So there we were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, two days into our epic voyage of over 3000 miles to the Marquesas Islands.It was fairly late at night and it had been absolutely pouring with rain for hours so we were all completely sodden and not making much progress with flukey winds and therefore having to motor through it all. Then the engine stopped…….. Oh dear! Still, we had some way under us and carried on sailing for a little while using the autopilot powered by the generator running. Then the generator coughed and gave up….Oh double dear!! Nothing for it then but to heave to and drift around for the night as it was virtually impossible to find out what had gone wrong in the dark and during a deluge that eventually continued the whole night.
Next morning found us extremely damp but afloat and with one or two decisions to make. The chances of everything suddenly resolving itself so we could carry on were non existent so we decided to “sail” back to Santa Cruz where we knew there were people who could help. Hmm! Sailing back became quite an ordeal as the winds were mostly from the wrong direction or too light to get us under way. We also had to hand steer the whole way as the autopilot uses up too much battery power and we needed to keep some charge so we could use the radio and various other essential pieces of equipment like the fridge which had to keep going. We were going to need a cold beer when we finally returned to Santa Cruz….Ice Cold in Alex?
We gave our daily position and predicament to the Bluewater rally boats, by now well ahead of us and they were naturally very sympathetic, offering much advice but there was nothing we could do at sea. So on we sailed having to put in numerous long tacks to get us around the southern islands of the Galapagos archipelago. One very small island we had to circumnavigate became our “bête noir” as we climbed into the cockpit for our hand steering watches only to find that we had barely moved at all for hours or even gone backwards on occasion! Very frustrating but we weren’t unduly worried as we had plenty of food etc on board and we knew we would get there in the end which we finally did on day five….. We could have asked for a tow into the anchorage from the authorities but that would have cost $2000….no chance! One or two Bluewater Rally boats were yet to leave Santa Cruz and eventually Aqua Luna came to our rescue, towing us in, in perfect conditions, from about two miles out. Thanks Gabrielle and Jonathan, Allan and Charles!!
So here we are back anchored in virtually the same spot we had last week, waiting for things to be fixed so that we can set off again…… Claudio, an ace electrician/mechanic came to our rescue. We had met him before… !!He was a little surprised to see us but knuckled down to help. The generator was quickly restored to fully working capacity with a little rewiring to bypass the troublesome bits but the engine is proving to be a little trickier to resolve. It seems we need to get spare parts ( a high pressure fuel pump) which is not available locally so we are obliged to wait until it can either be fixed here or a new one can be couriered out from the UK or somewhere, anywhere…… Easter is happening at a most inconvenient time All very frustrating and expensive but I could think of worse places to be stranded!
Ed, our crew member had a decision to make too as he is due to meet up with his wife in Tahiti in early May. We won’t be there by then I expect so he decided to jump ship and join the last rally boat, Roundabout, to leave who is due to depart as I write. Bon Voyage Ed!
We will hopefully get going in a week or so but the other cruising yachts, Troutbridge and Delicado among them and who are not part of the Rally, are expecting to arrive here in about 10 days. It might be a better option to stay here a little longer and rejoin them all so we can sail on in company. I have missed their company anyway so it would be really nice to see them all again.
No decision yet however as we must find out if and when the engine will be sorted out for once and for all now. It just isn’t a good idea to set out on what must be the longest stretch of a circumnavigation, unless things are all in shipshape fashion!!!!!
More updates soon……….
Wednesday, 31 March 2010
Friday, 19 March 2010
Doing the Galapagos?
Galapagos barn owls trying to ignore about 75 Bluewater Rallyists all shouting at once!
I gave in eventually and crawled inside just to make myself look ridiculous!
Scrabbling in the mud and trying to look happy.
Just another iguana...there are millions of them here but I had to include one didn't I?
