I am actually in the southern hemisphere. We should be arriving at our port tomorrow, and if all goes well, we will be happily resting on a mooring ball when we go to sleep tomorrow night. But it is not for certain because the anchorage is up a river estuary and you can't go in except at high tide. Which is not a problem except high tide is at either 4:45 am (when it is still dark) and 4:45 pm, which is still light and should not be a problem. Because the deep channel is narrow and winding, they send a pilot boat out to lead you in. It was a thrill to note our position as south instead of north. But it is a bit confusing, as the numbers are now getting larger when they were getting smaller. I will have to remember and not panic for a bit.
I sure was miserable for a big part of this trip, but it did get better. Right after the last post, Mike decided he was going to turn on the engine because we were still being pushed backwards, and even he couldn't stand any more. Plus there was this: the track on the chartplotter that we left as we sailed looked like a smiley face, as we began heading southwest (or southeast), then slowly were forced due west (or east) and finally WNW (or ENE). It seemed like a taunt. Once we started the motor, we bulled our way through the contrary currents and were finally able to make the desired southerly track. But motoring comes with a price, and the price is that neither of us can get much of any sleep as the engine is really loud downstairs. We have earplugs, but they only help a little bit (and they make my ears itch). So after a day and a night of motoring, I was almost delirious from lack of sleep, especially since I had been such a stress monger for days I was frankly a mess. When we were finally able to turn the engine off and resume sailing, I slept for almost two days straight, getting up only to stand my watch, fix food, and help out when needed. Otherwise I slept. I didn't know it was possible to sleep that much. Mike, for some reason, can withstand the sleep thing better than I do, but he crashes too. He was able to get sleep while I stood my watch, but he has not had nearly what I have had. I will really have to analyze why this trip was so hard on me.
So anyway, I am now a Shellback and no longer a slimy pollywog. That is because I crossed the equator and made a gift offering to King Neptune. Being a Shellback means that I can petition King Neptune. This is something they do in the Navy, and of course they have some horrid initiation that involves crawling through garbage. Mike did not make me crawl through garbage, but we did share a bottle of champagne with King Neptune and some was poured on my head as a kind of baptism. Then I had to take a shower and wash any remaining pollywog slime off. Any Navy guy can tell you about this important ritual.
I have to get going - we are going to send this off, along with an email to Marina Puerto Amistad in Bahia Caraquez, Ecuador. South America.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
A Tough Slog
This has to be the most difficult sail I have ever had. We sail and sail and the wind and currents allow us to go either nowhere (if we are lucky) or the wrong way. I am keeping my chin up, but it is not easy. While we are in no danger or anything like that, this is not fun and I want it to be done and over with. Unfortunately, that will not happen for days more.
Except for not getting anywhere, things are fine. When it got light this morning, there were flying fish (dead ones) all over the deck. They were about 3 inches long. The same flock of night hunting birds has visited us each night, staying all night, fishing in the light of the mast. They only fish on the starboard side, where the green light is, because green light penetrates the water and they can see the fish. it is nice to have company on my night watch,
This is going to be it - the boat is bouncing all over the place and it is hard to type. But we are fine and will eventually reach our port!
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Except for not getting anywhere, things are fine. When it got light this morning, there were flying fish (dead ones) all over the deck. They were about 3 inches long. The same flock of night hunting birds has visited us each night, staying all night, fishing in the light of the mast. They only fish on the starboard side, where the green light is, because green light penetrates the water and they can see the fish. it is nice to have company on my night watch,
This is going to be it - the boat is bouncing all over the place and it is hard to type. But we are fine and will eventually reach our port!
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Thursday, April 24, 2014
Sea Life, Or Life on the Sea
(April 24, 2014)
We are sailing away towards Ecuador, somewhere out about 250 miles off the coast of Colombia. Because we actually have to sail this and can't just turn on the engine and point in the direction we want to go and just bull our way down through contrary winds and currents. But that is the real challenge of doing this. I will not lie to you, I have at times gotten discouraged about what seems at the time to be a lack of progress. We hear other boats on the radio (well, okay, one other boat) that left after us and is leaving us in the dust. But I know he is motoring. I know I need to be tougher about it, and not get down in the dumps so easily, but it is hard on me. It is just frustrating, and I think even after this much time out here, I am still stuck in the need-it-right-now attitude that I had while living my old life. A traffic jam would make me furious then. So I simply have to zen out and get used to the fact I am going to be out here for a while more yet. I do have one piece of advice for anyone who wants to try this - you better know how to fix things. If it were not for Mike and his skills, we could not do this.
We have had a lot of squally weather and rain, but no bad storms or anything we couldn't handle. After two full days of being almost becalmed, I welcomed an actual storm because it meant wind and therefore movement. Besides, we were not in danger other than from lightning, and luckily the storm did not have a lot of it, and what we have seen so far has been at a safe distance. This will decrease the closer we get to our destination in Ecuador. The other night I got to see an amazing bolt - it cut vertically across the sky like a huge blazing snake. At this point, we are making decent speed, and our wind direction are not bad for us. Mike discovered that we can make our autopilot sail to the wind, which means we set it and it steers itself along the directions of the wind. This is great for us, because now we do not have to be constantly messing with the autopilot each time the wind changes a bit. If the actual course changes too much, an alarm lets us know so we can decide if that is where we want to go. It is like having someone steer who never gets tired or loses focus.
