Back in B.C. from San Francisco.... Happy Hallowe'en to one & all!

October turned into a mix of stress and enjoyment.  The stress was mainly due to two complications: organizing a tinned wire shipment to Sweden and shipping of the salvaged gear from the old 'Nereida' from San Francisco to the U.K.  But the enjoyment was in meeting up with & visiting so many welcoming friends from the San Francisco Bay area and, towards the end of the month, in Washington (state) and back in B.C.

Arranging for a tinned wire shipment to Sweden for the complete wiring of the new 'Nereida' in Ancor tinned wire of the correct gauge, type, colour and requisite spool length (involving changing from metric to AWG gauge and from metres to feet in all applications.... ugh!) ... all took me way longer than it should have done, the boatyard not being anywhere near as helpful as they could have been.  Then the actual ordering and shipping via an export agent also became far more convoluted than I expected (although I'd like to thank Alicia Roberts of Marinco in San Francisco for her help on the pricing of the wire).  At one point, the 'skid' had to be retrieved from inside a container truck as it paused in Tennessee on its way from N. Carolina to Michigan....!  (My grateful thanks to Alan at the Knoxville depot who went out of his way overnight to locate it & retrieve it...!!) But it finally arrived in Sweden this week in good time for the wiring to be started in preparation for the newly completed hull to arrive in the yard for fitting out in early November.

I also had to finish with the sorting through, packing and organizing of the shipping of old boatgear salvaged from Mexico - now on its way to the Port of London from San Francisco and due in England on 22nd November. I can't thank Ruben Gabriel (of 'Sparky') enough - I couldn't have managed it all without his help.  Not only did he help me by letting me store my gear in his house in Benicia after transferring it there in his truck from 'Annamarina' in Richmond in August, but he also later helped me in emptying & rinsing out a heavy, sand-filled spinnaker pole as well as with packing all my gear onto his truck again so I could take everything down to Daly City (on the south side of San Francisco, near the airport) where the shipping agent had their office.

I foolishly thought that all I had to do was to turn up with my load at the shippers' at 8.30 a.m., having got up at 5.30 a.m. in order to avoid a major hold-up crossing the Bay Bridge around sunrise in the early morning rush-hour into and out of San Francisco, and that would be the end of my involvement .... not so...!  Booked on a flight out of Oakland at 2.30 p.m. that same day, I found I had to take my load down to another place just outside SFO airport - where I met with a completely unhelpful "No, we don't offload - that's up to you."  Presented with two empty pallets, I then had to offload everything onto them and decided that, given their unfriendly attitude, more labelling on all the boxes and packages would be a good idea in order to try to reduce the chances of losing anything....  At midday, I was still busy as they brought down the shutter-doors for their hour-long lunch-break ... and I still had a few more boxes to finish with, in the heat of a lovely, sunny day.  Just in time, I drove to the nearby airport to change my flight to 6.30 p.m. .... a kind Alaska Airlines lady printed off my boarding pass (at my request, to give me more chance of making the flight) and didn't charge me for the change....   I actually managed to find my way back to my pallets without getting too lost (I had no  decent map!) - but they weren't there!!  Smilingly, a guy joked about the fact that they had been taken inside when they had opened up again after lunch.  To my relief, I now found I was dealing with friendly, helpful guys who gave me good advice and obviously knew what they were doing - they actually 'palletized' my boxes using just one pallet, not the two I was expecting, saving me money.  I felt much happier when I finally left the warehouse that I might actually get to see all my gear again, intact, in London!!

Then I had to make a mad dash to Benicia (over 50mls away!) in the empty truck to return it to Ruben's house and then pick up my hire car and luggage to get to Oakland airport (another long distance away ...) in time to catch my flight to Seattle. It was great to be able to relax and get some sleep on the plane!  Having postponed my flight, I'd missed a convenient, reserved, direct bus connection from SeaTac to Port Townsend but I got a bus to the 10pm Bainbridge ferry and then stayed overnight at Suquamish, just north of Paulsbo.   I'd accepted a lunch invitation to the Port Ludlow Amateur Radio Club's weekly Wednesday get-together and their President John came to collect me and later drove me up to Pt Townsend after I'd talked to them about my sailing, following on a lovely Mexican lunch in a Chimacum restaurant.  It was good to see friend Ed Sherman, K7UEN, again - he'd helped with my radio problems two years earlier when I'd spent the winter in Port Townsend -  and it was a very enjoyable meeting.

I was very lucky with the weather last week, having had hot sunshine in the San Francisco area (definitely to my liking!) and seeing no rain until late Thursday and into Hallowe'en Friday (and then the rain wasn't too heavy!).  The  foliage colours of the many different trees looked really beautiful in the sunshine of Washington as I drove or walked in and around Pt Townsend and on Whidbey and Orcas Islands (I made good use of the Washington State Ferry system!).  I visited several boat friends I'd not seen for some time and ended up on the Anacortes ferry to Sidney - what an excellent way to cross into Canada from the U.S. ... so easy!!

At the beginning of the month, I'd flown down to the S.F. Bay area for the wedding of Ruben to Robbie.  It was great to be able to share in such a happy occasion and the setting, high up in the hills of San Rafael with San Francisco Bay in the distance, was beautiful.  There were quite a few Single-Handed Sailing Society (SSS) friends there, so we all had a very sociable evening together - another 'Tree' in fact!  After a quick visit to Alameda that same weekend for a Dock Party in Marina Village, I settled down in Benicia to my gear-sorting.  Later in the month, I managed to look around Old Benicia one afternoon - and was pleasantly surprised by the lovely old waterside area with interesting houses surrounded by lots of trees and bushes overlooking Suisin Bay.  Another day, I went with friends to China Camp which has an interesting, but rather sad, prawn-fishing history relating to Chinese immigrants.  It's now a lovely marine park with a good anchorage (except in Easterlies) in the shallow waters of the bay.  I later drove north from Sausalito along the coast towards Pt Reyes, visiting Stinson Beach and the interesting 'hippy' town of Bolinas before returning via Muir Woods.  A very enjoyable day in beautiful scenery with some good company.

I'm now getting ready to fly to Sweden on 9/10th November from Vancouver, to oversee the start of the new boat fitting-out.  Still lots to check on, with queries on many items yet to be resolved to my satisfaction... hopefully, it can all be dealt with easily.... we shall see!

(See 'Articles&Interviews' page for Latitude 38 August 2008 report of my sad grounding in Mexico in June)

August was a busy month, with thoughts of a new boat taking up a lot of my time!
The return upwind sail to San Francisco on "Islander" that I'd been looking forward to turned into a bit of a nightmare & had to be aborted just over a day out from Kauai due to water leaking in from several unseen places & eventually reaching to above the cabin sole, despite my efforts at baling out. With no bilge pumps working and a 3 week passage ahead, it was clearly not sensible to continue on. On closing the coast of Kauai after dawn, the Monitor wind-steering (which had been working quite well up to that point) came adrift from the steering wheel due to broken hose-clamps - mendable, given time & plenty of patience, but since I was then sailing nicely within 6 hrs of Hanalei Bay I decided it was simpler & safer just to handsteer the remaining distance in to the anchorage and hope the slowly-rising, oily bilge-water wouldn't cause me a major problem - I got in safely, after heaving to while I baled out a bit more & checked my position and course to steer ...
I then flew to London for a few days, celebrating my birthday by signing a contract for a new boat - a Najad 380, just over a foot longer than my old Najad 361. I had lots of small but important (to me) changes I wanted, so I then flew to Sweden to discuss these in detail with the Najad yard at Henan, north of Gothenburg, on the island of Orust- traditionally, a centre of Swedish boat-building since Viking times. By focussing on thoughts of the new boat, I'm avoiding the sadness of remembering the last painful days of my old 'Nereida'. There's certainly lots to think about for 'Nereida II' & I feel quite excited over the thought of sailing her by next Spring - she looks a lovely boat, is similar in many ways to the Najad 361 I know so well, is designed to sail well, and with my changes she should work well for me. I was even more cheerful last week when I saw the insurance money come into my account!!
I'm now in San Francisco where I've been both looking for new items for the new boat and also looking over & sorting out the salvaged items from Mexico, brought up by Skip Weahunt on 'Annamarina' - a big "Thank you" to Skip for his kindness there. Quite a lot has had to be thrown away as being too water-damaged to be worthwhile keeping and I have to figure out how to get the remainder to the U.K. I was fortunate to be offered the use of space on shore by Ruben of 'Sparky', while I sort it all out - a slow process. Ruben also gave me a lot of help yesterday, moving the gear using his old truck - perfect!
I have a few more days here in the Bay area of San Francisco, sorting old gear and researching/buying new gear, as well as catching up with friends here, before going up to British Columbia this weekend to join the Ocean Cruising Club Desolation Sound Rally for some sailing in those lovely waters.
I was very sorry this morning to hear the sad news of Skip Allen on 'Wildflower' who is himself safe on a freighter but had to abandon and scuttle his boat after damage during 40-50 knot winds on Sunday on his return passage towards Santa Cruz - he had been expecting to make landfall on Monday or Tuesday. I hope that Ken on 'Harrier' and Rob & Aaron on 'Feolena' all make landfall safely soon. (For news, see www.sfbaysss.org)

