08/20/2011, Bocas del Toro, Panama
Saturday. 20 August, 2011 Since we have not been sailing, I have not updated the blog, but today was just such a perfect day that I just had to share it. To start with, we had thunderstorms overnight. Rain was actually pretty mild and thunder and lightening was a ways off, but it was great to sleep by the sound of rain on the roof and the cool air helped as well. The morning dawned bright and sunny. As planned, we went to Red Frog beach for the day with our neighbors, Paula & Bill. Red Frog is one of the most beautiful beaches in all of the Bocas del Toro archipelago and we keep promising ourselves that we will come here more often, but somehow life intervenes and it has been almost two months since our last outing here. The weather was great – sunny and warm with a moderate on-shore breeze. The surf was mild but we still found some good waves to catch. And the beach was great to walk as always. Punta Lava, the local beach bar, had live music from 2:00-4:00. It turned out to be rather ho-hum, but is was worth a walk to the bar and a listen for a bit. By 4:00 we were exhausted from body surfing and swimming in the surf and came home. As we were taking the final few steps to our house, the heavens just opened up with an incredible down pour. It rained like that for about a half hour and then quit as suddenly as it began, melding into a beautiful evening that was cool and calm. We had a great day at the beach, the sun filled our batteries and the rain filled our water tanks – what could be better? Truly a great day in paradise. I think we usually are aware of what a wonderful life we lead, but days like today really bring it home! We are so lucky to have each other and to live in this wonderful place we call home.
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04/09/2011, Tierra Oscura, Panama
Thursday, 7 April, 2011. A (Rainy) Lay Day. After two very long days, we planned on making this a lay day, hoping for good weather so we could play with the kayak on the beaches and coves of Veraguas. We got our lay day, we did not get to play. It rained all day. Not a Tropical rain, more like a New England rain – steady but not very hard, totally overcast without discernible clouds. Very unusual for this time of year. We enjoyed the day anyway. I finished Jack London's “The Voyage of Snark”. Deb read some but mostly made Christmas presents for when we go back to NE. And she made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner – her favorite meal. If tomorrow is gorgeous, we will stay and play; if it is terrible but still safe and reasonably comfortable, we will stay and hide; if it is in between, we'll pack it in and head home.
Friday, 8 April, 2011. Going Home. The morning was definitely NOT gorgeous, but neither was it terrible. It wasn't raining and there was a moderate wind, mostly W. We decided to head for the Zapatillas. We could make it all the way home today, but we would have to push and would arrive near dark. Not a problem except that the house is all locked up and we would need to unpack, etc., etc. So even if it is not great weather for enjoying the Zapatillas, it will be a good place to stop for the night. Or so we thought at first. The wind proved too weak and too close to our rhumb line to really sail, but it was great for motor-sailing. We made 6-7 kts despite the continuing adverse current. We reached Zapatilla by 1:00 PM and realized that it was Friday and Rana Azul was open tonight. It seemed a perfect plan: Sail to Cynde's and see her and then go to Rana Azul and see lots of our friends before actually going home tomorrow. So that is what we did and it worked out great. It started to rain just as we arrived at Rana Azul and stopped before we left. We had a great meal, saw several friends, and had a great time. Deb even made friends with Coco, their new parrot and let him walk on her arm up to her shoulder and fed him and everything. Tomorrow, home.