We have had some nice things happen on this trip. The other day, we were hailed by another sailboat motoring past us on their way to the Galapagos. The boat name was Legacy, and they were flying a US flag. We talked on the radio, and they came up close and took some pictures of us flying all our sails. We exchanged emails, and they promised to send the pictures. They spotted us before we were visible to them because of our AIS system, so we now know for sure that we are transmitting as well as receiving. It was fun to see another boat out here.
The next day we had to alter course because there was a HUGE tuna boat fishing right where we were going to sail. It was interesting to see the way it used its nets and a bunch of little boats. The little boats sped around and around apparently corralling these big tuna into the gargantuan nets. Then the nets were hauled in filled with tuna. (On a not so good note, this kind of fishing is not good, the sea cannot sustain this.) This tuna boat had a helicopter that flew around it looking for tuna, and when we altered our course, the helo flew over us, blinked his lights, and dipped at us. I thought that was pretty cool, I think they appreciated our change of course so we did not interfere with the fishing operation.
We have done one new thing underway, which was to make water. We are also using the generator to charge the batteries, because we can't use the engine for that. Our solar is less effective when underway, because at any given time half of them are shaded by the sails. Plus it has been overcast and rainy, which also has an impact on the amount they can generate. The wind vane is getting used a lot, but it does not generate the amount the solar panels do. Therefore if we want to keep using all of our electronics, we need to do some extra charging, hence the need for the generator.
One thing did happen that was not so good, but I had better get used to it because Mike says it happens to ships at sea all the time. The other afternoon a tiny little swallow landed on the boat. He had obviously gotten blown off course, because they do not generally range this far out to sea. When these birds land on boats like this (and I am not talking about sea birds looking for a rest) they are generally about to die. Mike has seen people on Navy boats try desperately to save them, but he has never seen it work. We tried to give this little guy some water, but he wouldn't drink it. So we left it close to him and made him a comfortable place where he could sit and not get hurt by anything. He spend the night, sleeping with his head under his wing. He was awake for awhile in the morning, but then he tucked his head and went back to sleep. But later on that day he died, and we buried him at sea.
My night watches have been interesting and I have missed them, since it has been a long time since we did an overnight sail. There are these night sea birds that come to our boat every night and fish by the glow of our green mast light. They appear at dark and stay all night. They swoop and glide in the dark sky like ghost birds, sometimes giving off a flash of their white underbellies. It is this sort of thing that I never get tired of. That and looking at the sky - I see several shooting stars on each trip.
Anyway, that will be all for now. We are doing fine, and I will continue to check in, but maybe not every day. No one needs to be worried about us, even if a few days go by without a post. We will simply continue to sail along, awaiting our final landfall.
"It's not polite to get into strange beds naked." (My Mother)
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We are sailing away towards Ecuador, somewhere out about 250 miles off the coast of Colombia. Because we actually have to sail this and can't just turn on the engine and point in the direction we want to go and just bull our way down through contrary winds and currents. But that is the real challenge of doing this. I will not lie to you, I have at times gotten discouraged about what seems at the time to be a lack of progress. We hear other boats on the radio (well, okay, one other boat) that left after us and is leaving us in the dust. But I know he is motoring. I know I need to be tougher about it, and not get down in the dumps so easily, but it is hard on me. It is just frustrating, and I think even after this much time out here, I am still stuck in the need-it-right-now attitude that I had while living my old life. A traffic jam would make me furious then. So I simply have to zen out and get used to the fact I am going to be out here for a while more yet. I do have one piece of advice for anyone who wants to try this - you better know how to fix things. If it were not for Mike and his skills, we could not do this.
We have had a lot of squally weather and rain, but no bad storms or anything we couldn't handle. After two full days of being almost becalmed, I welcomed an actual storm because it meant wind and therefore movement. Besides, we were not in danger other than from lightning, and luckily the storm did not have a lot of it, and what we have seen so far has been at a safe distance. This will decrease the closer we get to our destination in Ecuador. The other night I got to see an amazing bolt - it cut vertically across the sky like a huge blazing snake. At this point, we are making decent speed, and our wind direction are not bad for us. Mike discovered that we can make our autopilot sail to the wind, which means we set it and it steers itself along the directions of the wind. This is great for us, because now we do not have to be constantly messing with the autopilot each time the wind changes a bit. If the actual course changes too much, an alarm lets us know so we can decide if that is where we want to go. It is like having someone steer who never gets tired or loses focus.
We have had some nice things happen on this trip. The other day, we were hailed by another sailboat motoring past us on their way to the Galapagos. The boat name was Legacy, and they were flying a US flag. We talked on the radio, and they came up close and took some pictures of us flying all our sails. We exchanged emails, and they promised to send the pictures. They spotted us before we were visible to them because of our AIS system, so we now know for sure that we are transmitting as well as receiving. It was fun to see another boat out here.
