We are now in Panama after a 760 mile trip over some windy water and some calm water.

We left last Thursday early morning after finding out that our Robertson/Simrad autopilot had failed. It would no longer turn on!! Not a good thing to have happen as you are about to start a reputed 660 (actual 750+ or -)trip. We discussed it--order in the part we think is bad and have it shipped to Curacao or get on the road and have the same part shipped to Panama. The first part of the trip was to be in windy weather(14-18 knots of winds) and the second half was to be in relatively calm water. Our HydroVane(James by name) could easily handle and has handled winds like that and much more. We figured we could make the second half as long as the winds were not too bad so off we went. We'd already checked out of Curacao so there really wasn't that much choice.

We motored out of Spanish Waters and out into the open sea with a good bit of choppy water and fickle winds. We motor sailed for a while and then shut off the engine and let "James" do his job and he did it perfectly. With a reef in the main and about half the genoa sail out, he held us right on course. Worth every penny we spent for him back in 2010. Best crew member! After 24 hours, we'd done about 120 miles and only found one dead flying fish on deck in the morning of the second day. Day two and three were pretty much the same with good winds that sped us on our way. Day four is when it started getting strange and rough. We had squalls all around us and saw four water spouts(tornados over water), luckily about 10 miles off our port side near the Columbia shoreline. We made the mistake of letting a Cormorant spend the night hanging onto the bow pulpit and he(or she) left us a deck and rail covered in his excrement. We should have known better. On day four, as I went forward early in the morning, I found a crane(maybe a heron) sleeping on top of our over turned dinghy at the bow. He took off as soon as he saw me. Never have had one before spend the night let alone seen one flying around the boat. Day four also brought us a small finch like birds(green and gold) that flitted around the deck, standing on what ever line it could find to grab. It even flew into the cockpit to check it out and then took off again. I'm sad to say, he committed "suicide by cat" shortly afterward by making the mistake of flying through the companionway and into the main cabin. Blue took him right out of the air with one jump. I, meanwhile was rushing from the cockpit, down the stairs and got the poor bird out of Blues mouth. It wash't dead and flew father into the bow cabins. I couldn't find it and a short while later, flew out of the cabin, through the main cabin and back into the cockpit where once again, Blue took him right out of the air. This time, he didn't survive and I gave him a watery funeral. A couple of hours later, we were joined by another small bird and this time, we put the doors on the companionway. Not going to make that mistake again. One dead bird on a trip is enough.
Our legs and knees got a good workout as we sat with our feet on the steering wheel and slowly jockeyed it back and forth depending on which way the boat got turned by the wind, waves and current. Back and forth, over and over on four hour shifts for over three days. I'd hate to think how bad it could have been if the weather had been bad. If the winds were light and everything was right, you might be able to read or watch a show on one of our IPods but for the most part, you sat there, staring at the compass heading on our chart plotter and adjusting to keep us on course and to avoid all the freighters that were around us. Just about every watch, there was one freighter that was bound and determined to get in our way making us quite nervous. One, the Maria Jose 2, a fishing boat only spoke Spanish as it neared us, dragging a fishing net, at 2200. I called him on our VHF but his only response was in Spanish so there was no communication there. In the end, he did reverse course and ended up right in the path of a freighter on just about our same heading. Again, he had to change his course as the captain of the freighter kept trying to talk to him but he spoke no Spanish.