A Big Daddy on guard at the harbour, Floreana.Having been here in Santa Cruz for nearly two weeks, it was about time that we had an organized day trip to one or two of the other islands but this wasn’t happening for various reasons. More later however…….There have been several things to sort out on the boat such as ordering enough fuel and water aboard for the three week trip as well as getting things fixed which have gone wrong……..the water maker, the engine start battery, the 12volt alternator to name just a few! It’s not just Moonshiner though; several other boats have had major problems such as steering failure, cap shroud parting and a fire in the bilge on passage….that’s not just on the one boat though!!
There has been at least a very good social scene here with the other rally boats nearby so we have had a few entertaining evenings ashore. We did manage to see the famous giant tortoises at the Darwin centre (which is only half an hour away) including the solitary survivor of the Pinta Island species, Lonesome George, the one with the extraordinarily long neck. The other day, after another lunch ashore, we had an interesting trek across the lava fields to a gorge (formed from a fissure in the lava I think) for which I was wearing unsuitable shoes as usual. This type of lava is called Aa Aa (or something like that) which probably comes from the noises one makes as one stumbles across it….it’s sharp!!
The next day found us travelling into the slightly mountainous interior of Santa Cruz, which is usually bathed in cloud and therefore cooler, for the “crew briefing” about the sail to the Marquesas. This naturally included a meal and some relaxation around the pool in a lovely setting surrounded by a type of wilderness. I took the photos of the Galapagos barn owls here. They were quite happy snoozing in one of the changing rooms and seemingly oblivious to all the happy snapping going on about six feet away from them.
I was completely unaware just how built up these islands were before we got here. This main town of the Galapagos, Puerto Ayura has a population of 20000 with all the facilities we would expect such as supermarkets and laundries as well as many very good and cheap restaurants and luckily also, all the right people to mend the boats….we are not the only boat with problems! One or two boats have yet to make it here from Panama so have some catching up to do and one boat has had to pull out having had to turn back twice to Panama after a couple of days into the Pacific.
Lying here in the anchorage is very entertaining, if a tad rolly when the swells come in from the south, as we are surrounded by marine life, birds, turtles, iguanas and sealions. In fact, it is possible to see four of the “big five” Galapagos creatures right here, the only one left being the Galapagos penguin for which one needs to visit another island……..
My favourite creature has to be the sea lion. They are so entertaining and so tame (though we don’t touch them as they may bite and we’re not actually allowed to touch the Galapagos wildlife anyway!). I just couldn’t resist the one lazing on the park bench. They also visit the fish market daily and hang around waiting patiently along with the pelicans for the scraps, fish heads etc. Iguanas often swim by looking like floating logs in the water. Frigate birds, pelicans, brown noddies and storm petrels hover over the sea surface waiting for the little fish which jump out of the water to escape the larger fish predating them from below. We have also seen small sharks swimming by and several large rays too.
So then, it was high time for a day out. Dick was still fixing things on the boat however so Ed and I decided to “do” the highlights of Santa Cruz via an organised taxi trip We were driven up into the highlands where it was almost cool and “dumped” at the beginning of the lava tube having been told that it was about 400 meters long and that we would be met at the other end. Our delightful driver didn’t tell us that we would have to crawl on our hands and knees through slippery mud for some feet en route though!! See photo!!! It was good fun and we were able to wash the mud off at the next place we visited which was the tortoise reserve.....here we had to don wellies and tramp through more acres of slippery mud on a giant tortoise hunt….we found one or two and then stopped for a beer where I was eventually persuaded to wriggle into an old shell for a ridiculous pose or two….Hmm. The last stop was the spectacular collapsed craters at Gemelo. No suitable photos here though as my pathetic excuse for a camera had no memory left so you’ll have to Google it for pictures.