The next day we had to alter course because there was a HUGE tuna boat fishing right where we were going to sail. It was interesting to see the way it used its nets and a bunch of little boats. The little boats sped around and around apparently corralling these big tuna into the gargantuan nets. Then the nets were hauled in filled with tuna. (On a not so good note, this kind of fishing is not good, the sea cannot sustain this.) This tuna boat had a helicopter that flew around it looking for tuna, and when we altered our course, the helo flew over us, blinked his lights, and dipped at us. I thought that was pretty cool, I think they appreciated our change of course so we did not interfere with the fishing operation.
We have done one new thing underway, which was to make water. We are also using the generator to charge the batteries, because we can't use the engine for that. Our solar is less effective when underway, because at any given time half of them are shaded by the sails. Plus it has been overcast and rainy, which also has an impact on the amount they can generate. The wind vane is getting used a lot, but it does not generate the amount the solar panels do. Therefore if we want to keep using all of our electronics, we need to do some extra charging, hence the need for the generator.
One thing did happen that was not so good, but I had better get used to it because Mike says it happens to ships at sea all the time. The other afternoon a tiny little swallow landed on the boat. He had obviously gotten blown off course, because they do not generally range this far out to sea. When these birds land on boats like this (and I am not talking about sea birds looking for a rest) they are generally about to die. Mike has seen people on Navy boats try desperately to save them, but he has never seen it work. We tried to give this little guy some water, but he wouldn't drink it. So we left it close to him and made him a comfortable place where he could sit and not get hurt by anything. He spend the night, sleeping with his head under his wing. He was awake for awhile in the morning, but then he tucked his head and went back to sleep. But later on that day he died, and we buried him at sea.
My night watches have been interesting and I have missed them, since it has been a long time since we did an overnight sail. There are these night sea birds that come to our boat every night and fish by the glow of our green mast light. They appear at dark and stay all night. They swoop and glide in the dark sky like ghost birds, sometimes giving off a flash of their white underbellies. It is this sort of thing that I never get tired of. That and looking at the sky - I see several shooting stars on each trip.
Anyway, that will be all for now. We are doing fine, and I will continue to check in, but maybe not every day. No one needs to be worried about us, even if a few days go by without a post. We will simply continue to sail along, awaiting our final landfall.
"It's not polite to get into strange beds naked." (My Mother)
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Monday, April 21, 2014
Slogging over the no so bounding main
(April 21, 2014) I guess I jinxed it by being such a braggart. In a couple of ways. First, after all my boasting about the great weather and what not, the last two days have been everything the first two days were not. We have had absolutely no wind at all, we are just about becalmed. The only good thing is that there is a favorable current that has pushed us s-l-o-w-l-y in the right direction all today. Yesterday we had more wind, but we had a nasty foul current that had us actually going WNW when I was steering SSW. I could only tell a problem when I noticed my course over ground bore no resemblance to my programmed heading. Then I saw that my position reading had me going north and west. And there was nothing to do except steer hard south, which gave us a westerly heading with a tiny bit of north. Then there was a squall this morning - the winds registered 20 knots sustained, with gusts of 25, but luckily for us it was to our back, and the seas weren't too rough and it was shoving us the right way. So we reveled in that and were delighted to get soaked and lose sleep. I then spent the rest of today anxiously searching the horizon for any sign of another squall - anything to get moving again! When you have these tropical squalls, they are strong but short lived (a couple hours at best)and they suck all the energy out of the area they pass through, causing these calms after. The only problem is that these periods of no winds can often be accompanied by confused seas, which rock the hell out of a stationary boat. That was this morning, but this pm was calm as a bathtub, almost. So what have I not told? Right now it is still calm, but we are actually moving under sail at a rolicking 2.7 knots, a great improvement over the 1 to .9 of earlier. I took down all the sails because they were doing nothing more than slatting about, causing the boat to bat around even more.
Of course I forgot to tell the best part . . . our engine is having difficulty and we can't use it. So now we are a true sailing vessel, and if we drift, we drift. No motoring to speed things along. Mike is pretty sure he knows what it is - he says the bearings are going out in the engine's water pump. It makes a terrible noise, so no using it. It is not a disaster at all, rather an inconvenience. But I think we were starting to motor too often, just for convenience, and that is not a habit we wish to develop, as we (at least Mike is, the jury is out on me) are sailing purists, the most annoying people at any yacht club get-together. So sail on we shall!
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Of course I forgot to tell the best part . . . our engine is having difficulty and we can't use it. So now we are a true sailing vessel, and if we drift, we drift. No motoring to speed things along. Mike is pretty sure he knows what it is - he says the bearings are going out in the engine's water pump. It makes a terrible noise, so no using it. It is not a disaster at all, rather an inconvenience. But I think we were starting to motor too often, just for convenience, and that is not a habit we wish to develop, as we (at least Mike is, the jury is out on me) are sailing purists, the most annoying people at any yacht club get-together. So sail on we shall!
