Panama (6 Feb 2015 – 7 April 2015)
Panama
It was during our time in Cartagena where we learned about the crème de la crème cruising grounds of the San Blas islands in Panama. It just happened to be our next stop. Prior to visiting Cartagena we were clueless that these islands and the Kuna people even existed. Man oh man were we in for a treat. We also found out about the huge chartering business in the San Blas and that there were many boats departing from Cartagena, taking backpackers and tourist. The Darien is a wall of nearly impenetrable jungle making land travel between Panama and Colombia almost impossible, so most travellers opt to go by sea or air.
We learned how expensive a charter can be at $150 USD/day/person and thought like other boats we could take a couple with us to Panama. However we reconsidered after assuming people who pay that much money would probably have high expectations for their accommodations and trip. Instead I made an announcement on the couch surfing website inviting backpackers to join us and share the experience and hefty cruising permits to sail in Panama.
Paluch, a hitch hiker, hitching his way around the world answered my post and we had our new crew member. I think we got lucky because Paluch was the perfect guest. He had previous sailing experience and he was at home in the galley preparing us thoughtful, flavourful meals. With three people on board the overnight passage to the San Blas was a breeze, and the islands didn't disappoint. We caught up with cruisers who we met in Cartagena and one particular meet up was quite memorable…
TURN RIGHT! HARD RIGHT!!! Paul screamed to me....just a little too late. BANG!! I now know what the sound of aluminum hitting coral sounds like. We went aground. Monica and Philip on Miss Molly were anchored and waiting for us on the tiny island just north of Dog island. I think it was called Los Grullos. Paul had managed to hook-spear an octopus in the morning and we were excited to share it with Miss Molly for dinner. We departed our previous anchorage with just the sails, tip toeing away from the crowd, and (Paul) wanted to drop anchor using only sails and neglect our very reliable engine. We were just a short distance away from drinks and shenanigans on Miss Molly when we and as we realized our charts were not accurate!! The depth sounder was reading only 5 meters when the charts indicated 17 meters....then we saw Phillip coming towards us in his dinghy...kind of odd. We furled the genoa, put down the main, turned on the engine and through the crystal clear water we could see we were above a coral reef extending from the island. I was at the helm when Paul screamed to me to turn right...but it was too late....We hit the coral. The rudder took all of the impact and we went from 2.5 knots of boat speed to a dead stop. The sound upon impact was deafening and heart wrenching. Paluch said afterward that he thought it was all over for Arbutus.
Luckily we had already lifted the keel during our approach to the island and knew it was the rudder that hit the coral. So two seconds after impact when I had my mouth hanging open out of shock Paul catapulted himself to the stern of the boat and lifted the rudder. One of the great features of Arbutus is her lifting keel and rudder...with out them maybe we would still be sitting on the coral?!?! When Paul lifted the rudder we were free and Philip in his dinghy pushed us away from the coral and then I used the engine to drive is into the anchorage. Holy mother of OMG...I think we were all shaken. We didn't sink the boat...but it was close.
After dropping the pick Paul dove to asses the damages and to our amazement there were none! Not a scratch on her, just some anti fouling paint on the rudder came off and the plastic tube separating the aluminum rudder from the stainless steel shaft needed to be replaced because it was completely compressed. We were lucky this time or someone was looking out for us.
Celebratory octopus dinner was in order that evening aboard Miss Molly and we toasted to going aground for the first time. Phillip said you're not a sailor until you've gone aground. That made us feel a lot better.
We only stayed in the San Blas for one week...way too short. The sail to Ilsa Linton was annoying and uncomfortable, luckily it was only a day sail and we were anchored before sunset to enjoy the small yellow fin tuna we caught. We set off to Portobelo the next day hoping to check into the country but upon arrival discovered that it was a holiday. So we enjoyed the festivities with the locals and cruisers until Friday when we were able to check in. To complete the our clearance we had to take the bus to Colon to get our cruising permit $185 USD and Visas $110/ person. Ouch super expensive...and we still had to pay for the canal. Sadly we had to say farewell to Paluch who was hitch hiking to Costa Rica but he planned on coming back to Panama after a few days in Costa Rica so it wasn't goodbye.
PANAMA CANAL
While anchored in Portobelo we organized the canal transit ourselves. We bought a local sim card and were able to do organize everything by phone. All of the officials spoke perfect English. All boats transiting the canal require four line handlers and a driver. So while waiting for our transit date Paul volunteered to be a line handler on a French boat called Marie Morgan. It was a great experience for Paul to gain before our transit. We had to register Arbutus, get her measured (to know her length overall), pay $1875 USD IN CASH!! ( $900 was a buffer that was returned if you had no complications during transit), book a transit date, and finally find tires and lines (we had enough line) for use in the canal. Our transit date was Monday March 9th.
Our line handlers were myself, Paluch, and our friends Ale and Lorenzo on Lycka. It was a great group and we had a blast during the transit. We were anchored at flats anchorage just outside the entrance of the canal and our adviser joined us at 4pm. In the anchorage there was a slick race boat named Maserati and we were joking that we would be tied alongside her through the canal...Turned out our joking became reality!!!
