannot >buy any fuel there, it has to be brought over from the mainland. >While we were waiting for favorable weather conditions to make the >crossing to Grenada, some 80+ miles into the wind and current, we >snorkeled, swam and made friends with young fishermen who tried to >sell us fresh fish or swap them for cigarettes. My heart went out >listening to the bleating goats living on the tiny speck of Isla >Langgleta, which didn't seem to hold any vegetation but cactuses. >Armed with the last fresh carrots from our refrigerator, I made Benno >navigate the dinghy through reefs and sharp rocks so we could anchor >it close enough to climb onto the rocky shore. There I went in >search of the goats to deliver my offering. After chasing several of >them around and around the tiny place, I gave up and left the carrots >at a clearing, where one of them started to take a look as we >withdrew. The rest of the afternoon I spent picking cactus spines >out from the soles of our shoes. > >The trip to Grenada was relatively smooth following the advice from >the weatherman Chris Parker, who transmits on SSB radio frequencies. >About half way, we were approached by a French flagged warship, a >Corvette with the I.D. number P685. The commander asked to speak to >the captain and then requested our MMSI number (Maritime Mobile >Service Identity) while we were to proceed on our course. No one has >ever asked us that before and I believe most pleasure boats do NOT >even have one. Therefore, I am sure of it, the Commander was totally >surprised when Benno immediately gave him the 9 digit number. We >were then advised to stand by. Meanwhile the Corvette circled us >three times as they were unable to slow the ship down to match the >cruising speed of the DD, until the Commander came back on the radio. >He compared and verified our personal info he had obtained and then >wished us a nice day. > >If you are wondering what a French warship was doing in front of the >Venezuelan coast, we had heard a few months ago that a French yacht >enroute from Trinidad to Margarita Isla was plundered along the coast >de Paria by pirates onboard a coast guard vessel. Yep, it happened >and now we know why Chavez is replacing all the coast guards at that >coast. The French sent warships down from Martinique, sometimes a >destroyer and sometimes a corvette to show the tricolour (flag). >They cruise up and down the coast in front of Isla Margarita to show >the Venezuelan officials "we are here" and "don't mess with the >French." >During this sail, our guest, a brown booby, flew in to have a rest. >He sat on the inflatable to sleep. Boobies are pretty tame birds and >quite large. It would let us almost touch it, but not quite. They >are wonderful fishers and after it had flown off we were left to >clean up. What a job. Just before darkness our anchor went down at >Prickly Bay and since we had been there before, the landfall was >easy. The next ten days we anchored in various bays waiting for our >cruising friends on "Dreamtime" to arrive from Trinidad. They wanted >to purchase our Avon dinghy. Benno and I had treated ourselves to a >new Caribe dinghy in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela and we had been >traveling with both dinghies since then. After the exchange and a >turkey dinner onboard Diesel Duck, celebrating Grenada's Thanksgiving >and meeting our friends again, we left to cruise the Grenadines. > >A word to Thanksgiving. DD celebrated the American Thanksgiving with >a turkey, the Grenada Thanksgiving with a turkey and the Canadian >Thanksgiving with a tu..., no, with BBQ steaks. As you can see, we >take every opportunity to celebrate. Cruising is just wonderful. > >Arriving at Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, we were soon paid visits from >local vendors in their small boats offering oysters, lobster, limes, >beer and wine. Benno and I are not fans of oysters, but offered a >FREE beer every night to the seller as he came calling in his old >rowboat and he never missed a night. One guy said he remembered us >from our last visit and he still had a good supply of the Cabernet >Sauvignon from Chile which we bought from him last time. On shore we >found the best bargain yet. Double scoops of delicious ice-cream on >a cone at the Yacht Club for 75 cents! > >The Grenadines offer beautiful spots for diving and snorkeling in >clear, turquoise colored water with teeming marine life in colorful >reefs. The islands (cays) have while sand beaches with occasional >palm trees on it. Standing by a full moon in the very early midnight >hour in the crownest and looking down onto the water, watching >stingrays and other larger fish cruising, is breathtaking. We could >spend months there and not get tired of it. > >After the southern Grenadines (Petit Martinique, Petit St. Vincent, >Tobago Cays) DD continued on to Bequia, bypassing St. Vincent but >stopped for some R&R in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. An easy 4 hour trip >brought us afterwards to Martinique. Benno changed quickly the >engine oil and in the morning, after a good nights rest under anchor, >we started the diesel, pulled up the sails and pointed the bow toward >the Virgin Islands. > >While swinging on a self made mooring shackled to a beefy hurricane >chain just off Water Island, DD is waiting for Christmas and the >arrival of a new generator to replace the original Entec gen set we >have on board. I am talking about the 4.2 Kw diesel generator. From >day one on, after launching DD last summer in Canada, the Entec >generator was a troubled child and turned into a bummer. It quit >right in Toronto, We got it finally going at the boat show in >Annapolis with the help of the competition generator manufacturer. >Quit 3 days later, blew two diodes on the rotor. The manufacturer >sent new upgraded type diodes. Down the road new heat exchanger, >numerous fuel control valves, more diodes and varistors popping. The >diesel engine really worked, but the generator manufacturer's >modifications to the diesel's cooling system are crap and starved the >diesel of cooling. Nope, we've had enough. No power for the >washer-dryer, watermaker, deep freezer and battery charger. So, the >Entec diesel generator gets the boot. As you can see, even on Diesel >Duck we have issues and cruising is not always smooth sailing. > >With our best wishes, we love you all! > >Marlene and Benno Klopfer on board Diesel Duck >_______________________________________________ > >Passagemaking Under Power and PUP are trademarks of Water World Productions, formerly known as Trawler World Productions. > >To be removed from the PUP list send an email with the >subject "unsubscribe" (no quotes) to the link below: > >mailto:passagemaking-under-power@lists.samurai.com > >Passagemaking-Under-Power Mailing List ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Off to school, going on a trip, or moving? Windows Live (MSN) Messenger lets you stay in touch with friends and family wherever you go. Click here to find out how to sign up!