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Ship's Log 11/09/02 Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela 10*12.1'N 64*39.85W We left Margarita at 9pm on the 4th, and arrived at 7:30 on the 5th. The trip was easy, and the night sky was stunning. Puerto La Cruz is beautiful! The area we are docked in is a series of canals, with several marinas and hundreds of beautiful houses or condos along the waterfront. When we return, we will take the dinghy around into the smaller canals.  One particular townhouse community looks like it is out of a picture book! Each individual three-level townhouse is painted a different color, with curved iron railings on the decks, and awnings over the windows. The townhomes are narrow, with little backyard patios fronting the canal, and palm trees everywhere. Several smaller canals weave their way through the community, and several pretty, curved walking bridges cross over the water. We took GOOD NEWS through the canals that led to the several marinas that we wanted to see before making a choice as to where we wanted to stay. We ended up at Aqua Vi Marina for a really low price, as it turns out they are suffering a little here and were willing to offer us a discount for our business. We had to back in with a little wind between two other boats for a stern-to docking. Mike did a great job piloting us, and I worked to quickly move fenders and handle lines. We had to tie lines to two mooring buoys off of the bow to keep us off of our neighbors. We have already met many people and given away many films. We are out of Spanish bibles and will need to re-supply. We are also out of English films and almost out of Spanish films! The hotel here is nice with a large, beautiful pool and a restaurant with great food. Guess what else they have! Birds!, in cages. "Pipo" is a large parrot outside of the hotel entrance. He is extremely friendly and tries to climb out of the cage to stand on my finger. I am trying to stop him from impulsively biting! Then there are three parrots, three macaws, and one toucan in other cages by the pool. I won't bore you with my interactions except to say that I visit them all at least once a day. Also, a man and woman aboard another boat have a gorgeous, large, friendly cockatoo named Bob, because he bobs his head when he is happy!  There are two nice, new outdoor malls and grocery stores nearby, and even a McDonalds and a Wendy's!  We had our anchor and chain galvanized and it looks brand new. We are considering having an extra fuel tank built and installed over the nacelle (where the teak is between the trampolines). This will increase our precious fuel capacity, which we may need when we get into the Pacific. The list of repairs is back to a non-emergency level, though is ever present! All is well and we are preparing to return to Texas for the holidays! Love, Captain Mike & First Mate Val Ship's Log 11/06/2002   We arrived in Puerta La Cruz yesterday morning. It is beautiful here! We are at a marina with a really nice pool, a good restaurant, a cage of parrots, macaws, and a toucan, very friendly staff, and a hotel. Puerta La Cruz is a beautiful area of canals with nice houses and condos on them. We can take the dinghy and explore the canals and look at the beautiful homes. All is well here. We are getting the boat ready to be closed up. More later as I am writing this at an Internet store as our satelite is not getting the proper reception to work.   All our love, the Good News crew Ship's Log 11/2/02 Porlamar, Isle De Margarita Three days ago we were at Isle de Coche. We spent a total of three peaceful nights there. As Chris Doyle writes in his Cruising Guide to Venezuela and Bonaire, "Isla Coche is an unusual island of dry hills in pastel hues of red, yellow and brown covered in dry scrub and cactus. It was originally inhabited by Indians and its name comes from their word for deer. It was colonized by Europeans in the 16thcentury when the pearls started giving out over in Cubagua and more were discovered in the waters surrounding Coche. It has a population of about 4500." We swam, walked the long beach, and visited the nice, new hotel on the beach. At the end of the long beach there are hundreds of pelicans covering the beach, making it appear brown. After coming close enough to disturb a hundred or so, we stopped and turned around. We also bought some pearl necklaces for our granddaughters from a local man on the beach. The necklaces were made by his wife. They are natural shaped pearls, and were incredibly inexpensive as they are found right here in these waters. He was a Christian and we sat and fellowshipped together and thanked God for our many blessings. He thanked God for the job of selling necklaces so he could provide for his family. We also explored the hotel and went in for a drink. As we walked the grounds, we came upon a most amazing sight! There, perched upon the back of a park bench, was a toucan!  