Colin and Sandy, carried by their trusty vessel Papillon. Papillon is a 43ft Montecarlo Sloop. We started our journey in Portimao in Portugal and our sailing route will take us through the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Las Perlas
Yesterday we left Panama and headed offshore to the islands known as Las Perlas. They are about 36nm from where we were anchored off the causeway in Panama. When the Spannish first arrived here the indians tried to give then pearls for their safety and freedom. The Spanish took the pearls and wiped them out. Today the islands are a weekend get away for those that live in the City of Panama. Weekend the place can get busy but at the moment it is all very quiet. We are anchored off Contadora where there is a small village on the island. It is the largest village in the islands, but there is not much here. There is a runway and planes arrive all day. Looking at some of the houses there are a few very rich people that have their weekend "Cottage" here with pools etc all over looking the sea. It is very dry at the moment and the trees have not yet decided to sprout even though its so hot. I guess that they are waiting for the rains to start.
We motored all the way over as there was no wind untill we almost got to the islands. We unfurled the jib and motor sailed the last hour or so. We caught two great tuna on the way over... within the first two hours... so pulled up the lines for the rest of the trip. We shared some fillets with some friends on another yacht. Fish for supper, lunch......
As slow as a ... Sloth
Panama... the City
Well what a difference to Colon. The city is liberally scatterred with 100 story or there about sky scrapers. The shopping malls go on for ever. One of the malls ...Multiplaza Pacifica... has all the top end shops and was not that busy. We enjoyed walking around there as it was really different and bigger than anything that we have been in for a number of years. The other centre we went to was even larger with many more shops with very cheap clothes etc. It was interesting to see that these shops actually had many clients unlike the other one where we looked at a shoe shop and a pair of not so great looking shoes but with the right lable on cost $1250.00. Getting around is easy as there are many taxi's and one can usually negotiate a fair fare to where you are going.
We paid the fresh produce market a visit that is open every day. The prices are totally unbelieveable and we went to town on stocking up with fruit and veg. 3pineapples $1...4kg of bananas $1.65 just great stuff and fresh from the growers. When we got there we hired a Kuna Indian with his trolly to cart all our stuff(only $2) He was very good and with his limited English he showed us around and made sure that we got a fair deal. We often got him to get the price and pay. What a great experience!
The anchourage where we were was not the best and the water was filthy. We could not use our watermaker and the sides of the boat became real grimey with oil and other dirt. The wind carried a fine soot that it deposited on the boat.... on everything and everywhere.... YUCK
It is time to get out of here
We paid the fresh produce market a visit that is open every day. The prices are totally unbelieveable and we went to town on stocking up with fruit and veg. 3pineapples $1...4kg of bananas $1.65 just great stuff and fresh from the growers. When we got there we hired a Kuna Indian with his trolly to cart all our stuff(only $2) He was very good and with his limited English he showed us around and made sure that we got a fair deal. We often got him to get the price and pay. What a great experience!
The anchourage where we were was not the best and the water was filthy. We could not use our watermaker and the sides of the boat became real grimey with oil and other dirt. The wind carried a fine soot that it deposited on the boat.... on everything and everywhere.... YUCK
It is time to get out of here
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Colon
Looiking down the centre of the main road in Colon looks pretty but is not the safest place to be. Walking down on either side of this street is not advised. There are markets everywhere with everyone trying to eke out a living. These photos were taken from the safety of the bus
One road back and you find the buildings falling down and filth everywhere. you would not be able to venture down any of the side streets at all. There are plenty of poplice... almost on every corner all armed ready to start a war. most buildings are locked and only let you in once they see you at the door.
As for the anchorage nothing much better... broken down wrecks dirty water shoreline etc
Very glad to leave this place!!!!!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Crossing over to the Pacific
Since Sunday things seem to have happened in a rush. We were told that we would get through the canal on the 19th but still needed to phone in to see if there were any changes to the schedule. Come Sunday night and we were told that we would be going through the canal the next day. From there we were flat out reorganising the boat for three more people to sleep as well as doing shopping for food for the trip and sorting out the boat. We left the anchorage at 2:30 and went around to the flats to wait for our pilot/advisor. He was due at 5:00pm but they do sometimes move you earlier so we had to be there ready and waiting. Our advisor arrived on time and we headed off to the first of the locks. As we approached the first lock we rafted up with two other yachts. We entered the first lock behind a small ship and tied up. It was still light and was amazing how fast the lock filled. The currents are incredible and the water boils all around the yacht. We repeated this exercise another two times as we climbed up to the Gatun Lake. From the top lock we motored about a mile to where we all tied up to two large buoys. We spent the night here and at six the next morning our advisor for the trip across the lake and down the other side arrived. The lake is full of islands covered in rainforest. We took a shortcut called the “Banana Cut” which goes through between lots of the islands. It takes around 3-4 hours to motor through to the first of the locks on the other side. The first lock is stand alone after which you have to motor over the Miraflores Lake to the next two locks. While waiting to enter the next lock a large crocodile swam by. It was the only one we saw on the lake but they are pretty common. By 1:00pm we exited the last lock and were finally in the Pacific Ocean. After dropping off our advisor we headed all the way down to the sea and around the causeway where we anchored with a great view of Panama City. Roy and Margaret that came with us as line handlers returned to Colon and the next day Che who helped us as well went back. We went into town with Che and walked around the old city. The next day we returned to Colon by bus to line handle for Roy and Margaret on Barnstorm. The first day was long as we were supposed to leave the flats at 3:30pm but finally got away at 7:30. We only reached the lake at 1:15am. The advisors arrived at 6:00am the next morning, so all in the trip was very tiring. We have been through twice now and are now focussing on the road ahead to Galapagos. We will try updating photos when we get a good wifi connection Till then....
