New Updatessss!!!
SO here´s the story...of a man named brady... nm
I havent updated in over a week... But here is the day by day.
Sunday March 7: We moved the boat off of the dock today, fueled up at the fuel dock, and anchored in the harbor. As usual, the geezer was no help in any of it, and was no where to be found. After moving the boat, we provisioned up for a week at sea. The sail from cartagena to panama is only about 280 miles, about a 48 hour sail, but we plan on stopping along the way at the San Blas Islands, which is a chain of hundreds of islands that are mostly uninhabited, and surrounded by pure and clean water and coral reefs on which to dive and snorkel.
Monday March 8: We planned on departing early AM at first light, but the weather reports we had received were predicting light winds. Our transit from Cartagena to San Blas Islands is about 180 miles, about a 30 hour sail in favorable winds, but with the light winds predicted it could take up to 48 hours. We departed at about 11am, after eating breakfast and making last minute chart copies, in no rush, because we were not pressed by time. The problem in the san blas islands is, coral reefs come up very fast, and navigating the islands at night is deadly - VERY deadly. Moving between islands is optimal between 10-2pm, when the sun is high and the light is strong. By 1pm we had lost all sight of land. The weather predictions, as had become so obvious as of late, were awfully wrong. The wind instead of being light (10-15 knots) were more along the lines of 20-25 knots, and occasionally 25-30 knots.
Tuesday March 9: It was obvious throughout the night that we were going to arrive in San Blas much earlier than expected. We were making about 8 knots the whole way, and covered a LOT more distance than expected. By 1pm we were in sight of the islands. We decided to attempt to enter into the harbor and anchor for the evening. by the time we were approaching the dangerous reefs, it was 4pm, and light was starting to fade. The charts are very confusing, and we started to get into danger. I got on the radio and asked for assistance entering the reefs by any mariner in the area. Luckily, one of the yachtees spotted us coming in, and came out in a dingy and guided us in. We anchored by 5pm, and the sun was down by 6:30. We were very relieved to not have to spend another night at sea, and thankful of the man in his dingy.
Nights at sea are very stressful, and we have been using 2 hour watches. It is very stressful on the sleep pattern, getting up and going back to sleep every 2 hours, but it is necessary to maintain a good watch, as we have been encountering ships every single night. A night at sea means little sleep, a night at anchor means all the sleep you want.
Wednesday March 10: We spent the day snorkeling and visiting the local village. Next to our anchorage was a small village with about 4 families of Kuna Indians. They live primitively, but are very gentle and nice people. They love to trade with the sailors and yachtees, and have many hand crafted items that are very beautiful. They are not nearly as primitive as one might assume, though.
I am running out of time, the internet cafe is closing. More updates tomorrow!
I havent updated in over a week... But here is the day by day.
Sunday March 7: We moved the boat off of the dock today, fueled up at the fuel dock, and anchored in the harbor. As usual, the geezer was no help in any of it, and was no where to be found. After moving the boat, we provisioned up for a week at sea. The sail from cartagena to panama is only about 280 miles, about a 48 hour sail, but we plan on stopping along the way at the San Blas Islands, which is a chain of hundreds of islands that are mostly uninhabited, and surrounded by pure and clean water and coral reefs on which to dive and snorkel.
Monday March 8: We planned on departing early AM at first light, but the weather reports we had received were predicting light winds. Our transit from Cartagena to San Blas Islands is about 180 miles, about a 30 hour sail in favorable winds, but with the light winds predicted it could take up to 48 hours. We departed at about 11am, after eating breakfast and making last minute chart copies, in no rush, because we were not pressed by time. The problem in the san blas islands is, coral reefs come up very fast, and navigating the islands at night is deadly - VERY deadly. Moving between islands is optimal between 10-2pm, when the sun is high and the light is strong. By 1pm we had lost all sight of land. The weather predictions, as had become so obvious as of late, were awfully wrong. The wind instead of being light (10-15 knots) were more along the lines of 20-25 knots, and occasionally 25-30 knots.
Tuesday March 9: It was obvious throughout the night that we were going to arrive in San Blas much earlier than expected. We were making about 8 knots the whole way, and covered a LOT more distance than expected. By 1pm we were in sight of the islands. We decided to attempt to enter into the harbor and anchor for the evening. by the time we were approaching the dangerous reefs, it was 4pm, and light was starting to fade. The charts are very confusing, and we started to get into danger. I got on the radio and asked for assistance entering the reefs by any mariner in the area. Luckily, one of the yachtees spotted us coming in, and came out in a dingy and guided us in. We anchored by 5pm, and the sun was down by 6:30. We were very relieved to not have to spend another night at sea, and thankful of the man in his dingy.
Nights at sea are very stressful, and we have been using 2 hour watches. It is very stressful on the sleep pattern, getting up and going back to sleep every 2 hours, but it is necessary to maintain a good watch, as we have been encountering ships every single night. A night at sea means little sleep, a night at anchor means all the sleep you want.
Wednesday March 10: We spent the day snorkeling and visiting the local village. Next to our anchorage was a small village with about 4 families of Kuna Indians. They live primitively, but are very gentle and nice people. They love to trade with the sailors and yachtees, and have many hand crafted items that are very beautiful. They are not nearly as primitive as one might assume, though.
I am running out of time, the internet cafe is closing. More updates tomorrow!