27th July 08
I'm writing this as I fly to Kauai from Ealing for the finish of the SHTP08 Race - a mix of sad & happy feelings - sad not to have been racing myself in "Nereida", as I was meant to be, and happy at the thought that I'll soon be meeting up with the racers, most of whom are now coming to the end of their ocean passage from SF - a mix for them of light winds near the start and overnight strong squalls nearing Hawaii, with lovely constant Trades over the last week's run towards Hawaii. I'm really looking forward to seeing them all - especially under the 'tree' in the evenings of the coming week - somehow it will be more meaningful from this perspective, having followed the race via the website but knowing just how it will have been for them after my own race experience two years ago.

I've been so busy over my short time in the U.K., what with the usual 'catching up' on paperwork, trying to see or speak to friends, answering the many emails I've had when the news of Nereida's end reached both friends and strangers via my website or mutual friends .. and looking for the new 'Nereida II' .... The more I think about
that, the more I appreciate how it took eleven years to get her into good 'cruising mode' ... and now I have to start all over.. and try to do it all within a few months or so.... a lot to think about! At present, I'm looking at the Najad 380 and the Hallberg Rassy 37 - very similar in size and performance, although the Najad, with the new design, would probably 'pip' the HR37 on speed and definitely has a lot of improved design & detail features over the N361 - which I'm happy to see.

I went for a sail a week ago on a N380 and it felt fine - very similar to 'Nereida' but clearly a touch larger and also a touch more lively - the rig is definitely bigger although the displacement is in proportion. I'm not inclined to go for in-mast furling, so that cuts the second-hand options down tremendously since it seems most boats these days come with that option - it's almost a standard. I've got quite used to slab reefing downwind, with lines back to the cockpit & taking my time as the wind builds... very occasionally, it gets a bit fraught, but mostly I just take my time, knowing that we might be heeling a touch initially but that's OK ... we'll be fine after reefing. I keep being told that in-mast furling is now so much more reliable than it used to be - but I have this vision of a HR36 at the dock in Hamble Point Marina some years back, with three guys (one up the mast!) cursing and struggling for several hours to free a creased, semi-furled mains'l...!!! Not something I relish mid-ocean!!

Some of my priorities for the new boat are: tinned, labelled wires throughout (tinned wire still NOT standard practice in Europe!) and good engine access (especially for regular routine maintenance such as oil & filter changes) sensible, organized stowage of spares and tools - preferably in a dedicated area (I'm fed up with having spares scattered all over the boat!), over-sized wiring to prevent (hopefully!) voltage-drop problems,... But I also want a boat that will happily give 150+ mile days in good wind and sea conditions - yes, I love being out on the ocean on long passages, but why prolong the passage when I could be enjoying my landfall sooner, after a really good sail, exploring a new place while getting ready for the
next passage? One of the racers wrote last week something to the effect that 'any two boats within sight of each other instantly make a race' - how true!! I vividly remember the passage from Bali to Christmas Island in the S. Indian Ocean last year when 'Trudel' had left the day before me ... There was something very satisfying about slowly overhauling, and then overtaking, them well before making landfall!! Brings out the competitive streak in me, I suppose! But it's also nice to see my boat performing well in reasonable wind conditions, despite building seas.

I got no sleep last night with all I was trying to do as I was packing... My new laptop was misbehaving so badly that I ended up spending over one-and-a-half hours on the phone to Sony support - but having re-formatted the hard drive, all seems to be OK now - but, of course, that meant I've had to update and re-load so many items... Also, the 'beta' version of Airmail within Vista really 'hangs up' the laptop - I've had to abandon it and go for the previous version - a pity, since the beta version has some excellent features.

I'm hoping for some sleep before landing at L.A. where I change on to a direct flight to Lihue airport on Kauai, arriving Sunday evening - it will have been a very long day & night for me since local time there is 11 hours behind London time... think I'll sleep in tomorrow!

Mon 28th July

Last night I slept really well after arriving in Hanalei with Gayle & Ilana Kirschbaum, wife and daughter of Tom who's racing on 'Feral', who had so very kindly met me at Lihue airport and taken me out for dinner before the drive to the north of Kauai Island.

I just missed seeing the finish of Skip on 'Wildflower' (very likely overall winner this year after a superb sail) but did manage to see Don cross the line on 'Warrior's Wish' from the viewpoint on the 'Bluff' above Hanalei Bay. Then I was taken out in a dinghy to congratulate both racers and help with some re-anchoring ... so many boats in the bay, some on very long rodes which ended up under other boats, hence the need to move. Later I met up with everyone under the 'Tree' by the lovely beach, to catch up on news and listen in on the remaining racers' evening rollcall and chat session - they seem to be having a good final sail in, although not all without problems. We all feel for Ruben on tiny 'Sparky' who had been doing so well - dismasted 600 miles out but making fair progress under jury rig. (See www.sfbaysss.org for the racers own logs and position reports during the Single-Handed Trans Pac race).

The weather has been typically full of heavy showers, with warm sunshine in between. It's a lovely place and I'm enjoying the sociable atmosphere and the chance to get back out on the water from time to time!

Tuesday 15th July 2008

I should have been on the Start Line with "Nereida" for the Single-Handed TransPac Race to Kauai, Hawaii, which started last Saturday 12th July ... so I joined the racers several days beforehand in San Francisco and was able to enjoy their company firstly at Marina Village and Encinal Y.C. in Alameda & then at the Corinthian Y.C. in Tiburon from where I saw them off literally on the Start Line ... from the 'Latitude 38' photo boat - thank you for that kind thought, LaDonna!! The photo boat went out beyond the Golden Gate Bridge and got close to each boat in turn which was great fun... and it was nice to see the racers on a 'high' in good wind just after the start - smiling and waving at us! I have to admit it was also painful for me to see them starting and not to be sailing with them on poor 'Nereida'...
A few days earlier, Barbara Euser on 'Islander' was looking for someone to bring her boat back from Kauai after the race - I jumped at the chance - so I'll be single-handing 'Islander' back on the 2 1/2 - 3 week 'Return' from Kauai to San Francisco - I'm really looking forward to that and was very happy when Barbara accepted my offer! 'Islander' is a Bristol 34, quite different from Nereida, although similar in size, so it will be an interesting trip....!
I'm now back in London, trying to sort out various things... like my insurance claim, replacing lost items, trying to retrieve computer data (photos, emails, etc) from damaged hard drives, writing up my story, catching up with friends and family & several months' post... and looking for "Nereida II".
On July 27th, I'll fly out to Kauai to see the racers finish over the following week, and get in a bit of R&R, and I expect to start the return sail to San Francisco on 'Islander' on 5th August.
Plans after that are unclear, although I'm hoping to get to B.C. in September for some more sailing... the thought of being off the water for a long time is not one I enjoy! But I have greatly appreciated the many kind offers from friends to join them both on & off the water ... and, of course, there's 'Annamarina' down in Manzanillo, waiting for the hurricane season to pass or at least diminish, before being brought up to San Francisco at some point.... "watch this space!" 