Sunday, March 13, 2011
San Blas Islands.... Photo's
Porvenir was where we signed in to the San Blas Islands
This was the first time I had seen a dugout canoe and they are truly amazing craft
The Kuna ladies dress in beautiful traditional dress but do not like being photographed
The islands are all small and the dwellings on them blend in well being made of palm fonds.
in the larger islands there are many concrete structures but not on the outer islands
Many small islands are unoccupied and covered in palms.
But every palm has an owner, so.......
Sign on tree at Porvenir.
A typical dwelling out on an island in the Holandes Cays.
This is the view from our anchorage in the "Hot Tub" in the eastern Holandes Cays
Barbeque Island and the "Swimming Pool" Anchorage
Daily one is approached to but molas... this is the master mola maker showing us his excellent work
Besides molas they sell fish, veg and anything else they can. The crayfish, crabs and octopus were great. we kept them alive in a large "spanish" bucket so that they stayed fresh... and tasty
The canoes are shaped out of a single log. They are paddled and sailed.
Leaveng the Coco Bandero Cays
Another small island full of trees
Lemon Cay the only place there is a "pub" ashore.
His father was selling fish and he climbed aboard, but no smile
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Colon ... entry to the Panama Canal
Having spent a few days in Portobello it was again time to move on. It was a pleasant four hour downwind sail to Colon. The entry to the harbour is very easy and we anchored off Club Nautico. What a shock to the senses. Visually ... we were surrounded by wrecks on the shore and old boats tied off to the wharves. Smell... the aroma of rubbish burning on the far side of the harbour and a disused bunker boat that was giving of strong fumes from the left over fuels inside. Noise ... the rumble of engines from all the ships that are in the port or on their way in or out. Balance ... waves caused by the wind are fine, but then you get rolled around by the wakes of all the service boats running up and down the port. Well after quiet islands surrounded by nature, what a mess.
Going ashore is no better as the area is very unsafe. You need to take a taxi to anywhere that you want to go to. There is also nowhere really to go ashore, however Club Nautico does allow you to tie up to their dinghy dock for US$5 a day. It's not the best of places and must be the most run down Club Nautico that we have come across; at least there are security guards there so the dinghy is fairly safe. The taxi's often come past the gate and are, at least, very cheap. The security guards are all armed to the teeth and the police look like they are ready to go to war. You have two police on a motorbike with the back cop carrying an Uzi submachine gun at the ready. Any decent looking houses are barricaded like we have never seen before and sadly there are few of these homes as most of the lovely old building in town have either collapse from lack of maintenance and repair or are about to fall apart. The city is filthy and it is sad to see the poverty and the squalor that a lot of the people live in.
We organised with Tito who is an agent for getting through Panama and the Canal. He has been very good and yesterday we did all the initial paperwork. Today we had our boat measured at the flats which is on the other side of Colon. We motored around yesterday and spent the night. We rolled around a lot due to all the traffic in the port and the channel leading up to the locks. After the measuring process...lots of forms, we returned to the old anchorage and then had to go to the bank and pay our US$1500 for our transit through the Panama Canal ($800 is refunded should you transit the canal without any delays). We still have to pay Tito, line handlers ($75 each X three), for the hiring of ten tyre fenders and four 38m ropes....that adds up to around $400. This is an extremely costly exercise. These are just the canal costs and do not take into account your cruising permit for Panama and other immigration and customs fees. Tonight we hear from the canal control when we can expect to get through which we reckon could be in 4-5days.
Three boats go through together rafted together. We spend the night up in the lake and then come down the other side the next day. There are cameras at all the locks and if you google Panama canal live cams you should easily find the site. We will try and post our time that we are due to enter the lock here and you can see us going through. Oh what fun... till then
Going ashore is no better as the area is very unsafe. You need to take a taxi to anywhere that you want to go to. There is also nowhere really to go ashore, however Club Nautico does allow you to tie up to their dinghy dock for US$5 a day. It's not the best of places and must be the most run down Club Nautico that we have come across; at least there are security guards there so the dinghy is fairly safe. The taxi's often come past the gate and are, at least, very cheap. The security guards are all armed to the teeth and the police look like they are ready to go to war. You have two police on a motorbike with the back cop carrying an Uzi submachine gun at the ready. Any decent looking houses are barricaded like we have never seen before and sadly there are few of these homes as most of the lovely old building in town have either collapse from lack of maintenance and repair or are about to fall apart. The city is filthy and it is sad to see the poverty and the squalor that a lot of the people live in.
We organised with Tito who is an agent for getting through Panama and the Canal. He has been very good and yesterday we did all the initial paperwork. Today we had our boat measured at the flats which is on the other side of Colon. We motored around yesterday and spent the night. We rolled around a lot due to all the traffic in the port and the channel leading up to the locks. After the measuring process...lots of forms, we returned to the old anchorage and then had to go to the bank and pay our US$1500 for our transit through the Panama Canal ($800 is refunded should you transit the canal without any delays). We still have to pay Tito, line handlers ($75 each X three), for the hiring of ten tyre fenders and four 38m ropes....that adds up to around $400. This is an extremely costly exercise. These are just the canal costs and do not take into account your cruising permit for Panama and other immigration and customs fees. Tonight we hear from the canal control when we can expect to get through which we reckon could be in 4-5days.
