02/18/2011, San Blas Islands, Panama
Hey, I wrote a blog with that title last year! That time it was about repairing the dinghy. This year.... It started when I got out the hookah. The cover for the tube that it floats in was badly raveled and coming apart at the handles. I asked Deb if she could fix it and she did. While she was doing that, I decided to drain what little gas there was left in the tank and replace it with fresh. Now I had drained the carburetor before putting it away, but the gas was a year old so I figured it had better go. I opened the drain to the carb bowl and turned on the gas, caught a small container full, turned off the gas, dumped into bigger container, repeat. Tank dry (and there WAS some crud in it. Refill tank with fresh gas. Start engine. It runs and then coughs and dies like a fouled carb. Hmmm, maybe draining the gas THROUGH the carb was not such a great idea. OK, take engine off base (4 bolts), remove float bowl, notice that the nail glue (had no super glue) repair that I did last year had failed, but that did not seem to be the problem, removed jets and cleaned. This time I had not only super glue but also PLASTIC super glue which is a two set process that is really incredible on any plastics. So I treated and glued the float support back in place. Time to eat lunch while it sets. Reached into freezer and realized things were getting soft. And the coil was not cold even though the light said it was running. Another repair. Turn it off and let it set while I eat lunch and then I'll hook up my gauges and see if it needs freon. (The compressor has to cool off before you can get accurate readings upon startup.) Removed all our stores from under the salon settee, crawled under and hooked up the gauges, had Deb turn it on, NOTHING. Green light indicated electricity, but compressor didn't run nor did fan. I tried eliminating the fancy solid state control and just hooked up the compressor directly, still nothing. Looks like compressor is dead, which is odd as it was working so well (17* in freezer). Anyway, not something I am going to get fixed now. Thank heaven for redundancy. Fired up the port engine and ran the engine mounted compressor to freeze the holding block. Will probably take 2 hours now and an hour twice a day, but we can keep things frozen. Back to the hookah. Put everything back together, fired it up, same problem. Took it apart again, more crud in float bowl. Scaped and cleaned the float bowl real well, sprayed everything with carb cleaner, and ran gas out the needle valve to be sure that was clear. Put it all back together, runs fine. I blow up the tube get the hookah mounted on the tube and attach the hoses. Deb and I get into our dive skins, don weight belts, fins and masks and prepare to dive. While we are getting ready, I launch hookah and fire it up. It floats out the distance of the hoses (60') running happily. Then just as we are to go in the water, it dies. &^^$%$ I pull it back in prepared to tear it down yet again only to find that I had turned the fuel OFF. It ran that long on what was in the bowl. I open the fuel shut off, fire it up and it runs perfectly. This will be a shallow dive anyway (only ~20') so if it does die, no big deal. But it didn't. We enjoyed a very successful conch hunt ans also found some other pretty shells. There was quite a current running against us (we, of course, chose to swim against the current first and then with it back to boat.) I had to pull Deb along as she barely made headway against it on her own. I think the problem is that we are near high tide and there is a lot of water pouring in over the reef. At falling or low tide it would probably be better. Anyway, hookah ran without a hitch, his old reliable self, we got several conch and the freezer is back below freezing, so my repairs in exotic places went well. Tomorrow I have to tackle the problem of he roller furler, but I just realized that I can drop the gennie onto the net (that will be a thrash in this trade wind) and work on it from the net rather than going up the mast and trying to do it there. Not that I mind going up the mast, but invariably I need some other tool or part and end up going up the mast 3 or 4 times and that does get tiring.
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02/17/2011, San Blas Islands, Panama
We decided that Miryadup was not all that enchanting and given that it was overcast this morning and we had to travel one of the next three days, we decided to make it today. After looking at all the options, I chose a zig-zag course of about 15 nm. that took us from Mirayadup to Garnirguinnitdup, a deserted island just N of Nargana and Corizon de Jesus. The zig-zag was required because we had to move one level out in the system of reefs that run parrallel to the mainland in most of San Blas. It also was needed if we wanted to sail as the wind (as always) was from the NE and so we went ESE, NNW, ESE as we jogged outside a set of reefs. Easier to do than explain. We had a beautiful sail and as we were sailing, the sun came out and it was just lovely! This beautiful island is surrounded by reef except for a small tongue of brilliant green water over a sandy bottom. That, of course, is where we anchored. We are having a real problem with the roller furler on the genoa wrapping the halyard and jamming, so of it is calm tomorrow, I'll go up the mast and see what the problem is. (The rigger who inspected our mast and rigging before we left Bocas was supposed to look at and fix it, but obviously forgot.) As we entered the anchorage (no other boats in sight), we both had a feeling of deja vu', but we couldn't agree which island it was. Was it the one that we worked in close to shore and anchored, was it the rolly one where waves wrapped around the end of the reef, or was it the one where we got all the conch? As we got closer in, it didn't look like the one to try to get in as close to shore as possible, so we anchored in about 15' over beautiful sand (watching the anchor hit and the chain play out). Later I looked up our old log of the San Blas and this is the “lots of conch” cay. So, I guess we'll have to go looking for them! Before doing that, Deb made a Key Lime pie for desert and I epoxied the foot pedals and seats in place in kayak. Now we are getting ready to go conch hunting.
