Protected: when all you see is ocean & sky

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Jenny

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long story, short

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jenny

April 22, 2013

As we area getting ready to make our leap across the Pacific Ocean, for the time being, here is the short story of our past month.

March 4 – 14: After transiting the Panama Canal, we spent 10 days anchored near La Playita on the outskirts of Panama City. The majority of our time was spent with provisioning trips into Panama City. I even ended up at the hospital in order to get a doctor to write a local prescription for my thyroid medicine!

March 14 – 26: The Las Perlas Islands were a time of relaxation and recuperation, if you can count some wound healing. Our first island was Isla Contadora where we found some wifi access and toured the island. Right nearby is Isla Mogo Mogo where the TV series “Survivor: Las Perlas” was filmed. Now, it is a franchise, and other countries take their turns filming their version of “Survivor”. Turkey was setting up to film while we were there, so there was a lot of hustle and bustle on the island.

Wil's heel a few days after the initial injury

While in Isla Contadora, Wil went for a brief surf session. He returned to the boat with his heel sliced open after wiping out on the rocky reef. We attempted butterfly bandages, but they weren’t going to hold. I was speaking to s/v Saliander on the VHF, telling them I was going to have to give Wil a bunch of whiskey, put a broomstick in his mouth, and stitch him myself. s/v Always Saturday broke in to say, “Please, don’t do that.” As it turned out, Ron (s/v Always Saturday) is an orthopedic surgeon from Cary, NC, and he was on his way to Isla Contadora. He arrived 3 hours later, and with our supplies, and his xylocaine and expertise, Wil was sutured in no time. I wish I’d taken a photo of the sterile field we had onboard! This was a new meaning to “house call”!

Isla Bayoneta was one of our best anchorages yet. It was extremely protected and peaceful. Fish and wild life were plentiful. While we waited on some wind to carry us to the Galapagos, we spent time fishing, working on the boat, getting school done, and prepping for the passage. As time grew closer to departure, we got acquainted with a few more boats heading in the same direction.

Pete & Colin kept coming home with fish!

March 26 – April 2, 2013: We sailed on passage from the Las Perlas to the The Galapagos Islands. We had an awesome weather window, and it was by far one of our best passages. We were in constant radio contact with about 15 other boats making the same passage, so it was a lot of fun. This was also our first time attempting a 6 hour watch schedule, and we absolutely fell in love with it. The result was a longer nighttime sleep, and a more rested feeling throughout the day. Oh, yes! And we can’t forget the fact that we crossed the equator at approximately 2130 hours on Sunday, March 31st. It was an extremely busy day. The Easter Bunny found us, we removed Wil’s stitches, and we crossed the equator. Not a day to be forgotten!

navigational hazard: a row of sleeping sperm whales ~ they were even snoring!

our AIS screen at the equator crossing

celebrating our equator crossing

April 2 – April 22, 2013: The Galápagos Islands have been an experience of a lifetime. We had a 3 port Autografo, so we were permitted to visit San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. Among the wide variety of wild life, we have seen marine iguanas, land iguanas, tortoises, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, various frigate birds, Darwin’s finches, various rays, sea turtles, pelicans, and penguins. On land, we have toured a lagoon-filled volcano crater, lava tubes, and lava fissures.

sea lions absolutely loved our transoms ~ one even tried to leave with us!

April 22, 2013: Tomorrow, we bid farewell to The Galapagos Islands, and we begin our passage across the Pacific. Strangely, we are all calm and looking forward to getting underway. While it’s difficult to get our heads around the fact that our bodies will be in constant motion on the ocean for roughly 21 days, we have pushed those thoughts aside. We have focused on what needs to be done, and we are embracing our ideas of what we’ll find in French Polynesia.

While we will not have internet during our month at sea, I will continue to send SPOT messages to Twitter (@svFullMonty), and post position reports with SPOT and Winlink. Position reports are linked to our website. For Twitter messages, you will have to go to Twitter and look for us @svFullMonty.

See you on the other side!!

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Categories: fishing, nature & wildlife, newsworthy, passages, safety & health, travel | Tags: , , , | 5 Comments

panama canal transit ~ day 2

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Jenny

March 4, 2013

0530 hours came early. In order to make sure breakfast was ready by the time our next adviser arrived, I needed at least a good hour. The rest of the crew rose about a half hour later. Thank goodness the adviser was just a tad late, so all was ready to go by the time the pilot boat dropped him off. It wasn’t long after George’s arrival that we pushed off from the buoy, and started our journey across Gatun Lake. Everyone seemed quite content with the pancake breakfast which we ate while underway.

gray skies & s/v Nirvana behind us on Gatun Lake

 

clearing skies ahead of us on Gatun Lake

it was so chilly, it was like a brisk fall day for us!

a local dredge on Gatun Lake

approaching Centennial Bridge

arriving at the first set of locks for the day ~ Pedro Miguel Locks

After motoring individually across Gatun Lake, it was time to raft the boats again for the next run of locks, Pedro Miguel and Miraflores. First, we flawlessly rafted with s/v Nirvana. s/v Supertramp III was next, and unfortunately, it wasn’t as successful as previously. s/v Supertramp III was coming in way too fast. We all started yelling for him to slow down, but it was too late. SMACK! As he tried to slow and turn the boat, his stern smashed into our starboard transom. This time we weren’t as lucky as we had been with the pilot boat from the night before. Allan (s/v Supertramp III) felt so badly about it, that later he gave us a can of 3M vinyl ester for repairs.

