Panama - The Pacific Side

Panama City - Balboa Yacht Club

Panama City looking northwest  from Roca San Jose

Arrluk pulled into the Balboa Yacht Club on the early afternoon of April 28th, 2013.  Repeated attempts to raise someone on the radio were frustrating, as we puttered around on the outskirts of the open mooring area, once coming very close to a shallow area, before a man on a Panga simply arrived to waive us over to a nearly submerged, sea life encrusted, "ball" (actually a couple of nearly submerged tires) and assisted us in getting moored.  Our location later proved to be "less than ideal," (my words) or, "The Shits," (my wife's) as we were right in the path of all the crew and support launches that left the port at all hours, always at full speed.  Thus we were constantly subjected to substantial wake action and the loud roar of the engines.  To top if off, the "boat" moored next to us, a large two deck, no cabin, catamaran party boat, hosted numerous events throughout our stay, always with the stereo speakers turned to full volume with music we seldom appreciated.  We would have loved to move to a mooring further to the north or east, away from the launches' path, but all moorings were in use by long term residents.  The place was convenient as a stop, but not particularly memorable, which may explain that we haven't a single photo other than one taken of our arrival dinner in the restaurant.

Oddly enough, although only 150 yards from the main channel for incoming and outgoing ships to the canal, we never received a wake from these vessels, regardless of their size.  They simply were travelling very slow and deliberately, often passing us without our even noticing them.

The Balboa Yacht Club provides water taxi, or Panga, service to the boats in their marina, if you can raise them on the radio.  We noted most of the cruisers in the area simply blew their ship's horn a few times to get attention, and soon the taxi would be motoring their way.  This was a blessing, as we found no need to launch our dingy during our stay.  The long dock, leading from shore to the office and fuel/taxi dock, was sturdy, but in need of some TLC.  Once ashore, we found a very nice outdoor restaurant and bar area crowded with people.  They served a very nice burger and, more importantly, very cold drinks, of which we immediately enjoyed several.  We learned that the marina was home to a significant number of long term ex-pat residents and it was quite common to hear as much English in the bar as Spanish.

On April 29th we were visited by Peter Stevens our agent for the Canal Crossing.  Peter is quite the character and soon was making arrangements for me to find a doctor to have an infected leg looked at, and chasing down some hard to find supplies/parts.  We relinquished copies of all our documents and our passports so he could process us out of Panama.  For a welcome change, we were not going to have to visit any government offices.

Over the next several days we visited a local clinic and I received some strong antibiotics (as well as a shot in the butt) to combat my infected leg, along with instructions not to leave town until I'd seen  the doctor in two days for a recheck; we made several trips to the Supermercado (supermarkets) for restocking our freezer, coolers, and cupboards; runs to various marine and auto supply stores to find some bronze pipe fittings; and a day long trip to the Albrook Mall for a dose of big city shopping (we bought little but enjoyed the air conditioned comfort).

Flock of seabirds with Cruise Ship in the distance
outside Flamingo Marina, Panama City

We had to adjust our travel plans due to the required doctor visit, so extended our Panama City stay until the  afternoon of May 2nd.  On the 1st, we scheduled a re-fuel first thing in the morning.  This ended up being half day operation, as communications failed and we reported to the wrong marina (La Playita, instead of Flamingo, several miles away on the other side of the causeway) first thing in the morning.  Several radio attempts, multiple cell phone messages left and finally just gut instinct had us parked off the entrance to Flamingo Marina, watching the cruise ship passengers motor from the ship into the harbor for their guided bus tours around the area, when we finally received calls back from our agent that we could pull into the harbor and the fuel dock.  By the time we were back on the ball in Balboa, we'd spent nearly five hours to take on less that 400 gal. of fuel and top off our water tanks.  (Note the last fill-up of fuel was in Jamaica, so we didn't do too badly on mileage, considering).

The Pacific was passive, compared to our Caribbean
cruising

On May 2nd, at 2 PM, after a final clearance from the doctor and last minute bulk beverage run, we dropped the ball and began cruising again!  Our destination was Naranjo (Orange) Point, 170 miles to the west.  Geography dictated that we had to actually head further south, to clear Pt. Mala (Bad Point) before we could start in a westerly direction.  Darkness soon set in, and we resumed our night shift routine, as the evening storm loomed just south of us, with quite spectacular lightning illuminating the various ships leaving or heading to the canal.  We kept a close watch on the radar for approaching vessels, to assure we had no unexpected encounters.  The evening passed with seas and weather being kind to us as cleared the point and turned West along the extreme southernmost portion of Panama.

Our little Anchorage Cove at Pt. Naranjo, Panama.

At about 5 PM on May 3rd we dropped Anchor in a small cove north of Pt. Naranjo.  We had fair protection from the swells and enjoyed a nice dinner and evening's rest.

That evening we were treated to a fantastic display of bioluminescent bugs, that swarmed around the boat and occasionally made entry.  We never quite identified the bugs, but they seemed to leave a long streak of light in the air rather than the brief blinks of light we were accustomed to from US fireflies. Unlike US lightning bugs, they seemed attracted to humans, which made us a bit uncomfortable and had us checking our windows and screens.

The experience prompted us to break out our stored screening for the aft deck and work on getting it installed for the first time on the voyage.  This was a bit of a challenge as it had been years since the screen was up and the aluminum track it slid into at the top was corroded and rough.  It was a task to identify each screen, then pull it through the track to the proper position, but we managed to get it done before the next evening.  In the process we identified that many of the heavy nylon zippers had deteriorated to the point they were nonfunctional and needed replacement.

Isla Rancheria Anchorage (Northeast of Isla Coiba, Panama)

On May 4th we cruised 51 miles west northwest to the northern tip of the large Isla De Coiba, where we dropped anchor in a very sheltered and deep cove on the east side of Isla Rancheria, reportedly a private island.  There we weathered a significant thunderstorm with spectacular lightning, thunder, winds to 25 knots, and rain pouring down.  Thankfully, we were well anchored and had dinner cooked before the torrential downpour arrived.  It did make for a bit of a sleepless night, as concern over our anchor and changes in wind direction caused the boat to move differently, something that quickly wakes us cruisers up to check our anchors.  The next morning, as shown in the above photo, left little sign of the storm we experienced the night before.