The body and head were black and about eight inches high, and the beak was multi-colored and about seven inches long. I stared in disbelief, wondering if it was a piece of art or something, as I approached. Manuel came by (a young man I had given a bible and film to the day before), smiled at my fascination, disappeared for a minute, and returned with a second toucan in his hands! To my delight, he handed it to me. I held it and scratched it's neck, before placing it on the seatback of my stool at the bar. It hopped around from chair to chair, up onto the bar, and back to the chairs. Even when on the ground, the toucans hopped to get around. Then I saw a parrot and went over and picked it up. Manuel said her name was Rosita. I brought Rosita back to the bar and we sat in awe playing with and talking to the two birds. Rosita could say "hola" quite clearly, and could whistle and laugh, among many other sounds. Rosita wanted a drink of my margarita. As I was drawing it through the straw, she would put her beak on the end of the straw, too, and take a little taste! Don't worry, I didn't let her have much! (It didn't taste that great anyway.) Then I picked up a cookie and fed them a little. I had Rosita the parrot on my right shoulder, and the Toucan on the chair back on my left. As I had the cookie in my mouth, both birds leaned in at the same time and took a bite! The waitress said that they do not like each other, but they didn't seem to mind sharing that cookie! It was a Kodak moment, for sure! Mike also held and fed each bird. The hotel has two toucans, eight macaws, and nine parrots, all of which are free about the resort. A number of the parrots appear to be very young.They have a small area where the birds live, with some small trees and a gazebo-like structure mad out of palm branches. There they are fed sunflower seeds and other food and water.  The first day in Coche we drove around in the dinghy and gave away films and bibles to the locals. Each morning Mike goes out to meet the fishermen and gives them bibles, but he never has enough! So the last morning, he took at least twenty and had enough to give to each man. They were so pleased and thankful. Each time he does this he comes back with some kind of unidentified fish. In Testigos, it was a large, long fish with big eyes. Here is has been tiny fish and one cute one about six inches long with a wide head. He was pretty good, poor thing. Two days ago we left Coche and went to Cubagua. There is a ferry wreck there that we wanted to dive. After spending one night, the generator stopped working. In the morning as Mike was trying to repair it, a small wooden boat with about six men in it came nearby and anchored for about five minutes before leaving. The generator appeared to be a complicated problem, and we were low on fuel. So we decided to head back to Margarita. Plus, the visit from the wooden boat just didn't seem right. We first went to a marina (incidentally also called Chacachacare as in Trinidad) but they had no facilities, so we went back to Porlamar, arriving at the fuel dock just in time to catch the attendants leaving. After negotiating an excellent tip, they agreed to open back up for us. We also gave them films and had a nice talk. Back to the original anchorage, anchor down, and generator troubleshooting until nearly midnight. Finally, we gave in and went to bed with hatches and portholes open. Actually, it was not too hot, and the night's sleep was pleasant, though we still greatly prefer air conditioning. Now, here is a bit from the Captain: Val tried to capture the pelicans and fisherman on film. I hope that at least one picture conveys the scene, but that is hard to do. Imagine three to four old fishing boats, a dozen fishermen and hundreds of pelicans silhouetted by a setting sun over water. It was glorious! I may have told you about receiving the five small ( and I mean really small) fish from one happy fisherman that received a Spanish bible from Good News. I delicately cleaned each one and fried them on the stove. They were terrific. I saved the biggest piece that was about 1/4" by 1/2" by 2" for Val. After making a face, she tried it and liked it! I have also been enjoying a much larger fish given to us by another boatload of fishermen that all received new Bibles. It is white meat and tastes a little like chicken! Well the sun is ready to arise and I must begin today by removing the electric fuel pump from the generator. It gave out yesterday morning and for some reason, I do not have a spare. It must have been replaced in Portugal and I forgot to replace it. Thank God for a cool shower, a constant 15 knt wind and a comfortable nights sleep. All our love, now and forever, Captain Mike and First Mate Val PS: At 3 pm on the 2nd, Mike fixed the generator!! It is almost a miracle, and certainly of God. There are no parts here, but Mike found a machine shop and convinced them to drill some holes. Then he and I worked on it for a few more hours. It took at least of ten hours of repair time and was off for 32 hours. The problem was two tiny ears on the electric fuel pump impeller had broken off. Now we have A/C, a freezer, and a watermaker again! Ship's Log 10/28/02 Position is 10*48.5'N 