Greetings from Vivo.

We have been with out Wi-Fi for a couple of weeks now. Here is an update.

The crew and friends before the beating.   Err… I mean passage.

These are our fellow circumnavigators. We’re in there somewhere on the left. 43 boats.

We had one heck of a week before the start. When I left in December we were in pretty good shape. Which was not the case only a couple of weeks later. Two days before the start we had no starboard engine. No gen set. And no refrigerator or freezer. All we needed were some small simple parts but they were not to be found on island. Very frustrating given all the time and money I had put into spares. We were going to be a non-start for lack of a banjo bolt on the return fuel line of the gen set. ARGGGGG.

And it would blow a squall through about 4 or 5 times a day. Winds into the 40s. Blinding rain. Perfect conditions for doing repair work. Not. We were still in a slip in the marina so it was only an inconvenience at that point but the squalls need to be considered as you set up for off shore. Conditions change fast.

Anyway, we got through that but it cost us our training time. I had planned to go out for three days and shake out some new equipment and sails. Come together as a crew and get to know the various maneuvers we would be executing. And get the bottom cleaned off from the growth we had been getting in the marina. Did not happen. We got done what we could. Tossed the lines. Went out and anchored for a couple of hours. Todd scrubbed the barnacles off the props and it was start time. We had never tacked or gibed as a crew. Much less doing it in the 7-10 foot seas we would be going out into.

We hit the start fine. 2 reefs in main and Jib all out. Went out and did the turning point to head to panama then turned up and dropped the main and headed out on jib only. Spent the next day and ½ working out sail and equipment issues doing a leisurely 5 knots. Big seas. By the time we got reasonably well sorted out we were about a day behind. And the squalls? Not a one. We were all set to be blown to bits and get through it, and nothing. Didn’t rain again till the third day. And even then only for about ten minutes. So all of our short sail, safe setup, was for naught. But if we were set up to go fast the gods would of sent us a gale to get our attention.

Status at that point was…..  Wind indicator down. Sailing by feel. 24V battery charger down. Charging with port engine. Side Band radio drains 12V system way to fast. Have to ration its use. Seas are so big and from behind we are siphoning water into the bilges. Slowly and manageably. Don’t worry Mom. Then the water maker would not restart. Leaves us with 100 gal of water and 8 days ahead if we cannot get it going again. Several tense hours later we did. Or I should say, Todd did. Then the gen set copt an attitude and was throwing off error messages when we went to run it. A ground lead broke off due to the rough ride we were having. Tell you what, its no fun going down in the engine compartments when the seas are coming down on you like that. Had to keep the hatch closed and bang on the hull to get someone to let you back out. Timing it with the waves so we didn’t poop the engine compartment. (Poop means getting a breaking wave over the stern. Not a good thing. But I know why they call it that. Because when it happens, that’s what happens.)

So the thoughts in my head are getting there slow but get there in one piece. Crossing the Caribbean Sea is one of the more sporty passages on the trip. North of Columbia are some of the worst waters in the northern hemisphere. So they say anyway. Looked like it to me! Nice that it’s the first passage huh? There is definitely no going back. It would be like skiing moguls uphill into 30 knots of wind. Not going to happen.

After a couple of days we had sorted out some sail configurations and combinations that made reasonable speed but were safe to handle in the big sea state we were in. Were were getting run down by house size waves. A couple really soaked us. And we are pretty well up and out of the water. The monos and smaller boats….  Can’t imagine. My hats off to those folks. We had a ride. They had a RIDE!

We made up some time and learned a lot. We should be able to put it to good use on the next leg. Oh yeah. No we will not. Next leg is a windless hot motoring slog to the Galapagos. We will probably not be able to use the lessons of last week till we get to the Indian Ocean months and months from now. Hope I can remember everything.

So we made it to Panama. 1100 miles. San Blas Islands. Very cool place. Very chill, as they say. The area is run indipendant of Panama by the Kuna Yala Indians. We visited several of the islands. Saw a show of local traditional dance. Although I must say they are not a particularly smiley bunch. They live very simply as they have for decades. There are no mooring boats here. Really not much of anything here. But beautiful. And navigation is interesting. Charts are not very accurate. Two boats have hit the reefs since we got here two days ago. They followed their charts right onto the reefs. This is eyeball navigation at its best. Going to have to get used to it.

