09:35 - Anchor up in Mogo Mogo, Las Perlas Islands, 35 miles from Panama City and the location of the Survivor reality show which a common staging area for the Pacific.

Added a small amount of oil to the main engine and spilled a little just before departing. Underway we smelled something out of the ordinary �- probably oil.

Light airs and we set the spinnaker for the first time in several years. It took awhile to get it right. Where do all those lines go? Oh right, I remember now! Cruising along at 9 knots SOG (speed over ground) we run the generator to keep the freezer at the right temp for all those frozen items we bought in Panama City. We are loaded. The generator is dead and doesn't even sputter. We wonder if this is a silent hand that is telling us something. Maybe?

I have one hour before we pass our last island before we must commit. With the spinnaker up and calm seas I begin to troubleshoot the generator only to discover that it was a corrosion issue on the preheat solenoid and we are back in business. The generator is purring. Problem solved and the silent hand is quiet.

During the afternoon with the wind blowing 12 knots, the spinnaker doing what it is suppose to in light airs, and we are flying at 9.5 knots COG(course over ground). Making great progress. As we have an early dinner and are just finishing up in the galley, the winds picks up to 20 knots and the spinnaker needs to come down and it is getting dark and we know we are going to complete the task under full moonlight. Too much of a good thing. Taking it down in heavy winds is a bit tricky and we haven't done this in a long time. Fortunately the boat motion is still comfortable but we are always mindful to stay ONE WITH THE BOAT. With our safety harnesses on, we position ourselves on the foredeck and I release the tack shackle with immediate violent luffing of the sail and the boat rights up. With effort, while sitting down on the bowsprit, I muscle the sock down the sail as it gradually yields to submission. Nancy lowers the halyard as I pack the sail into the waiting bad lashed on the foredeck. All done!

Once the lines are coiled up and stowed properly we raise our Genny and off we go again at 7.5 knots, on a broad reach, and the wind is gusting up to 30 knots. Glad we got that spinnaker down. The wind blew the same for about 4 hours and then dropped down to 12 knots that was quite comfortable. We sailed on with a full moon and clear skies.

We are traveling with 8 other boats and we meet on the Single Side Band (SSB) radio for position check-ins and sharing weather information. The first day is always the hardest, getting adjusted to the motion of the boat and remembering how all those lines and sheets are hooked up. Day three we will be in the groove.

The Crew on Always Saturday