The next day we booked a one day tour of the furthest island south, which is Floreana, as this place promised a glimpse of the “Big Five”….that meant the penguins and the blue footed boobies although we had already seen them in Puerto Ayora. We set off quite early for the 2 hour “crash through fairly lumpy seas on a 2x200hp speed boat to Floreana with a temporary stop part way to circle a pod of dolphins chasing tuna. This was for the benefit of the non yachties aboard. We’ve seen thousands of them already but it’s still pleasure to watch anyway. Once on the quay, we were immediately among dozens of sealions and huge iguanas and, incredibly there in the water below were four swimming Galapagos penguins! My camera had no chance of a photo so I am relying on Dan from another boat with a decent Nikon to email me an image or two. They were lovely, quite tiny and very cute looking.
After a bone shaking bus ride into the hills to see caves, yet more giant tortoises (yawn…Oops!!) and geological formations and after a pretty passable lunch we returned to the boat to try snorkelling. I say “try” because I have never snorkelled before and am still yet to give it a go because the sea conditions were just a little rough for beginners this time. I shall have to wait now until the Tuamotus after Marquesas (no swimming allowed there….tiger sharks everywhere!) The clear, calm, shallow, turquoise lagoons of the Tuamotus sound just perfect…looking forward to that.
So not too much else to do on the boat before we leave in a couple of days…we need water, fresh fruit and veg and some meat if we can find it. I’m hoping there will be fresh fish en route too. The weather may be a slight problem. A southerly swell is forecast which will make this anchorage very uncomfortable and the winds down south don’t look too good at the moment either. So, do we go or do we stay?.....More information I hope as soon as I know and if there is none, it means we’ve gone!!
There has been at least a very good social scene here with the other rally boats nearby so we have had a few entertaining evenings ashore. We did manage to see the famous giant tortoises at the Darwin centre (which is only half an hour away) including the solitary survivor of the Pinta Island species, Lonesome George, the one with the extraordinarily long neck. The other day, after another lunch ashore, we had an interesting trek across the lava fields to a gorge (formed from a fissure in the lava I think) for which I was wearing unsuitable shoes as usual. This type of lava is called Aa Aa (or something like that) which probably comes from the noises one makes as one stumbles across it….it’s sharp!!
The next day found us travelling into the slightly mountainous interior of Santa Cruz, which is usually bathed in cloud and therefore cooler, for the “crew briefing” about the sail to the Marquesas. This naturally included a meal and some relaxation around the pool in a lovely setting surrounded by a type of wilderness. I took the photos of the Galapagos barn owls here. They were quite happy snoozing in one of the changing rooms and seemingly oblivious to all the happy snapping going on about six feet away from them.
I was completely unaware just how built up these islands were before we got here. This main town of the Galapagos, Puerto Ayura has a population of 20000 with all the facilities we would expect such as supermarkets and laundries as well as many very good and cheap restaurants and luckily also, all the right people to mend the boats….we are not the only boat with problems! One or two boats have yet to make it here from Panama so have some catching up to do and one boat has had to pull out having had to turn back twice to Panama after a couple of days into the Pacific.
Lying here in the anchorage is very entertaining, if a tad rolly when the swells come in from the south, as we are surrounded by marine life, birds, turtles, iguanas and sealions. In fact, it is possible to see four of the “big five” Galapagos creatures right here, the only one left being the Galapagos penguin for which one needs to visit another island……..
My favourite creature has to be the sea lion. They are so entertaining and so tame (though we don’t touch them as they may bite and we’re not actually allowed to touch the Galapagos wildlife anyway!). I just couldn’t resist the one lazing on the park bench. They also visit the fish market daily and hang around waiting patiently along with the pelicans for the scraps, fish heads etc. Iguanas often swim by looking like floating logs in the water. Frigate birds, pelicans, brown noddies and storm petrels hover over the sea surface waiting for the little fish which jump out of the water to escape the larger fish predating them from below. We have also seen small sharks swimming by and several large rays too.
