November  2009

The hurricane season ends this month officially.  Do you know the jingle: June is too soon, July standby, August if you must, September remember, and October it's all over.  But, since hurricanes have hit during this month, Hurricane Mitch for example, hit the Bay Islands of Honduras on November 6th and Hurricane Wilma did major damage to the Yucatan penisula.  But, being where we are, we have no worries about hurricanes.  Just the occasional rum front that hits Blow Me Away and the thunder and lightning storms, chocosana's and squalls.  This month in the San Blas is usually the worst for rain and it is true once again.  Lots of rain, by the bucketfuls.  Cloudy and rainy for about five days and then the sun will shine for a day or two and then it's rainy again.  During the night, you have to do the hatch dance, which means getting up and closing hatches and ports when it begins to rain.  Then, it gets really hot and muggy down below.  Thank goodness we have two fans pointed directly at us that run all night long and our aft sunbrella cover makes us be able to leave our aft hatch open most of the time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 6th  Cabin Boy Arrives

Aaron and Rick are old friends from elementary school.  Long long time ago.  But, have stayed in touch throughout the years and Rick has been sailing with us ever since we had our first boat on Lake Jacomo in Missouri, back in 1990.  He has a cherished nickname that he has earned which is "Cabin Boy".   He has visited us onboard Blow Me Away in Florida, the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos.  And each visit has been special, making good memories.  With his love of literature, we have "Word of the Day" which comes about thru an event that day and is then marked with the "Word".  If you use the word during the day afterwards, you are given a gold star of sorts, more likely a rum and coke.  Our first word is "fardelbound", which according to Rick is what you are after traveling a couple of days and being off schedule.  Snorkelate and snorkelation were also promptly used when we hit the water to do some snorkeling around.  After picking Rick up in Nargana, we head to the Swimming Pool, where s/v Simpatica, Louis and Julie, and s/v Fantasy, Captain Jack and Captain Dennis, meet up with us for a raft up.  With Simpatica in the middle, since it is a beautiful Catana 47 catamarran, and pirate flags a waving, jello shots for the entire crew, we do some serious catching up over rum and cokes.  And did I mention the disco dancing!

November 7th -11th   Bocci ball, beer and BBQ

On the 7th, we motored on down south to the East Cocos Banderos to meet up with Bob and Jeannie (ISLAND DREAMIN) and Jim and Betsy on (TWO BY SEA) whom we haven't seen in seven months! After anchoring, we all met up on the island closest and build a fire, cooked up some meat, played bocci ball and drank beer.  It was a fun reunion and Rick, we discover, plays a mean bocci game!

The next day, we returned to "the pool" and Island Dreamin and Two by Sea followed.  Venacio, a master mola maker, came by and displayed his molas.  There were so many to choose from, which makes it difficult to make a decision, but Rick perservered and bought quite a few.  The weather was clear in the afternoon, so we grabbed our snorkeling gear and spearguns and took Rick out to the reef.  I shot a ocean trigger and swam back to the dinghy with my prize.  It's been awhile since I had speared a fish!  Aaron soon arrived with........... another ocean trigger.  On the way back to our boat, we stopped by Gris Gris and gave them one of the ocean triggers.  The meat from this fish is very firm and white, but are hard to clean.  The skin is very very tough.  Back in the old days, the sailors used the skin to clean the bottom of the boat!   The word of the day then transpired from our spearfishing trophies.  "Nimrod"is a great white hunter!

 The Monday nite get together on Potluck Island was another success.  Rick never knew we kept such a social calender!  It rained heavily each morning for three days straight, during which, we would play the card game, UNO in our cockpit while we waited patiently for the rain to let up.   In the afternoon, we would meet on the island for another round of Bocci ball.   One afternoon, a couple of Kuna fishermen displayed their catch of the day which were two big sized grouper.  We bought one and split it with another couple and enjoyed a bit of sushi with wasabi.  It doesn't get any better than fresh grilled grouper for dinner with a nice cool bottle of Chardonnay!  Hooray!  Pulchritude and dipsomaniac are words of the day.  Pulchritude, as in physical beauty, and dipsomaniac, as in being an alcoholic; one not being related to the other.