Fishing Pangas were everywhere.  Most have no lights
so beware if you are cruising around this region at night

The next morning we departed for Isla Parida, another 50 miles to the northwest.  There, we found some competition for our intended anchorage with local fishermen, who anchored their pangas close to where we hoped to drop ours.  Instead we puttered our way north a half mile to Punta Jurel and found a fantastic little cove just off a "resort;" anchoring at only 3:30 in the afternoon.  The resort was little more that an outdoor dining area and fire pit, from what we could see, but did have a fair amount of small boat traffic.  Isla Parida is very close to mainland Panama, and is a frequent weekend destination for vacationers.

Punta Jurel, Isla Parada, Panama (to the right) with our anchorage cove in the center, right

As darkness fell we succummed to yet another night time sunset photo (below) with the little campfire glowing and cracking in the quiet night, only punctuated by the occasional howler monkey or bird call.

A gorgeous Punta Jurel sunset.

We had a very quiet evening, with only a minor thunderstorm and a bit of rain to keep things damp and cool(er).  It was still quite hot and humid, but being off the coast, we had only a few bugs, especially with our rear deck screening deployed, which permitted us to sleep with our rear deck's french doors open all night, allowing the slightest breeze through the boat.

The seas remained calm for much of our voyage, a real blessing. This photo is of the north side of Isla Parada as we left

The morning of May 6th saw us weigh anchor and set out for our last intended anchorage in Panama, Punta Balsa.  Punta Balsa is located at the extreme northwest of Panama and is an isthmus of land upon which the border with Costa Rica runs through the middle to the Pacific Ocean at its western tip.

Punta Balsa anchorage area.  Costa Rica is just beyond that ridge line!

We arrived in the early afternoon at high tide and anchored as shown in the above photo.  Upon the tidal turn and upon reflection we moved the boat to deeper water toward the left in the photo.  It was a relatively quiet evening, but we did get some constant swell activity that kept us rocking all night.  By early next morning we were set to leave on a 55 mile trip to Quepos, Costa Rica where we hoped to rest up for a while and enjoy the pleasures of another marina.

Sealife

A Pod of Dolphins "Riding the Bow Wave."

While yet to spot any whales, we've had the pleasure of visits from many other creatures.  Of course, our nearly constant companions are the dolphins who seem to delight in riding the pressure wave in front of the boat.  We had to wonder about their communication with nearby pods, as it seemed that just as one pod tired of visiting with us, another would jet into position and begin their play with the boat.  On a number of occasions we would see them breach the water, jumping high and spinning before splashing down with a great slap.  On a few occasions we would catch a glimpse of one out front "standing up" with his head out of the water giving us the eye and checking out what was above the water line.  This occurred so often that we actually quit photographing them and the kids no longer rushed to the front of the boat to watch when the watchman announced, "Dolphins!"

Sea Turtle moving right along

We've also seen a large number of sea turtles of various types, lazily swimming along.  I'm afraid weve even given a couple of them a rude bump, not spotting them in time to turn the boat.  They simply bounce off the side of the boat, but one poor chap not only bounced off the boat, but then slammed into the trailing dingy.  Poor guy made an immediate, but tardy dive for deeper water.

Two or three Sea Rays 'sunning' the tips of their fins

One of the strangest behaviors we've seen and have yet to find an explanation for, are the sea rays' morning ritual.  Early each morning, as the sun begins to hit the water, the rays come to the surface where they cruise along for some time with the tips of the fins, like batwings, sticking above the surface of the water.  In some instances there will be several of them doing this together.

A Sea Ray of some sort swimming with his fins out of the water

We will then see the rays (we are not sure if they are the same ones or not) breaching the surface and flying 10 to 12 feet in the air while flipping at least two times, landing with a great splash in either a belly or back flop.  It happens with regularity but no predictability, so our attempts thus far at capturing this dance with a camera have failed.

Of course it is rare for us to not be escorted by a group of birds, some large, others quite small.  Some appear to be using the boat as a means to target fish who fly or swim across the surface (literally) to escape the boat.  More on this (with photos) in future additions of the blog.

Our next blog installment should get us through Costa Rica.  As we author this installment we've successfully cruised to El Salvador where we are weathering some storms, swatting bugs and simply relaxing.

Panama Canal - Gatun Locks

The existing locks of the Panama Canal take some impressively large ships, but Panama wants to accommodate
the newer and much larger super tankers and freighters

The original Panama Canal opened in 1914.  To this day they still use the original gates for the locks, as they take very good care of them.  Just north of the Miraflorez locks at the north end of the Culebra Cut, is a small community chock full of Panama Canal Authority tugs.  This facility is the home and primary workshop for those that keep the canal and its equipment running.  Here, they have built many of the dredges and other specialized equipment in use within the Canal and the facility houses one of only two floating cranes in the world capable of removing the gates to the locks.  BTW, did you know that the lock gates float;  We sure didn't.

Gatun Dam on the Chagres River is one of several dams
constructed to create Gatun Lake, the heart of the Canal

The people of Panama recognize that one of their primary sources of income and the economic engine that keeps their country strong is the existence and ongoing operations of the Panama Canal.  To that end, a number of years ago they embarked on an ambitious project: by vote of the people, they decided to expand the canal so that it could accommodate some of the largest ships ever built.

Chagres River below the Dam

When the canal was originally built it was sized for the largest ships of that era.  As technology advanced and our need for shipped oil and other goods increased worldwide, carriers began constructing super tankers and super freighters far too large to fit through the existing canal.  The people of Panama are betting on these carriers wishing to cut weeks off of their shipping times by using the new, much larger, locks on two new channels being carved for the the canal.  And they are betting big, to the tune of Billions of Dollars in construction costs.

From the old highway (soon to be replaced by a new bridge)
the project looms large in the distance

Construction began in 2007 and the new locks, were originally scheduled for completion in time for the 100 year anniversary of the Canal, in 2014.  Unfortunately, the project was hit by a serious accident that claimed workers lives.  This resulted in a labor action by local unions for safer working conditions, and lengthy delays as issues were resolved.  The new locks are now scheduled to open in 2015. As we witnessed in our tour of the Gatun construction site, the project continues 24x7 to meet the completion deadline.