So then, it was high time for a day out. Dick was still fixing things on the boat however so Ed and I decided to “do” the highlights of Santa Cruz via an organised taxi trip We were driven up into the highlands where it was almost cool and “dumped” at the beginning of the lava tube having been told that it was about 400 meters long and that we would be met at the other end. Our delightful driver didn’t tell us that we would have to crawl on our hands and knees through slippery mud for some feet en route though!! See photo!!! It was good fun and we were able to wash the mud off at the next place we visited which was the tortoise reserve.....here we had to don wellies and tramp through more acres of slippery mud on a giant tortoise hunt….we found one or two and then stopped for a beer where I was eventually persuaded to wriggle into an old shell for a ridiculous pose or two….Hmm. The last stop was the spectacular collapsed craters at Gemelo. No suitable photos here though as my pathetic excuse for a camera had no memory left so you’ll have to Google it for pictures.
The next day we booked a one day tour of the furthest island south, which is Floreana, as this place promised a glimpse of the “Big Five”….that meant the penguins and the blue footed boobies although we had already seen them in Puerto Ayora. We set off quite early for the 2 hour “crash through fairly lumpy seas on a 2x200hp speed boat to Floreana with a temporary stop part way to circle a pod of dolphins chasing tuna. This was for the benefit of the non yachties aboard. We’ve seen thousands of them already but it’s still pleasure to watch anyway. Once on the quay, we were immediately among dozens of sealions and huge iguanas and, incredibly there in the water below were four swimming Galapagos penguins! My camera had no chance of a photo so I am relying on Dan from another boat with a decent Nikon to email me an image or two. They were lovely, quite tiny and very cute looking.
After a bone shaking bus ride into the hills to see caves, yet more giant tortoises (yawn…Oops!!) and geological formations and after a pretty passable lunch we returned to the boat to try snorkelling. I say “try” because I have never snorkelled before and am still yet to give it a go because the sea conditions were just a little rough for beginners this time. I shall have to wait now until the Tuamotus after Marquesas (no swimming allowed there….tiger sharks everywhere!) The clear, calm, shallow, turquoise lagoons of the Tuamotus sound just perfect…looking forward to that.
So not too much else to do on the boat before we leave in a couple of days…we need water, fresh fruit and veg and some meat if we can find it. I’m hoping there will be fresh fish en route too. The weather may be a slight problem. A southerly swell is forecast which will make this anchorage very uncomfortable and the winds down south don’t look too good at the moment either. So, do we go or do we stay?.....More information I hope as soon as I know and if there is none, it means we’ve gone!!
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Ed bearing up quite well as he was subjected to various indignities, such as wearing a dress, while we celebrated "Crossing the Line".
The pelicans in Santa Cruz behave rather like the swans in the UK except that they simply won't eat bread that we toss to them! They much prefer meat or fish, unsurprisingly. They are incredibly tame here coming close enough to touch.
The frigatebirds also fly very close to the boats almost within touching distance. We also see lots of brown noddies and storm petrels around the anchorage plus several sealions which lie around sunning themselves on the decks of some cabin cruisers. Beneath the water, there are black tipped reef sharks, manta rays and turtles. It's almost not worth leaving the yachts to go on expensive daytrips! I do want to see the penguins though....... That means a day trip south to Floreanas I believe. Will do that soon ....lots more photos after that!It is hard to believe that we are already very nearly one quarter of the way round the world at over 89degrees west also just south of the equator (which we crossed on the 5th March in perfect conditions) and are now sitting in a very crowded and rolly anchorage in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos.
The story since we left Balboa, Panama just about 12 days ago…….. We headed about 50 miles more or less due south during the day to anchor overnight in one of the Las Perlas islands, San Jose or something like that. These islands are still part of Panama but are relatively unknown apart from the Shah of Iran spending his exile there. I have to say that they aren’t the most interesting unless one is passionate about rocks and birds…so that’s me then! The geology was actually quite boring though I did see some unusual birds (a pair of Mexican Tiger Herons then) and suffered from about 200 bites from the “noseeums” for my pains. All in all, we were quite glad to leave after three days there though the departure was quite sudden…a 30 minute tsunami warning for the Bay of Panama after the Chilean earthquake. Slightly alarming but nothing happened….much better to be out at sea though just in case!