Three boats go through together rafted together. We spend the night up in the lake and then come down the other side the next day. There are cameras at all the locks and if you google Panama canal live cams you should easily find the site. We will try and post our time that we are due to enter the lock here and you can see us going through. Oh what fun... till then
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Friday, March 4, 2011
Portobello
We have now moved out of the San Blas Islands and are only 20nm out of Colon. We are anchored in a beautiful bay of Portobello. We arrived here yesterday after a good sail down the coast. The winds were between 12-17 knots and we maintain a good 6knots plus all the way. Before leaving we moved from the Lemon Cays to Porvenir to sign out. It was very rolly there and wanting to have a good night's sleep we headed up to the Chichime Cays where the anchorage was flat. The islands had a few Kuna living on them in traditional houses and using their dugout canoes as their main form of transport. What a beautiful setting for our last night in the San Blas. From here we did not have to beat to weather at the start of the trip as we were on our lay line to follow the coast.... so a nice easy start to the day. Light winds and an easy reach for 35nm and then round the corner and a run down to Portobello.
Today we took a walk around the town and visited some of the forts and old buildings. The town is a world heritage site as it was used by the Spanish as one of their main ports to establish a foothold in the area.(1500's) A third of the worlds gold passed through here when the Spanish plundered the area. It was also used as a slave trading area and many slaves were used to build the forts around the bay. As it was a strategic port the English and the Dutch also took great interest in the place and there were many battles fought here for control of the area. The town or at least parts of it were rebuilt on a few occasions after these battles. Today the village is a little run down and there are many buildings in need of repair. The people are poor and their houses fairly simple. Most of the people that we have come across are very friendly and there is a jolly mood around the place... maybe because carnival is coming up and everyone is getting ready for that. Yesterday just after we anchored there was a lot of splashing and thrashing in the shallows. The people ashore quickly headed out to the spot and caught a massive marlin 7-8 feet in length. They managed to get it into a boat and take it ashore. I do not know if there was a long line out for fish and if the marlin had come in for a feed but it was in less than 0.5m of water. Lots of shouting and celebrating!!! I should have had a line out.
Well thats it for now... till we write again.
Today we took a walk around the town and visited some of the forts and old buildings. The town is a world heritage site as it was used by the Spanish as one of their main ports to establish a foothold in the area.(1500's) A third of the worlds gold passed through here when the Spanish plundered the area. It was also used as a slave trading area and many slaves were used to build the forts around the bay. As it was a strategic port the English and the Dutch also took great interest in the place and there were many battles fought here for control of the area. The town or at least parts of it were rebuilt on a few occasions after these battles. Today the village is a little run down and there are many buildings in need of repair. The people are poor and their houses fairly simple. Most of the people that we have come across are very friendly and there is a jolly mood around the place... maybe because carnival is coming up and everyone is getting ready for that. Yesterday just after we anchored there was a lot of splashing and thrashing in the shallows. The people ashore quickly headed out to the spot and caught a massive marlin 7-8 feet in length. They managed to get it into a boat and take it ashore. I do not know if there was a long line out for fish and if the marlin had come in for a feed but it was in less than 0.5m of water. Lots of shouting and celebrating!!! I should have had a line out.
Well thats it for now... till we write again.
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Lemon Cays
We are currently in the Lemon Cays where there are hoards of other boats anchored. Today we will cross over to Porvenir and sign out. Tomorrow we will head off down towards Colon and stop at Linden Island that is 40nm down the track. We will spend the night and maybe a day before moving on to Portabella a further 20nm down the coast.
The Lemon Cays are popular as it has a little bar on the one island that is popular for people to meet with other boats. Yesterday we were there and met up with a few other boats from Australia. The chief's daughter had her 7th birthday and they celebrated that with all the yachties gathered there. They had been grilling a large section of hog that they cut up and served with a potato dish ice-cream and cake all on the same plate. Lovely ice-cream as long as you ate it first. As they say.... life is uncertain eat dessert first!!!
Everything on board is good ...we have hardly made a dent in any of our supplies. We have had lots of fish and when we have not caught them we have bought them from the Kuna's in their canoes. We bought two lovely bonita/skipack the other day (US$5) and invited our friends on Toucan to join us for dinner. Had a wonderful evening with them and they also brought some very tasty salads to share. That's what is great about getting together and sharing food... there are such great and tasty dishes that get shared around.
That's it for now... catch up from down the coast somewhere...till then
The Lemon Cays are popular as it has a little bar on the one island that is popular for people to meet with other boats. Yesterday we were there and met up with a few other boats from Australia. The chief's daughter had her 7th birthday and they celebrated that with all the yachties gathered there. They had been grilling a large section of hog that they cut up and served with a potato dish ice-cream and cake all on the same plate. Lovely ice-cream as long as you ate it first. As they say.... life is uncertain eat dessert first!!!
Everything on board is good ...we have hardly made a dent in any of our supplies. We have had lots of fish and when we have not caught them we have bought them from the Kuna's in their canoes. We bought two lovely bonita/skipack the other day (US$5) and invited our friends on Toucan to join us for dinner. Had a wonderful evening with them and they also brought some very tasty salads to share. That's what is great about getting together and sharing food... there are such great and tasty dishes that get shared around.