63*59.5'W Wind is blowing at 22 knots. We just arrived at Punta Playa, Isla Coche, about a two hour sail from Margarita. The island is flat and has a two mile long white sand beach! I can't wait to walk it! We are offshore a new low-lying resort, with palm trees and chaise lounges lining this section of the beach. Behind us nearby are two groups of little boats, each drawing in a large circlular fishing net, with the surface of the water covered by hundreds of pelicans looking for an easy meal. I love watching the pelicans...they look so ancient. Later we will dinghy in with bibles and films, and take a swim or a walk on the beach. Love, the Good News crew Ship's Log 10/27/02 Porlamar, Isle de Margarita, Venezuela 10*57.1'N 63*50.3'W Porlamar is a pretty place. As I look around, on one side of us is the city, with about thirty apartment buildings stretching along the shore, averaging about 18 stories tall. Beyond the buildings are green mountains rising into the clouds, 3000 feet above sea level. Right along the waterfront are tiny fisherman's homes and an eating place with small tables on the sand. We are at the edge of the anchorage of about 120 sailboats from around the world, including Denmark, Germany, France, the US, and others. In the offshore direction, we can see the mainland of Venezuela in the distance. We are anchored in ten feet of greenish, but clear, water. Every day the fishermen can be seen motoring, rowing, or swimming out to sea to dive for oysters, which, though delicious, are becoming smaller and smaller as they are being depleted. Ashore, a man and his son pull in a large fishing net with their catch being a few small fish. Mike wondered whether they were fishing for bait or dinner.  In the afternoon when the fishing boats are back anchored near the shore, hundreds of pelicans use them as perches for their afternoon resting. There are lots of dogs running around, and some bare-footed children play together, while others help out in the local restaurant. When we went in for a fresh squeezed fruit juice, the children were asking us if we would get them a Coca-Cola. They are fun to talk to and practice our Spanish with, as they talk slower and use easy words. After we arrived on Wednesday, we checked in using the services of Marina Juan, met some local coast guard and police who were working on their personal boats, and headed for Jac's for dinner. Jac's is a local restaurant on the shore run by Jackie, and is a favorite for yachties and always busy for dinner. We had two huge and delicious meals, fresh squeezed fruit juice, two beers and a bottle of water, all for only $8.  One US Dollar is equal to 1500 Bolivars. Taxis are $1.50 each way to the nearby grocery store. The man at the dock usually gets a 500 Bolivar tip (.33) for helping you with your garbage or groceries. We filled up gas for the dinghy and it was $0.30 (thirty cents) per gallon! There was a small fishing boat (like a large,wide canoe) with a man, his wife, their four small sons and daughter. We said hello in Spanish and exchanged laughter with the boys back and forth. They were so cute! The wife smiled here and there and the man was serious, getting his fueling done. We left and boarded Good News, and a few minutes later we heard their boat going by with the four boys all making squealing noises to get our attention. We waved them over and gave them a children's Jesus film. The man and the woman smiled.  Every person we have given a bible or film to has been extremely appreciative. We dinghied in to a beachside restaurant (well, the cooking building was a shack) and had a wonderful meal of oysters (Mike), fish, and the world's best fried calamari. A man came up selling things and we offered him a bible and a film. He was so thankful. He showed us a photo of his daughter and we gave him a children's film. He said he would invite the children in the barrio where he lives to come and watch the film, as well as inviting the adults to watch the regular Jesus film. This blessed us! Later he returned with a large palm branch, sat down, and in about 20 minutes had fashioned a really neat hat for us as a thank you. He spoke of how little the children had and how important they were. This reminds me of Patricia Rousseau who runs the St. Mary's orphanage in Trinidad. Patricia understands that children of all ages are precious, highly valuable, should be well cared for, and parented with respect. She wrote a manual designed to help the 18 year olds prepare for leaving care, called Living 18 and Beyond. In the front of the manual she had printed a poem about children that I really love, which I will share with you here:   Children Live What They Learn     by Dorothy Law Nolte If a child lives with criticism He learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility He learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule He learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame He learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance He learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement He learns confidence. If a child lives with praise He learns to appreciate. If a child lives with fairness He learns justice. If a child lives with security He learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval He learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance and friendship He learns to find love in the world.  