Display at the Gatun Visitors' Center

At both the north end of the Canal (Gatun Locks) and the south (Miraflorez and Pedro Miguel locks) new channels have been cut and larger locks are being built.  The original locks will still operate as they do now, the new locks will simply increase the capabilities and capacity of the canal by adding a "third lane" to the system.  We learned from our Pilot Advisor, that the remaining choke point for the canal will be in the narrow Culebra Cut.  Other than the locks themselves, this cut serves as a chokepoint for ships inside the system, as two large ships cannot pass one another inside the channel.  When the larger ships enter the system, this remaining chokepoint will necessitate very careful regulation of vessel traffic within the system.

The scope of the project soon becomes apparent when you get to the Gatun Visitor's Center  (View NE)

While at the Gatun Visitors' Center we enjoyed a 30 minute video explaining the project(s) (in English!) as well as providing a history of the Canal and the various attempts to build it over hundreds of years.  We definitely recommend a stop at this center if you are on the north end of the Canal for any time.

View NW from Gatun Visitors' Center showing Gatun Lake

Panama

Fort San Lorenzo

Panama - The Caribbean Side 

On April 17, 2013 we cast off from the nice docks of Errol Flynn Marina, Port Antonio, Jamaica just after our new cruising friends in their large catamaran sailboat and headed southwest toward Panama. Our weather and sea forecast was not fabulous, but about as good as it gets for the season.  We had agreed that we would likely not make Panama in a straight shot; if seas were high or winds not favorable we would head east or west during the night to mitigate the effect of the rough seas on the boat, then correct that course during daylight when we could see what was coming.  The journey was anticipated to take about 100 hours straight.

The journey ended up being much more pleasant that we had anticipated, considering the forecast seas of up to 9 feet.  We seldom saw those types of swells, and as the winds were very favorable for our sailboat partners, they soon "left us in the dust (or spray, as it were)." Our speed with the swells and winds was around 7 knots, there's was well over 8. A bit after noon they were beyond sight and by evening they dropped off of my radar altogether.  We chugged along, watching the flying fish racing the boat, the frequent families of dolphin playing with our bow and dealing with the day to day chores of keeping things going as the boat rocked back and forth from the swells striking us slightly off our port bow most of the time.
The first night out, Alex had another "oops" with his foot on the power panel, turning everything but the engine off.  Recognizing quickly what had occurred, we quickly recovered but not before a threat to remove the offending foot and leg should it happen again. (Thankfully it has not ... to date, anyway).

Cruising along, all systems were working fine.  We seldom used the generator, as the engine kept the batteries nearly charged, but when we did, I noted an increase in our engine room bilge pump running.  A thorough search revealed a small leak somewhere on our generator's external heat exchanger used to cool the bow and stern thrusters' hydraulic fluid.  This was quickly resolved by closing the through-hull valve for the genset when it wasn't operating and we added this to the list for future projects while safely at anchor.
The last night at sea, April 18-19, as the seas increased in height, we altered course to a more comfortable westerly direction, which spared us all most of the rocking from sea swells striking us nearly broadside.  We had a very comfortable evening cruising and at first light altered course back toward Colon, Panama.  Unfortunately, our little detour meant arriving there after dark, so we soon altered course slightly to head a bit further east, to the closer point of the country known as Isla Linton, where there was a well defined anchorage area.

Isla Linton Anchorage in first light of a rainy morning.

Unfortunately for us, as a well defined anchorage, Isla Linton was chock full of sailboats when we finally did arrive just at dusk on the evening of April 20th.  We had just enough light to dodge the large fish farming operation stretched nearly across the entire entrance to the bay and find a spot nearby to drop anchor, without weaving our way through dozens of anchored sailboats (something that is not at all appreciated by those already settled in their safe spots).  We ended up setting anchor twice, as the first shot didn't quite stick, and I was very concerned about drifting into the fish farm or another boat.  But soon we were settled and enjoyed a nice dinner and good evening's rest after cruising for 603 miles non-stop.

At first light we headed out toward Colon and our destination there of the Shelter Bay Marina.  We then got a good look at what we'd come through the evening before in the failing light.  The fish farm took up all of the bay entrance but a small channel in the middle and on either side.  We'd gone around to one side on a high tide, but had we attempted that on a low tide would have run aground.  I heartily recommend that anyone planning on staying there only enter the area with very good light.

A beautiful Sunset looking toward Colon,
observed from our slip in Shelter Bay Marina

The journey to Colon was short, only 29 miles, but a bit of a challenge due to the heavy large ship traffic entering and leaving the harbor.  After radioing for clearance from the harbor control, we slipped in the "East Entrance," away from most of the larger ships, then wove ourselves to the west through many anchored ships of all sorts  inside the harbor. The marina is tucked in at the extreme northeastern end of the harbor.  Directions were a bit confusing here because we always thought of Panama being oriented north and south, however, in this section of the country, it actually runs west to east and the canal itself runs north to south (from the Caribbean side to the Pacific).  By 1 PM were safely tucked into a slip in the marina, just a few boats away from our friends on their Catamaran, who'd arrived the previous evening.

We found Shelter Bay to be comfortable and well-run with a couple of notable exceptions.  Our first and only meal in the restaurant took several hours to deliver and then several of the meals were cold.  We did not patronize them again during our visit.  Those more experienced later pointed out that our meal was on a Sunday, a busy night for the restaurant because of the nearby military base and US soldiers who frequented the place, and because on Sunday's they have minimum staff working.  We suggested to restaurant staff and marina managers, who don't operate the establishment, that they should bump up their staffing on the weekends, but were told we were not the first to complain, and thus far no action had been taken to fix the problem.  Oddly enough, the place is undergoing a major expansion effort and will soon be twice the size it is now (which we seldom saw even half full of patrons).  Our second disappointment was in the marine supply store, or chandlery as it is known in this part of the world. It was poorly stocked unless you needed fishing gear, and staff was less than helpful in requests to order parts or basic supplies.  I even visited one of their other stores in Colon, and was unable to locate a basic plumbing fixture.  We ended up going to an auto supply in Colon to find what we needed.  We later visited their sister store at Flamingo Marina, on the Pacific side, and found nearly everything we had asked for at the 'north' end.  This was a real disappointment, as the Marina is quite a ways from town.

