Journey from Roatan to Panama

So, the last blog covered what we’ve been doing since arriving in Panama and the one before that got us as far as Roatan.  This one will cover our voyage between the two.  We ended up staying in Roatan much longer than originally anticipated.  The seas and wind were nice and calm when we arrived and then the wind blew steadily for over a week.  We stayed for 10 days and then decided it was time to go.  The wind had started to die down and we knew calmer seas would follow.  Most of our time in Roatan was spent snorkeling in the lagoon next to the marina, swimming in the pool, walking into town and generally relaxing.  We have been studying Spanish using Rosetta Stone on the computer with each of us doing about 30 minutes per day.  Our plan is to sign up for lessons now that we have arrived here in Bocas.



Dave studying Spanish



Puddy on the settee

 






Doofus guarding the pan cupboard

In case anyone is wondering, the cats are doing great.  They have settled back into life on the boat, although they do still get seasick when the seas are rough


Dardanella departing Barefoot Cay

From the last Roatan blog, you will remember our “big sister”, the aluminum hull trawler Dardanella.  She left the marina a few days before we did and an Oyster 62 sailboat, Talisman, from Florida joined us. 



Talisman at Barefoot Cay

We heard a rumor that there was a lion fish living in the lagoon near the marina and one of the guys from Talisman hopped in and speared it with his spear gun.  Lion fish are an invasive species not native to the Caribbean or the Atlantic.  The general attitude is that if you see one, get rid of it.  Some of the guys in the marina here this morning saw a couple of lion fish under the dock and dove in to get rid of them.  Rick cleaned them and Mary made ceviche out of them, so that was a nice treat for happy hour tonight.

Lion Fish, Barefoot Cay Lagoon

Lion Fish Ceviche, Happy Hour
Marina Carenero

 

Our favorite waiters at the marina restaurant were brother and sister, Carlos and Jordana.  They were extremely pleasant, taught us a few local tricks and made sure the rum punches and pina coladas were cold and tasty.

Jordana and Carlos



Rum punch

We finally departed Roatan on Sunday morning, May 26 and did a short day run to Guanaja, a small island about 40 miles east of Roatan.  We pulled into an anchorage called “El Bight” and dropped the hook.  It was a very peaceful spot with only 6 other boats anchored.

El Bight anchorage, Guanaja, Honduras
Looking southeast

El Bight Anchorage, Guanaja, looking east

El Bight anchorage, Guanaja
Looking North

 

Monday morning we left Guanaja for an overnight trip to Vivorillo, an island and reef about 150 miles east.  The wind had been coming mostly out of the east for over a week and the seas were rough with wave heights of 4 to 6 feet causing a lot of pitching (or hobby horsing).   We had a visitor, a brown booby, join us for part of the trip. 

Brown Booby on the starboard bow rail

 

When we arrived at Vivorillo, we were the only boat in the anchorage.  We did pass two sail boats headed west as we were entering, but didn’t see any other boats for the two days that we stayed.  We did manage to finally get the dinghy motor running while we were there although we only tested it in a bucket and didn’t launch it to go ashore.

Vivorillo, Honduras

Vivorillo, Honduras

We left Vivorillo early Thursday morning, headed to Providencia, Colombia.  We wanted to make sure and arrive there on Friday morning, so that we could clear customs during normal business hours.  The first 6 hours of the trip were semi-rough as we were still headed almost due east.  After passing the northeast corner of mainland Honduras, we turned south and were no longer headed directly into the waves which helped smooth out the ride some.

View from the pilot house
Heading east from Vivorillo Cays

Sunset, Vivorillo to Providencias

Rainbow, Vivorillo to Providencia

We arrived in Providencia on Friday morning, anchored and went into town to find the customs agent and to do the paper work cha cha.  Mr. Bush has been the customs agent in Providencia for many years and is well known.  We weren’t  sure where his office was, so we asked several people for directions.  Probably like most people who live on islands, nobody was able to give us clear, concise directions.  We heard things like, walk up the hill and you will find him.  We did find him and without any issues.  It was lunch time so he recommended a local place to eat and asked us to come back at 2:00 p.m.  After getting cleared in, we checked out the local grocery and hardware stores and then went back out to the boat.

View of Providencia from the channel entering the anchorage.
Officially called "Split Hill".  Called "Morgan's Ass" by the locals.
The pirate Capt. Morgan used Providencia as a base.

