After months of delays we finally left for the San Blas on 4 February with an interim stop planned for Linton Bay Marina where we left the boat to go to Panama City for provisioning and hopefully we could pick up our permanent resident cards. Well, at least that was the plan. On the way to Linton Bay we had some surprises.
The first thing that happened was we noticed the refrigerator was not working. At first we weren't sure but as it got warmer we knew for sure. Then about 8 hours into the trip our autopilot stopped working. What wind we had was mostly on the nose so sailing was out of the question. As a resuslt we hand-steered for most of the trip except when we could engage the autopilot for short periods. Our first thought was that this was latent damage from the lightning strike weeks early to a boat in the marina that was near us. However, we believed that wasn't the case when we got to examine it.
After leaving Bocas the weather was pretty benign until about 0300 when the winds and seas came up directly in front of us as we passed by the anchorage for the Canal. The squalls and heavy gusts continued for the rest of the trip and in fact for weeks after that. In spite of the heavy winds and seas we were able to get fuel and get into our slip because Isla Linton blocked the wind in the marina from the direction it was blowing.
We quickly discovered the issues with the fridge and I replaced all the electronics for it with spares I had on board. With the fridge running we went to Panama for a few days to provision and came back to work on the autopilot. We found a dubious connection and fixed it thinking that was the culprit. While in Panama City we were able to get our permanent resident cards.
As I mentioned the heavy weather continued unabated for weeks. Winds were pretty consistently in the 15-25kt range out of the NE (which is the direction for the San Blas) with seas over 8'. We kept seeing opportunities only for them to disappear a day or so before we planned to leave. Finally, after 3 weeks we picked a day that looked good but when we got up in the morning it didn't look as good but we went anyway. We bashed into high seas and 20+kt winds for 8 hours until we could turn into the Gulf of San Blas where we had enough angle to sail and for the last 3 hours had a great sail. But, in spite of the weather we made it to Green Island in the San Blas after about 4 months of trying.
But, the trip was not without incident. The 3 hour sail ended with a serious over wrap in the headsail furler. I'm not sure how it happened since we are usually very careful but it took me almost an hour on the bow in the wind and rain to resolve it and in the process I broke the plastic top of the furler drum making another project for myself. But, we were here and now to enjoy the islands.
We got to Green Island, an island we visited last year and our friends on MV Stand Down were there and we were looking forward to many good happy hours with them. They went to Green because several of the other anchorages were very full and even Green had many boats in it but there was suitable room to anchor. Last year when we were in the San Blas most of the anchorages had few if any boats. Now in the post-Covid times the anchorages were full.
Except for a few intermittent periods the winds and squalls continued over the next several days. The conditions made it difficult to do much in the water. So after months of delays in trying to get to the San Blas, after we finally got there the weather was crappy. Our friends on Stand Down were heading to Colombia so they wanted to depart from Snug Harbor which is an anchorage about 30nm east of Green. So of course the day we went there, there was no wind. Otherwise it was one of the first really beautiful days we had in weeks.
Plumeria or Flower Island just to our East was another area where we anchored.
The next day we motored back to Green with no wind and bright skies as many of the other anchorages we considered were full of boats and remarkably Green wasn't.
The anchorage at Green island
For the next 2 months we moved to about 6 different anchorages with little excitement as the weather typically was high winds, rain squalls or just heavy rain. Most of the places we visited we had friends that we could socialize with during the inclement weather to help pass the down time. We had several days along the way that were nice and we were able to get out and snorkel and dive but those were the exceptions. In fact, there were days our supply boats didn't come when scheduled and a few where we were surprised they came.
Provisioning in the San Blas is kind of hit and miss at best. You hope it is more hit than miss. There are several types of suppliers in the San Blas. There are a few Panamanians that have agreements with the Kuna Yala to sell suppplies in certain areas of the San Blas. Many buy their supplies in Colon or Panama supermarkets and will take orders if you contact them. Many weeks we got most of what we ordered and we lived as if we were in a town somewhere. However, there were also weeks we were down to eating out of the pantry because all the fresh food was gone.
One of the other Cocos. This is one of our favorite anchorages
To get supplies it was essential to be at one of the islands where they delivered. There were also some boats, mostly Kuna, who came around periodically with fresh produce. One that we worked with told us every Tuesday and Friday. But, I think that happened once. Many Kuna come-by selling crafts, seafood, bread or bunches of bananas. There is one Kuna guy that comes around and is aggressive but he's a hustler. If he promises you something he will get it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but you will get it. He may not be cheap and you have to push back. Many cruisers don't like him, but I do. I like that he will do whatever to deliver on his promise.
Full moon right atop the Amekaya Star
When we were there the Caribbean-wide closed lobster season started. All of the countries in the Caribbean basin have agreed to close lobster season from 1 March to 30 June as that is the reproductive season for them. Most places it also applies to crabs, conch and octopus. During the closed season Kuna came by offering lobster, crabs, conch and octopus. Once the closed season arrived we didn't buy anything from them but the charter boats would buy all they had. Hopefully, the Kuna aren't ruining their future by uncontrolled fishing.
We bought more Molas and Kuna crafts this year for gifts as some of their work is just spectacular. Much of it is museum quality.
Wasaladup Island. A favorite for beach parties.
We had hoped to spend more time in the San Blas but the weather was so bad and the forecasts for the foreseeable future was more of the same and severe storms were already beginning to pop up so we decided to leave a little earlier than anticipated. We also seemed to be having issues with our batteries holding a charge so we thought it best to get back to Linton Bay and address that.
A nice day sail on the job only.
So our second trip to the San Blas came to an end sooner than expected but we got to spend 2 months there. Hopefully next year will be better before we head off to Colombia.
Cruising past the Cocos on our way out.
Upon arrival back at Linton Bay Marina we checked our batteries and found at least one was bad and that we would have to replace them. Fortunately, Kenisia at the marina was really helpful in getting quotes for replacement batteries and getting them delivered. Since more than 2 months had passed since we got our permanent resident cards we wanted to go into Panama to get our Cedulas. Latin American countries issue a national ID known as a Cedula to residents that is used for many purposes. Here in Panama it allows us to claim our Jubilado status for discounts and access to resident only activities.
Our final anchor spot by the island of Chichime
The morning we chose to head to Panama bus and taxi drivers went on strike which was the beginning of nationwide strikes that went on for weeks. The first day we sat in the taxi all day waiting for a break that never came. We finally returned to the marina and installed our batteries while planning to go in over the next weekend. It appeared there would be no strikes on Sunday so we planned to go in.
This time we got in and out with no effort so with our new batteries installed we left to head back to Bocas on 26 May.
No comments:
Post a Comment