Adviser George making sure all is going well

lots of fenders & tires together!

Since we were the middle boat, and our line handlers weren’t needed during our time in the locks, I was able to serve lunch while in the Pedro Miguel Locks. I only needed to relieve Wil from the helm, so he could have a quick bite to eat. The crew members from our neighbor boats were drooling over the fact that we were getting to eat and they had to wait.
I don’t remember exactly which lock, but we almost had one major mishap. As we were entering the lock, one of the canal line handlers on the wall walked right past the cleat he was supposed to tie the starboard stern line of our raft. With the wind behind us, it was crucial to be able to stop forward movement of the raft with the stern lines. Thank goodness, George caught the mistake and quickly yelled at the line handler. They managed to get the line back to the cleat before the whole raft of boats would have torqued to the side, possibly running Supertramp III into the wall. Yeah, George!

freighters look even bigger up close!

Pedro Miguel locks closing behind us

now it's a walkway!

a webcam view of Full Monty in the locks ~ we look so tiny!

To check out more webcam photos, click here.

entered at the top

slowly going down

we've been lowered & the gates are opening

revealing our next destination

looking back towards Pedro Miguel

a great helmsman!

posing at the Miraflores Locks

more posing

going down in the first set of Miraflores Locks

spectators at Miraflores

We had been told ahead of time that the last lock of Miraflores could be the most difficult. As you enter the lock, the wind tends to funnel its way through and wreak havoc with unsuspecting helmsmen. Therefore, it was critical to maintain control of the boats as we entered. We are glad we had this warning because not only was it a windy day anyway, but it all came into a narrow wind tunnel. We were all prepared, and we all handled it beautifully.

moving to the last Miraflores lock ~ AND the last lock before the Pacific!

going down at Miraflores

line handlers on Supertramp III working hard

looking forward towards the last gate

excited about the last lock

the starting point in the last Miraflores lock

our line handlers in Miraflores

going down

discussing strategy?

awwww!

our first glimpse at the Pacific side

motoring towards the Bridge of the Americas

collecting lines & tires

Bridge of the Americas

tires and lines from the starboard side

removing the tires from port side

resting place for the pilot boats

adviser, George, making the leap to pilot boat

our first view of Panama City

Coming to the end of the Panama Canal, and out towards the Pacific Ocean, gave us a whole, brand-new feeling. An entire new world of opportunities had just opened up for us, and there was no going back. Sure we had a plan for where we were going, but we could change our minds if we wanted to. We had a new sense of freedom. Now we could say, “We did it!”
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panama canal transit ~ day 1

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Jenny

March 3, 2013

tire-and-fender decorated & ready for her transit

our official number displayed in the cockpit

Excitement and nervousness was in the air. We rushed around checking off last minute items from our list, we quickly got the ball rolling for our Galapagos paperwork, and then our line handlers showed up with our tires and lines. It was real and it was happening!

We were required to stand by on VHF 12 for Cristobal Signal Station. They hailed us to verify our location and transit time. Our original 1530 transit time was moved up to 1500. Boats are told to begin their move to The Flats 2 hours prior to their transit time. However, we had heard that The Flats tended to have poor holding, so in order to avoid anchoring, we decided to go against the grain and not depart Shelter Bay until 1400. I was fine with this decision until the wind began picking up and the clouds began to darken. I didn’t want to get caught in the rapidly approaching storm just as we were trying to get away from the dock. Wil, on the other hand, refused to leave until 1400, but all ended up being okay.
At 1400, we tossed off our dock lines, and along with our newest crew members, headed off in a line with our canal raft partners, s/v Nirvana and s/v Supertramp III, to The Flats where we waited for our canal adviser. We did end up dropping the hook for about 30 minutes, and fortunately, we had no issues.

waves breaking over the breakwater

Just after 1500 hours, a pilot boat pulled alongside, and our canal adviser, Roy, boarded. Immediately, Roy put us at ease about everything. He was extremely professional and quickly had our crew organized. When Roy gave the word, we hauled up anchor and motored towards the first series of locks, the Gatun Locks.

m/v Lady Korcula, one of our transit partners arriving

As we began our raft up with s/v Nirvana and s/v Supertramp III, the winds really kicked up. Our anemometer reads slightly higher than actual wind speed, but when our raft entered the first lock, we showed 33 knots from our stern. Regardless of the strong winds, everyone handled their boats amazingly well. Also due to the winds, we needed the other two boats to use their engines.

our first raft up ~ s/v Nirvana on our port side

canal mules at the entrance to Gatun Locks

following m/v Lady Korcula into the first Gatun Lock

canal line handlers throwing the monkey fists

walking the lines up top

the first gates at Gatun Locks closing

our line handler team ~ Mario, George & Louis

the first gates at Gatun Lake almost closed

excited about new experiences

mule helping to control m/v Lady Korcula

swirling water as the level rises

top of the first lock

entering the next Gatun lock behind m/v Lady Korcula

walking the lines up to the top

WAY up there!