Ft. Sherman's active military base

We began preparations for our upcoming canal transit and I yanked out the offending heat exchanger from the genset hydraulic system.  Unfortunately, it was shot and not repairable.  As you can imagine, the marine supply was less than helpful.  After our experience shipping an exchanger to the Bahamas from Florida, we were not overly anxious to extend our stay for another such endeavor.  Some McGyver instinct took over and soon I was pulling off the brand new exchanger I'd just installed for the fin stabilizers  moving it to the genset hydraulic system, and reinstalling the freshly rebuilt stabilizer exchanger back in it's original location ... I only needed two bronze reducing bushings to complete the task, something that took two trips into Colon over two days and a good translator to locate.  That job, along with fresh fuel filters all around and an oil change had our systems freshly prepared for the journey ahead.

Local Capuchin Monkey

With our preparations completed, we elected to take a day and tour some of the sights.  We'd previously walked around the area, which was actually the old Ft. Sherman Army base turned over to the Panamanians when the US lease on the canal ended and we returned everything to Panama.  Part of the facility remains an active Panamanian military installation  complete with a significant contingent of US National Guard members here on humanitarian missions building clinics and schools in remote areas.  Their helicopter flights got us up early in the morning and kept on until mid evening most nights.

The sound of the helecopters was not quite as regular as the sound of the Howler Monkeys, that greeted us every morning and evening from just outside the marina in the surrounding jungle.  On one of our walks we were able to see some of the smaller and less reclusive Capuchin monkeys.

Our first stop was down a very well worn (and sorely in need of repair) road to Castillo (Fort) San Lorenzo (not to be confused by the large winery Castillo San Lorenzo).  From wikipedia: "Chagres, once the chief Atlantic port on the isthmus of Panama, is now an abandoned village at the historical site of Fort San Lorenzo. The fort's ruins and the village site are located about 8 miles (13 km) west of Colón, on a promontory overlooking the mouth of the Chagres River" [see photos below]. In 1502, during his fourth and final voyage, Christopher Columbus discovered the Chagres River.

The Chagres River runs north from the new lake that
supplies water for the Panama Canal

By 1534, the Monarchy of Spain had, following its conquest of Peru, established a rainy-season gold route over the isthmus of Panama—Las Cruces Trail—most of which consisted of the Chagres River. The trail connected the Pacific port of Panama City to the mouth of the Chagres, from whence Peru's plunder would sail to Spain's storehouses in the leading Atlantic ports of the isthmus: Nombre de Dios, at first; and, later, Portobelo. (The dry-season, overland route—the Camino Real—connected Panama City with those ports directly.)

Imagine this moat filled with water.  All the battlements
had narrow ports from which archers could pick off
hapless attackers

Attracted to the treasure, pirates began attacking Panama's coast around 1560. To protect the Atlantic terminus of Las Cruces Trail, Spain built Fort San Lorenzo at the Chagres River's mouth. From 1587 to 1599, the fortifications evolved into a sea-level battery.

The Moat for the primary fort

In 1670, buccaneer Henry Morgan ordered an attack that left Fort San Lorenzo in ruins. He invaded Panama City the following year, using San Lorenzo as his base of operations.

In the 1680s, the Spanish constructed a new fort 80 feet above the water. Set on a cliff overlooking the entrance to the harbor, the fort was protected on the landward side by a dry moat with a drawbridge. During this time, the town of Chagres was established under the protection of the fort.

Actually walking inside ruins of a fort constructed around 600 years earlier was very moving.  In spite of the heat and humidity, we explored every nook and cranny with one exception; we did not take the steep walk down to the beach to the north, as none of us was too excited about the return climb up the steep path.

View looking north to the beautiful but tiny harbor & beach area

From the promentory where the fort was located we went down a very rough road to a small dock area at the river's mouth.  Until recently the road had been blocked by trees fallen from a recent rainy season mud slide.  From this view we were able to gain a whole different perspective on how effective those cannon must have been upon anyone trying to gain access up the river who was not in favor of those in command.

Fort San Lorenzo from the land side, behind us are the secondary battlements complete with rusting cannon

From the mouth of the Chagres River, the fort appears small

Following our trip to Fort San Lorenzo, we visited the visitor center for the new Gatun Locks construction site.  I'll do a separate Blog entry for that, as we have a number of photos and the construction description will take a bit of wordsmithing.  We wrapped up our trip with a final run into Colon for some last minute provisions, primarily case-lot drinks which the previous grocery stores or "super mercados" did not have readily available.  Then back to the Marina to finish stowing our provisions and making final preparations.

Panama - Through the Canal

We'd engaged the services of a Canal Agent (Pete Stephens, Delphino Company, who's not the least expensive, but definitely did us many favors and was well worth the cost)  to facilitate our paperwork and trip through the canal.  Although we exchanged a number of phone calls and some significant funds it was two days before a Canal 'Measurer' showed up onboard to measure the boat from bow sprint to swim deck and to inspect to boat to assure we could safely make the trip.  Unfortunately, we exceeded the cutoff for smaller boats by 2 feet, so ended up paying about $500 more for our transit than what our "advertised" LOA (Length Over All) was reported to be (48' 8").  Our line handlers were to show up about 90 minutes before our Saturday, 12:30 PM departure time for the Canal Pilot boarding area, near the Gatun Locks, where we had a 1:30 PM appointment for Pilot Boarding.  All we had to do was arrange locally for our fenders, which were reportedly plentiful in the marina.  Inquiries to that effect found that there were no such fenders currently available (actually these are used tires, wrapped in black plastic, with ropes attached).  Back to our favorite chandlery we went to order up a set of fenders for the trip, which they assured us they would have by Saturday morning in exchange for a fat deposit.  We left there not at all confident.

Approaching the Gatun Locks (Caribbean Side)

Saturday morning arrived and we'd delayed refueling (last fill-up was Jamaica) until our line handlers arrived, not really wanting to have to dock the boat again, afterward, while we waited their arrival.  The appointed time came and went, then the phone calls and voice messages started flying back and forth.  Our handlers had been delayed by a large ship entering the canal (the marina is north of Colon and the Canal).  Sweating bullets, we all but resigned ourselves to not making our time slot for the trip, when the crew roared up in an old beat-up truck, bailed off and raced to the boat.  We pulled off the docks with 30 minutes to make it across the harbor to the Pilotage area.  Needless to say, we made it in time, but did not refuel prior.

