Islands of Panama - 4th March
Islands of Panama 4th March
Last entry in blog – 21st February – God that seems like such a long time ago, in miles its about 400, in experience it seems like 2000, some good and some bad.
We left Jimenez, our last stop in Costa Rica, heading for Panama, first intended stop Isla Parida, we had a fairly uneventful night trip, mostly motor sailing. There were a couple of anchorages to choose from around the island, but its always a bit of a crap shoot as to what the wind will do after dropping anchor. We chose the first anchorage and got tossed around most of the night. Glad to leave in the morning at 1030 heading for Isla Secas. We were actually having a great sail with 1 reef in the main and full headsail and mizzen, a good beamer doing 5 knots for a few hours, then we hit a pretty wide channel between an island whose name I have forgotten and Isla Coiba, a huge island housing 3 penal colonies and lots of wildlife. Not sure if the prisoners are aloud to interact with the eco-tourists.
This island is well known by yatistas because its anchorages are national park and the park rangers are asking $60 for the boat plus $20 per person for the privelege of anchoring there. Needless to say we declined and carried on very slowly down the channel heading for Isla Secas. We found a beautiful anchorage here between Isla Cavada and an un-named island to the south. We were tucked in beween 2 rocky promontories, but could not avoid the swell. It was uncomfortable but well worth being there. The snorkeling was good and the beach was a gorgeous white sand and coconut palm beach. We were definitely having a Robinson Crusoe type of experience having the island all to ourselves, when another boat sailed in just before sunset. Another Canadian boat. Mistletoe is owned by Chris and Jen who have been away from home for about 5 years and are returning back to the Maple Ridge area. We spent a few hours with them exchanging information, plus we traded our Costa Rica guide book for beer. That’s beginning to become a habit.
Leaving Isla Secas at 0630 on the 26th we expected our next landfall to be Las Perlas islands in the gulf of Panama, having by then passed the notorious Punta Mala. A distance of 250 odd miles which should take us a couple of days and a bit. This started out as an ok motor sailing type of day, but the wind came up and we had a good sail for a few hours. The wind came up some more and we rounded the first point of the Azuera Peninsula with head sail up only and we started to get a taste for what was to become a very long, arduous trip from here on to Las Perlas.
By 0830 on the 27th we were motor sailing into nasty choppy seas, making about 3 knots and feeling tired and hard done by. As this day progressed we started talking to pulling into Benao Cove, the last anchorage before Punta Mala.
At this point I would like to remind the readers that we are not going along blindly hoping the conditions will be favourable. We do receive daily weather faxes which have been predicting 15, maybe 20 knots north-east for the next few days. We also know that in about 3 days the conditions will get worse, and we don’t want to be trying to plough through the gulf when they do.
We pulled into Benao Cove at 1800 on the 27th, it was pretty windy but the seas were flat, and we have confidence in our anchor in such condidions. We pulled right over to the north east corner of the bay aware that we should anticipate approximately 15 foot tides. Just as Tony went up on deck to drop the anchor we were hailed by someone from the shore. Not sure where he was, but there was a big house or resort on the beach, and he wanted to let us know that the anchorage was good, and to welcome us to the bay, for which we were very grateful.
By now Punta Mala had grown in my mind to the proportions of Cape Mendecino in California, and we didn’t have much faith in the weather faxes now either, as the winds we were getting were a lot more that those predicted.
The next 30 miles – 15 up to Punta Mala, we kept in very close to shore in an attempt to reduce the fetch we were getting hit with. The seas were white with spray, we were doing between 2 – 3 knots in winds hovering around 27 knots gusting over 30 frequently. And no sign of improvement. We also knew that at the Point we would have a choice of rounding and staying in close to shore motoring straight into the wind and waves, which would be bigger because there’s no land in the way to reduce them, OR we could sail abeam which would take us further out of the gulf, with little chance of tacking back up into the head on waves.
