03/14/2010, Escudo de Veraguas
Sunday, 14 March. As predicted, it was a pretty rolly night. While we were watching “Lost” on DVD the boat was lurching all over the place as the wind had dropped and the swell was hitting us broadside. It calmed down some overnight. By morning there was no wind and the sea was flat except for a remaining 2- 3' swell. We decided to leave for Veraguas while it was at least not an unfavorable wind. We were under way by 7:30. By 8:30 there was enough wind to make raising the main worthwhile. The wind was really from the SW, but with our forward progress towards the NW, the apparent wind was only 30* to port, enough to make motor sailing worthwhile, but not enough to sail. We continued this way the whole distance to Veraguas. Since we were essentially in blue water, crossing from the mainland to an island, I thought it might be worthwhile to try fishing (which had been futile so far). It put out two lines and half way across, I got a hit on the hand line with the fake fish on it. What looked like a decent sized tuna jumped into the air and then was gone. Maybe it was only a barracuda, but it looked fatter. In any event, it was not going to be our supper tonight. We arrived at Veraguas about 1:00 PM. The sea was dead flat with only 3-4 kts. of breeze from the W. We started at the far E end of the island and worked our way W until we found this nice secluded beach that it looked like we could anchor off. We had to dodge a few coral beds on the way in, but we ended up anchored in 10' over sand with plenty of swing room. There were two other boats anchored on the W side of the island, but they were more than 2 nm. away. In front of us stretched a beautiful deserted beach, accessible only by water and several sandstone cliffs dropping right to the water's edge. We took the kayak in and explored the beach. The waters off the beach had a gazillion fish. All about 1½” long, they were so dense, they looked like grass on the bottom. I mean, we had a mass of fish about 3' deep, 10-25' wide and about a quarter mile long. As I waded through them, some type of large predator came through scattering them as he went. I'm not sure what type of fish it was. It was fatter than a barracuda, not as flat as a shark, but large, 3-4' long, and silvery. And the fish didn't like it. After Deb had collected shells and plants, we got back in the kayak and paddled along the shore. We were able to just barely drift over very shallow coral in some places to get into little isolated bays. In one spot we found dozens of fish vertebrae. No obvious reason why they were there, just lying in 2-3' of water near the shore. We met some folks from one of the other boats who were exploring by dinghy (but could not get into the shallows like we could). They were from Maine! They, too, had been to Kuna Yala and were headed for Bocas. We talked for a while and gave them a few pointers about Bocas and then continued on. At the far E end of the island are several small cays strung out amongst the coral. As we paddled around them, some not even 100' in diameter, it was amazing how one edge would be 3” deep and the other 10-15' deep. Really quite a cool area. Back at the boat, I floated ankle tied behind the boat with a beer while Deb laid in the sun in the net and read. What little wind there was had shifted and we could see the anchor chain wind back from the kellet (which was anchoring us) along side the boat to the anchor that was totally buried right behind the port stern. As long as it isn't buggy, this will be a great anchorage.