P.S. Have lost all phone/address details for all my friends with loss of my laptops and papers - so please email me with that info... thanks.
  
   Jeanne

Wed 2nd July 08
Problems never come singly!!...  I'm writing this from Las Hadas Marina, Manzanillo, where "Annamarina" is berthed now.  We got going yesterday morning, as planned, after my overnight bus ride to Manzanillo from Acapulco...but her prop suddenly lost a blade (we now know it was badly cracked due to electrolysis) and we had  to come limping back after two hrs headed north to Puerto Vallarta (a 'hurricane hole') where we'd hoped to leave her while we both flew back to San Francisco, the original plan being to come back down to sail north again fairly soon after 12th July.

Trying to find a replacement propellor (or someone to repair it) is a problem here - it's likely only to be available from the US - so we're flying to San Francisco very soon and Skip will get a prop whilst there - he needs to be in SF at the same time as I want to be, so that works well.

I'm still half with "Nereida" - and remembering so many good people who helped me:

...Javier and Isaiah, the two local fishermen on the beach after daybreak, who went to such efforts to help with my anchors, digging holes to bed them in the sand to try to prevent them from being dragged as "Nereida" was flipped over from one side to the other by the surge on the surf-ridden beach, while we tried to stop her from moving so she could be saved with a tow off the beach - an outside hope in that remote location but I refused to give up hope too soon ....

...The two students, Esteban & Miguel, from Mexico City, who spent many hours during the first day with me, trying to help me as much as they could and translating to everyone I needed to communicate with, despite this being part of only a very short camping holiday for them.  They had excellent English and were a great support at a difficult time for me....

...The Captain of the Marines who tried his best to help  - taking me to the town via his base camp to make phone calls and posting guards over "Nereida" for several days in an attempt to stop stealing from her while I was away from her overnight.....

...The family of Jose Maria Marquez in Acapulco who cared for me and tried to find people to help me in different ways... and their neighbours who also welcomed me and tried to cheer me up when one of them celebrated his birthday with a big party on the Saturday night....

...Several families who would come over during the daytime from the nearest village of Tenexpa to serve food and drinks from the beach 'palapas' (shelters) and insisted on giving me food and drink in between my frantic efforts to save what possessions I could as poor "Nereida" got more damaged, took on more and more sand and water and sank lower and lower into the beach just below the high water mark... so very sad for me ... 

The photo shows the lovely lagoon (Laguna Tenexpa) full of birds and waterlife behind Nereida's beach (on Playa Michigan) with the 'palapas' catering for occasional campers and day visitors to the reserve area where she lies - her mast is visible above the palapas.

Then there were the opposite happenings.... I would find strangers turning over my possessions which had ended up in the sand with seemingly no thought for my feelings ....  I tried to explain that she was "mi casita, mi vida" (my home, my life)... which for some of them finally got through... but there were also 'vultures' who descended and took advantage of my situation, cutting so many lines and taking things which they had no right to take .... painful....

I didn't mind so much giving whatever food and anything else of use to them to the local families - they were clearly quite poor and I felt it was the least I could do for them in return for all their help.

Today in Las Hadas, Manzanillo, was a good example of the summer weather hereabouts.... very strong winds and heavy rain caused by a tropical storm passing close by.... we were assured Manzanillo is safe to leave 'Annamarina' for the time being - but we're not convinced of that - there's always the chance, however remote, of a hurricane hitting over the next few months.  So we hope she'll be safe here until she can be moved to somewhere further north and finally to San Francisco - at which point I'll be able to sort out what I've salvaged.

Difficult times.... but I've had so many emails of support and kind offers of help from so many people - both good friends, acquaintances and total strangers - thank you all so very much for that.. I've very much appreciated those emails from you all...

 
"Nereida" was grounded halfway from Acapulco to Zihuatanejo in a desolate, mainly uninhabited part of the coast, after the autopilot remote control lost power which put the autopilot into 'standby' just before first light on Thursday 19th June.  I was taking my usual timed nap - stopwatch set for forty-five minutes - which looked fine in the situation ... full moon, some swell and waves, but not much, motoring in very little wind, a good distance from a long sandy shore.  Because I was motoring in calm conditions, the resultant change of course resulting from our usual slight heel to starboard was not obvious enough to wake me up in time - as it would have done had I been sailing.

Sunday 15th June 08

Just shook out 2nd reef I put in mid-morning when the wind and seas got up quite strongly - thought I was in for a 'Tehuantepecker' but the most apparent wind I saw, close-reaching, was 26-28 knots (I began to think of putting in 3rd reef but it was not quite needed). The seas were really short and steep - and still are, even though the wind is right down now - makes for a very uncomfortable motion although at least we're not pitching headlong into the waves as we had been quite violently before, with seas regularly madly washing the decks. The wind has veered from the West of yesterday, when I had to tack several times to make headway against the seas, more towards the North and has now died down so much that we're back into motoring with a pretence of sailing.

This morning was full of incident - the asymmetric spinnaker/cruising chute/gennaker (call it what you like!!), that I had carefully tied down on deck since before my Canal Transit, decided to become a full-blown drogue. Just before the wind really got up, I noticed the sailbag dangling half over the side - ripped & empty! Then I realized that part of the reason we were heeling over so much just then (apart from building wind and seas) was that the sail was streaming down the leeward side of the boat, attached to the sailbag which was in turn well attached to the lifelines, a shroud and a stanchion.... and the sock was streaming astern near the surface, acting like a sea-anchor or drogue.... no wonder our speed was down! I'd been down below just before, downloading and looking at weatherfaxes, when I'd heard an odd noise & had come up on top to investigate. The sail in the bag had been getting regularly doused with water as waves broke on deck with our pitching motion in the short seas and had presumably become so heavy it had moved with the rushing water, managed to go over the side and its weight must have torn the bag apart!! Incredible!

The big problem for me then was getting the sock (full of water and very heavy, with our forward speed not helping) and chute back on board with the sailbag (all being tied together with the 'chute & sock lines) without getting it all hopelessly entangled in the lifelines while I was at it. The main chute wasn't too difficult to get up handful by handful, because it was loose enough not to hold too much water, but I had to leave it on the side deck while I dealt with the sock and bag & pray it stayed there! Luckily, I was able to reach down part way along the sock and tie a line around it to help me get it slowly back on board - I thought initially it was never going to come, there was such a force on it.. but eventually I got the sock into the cockpit and then finally managed to deal with the bag (which I'd tied on really well!). So now I have one very salty, wet spinnaker & torn bag on the cockpit floor - hopefully draining and drying so I can dispose of it some time soon. At least I didn't lose the sail (luckily, it was tied well to the sailbag inside or I would certainly have lost it), nor did I have to cut any of the lines to retrieve it!

With having had to tack regularly in the veering wind overnight, trying to make our best course, I'd not slept much anyway.. so by now I was really tired and lay down for a lovely snooze until my midday log!! Breakfast/lunch could wait!

I'd made the decision to go for the 'direct' route across the Tehuantepec, as opposed to staying in shallow water almost on the beach all around this enormous Gulf, after much deliberation - not a decision to be made lightly here... But weatherfaxes and grib files all consistently showed light winds for several days, almost no pressure gradient - which is what gives rise to the notorious Tehuantepec strong wind out of nowhere (despite high pressure in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas, it was fairly high here also),.... and the nearest Tropical Wave heading this way across the Caribbean was several days away - so no tropical storm/hurricane-formation fears for now, either. Of course, I'd not appreciated that even with just the sustained 15-20 knots that built up this morning, the fairly shallow waters kick up nasty seas in no time - but hopefully, that's finished with now - certainly the seas are far calmer with the wind having died down. (I wonder if that's partly due to the 'land-heating' effect - on-shore thermal effect over the day opposing the otherwise offshore (N/NW) pressure-gradient wind - or did we just experience a 'mini T-pecker'?)