a bit more relaxed now that the transit has begun

starting water level

closing

closing

shut

rising water

more swirling water as we rise

luckily we only had small prop wash in front of us

Gatun Locks

bulls eye for monkey fist competitions

a great smile

keeping an eye on things from above

strong winds made it difficult for this ship

strong winds forced this ship sideways

getting ready to exit the last Gatun lock

canal mule at Lake Gatun

looking back from Gatun Lake

Night was falling as we reached Gatun Lake and we were exhausted, but we weren’t finished yet. We still had to tie up to the huge buoys on the lake, feed everyone dinner, and figure out sleeping arrangements. To make matters worse, the skies suddenly opened with pouring rain which was actually flying horizontally with more strong winds.
There were two buoys. s/v Supertramp III went to one buoy, and we went to the other. Once we were tied to the buoy, we realized that the buoys spin, and the wind was making us spin on the buoy. s/v Nirvana needed to share the buoy with us, but it was almost impossible to approach a spinning target in strong wind. This maneuver stressed Mark (s/v Nirvana) a bit, but he handled it beautifully and without incident.
As soon as all was secure, Roy hailed for a pilot boat to pick him up. He respectfully declined dinner because he was eager to get home. I was amazed that the only thing he consumed throughout the entire day was one Coca-Cola. Of course, it had been cool and windy all day, so beverages weren’t a top priority.
It wasn’t long before the pilot boat arrived, but they too had trouble pulling up to a moving target in the wind. I was in the galley getting dinner ready, when suddenly there was a loud crash and the entire boat shuttered. The pilot boat had hit us in the starboard transom! Fortunately, the steel chain plate we’d installed for our drogue took the brunt of the hit, and there was no damage. The pilot boat had to make another attempt, and Roy manged to make it safely to the boat.
Due to our cabins overflowing with storage, our original plan was for our line handlers to camp in the cockpit, which is what a lot of line handlers end up doing anyway. However, with rain blowing horizontally, we had them sleep in the main salon. With plenty of blankets and pillows, they spread themselves out on the salon seats and on the floor.
Not too long after we got our line handlers settled, we discovered that one of s/v Nirvana’s line handlers was getting wet in their cockpit. We had him move over to our cockpit. He’d still get dripped on, but at least he wouldn’t get drenched.
While we had hoped to have one of the famous buoy parties, go for a swim in the lake, and look for crocodile eyes in the dark, we were all exhausted and the rain continued to pour. We were all exhausted, and we had an early morning ahead. By the end of the next day, we would be in the Pacific!
Note: Later we learned that winds were clocked at 80 knots in the Colon area that night, and four large freighters broke free and washed up on the rocks at the canal breakwater. We knew it was a windy night!
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transit preps at shelter bay

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Jenny

February 26 – March 3, 2013

freighters anchored outside the canal breakwater, waiting their turn for transit

We departed Portobello early on a Tuesday morning, with plans to reach Shelter Bay Marina by early afternoon. Via winlink email, we’d made all necessary prior arrangements with Shelter Bay and our canal agent, so our arrival was expected.
As we drew closer to the breakwater, near the entrance to the Panama Canal, we had to sail past many large freighters anchored on the outside. Once we were within one mile of the main channel entrance, we were required to hail Cristobal Signal Station on VHF 12 to ask for permission to cross the channel on our way to Shelter Bay.
Cristobal Signal could see us on the AIS, so they knew our course and speed. Even though they gave us the go-ahead to cross the channel, we could see a large freighter exiting the canal area, as well as another freighter getting ready to enter. Thinking we would allow the ships to pass, we slowed our speed. Immediately, Cristobal Signal hailed us on the VHF, telling us not to slow down and to proceed across the channel. We were amazed at how they knew exactly what we were doing! Therefore, we trusted in their instructions and crossed the channel per their request. It was like air traffic control, except with marine vessels!