2 of our guide books written by people who know ahelluvalot more than we do suggested staying in close to shore. This is what we did until we were frustrated enough for me to want to quit and go back. There was nowhere to go to rest and if we didn’t keep going we were lose any progress which we had fought so hard to achieve. We were clawing our way up the shore doing short tacks with a lot more sail up than we were comfortable with. But to reduce sail was to be pushed further back, we needed the power to make way through the very aggressive short chop.
By about 2100 we had climbed up the east shore of the peninsula as far as Isla Iguana when we could take it no more and we headed out into the gulf motor sailing in order to keep our head up and make north east instead of south east. This was definitely a night to remember, not just because of the elements which were very nearly defeating us, but because we were going through pretty busy shipping lanes. We could hear other boats calling the big ships to ask if the ships could see them when it seemed that they were about to collide. Mostly we were not worried about them, at night it is easy to tell the direction and speed of the ships because of their lights and our radar.
At one point when there were about 5 ships to keep our eye on, Tony put out a general call to all traffic, telling them of our position and our speed and direction and invited the ships to respond if there was any conflict. We noticed one of them changed his direction and we were fine.
We arrived at 1607 on March 1st in San Jose, the closest Perlas Island in the group. This island is supposedly owned by 2 aging German hippies who landed there 20 odd years ago. It’s a huge, beautiful, rugged island and I can’t imagine how a couple of hippies could afford to own it. Have to check it out on Google. Out of 5 boats in this anchorage 3 were Canadian. We didn’t get to meet anyone here, we had only stopped to sleep, which we did very grateful that the ordeal of the last 24 hours was over.
We have an admission to make – by San Jose the only alcohol we had on the boat was the bottle of champagne that Kevin and Betty had given us to celebrate crossing the Equator. We felt we deserved it now, and I think they would think so too, so we put it in the freezer and while I made us a nice spaghetti dinner it reached the right temperature and we really enjoyed drinking it before hitting the sack.
By now our supplies of everything are running very low, and coming up with interesting food is quite challenging. My mother instilled in me that it is always important to have a contented stomach, and I believe this is very true for sailors at sea. When things get so bad that I don’t think I can prepare a meal let alone eat one, I always push myself to make something that will produce a contented stomach, one less body part to worry about.
But we need provisions, and we need them more than we need to see these gorgeous islands. We headed for Contadora which is the most inhabited of Las Perlas islands, and what a gorgeous place it is. Obviously many of the rich Panamanians have fabulous homes there, the anchorage was just sheltered from the north easter which was still blowing, landing the dinghy wasn’t too bad. The beach was so steep that Tony was able to just run the engine right up onto the beach and I jumped out hardly even wetting my feet.
We met a couple of very interesting people who as they were walking down the road towards to beach, Shelley fell headfirst down a 2’ step, and fortunately didn’t hurt herself, partly due to her youth and partly due to a high level of inebriation. We helped Anders, her friend to pick her up and brush her off, found out they were on a 65’ Swan, had a brief chat and Shelley invited us back to the boat for drinks.
After our little walk to the shops – make that shop – where we did find milk, eggs and more importantly beer we went back to their boat, shared some beer, drank a lot of their wine and found out they are the delivery crew for the owners of this boat, Geronimo.
What a life Anders has, he is the resident skipper and moves the boat around the world meeting the owners wherever they want to go. Shelley is also the resident hostess/steward. And whenever they have passages to make they bring on more crew, they usually travel with a crew of 5. So they travel extensively to many parts of the world, all living expenses covered and they get paid very good salaries to do so.
Their boat owners sound like very nice people, they even allow them to have their own guests on board when the owners don’t need the boat.
So after a couple of days in Contadora we are now headed for La Playita, a bit anchorage outside of Panama City, where we need to do a bit of boat work, find things the boat needs, get supplies, find an agent to help us through the canal, and prepare to go through to the other side. We are pretty excited about this prospect. It’s a big step, and once through we are only about 800 miles from the beginning of crossing the Atlantic.
We’ve just arrived in Panama City, anchored outside in an anchorage with about 50 other yachts, and now the games of trying to transit the canal begin.I’ll keep you posted.
