We are not sure how it happened but we got lifted out of the water at the marina as planned, our antifoul paint arrived as did our dinghy and the surveyor turned up even though a few hours late. It was 5 days of hard work getting up at 6am to start early and finishing at dark. The weather was kind to us as it was cloudy keeping the heat down a bit. We re-launched Tuesday which was exciting backing out of the lift with 20 knots of wind blowing and not a lot of space, still we made it to a slip in one piece and the boat looked lovely - all newly polished and painted.
We had a few days to clean the boat and then Friday 4 March (Karen's birthday) we transited the Panama Canal. We had 5 line handlers on board, one more than required as one of the boats line handling for us had a guest on board. We had met up with 2 Australian boats and one Kiwi in the San Blas and they wanted experience of line handling before transiting with their own boats. A boat called Sunshine that we knew from last year also agreed to line handle for us which meant ourselves and CD could go through the canal together.
We motored across Colon harbour to the anchorage and waited for our advisor. At 4.30pm Robin arrived and we set off for the canal. There are 3 locks up and 3 down. Near the lock entrance we and CD rafted together (tied up alongside each other) to enter the lock. There was a ship and a cruiser in front of us and just as we were about to go in the lock they decided there wasn't enough room for us too. A quick turn around and we headed to the lock next door but again the ship in front was too big as they won't put you in a lock with a ship bigger than 600 feet. We motored around for over an hour before going into the lock which meant it was dark. We have now experienced almost every type of transit and time except that as a single boat! We finally got through the canal and gave Robin his evening meal as we left the lock. We moored in Gatun lake at 8.30pm and the canal pilot boat came to pick Robin up. We had a meal and a few drinks and I got everyone to sing happy birthday to me! It was certainly a different way to spend my birthday and one I won't forget.
The advisor was due to arrive at 6.30am so we all headed to bed. We were woken by a knock on the hull and were worried we had over slept. It was Dave off CD who had been told by his advisor to be ready for 6am so he thought we ought to be up at 5.30am!!!! So we were all ready nice and early for when the advisor arrived at 6.30! Dave has still not lived this down.
We were lucky as Robin was our advisor this time too. On the way across the lake we had a cooked breakfast of sausage and scrambled egg. The sausages looked good but when I went on deck to check if breakfast was OK I was told the sausages were covered in plastic!! So to eat them, we had to sit and pick the plastic off and Robin made the best job as I guess that as a local, he was practised. After a 4 hour motor across the lake we arrived at the down locks. Again we rafted to CD and we got through the locks without any problems. We left the gates of the final lock to the sound of 'We are the Champions' by Queen!!
We celebrated our entry into the Pacific with a bottle of bubbly and a few beers. 3 of the boats headed back to Shelter bay and Wayne and Debbie from Sunshine stayed on the boat with us an extra night. It was such a relief to have arrived safely without any problems and to be able to relax after all the work of having so many people on the boat and the stress of going through the canal.
The following day, Dave and I had to return to Colon to line handle for Don and Kay who had helped us. Chris and Mike stayed to mind the boats. Again we had a smooth transit and the first part was very easy as we were the middle of 3 boats which meant we didn't have to do anything. But by the time we got back to Panama City we were exhausted and needed a few days to recover.
We are now preparing for our trip to the Galapagos and up to Mexico which means trading charts and doing lots of shopping. This has been interrupted today by the threatened Tsunami from the Japanese earthquake. We have left the anchorage and anchored in deep water well away from other boats. As I write it has passed and was nothing more that a choppy sea, luckily.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Return To The Heat!
We left George Town, Bahamas on 2 January after a quiet New year. We celebrated on the boat with a nice bottle of wine and bangers (proper Irish ones!) and mash!. We sailed to Cat Island, which is one of the outer Islands in the Bahamas, and cleared out the following day for our longest sail yet direct to the San Blas, about 970 miles. As you might expect, the two days at Cat Island were the warmest, sunniest and calmest of our whole time in the Bahamas!! We made this decision to make a long sail to get ahead of a series of 3 northers (strong cold winds from the Arctic) rather than trying to find somewhere to hide from them.
The first few days we had a great sail making really good time. Then the northers took our wind due to the pressure differential and we spent 2 days between Cuba and Haiti pretty much becalmed and doing about 50 miles per day. We had a couple of visits from dolphins, one for more than an hour. That one was especially good as there were young ones with the pod including a baby about 2 feet long.
Once we picked up the trade winds again we started to fly. We were making 180 miles per day which is extremely good. The sea was rough but as the waves were following us it wasn't too uncomfortable. We made it to the West Hollandaise in the San Blas at 9pm on 10 January having travelled 926 miles. Although we had both survived the trip well, once land was in sight we both felt extremely tired as if someone had taken all our energy and we were very grateful to drop the anchor and to have a good nights sleep.
