Day 6

Been a pretty good few days although a bit slower than the start. The wind died a little and came more from the East, or behind us so we lost a bit of speed but are still doing alright. Day 4 we made good 136nm, then 141nm and today only 126nm. It's been very cruisey sailing though except for last night when the wind died and we were rolling like crazy with the mainsail banging and cracking until we took it down and put up the 2 headsails at daylight. Just as we finished setting up that a rain squall came through with a big gust and a wave on the port side we broached a little and 3 cartons of eggs went flying from one side of the cabin to the other, big mess!! Now with the wind right behind us we are rolling a lot but we will no doubt get used to that, at least we are still making miles. The weather is sunny today, yesterday totally cloudy but it has warmed up a bit for sure and the water temp is now nearly 20 degrees. The current is now helping us a little also but the wind is light and we are only just making 5kts.
There were a few fishing boats south of the Galapagos but they have all gone now which is good. Had a freak out the other night, was watching Narcos season 3 with a big proper shoot out at the end and then hear a fisherman on the radio, he's talking to another fisherman in Spanish saying he can see lights to the right. We see his lights and then he switches them off and we know he's close but it's pitch black and can't see his little boat on the radar and with all that colombian drug war fresh in my head all I can think of is I really need a machine gun right now?!?! No more watching those shows at night
Also our stalk of bananas got loose the other night and smashed itself up quite bad underneath the solar panels but no need to worry as there's still 100 others ripe and ready to eat, can't remember ever eating so many at once. Bit disappointed with some of our other vege purchases, had to throw out a few rotten tomatoes, onions and limes they don't seem to be lasting the distance and are only just over a week old.
Caught a nice little Mahi Mahi the other day which has been feeding us well and also 4 little squids landed on the deck which we had for lunch yesterday, easy fishing!!
So let's hope the wind picks up a little and we can start making some good miles once again.
Position 03*32.800s 094*50.200w distance to go 2718nm

Cruising-Day 3

Sunflower never fails to surprise me, she makes the miles easy and super comfy. 1st day hard on the wind we made 130nm's good, next day 147 and today 151. We still have the current on our port side but last night and today was the only times that it seems to slow us down a little. Today it is really strong and we are pointing an extra 30 degrees to make our course and still getting pushed north. Tonight sometime we will pass about 50-60 miles south of the Galapagos and hopefully according to the pilot charts our current will change and slowly become more favourable. Yesterday was awesome sailing in 15-18 knots on the beam, full sail and we were doing 7-8 knots all arvo. Was mesmerising watching us cruise over the swells so easily without any effort. We put 2 reefs in the mainsail at night so there is no need to go on the foredeck after dark but it slows us down a bit but we still made alright miles although there was a fair bit of rain around and the wind was a bit all over the place.
There's also a surprising amount of fishing boats around, you see there bright lights in the distance and early this morning we passed quite close to one and I think it was a big purse seiner probably catching tuna.
The water has warmed up a little from 13.9 degrees to now 18.4 let's hope it's a bloody bit warmer though when we get there! Put the line out this afternoon but no luck as yet so have just taken out some mince, normally as soon as that's defrosted we will land a fish, had sashimi and then Thai fish cakes with the last tuna 🐟
Bit slower day today as winds are light and also forecast light for tomorrow but let's see, maybe if we're in the Equatorial Current we will still make another 150nm 🌻⛵️😉
Our position 02*13.600s 88*38.000w. 3100nm to go

Pacific Sailing!!

All is well, got back to Ecuador and Julie met me in the Capital of Quito where we spent the night leaving the next morning for the 8 hour bus ride to Bahia. Back onboard Sunflower we got everything ready to leave but once again we were stuck in the river with not enough water to get out so we had to wait until Sunday. We had a good time though as there were a few other cruisers around and we also got away up the coast for the night to Canoa to relax and eat some good seafood. Sunday came and the swell was up but we managed to get out the braking sand bar without an issue, just waited for the sets of waves to roll through and then go flat out with the engine and after half a mile were free in the deeper water and very relieved!! We motorsailed bashing into it for 12 hours until we got to Isla De La Plata about 50nm south arriving just after midnight and were greeted by 4 turtles and a load of fish swimming around us in the light. There are some moorings there so we picked one up but after banging on it due to no wind and tide we ended up putting the engine on astern and getting a few hours sleep. First thing I was up and in the water cleaning the prop and bottom and fixing a leaking watermaker. About half a dozen tourist boats turned up but know one was bothered about us which was nice and we got out of there just before lunch.
Once clear of the island we saw we could make course for Marquesas although hard on the wind but at least we were sailing once again. By early evening wind was up in the 20's and then a bit more but the seas weren't so big so we made good progress with 2 reefs and a little bit of headsail. Problem is the Humbalt current, it's bloody freezing. At night all rugged up in jeans and jumpers and today the water temp is 14.9degrees!! The current is on our port side so not bothering us too much and after a couple of days more it will hopefully be pushing us from behind as we pass the Galapagos. Today the wind has backed SSE so a lot nicer angle and only about 15kts so we have full sail and making 6kts boat speed which is real nice. Caught a fat little stripy tuna at lunch and will have him for dinner which we are pretty stoked about.
All is well aboard Sunflower with only 3400 odd nautical miles to go

