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January 30 – February 3, 2010 We pass the time relaxing and catching up on our sleep the next day. Then we decide to head up the western side of Isla Del Rey to another anchorage located between Del Ray and a small island, Isla Esperitu Santo (08° 25.5 N, 078° 51.3 W). The northwest wind rounds the western edge of Isla Del Ray and funnels down between the two islands, gusting to 25 knots, but it is not uncomfortable and the holding is good here. Two things make this location interesting to us. First is the shallow lagoon located off of Isla Del Ray which becomes a dry beach during low tide. This was interesting because of the small village that is located inside the lagoon. Twice a day, small pangas enter and exit the lagoon matching their passage with the high tide. The second interesting thing occurs at first light and continues throughout the day. Loud banging/slapping noises are coming from under the hull. So loud that when we first heard it, we came flying out of our bed to the cockpit, thinking that we had drug and were hitting bottom along the shore. But we were in our same spot, thank goodness. The noises continued. Bang! Slap! Very loud. As near as we could figure out, there seemed to be large fish of some kind banging our hull around the rudder. This is the area where tiny fish make a temporary habitat while we are at anchor. Could the fish be trying to knock them out into the open by slapping the hull with their tails? That’s our best guess. Whatever they were doing, at first light the banging would begin waking us up from our sound slumber. After a couple days of slapping, we began to worry about our bottom paint getting the worst of it from the fish. Must be time to go. Not to mention the noise was driving Jodie a bit crazy.
February 4, 2010 Leaving Isla Del Rey, we are faced with NNW winds. The next island we are headed for in the Perlas is located only 16 miles northwest of us. To get there, we complete two long tacks. First to the northeast, taking us almost all the way to mainland Panama, then west northwest, back towards our destination. Total distance traveled today was close to 35 miles. Such is the way of sailboats. Of course we could have straight lined it and motored for three hours, but what fun is that?
February 5, 2010 We finally head ashore, the first time touching land since our brief stay on Isla Gorgona in Columbia. The day is hot and the sea breeze doesn’t penetrate into the interior, making our walk around the island a bit unpleasant. We wonder from side to side along the road, moving to any available shade along the way. The homes on the island are modest by modern standards, even though they are vacation homes for the more wealthy Panamanians. A few fresh fruit and veggies purchased from the local store and we head on back to the boat. Thankfully the breeze is blowing out on the water, giving us a much needed cool down. Panama is HOT!
February 6, 2010 We draw up the anchor and make our way to Panama City. It is a short 20 mile trip from Contadora and a southeasterly breeze helps push us across the sea. It’s not long before we can make out the skyline of the city. Skyscrapers line the coastline and we feel a bit intimidated knowing we will have to make our way in such a large city.
February 7-8, 2010 We spend the next two days catching up with other cruisers, friends that we have met over the last two years from Mexico down to Ecuador. Also, Panama has a distinctive European flavor added into the mix. Four or five boats come through the canal each day, and half or more hail from Europe. We have met Swedes, Finish, Germans, French and British cruisers. Not to mention a few South Africans tossed into the crowd. A huge melting pot and you never know which language you might hear next on the radio. We check into the country with the help of a local taxi driver, Fedrico. Four agencies spread throughout the city. We never could have done it as easily ourselves. Of course we got shook down for an extra $20 by the Port Captain. Carnival is coming up, you know; he needs the extra money. Not to worry though, he will help us out when we leave by not charging us the $3 dollar per day anchoring fee. Well, almost not charging us, we will have to bribe him with another $20 to look the other way. I’m keeping a running tally, now up to $90 in crooked fees.
February 9-10, 2010 Bruce from Fifth Element has been in town long enough to already have been hauled, had the bottom painted and dropped back in the water. He has kindly offered to show us around town and give us the ins and outs of the local bus system. The busses are cheap (25 cents per person) and run constantly. We run around two of Panama's main business corridors and get the lay of the land. Impressions of Panama: Rough and tough. Seriously the most dangerous city we have ever been in. You must be constantly aware of your surroundings and not venture off the main streets. Twice during our stay, Jodie and I were stopped by little old ladies telling us not to continue on down the side street. Too dangerous for us to venture on. One flagged us a cab and negotiated the fare for a short four block trip. We never had a problem, but two cruisers we met had; one was mugged and another stabbed on side streets. Lovely Panama, bring the kids. We also re-connect with Steve and Heather from Kate here in Panama. We last saw them in Western Panama before we headed off to Ecuador and Peru. We’ll spend a lot time re-provisioning and sharing general boating woes with them during our stay in Panama.