l                                                     Ship's Log 10/23/02 15 miles north of Isle de Margarita, Venezuela 11*05.7'N 63*34.6'W We decided to set sail last night for Margarita, and have had a beautiful sail at about 5 knots with only the mainsail up. The wind is 17 knots off our port quarter (from behind on the port side). The night is beautiful with a full moon. We will arrive in about 3 hours, which will put us in a couple of hours before sunrise! We may decide to sail around a bit to wait for the light. Yesterday Mike took the dinghy out and had trouble with the engine on the other side of the island. Some fishermen towed him back, which gave us an opportunity to thank them with bibles and a Jesus film. Also, when the guardacosta visited us the day before, he said they will be showing the children's Jesus film in the school this week! Praise the Lord! By the way, these islands have 250 occupants, most living on the main island of Iguana, and many related to one another in some way. We dinghied in to the beach today for a walk and swim. The water is 81 degrees! We met a large group from California on an old wooden sailing cruise ship. They want us to radio to them the results of the third World Series game last night, which incidentally just ended (what a long game!) Love Val and Mike   Ship's Log 10/23/02(Supplemental) Porlamar, Margarita Island, Venezuela We anchored at 0500 and went down to sleep. Now we will check in with customs and immigration. All is well here. Love, Val and Mike Ship's Log 10/21/02 Los Testigos   We are enjoying our time here in Los Testigos islands! Mike says he is living his dream...fishing every day, swimming, relaxing in the air conditioned main saloon enjoying filet mignon, zucchini casserole (his mom's recipe!), fresh baked bread, etc.   Yesterday we took the dinghy out fishing. We followed a huge group of at least 500 seagulls circling and dipping in the water for fish. The seagulls were so intent on the fish that they came within a few feet of our heads as they looked! The dolphin were also feeding on the fish and a pod of six came over and played at the bow of the dinghy as we sped along! They raced in front of and alongside the dinghy, jumping out of the water, and occasionally turning sideways to take a look at us! We played with them for about twenty minutes! It was great!   Then we took the dinghy to the small picture perfect soft sand beach where on one side the anchorage is peaceful, while waves crash on the windward shore just a few feet away. We spoke for a while with a French couple before heading back to Good News. The visibility in the water is not very good, and there are lots of particles, but it is beautiful, and in the shallower water it is better.   This morning some fisherman came by and gave us a nice sized (about 8 pounds) blue fish. We gave them Bibles and a film, and some cash. They returned a few minutes later with two 1 1/2 to 2 pound lobsters! Mike cleaned the fish and we put some in the freezer for later. Then the Guardacostas came by for an official inspection. This time they were in uniform. Yesterday being Sunday, they were in their shorts and t-shirts. We gave them the info. they needed and showed them the boat. Later today we will fish, swim, and take a French film over to that couple we met yesterday.   That's it for now. Love always, Val and Mike Ship's Log 10/20/02 Playa Real, Testigo Pequeno, 11*22.9'N 63*08.2'W We arrived safely this morning and checked in at the Guardacosta on Isla Iguana Grande. Ramon approved us to stay for three days before traveling onward to Margarita Island. We gave him a Jesus film and a Bible. There were probably 500 frigate birds circling the island looking for fish! We visited the tiny church and left a Bible, met a fisherman named Perro, and two vacationing Venezuelans Carlos and Frank. We also gave them a video and Bible. We will now rest. We expect to depart in three days. It is very beautiful here! Love, Val and Mike Ship's Log 10/20/02 Half way between Chacachacare and Los Testigos    We set out last night at about 8pm headed for Los Testigos. As I write this log, I am on the watch at 0410 and Captain Mike is down for a rest. We are going about 7 knots, and the wind is 9 knots out of the east. Seas are calm and we are having an easy trip. Thank you for your prayers for us! We expect to arrive at about 9am. The anchorage at Chacachacare was peaceful, but the water visibility was only about ten feet and we decided to move on to clearer water and beaches. We have seen a number of freighters, and there is a lot of traffic on the VHS radio (freighters communicating with one another about course changes to safely miss each other). Right now I have no targets on the radar, so I am just relaxing and writing emails. That's