Tortuga doesn't look a bit like the' Pirates of the Caribbean' version, no caves, no Johnny Depp, not even an undead monkey. What a disappointment. On the plus side, this being an anchorage with a Guarda Costa presence and day trippers from Puerto La Cruz there is no danger from real pirates. We haven't enjoyed the last few years of sneaking up and down the Venezuelan coast at night, showing no lights for fear of the genuine article so this is actually very pleasant.

For example, this very early electric sewing machine. It was salvaged by Martin and brought out to the boat in an act of utter vandalism by me. This machine was in pristine condition and still had it's instruction book. Life at sea has not been kind to it and there are all sorts of rusty bits now but still working well being used as you see here, to make a new Scottish crew flag. Click here if you are interested in such things.