That's it for now... catch up from down the coast somewhere...till then
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Friday, February 25, 2011
Green Island
Hi again as the time flies along.... I cannot believe that it is Friday already and almost the end of February. We are still at Green Island and tomorrow we will move to the Naguargandup Cays, possibly the western side and anchor off Salardup. Well now you know exactly where we are... still in the San Blas islands... on the Panamanian coast. As I said earlier the islands here have great names many that one finds hard to pronounce. We were going to move to Nargana today but decided to have a lazy day here instead. We got a whole lot of Langoustines' and crayfish today that we cooked and then boiled up all the heads and legs to make a wonderful "Lobster Bisque". We had that for supper tonight and after one bowl full you could not eat any more, so we have soup for lunch tomorrow with crayfish salad. The veggie boats have been around almost daily with fresh produce so we have good salad ingredients.
From Salardup we will head to the Lemon Cays for a day or two and then back to Porvenir to sign out. Many boats spend a lot of time cruising here and we have only touched on the one side of San Blas. Boats that have been further east say that you step back in time as the Kuna's there live a very traditional life with little western influence. There are also hundreds of islands to visit and to see them you would have to be here for a year or so. We do not have time to do it, but there are some rivers that run up into the rain forest that one can boat up. The forest here is absolutely pristine as no one has been in to remove the trees for a quick profit. The kunas only use trees for their dugout canoes. There is a lot of wildlife and plenty of birds to be seen. Even on the islands there are lots of different birds.
From Monday there is a total ban on fishing and collecting of seafood for three months. This is applicable to everyone as it gives the fish time to breed etc. Some of the langoustines that we bought today were carrying eggs so I took them and placed them on a small reef that hopefully will not attract the attention of any the divers looking for crayfish. Many yachties here do not follow the rules as they spearfish and remove seafood from the reef. This is rather disappointing as the Kuna work on trust and do not police the area. (Fishing with a line is permitted) There is another side to this and that is a lot of yachties are spear fishing "Lionfish" These predatory fish were introduced to the Caribbean and will kill off all the fish on a reef. Nothing will go for them as they have venomous spines on their dorsal fins that are also harmful to humans. However you can cut off the spines and fillet the fish and they are apparently good eating. Many places ask divers to report any of these fish so that they can be hunted down. Because they are very territorial they do not move from an area where they have established themselves and are easy to find again.
Unlike us we are always on the move. But for now its time to put the feed up and let dinner digest ... till next time.
From Salardup we will head to the Lemon Cays for a day or two and then back to Porvenir to sign out. Many boats spend a lot of time cruising here and we have only touched on the one side of San Blas. Boats that have been further east say that you step back in time as the Kuna's there live a very traditional life with little western influence. There are also hundreds of islands to visit and to see them you would have to be here for a year or so. We do not have time to do it, but there are some rivers that run up into the rain forest that one can boat up. The forest here is absolutely pristine as no one has been in to remove the trees for a quick profit. The kunas only use trees for their dugout canoes. There is a lot of wildlife and plenty of birds to be seen. Even on the islands there are lots of different birds.
From Monday there is a total ban on fishing and collecting of seafood for three months. This is applicable to everyone as it gives the fish time to breed etc. Some of the langoustines that we bought today were carrying eggs so I took them and placed them on a small reef that hopefully will not attract the attention of any the divers looking for crayfish. Many yachties here do not follow the rules as they spearfish and remove seafood from the reef. This is rather disappointing as the Kuna work on trust and do not police the area. (Fishing with a line is permitted) There is another side to this and that is a lot of yachties are spear fishing "Lionfish" These predatory fish were introduced to the Caribbean and will kill off all the fish on a reef. Nothing will go for them as they have venomous spines on their dorsal fins that are also harmful to humans. However you can cut off the spines and fillet the fish and they are apparently good eating. Many places ask divers to report any of these fish so that they can be hunted down. Because they are very territorial they do not move from an area where they have established themselves and are easy to find again.
Unlike us we are always on the move. But for now its time to put the feed up and let dinner digest ... till next time.
----------
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Green Island
Hi again as the time flies along.... I cannot believe that it is Friday already and almost the end of February. We are still at Green Island and tomorrow we will move to the Naguargandup Cays, possibly the western side and anchor off Salardup. Well now you know exactly where we are... still in the San Blas islands... on the Panamanian coast. As I said earlier the islands here have great names many that one finds hard to pronounce. We were going to move to Nargana today but decided to have a lazy day here instead. We go a whole lot of Langoustines' and crayfish today that we cooked and then boiled up all the heads and legs to make a wonderful "Lobster Bisque". We had that for supper tonight and after one bowl full you could not eat any more, so we have soup for lunch tomorrow with crayfish salad. The veggie boats have been around almost daily with fresh produce so we have good salad ingredients.
From Salardup we will head to the Lemon Cays for a day or two and then back to Porvenir to sign out. Many boats spend a lot of time cruising here and we have only touched on the one side of San Blas. Boats that have been further east say that you step back in time as the Kuna's there live a very traditional life with little western influence. There are also hundreds of islands to visit and to see them you would have to be here for a year or so. We do not have time to do it, but there are some rivers that run up into the rain forest that one can boat up. The forest here is absolutely pristine as no one has been in to remove the trees for a quick profit. The kunas only use trees for their dugout canoes. There is a lot of wildlife and plenty of birds to be seen. Even on the islands there are lots of different birds.