Last entry in blog – 21st February – God that seems like such a long time ago, in miles its about 400, in experience it seems like 2000, some good and some bad.
We left Jimenez, our last stop in Costa Rica, heading for Panama, first intended stop Isla Parida, we had a fairly uneventful night trip, mostly motor sailing. There were a couple of anchorages to choose from around the island, but its always a bit of a crap shoot as to what the wind will do after dropping anchor. We chose the first anchorage and got tossed around most of the night. Glad to leave in the morning at 1030 heading for Isla Secas. We were actually having a great sail with 1 reef in the main and full headsail and mizzen, a good beamer doing 5 knots for a few hours, then we hit a pretty wide channel between an island whose name I have forgotten and Isla Coiba, a huge island housing 3 penal colonies and lots of wildlife. Not sure if the prisoners are aloud to interact with the eco-tourists.
This island is well known by yatistas because its anchorages are national park and the park rangers are asking $60 for the boat plus $20 per person for the privelege of anchoring there. Needless to say we declined and carried on very slowly down the channel heading for Isla Secas. We found a beautiful anchorage here between Isla Cavada and an un-named island to the south. We were tucked in beween 2 rocky promontories, but could not avoid the swell. It was uncomfortable but well worth being there. The snorkeling was good and the beach was a gorgeous white sand and coconut palm beach. We were definitely having a Robinson Crusoe type of experience having the island all to ourselves, when another boat sailed in just before sunset. Another Canadian boat. Mistletoe is owned by Chris and Jen who have been away from home for about 5 years and are returning back to the Maple Ridge area. We spent a few hours with them exchanging information, plus we traded our Costa Rica guide book for beer. That’s beginning to become a habit.
Leaving Isla Secas at 0630 on the 26th we expected our next landfall to be Las Perlas islands in the gulf of Panama, having by then passed the notorious Punta Mala. A distance of 250 odd miles which should take us a couple of days and a bit. This started out as an ok motor sailing type of day, but the wind came up and we had a good sail for a few hours. The wind came up some more and we rounded the first point of the Azuera Peninsula with head sail up only and we started to get a taste for what was to become a very long, arduous trip from here on to Las Perlas.
By 0830 on the 27th we were motor sailing into nasty choppy seas, making about 3 knots and feeling tired and hard done by. As this day progressed we started talking to pulling into Benao Cove, the last anchorage before Punta Mala.
At this point I would like to remind the readers that we are not going along blindly hoping the conditions will be favourable. We do receive daily weather faxes which have been predicting 15, maybe 20 knots north-east for the next few days. We also know that in about 3 days the conditions will get worse, and we don’t want to be trying to plough through the gulf when they do.
We pulled into Benao Cove at 1800 on the 27th, it was pretty windy but the seas were flat, and we have confidence in our anchor in such condidions. We pulled right over to the north east corner of the bay aware that we should anticipate approximately 15 foot tides. Just as Tony went up on deck to drop the anchor we were hailed by someone from the shore. Not sure where he was, but there was a big house or resort on the beach, and he wanted to let us know that the anchorage was good, and to welcome us to the bay, for which we were very grateful.
By now Punta Mala had grown in my mind to the proportions of Cape Mendecino in California, and we didn’t have much faith in the weather faxes now either, as the winds we were getting were a lot more that those predicted.
The next 30 miles – 15 up to Punta Mala, we kept in very close to shore in an attempt to reduce the fetch we were getting hit with. The seas were white with spray, we were doing between 2 – 3 knots in winds hovering around 27 knots gusting over 30 frequently. And no sign of improvement. We also knew that at the Point we would have a choice of rounding and staying in close to shore motoring straight into the wind and waves, which would be bigger because there’s no land in the way to reduce them, OR we could sail abeam which would take us further out of the gulf, with little chance of tacking back up into the head on waves.