Last minute changes resulted in Arbutus being tied alongside a race boat who handled all of the work for us. That evening after hard night of taking pictures of Maserati's crew working to get us to our mooring ball in Gatun Lake the captain, Giovanni....., a famous Italian sailor, invited us aboard Maserati to take a closer look. To return the favor we invited some of the crew to check out Arbutus. A great night was had. I had to pre prepare dinner and a lunch for seven people!! But everything worked out OK. Dinner as roasted chicken bought in Colon and couscous salad.
The following morning BEFORE THE SUN ROSE, at 6am on the dot a canal boat showed up to drop off our new adviser for the second half of the transit. Omg when Paul transited the canal with Marie Morgan they didn't leave until 10am...so when our adviser arrived everyone was still asleep. Paluch was sleeping in the cockpit and announced that we needed to get ready. Within three minutes the engine was on and some of the crew from Maserati were helping us with the line to detach ourselves from one another. We were leaving first and Maserati had to wait for their adviser and remain on the mooring ball.
Our new adviser was serious but not serious enough to break the rules. He asked us to set up our sails!!! I read through the rules and it clearly states that no boat is allowed to set up their sails in the canal. Apparently our adviser was a rebel. Lucky for us because there was good wind to use the sails. It was a hot day....sweltering hot. On day two the crew was put to work...the boys had to handle the lines on port side. We were nested alongside the catamaran Cinderella and there was another mono hull tied alongside Cinderella's starboard side.
PACIFIC
Arbutus popped out on the Pacific side around 1pm and we anchored at La Playita. We had lunch, went for a short swim, and went on shore to see Panama city. That evening we had to say goodbye to Ale and Lorenzo, they needed to get back to the San Blas where they left their sailboat. Paluch stayed on board and the following morning went back to Portobelo. We have such wonderful memories with these three and hope we haven't seen the last of them.
We were waiting for a package to arrive from the States, some spare parts for the wind vane, and instead of waiting in the metropolis we decided to explore the Las Perlas islands and the Darien region.
When we arrived back in Panama city we spent the next five days provisioning for our PACIFIC OCEAN CROSSING!!! The day we arrived back in Panama city there was a good weather window to depart for the ocean transit. The previous one was a month ago... So it was a bit of a rush to do our provisioning and catch the end of the good weather conditions. If we didn't leave with this window who knew how long we would be waiting.
Many many kilos later Arbutus was ready for her next ocean passage. 4000 NM from Panama city to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. Will they make it? When will the crew go crazy? How reliable are these so called "trade winds" ? Will they run out of food? Cannibalism? Who will survive? Find out on the next post....
We learned how expensive a charter can be at $150 USD/day/person and thought like other boats we could take a couple with us to Panama. However we reconsidered after assuming people who pay that much money would probably have high expectations for their accommodations and trip. Instead I made an announcement on the couch surfing website inviting backpackers to join us and share the experience and hefty cruising permits to sail in Panama.
Paluch, a hitch hiker, hitching his way around the world answered my post and we had our new crew member. I think we got lucky because Paluch was the perfect guest. He had previous sailing experience and he was at home in the galley preparing us thoughtful, flavourful meals. With three people on board the overnight passage to the San Blas was a breeze, and the islands didn't disappoint. We caught up with cruisers who we met in Cartagena and one particular meet up was quite memorable…
TURN RIGHT! HARD RIGHT!!! Paul screamed to me....just a little too late. BANG!! I now know what the sound of aluminum hitting coral sounds like. We went aground. Monica and Philip on Miss Molly were anchored and waiting for us on the tiny island just north of Dog island. I think it was called Los Grullos. Paul had managed to hook-spear an octopus in the morning and we were excited to share it with Miss Molly for dinner. We departed our previous anchorage with just the sails, tip toeing away from the crowd, and (Paul) wanted to drop anchor using only sails and neglect our very reliable engine. We were just a short distance away from drinks and shenanigans on Miss Molly when we and as we realized our charts were not accurate!! The depth sounder was reading only 5 meters when the charts indicated 17 meters....then we saw Phillip coming towards us in his dinghy...kind of odd. We furled the genoa, put down the main, turned on the engine and through the crystal clear water we could see we were above a coral reef extending from the island. I was at the helm when Paul screamed to me to turn right...but it was too late....We hit the coral. The rudder took all of the impact and we went from 2.5 knots of boat speed to a dead stop. The sound upon impact was deafening and heart wrenching. Paluch said afterward that he thought it was all over for Arbutus.
Luckily we had already lifted the keel during our approach to the island and knew it was the rudder that hit the coral. So two seconds after impact when I had my mouth hanging open out of shock Paul catapulted himself to the stern of the boat and lifted the rudder. One of the great features of Arbutus is her lifting keel and rudder...with out them maybe we would still be sitting on the coral?!?! When Paul lifted the rudder we were free and Philip in his dinghy pushed us away from the coral and then I used the engine to drive is into the anchorage. Holy mother of OMG...I think we were all shaken. We didn't sink the boat...but it was close.