From Monday there is a total ban on fishing and collecting of seafood for three months. This is applicable to everyone as it gives the fish time to breed etc. Some of the langoustines that we bought today were carrying eggs so I took them and placed them on a small reef that hopefully will not attract the attention of any the divers looking for crayfish. Many yachties here do not follow the rules as they spearfish and remove seafood from the reef. This is rather disappointing as the Kuna work on trust and do not police the area. (Fishing with a line is permitted) There is another side to this and that is a lot of yachties are spear fishing "Lionfish" These predatory fish were introduced to the Caribbean and will kill off all the fish on a reef. Nothing will go for them as they have venomous spines on their dorsal fins that are also harmful to humans. However you can cut off the spines and fillet the fish and they are apparently good eating. Many places ask divers to report any of these fish so that they can be hunted down. Because they are very territorial they do not move from an area where they have established themselves and are easy to find again.
Unlike us we are always on the move. But for now its time to put the feed up and let dinner digest ... till next time.
From Salardup we will head to the Lemon Cays for a day or two and then back to Porvenir to sign out. Many boats spend a lot of time cruising here and we have only touched on the one side of San Blas. Boats that have been further east say that you step back in time as the Kuna's there live a very traditional life with little western influence. There are also hundreds of islands to visit and to see them you would have to be here for a year or so. We do not have time to do it, but there are some rivers that run up into the rain forest that one can boat up. The forest here is absolutely pristine as no one has been in to remove the trees for a quick profit. The kunas only use trees for their dugout canoes. There is a lot of wildlife and plenty of birds to be seen. Even on the islands there are lots of different birds.
From Monday there is a total ban on fishing and collecting of seafood for three months. This is applicable to everyone as it gives the fish time to breed etc. Some of the langoustines that we bought today were carrying eggs so I took them and placed them on a small reef that hopefully will not attract the attention of any the divers looking for crayfish. Many yachties here do not follow the rules as they spearfish and remove seafood from the reef. This is rather disappointing as the Kuna work on trust and do not police the area. (Fishing with a line is permitted) There is another side to this and that is a lot of yachties are spear fishing "Lionfish" These predatory fish were introduced to the Caribbean and will kill off all the fish on a reef. Nothing will go for them as they have venomous spines on their dorsal fins that are also harmful to humans. However you can cut off the spines and fillet the fish and they are apparently good eating. Many places ask divers to report any of these fish so that they can be hunted down. Because they are very territorial they do not move from an area where they have established themselves and are easy to find again.
Unlike us we are always on the move. But for now its time to put the feed up and let dinner digest ... till next time.
----------
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Coco Bandero Cays
Yesterday we sailed east from the Holandes Cays to the Coco Bandero Cays. The weather was good with winds from the ENE at 15-20 Knots. We decided to go around the weather side of the cays which made for an interesting trip. The seas were 2-3m but up to 4+ at times. This was mainly because we were in shallower water. We stayed out further from the reef than planned as the shoals at 5-6 meters seemed to be breaking at times with the larger swells. At the eastern side of the cays we had to cross a 7m shoal. It was not too bad as we did not have a large swell cross it with us.... once we crossed this area we were back into deeper water and headed for the lee of the cays barrier reef, which is four miles long, and we now only had to sail back to the west to the islands to anchor. Where we are anchored there are four main islands with others just a little away from here. The names are great ... we are anchored between Taidup, Dupwala, Olosicuidup and Guariadup (Dup means Island). None of these Islands are larger than 100m across, normally full of palm trees with white sandy beaches or reef around them. Only Taidup has some Kuna's living on it. We will spend another night here then head off to Green Island tomorrow. This lies to the SW of us and only about an hour's sail away. There is fairly open water until we reach the island but then have to get through the passages in the coral to get to the anchorage. Due to this one needs to get there when the sun is high to find your way in. The coral here is the best that we have seen in the Caribbean with many varieties shapes and sizes... including some old large corals that are still going strong. The fish are plentiful as well as colourful, however the fish at les Saints in Guadeloupe were more prolific and I reckon more colourful. Generally the islands here are extremely beautiful and in the most parts prestine. Time for lunch... "tuna melts" then a swim and snorkel and may catch some fresh fish for dinner. Last night we were trolling a rapala(lure) and caught a fish that was then eaten by some bigger fish while we were winding it in - Unfortunately that one missed the hooks.