2 of our guide books written by people who know ahelluvalot more than we do suggested staying in close to shore. This is what we did until we were frustrated enough for me to want to quit and go back. There was nowhere to go to rest and if we didn’t keep going we were lose any progress which we had fought so hard to achieve. We were clawing our way up the shore doing short tacks with a lot more sail up than we were comfortable with. But to reduce sail was to be pushed further back, we needed the power to make way through the very aggressive short chop.
By about 2100 we had climbed up the east shore of the peninsula as far as Isla Iguana when we could take it no more and we headed out into the gulf motor sailing in order to keep our head up and make north east instead of south east. This was definitely a night to remember, not just because of the elements which were very nearly defeating us, but because we were going through pretty busy shipping lanes. We could hear other boats calling the big ships to ask if the ships could see them when it seemed that they were about to collide. Mostly we were not worried about them, at night it is easy to tell the direction and speed of the ships because of their lights and our radar.
At one point when there were about 5 ships to keep our eye on, Tony put out a general call to all traffic, telling them of our position and our speed and direction and invited the ships to respond if there was any conflict. We noticed one of them changed his direction and we were fine.
We arrived at 1607 on March 1st in San Jose, the closest Perlas Island in the group. This island is supposedly owned by 2 aging German hippies who landed there 20 odd years ago. It’s a huge, beautiful, rugged island and I can’t imagine how a couple of hippies could afford to own it. Have to check it out on Google. Out of 5 boats in this anchorage 3 were Canadian. We didn’t get to meet anyone here, we had only stopped to sleep, which we did very grateful that the ordeal of the last 24 hours was over.
We have an admission to make – by San Jose the only alcohol we had on the boat was the bottle of champagne that Kevin and Betty had given us to celebrate crossing the Equator. We felt we deserved it now, and I think they would think so too, so we put it in the freezer and while I made us a nice spaghetti dinner it reached the right temperature and we really enjoyed drinking it before hitting the sack.
By now our supplies of everything are running very low, and coming up with interesting food is quite challenging. My mother instilled in me that it is always important to have a contented stomach, and I believe this is very true for sailors at sea. When things get so bad that I don’t think I can prepare a meal let alone eat one, I always push myself to make something that will produce a contented stomach, one less body part to worry about.
But we need provisions, and we need them more than we need to see these gorgeous islands. We headed for Contadora which is the most inhabited of Las Perlas islands, and what a gorgeous place it is. Obviously many of the rich Panamanians have fabulous homes there, the anchorage was just sheltered from the north easter which was still blowing, landing the dinghy wasn’t too bad. The beach was so steep that Tony was able to just run the engine right up onto the beach and I jumped out hardly even wetting my feet.
We met a couple of very interesting people who as they were walking down the road towards to beach, Shelley fell headfirst down a 2’ step, and fortunately didn’t hurt herself, partly due to her youth and partly due to a high level of inebriation. We helped Anders, her friend to pick her up and brush her off, found out they were on a 65’ Swan, had a brief chat and Shelley invited us back to the boat for drinks.
After our little walk to the shops – make that shop – where we did find milk, eggs and more importantly beer we went back to their boat, shared some beer, drank a lot of their wine and found out they are the delivery crew for the owners of this boat, Geronimo.
What a life Anders has, he is the resident skipper and moves the boat around the world meeting the owners wherever they want to go. Shelley is also the resident hostess/steward. And whenever they have passages to make they bring on more crew, they usually travel with a crew of 5. So they travel extensively to many parts of the world, all living expenses covered and they get paid very good salaries to do so.
Their boat owners sound like very nice people, they even allow them to have their own guests on board when the owners don’t need the boat.
So after a couple of days in Contadora we are now headed for La Playita, a bit anchorage outside of Panama City, where we need to do a bit of boat work, find things the boat needs, get supplies, find an agent to help us through the canal, and prepare to go through to the other side. We are pretty excited about this prospect. It’s a big step, and once through we are only about 800 miles from the beginning of crossing the Atlantic.
We’ve just arrived in Panama City, anchored outside in an anchorage with about 50 other yachts, and now the games of trying to transit the canal begin.I’ll keep you posted.
Comments
All 4 now, youre Skype buddi
Captin Pedro