To the right, our new friends

Each and every vessel transiting the canal has onboard either a Pilot (ships over 60') or an Advisor (Jr. Pilot).  Our advisor arrived by launch shortly after we dropped anchor in the appointed area.  After instructions to head toward the locks without delay and a brief radio conversation between pilots, we were asked to serve as the center vessel of a three-boat raft to make our way through the Gatun Locks. These locks are the first of two sets of locks and our trip was to be relatively brief;  it  only raised us up to the level of Gatun Lake, where we would spend the night the proceed in the morning.

To the left, our other new friends

As we approached the entrance to the locks we were slowly joined by two sailboats.  After quite a bit of hollering in spanish, and some interesting rope tying we found ourselves looking down on either side to the tops of sailboats securely lashed to us.

The locks begin to close, the excitement is about to begin

I slowly motored my way into the first lock behind a smaller cargo ship, and soon the locks closed and water began boiling in around us.

The cargo ship, as are all larger vessels, was towed through the locks by means of cables attached to rail "locomotive" engines on either side.  Some of the biggest ships will use three of these on each side.  We were thankful for this as it was difficult enough maintaining control of our 'raft' without dealing with the prop-wash of a larger vessel ahead of us.  Trying to steer three boats at very slow speed was a challenge, but after the first lock, and a better understanding of how the boat handled rigged this way it became much easier.

Locomotives towing the larger vessel ahead us us through Gatun

Soon we found ourselves putting our way out of the final Gatun lock and out onto the massive Gatun Lake.  About 10 minutes later, following a brief separation ceremony with our new friends, we were told we could drop anchor and enjoy the evening near the construction site for the new larger canal.  Our Pilot Advisor would be back aboard at 7 AM to complete the trip.

A spectacular sunset greeted us on Gatun Lake

We spent a very quiet and restful night on the lake, with no swell or tide to force us to get up and check our anchor.  Our line handlers (who had hardly worked a lick all day) enjoyed a fine dinner and then began watching our DVD collection before most of us collapsed into a good night's sleep.  I'm not sure any of the slept that night as when I got up before sunrise, several of them were still awake and texting away on their cell-phones.

A new Advisor joined us promptly at 7 AM and we soon found ourselves motoring along a placid lake in a very wide, well marked channel.

The lake was placid and calm.  The whole trip looked like this

Smithsonian Institution's permanent research site on the lake

  We greatly enjoyed this worry free portion of the trip and I was ever so glad that we agreed to spend the night on the lake and travel the waterways during the day.  We passed a permanent research site staffed by the Smithsonian that continues to launch digs and other archeological expeditions on and around the lake.  As evidenced  by Fort San Lorenzo there is a great deal of history yet to be discovered in the region.

We learned that the channel was constantly being dredged and improved.  Several times our advisor pointed to a little island my chartplotter's display and said, "that is no longer there, the channel now goes right through it.  The result was there were no sharp turns and although we had to dodge a few large boats, we were going "against the normal flow of commercial traffic."  There is a pattern to the canal, due to several narrow portions that do not allow to larger ships to pass one another.  So, since all of us were 'small' we were "bucking the pattern" travelling against the commercial traffic and set for a "special lockage" at the south end that would only consist of small boats.

A vertical drilling rig. This baby drilled vertical holes for blasting
then, "kablooie!" the canal gets wider.

This guy keeps the gunk out of the canal and pumps it or barges it
(as in this case) through pipes to form hills much like the one behind it.
This was only the 'business end' of the massive dredge

Our voyage continued throughout the day without incident.

We did pass an interesting vessel being towed through the canal.  It seems that some vessels cannot power themselves for whatever reason, but it was surprising to see a huge cargo ship being towed fore and aft by Panama Canal tugs.  It wasn't until she came alongside that we noted what appeared to be the big dipper painted on her superstructure, which generated a few comments about it being part of Alaska's Flag.  Then, as she passed, obviously destined from her appearance for the scrap yard, we saw her name emblazoned in faded paint on her stern: "Greatland, Anchorage, AK"  pretty darn sad, but ironic.  I've lived in and around Anchorage for 30 years and never seen nor heard of the "Greatland."  One can only wonder at the places she's been and the ports of call she's made and here she is passing another group of
Alaskans as she heads to her final resting place.

The 'Greatland,' Anchorage, AK.  Headed, from all appearances,
for the scrap yard.

The impressive 'new' Bridge of Americas over the canal

Two sets of locks remained for us to clear, after going under the 'new' American bridge that spans the canal near Panama City; the Mira Florez locks would take us from the Gatun Lake level down to the Pacific Ocean.

These locks have a huge visitor center overlooking them, and are a frequent stop for cruise ship passengers.

Mira Flores Locks visitor Center

Our Special Lockage afforded us a close up view of the
engines used to tow ships through the canal.

Although there were no large ships for our "special lockage" the electric locomotives used for them were busy moving back and forth, our guess was for the large number of tourists we could see on the balconies of the visitors centers.  It also gave us a unique opportunity to photograph these guys!

Panama - The Pacific

Needless to say, shortly after clearing the Mira Forez locks and separating ourselves from our little raft of friends (a different group from those at the Gatun locks; no, we did not motor the whole Gatun lake hooked together!) we said goodby to our Advisor and made our way to the Balboa 'Yacht Club' and a sturdy but loud and very rocky,  mooring ball that would serve as our new, unsteady, home for several days.We "anchored up" at 2:15 PM on April 28, 2013, disgorged our underworked and overpaid line handlers (they only had to tie up to other boats!) and made our way to the restaurant for a very needed hamburger and several cold beers.

It seems I've run out of time, energy, and internet connectivity, so will not only have to cover the Gatun lock expansion in my next entry, but will also have to catch you up on our visit to Panama City and 'escape from Panama' to Costa Rica, where we presently 'reside.'  

I appreciate everyone's patience and tolerance as you await updates on our progress, but, as I write this, we are scheduled for an early morning departure from Los Suenos (Herradura) Costa Rica, destined, in a few days, for Playa del Coco, where we will outprocess from Costa Rica and head north on our continued voyage.  In the meantime, I'll keep plugging away at this diary in hopes of eventually catching up with the long delay caused by lack of internet and energy.  I'm now only two weeks behind!