February 11, 2010 Recently, when the fuel fails to fill, I take off the engine housing, loosen the carburetor from the head and tap it with wrench. Re-assembled, the fuel flow in and away we go. This problem is getting pretty old, so we decide to head to the Tohatsu (formerly Nissan) dealer to get a new float pin. No float pins at the dealer. But he has a whole new carburetor that he will sell us. A larger carburetor. A higher hp carburetor. Big deal. Not happy, we buy the new carburetor. Installed on the engine, the new carburetor works perfectly and we do notice the extra hp.
February 13-17, 2010 Carnival! Our first real Carnival celebration! We head into downtown Panama City on the first and last days of carnival with Steve and Heather from Kate, Rick from Evenstar and Cory and Clara from Comfort Zone. Carnival was a fun and safe environment in Panama. We almost didn’t get in on the first day because for some reason security wanted to see our passports to enter. Who carries their passport with them? That’s the last thing you want to lose or get stolen from you. They finally let us in after I got the full body pat-down. I must look like one of their ten most wanted or something. Seems the main purpose of Carnival is to allow kids to run amok in the streets, throwing confetti in faces of adult and getting away scot free. It was all in good fun, but at times it was a bit like World War 3 or what I like to call “The Confetti Conflict”. Spray foam cans were also a weapon of choice among the adults. I would bribe kids with a foam can to leave us alone and go find someone else to torment.
By the end of the four days, the street was turned from black to white with a solid layer of confetti dots.
Roaming the streets are dancers and costumed demons posing for pictures in exchange for tips.
And finally, the floats and parade.
February 21, 2010 Outboard engine saga continues. As sometimes happens, things wear out and minor problem escalate into bigger ones. A simple seal on the bottom half of the drive train wore out allowing seawater to enter. Discovered soon enough, it was not a problem to drain the water out to prevent rust and corrosion on the gears. The problems began when disabling the drive unit. One bolt was frozen and the head sheared off on the outer casing. Then a gear spring deformed and needed to be replaced. And a sheer pin was also broken in the process. This was during the dismantling part of the repair. I haven’t even started to fix the seal and put it back together. Having pulled the drive train apart and identifying the parts needing replacement, I turn the project over to the same mechanic that Neos is using to perform their repairs. I figure that a local mechanic could get the parts that are most likely scattered across the city (which was the case) and I needed that busted bolt backed off the housing. The parts get turned over to Kenny, an expatriate from the states, with an explanation of the problems. No problem, we are told. Give him a few days. Now we are stranded aboard the boat, at the mercy of our fellow cruisers for rides back and forth to shore.
Feb 22-23, 2010 Without the dinghy, we are stranded. We look longingly towards the shore. So close, yet so far. I’m kidding. Not having the dinghy is allowing us to get boat chores done without feeling like we have to go ashore to “get things done”. I’m not sure I mentioned it, but on our way up from Ecuador, our solid vang separated from the bottom of our boom. Six bolts pulled out of the aluminum boom while under way. We lashed the vang to prevent it from swinging around and continued on. We have a topping lift line on the boom, so the solid vang is only used for downwind main sail shape. If you sail, you know what I’m talking about. If not, it’s not really important. We just need to fix something that broke. I re-tapped the threads in the boom, increasing the bolt size from 1/4” to 3/8” diameter. I’ll get the bolts when we get the outboard back and take a trip into Panama. Other projects we tackled while in Panama were a new fresh water pump, cockpit shades, new sheets for our genoa, new anchor (110 lb! Nice!), replaced fuel container and scuba tank covers, new 25 lb aluminum propane tank, cleaned and plumbed internal side fuel tank, added extra foam to cockpit cushions, new stereo w/usb jack and new 50 qt cooler style refrigerator/freezer installed.
February 24, 2010 Crazy south wind hit us at 8 pm out of nowhere. The wind normally comes from the north this time of year and accordingly we were anchored on the southern side of the causeway. A 30 knot wind whipped through the anchorage and then became a steady 15-20. Not too terrible of a speed, but the direction the wind came out of caused anchors to break free of the bottom as they spun around. Several boats drug through the anchorage, some hitting other boats anchored nearby. We sat in the cockpit waiting the storm out, waves crashing on the causeway road right behind us. Two hours later, things were calm again. It took a bit longer for everyones nerves to settle down.