newbies arriving, Shelter Bay veterans going

Once inside the breakwater, we were to hail Shelter Bay Marina on VHF 74. There were several boats exiting for their canal transit, so we had to wait about 15 minutes before we could enter. As the tire-and-fender decorated boats passed us, they all waved and welcomed us to Shelter Bay. We waved back and wished them luck with the transit. We could just feel their excitement, and I’m sure they could feel our uncertainty.
John at Shelter Bay Marina talked us through getting to our slip, and as soon as we were tied off, we headed to the office for check-in. We had heard transit wait times were 2 to 7 days, so we prepaid for a week of marina fees, including $10 for Internet. They would give us a refund, if our stay was shorter.
The moment we had all the marina paperwork done, along with s/v Saliander, we borrowed a cell phone to call our agent, Erick Galvez. Erick is one of the most used agents among the cruisers, and now we can honestly say, we quite highly recommend him. He promptly responds to emails, and he immediately visits you at the boat. Erick gives you all the information you need about the canal, as well as any port captain and immigration advice. He’s the man. If you run into a problem anywhere, you can just say to the person, “Contact my agent.”
Life at Shelter Bay was another whirlwind phase for us. While we felt we were getting to live the life of luxury (being at a dock, and having access to a pool, Internet, laundry, and showers), there was much work to be done.
A major re-provision was in order. After going through our inventory, as well as meal planning for the canal transit, we took the marina van into Colon for grocery shopping at Rey’s Supermarket. Since Colon has a dangerous reputation for all people, locals included, this was our safest option. Two persons per vessel were permitted to take the van for free, as long as the entire round trip occurred before 11 am. You basically get out of the van and walk straight into the grocery store. Therefore, we left the kids on the boat to do their schooling (yes, they actually got their work done!), and we caught the first van of the morning. If you have more than $400 worth of groceries (which we did), the supermarket offers free delivery on the same day. After a mad dash of shopping up and down extremely well-stocked isles, we were able to catch the 11 o’clock van back to the marina, while our groceries caught a ride with the supermarket van. It was a wonderful treat, not having to walk miles while carrying loads of bags!
Each day, while Wil made connections with other cruisers throughout the marina, tried to locate line handlers, looked for spare parts, and get the boat ready for transit, I schooled with the kids and ran communications from the boat. I also started the “make ahead” phase of meal prep for the canal transit.
Prior to our measurement by canal authorities, we needed to make sure our boat didn’t exceed 50 feet. We are 48.2 feet without a bowsprit and a dinghy hanging in the davits. If we measured 50 feet, then we would end up paying an additional $600 for the next length bracket. Therefore, we removed the bowsprit and rotated the dinghy to more of an angle. Fortunately, the davits with the solar panels don’t reach past the end of the transoms.
On Thursday, the Admeasurement officers came to the boat (arranged by our agent), to take our measurements and information. We measured less than 50 feet! They were also interested in knowing that our engines were in working order, that we had an indicator for rudder positions, and if our cleats were in good shape.
Every moment we got a chance, we’d ask people what we should feed the canal advisers during the transit. We had heard many horror stories about advisers not being happy with the food onboard, so they’d order a full meal delivered and billed to the boat owner. The bills would be anywhere between $400 to $600 due to the cost of hiring a delivery boat. We thought this sounded excessive, but later we got word that it actually happened to someone who went through right before our turn. Yikes!
Everyone we asked (our agent, admeasurement officers, marina personnel, and canal-experienced cruisers) all gave a similar answer, “Feed them what you would normally eat.” I always responded that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were our norm. Needless to say, we couldn’t feed advisers PB&J! We were told that a meat and pasta were a good choice. Therefore, my meal plan went as follows: Dinner the first evening would be beef fajitas with all of the fixings and beans & rice, breakfast on Gatun Lake would be pancakes, bacon, fresh fruit, and orange juice, and lunch would be Italian pan-cooked chicken with an Italian pasta salad and a fruit salad. If an additional dinner was needed, we’d use all the leftovers to create another meal. We were also told that the advisers only drank bottled water, so we purchased 2 cases of water to have available. I planned and prepped and held my breath!
Each afternoon, it was time to take a bit of a breather. We actually didn’t have time to stop, but the kids needed some play time. Therefore, we’d go hang out at the swimming pool. Wil usually kept working, but would occasionally drop by to cool off. We’d also take evening walks, although my broken toe was still hurting quite a bit, so I sat out from the longer walks.
Soon, we were getting down to the wire. Sunday afternoon was our scheduled transit time, and we still didn’t have line handlers. We finally decided to go with hired line handlers through our agent. We decided that, since we had no canal experience, it might be nice to have line handlers who knew what they were doing. Again, we held our breath in hopes of it all working out.
Finally, it was time. Late Sunday morning, our line handlers arrived with our lines and tires. We decorated our hulls with tires and fenders, and we were ready to go. It was time to transit the Panama Canal!

white-headed capuchin monkey near Shelter Bay

monkeys can be heard from the marina

leaf cutter ants ~ or are they flower cutter ants?

a royal rat of sorts?

U.S. WWII batteries within walking distance of the marina

U.S. WWII batteries near Shelter Bay

Saliander with their line handlers, ready to go

New Zealand is off to the canal!

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old town portobello

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Jenny

February 24 – 26, 2013

Portobello from the anchorage

Sailing into the bay of Portobello, we could just see the history that surrounds it. Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1502, the town of Portobello is home to Fort San Fernando, Fort Triana, and Fort San Jeronimo, all of which can be seen from the water. Once established, Portobello became a significant port in the transport of Central and South American riches, including silver and gold. In turn, pirates were lured by all of the rich temptations. Pirate Henry Morgan succeeded in taking Portobello, demanding a 100,000 peso ransom for the town.

The Church of San Felipe is home to the Black Christ of Portobello, a wooden statue of Jesus of Nazareth. This holy statue, famous for its miracles, is worshipped by many, and every October there is a festival to celebrate it.

downtown Portobello, Fort San Jeronimo, the Customs House & Church of San Felipe

Church of San Felipe, home of the Black Christ statue

going in to see the Black Christ at San Felipe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We arrived in Portobello just before sunset, and anchored at the innermost part of the bay near the mouth of the Rio Cascajal. We were quite protected from the strong northeast wind.

Since we’d caught a large mackerel on our way to Portobello, but we had no veggies, we invited s/v Saliander over for dinner. We supplied the fish, and they supplied a roasted veggie dish. All was absolutely delicious!

With all of the history surrounding us, the following day was declared a field trip for the kids. We toured Fort San Jeronimo, the Church of San Felipe, and walked past many of the old historical buildings.

entrance to Fort San Jeronimo

at Fort San Jeronimo

old Customs house in Portobello

canons at Fort San Jeronimo

black vultures at Fort San Jeronimo

watch tower at Fort San Jeronimo

siblings refusing a decent pose

looking out from Fort San Jeronimo

homes lining the backside of Fort San Jeronimo

busy taking photos

anchored in Portobello

We completed our day with a bit of food and wifi from Captain Jack’s, and then some shopping at a couple of the Chinese-run grocery stores. Just after we got our wifi, the electricity to the entire town went out, and we had to shop in dark grocery isles. We returned to the boat to find weevils in a few pasta packages we’d just purchased. AND, the one bag of pasta I thought was clean contained a dried, dead lizard!! I discovered this as I poured the pasta into the boiling pot of water. From now on I’ll make sure we carry a flashlight in our packs! I still get shivers thinking about it.