After dropping the pick Paul dove to asses the damages and to our amazement there were none! Not a scratch on her, just some anti fouling paint on the rudder came off and the plastic tube separating the aluminum rudder from the stainless steel shaft needed to be replaced because it was completely compressed. We were lucky this time or someone was looking out for us.
Celebratory octopus dinner was in order that evening aboard Miss Molly and we toasted to going aground for the first time. Phillip said you're not a sailor until you've gone aground. That made us feel a lot better.
We only stayed in the San Blas for one week...way too short. The sail to Ilsa Linton was annoying and uncomfortable, luckily it was only a day sail and we were anchored before sunset to enjoy the small yellow fin tuna we caught. We set off to Portobelo the next day hoping to check into the country but upon arrival discovered that it was a holiday. So we enjoyed the festivities with the locals and cruisers until Friday when we were able to check in. To complete the our clearance we had to take the bus to Colon to get our cruising permit $185 USD and Visas $110/ person. Ouch super expensive...and we still had to pay for the canal. Sadly we had to say farewell to Paluch who was hitch hiking to Costa Rica but he planned on coming back to Panama after a few days in Costa Rica so it wasn't goodbye.
PANAMA CANAL
While anchored in Portobelo we organized the canal transit ourselves. We bought a local sim card and were able to do organize everything by phone. All of the officials spoke perfect English. All boats transiting the canal require four line handlers and a driver. So while waiting for our transit date Paul volunteered to be a line handler on a French boat called Marie Morgan. It was a great experience for Paul to gain before our transit. We had to register Arbutus, get her measured (to know her length overall), pay $1875 USD IN CASH!! ( $900 was a buffer that was returned if you had no complications during transit), book a transit date, and finally find tires and lines (we had enough line) for use in the canal. Our transit date was Monday March 9th.
Our line handlers were myself, Paluch, and our friends Ale and Lorenzo on Lycka. It was a great group and we had a blast during the transit. We were anchored at flats anchorage just outside the entrance of the canal and our adviser joined us at 4pm. In the anchorage there was a slick race boat named Maserati and we were joking that we would be tied alongside her through the canal...Turned out our joking became reality!!!
Last minute changes resulted in Arbutus being tied alongside a race boat who handled all of the work for us. That evening after hard night of taking pictures of Maserati's crew working to get us to our mooring ball in Gatun Lake the captain, Giovanni....., a famous Italian sailor, invited us aboard Maserati to take a closer look. To return the favor we invited some of the crew to check out Arbutus. A great night was had. I had to pre prepare dinner and a lunch for seven people!! But everything worked out OK. Dinner as roasted chicken bought in Colon and couscous salad.
The following morning BEFORE THE SUN ROSE, at 6am on the dot a canal boat showed up to drop off our new adviser for the second half of the transit. Omg when Paul transited the canal with Marie Morgan they didn't leave until 10am...so when our adviser arrived everyone was still asleep. Paluch was sleeping in the cockpit and announced that we needed to get ready. Within three minutes the engine was on and some of the crew from Maserati were helping us with the line to detach ourselves from one another. We were leaving first and Maserati had to wait for their adviser and remain on the mooring ball.
Our new adviser was serious but not serious enough to break the rules. He asked us to set up our sails!!! I read through the rules and it clearly states that no boat is allowed to set up their sails in the canal. Apparently our adviser was a rebel. Lucky for us because there was good wind to use the sails. It was a hot day....sweltering hot. On day two the crew was put to work...the boys had to handle the lines on port side. We were nested alongside the catamaran Cinderella and there was another mono hull tied alongside Cinderella's starboard side.
PACIFIC
Arbutus popped out on the Pacific side around 1pm and we anchored at La Playita. We had lunch, went for a short swim, and went on shore to see Panama city. That evening we had to say goodbye to Ale and Lorenzo, they needed to get back to the San Blas where they left their sailboat. Paluch stayed on board and the following morning went back to Portobelo. We have such wonderful memories with these three and hope we haven't seen the last of them.
We were waiting for a package to arrive from the States, some spare parts for the wind vane, and instead of waiting in the metropolis we decided to explore the Las Perlas islands and the Darien region.
When we arrived back in Panama city we spent the next five days provisioning for our PACIFIC OCEAN CROSSING!!! The day we arrived back in Panama city there was a good weather window to depart for the ocean transit. The previous one was a month ago... So it was a bit of a rush to do our provisioning and catch the end of the good weather conditions. If we didn't leave with this window who knew how long we would be waiting.
Many many kilos later Arbutus was ready for her next ocean passage. 4000 NM from Panama city to the Marquesas in French Polynesia. Will they make it? When will the crew go crazy? How reliable are these so called "trade winds" ? Will they run out of food? Cannibalism? Who will survive? Find out on the next post....Paul wrote about these same days, in French, from his side of the boat. Read his account →
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