February 25, 2010 Reflections No.1 with Alex and Leah from Canada heard about our dinghy woes and allowed us use of their dinghy while they were helping another boat through the canal as line handlers. This was a very nice treat for us and a big thanks goes out to them. Being a line handler was something we wanted to do while we were in Panama, but it just didn’t work out for us. We wanted to line handle from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side and getting in touch with cruisers in Colon turned out to be a bit difficult. Cruisers had to resort to paying locals to fulfill the four line handlers required by the Canal. We were willing to do it for free, just for the experience. In the end, we were just too busy with boat repairs and provisioning to take the time for the canal crossing.
February 26, 2010 Outboard engine saga, The Finale. Kenny came back with the outdrive unit of our outboard motor today. He managed to locate the parts we needed and tapped out the screw whose head I had twisted off. To be quite honest, we were a bit disappointed. You see, yes, he brought the parts we needed. But he also brought the drive unit back in pieces. Not assembled into a drive unit. Just the parts to build one. I handed him a lower unit and he brings me back a bag of parts. I’m no mechanical wizard. When I take something apart, I lay out the pieces in the order I’ve removed them so I can get it all back together (with a bit of luck). Plus a digital camera helps if you take pictures as you go along. Now I've got a big bag of parts. Not fun.
I spend the day building the drive unit and it all goes pretty smoothly. There was a bit of a hang up when putting together the gears that control the forward/neutral/reverse transmission. When assembled, neutral was lost. We had reverse and forward. In the middle shifter position, where neutral normally was, the forward drive would engage. A long story short; I had to build a spacer out of a piece of spring to get the gear alignment just perfect to allow the shifter lever to work. I would put the drive together, just to have to tear it apart and make an adjustment to the spacer and then reassemble. I had to do it a half a dozen times, and in the end, I also used a couple of washers on the outer casing to get the spacing just perfect. In the end, we had forward, neutral and reverse. And I now know WAY too much about outboard transmissions. And then there was the half inch o-ring that needed replacing to fix the leaking seal that started this whole mess. Not a normal diameter o-ring, mind you. A special fatty one. If it was a normal sized one, well that would make things way too easy, wouldn’t it? Not looking forward to trekking through Panama City on another quest, I eyeball the o-ring to determine the thickness. I figure that if I slice a second o-ring down the middle and splice the two together, it might work. A quick slice with a razor and then I stacked it apon another o-ring. Several wraps with Teflon tape around and through the middle, and I have made my own fatty o-ring. Viola. After all the fun I had during the day (Jodie too), for some reason I was unable to sleep that night. At 11 p.m., with Jodie fast asleep beside me in bed, I got up to take a look around outside. All was well. But then I noticed a boat gliding through the anchorage behind us. It was towing a dinghy, sails down, but silent. I called Jodie out to get a second opinion on what I was looking at. I had her grab the flashlight on the way out and we shined it at the mysterious boat. It was soon clear that there was no driver and the boat was adrift, ghosting through the anchorage. We call out to the boat behind us. They have about thirty seconds before the two boats are going to make contact. Australia 31 crew comes out and fends off the drifting boat as Jodie and I hop into our dinghy. Ironic, how only hours after our engine was repaired, we would need it to help prevent a boat from drifting into the causeway jetty rocks. We pull up along side the boat, which we find out later is Coconut, and I pound on the hull, trying to wake the occupant. Australia 31 is also here lending a hand in their dinghy. With a dinghy in tow, the boat owners must be aboard. It’s kind of like having a car in the driveway. Somebody’s home. No reply comes from inside the boat and I call out that they are adrift and I’m coming aboard. I fear the worst, a body, unconscious or deceased is awaiting me below. Thankfully, I find the boat empty. I really had the heebie-jeebies going aboard. I return topside to try and stop the boat before it reaches the causeway rocks. When I appear in the cockpit, Australia 31 shouts out from his dinghy, “You’re boats adrift, man!” Gives you a sense of how much confusion there was in the dark and the stress level of the situation. Jodie calmly replies. “That’s my husband who woke you.” We then scrabble around trying to find a second anchor aboard. As I look around the cockpit, Jodie finds an anchor just lying on the cabin top. A weird cross between a Rocna blade anchor and a Danforth anchor with two arms extending outwards. Most unusual again. No chain or line for a rode can be found as we drift closer and closer to the rocks. I jump up to the head sail and untie the control lines from the clew. I then tie the two lines together and tie an end on the anchor. I heave the anchor over and let out the ninety feet of line before cleating the bitter end. The boat stops fifty feet from the rocks and seems to hold. That’s all we can do till daylight and we head back to our boats. Jodie and I stay up until just before one, waiting for the owners to return, but finally called it a night.