We had heard about several good places to eat on the island so on Monday we decided to try out the seafood mixed plate in Southwest Bay.  We found out that transport in Providencia is not easy to come by.  We were told to take the blue bus to the restaurant and went to sit on the benches near the public park to wait for the bus.  After waiting a while, we were told that it was a holiday and the bus wasn’t running.  Our options were to take a car taxi or a moto-taxi (a motor bike with the driver in the front and you on the back).  We waited for more than an hour for a car taxi and finally gave-up.  Not being sure how far the restaurant was, we decided to take the dinghy part way to the fisherman’s co-op and then walk the rest of the way from there.  After walking up one long hill, a young man on a moto-taxi came by and asked if we wanted a ride, so both Dave and I hopped on the bike with him and off we went to the restaurant.  Not sure if we would be able to get a ride back, we asked him to return and pick us up again later that afternoon.  The walk and the excitement of the ride were well worth it and the mixed plate lived up to its reputation.

Mixed Plate at Southwest Bay.  Notice the fancy beer.

The next day, we set off to try another restaurant.  We had been told that it was near Sweetwater Bay and we went to the park to catch the blue bus.  Once again, after waiting an hour, no blue bus… but a car taxi was taking another lady in the same general direction, so we hopped in with her and asked to be dropped at the restaurant.  When we got to Sweetwater Bay, they weren’t sure where the restaurant was and let us off at the north end of town so that we could find it.  After asking around, we learned that is was in Southwest Bay, another 2 kms down the road, so we set-off on foot to find it.  Again, it was worth the effort and the food was great.  After our lunch, we walked up to the bus stop to wait for the blue bus to take us back into town, but, you guessed it, no blue bus.  After declining several offers for a moto-taxi ride, we gave in and got a ride back into town.

Dave waiting for the blue bus at the Manta Ray bus stop.

Our next destination was Albuquerque Cays, a reef about 85 miles south of Providencia and east of Nicaragua.  An 85 mile journey is a long day for us.  We were unfamiliar with the entrance to the cays which we heard were tricky and wanted to make sure we arrived with enough light to be able to see the entrance, the coral heads and the water depth as we made our way to the anchorage.  Dave set his alarm for 5:00 a.m. and when it went off we got out of bed, brushed our teeth, washed our faces and fired up the main engine.  About that time, Dave looked at his watch and discovered it was 1:30 a.m., much earlier than our planned departure time.  Since we were both awake and ready to go, we decided to pull up the anchor and head offshore.  As we were passing the south end of the island, we saw a cargo ship flashing a flood light on and off.  We called him on the VHF to make sure everything was ok and he informed us that he lived on the island and liked to shine the light when he was passing by to show his wife that he was onboard and ok.  We asked him if he could see our AIS signal and he confirmed that he could.

We arrived at Albuquerque Cays about 12:30 p.m. with plenty of good light.  One sailboat was anchored near the north cay and they radioed to let us know where the water got shallow.  They also informed us that the Colombian Navy is based on the north island and they would want to see our boat papers and passports.  After dropping anchor, we settled in to wait for the Navy to come out and greet us.  While we were waiting, our sailboat neighbors stopped by in their dinghy.  They were headed to one of the shallow coral areas inside the reef to do some diving.  They told us that the Navy didn’t have a boat, so that we would need to dinghy ashore.  We gathered up our paperwork and our snorkel gear, went to shore, answered the Navy’s questions and then did some snorkeling off the beach.  The north island is a low sand island, covered in palm trees and the Navy had a very nice base set-up with raked paths around their complex, fresh water pits and a generator.  Apparently a group gets dropped off and they crew change every thirty days, with the Army and the Navy alternating troops.

North island at Albuquerque Cays with the catamaran "Always"
anchored.  Notice the changes in the water colors indicating the
depth changes.

Thursday morning, we left about 9:00 a.m. for the overnight voyage to Panama.  The seas and the wind were extremely calm and we were averaging over 8 kts at our normal 1600 rpms.  We didn’t want to arrive at the marina too early, so we pulled back the throttle and slowed down.  During the day, Dave put out some fishing gear but didn’t catch anything.  After dark, we saw numerous falling stars and bio-luminescence in the water along with a few dolphins playing in our bow wake.  The water was so clear and calm that you could see their wake glowing in the water.

We've arrived in Panama

Seabiscuit Blog June 16

Location: Bocas del Toro, Panama

We’ve arrived!  Actually, we’ve been here over a week already.  We arrived at our destination (for the next 6 months or so), Bocas del Toro (Bocas), Panama on Friday, June 7.  To get here we did an overnight voyage from the Albuquerque Cays.  The Albuquerque Cays are about 170 miles N of Bocas.  We arrived at the Bocas Del Toro Channel at about 7:00 AM.  At 7:30 AM the wakeup call on the Bocas net came across the VHF radio telling us that the net started at 7:45 AM.  Every day on the radio they have the Bocas net.  It’s an opportunity for everybody in the local boating & land based expat community to hear the local events, talk about boat issues, hear about new boats coming or boats leaving, share treasures of the bilge (items for sale or trade) and get the daily weather and trivia.  As we were coming down the channel we reported in as a new boat and then waited in the bay outside the marina.  The trivia discussion that day was about absolute zero and there was some controversy about the right answer so the net when extra long.  The net uses the same VHF channel as the marina so we couldn’t call in for our slip until the net was over.  Once the net ended, we radioed the marina and backed into our designated slip.   The marine owner, one of her workers and folks from other boats were on the dock to greet us and to help with our lines.  In the slip just to the west (starboard) of us is another trawler, Grey Goose.  On our east (port) side we have an empty slip and then a sailboat from Houston, Chasing Sunsets.