it for now. We'll let you know when we arrive. Love, Val Ship's Log 10/18/02 La Tinta Bay, Chacachacare, Trinidad, West Indies  Position is 10*41.05'N 61*45.45"W Whew! We made it away from the dock! We are peacefully at anchor here in this bay and relaxing and having a wonderfully spiritual time! The Lord made good use of our time on Trinidad. Earlier in the week, we visited another orphanage. This one, called Christ Child, houses 70 children, babies to 17 years. We took some supplies and loved on the precious babies. A couple of days ago we visited another, called Emmanuel's Cradle, run by a beautiful, Godly woman who is totally dedicated to serving the Lord and the children. They house the children on a temporary basis, form a few weeks to a few years (though they have had one is a wheelchair for 16 years). They care for the children while social workers try to help the family pull it together enough to take the kids back. All of the children in these homes have been removed from their families by the police due to violence, abuse, or neglect. Though the parents are unable to care for them, they don't want to give them up for adoption either, and Trinidad doesn't have the foster care system that we have.  Emmanuel's Cradle, takes up to 30 children, but right now they have 11. The house them in a house in a regular neighborhood. They have a yard and swingset/gym, and have caregivers on staff. They make it so the children don't even realize they are in a children's home. It is really neat. We gave some supplies and prayed with Jean, the administrator. Today, I went back to Christ Child with some diapers and to help with the babies. I played with them, sang to them, brushed their hair, fed them, and just loved on them. I made an announcement on the "net" (a daily announcement and information program for yachties on the VHF radio) and invited others to go with me. I do not speak on the VHF radio too often, so this was good practice for me. One lady said she would come but didn't show. However, just announcing it has made some people start thinking about the idea. I think that another Christian lady who is on a yacht with her husband and toddler son has decided to start visiting the babies and taking other yachties with her! Praise the Lord.   This last week we have had a number of people who don't know Jesus aboard. We enjoyed sharing time with them and shared films, bibles, and prayers with them. Yesterday, we took videos for the housekeeping staff of the hotel at the dock, as well as to the front desk staff, and the ladies at the little grocery store. We have NO English Jesus films left, and only 2 English Bibles left! Time to leave and go to the Spanish speaking people, for whom we have lots of films and Bibles! Also last night as we were walking back from a "pot luck" dinner the marina hosts every week, someone was calling to us from their truck. It was the lady from Emmanuel's Cradle and her husband and daughter-in-law looking for their son who works on the docks. We were delighted to see her, showed them the boat, and visited for a little bit. It is such a joy to share the Lord's love with people whom we have an instant kinship with because of the family of God. Wow! I always tell them when we part, "See you in heaven, at the latest!" Also, our good friends from S/V Mustard Seed just arrived last night, so we got to share lunch with them before we departed, and this week Mike has been able to play chess with his friend J.T. who also arrived back in Trini.  As we prepared to leave today, lots of folks came by to say goodbye, guys who had helped on the boat and other yachties. It was really nice. We have enjoyed coming to know and love the people of Trinidad. We met many fine Christians there and have been encouraged. Mustard Seed threw off our lines for us and waved from the dock....reminding me of when Mike's mom and dad did that in Baltimore. I put my hand on my heart and waved to them and Jean did the same thing...it made me tear up, just like with Mom and Dad. As we droved away, several people yelled and waved us goodbye, and even a tugboat captain, Sam (who Mike ministered to last weekend), honked his horn repeatedly and for a long time to say goodbye. The special send off made us feel so good. We arrived here at the anchorage with joy. We are the only boat here so it is especially nice. Mike was so excited that he jumped in the water still with some regular clothes on! Okay, if you must know it was his underwear! Cute. We have been listening to some wonderful Christian music, praising God, and enjoying each other. We may stay here a couple of days...not sure. We'll write again soon. All our love, Val and Mike Ship's Log 10/11/02 Trinidad, still!   