We have finally arrived at Brunswick, Georgia after a two and a half year, 6500 nm journey from San Diego, California. Long Windid is now securely moored at Brunswick Landing Marina. Although Georgia is in the hurricane belt, our insurance company considers this marina to be a safe hurricane hole. I guess we will see about that. Our new Marina has a Yacht Club that hosts weekly social gatherings where you drink free beer/wine and share stories with other cruisers. Friends of ours had asked about a PAN PAN situation that Marla and I were recently involved in and I thought I would share it.

Earlier this year, we were heading back to Shelter Bay Marina, Panama from the San Blas Islands for the upcoming Ocean Posse rendezvous. Marla and I had just spent the summer in Cartagena, Columbia and were looking forward to meeting up with many of our cruising friends who stayed behind in Panama for the hurricane season. We were sailing downwind in uncomfortable conditions when a PAN PAN distress call came across the VHF channel 16. A boat was sinking and needed immediate assistance. Marla has always insisted on having the VHF radio on whenever Long Windid is underway. Instantly, I looked at my chart plotter and saw it was littered with AIS targets of other boats, yet no one responded. I answered the call. The boat was a 1984 Tayana 37 with water egressing rapidly. The owner was standing on his cabin sole in ankle deep water as he gave me his position. We immediately doused the sails and turned back. I motored as fast as I could, pushing Long Windid hard thru steep waves towards the distressed boat.
We were approximately 8 miles away and were in constant contact with the sinking boat. You could sense thru the radio, the owner was tired, panicked and frustrated. He was emotionally ready to abandon ship and let his beloved boat sink. The bilge pump was overwhelmed and could not keep up with the amount of water rushing in. His seasick wife was frantically bailing what little water she could out of the cabin with a 5-gallon bucket. Finally, as we got closer, the owner said he was able to slow the rush of water by stopping his engine. Later, I was told the hard rubber bellows on his dripless gland failed. By stopping the rotation of the shaft, it slowed the water flow. Fortunately, by the time we had arrived, the Tayana and her crew had the head sail up and was slowly limping towards Turtle Cay Marina. Marla and I stayed to shepherd the boat thru a narrow cut between an unforgiving reef. Four-foot waves on both sides were breaking on the reef as we transited the poorly marked entrance. Once clear, we passed a lighthouse on our starboard and turned to port before entering a quaint, rustic yet quiet marina. Inside, with her fenders out, we tied Long Windid to an old concrete wall for the night. The distressed boat was immediately hauled out of the water. Later that evening, the exhausted owner and his wife came over to our boat to express their gratitude for our assistance. He noticed the Ocean Posse flag flying from our port halyard. He said he has been with buddy boats in the past that would not have turned around and again he thanked us. It came as no surprise to him that the boat that came to his assistance was an Ocean Posse boat. He then insisted on buying us dinner and pay for our docking. Following morning we headed out to resume our forty-mile trip towards the entrance of the Panama Canal and cross the busiest shipping lanes in the world. News travels fast. Once we arrived at Shelter Bay and tied Long Windid to its slip, marina officials came by the boat to greet us and ask about our involvement in the recent rescue of the boat in distress. According to them, the Guarida Costera de Panama (Panamanian Coast Guard) should have responded to the PAN PAN distress call but for some reason they did not. Governmental officials were determined to investigate the matter. The marina officials said they were to make a preliminary report before the Panamanian Coast Guard was to interview Marla and myself. We told our story and was told the Coast Guard would be in touch. Like most things it seemed important to them at the time, but as time passes other matters take persistence and everyone must have moved on. We never heard from them again.