12:30.56 N   70:01.99 W

Wednesday, October 28, 2009.

A good night’s sleep we DIDN’T get!  Once the tide shifted around 0100, we were constantly pulled away from the dock  by the wind and then slammed into it by the tide!

The Venezuelan sailors were up and about promptly at 0600.  We anxiously awaited Francis’ arrival and diagnosis.  Dave found a circuit breaker to restart the engine but we were chary of pressing ANY buttons at this point.  Upon observation and testing, Francis DID reset this breaker and the engine started!  However, he feels that the alternator diodes are a mess and the two alternators need to be serviced or replaced.  Not the end of the world after all!  We even have a spare set of diodes on board.

We then proceeded to the anchorage at Oranjestad under power.  We set the anchor twice.  The first time, we felt a bit too close to another boat for comfort.  Later in the afternoon, Dave looked out and we had dragged considerably.  We promptly reset the anchor again, powered backwards  to really set the hook, and then snorkeled over it to make certain it was firmly in place.  We have not budged at all since, despite very  heavy winds.  Third time lucky!

Now for a good night’s sleep????