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Sunday, April 20, 2014
Over the Bounding Main
(April 19, 2014)
I have decided I should date these as they do not always get sent the day I write them.
OK! We are on our second day of being underway to Ecuador and we are still flying along. It is really amazing. We are famous for drifting along with no winds at 2 knots. This trip we have been over five knots most of the time, with sustained periods of eight and even nine knots! That is faster than our hull speed of 7 or so knots, which is supposed to be as fast as we can go. But what is happening here is that we are sailing along with favorable currents. Mike did this on purpose, setting our course based on an analysis of the prevailing currents. There can be a problem on this route that if you stay too close to the Colombian coast, you end up fighting a strong contrary current, and it makes it a bitch to get to Ecuador at that point. We had every intention of staying off shore until it was time to loop hard east and then catch that current when you want it, even though heading off shore adds a lot of sea miles. So this plan has been going great. There have even been times when the seas were too confused to allow the sails to hold their wind due to the rocking of the boat from side to side due to those confused seas, and we were still heading at least four knots in the right direction.
The confused seas were cause for some great discomfort, however. The constant back and forth and side to side were jolting at best. Then all of a sudden, just as I had gone to bed, a surprisingly large wave smacked the boat on the starboard side, sending a shower of water into the boat. We had not closed the window, so it was our fault, but who would have guessed? The strength of the spurt went across the inside of the boat and got one side of our pillows all wet. OK, no big deal. I went back to bed. Then another wave sends water in over the hatch that is right above my head. It got both the pillows more wet, so I closed it and laid back down and tried to sleep. THen a third wave, this time on the port side of the boat, sends a big splash of water through the window on that side - the final blow. I got completely soaked. Yes, I know we should have closed everything after we took the first wave. But it gets hot and stuffy in the cabin if it has to be all closed up. But I just had to laugh - what else can you do? I found a reasonably dry spot and finally got some sleep, but it was hard with all the rocking and rolling. Had I been seasick I would have slept like a rock, but I don't get seasick any more. And we have really learned the difference between the miserably uncomfortable and actual danger. I may not like it when the boat gets slammed around by the waves, but Magda Jean can take it and then some. It has been a great trip so far and we are not really sure why, other than experience, I guess. We know how to deal with things much more effectively than in the past, and are not so afraid to just try something and see if it works.
Anyway, I should end this before I start to babble. IF anyone wants to find me on a map, I am at 06 degrees, 31 minutes, and 605 seconds of latitude north, and 081 degrees, 17 minutes, and 714 seconds longitude west. At least for now! I will write more later, lets hope it is more of the same!
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I have decided I should date these as they do not always get sent the day I write them.
OK! We are on our second day of being underway to Ecuador and we are still flying along. It is really amazing. We are famous for drifting along with no winds at 2 knots. This trip we have been over five knots most of the time, with sustained periods of eight and even nine knots! That is faster than our hull speed of 7 or so knots, which is supposed to be as fast as we can go. But what is happening here is that we are sailing along with favorable currents. Mike did this on purpose, setting our course based on an analysis of the prevailing currents. There can be a problem on this route that if you stay too close to the Colombian coast, you end up fighting a strong contrary current, and it makes it a bitch to get to Ecuador at that point. We had every intention of staying off shore until it was time to loop hard east and then catch that current when you want it, even though heading off shore adds a lot of sea miles. So this plan has been going great. There have even been times when the seas were too confused to allow the sails to hold their wind due to the rocking of the boat from side to side due to those confused seas, and we were still heading at least four knots in the right direction.
The confused seas were cause for some great discomfort, however. The constant back and forth and side to side were jolting at best. Then all of a sudden, just as I had gone to bed, a surprisingly large wave smacked the boat on the starboard side, sending a shower of water into the boat. We had not closed the window, so it was our fault, but who would have guessed? The strength of the spurt went across the inside of the boat and got one side of our pillows all wet. OK, no big deal. I went back to bed. Then another wave sends water in over the hatch that is right above my head. It got both the pillows more wet, so I closed it and laid back down and tried to sleep. THen a third wave, this time on the port side of the boat, sends a big splash of water through the window on that side - the final blow. I got completely soaked. Yes, I know we should have closed everything after we took the first wave. But it gets hot and stuffy in the cabin if it has to be all closed up. But I just had to laugh - what else can you do? I found a reasonably dry spot and finally got some sleep, but it was hard with all the rocking and rolling. Had I been seasick I would have slept like a rock, but I don't get seasick any more. And we have really learned the difference between the miserably uncomfortable and actual danger. I may not like it when the boat gets slammed around by the waves, but Magda Jean can take it and then some. It has been a great trip so far and we are not really sure why, other than experience, I guess. We know how to deal with things much more effectively than in the past, and are not so afraid to just try something and see if it works.
Anyway, I should end this before I start to babble. IF anyone wants to find me on a map, I am at 06 degrees, 31 minutes, and 605 seconds of latitude north, and 081 degrees, 17 minutes, and 714 seconds longitude west. At least for now! I will write more later, lets hope it is more of the same!