February 27, 2010 When we stick our head out from below the next morning, we find Coconut gone. We assume sometime during the remainder of the night the owners finally returned and found where Coconut ended up. What we do find outside is one of the local expat live-aboards pulling up anchor. He is an old salty dog and looks over at us exclaims, “Chilean earthquake! Tsunami warnings been issued. Time to get the hell out!”
Our friends aboard Kate must have had their radio turned off because they had no idea what was happening. When they came out and found the anchorage almost completely empty, they soon pulled up and followed the rest of the pack out. We listened to the radio to get updates and found out that the canal was closing during the two hour danger period when the tsunami could strike. We stopped two miles out in ninety feet of water. Some went further to two hundred feet of depth. Most stopped in between. Kate, getting a late start, just headed over to the ship lane, a depth of sixty feet. In the end, it was a false alarm for Panama. No tidal wave or even a ripple hit the shoreline. As we were waiting for the tsunami deadline to pass, Coconut calls out on the VHF radio and asked if anyone knew the circumstances regarding his boat the previous night. On another frequency, I let him know the what, how and whys of our adventure last night. He is extremely grateful and can’t thank us enough for saving his boat and proceeds to clarify some of the weird things we saw last night. Seems that he and his fiancée were out with another cruiser till very late that night. The other cruiser had picked them up before going ashore and that was why their dinghy was still at the boat. Also, they have a combo nylon/chain anchor rode and that it must have gotten cut by a passing boat propeller. They were anchored on the far side of the anchorage and the boat amazingly slipped past twenty boats. The strange anchor was actually made by him and he insists that it is a better design than a new Rocna.
February 28, 2010 It was time to finally fix our boom vang that separated from the boom during our trip up from Ecuador. I had managed to find a tapping kit at a local hardware store and was going to increase the bolts from 1/4” to 3/8”. After tapping the larger diameter threads, I noticed that a couple of screws had had their heads sheared off on the vang. The location was where the end fitting connected to the solid vang tube. The end fitting had originally had three screws holding it in place, each 120 degrees apart on the circular tube. I disassembled the fitting and connected part of the vang that went under the boom with the new 3/8” bolts. I then went to work on backing out the screws whose heads had sheared off. The screws are stainless steel and the end fitting aluminum, so I knew it was going to be difficult job. After carefully drilling a pilot hole into the stainless screw shaft, I inserted a drill bit designed to remove the offending screw. I used my electric drill and, snap!, the bit broke. Now I have a stuck screw with a broken bit in its core. I tell you, from bad to worse. Boating is like that. Boo hoo. I then figure on going to the next size up of my drill kit. Holding the round fitting in my left hand, I begin to drill out another (larger) pilot hole. The bit buried inside the screw is made of very hard metal (brittle too it seems) and I have to push harder and harder to make any progress. What happens next happened very quickly. I’m pressing down with the drill onto the fitting and the drill bit snaps in half. The half bit that remains gets plunged into my left hand holding the fitting (still spinning). Massive bleeding quickly ensues. I put the drill down and calmly call out. “Honey, I need your help here.” Jodie knows something is very wrong. If I had screamed out, “*@#$%&!!” No big deal. Happens all the time. But to calmly ask for help, something’s up. She guides me into bathroom and we rinse the wound. My, what a pretty red color the water has become. Then we elevate my hand and I take a seat and quietly go into shock. We know I need some stitches, a lovely experience in Panama City I’m sure. But we don’t know where to go to get the medical help. Jodie gets on the radio and puts a call out to the fleet, asking for advice. We get a reply that two of the cruisers in our anchorage happen to be emergency room doctor and physicians assistant. They have everything they need to suture me up. Can they come over right away? Five minutes later, Greg and Carrie from… Coconut (!) come over. Crazy karma has come full circle rather quickly in this case. Jodie and I tell them the full version of saving their boat while they stitch me up and they tell us what its like to come back to the boat and find it gone. We all chuckle about how fate has brought us together so soon. I find it the least humorous as my hand begins to throb.
Resident sloth that lives in the trees by the anchorage
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