Update received from the Nordhavn 47 Bluewater: In port - Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela - Maremares, Venezuela Report as of 12:00 AST Monday, Dec. 5, 2005 - final report PART ONE FOR ALL Bluewater arrived at Puerto la Cruz at 08:45 today, slightly ahead of schedule. We were met at the entrance channel by our friends Glen (Tut) and Eddie Tuttle, who have spent most of the past two years at Puerto la Cruz. They escorted us in their dinghy through the Lauderdale-like canals to Maremares Marina, and we are now Med-moored at slip 44 with a 70-something-foot motorsailer to port and a local Hatteras to starboard. Our final day at sea brought the most serious weather on this passage, squalls with 30-knot winds approaching 40 in the gusts and a few hours of seas in the 6-8 foot range, all of it on the port beam. Bluewater handled it like the thoroughbred she is, but we learned that we need to devise a means of securing some of the main salon furniture which treated the carpet there like a skating rink. Tut and Eddie call this the land of do as you please, and we could certainly saw that in some of the erratic movements of the commercial boats fishing the drop-offs on our approach; we had to dodge two or three fishermen hell-bent on fishing while ignoring their running lights, navigation and nearby boats. Our plan to anchor at Isla Blanquilla did not materialize. The worst of the squalls was still blowing itself out as we approached the island, which was hard to see from four miles to seaward. We made a run down the western side, then turned to port and ran along the south side about a mile off. We saw only one other cruising boat there, and the harbors did not look hospitable in the winds and seas so we turned right and pressed on to Puerto la Cruz. On advice from Tut, we timed our arrival at the roadstead off Puerto la Cruz for first light, which put us at the harbor entrance at 08:00. Forty-five minutes later we were tied up. Tut and Eddie gave us a short tour of the Maremares complex, and we really like what we see. Katy had a chance to meet the Tuttles' male Havanese Coco. Both Coco and Katy are alpha dogs, and they spent most of the walk ignorning one another--or at least pretending to. A doggie fix was good for both of them. Motoring slowg throught the canals, we could not help but think of fellow CCA member Daniel Camejo, a Venezuelan Olympic sailor whose vision was responsible for the entire Puerto la Cruz lagoon project. We salute Danny and this wonderful project of his--and we hope the day will come when he can come visit it again. A final note: we took delivery of the new Bluewater three months and two days ago, and to date have put 507 hours on the main engine and have covered 3366 nautical miles. Our generators have 281 (6 kW) and 227 (12 kW) hours, and the lonely wing (backup) engine a mere 15 hours. Our plan was to put some miles on this boat early and learn what we could about it. We've learned a lot, have a manageable to-do list and short warranty list, and are looking forward to some down time here in Venezuela. PART TWO FOR OMNI WEATHER Bob, we are most grateful for the precision of your forecasts. While you didn't bat 1.000, you came very close and having your weather-eye on our passage weather gave us considerable comfort. Many thanks! You can be sure we'll be in touch when we begin making passages again. PART THREE FOR ALL Position 10-11.9 N / 64-40.2 W - Maremares Marina, Puerto la Cruz 21-hour distance made good 131 NM, average speed 6.2 kts Trip totals: miles run 495 NM, average speed 6.9 kts, total fuel consumed 315 gals, trip avg 1.9 NMPG and 4.4 GPH, fuel remaining 560 gals. All is well. --Milt, Judy, and Schipperke Katy -- Milt Baker Bluewater Nordhavn 47 #32 Bound for Venezuela, via Puerto Rico, from Beaufort, North Carolina http://www.bluewaternav.com/index.html