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02/16/2011, San Blas Islands, Panama
Today, for the first time, we launched the double kayak I made. It ended up a bit heavier than planned, mostly because of the crappy plywood that was all that was available in Panama. As a result I had to fiberglass both inside and out to strengthen it, adding significant weight. Still, she rode very comfortably on the forward deck even through some fairly rough weather and Deb & I can carry her down the length of the big boat and launch her off the stern. After she proved she would float, I christened her "Lovely" with a bottle of New Year's Bitter pouring the first draught over her bow, the second to Neptune, and the third to the builder (me). Getting in from the stern steps proved "interesting" but neither of us fell in the water or capsized the kayak so all together I would consider that a success if not the most graceful process. We do have to figure out what to do with the paddles while entering and exiting the kayak. Any suggestions Curry? Once we were in and floating, we cast off from the mother ship and paddled in to shore. She paddles very easily and tracks well. It takes about 2" of water to float both of us, but we ground out @ 1". I made two paddles, a shorter one for Deb and a longer one for me. It turns out that especially in very shallow water, the long paddle is too long and the shorter paddle works much better for me. In deep water, the longer paddle is OK, but the shorter is still better. I'll have to make an even shorter one for Deb to try and see which she prefers. I can always take the long one and cut it in half and then rejoin it with an aluminum ferrule with holes to allow it to be twisted or "feathered" as well as shortened. I can adjust the angle to something between 45* & 90* and see which angle (if any) I like best. We paddled along the shore and out towards the reef (maybe 100 yards off shore). Deb wouldn't let me go all the way to the reef and surf the waves (it was our first kayak trip), but there was a little tiny surf break (like 6") inside where the depth went from 10" to 3" and we rode that in. Maybe tomorrow we will go in where the water is waist deep and see how stable she is (or isn't) I have a feeling she is a lot more stable than she initially seems. Once seated, we are only ~1" off the bottom and the bottom is flat with a good flare to the chine so I'll bet she is actually pretty hard to tip over once you are in. Getting in and out is another story, but we are slowly figuring that one out. We managed to dock back with the mother ship and disembark without going swimming as well, so all is good. This morning we went ashore to "Clear In" at Porvinir. The port captain to our zarpe from Bocas and we were done. He didn't want to see hips papers, passports, anything. Porvinir had been spruced up quite a bit since we were here last year. Buildings were painted nicely and a couple nice new ones under construction. We decided to sail part way towards Corizon de Jesus (where we will pick up Dave & Lisa Sunday) and anchor at an island where we can hopefully have the anchorage to ourselves and stay put for a day to just kick back and relax. On the morning net, it was "Boat count Wednesday" and each boat was to give the number of other boats in their anchorage. The final official tally was more than 150 cruising boats in the San Blas, so finding an isolated anchorage, especially in the Western San Blas, is harder than it might be. We left a single reef in the main and with all of gennie sailed ESE in a nice 15 kt. NE breeze. Inside the San Blas the water is all protected and flat - much like Belize. Sailing 6 kts in flat water with a nice breeze sure is nice after bashing about outside! We are anchored off a beautiful deserted island named, Miryadup. The anchor is totally buried in sand in about 15' of water, but the boat is sitting in 50' only 150' back. Had we gone another boat length, we would have run aground as it went from 15' to 3' in about 30'. Miryadup is part of a chain of islands all protected by a barrier reef that is about 6 nm long. We are actually anchored not in the lee of the island, but to its E so that we get the cool Caribbean breezes. The reef blocks all wave action so we are very comfortable. As we were coming in to anchor a native ulu (dug out canoe) with an outboard went by. Upon seeing us intend to anchor, they stopped and waited. They had a pretty long wait. The first time we tried to anchor, we did so in the lee of the island. It was scattered coral and sand. We seemed to hook, then dragged, hooked, dragged, just couldn't get secure. When we pulled the anchor back up, we found out why. The tip of the anchor had lodged quite firmly in a chunk of coral that weight probably 200 #. (The windlass protested raising it!) It was firmly attached and would not fall of by dropping the anchor and shaking it. So, we went over to a section of the reef where the slope was a bit more gradual, dropped the anchor and coral in ~20' of water and then motored forward until the anchor pulled free. Fortunately that worked before we ran aground! We then went back and anchored just off the island where we are now sitting very comfortably. When it was clear that we were done anchoring, the ulu approached. It turned out to be Venancio, the master mola maker whom we had met (and bought molas from) last year. His creations are truly works of art with detail so tiny it is amazing. We invited him aboard and he spread out well over 100 molas to choose from. After he had laid out the entire stock, he pick up each one in turn and either put it back in his tupperware tub or set it aside as "maybe" according to Deb's direction. Then Deb went through the "maybe"s and finally bought three. His prices range from $20 to well over $100 and seem fair considering the work and talent involved. We have tried to arrange to meet him again next week when Dave & Lisa will be with us as I am sure they would love to see his work. We have his card with is phone number so I think we can make it happen.