Ecuador

'

After a day in Panama City getting a few stores and looking around the old town we headed out to the Peralas Islands with Julie's Dad. Had a great sail seeing loads of wildlife in the Pacific with Dolphins, whales and loads of manta rays on the surface, never seen that before? We anchored at Isla Contadora, great spot and it was coming up to Easter weekend so a lot of the wealthy locals were there on their flash cruisers and also some massive mansions ashore that makes you wander where all that money comes from?! After 4 days hanging out Elio caught the ferry back to catch his flight home to Argentina and we had a good forecast to head south for Ecuador.   We left Easter Saturday and had a cracking start with the wind up our bum. It's about 550 miles from the islands and the first 2/12 days we made really great time, one 24hour period 190nm with just the 2 headsails, 25knts and a bit of current in our favour. Was the first time sailing with the new autopilot downwind and man it's awesome, straight as a die surfing down the waves, good times. The last day and a half though the motor went on, wind died to a light headwind and the current swung and was against us although not so strong as expected so it wasn't too much of a problem. The last evening out we crossed the equator for the 3rd time aboard Sunflower and for the first time nothing broke! Once we got closer to Ecuador though there were a LOT of fishing boats, small open doreys with just 2 guys setting floating  long lines in the deep water. We hooked up on one in the daylight but it didn't break and nearly hooked up another soon after so we decided to head in and go inside of the 100m contour for the last night and didn't see any fisherman at all which was great and had the anchor down at 3am Wednesday out the front of Bahia de Caraquez. 

High tide was at 6am and you need a pilot to enter the river as the sand banks are always changing. We started calling at 5 with no reply until about 6 when  he said he would come but still there was no sign and the tide was ebbing. A couple of fisherman offered to show us in and being so tired I just wanted to go so in we went, the tide racing out and we were going places the chartplotter tells you not to go. It was pretty hairy to say the least with at times just a foot under the keel and still 2m of water to go out but after 20 minutes we were in the deeper water and all was well.  Puerto Amistad Marina is run by an American fella named Gene, really nice guy and he has moorings for rent which we went on. He organises all the formalities for a cost of $180 to clear in and the next day we had Customs, Immigration, health and the navy onboard checking everything from food, medication, fire extinguishers, flares and our vaccines. Probably the most detailed inspection we have ever come across but they were all nice and we didn't have a problem. 

It's not a bad town but in 2016 was hit with a 7.2 earthquake which pretty well totalled a lot of the town and it is still a wreck but it's not so bad. Everything handy with shops ect and the marina clubhouse is nice with a good bar and clean showers and good food. After a couple of days we got the bus into the capital city Quito which was really different at 2800m above sea level it's right up there. Beautiful scenic 8 hour bus ride through the mountains and then once you arrive you realise how big the city is right up in the middle of know where it's quite bizarre. We stayed in the old town which was very nice, safe place to walk around and check it all out. We stayed at a backpackers for the first couple of nights and then moved to the more modern part of the city close to the French Embassy were Julie had an interview for her visa for French Polynesia. After 4 days sightseeing and getting that sorted I flew out back to Australia for work and Julie went back to Bahia. 

Unfortunately we didn't take any decent photos!

Panama Canal

Panama Canal

Well we got through, no worries:) Here's some info for other yachties wanting to transit or other folk who might be interested, Layla it's probably very boring for you. 