The sail across to the Galapagos is supposed to take between 10 and 15 days with mostly light winds so we were surprised to find ourselves facing a force 6 on day 2/3 after flat calms at first. The wind continued to blow quite nicely from all directions (!) but we carried on more or less in the right direction towards the equator….. Ed, who had joined us just before we left Panama had crossed the equator many times but had never gone through the “ceremony” before so had no certificate to prove his crossings…and it has to be at sea anyway as Neptune himself would tell you, so he was fair game for some minor fun!! Photo attached I hope. It was a perfect day, weatherwise, and the best time of day too, to cross the line thank goodness!
After seven days at sea and having only used about 25 gallons of our precious water just in case…….. ( I have found a wonderful way to stay feeling cool and clean without using water; it’s called “menticol” cheaply available everywhere here…just don’t use it on any sensitive bits. My hair suffered a little though after over two weeks without a wash!!)...... we arrived at Santa Cruz and anchored in the middle of the "other" Rally, the World Arc who were leaving the next day or so. With 30 boats there, the anchorage was very crowded and we have had to put out a stern anchor for the first time to stop us swinging.
Having been here for 3 days now, it's about time we started doing a day trip or two to the other islands so my next blog should contain lots and lots of those touristy photos of blue footed boobies etc. Sorry in advance for that but you know how it is.....!!
Friday, 19 February 2010
A few mediocre photos of Panama wildlife before we leave for Las Perlas
A sloth! It was in the tree about 6feet away from us completely at home and munching away.
A porupine!! Again, in the tree about 6 feet away and casually observing it's audience of 30 or so. I suppose they have much fear of anyone?
A cayman......!!! Looking down into the pit where it lived..... They are around here in the wild too but quite hard to spot as they only come out to bask occasionally. We were told not to swim in the marina as a pair had been spotted there the other week killing a wild pig!
Er.......a very tiny little yellow bird if you can spot it....but it was extremely close anyway! I saw lots of other exotic birds but no chance of a photo.We are leaving Panama tomorrow for Las Perlas and then on to Galapagos for the 9th of March where I may be able to get online again.
We have stocked up the boat for up to 4 months as food etc here is so much cheaper than in the Pacific Islands....84 litres of milk for a start (I don't touch the stuff myself.....there are several cases of beer though.....30p a can and litre boxes of red wine at £1.50 each.....!!) Just too good to miss.
I hope the Galapagos live up to expectations....so far it seems that the most important thing to have is enough dollars to pay for it all....$100 for a start per crew member before anchoring charges etc are calculated.
No idea how much the excursions will be but I suspect a little on the expensive side?
Hope to have better photos to post from there......
Sunday, 14 February 2010
The ship that our two rafts of three yachts followed into the first Gatun Locks.
The raft of three, Simanderal ( 45' Malo)in the middle because she has a bow thruster and Aspen (36'Island Packet) on the other side.
This is the ship ( Golden Wish) that followed us in as we transited alone through the Miraflores; quite a monster with just about two feet spare on either side.
Victor, our advisor on day two. I fed him well, giving all on board a full english for breakfast for a start but he just loved the ginger nuts and ate them in handfuls!!
Moonshiner out of the locks and just about to go under the Bridge of the Americas which is the entrance to the Pacific! See how grey the sky is? It absolutely tipped down a few minutes later..Greetings from the "Other Side"
Well, here we are then, safely at anchor in Amador, Panama after a week of horrible headcolds and canal transits....yes, there was more than one of them!
The entire crew (!) of Moonshiner acquired a rather nasty cold virus after the first gathering of the Bluewater rally participants at Shelter Bay Marina leaving us ill (ha ha!!) prepared for the news that we would be the first boat in the first batch of canal transits starting that Sunday 7th Feb......but we left anyway as we had all the documentation ready and willing volunteers to help line handle.