Just a brief update to let you know we are still in Trini. We were planning to depart yesterday, but found a little problem with the engine/propeller shaft. While we were on the hard, we had the leaky propeller shaft repaired. Yesterday we took a spin of the bay to check it out and noticed a distinct vibration in the port engine. They made an adjustment on the prop shaft alignment with the engine, but it still didn't take away the vibration. Today, the mechanic has taken the coupler to a machine shop to customize the fit. If that doesn't work, Mike will dive down to check the propeller again. If the prop or the prop shaft need to be replaced, we will have to come out of the water again for the repair. We have replaced the prop before while in the water, but it was quite difficult. Mike and our friend Rudi did it. The prop had sheared off into 50' of water at Saba Rock, and we didn't realize it until we arrived in St. Bart! We went back to Saba and another friend Mark dove down and found it and the cotter pin!    While we remain, we are have taken advantage of the time and had the port head system vastly improved by installing new piping. Everything now seems to be working perfectly. We are also having custom, rounded teak pieces made to attach under the dinghy davits. This way, when we pull up the dinghy it will fit snugly under the davits in this teak "adapter" and the dinghy will not swing or suffer from chafe while we are underway. Also, we hope to get some work done on a computer project we are working on for an orphanage here, but more about that later. Hopefully, we will get to visit another, but much smaller orphanage this week, too. We will be sending out a ship's log when we do finally depart. As they say around here, we'll be getting underway "just now." All our love, Good News Crew Ship's Log 10/06/02 Crews Inn Marina, Chaguaramas, Trinidad Well, with just a few final maintenance tasks and some last-minute provisioning, we will wrap up our business here in Trinidad and expect to get underway on Tuesday morning! We have had a worthwhile visit here. For the last couple of weeks, we have had sort of a lunch ministry here on board. Two, three, or more workers would be here at the lunch hour and I would put together a meal for all of them. We would sit down together, bless the meal, enjoy lunch, and converse about subjects of faith. Thank you for your prayers for Brandon and others who we hope have or will come to know Jesus personally.  Last Thursday we visited a ten year old boy in the hospital with a knee cap broken off. He is the son of one of our workers (Sam). It was a miracle that we found him! We went to the hospital and asked for a David Hines. Mike thought he heard the name David when he asked our friend what his son's name was.  Also, he assumed that the last name was Hines since that is the last name of his dad. So we went to the pediatric ward and asked the nurses for David Hines. They said they had no David Hines, but did have an Edwin Hines. We thought maybe David was his middle name, so off we went down the hall to find Edwin David Hines. When we got to the room shared by four patients, the nurses pointed to a very small boy with a wrap around his ankle. He looked too young and his knees looked fine. Clearly he was not the one we were looking for. We asked the little boy if his father's name was Sam. >From across the room, another young man said that his stepdad's name was Sam, and his leg was wrapped from above his knee to his ankle. We got lucky! It turns out his first name was Khaleed (sound's like "David" with the Trinidadian accent!) His last name was Nolls. (Since Sam was his stepfather, Khaleed didn't have the same last name.) So it was by the grace of God that we were able to find him and give him some encouragement and pray together! We also visited an orphanage which houses about 200 children. We were able to encourage the director, who is a wonderful Christian lady. Her desire is for the children to be well-loved, to have access to the best possible necessities and care, to equip them to be contributing members of society with successful life skills, and to influence them towards Christ. She recognizes the preciousness and value of the children in her care. We were very encouraged to hear and see her successful approach. Of course, everything being relative, they still have a lot of need. Besides daily necessities and beds, they are in need of computers. They would like to set up a facility to train their children on the use of computers, but lack the finding to purchase new computers. We are hoping to find someone who can provide a group of used computers, perhaps made available when they replace old systems for new ones. I guess that's all for now. We will let you know when we actually throw off the last line and chart our course for Los Testigos Islands! God bless you, Love Captain Mike and 1st Mate Val   Ship's Log 9/25/02   We have been busy working on the boat. Working on the heads, which have not been working properly since they worked on them while we were gone. Re-finishing a lot of woodwork that was water-damaged, cleaning the boat, searching out and re-wrapping all cold water lines for A/C and refrigeration (which have been leaking into the cabinets and bilge for years!), replacing our VHF antennas that fell off of the top of the mast while underway somewhere (?), cleaning out the port engine room to make room for a back-up emergency generator