It's now Thursday and we are still sitting on the Visitor Dock as the dock master doesn't come in till after noon and neither does Fed Ex from what the office told me so here we sit. I talked to Edwin, the manager of the boat yard and he is trying to put together a quote for hauling out and what ever work we need to get done. We're now in the rainy season and it POURED last night just as it did just as we were entering the breakwater. Two days ago, in talking to Tracy, I told here then that it would rain just as we were getting ready to enter the harbor and I called it just right! Pretty computers and internet were not needed to make this forecast, just our history of it raining when ever we really wanted it to be clear. Yesterday, we called the marina on our radio as we were coming into the harbor and were told to come into the Visitors Dock where help would be waiting. With the rain taking a few minutes to stop, Tracy got the fenders and dock lines and we SLOWLY made our way to the dock where we were greeted by Elwin(manager of the boat yard) and tied up. Once settled in, we walked up to the office and got checked in, signing lots of paperwork. Strange as it sounds, few of the people in the office spoke fluent English but between the three office people and Tracy and myself, we got all signed in. We took a short break and had a very nice lunch(1430)--Tracy had fish tacos and I has a sandwich they had on special(ham, salami and a bunch of other stuff). We hiked back to the boat and finished getting set up and then pulled out our electric cord and got plugged in on shore and then really went for it by pulling out our air conditioner that we'd buried in the bottom of the bilge in the stern. We hauled it up to the companionway and heaved it up the stairs so the front would face into the main salon and the rear could drain it's water into our cockpit and then down the drains. Plugged her in and turned her on and voila, we had nice cool air coming into the boat. It's hot and humid here with rain just about everyday so if you want to be any kind of comfortable, you really need an AC unit. We bought this one in Trinidad(Thank you Neal on Rutea)and used it there and now it's doing a great job here. The kids haven't left the main salon since we turned it on, each taking turns or putting up with each other as they lounge on the dining table, just down wind of the AC.

It's now Thursday evening and it's been another busy day. The dock master is due in today to give us a slip assignment(not due in till after lunch after taking yesterday off(tough job) and Fed Ex is due in this afternoon as well. As we sat onboard, the agent we've hired(Roy Bravo)to make the arrangement to get us through the canal stopped by to introduce himself and go through what will be happening soon and to get some of our paperwork. We talked for the better part of an hour learning what we needed to supply(food for line handlers and supervisors as well as drinks) and what we could expect as we crossed. He's trying to get reps from the canal to come see us tomorrow(good luck--its a national holiday) so our boat can be measured. The canal people need our exact measurements so they can fit us in their schedule when there is room. They might so up tomorrow(National Holiday) or maybe on Saturday. We won't know till Roy tells us or they just show up, meanwhile we can't leave the boat unattended just incase they show up. Once that measurement is taken and recorded, we have 60 days to go through the canal. We just have to let Roy know when we are ready. Meanwhile, earlier yesterday, a man called Rick stopped by to try and get some business so we put him on the search for the special Royal Canin cat foot that Snowshoe needs to stay regular. Rick stopped by earlier in the afternoon and let us know he is still looking. We're down to our last bag and it's one of the biggest reasons we came to Panama so early in the season.

This afternoon, Fed Ex showed up with our package and the dock master showed up and let us know that he won't be moving us till Saturday at the earliest. No problem as it's nice and quiet out here on the guest dock. As for Fed Ex and our $661(shipping charges only)package showed up just as we were sitting down to lunch. We ripped it open and were greeted with a nice new looking control panel for our Robertson/Simrad AP300 auto pilot. Once lunch was over, we sat in the hot(AC vents here)and took off the old one and installed the new one. Only one wiring connection and two screws and the installation was done. We crossed our fingers and turned on the power switches to the "auto pilot" circuit, went up into the cockpit and hit the ON button. We were greeted by the noise of the autopilot turning on and going through all it's checks and balances as it fired up. OH,WHAT A BIG RELIEF!!! We had a functioning auto pilot and that got us one step closer to leaving. Now all we have to do is decide if we want to stay around here and get the bottom painted. It needs it but it's expensive and we are checking up in the Sea of Cortez to see if it's any cheaper. We've done it before where we were there back in 2010 so it's no big deal. It was so nice to see the auto pilot turn on. You have no idea of the relief to my normal paranoia.

I returned a few minutes ago from taking a shower on shore. Oh, what a delight to stand in a shower stall that I can put out my hands and not touch a wall!!! and have all the sort of warm but not really warm water I wanted. Down here in Panama, you don't really want hot water when taking a shower. "Sort" of warm us just right. I let the water just pour over my body and believe me, it was wonderful!

Tomorrow, we sit and read and do other projects that need attention as we wait for the canal folks to maybe show up. We are at their mercy but there are far worse places to be sitting and waiting