Golfito's a nice place. If they let you in. By 2014 we were pretty well experienced with checking into and out of all kinds of countries, and we'd already been in and out of Costa Rica once. Our check-in with Immigration this time went as smoothly as usual. However, our next stop – Customs –…
Islas Secas translates to the "dry islands." I assume this means there are no natural springs anywhere on these islands, but I don't know for sure because I have been spoiled by The Fox's reliable Little Wonder watermaker, tra-la. We sailed 34 miles from Bahia Honda to the Secas for 3 days of fishing, snorkeling,…
Still talking March 2014 here. Don't judge. Almost immediately upon reaching the Pacific side of the Panama Canal, we encountered flocks of cormorants, brown pelicans, terns, and gulls fishing among the anchored fleet o' freighters waiting their turn to go through the locks. We saw more sea life in that one spot than we had…
Some details: The weather was typical for Panama in March – humid daytime temps in the 80s, intermittent showers alternating with sun breaks. In contrast to our DIY south-to-north transit in 2011, this time in 2014 we decided to hire an agent for the north-to-south transit. We had our reasons; among them, that the logistics…
Governor's Harbour is a historic town about 5-1/4 miles SE of Alabaster Bay. It was once the Bahamain seat of government and may very well have been one of Eleuthera Island's pirate hangouts back in the 18th Century. The town has brightly-colored houses lining the hillsides, giving lots of visual texture to the area. The…
Alabaster Bay is a broad bight about 10-1/4 miles SE of Hatchet Bay. It is open to winds from any westerly direction but the depths are good. Holding varies; the first visit there in January 2012 we picked up a large rock on our first anchoring attempt but we held in hard-packed sand on our…
It is not necessarily a bad thing to wait a week or two (or four) for a weather window to sail. The worst part is the mental factor: the impatience we feel when we are ready to move, and have prepared The Fox to move, yet it's prudent to stay put. Analyzing and discussing the…
Circumstances on the US East Coast during the past few months seemed to slow GB and me down every time we were keen to get moving. The very bad late-fall/early-winter weather on this side of the continent kept us from putting significant miles under our keel. Repeatedly. After our Fort Pierce New Year's Fiasco, we…
July 9, 2011: It was late afternoon as we reached the St. Simons sea buoy and the beginning of the deep, well-marked, five mile long approach in to St. Simons Sound. The breeze had picked up to the high teens/low 20s, a low chop developed, and small rain squalls appeared here and there in the…
July 8, 2011: We left Fort Pierce inlet at sunrise after a calm but drizzly night at anchor. Skies were overcast, wind was light, no nearby lightning cells. We sailed about 9 miles offshore to pick up a 2-3 knot current assist from the mighty Gulf Stream. We rode north on the Gulf Stream for…