A lot of boats get an agent for the Canal, maybe it used to be harder I'm not sure but really it couldn't be easier and there is no advantage at all we found in spending 3-400$ on an agent. First you go on the pancanal website and fill out the form for small craft and email it back to them, this gives them all your boat details ect. Then call them up (they speak perfect English) and organise a date to get "measured". They can measure you in the "Flats" anchorage in Colon or in the marina not far called Shelter Bay. The flats anchorage isn't very nice, nowhere close to land the dinghy which makes it hard so most people chose Shelter Bay Marina, hence they take the piss with there pricing. For us at 43ft it was nearly $60US a day for a short stay but it is a very nice marina with a good bar so you get to meet a lot of people heading the same way. 

Once the guy from the canal has come to measure you he gives you some more forms which you take to the CitiBank in Colon and pay $1875 into their account, wait a couple of hours then call back up the canal and they have received the money and will now give you a date to transit. Firstly they said our date was 3 weeks away but we kept calling and seeing if there were no sooner dates and we ended up just waiting 12 days, this is the busiest time of the year for the yachts transiting. Yachts are chicken feed for the canal, one yacht $1000, an average container ship $300000. One of the worlds biggest cruise liners just tipped the record of $1.2m!! So they transit yachts when it's busy 3 at a time, behind a ship. One group leaves at 430am and goes through all in one day getting to Balboa late afternoon. The other group leaves around 1500, goes though the first 3 sets of locks and is in Gatun Lake by 1700 and then you go on a mooring for the night and the next day at 8am you continue the 30nm up the Lake to the last 3 locks near Balboa, this is what we did.  First though before transiting a Pilot boat drops of an "Advisor" to each yacht and he coaches you through everything. This time we did it was a lot easier than when we did it the week before on our friends boat. This time it was 3 mono hulls, us being the largest one which meant we were in the middle and did all the steering. So before the locks we pulled up, then the other 2 boats one by one rafted up and tied up to us. Once all sorted and the ship we were sharing the lock with was in we motored in and then the wharfies on the wall through down heaving lines to the boats on our sides and we carry on motoring to the end of the lock, once there, pass the long ropes up and all secure then they fill the lock with 8m of water. Once full the doors open into the next lock and we motor in again, still all tied together and repeat the process 2 more times and then you're in the Lake, easy. There is a fair bit of turbulence though going up, a lot more smooth going down the other end. 

So we left Saturday afternoon in the Atlantic and arrived Sunday afternoon in the Pacific. Was a real good buzz for sure getting through that last lock, beers were cracked and champagne ready, happy days!!

Once you have transited without incident the canal gives you back $891 of the $1875 you paid, so total costs-

Up to 50ft- total deposit-$1875, minus buffer $891, total cost-$984

Over 50ft-total deposit-$2375, minus buffer $891, total cost-$1484

Hire Lines and Fenders-$100

Return Uber for our French line handlers back to Shelter Bay Marina $80 (taxi around $100)

Mooring for the night at Balboa Yacht Club $34

Shelter Bay Marina-$60pd (43ft) we stayed 7 days total but really could have only stayed 4. 

Then the fees for Panama for the boat, Cruising Permit-$190. 

Visas are now free, when we arrived we had to pay $105pp

So all in all it was a little cheaper than we expected

Canal waiting

 I've been back a couple of weeks now and we're only just starting to slow down, it's been flat out. After 45 hours of flying I got an hour and a half taxi to the supermarket where Julie came to meet me. We did a huge shop, stocking up Sunflower for the long haul, if you spend over $500 they give you a free lift to the boat which is also over an hour away so we got off to a good start:) another big job was to replace the bearings in the Profurl N42 Furler. - here's some info for other cruisers that may be handy- bought the bearings in Aus NSK 16010 and Lip seals 80x50x10mm, standard off the shelf for $75 and that was for both the top and bottom swivels. Contact me if you want further details on how to do it, but it is easy. 

The next day Julie's dad flew in so we paid a driver for the day as we had a load to do. He turned up in a reasonably small hatchback which was a bit of a worry as the first stop was the tax free zone in Colon to stock up on alcohol. We played a little stupid going through the checkpoint at the entrance, and in the usual Central American way we bribed the guy $10 to not search our car on the way out as you need a permit to buy things, especially alcohol. Alcohol is cheap here (48litres 3 year old Havana Club $240!) so we filled the car with rum, wine and champagne only problem now is we go to leave the massive complex and our mate we had bribed has gone!! If they search your car and you have no permit you get everything confiscated, back to the liquor store we went. No problem matey says, wait here. Another security man turns up and for $5 for every case we bought we follow him in his car, he talks to the security and tells them to let us out, never a dull moment:) try doing that in Aus?!