Once we got tied up we introduced ourselves to the other boaters in the marina.  Next we had to do the paperwork cha cha.  Four officials boarded the boat including the port authority, immigration, quarantine, and customs.  We offered them cold drinks and they settled in to complete their paperwork.  After the paperwork was complete, they inspected the boat and we paid our fees; then we were allowed to get off the boat and to take down our yellow “quarantine” flag.  We were instructed that we would need to go into town before 2:00 p.m. to get our cruising permit for Panama.  We went to the marina office and checked in with Mary, the marina owner, and got a tour of the facilities.  Then we had a little lunch and asked Mary to call a water taxi for us so that we could go to town. 


Saturday night potluck.
Doug and Michelle (Grey Goose)
and Mary (the marina owner)
with Mary's ceviche and avocados.

Saturday night pot luck.  Rick and
Judy (Chasing Sunsets) with Judy's Texas Chili.

The marina we are at, Marina Carenero, is across the bay from the town of Bocas del Toro.  To get back and forth from town to the marina, you either take a water taxi or take your dinghy.  We have been using the water taxi service and it works well.  You call the dock where the water taxis hang-out and let them know where you want to be picked up.  For $1, they give you a ride to town.  When we got back from getting our cruising permit ($193 for one year), the other boaters invited us to join them for chicken fried chicken dinner at the Rip Tide.  The Rip Tide is an old boat that has been converted to a bar/restaurant.  It was a great opportunity to meet the other people staying at the marina and to get a feel for Bocas town and what it has to offer.  Almost everything in town is within walking distance and if not, taxis are readily available.  After dinner, we stopped at the local ice cream shop and then headed back to the marina via the water taxi.

Saturday night pot luck. Sharon
(Sunsation) and Rick, the back of
Michelle's head and Michelle's lemon cake.

Saturday we finished our paperwork at the marina, did some laundry and settled in.  Saturday nights at the marina are pot luck night, so it was another opportunity to swap sea stories with some of the other boaters. 

Saturday night pot luck.  Mary, Linda
and Helmut (NatiJaq) and Dave with Linda's
meatloaf and squash, Sharon's chicken and our jambalaya.

 Sunday we walked over to the Cosmic Crab (the restaurant and cabins next to our marina) for Sunday brunch, only to learn that this time of year is the slow season and they only do the Sunday brunch the first Sunday of every month.  So we ate at the breakfast buffet that they set-up for guests staying in their cabins and then took a walk around Carenero Island.  There are a lot of hostels and small cabins on the island.  The marina and the Cosmic Crab are on the west side, a surfing school and another restaurant are on the east side and the middle of the island is mostly jungle.  Sunday night we went back over to the Rip Tide for ribs.

B on the west side of Isle Carenero.

 During the week, we spent most of our time going to town provisioning and getting maintenance parts, doing boat chores and generally settling in to our new home.  Happy hour on the dock is every night at 5:00 p.m.  The weather has been nice, with one day of hot sun followed by a day of rain to cool things off again (it is rainy season here now). 



Helmut's 75th birthday party.

Friday during the day, we went into town to the beer distributor to stock up on happy hour drinks, sodas and water.  Friday night was Helmut’s 75^th birthday, so Linda planned a pot luck birthday celebration for him.  Mary graciously opened up her house and the party was on her upper deck.  Helmut and Linda live in David, Panama’s second largest city and keep their boat here at the marina.  They come down for about 10 days every month to work on the boat and enjoy the marina atmosphere. 

Last night (Saturday) we went into town with a small group to Gringo’s for Mexican food and margaritas.  Of course, we stopped at the ice cream shop after dinner and then walked down and listened to the fireman’s band play.  It is mostly young men playing drums and twirling their drum sticks plus three or four trumpets playing a few notes every now and then.

Boat Chores

B studying "the list"

So, let’s talk a little about boat chores and what that really means.  As you can imagine, living on a boat, there are always maintenance items, general housekeeping items and fixing of things.  While underway, it isn’t always easy or necessary to do these things immediately, so they get put on “the list” of things to do when we arrive at our destination.  Of course the list grows and grows.  It is nice to finally arrive somewhere and to check things off the list.  On an earlier blog, I mentioned that the dinghy wasn’t working well.  We knew we would need it at some of the anchorages, so it was at the top of the list to fix while we were underway.  We ended up disassembling and cleaning the carburetor four times before finally getting the outboard motor to start-up and run without any problems. 

