Susie and Evie left for Spain  3 week after their 3 week holiday from Isla Margarita, we all had a good time despite the unusual weather conditions this year.There has been so much rain and contrary winds, even the ARC rally where 230 boats crossed the Atlantic this November had westerly winds for much of their voyage, making it one of the slowest crossings ever.

Time now for Chaser2 and us to return to Medregal village in the Gulf of Cariaco in order to haulout and prepare for our trip back to Europe. Chaser 2 is not in too bad a condition, just the usual preparations for a spell out of the water, ie change oil and filters, turn everyting off, fill tanks, take off biminis and paint the bottom of course. Medregal Village haulout yard is a great place to haulout, no need to live on the hard here because the rooms are such a good price to rent. With an adjacent bar and restaurant with evening meals at around 40 Bolivares (approx 5US$ today) what more could you want. The haulout and back in for Chaser 2 including chocking, pressure washing, 2 coats of antifoul (exc.paint) and 50 days hard standing was approximately 400 euros, how bad is that!

This time Yvonne and I return for 6 weeks, to be with all our family in Spain, first time for some years because normally one of our 3 children are in another country, so a special time for us, Evie, nearly 2 yrs old, of course, taking the limelight, her first Christmas where she is old enough to enjoy. Susie, Billy, Evie and Raffa the dog, the big dog, stayed with us in the house over Christmas hols, so a good time was had by all, Rob and Berny, James and Cris spending a lot of time with us too.

Now we prepare for the coming year here in Spain, and to make  a list for things to buy for Chaser 2 for our return on the 20th January. We also intend to take advantage of the good food and wine here in Spain, overdose to make the most of it until the next visit.

These pictures were sent with Picasa, from Google.

Try it out here: http://picasa.google.com/ <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>> <<...>>