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Saturday, April 19, 2014
underway!
This will be a short post - just to let you all know we are underway as I write this! We are heading out of the Bay of Panama and making record speed for us - for the last hour we have consistently been posting speeds over 8 knots. It is fun to go this fast, especially when it does not feel out of control. We are on a beam reach, which is a decent angle if we don't heel too much. The seas are coming from a couple if different directions, what we call "confused seas" which means you get knocked around a bit, but nothing serious or even that uncomfortable. We just had a light dinner of sandwiches, and will probably have bowls of chili if we are hungry later on. We try to have super easy stuff the first couple of days at sea, just to get used to the watch schedule and the new sleeping hours.
It was hard to leave our friends at Espiritu Santo, but we will hopefully reunite with them later on down the line. One thing about meeting so many interesting people - we also have to say good bye to them as well, often before we are ready to do so.
This has been a really great day, one of those days that makes me remember all the reasons I had for coming out here. More later!
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It was hard to leave our friends at Espiritu Santo, but we will hopefully reunite with them later on down the line. One thing about meeting so many interesting people - we also have to say good bye to them as well, often before we are ready to do so.
This has been a really great day, one of those days that makes me remember all the reasons I had for coming out here. More later!
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Thursday, April 17, 2014
It Looks LIke Rain
April 16, 2014
And believe me, that ought to make Mike stick to our plan of leaving Friday. Rain means the rainy season has begun, along with the lightning that is always present. We have seen a bit of it far, far off, and never coming our way, but a friend of ours north of here is already experiencing it in his area, and that means it is not far off. I have already spent one rainy season here, and I know the feeling when it is about to rain. After being really still (and HOT) a nice cool breeze comes up, and all of a sudden it is more than a breeze and it is a LOT cooler. Then you look up and see the usual suspects when it comes to clouds. So maybe it will and maybe it won't, but I think it is 70/30 in favor of rain. More than clear and convincing but less than beyond a reasonable doubt (I think I still have that right), ha ha ha. Lawyer joke. Anyway, I also washed and hung laundry, which may also add weight to the rainy side of the equation. If it does rain, I hope it pours, and washes everything off with fresh water. Hopefully the clothes will dry enough to take them in before it starts. I have three t shirts out there, and they take a long time to dry.
Yesterday when we were out fishing, we saw a shrimper at anchor, cleaning its catch. We told them we wanted some (weren't catching anything anyway) and raced back to the boat and got some money. For $20 (we had no smaller bills anyway) we got a three gallon bucket chock full of shrimp of all sizes, lobster, and calamari. Of course we shared with the boat here with us - and still spent hours cleaning and processing shellfish. We froze a bunch of shrimp, had lobster for breakfast, and Mike is planning to fix the calamari the way I like it later on. Our friend told another boat (via SSB radio) that we went fishing with a $20 bill! I guess we sort of did, and what a haul it was!!! I never get tired of fish and shellfish, I have learned so many ways to fix it. Keeps our fridge full. I had to remind Mike that the plan is to eat our way through the freezer so when we leave for the states, we won't have to throw stuff away when we turn off the fridge for the trip. So we shouldn't be trying to fill it, but who knew they would give us that much stuff?
Right now it is about 2:30, the hottest part of the day. Mike is taking a nap. There really isn't any work to do, at least none that I want to do. So I think I will sign off now, and monitor the weather situation.
"There is always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down." (Don DeLillo)
April 17, 2014: It didn't rain.
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And believe me, that ought to make Mike stick to our plan of leaving Friday. Rain means the rainy season has begun, along with the lightning that is always present. We have seen a bit of it far, far off, and never coming our way, but a friend of ours north of here is already experiencing it in his area, and that means it is not far off. I have already spent one rainy season here, and I know the feeling when it is about to rain. After being really still (and HOT) a nice cool breeze comes up, and all of a sudden it is more than a breeze and it is a LOT cooler. Then you look up and see the usual suspects when it comes to clouds. So maybe it will and maybe it won't, but I think it is 70/30 in favor of rain. More than clear and convincing but less than beyond a reasonable doubt (I think I still have that right), ha ha ha. Lawyer joke. Anyway, I also washed and hung laundry, which may also add weight to the rainy side of the equation. If it does rain, I hope it pours, and washes everything off with fresh water. Hopefully the clothes will dry enough to take them in before it starts. I have three t shirts out there, and they take a long time to dry.
Yesterday when we were out fishing, we saw a shrimper at anchor, cleaning its catch. We told them we wanted some (weren't catching anything anyway) and raced back to the boat and got some money. For $20 (we had no smaller bills anyway) we got a three gallon bucket chock full of shrimp of all sizes, lobster, and calamari. Of course we shared with the boat here with us - and still spent hours cleaning and processing shellfish. We froze a bunch of shrimp, had lobster for breakfast, and Mike is planning to fix the calamari the way I like it later on. Our friend told another boat (via SSB radio) that we went fishing with a $20 bill! I guess we sort of did, and what a haul it was!!! I never get tired of fish and shellfish, I have learned so many ways to fix it. Keeps our fridge full. I had to remind Mike that the plan is to eat our way through the freezer so when we leave for the states, we won't have to throw stuff away when we turn off the fridge for the trip. So we shouldn't be trying to fill it, but who knew they would give us that much stuff?
