Badger

Badger

Iron Bark II

Iron Bark II

About Me

My photo
I first crossed the Atlantic in 1975 on 'Stormalong', a 28ft Wharram-designed catamaran. Back in the UK, Pete and I bought an ex 6-metre racing yacht, 'Sheila', living on her for 4 years. Wanting to do more and go further, we built 'Badger' - the best boat in the world - sailing her 110,000 miles, to the Arctic and the Antarctic, around the Atlantic North and South and into the Baltic. She had junk rig - the only rig I will ever now cruise with. Pete wanted to build a 38 ft junk-rigged catamaran, 'China Moon' - which he designed. But before the project was finished, we went our separate ways. A year later I joined Trevor Robertson aboard his 35ft 'Iron Bark'. We explored the Canadian Maritimes, crossed the Atlantic twice, wintered in Greenland and crossed the Pacific to Australia and New Zealand. I fell in love with NZ and jumping ship, bought my own boat while Trevor carried on voyaging. I put a junk rig onto ‘Fantail’ and, having decided that N Island offered better cruising opportunities than S Island, sailed up there in 2012. Looking for a boat to see me out, I built the 26ft 'FanShi' and now live on board her, pottering about, generally around the Bay of Islands.

Monday, 30 April 2007

PORLAMAR, ISLA MARGARITA, VENEZUELA

Anchorage

Porlamar anchorage is safe, but rolly. Anchor in 4 to 6 m, sand. Land your dinghy on the long jetty, being aware that there is less than 1 m of water at its end.

Clearance

Clear in using ‘Juan’ at Marina Juan, at the base of the jetty. We were told that the cost is B140, 000 (US $1 = 2,100 at bank rate; 2,300 on the street.)

General

Rum and beer are both very cheap and off good quality. Rum was B400/ltr (Superior), beer B9900/case of 24, 250 ml (Polar).

Diesel fuel B200/ltr, delivered to the boat. Less than B100 ashore.

Taxis anywhere in town are B5,000.

The best vegetables that we found were sold by C M (Centrale Margarita) Supermercado. Rattan, on Ave 4 Mayonnaise is the best all-round supermarket, but with the exception of fuel and alcohol, Porlamar is not particularly cheap and Panama would be a better bet for boats Pacific-bound.

Visa credit card was widely accepted, but it was necessary to supply additional ID, preferably a passport. A photocopy of the passport also works and saves the risk of carrying a passport ashore.

Getting cash from a credit card via ATMs is difficult or impossible and very risky: thieves and con men lurk around these machines. We were told that Banco Provinciale accepts foreign credit cards, but we couldn’t get cash from their machines or from anyone else.

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