Until we catch something or move again we will write again... till then
Until we catch something or move again we will write again... till then
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Sunday, February 20, 2011
East Holandes Cays
Well another day here on the Holandes Cays in San Blas. The weather has been very pleasant with fair winds out of the North. As we are all in the lee of the islands the water is flat and still. The fishing could be better but, then again, one cannot be too greedy. Lots of smaller fish and barracudas that steal ones lures... they have razor sharp teeth. The colours of the water at the different depths are absolutely stunning, but you will need to wait till we get to the internet to download the pictures. We have had many Kuna come by with crayfish, monster crabs and all assortments of groceries. We bought a fresh chicken and roasted it (our first roast in our oven) and it turned out great... very tasty. Sandy made up for the chicken with crayfish that we bought from one of the passing canoes. The canoes that the Kuna's use are dugout canoes made from one hollowed out tree trunk. Today one came by with a small 9HP outboard on the back. He offered us some crab and crayfish and then asked if we could sell him some fuel. Out here he would be miles from any location where he could buy some. We spared two gallons around 8litres. Then he asked if we had oil. We don't carry two stroke oil, but he was happy to use some 15W40 oil and get on his way. I asked him how long it would take to make a dugout canoe and he reckons that from the chopping down of the tree to finish take around a week. The tree is felled and shaped up in the rain forest and then taken to the village where the final trimming up is done. His canoe is fifteen years old and still has many years of life left in it. They do take in water and often you can see them bailing as they go along. They normally have one large paddle that can also be used to steer the boat when they use their sails. They cover large distance and will go along the coast to Colon (70-80nm) or down to Columbia in these open canoes. You see them everywhere around the Cays with the Kuna's fishing, diving, transporting goods and people. Well the sun is high we have made our water and charged our batteries so there is only one thing left to do ...go snorkelling. Yesterday we had Ian and Wendy on board from the yacht Remedy that crossed the Atlantic with us. They arrived a few days ago from Cuba after an eight day passage. This morning we heard Barnstorm (also from the Atlantic crossing) calling them and they had just arrived from Honduras after a four day Passage. We are very close to each other, but behind different islands. Later today we will dinghy around for a chat. So off to snorkel we go... till next time, bye for now
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Provenir to Holandes Cays
Yesterday (Monday) we left Provenir and headed across to the Holandes Cays passing through Lemon and East lemon Cays. Each of the cays has several small islands all inter connected by lagoons and Reefs. These reefs are generally very shallow and there are not many passages entering the lagoons. Each island has lots of palm trees on them and little Kuna settlements on them. Some only have a few huts on them. These huts are made from natural materials. The framework is all tied together by vines that are collected from the forest on the mainland. The roofs are made from special palm leaves, also from the forest, and have a life expectancy of around 15 years. Even in the heaviest of tropical storms they do not leak. The floors are compressed sand and they have very few furnishings. Life here is spent in the hammock.
The Holandes Cays are made up of 21 islands that are mostly uninhabited due to its distance from the mainland. The Cays are protected by a 7-mile barrier reef. Been so far from the mainland the water here is beautifully clear and is not affected by the run off during the rainy season. Our anchorage we came into is tucked between two small islands and a reef of coral around the back creating a small lagoon. We almost did not come in here as the entrance is small and the sun was playing behind the clouds. As we approached we got some sun and could clearly see the entrance and shot in. We took the dinghy up to the main anchorage called the "Swimming Pool" where there were about 20-30 boats to see if there were any that we knew. After visiting and chatting we got back to the lagoon entrance and had to motor up and down to find the correct spot. The reef around the entrance is less than 0.5m so no short cuts. Once back in the lagoon we went into a small bay for a quick last throw before dark and bingo.... we caught a 3-4 kg trevally/yellow tail Jack which went into the pan within twenty minutes of us catching him. Fish again for lunch and supper today. We will do some snorkeling around here for a day or so and walk around some of the islands.... yes it is "around" the islands are very small.
One could spend ages here as there are some beautiful anchorages that are well protected is some very beautiful surroundings. The circuit that we will try do takes us to a few Cays and plenty of islands and yet we will only scratch the surface. As we go, we will let you know... till then
The Holandes Cays are made up of 21 islands that are mostly uninhabited due to its distance from the mainland. The Cays are protected by a 7-mile barrier reef. Been so far from the mainland the water here is beautifully clear and is not affected by the run off during the rainy season. Our anchorage we came into is tucked between two small islands and a reef of coral around the back creating a small lagoon. We almost did not come in here as the entrance is small and the sun was playing behind the clouds. As we approached we got some sun and could clearly see the entrance and shot in. We took the dinghy up to the main anchorage called the "Swimming Pool" where there were about 20-30 boats to see if there were any that we knew. After visiting and chatting we got back to the lagoon entrance and had to motor up and down to find the correct spot. The reef around the entrance is less than 0.5m so no short cuts. Once back in the lagoon we went into a small bay for a quick last throw before dark and bingo.... we caught a 3-4 kg trevally/yellow tail Jack which went into the pan within twenty minutes of us catching him. Fish again for lunch and supper today. We will do some snorkeling around here for a day or so and walk around some of the islands.... yes it is "around" the islands are very small.