We spent the next few days recovering from the trip and trying to re-acclimatise to the heat. Getting into the water was so refreshing and our first swim since Mexico! We found the heat a struggle to start with and Mike is still traumatised by cutting 3 inches off my hair to make it cooler! Unfortunately our dinghy which had been deteriorating completely gave way with seams coming unglued so we could not get off the boat other than by swimming ashore. Still we were happy just relaxing in the warmth. The snorkeling was not as good as last year and the reef had quite a few Lion fish (escaped from peoples aquariums in hurricanes) which is not good as they are a Pacific species and have no predators in the Atlantic. They are slowly destroying much of the fish life in all the reefs in the Caribbean as they have a voracious appetite and big mouths
After a week our friends Chris and Dave on CD arrived from Providencia. We had a lovely reunion as we hadn't seen them since April last year. After a few days the four of us had a belated Christmas dinner with roast lamb and mint sauce followed by cherry crumble and birds custard. Needless to say a lot of wine and port was also consumed! We took the opportunity to first re-christen the boat as we were never sure that the name change by the previous owners had been made official with the required champagne and libations to the sea gods!!
The four of us have been travelling around the San Blas visiting different islands. Thanks to CD and lifts their dinghy, we have been able to get ashore to shop and snorkel. We also met up with Barbara and Michael on Astarte who we both met in Providencia last year. The 6 of us had a reunion BBQ which was fun except we all got eaten alive by sandflies and were on antihistamines for the next few days!
The San Blas is still as beautiful but we were disappointed by how commercial and busy it had become. Tourism is really taking over which the Kuna chiefs are not happy about. The beach at the West Hollandaise was covered with sunbeds and sunshades by a cruise ship and the Kuna chief wanted us to pay to go ashore there because the cruise ships pay! Still, there is a vegetable boat which goes around all the popular anchorages delivering fruit and veg which is very useful and other boats which deliver eggs and wine!
It has been like being on holiday and so relaxing after the States. We have had no Internet or phone connection and have spent our days relaxing, swimming and socialising. We have done some work on the boat as always but it has not been constant and we have had lots of time to enjoy ourselves.
We left the San Blas and headed to Portobello which is a small town trying to expand and become a cruiser stop off point. We had our first trip to a supermarket in months and in the evening had a wonderful pizza!
Astarte and CD travelled from the San Blas to Portobello with us and Michael on Astatre decided we should have a fishing competition. The only fish we had caught in the San Blas was a 7lb grouper (which was lovely) so we were not hopeful! We had our line in first and caught 2 small cero mackerel. A few hours later we landed a 5lb Little Tunny so we were in the lead as Astarte caught 2 small mackerel and CD only caught seaweed! As we were rounding the point to head to Portobello our line screamed out. Mike was convinced it was a big fish. As it got nearer the boat after a 30 minute fight he discovered we had caught a shark! It really fought hard but we got it to the side of the boat. Then the problem was how to get it on board without killing it. Our net wouldn't even hold his tail as he was about 5ft long. So we got a rope around his tail and lifted his head with the rod and his tail with the rope. Once on deck we both stepped well back as he thrashed around and fortunately the hook broke and he threw himself off the boat. This was very fortunate as we hadn't got a clue how we were going to get the hook out of his mouth. That was the end of our fishing as were both too exhausted to do anything more.
Ourselves and CD ate the Tunny and we made a large fish dip with the mackerel. This we shared with Astarte and CD for our last evening together. Astarte are now heading north while we and CD head through the canal. Barbara from Astarte wrote us the following ode:
Ode To Our British Friends
Though just a couple of yanks
we want to give you our thanks
for having known you
CD: Chapter Two
sating farewell brings us great angst
On the island of Providencia we all met
Then on to Roatan for happy hour; internet
you then went on your own ways
in the river: US stays
but Kuna Yala reunited this motley set
In harbours, towns or empty isles
we join up after many sea miles
adventures to share
great stories to air
each told in our own unique styles.
We've snorkeled to see fish
we've shared meals so delish!
Tossed back a few brews
or some wine if you choose
plus some chocolate cake as a final dish.
The beach barbies were NOT mild
with exploding rocks it got wild
the company always great fun
awed by the setting sun
if only the bugs didn't get us so riled!
Chrissy & Dave and Karen & Mike
You're a cast of brits we quite like
as you head into the Pacific
know we think you're terrific
and you'll always have yank friends Barbara and Mike
After saying farewell to Astarte we left Portobello and headed to Colon. After being measured to go through the canal we were lifted at the marina to renew the antifoul and to have the boat surveyed for the insurance. It was a week of hard work scrubbing and cleaning the boat. We are hoping to transit the canal in about a week (actually on 4th March) and head into the Pacific. We are also having a new dinghy delivered so that we should be mobile again!
The first few days we had a great sail making really good time. Then the northers took our wind due to the pressure differential and we spent 2 days between Cuba and Haiti pretty much becalmed and doing about 50 miles per day. We had a couple of visits from dolphins, one for more than an hour. That one was especially good as there were young ones with the pod including a baby about 2 feet long.