November 12th   Over to Chichime

Wow, today is a beautiful morning so we up anchor and motorsail to Chichime island about 20 miles east.  On the way, we troll our fishing lines in the hopes of catching some fresh fish because Rick just can't get enough seafood.   Of course, since I had caught 4 bucketfuls of rainwater, I do some laundry on the way.  Gottta love it.  As we enter the cut close to Chichime, a school of dolphin play in our bow wake.  Rick was enthralled.  After setting anchor, we are swarmed by the locals who live on these two islands selling lobster, crab and conch.  We buy it all and so our afternoon is filled with cleaning, tenderizing the conch, and steaming the crab.  It's a seafood extravaganza!  Conch seviche, conch fritters, fresh crab with dip and that's just for starters.  We grill the lobsters for dinner!

November 13th  A fun day in the sun

We dinghy over to Dog Island, where a submerged wreck is in water no deeper than 25 feet all sand.  The wreck is a good place to snorkel; lots of tropical fish hang out there and the water is so clear and calm.  We spot a trumpetfish with bluestripe,  sergeant majors, schoolmasters, damselfish, blue tangs, a trunkfish, and a filefish that changes color according to being near the sandy bottom or colorful coral.  A huge school of minnowfish, thousands of them, hover around so we swim thru them.

Afterwards, on our way home, we swing by the East Lemmons anchorage and stop by s/v Fandango and say hi to our good friends Mary and Doug who just arrived a couple of days ago into the San Blas area.  It is always good to see them as we share many memories together since we first met in December 2006 in Port Royal, Honduras.

November 14th   Had we known what was to happen, we would of stayed put..........

We can't believe that this is Rick's last day; it has gone by so fast. The word of the day is peripatetic, an itinerant wanderer; which Blow Me Away is and those onboard!  It's a solemn, quiet day; reflecting back on the last nine days and the fun memories made as  I make a photo CD as a parting gift.  At 4pm, we weigh anchor and motor the four miles eastward to Porvenir, where Rick will catch his flight back to Panama City tomorrow morning at 630am.  We set anchor right off of the airport only to discover that our dinghy is no longer tied to our boat.  It has gone bye bye.  On no, a deep knot begins to tie in my stomach.  We quickly up anchor, and send a message out on the radio channel VHF 72 that all the cruisers listen to, for everyone to be on the lookout for our dinghy. We retrace our route, scanning the horizon with our binoculars, but we can't see it.  It can't be far and probably has floated towards the East Lemmons.  Tony on s/v Andiamo answers that he has seen our dinghy on his way in to anchor in Chichime.

 By the time we set anchor back in Chichime, the local Kunas have retrieved our dinghy.  Tony comes aboard and tells us that the Kunas want a reward of $150.00.  A local Kuna girl gives us a ride in her ulu to shore, where we walk to the south side of the island with Tony where our dinghy is in "Kuna jail".  Upon seeing our dinghy on land, it has been stripped of everything: the gas tank, the oars, the anchor, and if not for our lock on our motor, I'm sure they would of taken that!  Seven Kuna men surround us and our dinghy, as the negotiations begin.  Tony, who speaks Spanish very well is our interpreter.  The bidding begins at $65 and all Kuna heads nod no, no, no.  $85 is met with the same resistance.  $100 is the key number as all heads shake a nod yes.  As soon as we hand over the money, our stuff is immediately retrieved and placed inside our dinghy.  They help us carry it back into the water and off we go.  It's past 6pm now, so we just decide to stay here and get up early, 445am, and head back to Porvenir.  Double rum and cokes are a must at this point.