passing the old Customs House

great food & internet

local marine consignment shop

sweaty hair in a local grocery

individualized local buses

molas displayed by a Kuna Indian

photographing the bay

happy that the next step is down

Full Monty anchored at the mouth of Rio Cascajal

Portobello Bay beyond Fort Triana

 

The next day we would sail to Shelter Bay Marina, near the mouth of the Panama Canal. Our excitement grew in anticipation of the next big phase!
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coconut ice cream, flying grills & monkeys

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Jenny

February 21 – 24, 2013

Panama's natural beauty

waves breaking along Panama's coast

The morning we pulled away from El Porvenir, the wind was blowing 20-25 knots out of the northeast. It was a perfect wind to carry us about 35 miles to the west. The trip was even better when we ended up with three black fin tuna on our fishing lures. We were aiming for Isla Grande and its homemade coconut ice cream. However, due to a rolly anchorage at Isla Grande, we ended up at the neighboring Isla Linton. We were still within a dingy ride of the reputable ice cream.
It was late afternoon by the time we pulled into Isla Linton, and we were in no mood to sit around on the boat for the rest of the evening. We had read about the possibility of $1 beers at a local café. We went in search of the café, and happened upon Pete and Rae (s/v Saliander) already there along with John and Sue (s/v Five Islands). The adults had beer, the kids had sodas, and we ordered papas fritas (French fries). After not having junk food of the sort for so long, we savored every bite of the fries.

a cobia fish farm at Isla Linton

The following day, we made it our mission to find the homemade coconut ice cream on Isla Grande. Along with Pete & Rae, we took the dinghies over to Isla Grande, beaching them at the small village on the south side. First, we explored toward the northeast side of the island, walking the path along the island’s coast. Isla Grande is a popular vacation spot for local Panamanians, so there were many quaint little villas and cafés along the way.

Once we couldn’t stand the wait any longer, we worked our way to the southwest side of the island where we knew the ice cream to be. To shorten our walk, we took the dinghies around to the resort beach, and then walked from that end. We got a good laugh when we discovered that the café was actually closer to where the dinghies had originally been.

I wish I had noted the name of the café with such a unique homemade ice cream. I believe it was a French café, but if you ask anyone who happens to be walking by where the coconut ice cream is, they will point you in the right direction.

The ice cream was like a popsicle in an upside-down plastic cup with a stick stuck into it. It wasn’t creamy like the ice cream we’re used to, but the flavor was absolutely wonderful. It was like sweet, frozen milk with bits of real coconut. We enjoyed the treat immensely.

After a long day of exploring and eating ice cream, we returned to the boat for a lovely dinner of the grilled black fin tuna that we’d caught the day before. Once biting into this light and tasty fish, we realized that black fin tuna is now one of our favorite fish to eat.

Dinner was done and we were cleaning up when our grill suddenly went overboard. Wil was spinning it off of its bracket, when it seemed to grow wings and fly. It slipped out of his hands, went between the life lines, under the dinghy hanging in the davits, and right into the water. It was out of sight before we could even think about jumping for it. We felt sick about the idea that our grill was sitting on the bottom in 40 feet of murky water. We had been learning to dive, but we weren’t ready to dive that deep.

The next morning, we asked Pete (s/v Saliander) if he would mind diving for the grill. After setting out a search buoy, and swimming a couple of circles on the bottom, Pete found the grill. We are so thankful to Pete for sacrificing a morning to dive in murky water with the possible presence of crocodiles!

Immediately, Wil disassembled the grill and rinsed it with fresh soapy water. Once the grill was back together, Wil turned it on in order to burn off any moisture. It started without hesitation, and we were relieved to know we still had a working grill.

We spent our last day in Isla Linton touring by dinghy. After school was done for the day, we rode over to the west side of the anchorage where a small channel through a tunnel of mangroves leads to Panamarina in the next bay. As we crept along through the tunnel, we kept our eyes overhead, wondering if there would be any snakes in the branches above. We also kept hoping to see a crocodile, but we never did. The only wildlife sightings were tiny crabs on the mangrove roots.

looking back towards the mangrove channel entrance

mangrove channel between Linton & Panamarina

taking a break at Isla Linton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isla Linton is known for its monkeys. We’d read in our older guide book that monkeys inhabit the island and come down to the dock every afternoon. Cruisers have been warned not to feed the monkeys because they were known to bite people once the food was all gone.

When we arrived to look for the monkeys, Pete & Rae had had the same idea. We had seen tree branches move (not from the wind), and Pete had seen a large black monkey disappear into the old, abandoned building. After some time passed, and we still had not seen a monkey, we had decided to leave. Just at that moment, a tour boat arrived with a load of Panamanian tourists. To us that meant we should stay a bit longer.

It wasn’t long before a single Geoffroy’s spider monkey appeared. The guide opened a coconut, and the monkey gradually made its way down to the beach. The tourists all took turns feeding the monkey and getting photos with it. While we didn’t feed it, we did take part in the picture taking. We could hear other monkeys back in the trees, but none of the others were brave enough to come down for the free food.

spider monkey making sure it's safe to come down

waiting & scratching

enjoying his snack

walking around just like one of us

Pete feeding the spider monkey

Rae getting an upclose look

Rae & monkey having a peek at each other

tourist feeding the monkey

nervous about the monkey behind us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, we would depart Isla Linton for a short sail to Portobello. Another step closer to the Panama Canal.

