Take to the sea

The (mis)adventures of two dreamers that do

Surviving the Central American sun: 14 tips and tricks

March and April were particularly brutal in Panama since the sun was passing directly overhead on its way to the Northern latitudes. Our cabin crested 94 degrees F on the hottest days, rendering me completely useless for a solid 4 hour period while I lounged like a cat on the settee observing the sweat collecting in my belly button. I relished in the early morning hours while Jeff savored the cool late night hours. Here’s a compendium of things we’ve learned about keeping cool while living in the tropics. I tried my hardest to keep it to 10…but I kept thinking of more so I wound up with 14. I’m no good when it comes to brevity.

April 2014: month in review

April was a little all over the place, though it did have some pretty key movements. With our brand new propeller, spinning like a champ, we finally decided to round Punta Mala. It took us three separate attempts to get around that dreaded point. On the first attempt the seas were sloppy and our bilge pump decided to stop working so we pulled into the anchorage at Playa Venao. On the second attempt we tore a seam in our sail and returned to Playa Venao. On the third attempt the universe gave us her blessing and we made it to the Perlas Islands after mostly slow and gentle passage (punctuated by one raucous upwind night).

Passage notes: Ensenada Venao to Isla Chapera (Islas Las Perlas), Panama

It’s been a long week. With the exception of a very welcome reprieve in the form of dinner and drinks with our friends on SV BlueJacket in Puerto Mutis we have spent every waking moment sustaining travel, be it through raising sails, changing sails, trimming sails, navigating, keeping a lookout for traffic, cooking, cleaning, shopping, running errands, repairing broken systems. I, for one, am exhausted. But I’ll do my best to recap this passage.

Third time’s a charm, right? Getting around Mala had several distinct movements once we motored out of Benao and raised sails.

Passage notes: Ensenada Venao to Ensenada Venao, Panama

Did the title of the post throw you? They departed and arrived at the same port? Well, that’s odd. Read on, dear reader.

The day started out promising enough. We’d tidied up Serenity after the previous day’s sloppy passage, the wind was perfect for sailing, the seas looked relatively calm, we were both feeling ready for Mala.

Passage notes: Puerto Mutis to Ensenada Venao, Panama

We always leave Puerto Mutis full and satisfied. We had said our hellos and farewells to friends at the Port Captains office, our cupboards were brimming with fresh, dried and canned food, we topped up our water and fuel tanks, we had two full propane tanks, our clothes (and sheets!) were freshly laundered and we enjoyed comida corriente each day for lunch onshore. Now all we needed was a N wind to top it all off.

Passage notes: Santa Catalina to Puerto Mutis, Panama

Bashing upwind is terrible. I forget how much I dislike sailing upwind until we’re heeled over, bouncing around, making barely any headway, my insides getting all sideways and confused. Those brilliant days of downwind sailing, or even calm upwind sailing cast a haze on all those crappy passages. It’s like Pacific Northwestern winters. Spring and summer lull you into forgetting that winter is filled with dark, grey clouds of misery (for some of us). But just when you think you’ve had enough drizzle to last a lifetime those sweet little daffodils and crocuses pop out and you think, gosh this is nice and you put winter behind you to worry about another day. Sailing upwind is our winter.

March 2014: month in review

March was one of the most social months we’ve had. The cruising “pack” finally started to catch up with us. We met several new cruising couples in Boca Chica and said farewell to others as they make their way up the coast or across the ocean to Ecuador and the South Pacific. We also made several more friends in and around Boca Chica. After receiving our new, shiny propeller in the mail Jeff and I went out to Isla Gamez for a week to do the install and enjoy the clear, warm water.

Passage notes: Isla Parida to Santa Catalina, Panama

A full day at Isla Parida followed by a night full of sailing. On our last trip to Isla Gamez we met a super friendly family from Isla Parida who brought us some fresh fruit as un regalo, a gift: bananas, oranges and the most delicious mangos I have ever tasted. In exchange we offered them some milk, one of my sweaters (for those “cold” Panama nights), and some fresh baked chocolate cake. Rosa, the matriarch, asked if we had any spare sunglasses onboard. Unfortunately we didn’t at the time, but I told her we’d pick some up in the city. Seriously can’t imagine a life on the water without sunglasses.