Passage from Grenada Los Testigos Margarita

Los Testigos, VZ sits at Lat 11°23'N// 63°06'W, and is small group of low lying pristine and unspoiled islands with crystal clear aqua water and white powdered sandy beaches..  They are sparsely populated  primarily by local fisherman, and actually have a small Venezuelan Coast Guard forward operating base.  In the past it was routinely visited by cruisers as they headed south from the Eastern Caribbean  to the safe havens of Margarita Island & Puerto La Cruz during hurricane season. However, with recent pirating episodes and a growing security & crime threat, eastern Venezuela is being avoided by many cruisers today.  


 For reasons unknown Los Testigos has proven to be a challenge during each of our two visits.  For instant, on my first visit to Los Testigos with Smitty as crew in July 2009, my engine overheated, but more important was the fact that I accidentally & unknowingly set off my SPOT beacon's 911 signal, which resulted in Camille, who was in Puerto Rico at the time, sending the Venezuelan Coast Guard to our boat in the dead of night. Notwithstanding, I later replaced my water pump impeller and we were on our way the following day, but the delay gave us a great opportunity to snorkel and explore the island.  

Local Fisherman's home in Los Testigos, VZ

Los Testigos-note the ocean on both sides of the beach

On our recent passage from Grenada to Los Testigos, it tested all of our seaman skills as we encountered several storms.  There is nothing more challenging than sailing in a storm at night.  I have to digress, so the story has a perspective.  My insurance company requires a survey of our vessel every 3 years, and I had one performed in February, which identified repair items to include the replacement and repair of my propeller cutlass bearing & the replacement of my upper and lower rudder bearing.  These repairs were performed in Trinidad prior to our launch, but required that the mechanic remove and replace our propeller shaft and rudder to install new parts.

Everything seemed to have been operating fine as we tested SPECTRE & Apuej Bien on our shakedown cruise from Trinidad to Grenada.  SPECTRE had not sailed for over three years & Apuej Bien had been on "the hard" for two years but no major problems were identified. The cruise from Grenada involved a night passage to insure our arrival in Los Testigos at first light, so as to avoid a late afternoon of night arrival, which could prove dangerous with the island's reefs, high winds and strong currents in the passages surrounding Los Tesigos.  After a grueling 16 hour passage, during which Terence was truly tested and performed outstanding, we arrived in Los Testigos, and began approaching the anchorage.  As we dropped our sails in what had to be 25 knot winds, I heard a thump but my motor continued to rev yet Apuej Bien was not getting any of the engine's power and began to drift towards the rocks which sat off the stern of my vessel. Additionally, I could not turn my rudder to maneuver, as I drifted in 70 feet of water with strong winds and current.

 I'd lost my engine at the most inopportune times in the past, but that's the beauty of a sailboat, you really don't need an engine to maneuver, you can do it all under sail. But to not have steerage, now that's another matter, and it gives you a real "PUCKER FACTOR".  After about 30-40 seconds, which seemed like an eternity, my steering became available, and with Terence resetting our head sail, we were able to maneuver.  No problem, right?

I wish, but the problem wasn't over, because I had no idea why Apuej Bien lost power.  When I went below to check the engine compartment, I was aghast to see that my propeller shaft was gone, and where the shaft should have been sea water was rushing in, ..."PUCKER FACTOR #2".

Training is an amazing thing, because that is exactly what kicks in under emergency situations.  Anyone who owns a sailboat, knows that the boats comes with a variety of different size wooden plugs, for use if you lose a thru-hull.  I have a complete set of wooden plugs on my boat but never thought I'd need them, well guess what, ...they work very well, and my plug was a perfect fit and it stopped the flow of seawater immediately  Problem solved, we're not going to sink!

Plugged Propeller Shaft

We were able to sail to an anchorage, but later realized that any repairs would have to be performed at Margarita Island.  So the following day we set our sails, and had one of best sails I've ever had. Got to the root of the problem, which frankly was the incompetence of the apprentice mechanic who replaced my cutlass bearing unsupervised  in Trinidad, and he did not re install the propeller shaft securely, voila...NO PROPELLER!.

Lobster for Terence in Margarita Island

Upon arriving in Magarita Island, I thought Terence deserved a special treat, so we dug into the frig, and pulled out a couple of lobster tails.

Fresh Fish Fiesta Concord Beach Margarita

After a couple of days we made it over to Concord Beach in Margarita to have a sit down meal and discuss possible solutions for my propeller repair.  I used my scuba gear to dive under Apuej Bien and we re installed the propeller shaft.  Our contacts in Magarita could not recommend a good mechanic, so it was decided we'd continue on to Coche, Cumana and than Puerto La Cruza to effect permanent repairs.