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cruising life in the san blas

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Jenny

[Note: I apologize for this extremely long post, but I have made a pledge to get this blog up to date]

February 2 – 20, 2013

Cruising life in the San Blas Islands was a unique and wonderful experience, and now we understand how easy it is for cruisers to just hang out in these islands for months on end. The cruising community within this area is extremely connected and well-organized, as well as very in touch with the local Kuna commerce.

Nugaruachirdup in the western Lemmon Cays is home to a small internet café, a tiny hut under the palm trees of an island not more than 500 feet wide by 1000 feet long. For $3 per hour for use of an Ethernet wire, cruisers can come hang out and stay in touch with their world back home. (Being the cheap skates that we are, we held out for free wifi from the larger village of Nargana, about 18 miles to the southeast.) About once a week, fruits and vegetables are delivered to a small building just near the internet café. There we found plantains, bananas, potatoes, pineapple, watermelon, oranges, lemons and limes.

The western Lemmon Cays are also home to a top Kuna fishing spot. We’d watch the Kuna Indians go out day and night, and return with ulus or pangas full of fish, lobster, crab, and even a sea turtle. Unfortunately, due to overfishing, most of the fish and lobster were quite small. We found this to be the case throughout the San Blas, and many times we’d refuse to buy the seafood because of the small sizes.

Kuna huts on Chichime

these Kuna paddled out, snorkeled for 2 hours, and came back empty handed

Wil riding a wave by a reef at Chichime

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our stay in the eastern Lemmon Cays, near the islands of Nuinudup and Banedup, we got to meet many of the cruisers who have made the San Blas Islands their second home, so to speak. On our first afternoon in the east Lemmons, we attended a trash burn party and potluck on the beach on Nuinudup. We were surprised to find out that several people had already heard of our escape hatch story, and they were keeping a lookout for our arrival. Once the trash was burned, and at the end of the party, we walked up to the opposite end of the island to deliver our empty cans to the Kuna family who owns the island. We assume that the Kunas are able to get money for the cans that they collect.

a belated celebration due to our escape hatch episode

 

 

Pete & Rae joined in the birthday celebration

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once a week, Kuna-run veggie boats come from the mainland, delivering fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, and meats directly to cruising boats. We were beginning to find that there was no need to get off the boat. What we couldn’t catch for ourselves, we could buy from the passing ulus and weekly veggie boats. This was a new meaning to “home delivery”! After a few weeks of baking bread and other goodies, flour and chocolate were the main items we were lacking.

Snorkeling in the San Blas was another new experience. The waters surrounding the islands are at least 100 or more feet deep, and the coral reefs are generally sitting in less than 10 feet of water. Therefore, one must snorkel right along the edge of a steep drop off. Knowing that there are bigger fish out there in the darker waters, makes any snorkeling a tad unnerving. However, the San Blas coral is absolutely abundant and beautiful. The beauty of the coral makes up for the lack of fish. We would take the dinghy out through a cut in the reef, and with the dinghy in tow, we would drift snorkel down the length of the reef. Over time we did manage to spear a couple of lion fish and some cero mackerel, but not in the numbers to which we were accustomed.

We weren’t in the eastern Lemmons for very long before, master mola maker, Venancio, found our boat. He arrived in an ulu with several large Rubber-Maid containers full of his many molas. One after the other, the molas were piling up on our boat. They were all absolutely gorgeous, but there were too many to choose from. After limiting them to which animals we liked, we organized the piles by yes, maybe, and no. After a full morning, we finally had our molas of choice.

It was in the eastern Lemmon Cays where we met three other kid boats, s/v Tribe (US), s/v Shiver, and s/v Taking Flight. The remainder of our stay in the San Blas was coordinated with the other kid boats, so the kids could enjoy the company of their peers.

Before going with the rest of the kid boats to Canbombia in the eastern end of the Naguarandup chain, we stopped for one night in what’s referred to as the Hot Tub in the Holandes Cays. The water was crystal clear, allowing us to see the sandy bottom 15 feet below the surface. There were only 3 other boats and no one was anchored too closely. We enjoyed a peaceful night and a day of snorkeling before meeting up with the rest of the kid boats.

beautiful water in the Holandes Cays

Canbombia was great fun. The kids played daily after their studies were complete. They shared kayaks and paddleboards, played on the beach, or swam from the boats. While the kids played, the adults either worked on their boats, or socialized amongst each other. We visited the Kuna family who owned the island, admiring all of their handmade molas. We were also impressed with their bamboo pig pens which sat on stilts at the water’s edge.

Canbombia

Kuna family residence on Cambombia

practicing his turns

fun to be on the SUP

typical island of the San Blas

applying a daily dose of sunscreen

it's too bright outside!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

enjoying a paddle in Canbombia

paddling fast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eventually, all of the kid boats returned to the Holandes Cays. However, we made a brief afternoon wifi stop in Nargana on our way. Nargana, located at the base of the Rio Diablo, is a village that has given up the traditional Kuna way of life. While I sat on the boat, checking email and doing a quick blog update, Wil and the kids went ashore to find fresh Kuna bread, flour, and any other available provisions. We devoured the delicious bread in no time!

hauling water from Rio Diablo to Nargana

recovering their swamped ulu at the mouth of Rio Diablo

Kuna homes in Nargana

outhouses?