and the A/C unit which will be moved from the galley to the engine room, stocking up on supplies, cleaning out the bilges, blowing out the hoses on the A/C units, cleaning out all the cabinets because we had bugs (now dead), etc., etc. But we are happy and healthy (except Mike's neck and knees). We are giving away a lot of Bibles and films and making friends here at the dock. One man was so impressed with the Bibles and CD we gave him that he came back and asked if he could have more other members of his family. He especially liked the Christian Christmas CD by Tony Easterly, a pastor friend of ours at Washington Cathedral. We are really looking forward to getting underway, though, and hope to do so in the next 10-14 days (keeps getting longer!) All our love, Val and Mike PS Today we were hailed by a man on FASCINATION who met us in Tenerife. He said that he just came back from Venezuela and that the sailing around there is perfectly safe. He gave us a list of some of the items that the people are desperate for and we are going to pick up as much as we can to give out. The list included fishing hooks, baby aspirin, baby powder, baby ointment, and fabric. Ship's Log 9-18-02 Trinidad   First of all, I wanted to let you know that Morris Johnston e-mailed us with a translation for the Los Testigos Islands. I am happy to say that the translation is "the witnesses!" Thank you, Morris and JoLene!   Now to more serious matters. The island of Trinidad has an interesting history, which I will paraphrase from the Cruising Guide to Trinidad and Tobago by Chris Doyle. When Columbus landed on Trinidad in 1498, it was inhabited by South American Indians. Some French settlers came when free land was offered to all settlers. The British captured Trinidad and Tobago in 1797 and held them until independence in 1962. Slaves were imported from Africa to work the plantations. After slavery was abolished, the landowners imported some 150,000 indentured servants from India. During the last world war, the U.S. established major naval and air bases in Trinidad. Trinidad has large oil deposits and a pitch lake. The population of Trinidad is 1.2 million.   As you can guess, Christianity and Hinduism are the two major religions here. The government seems to be all or nothing, right now it is ruled by the Indian (Hindu) people. There is definitely a spiritual battle here. Please say a prayer for the Trinidadians to see the light of Jesus and come to know Him as their only Lord. We have a new friend Brandon who is working on the boat. He is a nice young man, but doesn't know Christ. Would you pray for him to come to know the Lord Jesus and the truth of the gospel? Thank you. Your prayer support means so much to us.   Still working on the boat. We love you!   Love Val and Mike Ship's Log 9/17/02 Chagauramas, Trinidad, West Indies      We are still here in Trini! Last weekend we decided to escape the big ships. noise and smoke, so we went around the corner to Scotland Bay, a beautiful bay with green hills rising from a deep anchorage. We spent two peaceful days doing a little work and relaxing, too. It is neat to be able to watch NFL football on the boat with our new satellite dish! We realized that we are going to have to remain here a little longer in order to get the heads working properly. Also we needed to have the winches serviced, some rigging work done on the jib bolt rope and the windlass, and we are looking into moving the noisy A/C unit from the main saloon to the starboard engine room. It takes a few years of boat ownership to figure these things out! Trinidad is probably the best place to have this work done; we may not find another shipyard like this for a very long time. So, the Lord must have something for us to do here. We are at the dock now at Crew's Inn.   We met with Vicklyn (visiting from the Soggy Dollar Bar on Jost Van Dyke) and her daughter Cheryl for lunch last Friday. This trip we brought down a new computer for Leon, Vicklyn's son who lives here with his sister. We met again with Vicklyn, Leon, and his father last night. We had a nice visit. We spoke of how it would be nice to end crime and corruption here and raise the standard of living for all Trinidadians. We have given out a number of Good News bibles, Jesus films, and little New Testament, Psalms & Proverbs books that Mustard Seed had given us. I have also been giving out a Christmas CD produced by a pastor friend up in Washington. The recipients have been very appreciative.   We are working hard getting things done. It is quite hot down here right now. It will be nice to get out onto the water (and into the water!) Perhaps we will depart next week. Tomorrow we will go down to Port of Spain to the US Embassy to get something notarized and send it home. All is well here. We are making some new friends and running into old ones, as well. Thousands of boaters come here every hurricane season for a safe port and to work on their boats.   