So, we left the marina and motored across to the designated place to pick up our "advisor" who would stay with us until we tied to the buoy in the Gatun Lakes later that evening after the first set of three locks at Gatun which would take us up 90 feet. This was the hard part where the line handlers are required to do some pulling to keep the lines taut though as we were rafted alongside two other boats, there was only a need for four "active" handlers...one at each corner of the raft leaving the other eight doing little but watch. I kept myself busy making drinks etc for everyone and feeling increasingly lousy at the same time.
So far so good and we settled for an early night as we were leaving around 6.30 the next morning for the long motor (30miles or so) to the next set of locks which would take us down to the Pacific. Our second advisor "Victor" arrived next morning and we set off. Now the problems begin!! There were five other boats with us and they all shot off at breakneck speed, well nearly 7 knots anyway leaving us behind! We were only required to maintain 6 knots through the canal but the advisors were pushing the boats to get to the Miraflores locks even earlier than our allotted time for some reason.
The end result was that Moonshiner just couldn't keep up the pace and the engine started to protest by losing revs. Oops! We were in the unfortunate position of going nowhere fast in the middle of the canal with enormous ships bearing down on us. This sort of thing happens quite often however and so the Authorities quickly sent a launch to push us alongside a jetty while we sorted out the engine.....our line handlers, Bill (Camomile) and Nigel (Honalee) were brilliant and quickly got the engine back (and purring), so we continued on our way, by this time a long way behind the other five yachts and no chance of catching up. The Panama canal waits for no man!
We had to be rescheduled and our advisor Victor who was very patient (and kept well fed with ginger nuts) arranged for us to go through the first lock, the Pedro Miguel, alongside a tug. So our line handlers had a rest while the tug did all the work.
Then we had to wait for some time before a suitably sized ship was scheduled to go through so that we could motor in ahead of it. This is why there is always a need for 4 line handlers on each boat. You just never know what will happen...... As it turned out, we had a special transit which was apparently watched by some form of English royalty who just happened to be visiting the canal that day. I've no idea who this dignitary was but we waved as we went past anyway!
Once out of the Miraflores locks, we motored down to the anchorage where we sit today and hoped for a few days rest to get over the colds which were starting to get quite nasty. This was not to be the case for me unfortunately as I discovered the next morning and with 15 minutes warning that I had to go back to the other side of the canal by minibus and help another boat through acting as line handler. Well I did it but only just and I felt like death after two days on the canal again! I'm still coughing and spluttering and this wretched cold is going through the fleet...brought in apparently by some unsuspecting soul who flew in just over a week ago. I've said it before and will repeat that airlines must do something about the quality of the air that their poor passengers are forced to breathe. Rant over..... !
Photos next.......... They're not very good as I wasn't really with it most of the time. Sorry!
The entire crew (!) of Moonshiner acquired a rather nasty cold virus after the first gathering of the Bluewater rally participants at Shelter Bay Marina leaving us ill (ha ha!!) prepared for the news that we would be the first boat in the first batch of canal transits starting that Sunday 7th Feb......but we left anyway as we had all the documentation ready and willing volunteers to help line handle.
So, we left the marina and motored across to the designated place to pick up our "advisor" who would stay with us until we tied to the buoy in the Gatun Lakes later that evening after the first set of three locks at Gatun which would take us up 90 feet. This was the hard part where the line handlers are required to do some pulling to keep the lines taut though as we were rafted alongside two other boats, there was only a need for four "active" handlers...one at each corner of the raft leaving the other eight doing little but watch. I kept myself busy making drinks etc for everyone and feeling increasingly lousy at the same time.
So far so good and we settled for an early night as we were leaving around 6.30 the next morning for the long motor (30miles or so) to the next set of locks which would take us down to the Pacific. Our second advisor "Victor" arrived next morning and we set off. Now the problems begin!! There were five other boats with us and they all shot off at breakneck speed, well nearly 7 knots anyway leaving us behind! We were only required to maintain 6 knots through the canal but the advisors were pushing the boats to get to the Miraflores locks even earlier than our allotted time for some reason.