One could spend ages here as there are some beautiful anchorages that are well protected is some very beautiful surroundings. The circuit that we will try do takes us to a few Cays and plenty of islands and yet we will only scratch the surface. As we go, we will let you know... till then
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Sunday, February 13, 2011
Provenir;San Blas Islands;Panama
Hi there to all our blog readers
>Well the last two days the weather was great, but trying to go slow
>was a pain. The wind was great and we could easily have cruised at
>7-8 knots, but had to keep it below 4 knots so that we could arrive
>here at daylight. We had a busy last night with tons of shipping
>all heading into the Panama Canal. We chatted to one ship and asked
>how well our lights were from a visibility aspect and he said they
>were good, but did not have us on radar. We fitted new LED lights
>that use 0.1 amps per hour each compared to the old ones that sucked
>almost 2 amps each per hour. This is great as all our navigation
>lights now only use about 12 amps a night rather than 50 amps. We
>arrived at the outside of the islands at about 9 am and were anchored
>off Provenir by 10 am. Had a lovely shower and cleanup and then
>headed to Customs and Immigration. The Kuna people running these
>areas are just lovely and they hardly understand English but they
>sorted out all our paperwork with little fuss. The Kuna Indians are
>very small people and are the shortest race after the pygmy's. The
>women are beautifully dressed in fine hand stitched dresses with
>bead work on their legs and arms. They do not like to be photographed
>and get very upset if you point a camera in their direction. Sandy
>has already been spending money on the "molas" that the women
>sew.... the work is absolutely exquisite and must take absolute
>hours to complete. The people travel in lovely dugout canoes some
>which seem to be very old. Today we have just taken a break and
>visited some friends that arrived the day before us. Tomorrow we
>will go down to another island where the snorkeling is supposed to
>be good. Here will be lots to tell over the next few days and as we
>will be doing it over the radio as internet does not exist here it
>will have to be in small sections. Photos will only be added once we
>get back onto the internet possibly in Colon. Till next time Lots of
>love Colin and Sandy
>Well the last two days the weather was great, but trying to go slow
>was a pain. The wind was great and we could easily have cruised at
>7-8 knots, but had to keep it below 4 knots so that we could arrive
>here at daylight. We had a busy last night with tons of shipping
>all heading into the Panama Canal. We chatted to one ship and asked
>how well our lights were from a visibility aspect and he said they
>were good, but did not have us on radar. We fitted new LED lights
>that use 0.1 amps per hour each compared to the old ones that sucked
>almost 2 amps each per hour. This is great as all our navigation
>lights now only use about 12 amps a night rather than 50 amps. We
>arrived at the outside of the islands at about 9 am and were anchored
>off Provenir by 10 am. Had a lovely shower and cleanup and then
>headed to Customs and Immigration. The Kuna people running these
>areas are just lovely and they hardly understand English but they
>sorted out all our paperwork with little fuss. The Kuna Indians are
>very small people and are the shortest race after the pygmy's. The
>women are beautifully dressed in fine hand stitched dresses with
>bead work on their legs and arms. They do not like to be photographed
>and get very upset if you point a camera in their direction. Sandy
>has already been spending money on the "molas" that the women
>sew.... the work is absolutely exquisite and must take absolute
>hours to complete. The people travel in lovely dugout canoes some
>which seem to be very old. Today we have just taken a break and
>visited some friends that arrived the day before us. Tomorrow we
>will go down to another island where the snorkeling is supposed to
>be good. Here will be lots to tell over the next few days and as we
>will be doing it over the radio as internet does not exist here it
>will have to be in small sections. Photos will only be added once we
>get back onto the internet possibly in Colon. Till next time Lots of
>love Colin and Sandy
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Friday, February 11, 2011
Position reportday 4 - two miserable mariners
Hi there to all our blog readers
13.45 UTC 26 Jan
Course: 250 ° Speed Ave last 12 hrs: 3.5 Knots
Distance covered last 24hrs until 06h00 UTC: 122.4 nm
Distance to San Blas: 60 nm
Position 10°02.397 N 078° 00.238 W
Well the last 48 have been something. The area we have just been through is notorious and it did not let us down. The weather for the area was 15-25 knots easterly winds with a little variation in direction and a hell of a lot in strength. We had winds of over 30 knots, and with three reefs and a fragment of our usual genoa out front we were surfing down waves (4-5meters) at over 14 knots. Finally we took down the main, but did not slow too much. There was a lot of shipping on route and we asked one what their wind strength was, to which he replied ...over 45 knots. I asked if he had an updated weather forecast for us, "Yes ... 15 -25 knots". I thanked him and we barrelled along on our way. We both were not feeling that well and Colin was on water only which was soon returned to the sea. Sandy had taken seasick tablets and was faring much better.... and we are doing this WHY??
Well today was the reverse ...we are trying to get down to 4knots average as could not make it into San Blas early enough in the day and a late arrival is not recommended as the place is littered with coral reefs. So we have been on a go slow all day and if the wind stays down tonight we can take a slow evening and arrive tomorrow with the sun behind us. The only problem slowing so much is that the swells role one around a little more. Eaten well today and both feeling great. Had a great shower today and noticed that the fly from nowhere has left... says it all.
All our love
Colin and Sandy
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Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Position reportday 2
Hi there to all our blog readers
We are currently at position 12*07.039 N & 73*43.604 W. (*= degrees as I can't find the degree emblem on the computer!!!)
We left Spaanse Water at midday on Monday 7 Feb for our passage to San Blas - about 640 nm in total.
We had strong winds which put us at 7 - 8 knots and a bit more. included in that was the current of about 2 knots.
We passed Aruba in the dark so all we saw of it was it's twinkling lights. At the northern end we had to negotiate our way through an anchorage of 17 - 18 ships all lit up.
There has been a northerly swell which has put an uncomfortable kick to the side of us but the frequency has reduced. The wind died down quite substantially and lost us our wonderful speed but it has picked up again and we are surrounded with white horses.
Sandy took the sea sick tablets the night before leaving which has kept the stomach stable but the side affect is an intense headache. Colin opted not to because of the side affects and is suffering from sea sickness with the accompanying stomach aches and headaches and is not able to eat. He improved for a short while this morning but got worse again from about noon.
We seem to be having fair sleeps during our watch - though we wake up once or twice in the three hour off time but manage to sleep straight away again - the worst watch time is the last 45 minutes of the three hour watch in the early hours of the morning!
We should reach the half way point some time during the night.
We will update in the next 48 hours.
Hugs and smiles
Colin & Sandy
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Sunday, February 6, 2011
Goodbye Curacao
Well after a month here in Curacao it is finally time to move on. We had to wait three weeks for Colin’s new glasses as they are made up in the USA. We also had to wait as long to get our electronic charts for the Pacific and Australia.