All our love, Cap't. Mike and 1st Mate Val Ship's Log 9/12/02     Tuesday night we went to a baby shower for Jesse James, the tour/taxi man I spoke of in our last log. He is well loved by the yachties and they organized a surprise baby shower for his wife at a local restaurant. There were 150 people there! It was very nice. Jesse is a strong Christian!   The washer/dryer works for the first time in at least a year!! I am thrilled with that as I won't have to go ashore to do laundry any more. Also, the A/C works. Things are getting in order. We still have quite a bit to do, but we are happier and looking toward leaving this port in a few days. There is a stop on the way to Margarita Island which we hear is gorgeous, with sandy beaches and beautiful anchorages. It is called Los Testigos (guess the translation). It is two little islands. After being stuck in this commercial port for a while we forget how beautiful it is just outside of this bay! Yachties have a love/hate relationship with Chagauramas; they love it because it is safe from hurricanes, they can get work done on their boats, and there is a robust social life; they hate it because it is dirty, they usually have more work to do on their boats as a result of the "work done", and they have to lock their dinghies up. In any case, we are thankful that we were able to get the bottom painted and that things are coming together. We are excited to get underway. It will be nice to anchor by a beautiful island and take a swim (no swimming in this water here!).   Thank you for your prayers. God bless you.   Love Val and Mike Tuesday, 9/10/02 Chagauramas, Trinidad   We arrived safely Sunday evening around midnight. Jesse James the taxi man sent someone to pick us up. On the way to Chagauramas we were stopped by a police checkpoint. Lots of police, plainclothes (jeans) and uniformed, were conducting random searches of people and cars.  There have been a couple dozen kidnappings here in the last two months of children of wealthy business owners. The first one happened just before we left for home in July. The teenage son of the wealthiest man on the island was kidnapped and the father paid the $5 million dollar ransom. Since then, each of the families have paid the ransom money, spawning a handful of smaller-time copycats, and encouraging the professional kidnappers to continue with their profitable enterprise. In addition, about twelve security guards have been attacked and had their weapons stolen, and two have been killed. The security guards are very poorly trained, and not at all prepared for personal attacks. It was a little unsettling seeing ordinary citizens being searched without cause, though. All of the business owners are on alert protecting their families. It's a little strange here,  but at the same time it's business as usual for most of the people. We finally got checked in, unloaded, and settled into bed at Crews Inn hotel around 2am.   Monday morning Mike went to work preparing to launch the boat. Splashdown was at about 4pm, and we anchored out in the busy harbor. Mike doesn't like to anchor here because the bottom is hard and smooth, their are lots of commercial boats moving around, and it is crowded so we have to watch that we don't get too close to anyone. After anchor down, we started turning things on. The generator didn't work which meant no A/CO in this sweltering and humid climate, the toilets didn't work, the port aft grey-water pump system broke a seal and water poured into the port hull continuously, we couldn't start the dinghy, they hadn't put the jib back up, and the boat was dirty inside and out. It was not a happy day. After much frustration we stopped to pray. Later, we found some men to come out and fix the generator at 8:30pm, our head started working, although we didn't do anything to it, we located a flush valve that had been feeding fresh water into the port greywater system and turned it off, and we figured out what was wrong with the dinghy! Praise the Lord!! Finally at about 11:30pm we went to bed for our first night onboard GOOD NEWS.   Today, after some sleep, we are in much better spirits. There is still a lot to do: unpack, clean every room, clean out all of the galley cabinets and wash all cabinet contents (had bugs but fumigated well and all are dead now), get groceries (involving dinghy ride and taxis), fix the port greywater pump, install 42 165* hinges to replace 90* hinges on cabinet doors, replace burnt out fresh water pump motor, clean out both bilges (had vented loops installed in the toilet lines, plus greywater spillage on port side), install the repaired jib, clean the anchor chain and locker, fix pots and pans drawer handle which broke off, set-up navigation software on new computer, install fresh water pump and hose in cockpit, clean all walls and floors as there is some itchy residue on them from when they re-sealed all of the portholes (feels like fiberglass), stow Spanish bibles, take apart all A/CO fan housings (there are 6) and wipe mold off of blades, fix shower head in port forward, etc... you get the idea. The GOOD NEWS: watermaker works, water heaters work, tv works, internet works, main engines work!   That's all for now. We love you! Love Val and Mike