Getting close
27 February 2017 | Isla Grande
Mark
The Chagres was, indeed, magical - like we were the only people on the earth.. And then we went from there to crosing the Atlantic anchorage for the Panama Canal - 99 'dangerous targets' on AIS. Most were actually anchored tankers and cargo ships awaitng their turn through the canal and so presented no danger to us, but it is always an impressive sight. And sailing between the ships is awe inspiring. I did slow down at ne point (even though I technically had the right of way) to allow an auto carrier to pass in front of us. We motor sailed all the way to Portobelo where we had a terrible time anchoring. I'm not sure what it was. The harbor is formed by the delta of 4 rivers and hs always had good holding in deep river mud. I know hurricane Otto hit Portobelo hard - several wrecks were still in evidence - but I guess it did something to the bottom as well. We anchored in our usual fashion several times and each time the anchor just dragged as if it had no grip at all. Finally we put down twice as much chain as 'necessary' and the kellet and the bridle and it seemed to hold. I set an electronic anchor watch and all was well. Eric & I had a bit of adventure getting diesel. We wandered around following various suggestions as where to get it. We ended up finding a taxi who said he could take us to the next town, but that seemed excessive for just 15 gallons. Then we learned the man across the street had diesel he would sell. He was in the process of getting a 600 # or so pig into the back of a very dilapidated van so we had to wait for that drama to play out and then he siphoned the diesel into our containers. Only $3.00/gallon and the entertainment was free! Back at the boat, we stowed the diesel and then took the women in to town and up to Captain Jack's for drinks and an internet fix. The stroll back to the dinghy yielded a couple pineapples but no papaya. The next mornign we returned to town to see the Church of the Black Christ, but a service was in progress (hey, I didn't even remember it was Sunday!) so we could only look in from the doors. We did wander around one of the old forts remarking again at the 1753 keystone in the entry arch. We sailed out of the harbor, then motored directly into the wind, then motor sailed to get to Isla Grande. There we anchored off a beautiful sandy beach that was loaded with partiers. There we jet skis and power boats towing hotdogs and all kinds of toys. By 5:00 it pretty much cleared out and we had a peaceful night. Today we make the last jump to Porvinir. It is a long trip to windward (40nm ~due East) so I am not sure about how much we can sail vs motor sail. It depends on how N vs NE the wind is.