So time to move on... we have spent the last few days loading the boat with about six months worth of supplies. We landed up getting soaked with one load on our tip from the dinghy dock to our boat that resulted in us having to wash about sixty tins plus and dry them well before storing them. Hopefully that is enough as we really don’t want them to rust. A big thank you must go to Clemens who is a fellow BSR practitioner here on Curacao. He spent two days helping us by driving us around picking up supplies and then also taking us to customs and immigration to sign out. As we would have had to lug tons of stuff around on busses we really do appreciate what he did for us. Below: Clemens and Trudy join us at Normans (at the dinghy dock) for "happy hour" after a day bof carting us around shopping.
Packing all the supplies onto the boat is another exercise altogether. There’s no shoving of things into cupboards as they have to be ordered so that what you hope to use first is at the front or at the top of a locker. Then it all has to be secure so that if we should role onto our side it would all stay in place. Theoretically the boat should be able to roll right around and everything should stay in its place.... we would land up with an almighty mess. No Plans to be sailing in such weather if we can help it.
Tomorrow we leave for the San Blas islands on the SE coast of Panama. The islands are owned and run by the Kuna Indians, who follow a very simple non western way of life. Some islands in the area are slowly changing as there are now some cruise ships that have started to target these islands and so they will slowly be developed as a tourist destination. We were hoping to spend a few weeks here but with all the delays we may only be here for two to three weeks. Our “push” is to get to Colon and through Panama Canal as early as we can in March. But one can sit and wait for a while until the canal authorities approve your transit.
The trip to San Blas should take us around six or so days and turns out to be our second longest passage so far. Our wait here in Curacao has not been that bad an option (weather wise) as the weather on route to San Blas and along the Columbian coast is notorious and the winds the last few weeks have been very strong. The weather window for this week shows lighter winds 15-25 knots for most of the trip with slightly lighter winds towards Panama and 20-30 knots in the rougher middle section on Tuesday when we pass that area. Just add a few more knots here and there for any errors in the grib files and alls good.
We will try updating our blog as we go, via our radio, but that means no photos’ till we hit some place that has internet services... possibly in Colon where we wait for our transit to the Pacific.
Many off the goodbyes at the moment are really ”see you later” as many of the boats that we are meeting up with now, are heading for Panama and the Pacific. For now that’s it and hopefully the next update will be soon if all’s well with the radio connections. All the best
Colin and Sandy
So time to move on... we have spent the last few days loading the boat with about six months worth of supplies. We landed up getting soaked with one load on our tip from the dinghy dock to our boat that resulted in us having to wash about sixty tins plus and dry them well before storing them. Hopefully that is enough as we really don’t want them to rust. A big thank you must go to Clemens who is a fellow BSR practitioner here on Curacao. He spent two days helping us by driving us around picking up supplies and then also taking us to customs and immigration to sign out. As we would have had to lug tons of stuff around on busses we really do appreciate what he did for us. Below: Clemens and Trudy join us at Normans (at the dinghy dock) for "happy hour" after a day bof carting us around shopping.
Packing all the supplies onto the boat is another exercise altogether. There’s no shoving of things into cupboards as they have to be ordered so that what you hope to use first is at the front or at the top of a locker. Then it all has to be secure so that if we should role onto our side it would all stay in place. Theoretically the boat should be able to roll right around and everything should stay in its place.... we would land up with an almighty mess. No Plans to be sailing in such weather if we can help it.
Tomorrow we leave for the San Blas islands on the SE coast of Panama. The islands are owned and run by the Kuna Indians, who follow a very simple non western way of life. Some islands in the area are slowly changing as there are now some cruise ships that have started to target these islands and so they will slowly be developed as a tourist destination. We were hoping to spend a few weeks here but with all the delays we may only be here for two to three weeks. Our “push” is to get to Colon and through Panama Canal as early as we can in March. But one can sit and wait for a while until the canal authorities approve your transit.
The trip to San Blas should take us around six or so days and turns out to be our second longest passage so far. Our wait here in Curacao has not been that bad an option (weather wise) as the weather on route to San Blas and along the Columbian coast is notorious and the winds the last few weeks have been very strong. The weather window for this week shows lighter winds 15-25 knots for most of the trip with slightly lighter winds towards Panama and 20-30 knots in the rougher middle section on Tuesday when we pass that area. Just add a few more knots here and there for any errors in the grib files and alls good.
We will try updating our blog as we go, via our radio, but that means no photos’ till we hit some place that has internet services... possibly in Colon where we wait for our transit to the Pacific.
Many off the goodbyes at the moment are really ”see you later” as many of the boats that we are meeting up with now, are heading for Panama and the Pacific. For now that’s it and hopefully the next update will be soon if all’s well with the radio connections. All the best
Colin and Sandy
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Night time visitors
We have occasionally had bats fly around the cockpit and in the early evening they can be seen catching insect in the darkening sky. There are many bats around here and the fruit bat is always out to find an easy meal. (There’s also the vampire bat, but that is found on the mainland of South America. They can be a problem as they are known to carry rabies.) Now bats are cute little fellows and sadly dying out in many parts of the world. Here they seem happy and brave enough to search through the boat for food. Our fruit is store in a container to keep them out, but last night we left a banana in the galley. With the hatch closed and netting on the open ports it is a mystery how on earth it got in, but when I got up to close ports at 4am because of a rainstorm there it was cruising around the boat. After chasing it to the front cabin we managed to get some photos of it.
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