I left Quetzal on Friday 13th (!!), after refuelling, 'desayuno' and a lovely long shower, and stayed fairly close to shore in just 10-12m depth almost all the way. As night fell, there was the smell of wood fires coming from the typical Mayan groups of thatched-roofed structures which occurred at intervals among the greenery backing onto the long brown/grey sandy shore with surf breaking onto it. The current was foul for nearly 100 mls but gradually reduced, and soon after midnight, it had turned and was fair from then on all through Saturday when my course was not far from the coast. Today, it was foul all day but now it's weak but fair yet again - I wonder if the west-going current follows the coastline and, by cutting across, that's why I lost it. Now, at sunset on Sunday, I'm 50 mls from Huatulco, whose passing will mark the end of this Tehuantepec crossing, and just under two days from Acapulco.

Yesterday also had its incidents, but pleasanter ones, over a very relaxed, sunny, calm day of motorsailing. I kept seeing turtles passing by going the opposite way - several large brown ones with a long, high shell (leatherbacks??) and a couple of smaller ones, light-greenish and cream in colour. As I passed the border from Guatemala into Mexico, I heard the Puerto Madero Costa Garda calling repeatedly on VHF - in Spanish. Eventually, after listening carefully to the position of the boat they were hailing, I decided to respond - maybe it was me they were trying to talk to..? It was! They were some distance away (nearly 20 miles) but must have seen me on their radar. In response to their questions, I gave my position, British sailing yacht "Nereida", told them where I was from (Panama & Quetzal) & going to (Acapulco) in a mix of English and Spanish. There was also a US Navy vessel heading in to that port but otherwise I felt I was the only boat in this part of the ocean. Soon after that, I was visited by a playful group of five dolphins and later on I actually enjoyed relaxing and lying in the warmth of the cockpit... - haven't done that for quite a time!

Thursday 12th June

Some wind - but from astern so still had to motorsail to make sure of Guatemala landfall in daylight. In fact, with such light winds, apart from when rain clouds were around, the onshore/offshore cycle due to the land heating/cooling effect was noticeable both yesterday and today. Got a fright early this morning during the rain when there was a clap of thunder and a lightning flash right by us.... but it was an isolated one, TG.

As I was getting closer to Quetzal, angling closer to the low-lying coast, I suddenly saw a small fast boat astern of me - 17 miles offshore... with 30 miles to go still. Later I saw two more - both clearly small open fishing boats, each with 3 fishermen - seemed to be checking out pots marked with clearly-flagged buoys and seemed perfectly friendly.

When I made my entry through the breakwaters and called the Port Captain on the VHF, he directed me toward a marina - to my surprise - obviously a new one not in my pilot! I finally found it & moored up - despite his misleading directions.... and was soon visited by a marina guy for moorage fees and also by an agent for my check in & out paperwork ... Despite my protests at the expense, I gathered it was going to cost me, for just one night, in order to re-fuel the next morning: US$72 for the night
at the marina and US$150 for the check-in & out (five copies of all documents are needed!).... I couldn't believe how expensive this stop for fuel is turning out!!! And I haven't got to the fuel dock yet!!

I've been busily reading up on Mexican weather and getting familiar with timings for weather fax downloads ready for my imminent passage across the dreaded Tehuantepec & on up the Mexican coast ... the more I read, the more worried I get - I knew this was not a good time to be headed north but hadn't realized that mid-June hurricanes are not unusual... and the season here often seems to start with a bang and end with a whimper rather than the other way around, as in the Caribbean. "Don't go offshore,
that's where the hurricanes form... stay inshore for safety"! So please keep your fingers (and everything else!) crossed for me - VERY tightly!! Crossing the Tehuantepec will take two and a half days and another day on up the coast to Acapulco (where I was thinking I should refuel since it looks very easy there). Another day to Zihuatanejo and four to Cabo San Lucas, over two to Turtle Bay, assuming sailing up the Baja is feasible - I could well find strong northerly winds there & will either have
to wait for them to diminish or have to head out to sea instead - but at least the hurricane threat should be far less once I get up towards the top of the Baja peninsula - just 'normal' gales from then on!!!

Having acquired an agent for my check-in & out here, he appeared later to ask if I would accept my 'official' visit tonight rather than the morning - so at about 9.30pm local time (one hour ahead of the time I've been keeping!) I found the Port Captain, Customs official and Immigration officer all on board with my 'agent' to check things out (actually just sat around and chatted pleasantly, insofar as my Spanish would allow, since they had almost no English!) and I found my passport had been already
stamped for 'in' today and 'out' tomorrow, with the essential Clearance Certificate promised for the morning whilst I'm refuelling - I was also only charged $100, not $150 - so a reduction had been negotiated by my agent as a result of my pleadings - my Spanish can't be so very bad, perhaps!!

Looking at a fax that downloaded while they were here, I can see a Tropical Wave in the Gulf of Mexico - those are what can develop a 'wiggle' & give rise to Tropical Storms and Hurricanes so I must keep an eye on that wave - and others coming after. Usually, they're three days apart.... hey ho... can't complain life is boring, that's for sure!! My trysail and storm staysail are already hanked on, almost ready to go... let's hope I won't need them - or if I do, that I can handle them!

Calm sunny day ended in a fabulous, spectacular sunset tonight - blood-orange colours contrasting with light turquoise blue-green calm sea, with bright, half-moon high over head & Southern Cross up in S. sky. Lightning flickered continually in towering clouds well away in the distance over land, off to starboard. A big fish jumped out of the sea, chasing after flying fish, a handsome black-chested booby flew around boat trying to roost in the rigging. Calm sea with surface ripples... long, slow, low SSE swell...

Having a welcome mug of tea with cheese and biscuits around five o'clock after finishing refuelling tanks from jerry cans - over five hours by time all cleared away and cockpit locker back together again...

Later, I stood in the bow listening to the water swishing past & watching three dolphins play around the boat, leaping and swerving together, clearly visible in the moonlight, under the stars. .... And people wonder why I want to keep sailing..?!!!

I've been studying the pilot chart for June - looks as though I might manage to cross the Gulf of Tehuantepec without strong winds if I'm very lucky, after leaving Quetzal (Guatemala) for Mexico in 3-4 days' time. Definite chance of getting a tropical storm until I reach Baja. The fair current I'm getting right now is such good news - it's giving me a good 'push' of over one knot - and I usually complain that all currents seem to be foul.. this is such a nice change! Might be lucky with light northerlies rather than strong ones up Baja - may have to head out on starboard tack for a bit and then tack back in (or keep tacking) to make San Francisco - depending on strength/direction of winds I find - all very vague until I get nearer there - "What you see is what you get!"...... Will try to keep tanks topped up ready for use in light winds later if needed. Certainly, I've no reservation about helping our speed to get north by using motor at present - the sooner I'm out of this hurricane/tropical storm area, the happier I'll be!! But it would also be lovely to get up to SF in time for the race - the thought of using no motor for three or more weeks is very appealing right now - the bonus of motor use is no power shortage, but the downside is that perpetual NOISE!! Sailing is so much more peaceful and enjoyable!

Monday 9th June 08

For several days now, I've been studying the daily grib files which I've been getting, showing 5 days of wind forecasts for the area from Panama up to San Francisco and several hundred miles out to sea. I'd hoped to have maybe just a week or so of needing to use the motor to get through the expected area of light winds W-NW of the Panama Canal before getting to more useful winds and then the NE Trades. But from what I can see, I'd run out of diesel, even motoring gently, well before getting to
any useful breeze - in fact, as the days have progressed, the forecasts seemed to be showing the Doldrums extending on my course.... I've already had to motor/motorsail all the way from Balboa, with one period of 4 hrs yesterday and today's period of just 1hr when I could actually cut the motor to sail properly in decent breezze - in both cases due to rainclouds around.