Once we picked up the trade winds again we started to fly. We were making 180 miles per day which is extremely good. The sea was rough but as the waves were following us it wasn't too uncomfortable. We made it to the West Hollandaise in the San Blas at 9pm on 10 January having travelled 926 miles. Although we had both survived the trip well, once land was in sight we both felt extremely tired as if someone had taken all our energy and we were very grateful to drop the anchor and to have a good nights sleep.
We spent the next few days recovering from the trip and trying to re-acclimatise to the heat. Getting into the water was so refreshing and our first swim since Mexico! We found the heat a struggle to start with and Mike is still traumatised by cutting 3 inches off my hair to make it cooler! Unfortunately our dinghy which had been deteriorating completely gave way with seams coming unglued so we could not get off the boat other than by swimming ashore. Still we were happy just relaxing in the warmth. The snorkeling was not as good as last year and the reef had quite a few Lion fish (escaped from peoples aquariums in hurricanes) which is not good as they are a Pacific species and have no predators in the Atlantic. They are slowly destroying much of the fish life in all the reefs in the Caribbean as they have a voracious appetite and big mouths
After a week our friends Chris and Dave on CD arrived from Providencia. We had a lovely reunion as we hadn't seen them since April last year. After a few days the four of us had a belated Christmas dinner with roast lamb and mint sauce followed by cherry crumble and birds custard. Needless to say a lot of wine and port was also consumed! We took the opportunity to first re-christen the boat as we were never sure that the name change by the previous owners had been made official with the required champagne and libations to the sea gods!!
The four of us have been travelling around the San Blas visiting different islands. Thanks to CD and lifts their dinghy, we have been able to get ashore to shop and snorkel. We also met up with Barbara and Michael on Astarte who we both met in Providencia last year. The 6 of us had a reunion BBQ which was fun except we all got eaten alive by sandflies and were on antihistamines for the next few days!
The San Blas is still as beautiful but we were disappointed by how commercial and busy it had become. Tourism is really taking over which the Kuna chiefs are not happy about. The beach at the West Hollandaise was covered with sunbeds and sunshades by a cruise ship and the Kuna chief wanted us to pay to go ashore there because the cruise ships pay! Still, there is a vegetable boat which goes around all the popular anchorages delivering fruit and veg which is very useful and other boats which deliver eggs and wine!
It has been like being on holiday and so relaxing after the States. We have had no Internet or phone connection and have spent our days relaxing, swimming and socialising. We have done some work on the boat as always but it has not been constant and we have had lots of time to enjoy ourselves.
We left the San Blas and headed to Portobello which is a small town trying to expand and become a cruiser stop off point. We had our first trip to a supermarket in months and in the evening had a wonderful pizza!
Astarte and CD travelled from the San Blas to Portobello with us and Michael on Astatre decided we should have a fishing competition. The only fish we had caught in the San Blas was a 7lb grouper (which was lovely) so we were not hopeful! We had our line in first and caught 2 small cero mackerel. A few hours later we landed a 5lb Little Tunny so we were in the lead as Astarte caught 2 small mackerel and CD only caught seaweed! As we were rounding the point to head to Portobello our line screamed out. Mike was convinced it was a big fish. As it got nearer the boat after a 30 minute fight he discovered we had caught a shark! It really fought hard but we got it to the side of the boat. Then the problem was how to get it on board without killing it. Our net wouldn't even hold his tail as he was about 5ft long. So we got a rope around his tail and lifted his head with the rod and his tail with the rope. Once on deck we both stepped well back as he thrashed around and fortunately the hook broke and he threw himself off the boat. This was very fortunate as we hadn't got a clue how we were going to get the hook out of his mouth. That was the end of our fishing as were both too exhausted to do anything more.
Ourselves and CD ate the Tunny and we made a large fish dip with the mackerel. This we shared with Astarte and CD for our last evening together. Astarte are now heading north while we and CD head through the canal. Barbara from Astarte wrote us the following ode:
Ode To Our British Friends
Though just a couple of yanks
we want to give you our thanks
for having known you
CD: Chapter Two
sating farewell brings us great angst
On the island of Providencia we all met
Then on to Roatan for happy hour; internet
you then went on your own ways
in the river: US stays
but Kuna Yala reunited this motley set
In harbours, towns or empty isles
we join up after many sea miles
adventures to share
great stories to air
each told in our own unique styles.
We've snorkeled to see fish
we've shared meals so delish!
Tossed back a few brews
or some wine if you choose
plus some chocolate cake as a final dish.
The beach barbies were NOT mild
with exploding rocks it got wild
the company always great fun
awed by the setting sun
if only the bugs didn't get us so riled!
Chrissy & Dave and Karen & Mike
You're a cast of brits we quite like
as you head into the Pacific
know we think you're terrific
and you'll always have yank friends Barbara and Mike
After saying farewell to Astarte we left Portobello and headed to Colon. After being measured to go through the canal we were lifted at the marina to renew the antifoul and to have the boat surveyed for the insurance. It was a week of hard work scrubbing and cleaning the boat. We are hoping to transit the canal in about a week (actually on 4th March) and head into the Pacific. We are also having a new dinghy delivered so that we should be mobile again!
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