We had mixed feelings about moving on from Panama, we've been here sincemid February, admittedly with a month at home in between, but we have found the people universally charming, and enjoyed the camaraderie of other yachts on similar journeys to our own, and the shared helpfulness that has provided. However, we were determined when Tim and Rowland arrived late on Saturday, that they should at least see the canal, so off we went by taxi to Mira Fiores lock where the web cam is, and a museum of the building of the canal. It was fun seeing the lock from the land, and fascinating learning of some of the history. Our next stop was the final provisioning at the fruit market. This was a fantastic experience in its own right, and we bought fruit and veg by the sack full to try and keep us for the next 4,000 miles as well as seven on board at Galapagos.

Tim was highly amused by the taxi we took into the centre of the city for a meal, who under his rear view mirror had a TV & DVD player, which he watched continuously, and reminded me of another cab driver who wanted to find somewhere for me, and while driving along next to a police car wound his window down, and pointed at a map for directions! But best of the Panama stories was a FED X parcel which we finally retrieved directed to 'Breaking Wind', Colon!

Next morning we managed to make an early 06.30 get away from Balboa, motoring down the shipping lane, the channel is dredged, and does not allow for wandering off it. We were thankful that the shipping was coming in towards us rather than from behind which is always more alarming. It was with great excitement that we greeted the Pacific, and the prospect of unknown places and peoples lying ahead. As with the Atlantic, dolphins were there to welcome us in. The only disappointment was the murky water, and three days on it has still not turned to the beautiful deep blue of the Atlantic.

We decided on an easy shake down for our first day, and to head out to the Archipelago of Las Perlas, about 50 miles on. Our course was for the most southerly of these islands, Isla de San Jose. We had a great sail, carrying the cruising chute for most of the way, until as we closed land, there was an almighty bang as our chute landed in the water! No problems or damage retrieving it, but on inspection we found that the head had simply torn away from the sail. It seemed very weakly and poorly constructed, but we reckoned mendable. So we set our genoa, and with not far to go on we went, when Tim suddenly announced that the main halyard had become slack. No such luck, when we got it down from its groove in the mast, we have in-mast furling, we discovered that it too had torn its webbing straps on the head.

Luckily we had some spare webbing on board, and I managed to do a hopefully strong job attaching it to the remainder of what was left. What strange chance that identical problems should happen to two sails within half an hour of each other! Tim is very anxious to clear his name on both counts, his reputation precedes him, but in this case we'll let him off! So by now motor sailing through the islands to our southerly destination, I stitched, while Giles went up the mast to retrieve the halyard. How may times we have blessed our folding mast steps, which Giles and Larry put on in the heat of last May in Charleston!

Well at the south eastern tip of our chosen island we found the most idyllic anchorage, sheltered, with our very own long sandy beach. Shared by the only sign of life we had seen, one fishing boat. All the islands we had seen seemed totally deserted, very surprising considering their proximity to Panama City.

We swam and dinghied ashore, and walked, admired the rock pools, were astonished by the rocks all stuck together by what appears to be a not too distant volcanic eruption, and wished we could take some of the beautiful drift wood home, and wondered if we had found a seam of jade, or some semi precious stone which had obviously been formed by flowing over stone and solidifying. Enlightenment would be much appreciated. The long beach lined with mangroves was impenetrable.

Well you would have thought with three seafaring people on board that we might have just wondered about rock pools, but we had become so idle about tides in the Caribbean and Atlantic, that although we knew that the Pacific is very tidal, it somehow didn't penetrate our psyche! Thus it was that at about 19.30, when drinks were in hand and supper nearly ready, Tim suddenly raised the alarm, there are breakers to seaward of us! A falling tide had caught us out.

It was a pitch black night with no moon to help us, so we retrieved our anchor, which meant going ever closer to the breakers, and gingerly edged our way out, almost reversing into more rocks on the way. We spent a long time finding a safe place to re-anchor, and I at least spent a lot of the night checking what was happening at various stages of the tide, as we swung through 360' with incoming and outgoing tides. I was heartily relieved when dawn broke, and I could at last wake the others, stow the dinghy and set off!

What idiots we felt, for us who have sailed so much in the huge tides of the Channel Islands and Brittany, and at times gasped at others mistakes, we had all but put ourselves on the putty, with little prospect of an easy refloating!

So it was with some relief that we put to sea for our sail to the Galapagos, 800 miles on from Perlas. So far so good, we have been hoping desperately for some wind, as this voyage takes us through the ITCZ, or doldrums. Now three days out, we have sailed continuously, for all but a couple of hours last night, when our decision to drop one of our twin headsails, our down wind rig, in daylight, proved to be wise. The wind has backed, and we are now beating into about 16 knots of wind from the south. Happy we are indeed that we made the decision to sail south before turning west, to maximise the tidal stream that comes out of the Gulf of Panama, and is worth at least a knot to us.

Today is cloudy, and the sea is still grey, while yesterday we boiled in relentless sunshine, so the variable weather is a huge blessing. We should be four days on to the Galapagos, and our next rendez-vous with the Stafford-Allens.