Best of luck and happy cruising to you all! 

Bahamas to Jamaica

Errol Flynn Marina Facebook Photo of Crew Arrluk near the end of our Jamaican experience

Our Blog has suffered greatly from lack of reliable internet connections and from exhausted bloggers from  many projects and long cruising days.  For this entry, we've resorted to actually composing most of our text while away from the net, to help speed up the process of updates; a strategy we will continue to use to assure we don’t miss or forget names and details.

We've covered a lot of territory since our last blog entry in George Town Bahamas; having successfully made the voyage south to Matthew Town, Big Inagua Cay (Bahamas); through the windward passage to Jamaica; across the Caribbean Sea to Cristobal Harbor/Colon Panama; and through the Canal to the Pacific.  This writing finds us finally cruising slowly off the west coast of Panama toward Gulfito, Costa Rica, where, most likely, we will actually be able to upload this to the net and add our many photos.  Because of the length, we will break this up into a couple of blog posts to expedite the process and at least get partially caught up should we again run out of time or connectivity before having to press on.

George Town to Jamaica

Sunrise at Exuma Yacht Club, George Town, Bahamas

We finally left George Town on April 3, 2013 at 2 PM, after waiting for several hours for the marina to pay their fuel bill and receive a fuel delivery, so we could top off our tanks before heading south.  The Exuma Yacht Club was comfortable and close to everything in town, but it is not very well managed, a reflection of the absent Irish owner who seldom visits anymore and has earned a reputation in the island for not paying his bills (in evidence were the half finished rewiring and re-planking marina upgrade projects).  Upon leaving George Town, our intent was to motor straight south for a couple of days and then refuel and rest in Matthew Town while waiting for a weather window to do the Windward Passage to Jamaica.  As you will see – plans changed; the true reality of cruising!

Another Bahamian Sunset

Dark beset us as we rounded the northern tip of Long Cay, fully exposed now to the Atlantic, and turned south along its eastern coast.  The sea was running about 6 feet, directly out of the east, so we were running in the troughs, then across the swells and back down into the next trough.  It made a very long night rolling back and forth (in spite of the fully functional stabilizers).  Even with seasickness patches, by midnight everyone but Alex and I had tossed their dinner and retired below in misery.  He and I hung in there, but I soon succumbed to the same fate, only did not have the luxury of retiring.  Alex seems to have a cast-iron stomach and, fortunately, is a night owl so could stay awake and pulled an extra long shift at the helm.

Our frequent companions, the Dolphins loved the bow!

Daybreak found us heading south toward the northern tip of Crooked Cay where we dropped anchor in a protected area west of Landrail point about 11 AM.  Anchoring was a bit of a challenge as, in spite of what the guidebook said, there was more coral to be found than clear sand, and you just do not anchor over coral.  After getting things settled aboard we all collapsed and took a well deserved recovery cycle with only a slight bobbing from the sea conditions. 

Sunrise over Landrail Point, Crooked Cay, Bahamas

After a good dinner and nights rest we headed out the next morning with more realistic plans, to reach the southern tip of Crooked Cay (only 40 miles or so) and get a good night’s rest before, weather permitting, transiting the open Atlantic to Matthew Town the next day.  Now traveling on the leeward side of the island, past what is termed the Blight (a very shallow open area in the middle of the western side of the crescent shaped key, we found the going pleasant.  It did take us awhile to locate a suitable anchorage tucked up very close to the north shore of Aklin Island.  Getting there required good light and very slow maneuvering through coral heads and shallow areas. We ended up being several miles short of the southern end of the key, but we enjoyed a quiet evening with only a couple of red lights in the distant east from a radio tower to indicate we had any company in the isolated spot.

Castle Island Lighthouse, SW Corner of Castle Island,
Crooked Cay, Bahamas.  80 Miles from Great Inagua Island

At 7:30 on April 6th, with kids still sacked out, we weighed anchor and headed southwest toward Matthew Town, 88 miles away.  Most of the trip went well, but as we got closer to Matthew Town the forecast east winds, ideal for the only anchorage near Matthew Town, turned NNE and began to blow pretty strongly.  As a result, it was dusk when we finally approached the small community and much too risky to try to make the tight entrance to their tiny little harbor.  We were forced to stick to the original plan and anchor in a less than suitable area.  After five anchor attempts, the last with two deployed bow anchors we finally got a good hold and hunkered down for a long night of 25 knot winds out of the NNE and really rocky conditions.  Amazingly, we did manage to get a few hours of sleep in spite of constant anchor checks and the unanticipated larger swells that sent us rolling around on the bed from time to time.

We awoke to find that the community was shut down, as it was Sunday.  None of the stores were open, immigration was closed, and no one was answering the radio at the fuel dock.  With the prospect of spending another night in the same conditions just to clear out of the country with the authorities, we opted to hightail it toward Jamaica.  The weather forecast was for much improved conditions in that direction and we'd been told that we could check out of the country by mailing our various documents back to the Bahamian authorities.  Overall we were not impressed with Matthew Town from our limited vantage point off-shore.  With very limited services available, were we ever to make the trip again, we would likely not include the community as a stop, instead we would make a more direct approach to the Windward Passage closer to Cuba, knocking off a few miles from the voyage.

Many long hours sitting at the helm!

As we cruised in and SSW direction in every-calming seas in a course set to avoid the major shipping channels and getting too close to Cuba, we were pleasantly surprised to get a very close fly-by from a USCG helicopter.  We waved as he made a close swing around us (certainly to get some good photos of our stern with vessel name and home port).  We could only imagine what the flight crew was thinking as they read “Juneau, AK,”  “Boy, those guys are a long way from home,” was likely the least of the comments they exchanged.  We later learned from officials in Jamaica that the USCG routinely does ‘support flyovers’ of that area, the Windward Passage and seas between Cuba and Jamaica in their efforts to thwart the Haitian refugee problems and combat drug runners.

One of these guys could really ruin your day

That afternoon we rounded the southeastern tip of Cuba and turned more westerly on a direct course for Port Antonio, located at the northeastern tip of Jamaica.  Several times during the night we had to alter course slightly as large ships approached us on their way to or from Panama or areas further south, but generally the seas became much calmer than we'd previously experienced and the trip was uneventful, with one 'minor' exception. 