Not wanting to get caught in the Doldrums with no fuel left, hundreds of miles from anywhere, I decided my only option was the alternative route up the coast, also in light winds for quite a distance but with the possibility of picking up fuel at regular intervals, rather than continuing to head out to sea in an effort to catch the Trades (the 'Clipper' route of old).... So, after seeing the usual 3-4 knots of true wind from astern yet again, on writing up my log at 0130 this morning, I decided
to change course & head NW, instead of due W, and make for Guatemala to refuel, with a fair current heading in the same direction to help. Port Quetzal seemed a good choice - about 500 miles away, so still within reach under motor, & a small but modern port with Navy presence. I was so pleased to have 'The Forgotten Middle' on board to help in the decision-making - a pilot book on Guatemala, Honduras & Nicaragua W coasts I'd picked up some time ago and had thought recently I'd never use...! I've
even got the courtesy flag! So I'm unexpectedly going to visit Guatemala again (last time was 2004 when I sailed up the Rio Dulce to see friends and later went overland from Belize to the impressive Mayan site of Tikal)!! Talk about plans 'set in jello'! All rather exciting... did I say the adventure was just starting again??!

My present plan in the forecast light winds & calms is to continue motorsailing up to Mexico in the fair current that the pilot chart shows extending as far as Cabo San Lucas at the S tip of the Baja. Conveniently, Zihuatanejo, where I started from on March 26th last year, looks like the next useful stop for refuelling after Quetzal if needs be. .... It would certainly be nice to 'tie the knot' properly on my circumnavigation by pausing at Zihuat... even though it would be a one-person party to
celebrate there! I know fuel is availabe at next-door Ixtapa easily - no need for jerrycans. Then, depending on the wind, I could either go on up to Cabo San Lucas and then hop on up the Baja coast or possibly head out to sea sooner to get offshore in stronger winds (which I'd need to do, probably, to round Pt Conception if the usual strong N wind is blowing there). Then I'll beat north to make for San Francisco and the start of the SHTP08 (Single-Handed TransPac Race) out to Hawaii, starting
12th July. I'm officially entered but will have a problem making the start line in time at this rate - it's a long way north against north winds & current!! Of particular concern down south here between Panama and Mexico is the fact that I'm right in the hurricane area - & in hurricane season as of 1st June... so another very good reason for not dawdling offshore or inshore but motorsailing northwest as fast as I can to get out of the risk zone! Hopefully, I'll be able to sail properly from Mexico
to San Francisco in decent winds but time will tell. It will almost certainly be an uncomfortable, wet beat upwind.. but I'll have to wait to see what the winds are doing when I get nearer!

Talk about wet.... I watched a dirty dark grey raincloud inshore for most of the morning, and then, by midday, it was clearly about to come our way so I hurriedly closed all hatches and took in two reefs, expecting strong winds in the squall. In fact, not too much wind came with the very heavy rain - which gave the boat a good wash down - but there was only one hour of nice (wet!) sailing without the need to motor, unfortunately.

Distances: To Quetzal (from now): 445ml (13/14th), on to Zihuatanejo: 675ml (19/20th), on to Cabo S.L.(25th): 680ml, on to Turtle Bay: 360ml (28th), on to Pt Conception: 540ml (2nd), on to Golden Gate: 210ml ...SF (4th July!) Ho, ho..!! In my dreams...!!!

Sunday 8th June 08

As I write this, the sea has a glassy surface, although plenty of small wavelets.. not much wind in these parts: 2-3 knots, whether from dead astern as now or from any other direction, doesn't make for good sailing! I'm motoring, changing course very slightly, trying to keep some wind in the mains'l, and have just been forced to furl in the genoa.

I'm presently trying to eke out my fuel while trying to get West. I was expecting to motorsail in not much wind initially, before heading NW, tacking N & then NE ..!! Had a rainsquall up to 27-30kn yesterday early (boat heeling woke me up just beforehand...as wind built!) Got totally drenched as I reefed hurriedly and had to towel off & get some warm dry clothes on. Similarly this morning, I sensed the boat heeling slightly & found the wind rising so we got sailing nicely & switched off the motor
for a bit. Gribs not looking too hopeful for wind over next five days - but they've been completely wrong for today's wind - so maybe things will be better than they are predicting.

I'm on Day 3 now of the Great Trek North - hoping not to have TD/TS/hurricane problems while I'm down this way....!!

Actually ended up with four blissful hours of pure sailing this morning! Was so nice to be sailing in peace & quiet but didn't last long enough & had to keep resisting the urge to turn on motor again as boatspeed dipped down to below 5 kn. If this continues for very long (as in over 2 weeks!) there's no way I'll get to SF in time... At this moment, I've 2-3 knots of wind from the SE, boatspeed (at 1000revs - minimum) is 4.7 knots and SOG is just over 5.2 knots. It looks as though I've still got
the favourable current I experienced along the Panama coast around Punta Mala yesterday - the Equatorial Current, maybe?? Long may it continue!! I keep gazing at grib files, trying to decide what to do for the best - present plan is to make a course of 275-280 in hope of sailing in gentle breeze in a week's time...

Unusually, apart from carrots (in fridge), I've very little fresh fruit & veg - just some apples,bananas & grapefruit and onions & potatoes. Tomatoes I bought in the Rey supermarket in Colon lasted about 3-4 days before disintegrating into a wet mess - must have been chilled.

I tried to raise Don Anderson yesterday - heard him on 16534 kHz frequency but couldn't make sense of what he said, despite another English-sounding boat trying to relay for me - pity, since he usually provides good weather info. I'd emailed him so he was expecting me & swung his antenna my way - I'll try again Monday.

Both day's runs so far (trying to motorsail & economize on fuel consumption) have been around 130 ml - with 4000 ml total to SF.... a long haul!! I keep gazing at the fuel gauge (in the red!), wondering if I dare let it run for a bit longer - I'll have to switch tanks soon, if only for peace of mind - and to save myself unnecessary fuel line bleeding!! (Just did it... just over 50hrs of minimal engine use so far..)

We're in the Pacific once more!!
I feel as though I'm about to start a new adventure, rather than finishing an 'old' one..... with trying to get up to San Francisco for the start of the SHTP08, against the odds. As I pass the latitude of Mexico, I will be waving in the direction of Zihuatanejo as I 'tie the knot' on my present solo circumnavigation, having tied it near Trinidad for my non-solo one.

The Canal Transit went very well after a day of stress leading up to leaving, due to the Windpilot repair not being ready and back on the boat until an hour or so before I was due to leave my berth!! (Karl and Kirk kindly stopped off to help with adjusting the supports so that it is now ready for use again.) Lines were organized on board and my bill paid, Internet wi-fi access suddenly proved impossible (more computer problems!!) so I used a computer on board nearby 'Annamarina' courtesy Skip.. I made a dash into town with the help of a friendly taxi-driver to buy another serial/USB adapter, did some laundry, tied cushions and pillows in plastic bags over the solar panels to protect them from possible badly-aimed 'monkey fists', tied more tyres in place - five in total on each side, my line-handlers from 'Mandarin' turned up: Keith, Tim & Bernd, hot food was collected (Chow Mein noodles for dinner from the restaurant, with enough for the Advisor also), a quick last shower and off we went to the 'Flats' to raft up to 'Salsa' - so that Kirk, my fourth line-handler, could step on board and also avoiding anchoring in the fine mud. We ate as darkness fell, while we waited for the Pilot Boat to arrive with our Transit Advisor.

I had spent quite a bit of time clearing four berths the previous day, while a friendly Kuna guy cleaned the hull and propeller, and had put some sails on deck (the trysail has been hanked on ready, just in case of need) I also had to provide plenty of food and drink for my helpers, so the boat was not exactly in passage-making mode!