November 15th   Farewell to Cabin Boy

4:45am comes way too early, it's still dark out. I rise and make coffee and awake the Captain.  At 5am, we up anchor and just as it is raised, a rainstorm hits, visibility is less than 20 feet.  Can you believe this?  The spotlight is used to shine on fellow cruisers boats as we slowly make our way out of the anchorage and into the channel.  Aaron gets disoriented in the channel, and for a few long seconds before I can shine the spotlight on the spit of island that is the beginning of the reef on the south of the channel,  the pucker factor rises.  There are reefs on either side of this channel, so once Aaron gets oriented again, he gets a bearing on the compass, due east, and stays on course.  We were going too slow to get a GPS fix.  As we make our way, the storm intensity increases.  Several lightning strikes are a bit close and the rain continues. The last 14 hours of Rick's visit was quite eventful!  Dawn is just dawning, as we enter the channel into Porvenir and as we set anchor, the rain stops.   And yes, we still have our dinghy. The plane arrives on time, and hugs are given, as we stand beside the runway. There isn't a terminal to enter, or any building for that matter and no searches are done,  this is a third world island airport.  The runway is short, but paved and it's amazing what  these small charterplane pilots  can do as we wave so long to our good friend.  The rest of the day is just that,  REST. Our three month visa is expired, so we did see the port captain, Jasmine, and went ahead and checked out of Panama.  She gave us the required zarpe and we gave her the required fee $32.00, $20 charge for overtime since it is Sunday.  Ricardo, the immigration officer was not here, so Ofelia at the small hotel stamped our passports for $10 each.  We plan on heading to Cartagena after Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day, tropical island style

We are anchored in the East Lemmons, where Mr G, has scored big.  He actually came thru with acquiring a pig to roast and for the past 24 hours has cooked it over an open pit.  The anchorage is full, 35 boats in attendance.  The afternoon festivities begin with Rubber Ducky races brought to us by Joan and Ted on m/v Panchita.  Over the years, they have acquired over 50 rubber duckies of all types of personalities.  For $1 you can place a bet on a ducky to win. (a buck for a duck). The betting becomes fast and furious as cruisers make their decisions.  We get caught up in the pace and place 5 bets in all.  After the betting has closed, all the duckies are then transported by dinghy out a ways from the island and then released all at once into the water.  There is just a slight breeze and the tide is favorable as the duckies slowly make their way to shore. What we do for entertainment, huh?  The cruisers all stand along the shoreline; engrossed by the plucky duckies. The favorites to win take a commanding lead from the beginning and never relinquish it.  The mama duck, the biggest of the bunch, places first.  The second and third place finishers were neck and neck, but Bugsy squeaks out the second place finish by a beak.  (This is one that Aaron bet on).  The winners are then paid off as well as the second and third place finishers. We earned $6 so we came out ahead by a buck!

The Thanksgiving dinner was served buffet style at 530pm.  All of the cruisers brought a dish to share.  The pig was laid out on a piece of cardboard ontop of a bench.  What good portions there were to be had, went fast.  Aaron scored a few pieces of pig, while I opted out.  The side dishes were excellent, and the pumpkin pie even better.  As the sun set, we were thankful for all the joy and fulfillment in our lives, our family, our friends, and our health. There is just so much to be thankful for.

The day after Thanksgiving...............no shopping spree

We awoke early to find that the beautiful weather we were having had changed to cloudy and rainy......again.  The wind is out of the northeast; exactly the direction we need to go to travel to Cartagena, so we change our plans.  It is what us sailors do alot of.  We decide to stage ourselves at Snug Harbor, approximately 40 miles east.  Windancer is following in our wake.  Staying on the inside of the reef for as long as possible to avoid the waves and wind, as soon as we pass the Farewell islands, (appropriately named), we start bashing into the waves and right into the wind.  This condition is called noserlies, because the wind is right on our bow, and it sucks.  Our speed is no more than 5 knots,  because we are not a powerboat.  Motoring into the well protected anchorage, we discover a few other boats here; one being our friends on s/v  Worldwide Traveler, with Lee and Wendy aboard.  After setting anchor, and since our dinghy is up in the davits with the motor off of it, (the motor is stored on the aft port rail), Lenny and Sue invite us over for a meatloaf dinner complete with chauffeur service.  It is an early evening, since all are tired.