Nargana

 

 

 

 

 

Our stay in the eastern Holandes Cays was our vacation and last hurrah before making our way to the Panama Canal. We anchored in the middle of the cut between Kalugirdup and Banedup (Bug Island) near the Swimming Pool anchorage. We chose to anchor away from the main anchorages, so we could have more wind and fewer bugs. The anchorage behind Bug Island was more protected, but it received its name for a reason!

our anchorage near the Swimming Pool (Holandes)

Kuna Indian sailing his ulu

A week in the Holandes Cays seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. The kids played everyday, we would do family snorkels over to nearby reefs, and we’d socialize with many of the other cruisers. We had tons of fun. However, we did suffer two relatively minor injuries while we were there.

At one trash burn party on Bug Island, Colin was playing on the beach with the other kids when he stepped on a sea urchin. We counted about 30 spines in his heel. I removed what I could while we were still on the beach, but we needed to return to the boat for further medical attention. As I attempted to pull more spines, Colin kept crying that his foot was burning. In order to denature the venom and reduce the pain, we applied extremely hot compresses to the area. This actually did the trick, but we also applied a first aid spray to numb it further for the removal of spines. After removing all but 9 spines, we soaked his foot in vinegar in order to help dissolve any spines that were too deep to reach with a needle or tweezers. Unfortunately, this didn’t seem to help, so we were reduced to leaving the spines alone and hoping for infection to push them out. Surprisingly, his foot never became infected, and I think he still has the spines in his heel to this day!

The second injury was a broken toe for me. After a cruiser gathering on the beach, we returned to the boat. As I quickly stepped up onto the aft lazarette to pull the dinghy up into the davits, I accidentally slammed my toes into the lazarette. I heard the crack and my second to smallest toe immediately turned purple. It was too painful to even tape to the neighboring toe, so I had to rig a splint out of an emery board. (Skipping ahead a tad . . . now almost 2 months later, while my toe is almost healed, it’s still sore at times, and I still have to be careful. Of course, it didn’t help that Wil probably re-broke the toe when he accidentally stepped and turned on my toe with his heel. That about put me through the roof!)

Eventually, it was time to bid farewell to the kid boats and make our way back towards El Porvenir. We stopped in the eastern Lemmon Cays for one last time, and s/v Tribe (US) popped in for one last visit, as well. Soon, along with s/v Saliander, we returned to El Porvenir to clear out of the Kuna Yala nation, and began our journey towards the Panama Canal.

plastic table clothes to protect Kunas from spray

This backpacker boat wrecked on the reef ~10pm. By 11am, Kuna Indians had the boat stripped.

A general note about our impressions of the San Blas:

For years we had been looking forward to visiting the San Blas and the Kuna Indians. While there were many wonderful things, and we greatly appreciate the Kuna culture, at the same time it was not at all what we expected to find.

The cruising community and backpacker boats have greatly influenced the Kuna culture, both positively and negatively. While the cruisers bring money and goods to the Kuna, the Kuna have altered their lifestyle to serve the cruisers. They overfish the area, regardless of the legal size of fish, and try to sell what they catch. The Kuna no longer subsistence fish for themselves, so the marine environment of the San Blas is hurting to have a bigger fish and lobster population.

Supposedly, there used to be a day when the Kuna would trade, but for the most part, many now prefer money and expect things for free. For example, one Kuna and his son came to the boat to sell lobster. Their asking price was too high for the size of lobster. I asked if he would trade, but he only wanted money. Before he left, he asked if he could have a Coke. I said I would trade Coke for the lobster, but he said no.

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a kuna yala introduction

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Jenny

January 30 – February 1, 2013

The smell of wood smoke filled the air. Several small huts were almost camouflage amongst the palm trees. A dugout canoe moved through the water with two Kuna Indians in search of fish. We had arrived in a whole new world. The world of the Kuna Indians in the San Blas Islands.

We would have plenty of time to explore the ways of life of the Kuna Indians. However, first we needed to haul up anchor and sail the 4 miles over to El Porvenir for clearance into Panama and the Kuna Yala nation.

Kuna huts & ulu in the Chichime Cays

Moments after putting our anchor down in El Porvenir, a couple of Kuna women with their children paddled over in a dugout ulu (canoe) to show us their handmade molas, bowls, and beaded bracelets that they had for sale. We had heard so much about the beautiful molas of the Kuna, so we were excited to purchase our first one.

Clearance into Panama and the Kuna Yala nation was simple and quick. After visiting the offices for port captain, immigration, and the Kuna Congreso (all in one building located right next to the main dock), we moved over behind Sail Rock, where we could be near to s/v Saliander for our escape hatch repairs.

Kuna Indians selling molas near Porvenir

During our stay near El Porvenir, we completed our temporary hatch repairs, did several bucket loads of laundry, and toured the village on Wichuhuala where we were able to find some basic food provisions.

the village of Wichuhuala

A walk along the raked paths of the village gave us our first peek into the lives of the Kuna Indians. Their open-air huts were made of palm thatched roofs and bamboo walls. The dirt floors were slightly elevated with compact sand that was kept neatly brushed. Each “backyard”, surrounded by bamboo fencing, contained a small garden and maybe a dog or some chickens. Kuna kids were running and playing along the path, and many Kuna women had their molas displayed outside their homes.