The Advisor arrived after 7pm and we immediately left at speed, trying to make an early Locking-in - but we missed it & so slowed down and circled around with 'Odyssey' the second boat going through with us, while the third boat, a big motor yacht, went on through ahead of us. The two sailing yachts ended up rafting to each other near the Lock entrance and moving into the Lock together each time. There are three locks up and three down, with enormous, strong gates and very high walls seen on entering, when the water was low in the Lock. It didn't seem to take long at all for the locks to fill with a vast amount of water after we had received thin lines from the shore line-handlers who threw them with a 'monkey-fist' initially & then pulled our thick lines up to the wall tops to attach them to big bollards while we made tight onto cleats at our end. It was important to maintain tension on the lines as we rose up with the locks filling with Rio Chagres water. We were only going up as far as Lake Gatun where we'd sleep overnight. At the lake, we tied up to one of two enormous red rubber buoys, sat chatting on deck for a bit under a starry sky and then turned in - to be awoken by a heavy rainstorm in the night.

Next morning, while Tim & Bernd enjoyed a swim in the fresh water of the lake, I withdrew the log/speed impellor (a paddle wheel) since we had had no log all the way from the marina to the lake - I wanted it working when I took off on passage later. It was completely coated in a thick calcareous growth & took quite a bit of effort to clean - no wonder it hadn't wanted to turn! While we waited for the new Advisor to arrive (he was far later than the 6.15 a.m. we had been told to expect), we had breakfast: gtrapefruit juice, fresh melon, scrambled eggs, muffins and/or doughnuts and coffee. Because he was so late, we had to try to keep up a speed of 7 knots across the lake to try to make a 12.20 'lock-in' 28mls away. It's a beautiful area and the sun was out, so we all enjoyed the journey through the 'Banana Cut' and on, with kingfishers darting about, cormorants on the buoys nearby and lots of unspoilt greenery on the many islands everywhere. The water-level is quite low still, since the rainy season has only just begun, so we could see the remains of drowned trees all around the channels. Just before the Pedro Miguel Lock was the area dredging & dynamiting of the Canal & its sides where they are widening the Canal to allow the passage of the larger modern ships. We didn't spot any alligators, although they are around.... a fisherman was taken by one just a month ago.

This time, we ended up with a sturdy tug ('Morrow) 'side-tied' to the lock wall, 'Odyssey' tied alongside it and 'Nereida' tied to 'Odyssey' with our starboard side clear. Each time we moved to the next lock, we had to let the lines go and motor independently and then tie up again.

In the main Miraflores Lock, we seemed to spend a long time & both boats waved madly at the live camera/webcam high above the Visitor Centre whilst phoning various friends & family. On letting go our lines to move on, we ended up touching the wall..... the lines were let go too soon, to my mind, with a wind blowing onto our port side after heavy rain and our astern gear having a starboard kick ..... so things got a bit exciting for a time - but all ended OK with all five tyres on our starboard side protecting us - no damage but the incident kept our entire crew & Advisor busy!! The time now was just after 1.30p.m. local time (1930 BST/ 1130 PDT). On to the final lock... and then on to the Pacific side with the Bridge of the Americas not far away, where the Advisor was picked up by the Pilot Boat and bid us farewell.

I'm now sitting off a buoy at Balboa overnight, after refuelling, and with 'free' 'wi-fi' Internet acess from the Y.C. The heavy rain over the afternoon made everything VERY WET so it took me quite a time, after landing crew, tyres and lines, to remove the protective plastic-covered cushions and pillows from on top of the solar panels & try to dry off a bit and then stow things properly, ready for passage after having had five extra bodies on board... four of them having to sleep somewhere!

The plan is to set off tomorrow at first light after a good sleep in my own bunk! Not many boats head north this time of year due to hurricane concerns - but I will be trying to keep a 'sched' with one boat, Annamarina', transiting in about 5-6 days' time, headed also to SF (for 12th July). I've emailed Don Anderson so will be hoping to talk to him soon on SSB for weather info - propagation & my radio system permitting!

Jeanne
"Nereida"
Balboa Y.C.

 

Well - it's finally happening - assuming my Windpilot is back on my stern - that guy has really taken ages to complete trhe repair - I hope it's OK!!

The website for the live video cam is www.pancanal. com

If you'd like to see 'Nereida' in the locks at Gatun or Miraflores, it's tonight (Wednesday) at Gatun Locks around 11pm local time (5am BST/ 9pm PDT), then on to Gatun Lake for sleep overnight and on to
Miraflores Locks around midday-1pm local time on Thursday (6-7pm BST/ 10-11am PDT)

Go to www.pancanal. com >multimedia > live cameras > then (Gatun or) Miraflores > Go to Hi res and use magnifying glass to see the boats in the lock better - I'll ask the advisor to get them to point the
camera at us and I'll be waving !!

If anyone wants to phone me close to the time, my local tel. number here (mobile/cell) is +507-677-12534 - feel free to call me & I hope some of you manage to see us - let me know if you do...!!!

Once I get to Balboa, I'll fuel up and then get on my way .... It's a long haul to San Francisco and I'll have to wave in the general direction of Zihuatanejo as I complete my solo circumnavigation & pass it by - 300-400 miles off!!!

Wish me luck and do email me from time to time - lovely to hear from my friends while at sea!!

Cheers for now - must get back to checking the 125 ft lines are ready (i.e. untangled!) on board

Jeanne

"Nereida"

Colon, Panama

4.15pm local time (UTC-5) Wednesday 4th June 08

  Wed 28th May08
Got back from an unexpected linehandling for Canadian couple Seth & Jaime on their Gemini catamaran 'Slapdash' over Tuesday night. They found themselves short of a 4th linehandler close to 5.30 p.m. when their Advisor was due on board to start their transit & when I heard, I said I'd help out - it would be tough to be refused your transit, after six weeks of waiting, just for the lack of one more body on board!!  It was a good, if very wet, transit, with no mishaps, good food and company, but a very disturbed night sharing a mooring buoy with 'Blue Jay' on Lake Gatun, with reflected, short wind-chop making a lot of noise against the hulls of the catamaran -and some splashing in through my tiny open hatch to make the bunk wet where I was lying... 

Wind on the nose meant no sailing was possible across the lake to  get to the 'down' locks of Pedro Miguel and Miraflores where the live videocam overlooking the last lock is positioned (see www.pancanal.com for the live video shots it gives).  I was interested to see the pleasant, almost-complete, new premises of the Balboa Y.C., replacing the old building burned down some years ago, as I went to get a taxi in to the bus terminal.  Unfortunately for cruisers like myself, most of the Y.C. mooring buoys seem to be taken up with local boats, so it's difficult to get a buoy on completing a transit - most boats seem to be making for the anchorages further on.

The last few days have been very rainy, with the wet season well under way!  On Monday, I'd caught the bus in to Panama City to find a shop I'd been told about selling glass mat and filler for my Windpilot rudder repair, after having had no luck over Thursday to Saturday trying to find what was needed here in Colon.  They had the fine glass mat I wanted but no filler - except for talc..! It was interesting to see Panama City - so much pleasanter than Colon.  I went in with Maria who was expecting to see her husband Karl in hospital where he'd been transferred from Colon on Friday night - but, to her disbelief, they said they'd 'lost him' - nightmare!  She searched the hospital looking at the occupants of all their beds...   All eventually turned out OK when it transpired that he'd discharged himself and taken the bus back to Colon and the Y.C. to get back on board his boat after getting little sleep and being given no food or water for two days....  He seems to be making a good recovery from his stab wounds and pierced lungs now that he's getting Maria's home cooking and TLC.
 
One success was finally fixing the freshwater leak  over the weekend when it wasn't raining (cockpit locker having to be emptied for access)- the polybutylene pipe from the hot water tank had a pin prick hole in it (don't ask me how that can happen!) so I cut it at that point and used a through connector I had in my spares kit to re-join the two ends - so, hopefully, now is all OK (and the cockpit locker is, yet again, re-packed!!).  Another job was fixing mosquito netting in place over all openings - lots of flies, mosquitoes and noseeums around!