Right now it is about 2:30, the hottest part of the day. Mike is taking a nap. There really isn't any work to do, at least none that I want to do. So I think I will sign off now, and monitor the weather situation.
"There is always a period of curious fear between the first sweet-smelling breeze and the time when the rain comes cracking down." (Don DeLillo)
April 17, 2014: It didn't rain.
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Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Awaiting the Wind
Yes, we are still in Panama, at Espiritu Santo. We have completed all our boat projects, and are now just waiting for the proper winds so we can leave and head to Ecuador. Of course there is calm predicted through the rest of the week (bitter disappointment) but who knows, things can change. But if we do have to hang out, we can get some fishing done and add to our freezer for the trip south.
Our departure was also delayed because I hurt my foot. I did go to the doctor, who xrayed it and discovered no break, but said it was a bad strain of some ligaments. He also told me I probably broke some blood vessels. Anyway, the foot got all swollen and turned various degrees of color, but that went away. It did not hurt at all (after I did it, I only knew I hurt it because I looked down and saw all the swelling) until much later, when all that was left was a big knot on the top, and some swelling around what looks like a great big blood blister. That is what I have now. I keep off it as much as I can, and one of our friends here, who happens to be a nurse, is giving me some antibiotics so it doesn't develop an infection. I have a high pain threshold, which can be a bad thing because I don't stay off it until it starts to hurt, and that doesn't happen for quite awhile. But I am trying to be more conscientious about it. It is pretty ironic - I am pretty lazy and here I am not milking this for all I can. But maybe that is the difference between the merely lazy and the malingerers.
So we got everything done on the boat. One of our friends went up our mast and put the baggy wrinkles on the ends of the spreaders so the large genoa sail (a great big jib) does not fray when it passes against the spreader. If our boat was not so good going into the wind this wouldn't happen, but we can so it does. We also repaired the genoa and patched some worn spots. It isn't so much that it is a hard job, but the sewing is tedious as you go one stitch at a time and there are so many layers of stiff fabric that it takes all day to do a short segment. It is not the sail itself that is having problems, but rather the canvas covers that are along the edges. The sail cloth itself (Dacron) is crisp and stiff as it should be. We do need new sail covers - in fact, we need all new canvas. Plenty of time for that. We did buy about 14 yards of the material needed, so when we get to Ecuador, we may be able to get some of this done. The canvas we got will hopefully make a new dodger and bimini. We will see.
It has been a lot of fun out here, other than the foot issue. We have really good friends about 400 yards away, and yesterday they came over for Mike's American dinner of ribs, potato salad (ala Panamanian roots along with the potatoes), and cucumber salad. Then we all watched the new Robert Redford movie (at least I think it is new) "All is Lost." It is about a single hander whose boat gets hit by a container and then all goes to hell. The thing about the movie is that no one who was involved seemed to have any idea about sailing. We spend the whole movie yelling at the screen, things like "What the hell is he doing that for?" "Plug the hole" "That is so wrong! He needs a pliers, not a wrench" and so on. You get the picture. If you are not well versed in sailing, it is a very good movie. The photography is really good, and it is entertaining. But to sailors - and we are a critical bunch when it comes to evaluating other peoples activities on the water - there were too many things you simply would not do, even in a critical situation. Anyway, it was fun to watch with our friends, and for once Mike was allowed to talk through an entire movie. (For anyone who is concerned about us, whether you saw the movie or not, we have much better emergency gear than Robert Redford had. Much better. We have an emergency beacon that would report our position to the US Coast Guard, who would send out a call for any vessel in the area to come and rescue us. We also have contact with other cruisers via the networks on the SSB radio, and sailors use those nets to keep track of each other. We have a hand held waterproof VHF radio we could use sparingly to call out for local help. Our survival gear in the life raft is better and there is more of it, should we ever have to leave the boat and get in the life raft. We have a water maker in the life raft, along with fishing equipment that we actually know how to use. So try not to worry.)
I am going to miss Panama, but we will probably come back up for the next dry season up here, but our plans change so fast there is hardly any use in telling about them. We are actually a bit hazy as to where we want to go next. Maybe Chile, maybe Polynesia somewhere. I am toying with the idea of going around South America, but Mike isn't so keen on that as he is not that interested in sailing the Atlantic at this point. So who knows? Anything can happen, and usually does.