Dave with the chain locker hatch cover
rigged up to the come-along.

Another major issue was our anchor windlass.  It started giving us problems last summer and we operated all summer only using the port anchor.  While we were in Alabama at Barber Marina, Dave disassembled the windlass to look for issues and change the gearbox oil.  All pieces and parts seemed ok, with no signs of metal shavings.  We tried to open the chain locker to see if the problem was with the chain, put the hatch cover wouldn’t budge.  Dave had two nuts welded onto the cover so that we could connect the come-along and try to get it to break free that way, but still no luck.  Whoever had the cover off last time used the red form-a-gasket material when they put the cover back on and it was stuck tight.  When we arrived in Mexico, we still couldn’t deploy the starboard chain, so we knew the problem wasn’t fixed and “fix the windlass” went back on the list.  The problem got even worse by the time we got to Providencia and we couldn’t get the windlass to pay out either the port or the starboard chain and had to free fall the chain in order to anchor there and in the Albuquerque Cays (more on our route and stop-overs below and in the next blog).

The chain locker (in the forward cabin)
with port and starboard chains.

Last week, Dave disassembled part of the windlass and decided the problem wasn’t with it, but was probably with the chain balled in a knot in the chain locker.  So, out came the come-along and by pulling on just one corner of hatch cover we finally got the hatch cover off.  The problem did turn out to be with the chain and not with the windlass.  The upper part of the starboard chain had spilled over into the port chain locker and the port chain was piled on top of the starboard chain, preventing it from moving.  In order to get each chain on its own side of the chain locker, we payed out the chain from both lockers.  Another item on the list was to unclog the bilge suction from the chain locker to the bilge manifold in the engine room.  We had tried to pump out the chain lockers while in Alabama but no joy, the line was plugged.  While the chain was out of the lockers, we unclogged the line, flushing the mud out with fresh water and then testing the flow using the bilge pumps.  When that was finished, we heaved the chain back into the lockers, bringing in 50 feet of port chain and then 50 feet of starboard chain, with Dave checking to make sure they each stayed on their own side of the locker.  With the chain in the locker, all that was left was to scrape away the old form-a-gasket, cut a new gasket and install it and the chain locker cover.

Watermaker membranes resting on the
watermake bracket in the engine room,
waiting to be installed.

Other items that are now checked off the list include replacing the grey water tank level gauge, repairing the cabinet door for the pan cupboard, replacing fuses in the navigation system and install cleats for the blinds.  Along with that are the every day things like cleaning, washing the decks, vacuuming, etc.  The next major project is to install our watermaker.  This was initially on our list to install while we were in the shipyard in Alabama but we decided to wait and do it at another time when the boat wish list funds got replenished.  Well, it turned out that one of the boats here had a spare 24V watermaker, so we purchased it from them and they are going to help us install it sometime next week.

 Our route and stop-overs

Our route and stop-overs from the time we left the USA until arriving in Panama are detailed in the table below.  To summarize, we ran the main engine 232.9 hours, traveled 1600 nm, used the generator 33.2 hours and had an average cruising speed = 6.87 kts. 

Date	Location	Main Engine Hours	Trip Log (nm)	Avg. Speed (kts)
Apr. 25 – 28	Elberta, AL to Pensacola, FL to Isla Mujeres, Mexico (3 days)	78.9	580	7.4
Apr. 28 – May 5	Isla Mujeres, Mexico
May 6	Isla Mujeres to Puerto Aventuras, Mexico	9.1	58	6.4
May 6 – May 8	Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
May 9	Puerto Aventuras to Bahia Ascension, Mexico	8.1	52	6.4
May 9 – May 11	Bahia Ascension, Mexico
May 12	Bahia Ascension to Bahia Espiritu Santo, Mexico	5.2	34	6.5
May 13	Bahia Espiritu Santo to Xcalak, Mexico	10.5	78	7.4
May 14 – 15	Xcalak, Mexico to Roatan, Honduras(overnight)	26.1	152	5.8
May 15 – 25	Roatan, Honduras
May 26	Roatan to Guanaja, Honduras	6.1	39	6.4
May 27 – 28	Guanaja to Vivorillo Cays, Honduras (overnight)	23.6	151	6.4
May 28 – 29	Vivorillo Cays, Honduras
May 30 – 31	Vivorillo Cays, Honduras to Providencia, Colombia (overnight)	30	196	6.5
May 31 – June 4	Providencia, Colombia
June 5	Providencia to Albuquerque Cays, Colombia	11.4	84	7.4
June 6 – 7	Albuquerque Cays, Colombia to Bocas del Toro, Panama	23.9	176	7.4

 That’s probably enough babbling for one day, so will follow-up this blog with a short one to tell about the rest of our time in Roatan and our trip from Roatan to Panama.