Torrential rain Tuesday morning meant heavy flooding in the streets nearby - and a taxi I was in claimed not to be able to get me back through the deep water with a big load of heavy shopping - so I was forced to try to walk back with it through deep puddles - impossible...  A local 4-wheel drive car stopped and helped me back finally.. but not before I was soaked through... and 'Nereida' had a couple of partly open hatches... oops!!  We're still trying to dry out - hoping for some sun on Thursday to help things along - and also to help get the Windpilot repair completed which was held up due to rain, lack of materials and the repair guy going off to Cartagena for several days...

I've been having a major problem with credit/debit cards - but think it may now be sorted after several lengthy, expensive phone calls.  I became aware of the problem when the Canal Transit deposit ('buffer') was due to be renewed after ten days and the Bank found my cards were rejected - without a deposit, a transit is not possible!

I'm getting the boat ready now for that elusive transit (4th June, or before if I'm lucky) and the onward passage north, hoping the Windpilot repair will soon be complete .... everything seems to be taking such a long time, with the continual rain not helping.

Last Monday (19th), I got back around 5.30pm from Balboa/Panama City on 'express' coach after linehandling for another boat through the Canal - very interesting and sociable - & a very useful experience! Each boat is required to have four 125ft lines with a 'linehandler' for each line as well as the skipper/helmsman and a Panama Canal 'Transit Advisor' who comes on board in the 'Flats' (anchorage area near beginning of Canal) to oversee the Transit. I and a couple of other 'yachties' were taken over to the boat in their dinghy at 5-6pm Sunday and the Advisor finally arrived in a Pilot boat around 8pm (not bad - only over one hour late!!) and we moved over toward the first lock about an hour later... they couldn't track down the 3rd boat so we eventually were only two - very frustrating for myself, as someone still waiting to get through as soon as possible, since another boat could have gone early, in their place, but wasn't given the chance. Excellent (different) Advisors on the main (bigger) boat both days.

Overnight Fri/Sat 9/10th May ... got pretty horrible with lightning and heavy rain almost all night and on past dawn. Not a very comfortable feeling when lightning strikes the sea several times really close by... you're wondering just when you're going to get it!!
The other problem with those conditions is that the radar shows the clouds full of threatening static really clearly - but then you can't see the ships around (of which there were lots, being so close to the Canal) - so that meant I felt doubly insecure - not only likely to be struck by lightning but also likely to have a collision with a ship going fast that also couldn't see me - until, assuming someone was actually using their eyes & looking out, it was right on top of me!! In the end, after a couple of close shaves, I put out a 'Securite' call on VHF just to let them know there was a small sailing yacht around - I gave my position, course and speed... and explained why I was putting out the call... I did that again a few hours later.
The bonus of the heavy rain coming, which made me hurriedly take a reef in with the accompanying strong wind getting up, was that I had an excellent freshwater rinse-off ... even shampooed my hair, since it got so wet anyway! Mainly though, the wind was light and from any direction you care to mention ... so motoring was a necessity. At least the seas gradually lay down...
My expected arrival in Colon by early afternoon didn't look very likely once I saw the really strong foul current we were getting all the time - I'd thought that it was bad enough over Wed/Thurs... but now it increased to 1.9 kn against - and stayed at that until I got close to Portobelo when it diminished a touch.
I knew Portobelo was a very good, beautiful anchorage- a lovely protected bay - if it was good enough for Frances Drake to take shelter in (and later continually plunder the Spanish 'treasure' ships there, destroy their newly-built forts and eventually die there) it was definitely good enough for me to stop in overnight. I would have made Colon in the late afternoon/early evening & that didn't seem to me to be sensible timing. Whereas by stopping in Portobelo in the early afternoon, I could relax before making for Colon early Sunday morning to find out if there was somewhere there to anchor or berth while I did my formal paperwork for clearing in and started to sort out my Canal transit. 

(Later Saturday) It's hot & humid now, with thunder out at sea. After anchoring here, under the old north fort, within sound of lots of birdsong from the trees covering the steep hillside, I promptly went for a dip - and ended up trying to get rid of a lot of Nereida's waterline 'green moustache' !! Not too many goose barnacles seen... I'm feeling good, having freed the windlass (it wouldn't free up to drop the chain under gravity as I prefer to do) and done a couple of other minor jobs. It's so peaceful here - gorgeous!!

Sunday 11th May From Portobelo to Colon

More heavy rain & thunder/lightning overnight again, so didn't rush to get up too early and then had a relaxed, leisurely breakfast sitting out in the cockpit, enjoying my surroundings and the sunshine before heading out to sail to Colon. Enjoyed a beam reach most of the way and then entered through Manzanillo breakwater entrance (East) towards Panama Canal 'Yacht Club' after contacting both Cristobal Signal station & Manzanillo on their respective VHF channels to confirm it was OK to enter Colon Harbour. I counted twenty big ships at anchor outside, waiting to transit the Canal, and thirty yachts at anchor inside. I was hoping to find the fuel dock at the 'Yacht Club' free if no other space available, back up plan being to anchor - but I preferred not to, if possible, because of Clearance & Canal Transit to organize onshore tomorrow. 

As I crawled up the 'French Canal' towards the Y.C., I could see that, as expected, it was full - no space at all - but luckily the fuel dock was free on one side - so that's where I'm staying overnight ($24). Another Najad ('Panacea') is here and they not only helped me in but also said I could raft up alongside them tomorrow and then take their space when they leave within a day or so - perfect!! I've already done my laundry, chatted to several other 'yachties' about the situation here & had a meal in the popular restaurant.

The really good news is that the Canal authorities have finally listened to the complaints of the yachts being kept waiting for so long to transit (and the bad publicity in the sailing magazines) - and they've been pushing yachts through - 15 went overnight on Saturday... Many more yachts have given up waiting and changed their plans - so now the waiting time is enormously reduced from the two months it had become not so long ago - I'll see what I'm told tomorrow when I get to the Admeasurer's Office to start the ball rolling after I've cleared in...

Friday 9th May - One day off Colon, Panama

Well, gybing onto my new course Tuesday afternoon took me the usual lengthy time in unattaching and re-attaching lines while switching the pole over to the other side after gybing the mains'l. I didn't go immediately all the way onto my planned course since I decided to keep as well offshore as possible to try to keep the excellent current and good winds I was then experiencing for longer. 'Grib' weather files were showing strong ENE Trades if I could keep heading roughly West for longer but unavoidable very light & variable winds on the last 2-3 days in to Colon and I'd also seen mention, in the Pilot for this region, of a definite counter-current further S near the Colombian coast and well off Panama also.

That tactic didn't work out too well since I got a counter current of half a knot very soon after my change of course - and it has steadily increased over time until today (Friday) it is really slowing me down - 1.4kn against!

Amazingly, there has been almost no shipping overnight (or during the day) since passing north of Aruba over Mon/Tues night - no complaints there, since it has meant better sleep!

One incident that was only amusing in retrospect was the first reefing line jamming hard in the winch on Tuesday night. I had food all ready and was about to perch up in the companionway to eat it when I realized the wind was getting up & that maybe putting in the first reef was perhaps a good idea as a priority. It was very dark and I got on with it without using my usual headlamp to see more clearly what was going on... It got really difficult and I could hear the line groaning in complaint ... but not until I was almost finished did I get a light - to see the line had completely over-ridden (by four turns!!) on the winch... impossible to move it.... What to do?... I seriously thought for quite a long time, as I struggled to undo the mess, that I was going to have to cut the line, which would have meant being unable to raise the mains'l fully afterwards. Finally, by dint of a double(!) rolling hitch using another line, lots of cursing and gradual use of different winches to pull in different directions, I thankfully found it came undone.... yet another lesson learned!!