The end result was that Moonshiner just couldn't keep up the pace and the engine started to protest by losing revs. Oops! We were in the unfortunate position of going nowhere fast in the middle of the canal with enormous ships bearing down on us. This sort of thing happens quite often however and so the Authorities quickly sent a launch to push us alongside a jetty while we sorted out the engine.....our line handlers, Bill (Camomile) and Nigel (Honalee) were brilliant and quickly got the engine back (and purring), so we continued on our way, by this time a long way behind the other five yachts and no chance of catching up. The Panama canal waits for no man!
We had to be rescheduled and our advisor Victor who was very patient (and kept well fed with ginger nuts) arranged for us to go through the first lock, the Pedro Miguel, alongside a tug. So our line handlers had a rest while the tug did all the work.
Then we had to wait for some time before a suitably sized ship was scheduled to go through so that we could motor in ahead of it. This is why there is always a need for 4 line handlers on each boat. You just never know what will happen...... As it turned out, we had a special transit which was apparently watched by some form of English royalty who just happened to be visiting the canal that day. I've no idea who this dignitary was but we waved as we went past anyway!
Once out of the Miraflores locks, we motored down to the anchorage where we sit today and hoped for a few days rest to get over the colds which were starting to get quite nasty. This was not to be the case for me unfortunately as I discovered the next morning and with 15 minutes warning that I had to go back to the other side of the canal by minibus and help another boat through acting as line handler. Well I did it but only just and I felt like death after two days on the canal again! I'm still coughing and spluttering and this wretched cold is going through the fleet...brought in apparently by some unsuspecting soul who flew in just over a week ago. I've said it before and will repeat that airlines must do something about the quality of the air that their poor passengers are forced to breathe. Rant over..... !
Photos next.......... They're not very good as I wasn't really with it most of the time. Sorry!
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Crossing over to the Other Side
The preparations are now complete for our canal transit which was supposed to be next week but has been brought forward and we are now the first official Bluewater boat to go through…..at around 5pm local time (10pm UK time) today. We have to leave the marina by about 2pm. You can watch the transit live via the webcam at Gatun Locks on panamacanal.com …or something like that. It’s easy to find anyway! I shall send text messages to a few family/friends as we transit so I am hoping that at least some of you will still be awake.
I had no idea just how much red tape was involved to get the boat ready as well as a small mountain of paperwork to be completed which included a trip to downtown Colon (awfully scary place!) for fingerprinting. This is a new requirement in Panama…they change the regulations frequently and also charge for each new service…. The dollar pile is reducing rapidly......
The boat had to be measured by an official measurer and the loo inspected to make sure it is suitable for use by the “advisor” who will be on board while we are in the locks at Gatun, Incredibly, if the loo is deemed unsuitable for his requirements, a launch has to be called for to come alongside so that he can “go”….this inconvenience (pun intended!) would cost the skipper $300. Luckily, I had only just cleaned out the heads which can be a little leaky. Phew!!
There have to be four long ropes of at least 125’ on board just in case they are needed though these can be hired. We measured out the long ropes that Dick has stored and they are long enough even if they are cut in two. We all have to learn how to catch a monkey’s fist and tie it rapidly onto the 125’lines for the shoreside handlers. No dropping of ropes or shoddy knot tying is allowed.
The length of the boat is a problem as it is now over 50’ with the davits and dinghy meaning that we would have to pay considerably more for the transit so we are discussing ways to tip the dinghy on its side to make the boat shorter. There are enough fenders on board but most people also use old tyres which are covered with bin bags. These are readily available at the marina …in the rubbish bins.