"America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men." (Woodrow Wilson)
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Our departure was also delayed because I hurt my foot. I did go to the doctor, who xrayed it and discovered no break, but said it was a bad strain of some ligaments. He also told me I probably broke some blood vessels. Anyway, the foot got all swollen and turned various degrees of color, but that went away. It did not hurt at all (after I did it, I only knew I hurt it because I looked down and saw all the swelling) until much later, when all that was left was a big knot on the top, and some swelling around what looks like a great big blood blister. That is what I have now. I keep off it as much as I can, and one of our friends here, who happens to be a nurse, is giving me some antibiotics so it doesn't develop an infection. I have a high pain threshold, which can be a bad thing because I don't stay off it until it starts to hurt, and that doesn't happen for quite awhile. But I am trying to be more conscientious about it. It is pretty ironic - I am pretty lazy and here I am not milking this for all I can. But maybe that is the difference between the merely lazy and the malingerers.
So we got everything done on the boat. One of our friends went up our mast and put the baggy wrinkles on the ends of the spreaders so the large genoa sail (a great big jib) does not fray when it passes against the spreader. If our boat was not so good going into the wind this wouldn't happen, but we can so it does. We also repaired the genoa and patched some worn spots. It isn't so much that it is a hard job, but the sewing is tedious as you go one stitch at a time and there are so many layers of stiff fabric that it takes all day to do a short segment. It is not the sail itself that is having problems, but rather the canvas covers that are along the edges. The sail cloth itself (Dacron) is crisp and stiff as it should be. We do need new sail covers - in fact, we need all new canvas. Plenty of time for that. We did buy about 14 yards of the material needed, so when we get to Ecuador, we may be able to get some of this done. The canvas we got will hopefully make a new dodger and bimini. We will see.
It has been a lot of fun out here, other than the foot issue. We have really good friends about 400 yards away, and yesterday they came over for Mike's American dinner of ribs, potato salad (ala Panamanian roots along with the potatoes), and cucumber salad. Then we all watched the new Robert Redford movie (at least I think it is new) "All is Lost." It is about a single hander whose boat gets hit by a container and then all goes to hell. The thing about the movie is that no one who was involved seemed to have any idea about sailing. We spend the whole movie yelling at the screen, things like "What the hell is he doing that for?" "Plug the hole" "That is so wrong! He needs a pliers, not a wrench" and so on. You get the picture. If you are not well versed in sailing, it is a very good movie. The photography is really good, and it is entertaining. But to sailors - and we are a critical bunch when it comes to evaluating other peoples activities on the water - there were too many things you simply would not do, even in a critical situation. Anyway, it was fun to watch with our friends, and for once Mike was allowed to talk through an entire movie. (For anyone who is concerned about us, whether you saw the movie or not, we have much better emergency gear than Robert Redford had. Much better. We have an emergency beacon that would report our position to the US Coast Guard, who would send out a call for any vessel in the area to come and rescue us. We also have contact with other cruisers via the networks on the SSB radio, and sailors use those nets to keep track of each other. We have a hand held waterproof VHF radio we could use sparingly to call out for local help. Our survival gear in the life raft is better and there is more of it, should we ever have to leave the boat and get in the life raft. We have a water maker in the life raft, along with fishing equipment that we actually know how to use. So try not to worry.)
I am going to miss Panama, but we will probably come back up for the next dry season up here, but our plans change so fast there is hardly any use in telling about them. We are actually a bit hazy as to where we want to go next. Maybe Chile, maybe Polynesia somewhere. I am toying with the idea of going around South America, but Mike isn't so keen on that as he is not that interested in sailing the Atlantic at this point. So who knows? Anything can happen, and usually does.
"America was established not to create wealth but to realize a vision, to realize an ideal - to discover and maintain liberty among men." (Woodrow Wilson)
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Thursday, April 3, 2014
Good Bye Panama
And we mean it this time. No becoming so enchanted with a place that we stay into an unpleasant weather season. The lightning was something neither of us ever want to experience again. We can already see the dry season here starting to shift over, so it is time to get the hell out of Dodge, as wonderful as Dodge was.
We spent about a week in the city this time, and for once we got everything done pretty much on schedule. The only problem arose when I hurt my foot after falling in the dinghy (the throttle stuck and I was standing up) and it got terribly swollen and turned really dark purple. So I went to the doctor, had xrays, and determined it was a bad strain of the ligaments in the top of my foot. That slowed down our leaving a few days, but the foot is fine and was one of those things that looked a lot worse than it was. It does not, and never did, hurt much.
We are really glad to be on our way. Panama City is great, but like all big cities, it is dirty and noisy. The water in the anchorage is filthy in part because there is no really good sewage treatment in the city. The big ships going through the canal foul the air and the water with pollution from their bunker fuel, which is a really disgusting type of fuel made from what is left over after you make gas and whatnot out of oil. Used motor oil is cleaner and nicer. Anyway, the discharge into the water and the smoke smells really strong at times. The city buses run close by on the causeway all day long and their exhaust ends up on our deck. And the city is not far from the agricultural fields, where they burn off the fields after the cane is harvested, so ash lands on the deck as well. The anchorages themselves are far from pleasant - both are subject to swells, and one has an impossible dinghy dock and a mucky bottom. The other one is right where lots of power boats come through 24 hours a day, kicking up such swells you practically roll out of bed.