Over Wednesday and on through the night, the wind got up to a consistent ENE 25-30kn, with correspondingly bigger seas as you'd expect with such a long 'fetch'. I reefed right down & kept wondering how we were going to cope with the steep faces of the big following waves as they approached - but "Nereida" seemed to lift herself up effortlessly as they passed - although then heeling & swerving madly at times as they churned up and the crests broke in passing under us, occasionally giving us a wet deck and cockpit. But the autopilot coped well in those testing conditions and kept us well on course, although I had to hang on tightly. I also kept half-expecting the end of the boom to touch the water when that happened - but every time it got anywhere close, it wasn't that close... so I relaxed... I feel sure that our rubbing strake is a great help in keeping us from heeling more in that situation.

I had to keep an eye on things on the stern - we nearly lost our lifebuoy twice when it got hit by the crest of a wave and I saw it dangling precariously, half off its well-bent holder. Then I spotted the Windpilot moving in a peculiar way... when I went to investigate, I found the rudder casing & filling was completely missing...! The newly-glassed outer casing and filling had disappeared from the rudder stock and from the metal flanges attached to it to hold the rudder in place at the bottom of the stock...!!! So much for the 'repair' made in Trinidad... Clearly the strong, churning seas hitting the stern were too much for it - and I wonder whether the extra layers of glass matting that were promised to be wrapped around the rudder to prevent it from breaking apart were actually applied... (I'd been busy on board with other work so could not get over to where that was being done to keep an eye on it.) So for now, there is no option of windsteering. 

Unbelievable... so now I definitely have to use the electronic autopilot - which I'd been using anyway because of being goosewinged on a dead run with such big following (4m and over) seas. ...But then the autopilot also went down in the strong conditions early Thursday - at 4 a.m., in the pitch dark, of course! I even thought the main rudder had broken, since the boat didn't seem to be responding at all to the helm... but it turned out we'd gone way off course so the wind was backing the (triple-reefed!) main... all ended up OK after a short stint of handsteering... It had me worried for a bit though ... (Visions of handsteering again, overnight in strong conditions, weren't welcome!!) I decided the reason for the autopilot going down was that I'd been using the 'wireless' handheld remote control - and that had been disconnected from the power supply & run out of battery power several hours later. It then cuts out the autopilot (- no beeping but simply a displayed message 'You have the helm'!!) as it shuts down - a definite failure of design there! I always get so annoyed with myself when I allow that to happen, but it's handy to have the remote for use when not at the helm where the main control unit is positioned. In the strong conditions, the companionway washboards and hatch were all tightly closed and I was mainly down below.

So now the seas have moderated a lot with the light winds ... I've just had to take down the pole & furl in the genoa with E2 (5kn from astern), so, as expected, I'm having to motor to make Colon in daylight tomorrow (Saturday). I just wonder how I'll find things when I get in. If there are so many yachts waiting for their Canal Transit, it might be difficult finding a spot to anchor, let alone finding the hoped-for berth at the Panama Canal Yacht Club... time will tell...

Tuesday 6th May - This is the "Windy Corner" of the Caribbean....! One white-tailed tropic bird sighted! Excellent downwind sailing conditions just now!

With AIS not working, it's been radar or eyes for 'seeing' ships now, since Trinidad. The good news is that my 'new' Raymarine C70 chartplotter/radar has MARPA - which acts just like my AIS unit in giving me the closest approach distance, and timing of it, for ships close by... Unfortunately, unlike AIS, it can't tell me the ship's name so I have more difficulty getting ships I'm calling on the VHF radio to respond to me - but they usually do... eventually..., after I've given them my 'guestimate'
of their approximate position, my exact position and where they are in relation to me (distance off and compass bearing is useful). I usually have to point out that I'm a small sailing yacht with no AIS transmitter & that I'm seeing them on my radar. I've had nothing but polite, friendly, helpful responses of late... although I well remember one ship close by who didn't seem to want to respond to me at all, although I'd heard him talking to another nearby ship, down in the S. Atlantic off Namibia...
reminding me of stories I'd heard of some Captains/skippers not responding to female voices on the radio...

Lots of shipping around now - had a tiring night last night because of it (and being close to Curacao & then Aruba) & had to call two ships, who obligingly changed course to avoid me - I have been goosewinged on almost a dead run most of the way since Trinidad.

It never fails to amaze me how things suddenly have to be done at night - with no moon over last few days, it's meant regular use of headlamp in the pitch dark for sail-handling/reefing when the wind suddenly gets up or switches direction!!

I'm about to gybe onto my final approach to Panama in a few hours' time... wind is E 22-25 kn, gusting 27-28kn, so I just took in a 2nd reef on the mains'l to be better prepared!! This is the "Windy Corner" of the Caribbean.... renowned for strong winds (and resulting big seas), partly enhanced by the high mountains in Colombia not too far inland. The last time I passed this way, in 2004, I had 45 knots and very big following seas for quite a time.... hopefully, not this time! Have been making
well over 7 knots consistently since leaving Bonaire and regularly surfing in the 4m swell to well over 8kn! Current is giving an extra boost so we're making around 8.2 knots SOG!

All is well, despite a painful left shoulder - from the heavy weather I had to contend with over Saturday night whilst handsteering in to Trinidad, I think - having trouble raising my left arm. The weather is sunny & settled and I hope to arrive in Panama on Saturday 10th May.

I was very sad to get the news of Glenn Wakefield's forced retirement from his attempted west-about circumnavigation when so close to rounding the Horn - rolled in the Southern Ocean, concussed, loss of liferaft & with bad damage to 'Kim Chow'... He's had a tough time and was so nearly on the 'homeward run'... He was so looking forward to some downwind sailing when we chatted over the radio in the S. Atlantic.

I'm sitting with a nice cup of delicious, freshly-brewed, Cairns coffee, after writing my midday log & position report.... I just saw yet another ship pass close by, going the other way - but at least I'm highly visible in the daytime - especially being goosewinged!!

24-hr noon-to-noon run: 162 n.ml. 560mls to Colon as of noon... eta Saturday?

Sat 3rd May

Looked at GPS input problem to both VHF radio (which I'd suddenly noticed was not displaying my position as it normally does) & AIS .... found data input from course computer to both & I'm puzzled as to my next step... One problem I did succeed in was finally getting GPS input from my Garmin handheld to my laptop for the Nobeltec charting software which I find so good and useful. For some reason, it had also decided it wasn't 'seeing' the GPS ... It took a long time, trying different wires/connections/port settings and I'm still not sure what exactly persuaded it to work in the end... computers...grrr!!

Sun 4th May

After passing south of Los Roques yesterday night, the two groups of low islets of Las Aves were just visible today on the way to Bonaire. With so many small islands around this part of the Caribbean, mostly uninhabitable, there is lots of birdlife which is good to see. Having seen several ships and fishing boats near Isla de Margarita and early yesterday, I've seen very few since.

Decided to stop overnight in lee of Bonaire since I realized I would arrive Colon late Friday at earliest - so can't achieve anything until Monday at earliest anyway... Picked up a pair of buoys (not just one!) around teatime, relaxed, made a (very nice!) chicken & spinach curry & got a good sleep.

Mon 5th May

This morning, I took time before leaving Bonaire to check my rudder-post/autopilot connection and also steering cable - both fine. But I didn't spend time getting to course computer - not quick or easy, so it'll have to wait to Colon... Maybe it's not NMEA GPS but Seatalk data I can see on inputs to VHF radio & AIS. Can't see any other reason they'd both be down the way they are, since they're definitely both getting data of some sort from the same source on the course computer - multimeter is jumping around the 7.5-8 mark at their inputs but they are definitely not 'seeing' any GPS input.

Presently in quite big swell (3-4m, at least, and I expect it to increase over next few days!), passing north of the N end of Curacao on way to Aruba which I'll also pass north of before dawn ... but sailing well & fast, goosewinged... over 7 knots in good ENE Trades (~22 knots). Should keep up speed until Panama, if grib files are to be believed!