We’d finally gotten into our nighttime shift routine down with younger Matthew pulling the 8 PM to midnight shift, Alex the midnight to 4 AM shift, and I the 4 AM to 8 AM shift.  About 2 AM Alex woke me to say “something happened.”  While the engine was running fine, the cabin was almost as dark as the night outside, as the radios, navigation systems and autopilot were all off.  It seems that Alex’s foot had “accidentally” swept down across the circuit breakers and turned everything off.  After a mad scramble, and Alex learning very quickly how hard it was to manually steer a course by compass heading, I had the systems back online and we were back on course.

Jamaica

Cloud Shrouded Jamaican Coastline as we approached

At 1500 hours Jamaica time (we had a time zone change to central time), April 8^th, we pulled into Port Antonio after about 38 hours at sea.  As we approached the rocky coastline and observed the tall, green, rain-forested mountains that appeared to end at the sea's edge, we wondered exactly where the Errol Flynn Marina could be.  Entering a well marked channel into the harbor we saw a large circular bay, with nary a boat to be seen.  We quickly learned that this bay, locally known as the “Folly,” while used by some boats, was not our destination.  Instead we took a hard turn to the west and entered a deep but narrow channel that led to the very well protected main harbor area known as the East Anchorage.

View of the eastern side of Port Antonio as we approached

There, we were met by a marine police launch who merely pointed us in the right direction, and a welcoming crew on the docks.  There was no wind, no current, and what looked from a distance like little room for maneuvering.

Fortunately, first appearances can be deceiving, and the docks had plenty of room for me to slowly turn the boat and carefully, very carefully, back into our slip.  The docks were fixed concrete affairs; very nice compared to many we’d been to in the Bahamas.  As they usually have less than a foot of tide here, there was little problem with the fixed docks and our lines.  Several folks were on the docks to assist with lines and advice on bumper heights etc.  Paul, the marina manager, was on hand and soon produced a welcome packet, and all of the forms we needed to fill out to clear with the authorities.  When I asked about the process, he said not to worry, that everyone already knew we had arrived and they would soon begin paying us visits on the boat.  “In the meantime  relax, have a drink, get settled, start on your paperwork and, when you are ready, let me know and I'll give you a tour of the marina.”

Errol Flynn Marina Docks, Port Antonio, JA

We soon had visits from Immigration, Customs and the Health inspector.  Nary a problem with any of them, but the health inspector did not want us using our showers, laundry, or even the kitchen sink, as they all drain directly to the sea (as does every yacht I am aware of other than the mega-yachts)  Folks here are very serious about keeping their waters pristine!  We reached an accommodation on all three with our agreement to use the marina’s showers and laundry facilities (at a reasonable cost per load) in exchange for allowing us to use the kitchen sink for normal dishes and other chores.

We frequently had little afternoon rain squalls

In addition to the official visits we began to have several visits from some of the locals, all proffering their services as yacht cleaners, polishers, waxers, hull scrapers and the like.  I politely listened but told each in turn that I would be making no commitments of this type until the next day after we’d had a chance to rest up and get a lay of the community.

Paul then gave us a tour of Errol Flynn Marina which included the story of actor Errol Flynn and how he fell in love with the community and moved there.  He died fairly young, but his wife, Patrice, now 89, still lives here on a large estate as well as one of their children.  The Marina itself was built not long ago and operated by a division of West Marine for a number of years.  The Jamaican government now owns the facility (you would never know this by outward appearances) and they are promoting it heavily as a cruising destination.  Dockage and mooring fees are quite reasonable, but their metered water is nearly as expensive as the Bahamas.  Facilities are quite nice and the outdoor bar has decent (short range) internet and cold beer.

The 'Tallyman' banana tally & loading facility (center) now sits unused

From the marina you can easily see the older marina and the large warehouse/loading dock known as the "Tally Shack" across the East Anchorage.  You may recall the old reggae song about the ‘Tallyman’ that was quite popular in the US; the song was inspired by this building which housed one of the largest banana shipping facilities ever.  The Tallyman was the guy who weighed up your load of bananas as you carried them over your shoulder into the warehouse.  Unfortunately for Port Antonio, the banana shipping industry took two hits; first, they constructed a railroad from the port to Kingston, meaning that larger ships could be used for shipping out of the larger Kingston harbor; then, the banana industry as a whole took a drastic change and the facility was shut down.  Even the railroad was shut down after the highway to Kingston was constructed.  Little remains of it today other than the old foundation and tracks of the roundhouse.

Even on stormy days, East Anchorage remained calm.

Learning that the marina was now owned by the Jamaican government explained many things; for example, how quickly the authorities knew we'd arrived and 'popped' over to facilitate our clearance process.  It also explained why their internet Wi-Fi service didn't work until the day we left (10 days later) and their nearly-new 100 ton boat lift was out of service.  Paul was politically correct when asked, but alluded to “other government priorities,” for getting things repaired and fixed.

Our first night in the marina, we learned what the trade-off was for being in the nice marina, literally 200 yards from downtown Port Antonio: MUSIC.  As the sun set and the nightlife began in earnest, the very loud music from the nightclubs began to pound away at us.  Because of the heat we elected to keep windows open and enjoy the breezes, so the music reverberated throughout the boat until well after 3 AM.  After a number of days of this we finally resorted to shutting up the boat and turning on the air conditioning at night.  Something we hadn't planned on doing unless the weather was just too hot to tolerate.

The morning after our arrival we had a visit from a small ‘task force’ of 5 guys representing the Jamaican Defense Force (Army), the National Police Force, and the Jamaican Coast Guard.  Kathy was a bit intimidated by the uniformed escort with his AR-15, but generally they just filled out some forms and looked through the boat spaces to assure themselves we were not smugglers (or whatever).  They then visited several other boats in the marina before heading out.

While in the marina, as cruisers are accustomed to doing, we visited with other boaters and struck up conversations with others about places they’d been and were headed to.  We struck up a friendship with a group of four men from Mexico on a 60’ catamaran who were also headed to Panama and through the canal.  After some discussion about plans and weather forecasts, we agreed that we would travel together on the trip to help improve safety.  We set a departure date of Wednesday morning, April 17.