In this matrilineal society, most Kuna women were traditionally dressed in brightly colored blouses and skirts with beaded leg bracelets worn from the knees to the ankles. Surprisingly, the men were dressed in “regular” pants and t-shirts. Kuna men were working various jobs throughout the village. I had to do a double-take when a Kuna man passed by in regular clothes, wearing a ball cap, and walking a small poodle-type dog on a leash. His image just didn’t fit the rest of the picture!

Once we achieved all of our chores, we were ready to move to our next group of islands in the San Blas. The islands of Miriadup, Tiadup, and Nugaruachirdup of the western Lemmon Cays would be our next stop.

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jamaica to san blas

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Jenny

January 26 – 30, 2013

Passage planning for our crossing from Jamaica to the San Blas Islands of Panama was the most difficult for us to date. At this time of the year, there is a stationary low pressure system that sits down in the Colombian basin of the Caribbean Sea. This weather low constantly flares up creating gale force winds and big seas throughout the area. We had heard stories from those who had gone before us, and we knew this was not an area to be reckoned with.

During our entire stay in Jamaica, I studied marine forecasts daily, pouring over weather charts, grib files, and reports. If we missed even one opportunity to make the crossing, we could possibly end up sitting in Jamaica for up to 6 weeks! Not such a bad idea for some people, but we were ready to get rolling.

Up until this point, we had been doing our own weather routing. However, this time I wanted the comfort of a professional, so I signed on with Herb of South Bound II. Via marine HF/USB radio, Herb provides a free weather routing service for vessels on the high seas.

After days of weather watching, a 4-day weather window came up, but it was iffy. There wasn’t much time for seas to subside from previous high winds, and it was possible the window could close while we were out there. We decided on Plans A, B and C.

Plan A was a route directly to Porvenir in the San Blas Islands, with a curve slightly west to avoid the stronger winds. Just in case we would get most of the way to the San Blas, but couldn’t squeeze past stronger winds, Plan B was a route to Portobello,Panama.

Plan C was the route that I was 95% sure we would end up taking. It was quite probable that we could be about 2 days out when the low pressure system would flare up again. We would monitor the weather as we went, and if it didn’t look good, then we would alter course for Providencia, a small Colombian island about 125 miles off the coast of Nicaragua.

We departed Jamaica at about 0130 hours on a Saturday morning. Our departure was supposed to be the day before, but everything we attempted to do that day took 2-3 times longer than expected. After a 3 hour nap, and waiting for a rain squall to pass, we hoisted the mainsail and the anchor and sailed out of Port Antonio. I guess we could say that at least we didn’t start the passage on a Friday!

As we pulled away from Jamaica, I had the first watch. It was a beautiful, starry night with a bright moon, and I could make out the outline of the Jamaican mountains. As we neared the eastern end of the island, I started noticing lights from other boats on the horizon. I was guessing that they were fishing boats, since there was a bank that extended out in that direction.

The lights gradually grew brighter as we sailed closer. I was expecting to see more lights from each boat on what I thought would be larger fishing vessels. Eventually, more lights appeared, but it wasn’t from the size of the boats. There were a growing number of boats. The lights would also disappear below the waves, and reappear as they lifted up again. I was so confused about what I was seeing, and even the binoculars didn’t help. Suddenly, just off our starboard bow, what I thought was a larger vessel in the distance, turned out to be a small fishing panga with a single white light. As the panga passed by, I could see 2 people in the small boat. As far as I was concerned, I’d almost run over them!

It was like a city of small fishing pangas about 5 miles off the coast. Once I realized what I was seeing, I was able to safely navigate between the tiny vessels. For the time of night, I was amazed at how far offshore these small boats were, and with only one small white light.

Over the next 2 days, we progressed on our planned south to southwesterly direction. Eventually, we arrived at decision time. Providencia orPanama? We were in luck, the weather was continuing to hold in our favor. Panama, it was!

About the same time we made the decision to stay on course for Panama, Colin came down with an extremely sore throat and low grade fever. The presentation of symptoms led me to believe he possibly had strep throat. After a few emails back and forth with my dad (a retired ER doc), we decided it was time to bring out the antibiotics. Since we were at least 2 days away from the nearest medical help, we needed to ere on the side of caution. We also decided to aim for the more populated Portobello which was also on the mainland, rather than Porvenir in the San Blas Islands.

The following morning, Colin’s throat was miraculously a lot better. It was still red and irritated, but his fever was gone. He was also back to his normal, bouncy self. Our course plan switched back to Porvenir. That is until . . .

The loss of our escape hatch! If you haven’t already heard the story, then click here.

It was during the wee hours of the morning when we were making our approach to the San Blas Islands. A couple of cruisers on the Magellan Net had given us waypoints for anchoring in the lee of the Chichime Cays. The approach was simple and straightforward, and we wouldn’t have to heave to in the large swell for the rest of the night.

Our senses were alive as we felt our way up to the island of Chichime. The night was dark and hazy, and as we came within a mile of the cay, we were surprised to find that the only lights we were seeing were anchor lights atop many masts. There were no lights from the islands themselves.

Amidst the darkness, we could also hear the sound of pounding surf nearby. We could hear it, but we couldn’t see it! However, we could already make out the shapes of other sailboats anchored just ahead of us, so we knew we had reached our destination.

The new light of the morning would bring us new perspective on our surroundings.

some boats don't fair so well on the San Blas reefs

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