For the next several days, we gather as much information about the weather as possible.  Chris Parker, the radio weather guru who gives personalized weather to those who sign up for his service, broadcasts his report on the SSB radio at 740 am on channel 8104.  Windancer is a member so they ask Chris for the next weather window to make the crossing over to Cartagena.  The report is that it doesn't look favorable until Monday.  I receive GRIB file reports from our winlink service.  GRIB reports give weather information for any area you choose and for a span of a week.  I request info for the next three days in the small area between here and Cartagena.  A pack of boats left Snug Harbor to Cartagena on Thanksgiving day and on the daily Panama net, we hear that one boat, s/v Kerstie, hit something at 4am, and the two people onboard were not able to find the leak or get control of the flow of water into the boat and had to be rescued.  The sailboat eventually sank.  This gives all of us pause to remember to take every safety precaution and to make good decisions.  I cook up a whole chicken and make a soup, chicken salad and chicken fajitas for our underway meals and make sure everything is stored securely in the cabin.  Aaron checks the outside of the boat, the prop and bottom, and secures the jacklines on deck, checks th  With all that  being done, we await for Monday.  There are now a fleet of five making the crossing, s/v Rhapsody, s/v Windancer, s/v Worldwide Traveler, and us.  George, Melinda and Josh, on s/v Southern Belle with a crew of six backpackers are beginning their crossing from the East Cocos Banderos.  We organize a radio check in at 5pm and midnite on SSB 4149 and a 6am departure..

Monday, November 30, 2009   Time to Crossover to Colombia      

We don't sleep well, waking up at all hours of the night, worrying about the crossing.  It's been eight months since we made the trip from Cartagena to the San Blas and since being here, all we have done mostly is island hopping, maybe 25 miles being the longest in one day.  There are so many things that can happen out there in the open sea and glad that we are with other boats just in case something should happen.  The conditions are calm as we weigh anchor promptly at 6am and the other boats follow in our wake.  We raised the main while we were still at anchor, easier that way, no rolling boat to deal with.  As we motor out into the sea, the wind is out of the northeast at 15 knots and the waves are 4-6 feet as we decide to roll out the jib halfway and set our course.  It's 165 miles to the Bay of Cholon; our intended destination.  The Bay of Cholon is 20 miles east of Cartagena and a favorite anchorage of many cruisers.  Our good friends, Sonny and Kay on s/v Valentina are there waiting for our arrival.  At 815am, we check in to the Southwest Caribbean net and at 830 am, we make our final check in with the Panama Connection net.  Reggie on s/v Runner is the net controller on Mondays, and we say so long to our many friends in the San Blas. 

Now rare is the passage that something doesn't go wrong.  And at 9am, we discover, much to our dismay, that our autopilot will not hold course.  It keeps veering leftwards into the wind.  This means that we have to handsteer the rest of the way.  We promptly set up the watch routine, 3 hour shifts.  The wind never shifts, it holds steady out of the northeast at 10-15 knots the entire way. The passage looks like it's gonna be a "motor job" all the way with only the main up acting as a stabilizer. 

S/V Rhapsody, a Benetaeu 50,  being lighter and able to make better headway, pulls away from us and Windancer early on, while Worldwide Traveler, a catamaran brings up the rear.  At 5pm, Aaron asks Lenny to make the radio check in for us since I am sleeping, and he is unable to leave the helm. Everyone checks in and gives their position, s/v Southern Belle is approximately 40 miles behind us, which isn't surprising since they left from the East Cocos.  Our good friend, Pam on s/v Glide is on station since I had emailed her and Denis of our crossing and radio schedules.  They are anchored in Cartagena.  Windancer takes the lead for us and as night falls; it is easier to steer by the guidance of their masthead light rather than stare at a compass. We keep our VHF on channel 16 and stay in contact with either Lenny or Sue thru the night.  There are times that we are only going 4 knots as we crash into the northeast swells.  Another radio check in at midnight.

We make it thru the night, taking turns every three hours at the helm, tired of course, but with no mishaps. At 6am, we have approximately 43 more miles to go.  Dolphin play in our bow wake as the sun begins to rise, a beginning of a new day, a new month and in a new country.  The current has been against us most of the way, but as we near the coast of Colombia, we receive a push.  How nice. At 1240pm, we spot land, the islands of the Rosarios.  We make VHF contact on channel 68 with VALENTINA and tell them to prepare for our arrival in a couple of hours.  Rhapsody and Southern Belle are headed for Cartagena, while Worldwide Traveler make landfall in the San Bernardos.  By 230pm, we are setting the anchor, and welcomed by Sonny and Kay, and Richard on s/v Tisha Baby.  It's so good to be here and to see friendly smiling faces.  Rum and cokes are served up onboard, Lenny and Sue come over as well as we make a toast to a successful crossing.   Our total miles for the trip was 171 with an average speed of 5 knots in 32 hours time.    

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