Messages for 2001 :

Dear all,

More than one month has passed since our last message. We are still enjoying the waters of east Venezuela, "Oriente" as they say here. In Margarita, we provisioned the boat and embarked Laure and her friend Rabah. The first week, we went back to the Testigos (we had planned Blanquill). Both are nice Islands, but the Testigos have the advantage to be inhabi= ted by families living there permanently, while Blanquilla and many other Venezuelan islands are inhabited by fishermen who are not regular inhabitants. In addition, the Testigos is a micro-archipelago with more variety. The drawback is that winds and current are against to go from Margarita to the Testigos, so we had to motor for a while. The reward was the kind reception of the 20 people there.

The next day they prepared a big fish on the Barbecue to welcome Laure and Rabah. That was the 3rd time we were visiting them this year! After a week there, we went back to Margarita, Laure and Rabah flew from there to Merida in the Venezuelan Andes for a week and we sailed to Cumana ,the first Town established in continental South America by the Spanish back in 1523. Cumana is a busy port which lays at the entrance of the Golfo de Cariaco which is 35 miles long, and that we have to explore. On their return, we went to a very special bay called "Laguna Grande",10 miles east, in the Golf of Cariaco. The NE wind is blowing hard in this bay reaching 25 to 30kn in the afternoon.. A lot of tacks to reach the entrance were necessary, but with young arms, no problems!!

Laguna Grande is one of aur preferred spots in Venezuela after the Testigos. It is like a flooded valley. The entrance is narrow and opens widely. There are plenty of anchorages possible. The mountains are arid, reddish, rocky with some green zone of tall cactus and some small dry trees. There is no tourism at all outside yachting as there no easy access. There is a small village at one end only accessible by sea (Angoleta). This was the third time we were sailing there, and we enjoy it more eveytime. We did a nice walk along the surrounding mountains crest with a magnificient vieuw. But Laure and Rabah had to leave (hard time), and we went sailing to Tortuga island.

Completely desertic, with a few fishermen in protected bays. This was during "Semana Santa"and we saw rich Venezuelians in their private airplanes landing on a rough sand runway, to spend the day on the beach, leaving their planes behind the (very) rudimentary huts of the fishermen.... After a rough sail back to Porto la Cruz, we are now in Mochima bay east of Cumana. Beginning of May, we embark Sebastien and Elsa in Margarita and do another trip to show them the maximun in 3 weeks!!!

The further plans are: June: Merida in the Venezuelian Andes, July: the Roques Aves , the Dutch Islands (Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba, August: Cartagena (Colombia) and San Blas Island (Panama) September: leave the boat close to Colon (Panama) and return to Europe for 2 months.

All the best,

Anton and Michou                                                                             Return to the top page

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Curacao-July 24th

Dear all,

No much movement on the site those days..Holiday time? Since our last message, we did more or less what we had said. We had Sebastien and Elsa on board for three weeks and went with them to Blanquilla, Cumana and Laguna grande. We all had a good time. After their departure, we went to Cumana and left the boat for 3 weeks. End of June, we left for la Tortuga, Los Roques, los Aves, Bonaire (See letter-1). We are now in Curacao with our good friends Jean Pierre and Trudy from Chicago. Then we have changed our plans.we return to Margarita against wind and currents, most probably along the Venezuelan coast. Then Frederik, my brother, is joining us for 2 weeks. We will then leave the boat in Margarita for 2 months and Fly to Holland and France until end October. Then sail east again via las Roques and the ABC Islands to Cartagena in Colombia, and the San Blas islands early 2002..

All the best,

Anton and Michou                                                                             Return to the top page

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Cher tous,

Pas trop d'activites sur le site, c'est les vacances! Depuis notre dernier message , nous avons fait plus ou moins ce que nous comptions faire. Nous avons eu Sebastien et Elsa a bord pendant 3 semaines et sommes alles a Blanquilla, Cumana et Laguna Grande. Nous avons passé du bon temps avec eux. Apres leur depart, nous avons laisse le bateau a Cumana pendant 3 semaines . Fin juin, nous avons mis le cap sur Tortuga, Les Roques , Les Aves, Bonaire (voir lettre 1) Nous sommes actuellement a l'ile de Curacao, avec nos bons amis Jean Pierre et Trudy de Chicago. Ensuite, nos plans ont change et nous retournons sur Margarita contre vents et courants, probablement le long de la cote du Venezuela. Ensuite arrive mon frere Frederik pour 2 semaines. Debut septembre, nous laisssons le bateau au sec a Margarita et prenons l'avion pour la Hollande et la France jusqu'a fin octobre. A notre retour, nous remettons le cap a l'est sur Les Roques, les iles ABC et Cartagene en Colombie, puis les Iles San Blas au debut 2002. Bien amicalement,

Anton and Michou                                                                             Retour en haut de page

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Island of Coche, September 2nd 2001

Dear All,

Just a short message to tell you that we did come back from Curacao against wind and current via the Islands. The most difficult was Curacao-Bonaire due to strong wind and chaotic sea. We could sail 2/3 of the time. My brother Frederik came in Margarita as planned and we had a nice time all together. We are now getting ready to haul the boat out of the water at Chacachacare in Margarita. We fly back to Holland on the 6th of september and will be back here the 8th of November. We plan at least to go to Paris, Toulouse and Espezel. The two month will be too short!
All the best,

Anton and Michou                                                                             Return to the top page

PS: The same email address can be used.

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Cher tous,

Juste un petit message pour vous apprendre que nous sommes bien rentrés de Curaçao contre vents et courants en suivant les Iles. Le plus dur fut Curaçao-Bonaire a cause de vents forts et une mer chaotique. Nous avons pu etre a la voile les 2/3 du temps. Mon frère Frédérik nous a retrouve a Margarita et nous avons passé 12 jours très agréables dans le coin. Nous nous préparons actuellement à sortir le bateau de l'eau à Chacachacare sur Margarita. Nous prenons l'avion pour la Hollande le 6 septembre et serons de retour ici le 8 novembre. Nous comptons au moins passer par Paris, Toulouse et Espezel. Les 2 mois vont passer trop vite!
Amicales salutations,

Anton and Michou                                                                             Retour en haut de page

PS: L'adresse email reste valide