Lead Story on the Morning Net... Estelle Rescues Native!
08 November 2011 | Bocas del Toro
Cloudy, min 7F, max 84F, wind w-nw@5-10
At 5:15 am I was nudged awake by Jeannie telling me someone was yelling outside. Sticking my head up, I could see little in the dark but could make out something in the water about 100 yds off. With the binoculars I could just make out someone in the water clinging to an upturned cayuka (small dugout canoe). On the VHF I chatted with the next boat who was also awake, and a boat across the anchorage. We jointly decided to investigate.
By the time I had paddled my dinghy across (we take the engine off every night) I found a native with his head barely above water and his cayuka pretty much the same. Dragging him aboard the dinghy, Geoff from a neighboring boat arrived in his panga (20'open boat with outboard motor) and we managed to right and empty the cayuka. With that, our guest hopped back in, begged a paddle from Geoff and a bailer from me and was off. In exchange, Geoff kept the half bottle of gin that had fallen unnoticed from the cayuka as we dumped it. And I was back in my bunk at 6:00 am!
So this morning's lead on the VHF net was our rescue. Our VHF traffic had been overheard by the net controller, so he called for details, so the story was the news of the fleet by 8:00 am. For Bocas, pretty exciting stuff!
We're still waiting for our engine part, hoping it will arrive tomorrow. In the mean time we still seem to have lots to do. The day starts with reading the Globe & Mail that arrives on the Kindle each morning. Then the VHF net and we're into the day!
Yesterday was a cool 72 and pretty much steady rain, so I spent a frustrating day trying to get our satellite radio to access the internet, but no luck. Today we explored the outer reaches of Isla Colon on rental bikes, Then more shopping since we have been going through our food inventory (not to mention gin and wine) quickly. So we are starting to re-stock in anticipation of our part arriving tomorrow! Just like Christmas!!!
It will be a couple of uncomfortable hours work to replace the old with the new, then off east to the San Blas Islands (known by the natives as Kuna Yale) or so the theory goes.