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02/15/2011, San Blas Islands, Panama
We left Linton @ 7:00 this morning, shortly after dawn. Given that the wind was blowing ~20 kts. from NE, I decided to take the slightly longer route up the W side of Isla Grande (that being the lee side of the island and more protected) rather than the route directly NE out the other side which "sometimes has surf breaks all the way across when a swell is running." We raised a double reefed main before weighing anchor and proceeded to motor sail due N until we could turn E to Porvinir. Unfortunately the wind was such that we could not sail and had to motor sail the first 15 nm. At that point we were able to turn ESE and sail. We started with double reefed main and half of gennie, but quickly progressed to single reef main and full gennie. The boat really likes to sail this way - thinks it is a masthead rig as the first reef brings the main down level with gennie (it is a 7/8 rig with the main extending several feet about the forestay.) Wind had abated to ~15 kts true (which meant 18-20 apparent) and we sailed as close hauled as possible going anywhere from 4 to 7 kts depending on the angle of the wind. A few degrees made such difference, but we needed to keep at least an average track of 110*M to avoid the extensive reefs around Porvinir. There was another cat, also a FP, who took the inland route and hugged the shore. He was sailing while we were beating to N, but he ended up motor sailing most of the day while we were sailing. We arrived at Porvinir at about the same time. I was very proud that I was able to head up, drop the main, fall back off, and sail in to Porvinir under gennie alone all without starting an engine. I even went up and tucked the main into its stak-pak while under sail. We furled the genoa just prior to anchoring. Or should I say anchoring for the FIRST time. We ended up too near another boat (a Frenchman who was quite load and rude about the fact even though we were already in the process of retrieving the anchor and moving). One has to not anchor near the end of the runway as planes come in so low they would hit your mast, so we had to be careful to avoid that. Finally we picked our way over a reef and into its lee and dropped the hook only to have it drag. Third time was a charm. Moving a little closer to the island we dropped in 10' of water but by the time we had slid back on the 100' of chain, we were in 50'! After the anchor was well set, we let out another 50' with the kellet and then the bridle. We'll sleep well tonight knowing we are secure. Anchored directly behind us (well, we anchored in front of them) in Linton was a really funky boat named "NoPlasticPlanet.org" It was a ketch, I think wooden, about 55-60' long painted black with a huge open mouth and teeth on the bow and the name along the side. It had rigging for mainsail and mizzen as well as three foresails, but no evidence of sails anywhere. The two guys that were on her told us they were leaving in the morning (meaning this morning) and that their anchor rode probably ran forward under us. We said, "No problem" we are leaving in AM too. Yesterday evening we watched as they loaded 2 bicycles, 3 motorcycles, and at least a dozen people on board. We left before they did and did not see them come out, but shortly after we anchored off the little island of Wichubhuala, near Porvinir, they came sailing in and anchored not far from us. Quite a motley crew they had, somehow fitting with the funky boat. We arrived too late to check in, so we will do that tomorrow and then go find some idyllic island to anchor off and go snorkeling.
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02/14/2011, Isla Linton
Sometimes I do my best thinking at night or in the early morning. Today I awakened @ 5:00 to hear the wind howling even though we were in "the best protected anchorage along the coast" as the guide book says. I thought back to entering the anchorage, coming down the W side of Isla Linton with a 30 kt wind broadside and blinding rain. Yes, there were rocks and reef to leeward, but the channel was deep and fairly wide and I had a GPS plot from our previous visit to follow. Then I thought about Bahia Escribano. Never been there before but have a couple of way points from the guide book. Wind will be broadside again, but this time it is a shallow and narrow channel with a very dangerous lee shore. And if you take 4.5' and add a 2-3 foot chop, the bottoms of the chop turn out to be...... Maybe that would be an anchorage better saved for totally calm weather, not today. Maybe today we should just stay put snug in our harbor and let the wind blow. So we did. I let Deb sleep until she woke up on her own about 9:30 and then made her breakfast. After breakfast, I swabbed the decks to clean the entire boat, except the deck under the kayak, since I didn't feel like moving that. The boat sparkles now. It feels good. The wind came and went. Rarely under 10 kts, rarely over 20, usually 10-13. Rain came in short bursts and then the sun came out again. The solar panels are cranking out 30+ amps and the wind generator is adding another 3-4, more in gusts. Deb took a nap and I lounged in the hammock and read another Clive Cussler novel (how many did that guy write?!). Right now I am running the port engine to heat water so Deb can wash her hair with hot water (and also running the engine driven refrigerator compressor since the engine is running.) After showers, we will have champagne and Valentines presents then a nice dinner of lasagna, caesar salad and garlic bread. Who says cruising has to be roughing it? Tomorrow we will get up early and make the 45 nm run to Porvinir. Hope your Valentine's Day was as good as ours.
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