ARC wise, met lots of interesting people. Quite an eclectic group. Many nations represented. And no one has given me any grief about being the 3^rd to the last in. The talk is about malfunctioning equipment and injuries. Got to be friends with Sweat Pearl and Merlyn during some very late night radio conversations as we all put putted in at about 5 knots. After a week of getting blown to bits we finished up in almost dead air. It is very comforting to hear another voice at 2 AM. Keep each other going. So tired you were hallucinating after 8 days of pretty steep weather.  Seems no one else hears it but I hear singing and voices in the wind as it goes through the rigging. Never during the day.

So now lets go random…….

Ran into our old sailing instructor Capt Bob Ward. Here we are on Vivo in St Lucia as 4 of his students get ready to head off on a circumnavigation.

There is a daily radio net on the SSB. Moderated by a volunteer from one of the ARC boats. Everyone calls in their positions and any critical information. Winds, breakages, emergencies. Gets to be kind of a highpoint. Tells you something about life on passage. Here we are huddles around the SSB radio waiting for the broadcast.

 

The locals in San Blas stopping by to pitch their wares. These are Molas. Hand stitched. I’m a sucker. Bought two. (Two panels)

Don’t know if you can make out the pattern but its two frames of two parrots. One frame looking at and talking to each other. One looking away and not. I miss Dawn. Yes honey, I am going to shave before you come down. Love ya!

 

Merc and Bob.

 

Judy and Todd. Tough day at the office in San Blas.

 

A traditional Kuna dance. Kind of like square dancing with Pan Pipes. The photos don’t really capture it. It is very lively and colorful. The Kuna are a very diminutive peoples. I don’t think any one was even 5 foot tall. Probably 4’6” ave for adults. Bob was a giant!

 

One of the many islands of the San Blas. There was one family living on this one.

 

No idea about this one. There are no cattle on any of the islands we have been on. Much less room for any. No red meat on any local menu. Of which there are few anyway. No provisioning here. Had a fruit and veggie boat come by the other day and got some nice produce but not much of it,.

 

Don’t see this to many places. Just us and the locals here. They paddle and motor around in these enormous heavy dug out wooden canoes.

 

Made reservations for dinner at this place the other day. 8 people, 5 O’Clock. With our friends another cat. No problem. When we got there they milled around for a while as we had a couple of beers before they admitted that they had no food to serve. That’s kind of how it is here. Very hit and miss. Two days ago they were serving huge lobsters and mounds of rice and veggies. Last night no food. But a boat came by that evening with some produce so we stocked up on some much needed fruit and vegetables. Banana, yucca, onions, cucumbers, pineapple, nice stuff. Cheap! $12.50 US for the whole pile here. A place of contradictions. Scarce but cheap? That defies the laws of supply and demand does it not? We are good to Colon now.

 

So we were pondering our options for dinner, since the shore grills had no food, when these two fellas came by with their catch. 5 lobsters, ($10 US ea.) and two pitons and they went away a couple of happy Kunas. With one more gigantic one still to sell.

 

 

So then we get thinking……   maybe we can BYOL to the kitchen with no food and they cam cook them up for us. So Judy (our Spanish speaker) and I go over there via dingy and chat it up with the boss guy. Turnes out they have no food and they have no fuel to cook food even if they had some. A tough existence these folks have.

So we went over to a diferent islad that we had not been on before and the owner there says he will cook them up for $2 each and for $3 more we can get a plate of rice. SOLD. 5 whole lobster dinners $15 each. And we met the friendliest  buch of locals so far. Really beautifull place.

Table for 5 please?

 

Cooked up and delivered exactly at 5:00 as we had discussed.

 

This was all the traffic they had going on. Us and a dugout.

 

Virgin Island Beer Club being proudly represented in San Blas.

 

We are in the breakwater of the beginning of the Panama Canal. We start our transit today. We will be in the locks after dark. That should be interesting.

All for now. More when I get some WiFi again.

M