But having said all that, it is wonderful here and even the city is full of interesting things and wonderful people. We have had no bad experiences here, and have felt really welcome by everyone we meet. Panamanians are used to people coming and going, and since they are literally the cross roads of the world, they are more cynical than the people in Mexico, but it isn't a negative in any way. They are not going to bow and scrape just because a tourist enters the room. If they express an interest in you and your background, it is because they really want to know. It was a new experience and I love it that the people are so different from country to country, and yet in so many ways we are all the same. Everyone likes it when you fuss over their kids. Stuff like that.
Before I go, there is one thing that happened and it happened last night. There was an earthquake off Chile, and that generated a tsunami warning that included Panama. Many boats, including us, got ready to head out to sea. So while we were pulling up our anchor (in the dark, of course, as there is a law that everything strange and problematic must happen at night, and preferably under a new moon) Mike felt the windlass stick, and the chain did not want to come up. It was obviously fouled on something, so with me at the helm, we edged the boat back and forth until the chain began to slowly come up. We were amazed to discover we had wrapped our chain around an absolutely ancient fluke anchor that looked like it came off the Bounty. It weighed about 250 lbs, and was covered in barnacles, a mess of fishing line, and some old rope. Mike looped a rope around it and using the chain, the new rope, and the boat hook, he got it off the chain and hanging from the boat so we could admire it for a few seconds. We really wished we could keep it, as it was really cool and probably a desirable nautical collectors item. But that was not going to happen, no place to store it, so we scuttled it. (We did record the lat and long. After all, it isn't going anywhere and we are likely coming back . . .)
So anyway, I have to get back up on deck and see what is happening. The amount of wind we are dealing with is truly underwhelming - we are lucky when we get much over 2 knots of speed. But who cares? We are not on a schedule. Having said that, Mike just called down that the winds are rising, and I can feel the increase in speed. Isla Contadora, here we come!
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We spent about a week in the city this time, and for once we got everything done pretty much on schedule. The only problem arose when I hurt my foot after falling in the dinghy (the throttle stuck and I was standing up) and it got terribly swollen and turned really dark purple. So I went to the doctor, had xrays, and determined it was a bad strain of the ligaments in the top of my foot. That slowed down our leaving a few days, but the foot is fine and was one of those things that looked a lot worse than it was. It does not, and never did, hurt much.
We are really glad to be on our way. Panama City is great, but like all big cities, it is dirty and noisy. The water in the anchorage is filthy in part because there is no really good sewage treatment in the city. The big ships going through the canal foul the air and the water with pollution from their bunker fuel, which is a really disgusting type of fuel made from what is left over after you make gas and whatnot out of oil. Used motor oil is cleaner and nicer. Anyway, the discharge into the water and the smoke smells really strong at times. The city buses run close by on the causeway all day long and their exhaust ends up on our deck. And the city is not far from the agricultural fields, where they burn off the fields after the cane is harvested, so ash lands on the deck as well. The anchorages themselves are far from pleasant - both are subject to swells, and one has an impossible dinghy dock and a mucky bottom. The other one is right where lots of power boats come through 24 hours a day, kicking up such swells you practically roll out of bed.
But having said all that, it is wonderful here and even the city is full of interesting things and wonderful people. We have had no bad experiences here, and have felt really welcome by everyone we meet. Panamanians are used to people coming and going, and since they are literally the cross roads of the world, they are more cynical than the people in Mexico, but it isn't a negative in any way. They are not going to bow and scrape just because a tourist enters the room. If they express an interest in you and your background, it is because they really want to know. It was a new experience and I love it that the people are so different from country to country, and yet in so many ways we are all the same. Everyone likes it when you fuss over their kids. Stuff like that.
Before I go, there is one thing that happened and it happened last night. There was an earthquake off Chile, and that generated a tsunami warning that included Panama. Many boats, including us, got ready to head out to sea. So while we were pulling up our anchor (in the dark, of course, as there is a law that everything strange and problematic must happen at night, and preferably under a new moon) Mike felt the windlass stick, and the chain did not want to come up. It was obviously fouled on something, so with me at the helm, we edged the boat back and forth until the chain began to slowly come up. We were amazed to discover we had wrapped our chain around an absolutely ancient fluke anchor that looked like it came off the Bounty. It weighed about 250 lbs, and was covered in barnacles, a mess of fishing line, and some old rope. Mike looped a rope around it and using the chain, the new rope, and the boat hook, he got it off the chain and hanging from the boat so we could admire it for a few seconds. We really wished we could keep it, as it was really cool and probably a desirable nautical collectors item. But that was not going to happen, no place to store it, so we scuttled it. (We did record the lat and long. After all, it isn't going anywhere and we are likely coming back . . .)
So anyway, I have to get back up on deck and see what is happening. The amount of wind we are dealing with is truly underwhelming - we are lucky when we get much over 2 knots of speed. But who cares? We are not on a schedule. Having said that, Mike just called down that the winds are rising, and I can feel the increase in speed. Isla Contadora, here we come!
----------
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