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04/07/2011, Escudo de Veraguas, Panama
Last night turned out not to be too bad. The wind dropped considerably and we faced the swells and that made the motion quite tolerable. We both slept well. We awakened to light winds from NW. Not bad considering we are heading SW. We got underway around 8:30 for what was to be ~24 nm trip to Euero, “the most protected anchorage on this coast.” After clearing the anchorage, we were able to sail, all up, on a close reach. Wind was ~15 kts apparent (10-11 true) and we moved along @7-8 through the water and 5.5-6.5 over ground (still have that 1.5 kt Caribbean Counter Current). And then the squalls came. Suddenly the wind was 20-25 true. Drop in a double reef, roll up ½ of gennie and carry on. Squalls don't usually last long. Famous last words. At least we were sailing well. At one point we hit 10 kts through the water, and that was reefed down. We got to Euero in record time, only 3 hours, but the anchorage was totally untenable. Euero has excellent protection from the NE and good protection from N, but NONE from the NW to W. By now the wind was still blowing 20-25 but from due W making the whole anchorage a lee shore. Add to that the fact that it remains deep until fairly close to shore and I didn't even dare to approach it. So, what are our options? Calovebora, the next anchorage we have used, is terrible – just an open roadstead. Belen and Bejuco, two other anchorages described in the cruising guide, are no better. Veraguas is 44 nm away which would mean arriving in the middle of the night and if it is still blowing like this, it, too, would be untenable. But out to sea is certainly safer than near shore in these conditions so we head for Veraguas. Of course, the wind is coming directly from Veraguas and so we motor-sail with just a double reefed main @ 30* off the wind to N. Once we get into deeper water, things are more comfortable, but the seas are terribly confused with the WNW wind creating 5-10' wind waves @ 90* to the NE swell which is probably also 5-10. Every now and then, they really add up. After about an hour, during one particularly intense squall (winds hit 35 kts true), the wind suddenly shifted to due N. Presto-chango! Tack to port, let out a scrap of gennie, and we are sailing (no motor) almost directly on the rhumb line for Veraguas. And the squalls continued. Big wind, reef way down; heavy rain, get soaked; no wind, all sail up; big wind, etc., etc. But we made good progress through it all. I kept us moving @ 5-6 kts the whole time, sometimes more. At that point it looked like we would make Veraguas by midnight, but with this wind, it would probably not be a reasonable anchorage to try in the dark. We've been there a few times, know the area, and have good GPS waypoints, but if the waves are whipping around the point, there really is not good place to anchor and certainly not in the dark. If we carry on, we will make Zapatilla my daylight, probably the better choice. The sun set. We are still crashing along @ 6 kts. in confused seas. There's a small crescent moon but it will set before we reach Veraguas. And then the wind died. Just like that. Twenty knots down to 6-7. Same angle, and with full sail and a little boost from one engine we can still make 5-6 kts. With little wind and seas subsiding, maybe Veraguas will be OK after all. I spotted the light on the E end of the island about 8 nm out. I set our course to approach the island at an angle that kept us 2 nm from the coast and any potential danger. We are coming from the E and the eastern end of the island is a chain of tiny little islands that then peter out into a ridge of rock and reef, not something you want to find on approach. The light marks the E most extremity, but it continues quite a way S and we don't want to go over that! Finally the wind dies completely and I drop sail and motor the last couple miles. The night is BLACK – no moon and few stars. I can sort of make out the distinction between sky, land, and sea, but only vaguely. From 2 nm out, with radar finding a good reflection from the high bluffs to confirm the edge of the island on the chart plotter, we turn in heading directly for the shore, watching the depth meter intently. Deb tries our spotlight, but it only reflects off the mist and blinds us. We go in cautiously. Forty feet, thirty, twenty, teens. Slow down. We can hear surf, but where? By GPS we are still .25 nm off the shore, but we are in 16' of water and it is calm. Good enough for tonight. Drop anchor, set it, and if we stay, maybe we will move in the morning, but for tonight we are safe and comfortable, two things we would not have been @ Euero. And it is only 11:00. Time for a little Black Jack in the net to celebrate and then bed.