We have three extra people on board for the whole transit which should end tomorrow afternoon. They act as line handlers. It will be a squash for sleeping but it’s only one night. I have already made the dinner with jelly for “afters”! The fridge is turned up to its coldest setting so that the beer will be cool enough. I think we will need it after a long evening of rope heaving.
We anchor in the Gatun Lakes for the night before starting off again for the second lot of locks at Miraflores at the Pacific end. There is also a webcam there and it should be easier to see on the computer as it should still be daylight for us.
The marina has been so pleasant after such a long time at anchor.…all the water we can use…and all the cleaning that has been going on means that we certainly are using lots and lots of the wonderful cooling stuff. There is also a very nice pool for our use though it can get rather full of Germans. Just where do they come from?
Several other Blue water boats have now arrived and so we are gradually meeting them and getting to know some quite well. They are mostly British (Irish, Scots and Welsh and all!) though we have re-met a very nice US couple whom we first met in Trinidad, Steve and Maria on Aspen. Steve is a geophysicist so it has been lovely to talk about rocks! They are rafting alongside us for the transit…we will be a group of three with the boat that has a bow thruster in the middle. The middle boat also steers us all.
So, there’s just time to refill the water tanks and recharge all the electrical appliances via the dockside supply before a light lunch and then it’ll be time to let go.
Exciting stuff!! See you on the other side……
I had no idea just how much red tape was involved to get the boat ready as well as a small mountain of paperwork to be completed which included a trip to downtown Colon (awfully scary place!) for fingerprinting. This is a new requirement in Panama…they change the regulations frequently and also charge for each new service…. The dollar pile is reducing rapidly......
The boat had to be measured by an official measurer and the loo inspected to make sure it is suitable for use by the “advisor” who will be on board while we are in the locks at Gatun, Incredibly, if the loo is deemed unsuitable for his requirements, a launch has to be called for to come alongside so that he can “go”….this inconvenience (pun intended!) would cost the skipper $300. Luckily, I had only just cleaned out the heads which can be a little leaky. Phew!!
There have to be four long ropes of at least 125’ on board just in case they are needed though these can be hired. We measured out the long ropes that Dick has stored and they are long enough even if they are cut in two. We all have to learn how to catch a monkey’s fist and tie it rapidly onto the 125’lines for the shoreside handlers. No dropping of ropes or shoddy knot tying is allowed.
The length of the boat is a problem as it is now over 50’ with the davits and dinghy meaning that we would have to pay considerably more for the transit so we are discussing ways to tip the dinghy on its side to make the boat shorter. There are enough fenders on board but most people also use old tyres which are covered with bin bags. These are readily available at the marina …in the rubbish bins.
We have three extra people on board for the whole transit which should end tomorrow afternoon. They act as line handlers. It will be a squash for sleeping but it’s only one night. I have already made the dinner with jelly for “afters”! The fridge is turned up to its coldest setting so that the beer will be cool enough. I think we will need it after a long evening of rope heaving.
We anchor in the Gatun Lakes for the night before starting off again for the second lot of locks at Miraflores at the Pacific end. There is also a webcam there and it should be easier to see on the computer as it should still be daylight for us.
The marina has been so pleasant after such a long time at anchor.…all the water we can use…and all the cleaning that has been going on means that we certainly are using lots and lots of the wonderful cooling stuff. There is also a very nice pool for our use though it can get rather full of Germans. Just where do they come from?
Several other Blue water boats have now arrived and so we are gradually meeting them and getting to know some quite well. They are mostly British (Irish, Scots and Welsh and all!) though we have re-met a very nice US couple whom we first met in Trinidad, Steve and Maria on Aspen. Steve is a geophysicist so it has been lovely to talk about rocks! They are rafting alongside us for the transit…we will be a group of three with the boat that has a bow thruster in the middle. The middle boat also steers us all.
So, there’s just time to refill the water tanks and recharge all the electrical appliances via the dockside supply before a light lunch and then it’ll be time to let go.
Exciting stuff!! See you on the other side……
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