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. 

Happy Days

Since I last wrote the blog last week the weather seems to have got a lot better. We left the Lemon Keys for Puerto Linton which is a town 40 miles away and we did the formalities there. You anchor behind Isla Linton with 100 other boats and it is quite rolly with the swell wrapping around but unfortunately it is only one of the few good anchorages along this bit of coast. There is a good Marina that is reasonably priced(for Panama) and a little town. The town looks very quaint and beautiful from the anchorage and then you go ashore and it is a disaster with rubbish and crap everywhere, the Panamanians don't seem to be too worried. We went to Portobello 15 minutes away to get a few supplies and then I got a message from work saying I might be going back mid January so after going back and fourth with ideas what to do we decided to come back to the San Blas. I would have liked to go through the canal and leave the boat on the pacific side when I go back to work but it is just
ridiculously expensive over there, unbelievable so here we are.
We arrived just before Julie's birthday so we spent it in the Holandes Keys, very nice chilled out anchorage and we just cooked up lots of nice food and had a few drinks and filled the tanks from the rain:) On the way in though we did manage to put a little scratch on the bottom with a bombie, very lucky it wasn't worse but was just hard to see coming in the narrow channel.
Yesterday after anchoring in another bay we could see a beautiful 50ft Catamaran sinking so we rushed over to help. Turns out they come in at night doing 6kts into an area with lots of bombies and went over a couple with a big one at the stern that broke the saildrive for the propellor. The port hull was full of water, luckily the only hole was from the saildrive and they were also very lucky there was a few young guys in the anchorage to help anyway after a lot of messing around we managed to pull the whole engine out, saildrive and all, put it on the deck and patched the hole with a piece of wood. Then they pumped out out all the water, pushed of the bombie and floated back again and made there way back Linton to haul out, never a dull moment around here.
Anyway thought that we met some nice people, Brazilians, Spanish, Italians, Americans, quite a mix. There are a lot of young people with boats here that do charters for backpackers and seem to do very well out of it keeping there cruising kitty cashed up.

San Blasted

Welcome to the San Blas, torrential rain big squalls from all over the place and few good anchorages. We arrived on daylight but had to hang around 3 hours out the front for the rain to clear. Was funny on the way I saw some rain squalls on the radar at night and I was trying to chase them to give the boat a much needed wash, there was no need at all. 

We arrived at Porvenir Island where we thought you can check in with authorities but you can only get a visa there and not the rest of the permits ect so we have to sail further east 40nm to a town on mainland called Linton, we will next week. 

Had a look on the next island there is a little local village, friendly Kuna people living a simple life. Managed to get a couple of very basic supplies and a SIM card that seems to work every known again but internet is very limited. 

Porvenir anchorage is pretty exposed to the swells that come in and the next morning a big squall came through with plenty of rain that hit with force.  First the boat next to us dragged a little then a large 55ft steel motor sailer behind dragged straight onto the reef, well his stern was but his bow still into the wind. We started our engine, fired everything up and then the wind dropped a touch and I went over in the dinghy to lend a hand to the older French couple, a hell of a lot of boat to look after with 2 when it all goes pear shaped. Anyway we managed to pull it off with the anchor and then the engine and all seemed ok. I quickly jumped in my dinghy as the sight of the other boat dragging with his 6ft bow sprit he was motoring with anchor down and was swinging from side to side out of control and twice came Very close to us, time for us to get the hell out of there!! Again outside waiting for a couple of hours for the weather to slightly clear and then we made our way into East Lemon Keys Where we are now. 

Today the weather is better so far this morning but the last 2 were much the same, not a lot to do as you can't leave the boat for long. Went to try and get a fish at a couple of spots yesterday but only saw very small fish but lots of nice coral. Locals have been coming by in there dug outs selling lobster they call longastinas "baby lobster" and that's what they are, slightly smaller than big shrimp, big shame. 

Thought maybe Julie could stay on anchor here if I get called back to work but with this weather there's no way so we are trying to come up with a new plan. 

This place would be paradise in good weather, maybe next month but not now. 

