Yesterday, 3/6, we'd planned an E-Z 10-mi. sail from Isla Linton to Green Turtle Bay. Weather was fine, NE winds12 kt., NE swell 4'-6'. Sadly, Green Turtle Bay = untenable due to NE swell so we sailed the extra 35 mi. to Porvenir in the San Blas islands. About 8 mi. out, rain squall reversed…
3/4: Arrived yesterday, 3/3, motorsailing easterly 12 mi. from Portobello. Forecast was for NE winds 10-15 kt., NE seas 4'-6'. We actually got NE winds 15-23 kt., seas 5'-8' on a 6-sec. period. Equals, rough water for traveling E like we are. Isla Linton anchorage looks like it might be nice — but it's hard…
3/1: anchored in Portobelo 5 days. Toured town & 2 of the17th-cen. Spanish forts. Also saw the famous Black Jesus of Nazareth upon marble side altar in town church. Sculpture is well dressed w/ very disturbing eyes. Weather: reinforced trades = E winds 15-24kt. w/ occas. lt. rain showers but bay has only low chop…
Left Shelter Bay Marina/Colon @ 0800 Fri., 2/25. No wind – motored 17mi. to Portobello (09deg.33.5'N/079deg.40'W), found by Columbus in 1502; later, the port from which the Spanish shipped much gold & silver from the New World. It is indeed a beautiful port. 40 boats here, most our size, most from Europe. Ruins of 500…
Long story short, it went fine – much more smoothly and incident-free than I ever expected. We had 2 professional line handlers who were terrific & helped out the rest of us (thanks, Mauricio and Ivan!), and one amateur line handler who was a real quick study (kudos to you, Anne!). GB rounded out our line…
While GB and I scramble to get our act together for a Canal transit, here are some pics of the EASY way to see the Canal: come to Panama City, and take a day trip by taxi to the Miraflores Locks. They're the first set of locks that vessels go through when leaving the Pacific…
So, yeah. We've discussed various scenarios about where we sail next. "Plan A" was to cruise the anchorages in the Gulf of Panama, then return to Ecuador for another 6 months or so for more South American tourism, especially in Peru. "Plan A, v.1.0" involved direct travel from Panama to Ecuador. "Plan A, v.2.0" included…
Approaching Panama City from the water, you are first struck by the incredible number of freighters and cruise ships anchored for miles around the entrance to the Panama Canal, all waiting for their turn to either transit the Canal or proceed a short way into the Canal entrance to Panama City/Balboa's commercial docks. Everything you…
Thus far in our 4-year cruising career we have entered and exited eight countries. Of course each country has its own laws, and some countries are more demanding than others, but they generally all follow the same format in processing cruising boats like The Fox. At a minimum, most every Latin country wants to see your…
Bahía Piña is one of the last anchorages in Panama before you cross the border into Colombia. It is pretty and protected from northerly winds (though not from southerly wind and seas). It has a couple of anchoring options, though like many places a mooring field has crowded out the best spots in the best area. It's…