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03/13/2010, Rio Calovebora
Saturday, 13 March. It started out benign enough. I got up ~6:30 and our 'neighbor' was long gone – I couldn't even see his mast on the horizon. Probably headed for Veraguas (48 nm.). As I was making coffee, I heard a splash and then another. I looked and about a dozen dolphins were jumping and splashing going in every possible direction. I guess they were circling fish to heard them into a 'fish ball' that they then take turns diving through eating as they go, but there were several babies involved and I think they were just jumping for fun. By the time that entertainment had ended, the coffee was done and as I sat in the cockpit with my first cup, the howler monkeys on shore woke up and had quite a conversation. We were facing the shore, probably a left over of last night's breeze. There was no wind. When I checked email and weather on the SSB, NOAA actually predicted 'light and variable' winds today. Hey, they got it right for the first time! Well, not actually. By the time Deb was up and we had eaten breakfast (blueberry muffins), there was a building breeze from the W. We were, of course, headed W. I raised the main and with one engine we were soon making 5+ kts. @ 30* apparent with 13 kts. of wind. Not bad. Until it got to be 20+ kts (?light & variable??). The angle was such that if we pointed to Veraguas, we were making 6 kts., but pointing to Calovebora (where we were intending to go), we were only making 4+ kts. That made the TTG (time to go) almost equal. Maybe we should go the Veraguas instead and skip Calovebora. Except for one thing: the wind is blowing from the W and Veraguas has NO protection from the WSW. Calovebora doesn't have much, but it should still be safer. So we fire up both engines and motor sail at 4-5 kts. for Calovebora. Long day. I sure am glad I checked the primary fuel filters this morning. They were nearly plugged so I changed them both. That makes this motoring feel better. About noon we suddenly had several dolphin on our bow wave. We were making 5.5 kts. at the time and apparently that was enough of a bow wave that they enjoyed playing in it. They darted back and forth nearly bumping each other and occasionally bumping the hull (or were they rubbing against it affectionately?) Then from nearly a mile away, two more dolphin sped to join us. I'm not sure if they were at full speed, but they were leaping out of the water for quite a distance with each breath. They were not headed towards us, however, they were on an intercept course that took into consideration our speed and direction. Did one of their friends on our bow tell them, “5.5 kts @ 265*” or did they figure it out themselves by watching us? Their plotted course was right on and soon we had 6 dolphin all crossing back and forth under our bows. This display lasted about ½ hour, and then they were gone, just like that. As the day wore on, the wind faded some and clocked to NW, not the best angle for Calovebora, but we were committed by now. By the time we anchored, the wind was down to
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03/12/2010, Rio Euero
Friday, 12 March. Euero is only 24 nm. from Pt. Limon, so we had an easy day. Deb slept in until ~8:00 and then I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We got underway about 9:30 with spinnaker flying. The wind was about 7 kts. from the E and we were making 4.5 kts. Beautiful and easy. That only lasted about 2 hours and then the wind died to where we couldn't keep the spinnaker full. So down it came and we fired up the diesel. 5.5 – 6.0 kts. on one engine. Flat water. By noon the wind was building slightly from the W so I put up the main, but it really didn't do anything. Our speed created an apparent wind that we too close to on the nose for the main to really help, so I dropped it. While I was up on the walkway tucking the main back in the stack-pak, I spotted four dolphin headed our way. One mother, a baby, and two adolescents, and they were playing. Jumping entirely out of the water as they went. Briefly they swam our bow wake and then they were off, still jumping as they went. Cool! As we neared Euero, we saw several more dolphin although they did not stay to play at all. We anchored in Euero to find the same cat we shared the anchorage with last night here also. (He had taken off under power ~6:30.) After anchoring, I immediately dove off the bow to cool off. Then we got the floaties and with sunglasses and a beer hung behind the boat in the water tied with a line around my ankle. Once adequately cooled (it took a while, the water was 86*.), we took the kayak in to the beach. We have been using the kayak when possible so I don't have to fight with the broken mount on the outboard on dink. This time, it turned out to be a great idea as there was a shallow river emptying into the sea right where we landed. First, however, we had to surf the waves in to shore without capsizing, and we did just fine. After walking the beach, we were able to paddle up the river. The beach was quite steep to with the sand only extending into the water a few feet before it was replaced with stones. Not coral or limestone, but round river type stones. Strange. But, it did have the best shelling Deb has found since Florida's Gulf Coast. I wrote “I LOVE YOU” in the sand and watched the waves wash it away. Then we went up the river. The river was so shallow that we had to drag the kayak across the mouth and even then we would bottom out if not careful. The jungle canopy totally overhung the river and it was instantly 15* cooler. We could hear birds and other jungle sounds as we slid silently up the stream. The first branch we took petered out quite soon, but the other fork led deep into the jungle. Really cool. Deb, of course, pulled up a couple plants to bring home – not an easy thing to do from a kayak! Getting back to the boat involved going out through the surf, but with good timing, it turned out to be pretty easy. Back at the boat, I made drinks from bananas, pineapple juice, and rum (three things we have plenty of). They are actually quite good. We are having so much fun beach hopping that instead of making a L-O-N-G day tomorrow to Veraguas (48 nm.), we are going to take an extra hop to Calovebora (28 nm.)and then have an easy day to Veraguas (another 28 nm. day). As long as the weather holds, these open roadstead anchorages are fine.