I'm trying to find some patience, but it's hard:)

San Blas

Been a wet n' wild few days that's for sure. Had 25-30kts on the beam a couple of nights ago with some big greenies crashing over us, last night had it on the quarter and were surfing and tonight we have eased off for a daylight arrival, happy fecking days.
Surprisingly enough after pulling Sunflower to 1000 pieces over the refit all seems well, was a bloody good sea trial anyway. The new mast compression post base seems all good and everything that bit stiffer so that was definitely worth it, and no leaks except for the cockpit hatches that we need to replace the seal, and then new autopilot which really is awesome. Soon we will start the engine and go inside the passage, switch on the watermaker and fill the tank back up, ha still can't quite believe it, been quite some year.
We are both that crusty from all the salt spray so a good shower and some bacon and eggs and we will be good to go and do the formalities. From what I can gather Panama is going to be one of the most expensive countries we have visited with immigration , permits ect ect adding up to $500US but I think we will get our value out of these islands for sure, they really do look amazing, will let you know

Change of Plans

Well I finally cracked yesterday. Bashing to windward with Sunflower stalling with the current and waves we called it quits and altered course 20 degrees and will head for the San Blas Islands much more comfortable ride, the current on our port side so we are making a lot better speed and it's a lot more comfortable although still getting the odd wave crashing over us making a racquet. We were both excited about Colombia but it will have to wait.
Also had a life changing experience yesterday. In this shitty weather we find ourselves eating a lot of 2 minute noodles, try chopping up a bit of cabbage and boiling it with the noodles adding a touch of soy sauce and wallah, 3'minute feast:)
Between those and the 2 blocks of cheese and crackers I've eaten I'm looking foreword to a fresh fish BBQ I can tell you.
Well it's 3am now and so far haven't had a squall all night but no doubt writing this will jinx it for sure, so far so good. Although yesterday's sad run was just 104nm, today's should be a lot better. 265nm to the San Blas from here, hopefully Thursday morning arrival

Slow Progress

Been a frustrating few days that's for sure. Hard on the wind, pushing 1.5-2kts of current and then throw in a heap of never ending squalls and you get the idea?! Yesterday we had a 98nm day, day before 112, today will hopefully do a little better. The average wind has been about 15-17 kts which is ok but with all the squalls around we are sailing with 2 reefs in the main and a little bit of headsail, one of the squalls yesterday that looked like nothing, just a bit of grey misty rain not like some others that look like a mushroom bomb with that thick black defined line across, anyway it pretty well knocked us flat with over 40kts and vertical rain. Since then when we see a squall coming on the radar we drop the headsail and put the motor on for a short while and just go through it, not worth breaking anything. Normally we are down wind sailing and you are running with the squalls so you see less, but have them for longer. Now we see more but they are over quickly but there's not a lot of rest.
Anyway it's easier now as we just went through the Nicaraguan Rise Shoals and have now turned away 10 degrees and are heading straight for Cartagena Colombia which is just under 400nm away. The forecast is for the winds to pick up tomorrow but hopefully we should still be able to make our course of 145 we will see, trying not to get excited about Colombia just in case. Anyway we still have a little current against us but not that much at the moment so let's hope it stays that way.
So anyway here we are, bobbin like a cork wandering what the f*#k are we doing here:)
Will all be forgotten after that first beer ashore

Lots of current

Yesterday was a great day, each day we plot the position on the chart at noon and then can work out our 24 hour run and we make a guessing game of it and crack a beer. I guessed 141nm, Julie 148, we made good 147.6, was a great days sailing:)
With those miles we had a little bit of current against us but not much, last night though it hit us at least 1.5kts against us. Between that and a lot of rain around with squalls and wind from 5-25kts it was a real slow night. Today's run I reckon we will be lucky to make 110nm although now it is day light and we have taken out a reef and are doing a lot better, 6.5 through the water but only making 4.5-5kts good.
There's been a few ships around but not much else although a fair bit of bird action with fish around, shame it is too rough for us to tow a line at the moment, hence last night we had chicken stir fry:)
Everyone and everything is well aboard Sunflower