Anyway was a long day as we also went into Panama City and picked up a new Weber BBQ, bit more shopping and then Elio, Julie's dad from the airport. Problem was the 3 hour drive home there is a LOT of speed bumps which we bottomed out on so we ended up getting out of the car so we didn't scrape as this poor little (new) car was loaded to the gills. 

Next day up early and we got fuel at the jetty then had a great sail 5 hours to Colon, the start of the canal. There is a marina there we went to as we had to get officially measured to book an appointment for the canal transit. We met a great West Australian Crayfishing  family from Dongara who know a lot of people I know, small world. They were transiting the canal and needed a hand to do the lines so the 3 of us went along for the 2 day trip, it was a blast, good laughs all round. I think the highlight was coming into the second lock, we tied up next to a motorboat and it's always a bit stressful as there's all sorts going on in Spanish and it's a big rush with he officials yelling to do the ropes which we know how to do anyway. Then a big gust of wind funnels down the canal and blows over the empty bucket of cans off the fly bridge that had been consumed in the last couple of hours, it was priceless...... complete look of horror from the officials and the other crew on the motorboat and our heads all down embarrassed but trying not to laugh, was definitely an Australian moment!!

Back on Sunflower we had to go into Colon and Pay for our Transit so we could get a date to go through and we also finished a few more little jobs we had to sort out including welding the mounts for the new BBQ. 

6miles SW of Colon there is Rio Chagres, it's amazing. So close to civilisation but yet so removed. At the entrance of the river there is a huge old fort but with nothing else around, then as soon as you enter it is just full on jungle, spectacular. We didn't have waypoints to enter so it was a little hairy to say the least but all was well and then half way up Elio hooked onto a little mackerel which was nice. We went right to the end were it is dammed off as it is connected to the canal, beautiful spot to anchor surrounded by lush jungle and loads of howler monkeys everywhere. We went for a few walks, a little nervous as there are apparently a few bild big cats around but we were fine.  Lots of wild bananas and papayas growing but none big enough to pick unfortunately but it's cool to see. Now I'm just hanging here doing jobs and Julie and Elio have gone into Panama City for a few days to explore, good times all round and at this stage our date to go through is the 26th but we are hoping maybe even sooner

Transiting the canal On "Penelope Rose" 

Through the canal!!

New Weber Q, she's a beauty 

Lockers are full!!

Good times hanging with Elio, Julieta's father up the Rio Chagres

Boat jobs, finished touches on autopilot and fitted new bearings on furler

Panama Planning

I've been back on in Aus working the last 6 weeks and Julieta is home in Argentina. We left Sunflower in Linton Bay Marina, 30 miles east of where the Panama Canal Starts in Colon. Our plans are even more scattered than always, changing all the time. Julieta arrives back tomorrow, I'm delayed at work but hopefully will be back in a week. We will try and get through the canal ASAP if possible but have a fair amount to organise before hand. To go through you first have to be officially measured, then transfer money, pay and then you get a date, sometimes the wait is a couple of weeks around this time for yachts as it's the busiest time of the year. We have a lot to carry on with anyway, stocking up with LOADS of food and alcohol, cleaning stuff, fuel, spares whatever we can fit on basically! We may be in the pacific a couple of years and things aren't so cheap or easy to get apparently there. Also full service on engine, new bearings in headsail furler, clean the bottom ect ect, oh and fit a shower in cockpit for Julie😉

Also I have to try and figure out what's happening with my work if I'm coming back soon or not, as to stay in French Polynesia for longer than 3 months you need to apply for a long stay visa which takes a month so that's another spanner in the works. The idea at the moment is we go through the canal, straight down to Ecuador, I fly out for work and Julie applies for visa in the French consulate there and then we leave for French Polynesia maybe late May?? Or we apply in Panama then leave from there when we get it and I fly back to work from there. Only problem is it's 4000nm or at least a months sailing to get there so it's rather tricky to organise??! Maybe I'm just over thinking it all and then when we're ready we just do what we do like normal as plans never go to plan anyway, I should have learnt this by now!

Also Julie's Dad is arriving in 10 days which will be fun although he may be thrown in the thick of a few jobs although I'm sure we will find time for a few beers in between it all and he will see for sure it's not all sitting around nice anchorages catching fish and drinking rum but with some luck we might go to some islands on the pacific side and we can also do some of that at the end. 

Anyway I'm really looking forward to a decent downwind sail as it's been way too long hanging in the Carib, although we've had some of the best short sails ever here it will be nice to be in the open rolling again.