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03/12/2010, Punta Limon
Thursday, 12 March. We awoke to a dead flat sea. We had turned 180* during the night and were now facing SE. I don't believe it was the final arrival of the predicted SE wind, rather it was just the adiabatic reversal with the cooling mountains creating an off shore breeze that where we were just happened to be SE. Knowing that without wind it would be a long day, we got underway by 7:30. As I fired up the AIS, it displayed 97 targets within range – the Panama Canal is a busy place! Fortunately most ships were at anchor with only a few moving, so we set a direct course through the Atlantic Anchorage (for ships awaiting transit) and motored out making 5+ kts. with only one engine. (If we are going to have to motor all the way home, I need to conserve diesel.) As we transited the anchorage, more and more ships got under way. The radio was alive with the traffic as ships asked and received permission to heave anchor, get under way, approach the breakwater, etc. Only once did a ship anchored off to our starboard weigh anchor and cross directly in front of us. African Lark is a BIG tanker, especially at close range. We were close enough that as we passed astern of it, the water was still riled by its prop wash. And then they were gone. As soon as we passed out of the W side of the anchorage, we were alone. A faint wind was building (for dead ahead, of course) and it slowed our progress to 4.5 kts. We considered dropping out at Rio Chagres and returning there, cutting the day's travel in half, but decided to press on. The sea was still flat with maybe a 6-12” NE swell and tiny ripples on the surface. By 10:00, we had enough wind at 30* apparent that I raised the main and we got our speed back above 5 kts. The true wind was filling in from the N, again probably and adiabatic, on shore breeze. By 2:00, I shut down the engine and we sailed. First about 5 kts., but gradually increasing so that by the time we approached Pt. Limon, we were making 7 kts. under sail. Not bad for about 8 kts. true wind! Punta Limon turns out to be a pretty minimally protected anchorage. I guess it the winds and swell were from the NE as is most common, it would have been better, but as it was, we were looking at a lee shore with absolutely nothing tempering the swell or waves. And there was one other boat already anchored. It was nearly 4:00 and there were not other options. Fortunately the wind was still below 10 kts. and would likely die with sunset. The swells increased in the shallow water approaching shore, but were still only 3-4' max and mostly 2' or so. We anchored a respectable distance from the other boat, also a cat, and expected to see its inhabitants come out to see where we anchored, perhaps say hi, etc. Nada. It was as if the boat were empty, yet the dinghy was still in the davits. About an hour or so after we anchored, I briefly saw a man on deck, but he never looked our way and quickly vanished back into the boat. At night, there was no anchor light or any lights inside the boat except for a flash light that would come on briefly every now and then. Strange. Maybe in the morning we will see them.
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03/11/2010, Naranja Abajo
Wednesday, 10 March. In the morning, the bay was like glass. Over the time that it took me to make coffee, the boat made a lazy 360* on its anchor (actually on the kellet – we just sort of rotate around the kellet which is straight down from the bridle). After breakfast we went ashore. We were able to stock up on a few items we needed (including limes, finally!), get diesel, get rid of trash, and – of course – buy a few more things from the Kuna. Deb got some painted feathers for Capt. Ron & Cindy as well as other gifts and a mola bag for herself. Back at the boat, we ate lunch and then weighed anchor and sailed for Naranja. The wind was predicted to be 10-15 from E to SE. What we had was 10 or less from NW. Oh well, close hauled we made 3-4 knots, but we only had 12 nm to go, so we enjoyed the gentle ride. The seas were nearly flat. Naranja Abajo is a strange little island that has a spit of coral at its S end that one must sail around and then anchor behind. After anchoring, we took the dinghy in. You can walk in ankle deep water out to the edge of the reef over dead coral and grass. At the edge, the waves break (gently today as there was little wind) and it drops precipitously. And the coral looked very live and healthy. Might have been good to snorkel the outside, but it was 5:00 and the gin & tonics (with lime!) were beckoning. Tomorrow we are supposed to have 10-15 from SE again, but we'll have to wait and see. We have a short day and a long day planned, so we can do whatever the weather dictates.
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