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04/06/2011, Punta Limon, Panama
Having 45 nm to travel, we were up and underway by shortly after 6:30. Unfortunately, the wind was as predicted – nonexistent. With both engines at cruising rpm, we were making 7.3 kts through the water. However a 1-5-2.0 kt current slowed us down to about 5.5 kts over ground. We crossed the Atlantic Anchorage for the Panama Canal without any real drama. The only anomaly was one ship that showed up on AIS, but not visually. We passed within feet of his supposed location and there was nothing to be seen. I tried hailing him on VHF to ask if his lat/lon might be set wrong somehow, but got no answer. Strange. Shortly after passing through the anchorage, we began to see some wind. Initially it was from the SW, an unusual direction down here. It was weak and with our forward motion, the apparent wind was only 20* off the nose – not sailing wind, but maybe motor-sailing. WE raised the main and motor-sailed for a bit, but then the wind clocked to W and really was right on the nose and so we dropped the main. A bit later it continued to clock to NW and up went the main again. We motor-sailed like this for most of the day, making 5-6 kts. At one point the wind went back to N and we unrolled gennie and turned off the engines, but it was breif and only due to a huge black cloud that sucked the wind to it. Soon we were back to motor-sailing with just the main. As we approached Punta Limon, our destination, something seemed wrong. The point I could clearly see was at least another mile beyond the waypoint. Looking to the shore where we were supposed to anchor, I saw no place to go. I turned the GPS off and back on again, but it remained the same. I double checked the waypoint (we had used them last year) and it was right on. I fired up the computer, attached to a different GPS and it told the same story. OK, if two GPS's say I'm wrong, I'll go back for another look, besides the point I had seen (and which we were now approaching) was clearlt not the place either. So we went back to the Punta Limon on the chart plotter and as we approached, we both recognized the shoreline. The problem was that today, the swell was pure N, not NE as is usual and so there was NO protection. It is going to be a lumpy night. Safe enough as the anchor is well dug in and has plenty of scope and we are well off from the lee shore, but the swells are running 6' with no signs of abating even as the wind has dropped. Definitely not the pleasant anchorage we remembered from last year. Oh well, it's only for a night.
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04/04/2011, Shelter Bay Marina, Panama
Before we can be launched, I have to settle the bill with Shelter Bay so I showed up at the office when they opened – 8:00. They asked me to come back in a half hour. I had heard horror stories of bills with lots of incorrect entries and overcharges, so I was prepared for the worst. How much would they charge me for the 2 oz. of barrier paint Victor had given me? What else could there be? In the end, it was very simple. They did overcharge for one extra bus ticket, but happily removed it when I pointed it out. Other than that there was nothing to complain about. $20 for sandpaper was the only “extra” charge and Dave had said it would be $12-15, so no big difference. I paid the bill and prepared to launch. They had other projects ahead of us so we were told 12:00. Right on time (they take lunch 11:30 -12:00), they showed up with the travel lift and hoisted us up. They paused while I put bottom paint on the bottom of the keels (which had been on blocks so couldn't be painted) and then we went “Splash” - smooth, easy, and uneventful. We motored around the corner to the furl boat to fill up with diesel and were told I had to pay first at the office. Now I had asked at the office in the morning and was told to fill-up first and then pay, but I think since we had checked out, they wanted their money up front. Of course, how do you know how much you will take? I guessed @ 35 gal. And paid for that much. We only took 33, so I had to go back to the office (got my exercise today) and get a refund for the 2 gal. Then we were off. Our first clue that conditions were not as predicted was the 3-4' swell running parallel to the breakwater into Shelter Bay. They were predicting less than 10 kts of wind and essentially flat seas. We called Cristobal Control and were told to follow a container ship out the opening in the breakwater. We were greeted with 20-25 kt winds more or less on the nose and 6' wind waves on top of ~6' swell. Even though we did NOT have our new props, the slippery hull made a difference and we motored out without difficulty. As we headed for Narranja Abajo, the wind was 30*, enough to motor-sail with reefed main, but the waves were pitching us so that I elected not to climb up on the bimini to unzip the sail cover so we motored the 10 nm. to the anchorage. Tucked in comfortably behind the island, we will have a peaceful night. Tomorrow we have a 44 nm run to SW so if we have this kind of wind tomorrow, it will be a sleigh ride. Probably tomorrow's prediction will be correct and we will get less than 10, but at least we are on the way home. All in all, the Shelter Bay experience was much better than we had been lead to believe. It was expensive, but not outrageous and the facilities were very nice. I would go back again in a couple years if the facility in Almarante is not up and running again and if we don't go to Rio Dulce.
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