Port Antonio

Trident Castle from the land

The town of Port Antonio is a bustling little community with a very active outdoor “market” just outside the gates of the marina area.  While there are a couple of small grocery markets, meat and produce should be purchased in the market area.  There were a group of opportunistic folks awaiting just outside the gates to provide directions, carry bags, or even procure “Ganja,” (marijuana) if one was so inclined.  On our first walkabout in town we found one of these fellows useful in directing us about the busy little downtown, as the streets were a bit confusing and some of the places we wanted to shop not quite so obvious.  But after the first trip we found them a bit tiresome and finally had to say, repeatedly, “NO thank you.”  Of course they expect some compensation for their time, so a simple run to the market could end up costing you another 5 or 10 bucks if you're not careful.

Trident Castle from the Sea

By American standards, which are difficult to forget but not at all fairly applied to another country, the town was dirty and derelict.  Stray dogs wandered the streets, trash was everywhere, and many buildings were abandoned.  That being said, the people were very friendly and we found nearly everything we needed there.  Fuel, and oil filters and any spare parts for the Caterpillar engine were the exception, as was the Cetol varnish we needed for the boat.  Fortunately, George, Errol Flynn’s Operations Manager, offered to pick these items up for us when he made his weekly trek to Kingston, so we were able to replenish our spare parts supply before our departure.

The west end of Port  Antonio, away from the market and main business hub but near to the boatyard, was quite nice and, as we explored and walked along the streets, folks said “hello,” and kept to their own business.

The Blue Lagoon (NO, that's not Brooke swimming near the trees)

One afternoon we hired a local taxi driver with a van and he took us sightseeing.  We traveled east out of town, passing the impressive Trident Castle and then out to the “Blue Lagoon.”  Yes, indeed, this is the famous Blue Lagoon from the movie by the same name.  Unfortunately, unlike as portrayed in the movie as an isolated place on a deserted island, this is a major tourist stop complete with multiple hawking street vendors who swarmed us the moment we exited the cab and walked toward the lagoon for the obligatory photographs.  The coast nearby, protected by a reef not far off shore, was crowded with multi-million dollar villas built right out over the water.  It was a strikingly beautiful area.

The "Other side of Blue Lagoon"  you have to look
past the derelict boat to see the $M villas

Jamaica Projects

Repairs and TLC are obviously needed.  The before shot (from Savannah)

"Hulk" and Rudy prepping the upper teak rails

Arrluk was badly in need of TLC after sitting for so long without it.  She needed a good wash, polishing to remove the oxidation and a good wax job, her teak was desperately in need of scraping and re-varnishing, and there were a couple of fiberglass dings and a small piece of teak that needed patching and/or repair.  We had thought to have these things done once we were in Central America, but the Jamaican locals as well as the boatyard at Errol Flynn came in with very attractive offers at a fraction of the cost estimates we'd received in the states.  We ended up hiring the three jobs separately, so they could be done at nearly the same time and we could meet our departure deadline.  Within a day of arriving, we had workers washing, scraping, polishing and crawling all over the boat.  It was quite a sight.

Presley & Tyrone polishing the 'other side' assisted by
Matthew

‘Hulk’ and Rudy took on the teak work scraping off chunks of the old varnish then scraping and sanding the wood until it looked new. Presley and Tyrone took on the washing and polishing.  The fiberglass work waited for a number of days, as it required us moving the boat out of the marina (and our comfortable water and electric hook-ups) over to the boatyard dock where that work could be done.

Tyron getting those low dirty spots

About twice a day we would grab the ropes and slide the boat from one side of our slip to the other so the workers could use the dock to access the opposite side. 

After 3 days of prep work the Varnish finally goes on

Meanwhile, I was down in the engine room, changing oil in the engine, transmission and genset, and pulling apart the main engine’s heat exchanger so I could boil out the deposits.  The heat exchanger definitely needed this done, but a little muriatic acid quickly took care of the gunk inside.  Of course taking it apart and putting it back together took the most time.  I also took this opportunity to rebuild and clean out the older heat exchanger removed from the stabilizers and replace the raw water pump’s impeller, a task that once done, I hope I never have to do again while out at sea or in a rush.  It was a significant PITA requiring the pump physically be removed from the engine to get the old impeller out and the new one in.  Ah, boat ownership is such a pleasure!

More varnish goes on

While both sets of our workers came recommended by Paul as being good workers who did good work, we soon learned that between Hulk and Presley there was bad blood.  After the first day of constant bickering and sniping at one another, a quite word to each from Paul and a more direct instruction from me to work on opposite sides or ends of the boat from one another if they couldn’t keep it civil, or take a hike, the bickering quieted down.  Were we ever to do this again, I would only have one set of workers onboard at a time, or more likely have Hulk and Rudy do all of the work, as we were impressed with the work they did on the teak. 

After three days the boat was cleaned and polished, Presley and Tyrone sent on their way, and the first coat of Cetol varnish applied.  I wrapped up the engine work and we motored across the harbor to the boatyard haul-out area.  Because the boat lift was disabled we had to remain in the water while our fiberglass work began and a piece of teak handrail was fashioned to replace one that needed it.  Because of the spray painting involved, this work could not be done in the marina (recall the Health department lady's admonitions).  We found the boatyard quiet and peaceful, although a bit windier than the marina (we actually welcomed that breeze).  No electric connection meant we had to rely upon the genset for several hours a day while power tools were being used, but generally we were more relaxed there than on the marina side and the music was significantly reduced at night. 

Still sporting some blue tape, repairs are nearly completed and final varnish coats are going on

Three days and two nights in the boatyard found several more coats of varnish applied and us sporting a new piece of teak and patched and painted hull repairs completed.  We motored back to the marina and resumed our stay there as the teak work continued.

A happy customer with Rudy and Hulk after final clean up and preparations to leave the next morning.
More coats of varnish are needed, but those will have to wait for the right weather and opportunities

On Tuesday afternoon, the Immigration officer visited us and processed us out of the country, issuing us the all-important Zarpe' or exit permit.  We settled up with the marina and enjoyed the last bit of limited internet we could get in the bar while drinking a beer and having a burger.  The next morning, April 17, 2013, at 6 AM we set out for Panama, following our new friends in their sailboat.

Fraia's Drakkar, our Jamaica to Panama cruising partners.  This is one of the last views we had of them on the trip.
Stay tuned for the next installment!