After our two months in the States we got back to Amekaya with 16 boxes that we shipped, 300 lbs of luggage and additional provisions that we bought in Panama City. Our freight bill was high because in addition to the boxes shipped from Miami we had our bags shipped from Panama City to Bocas. This is all part of the logistics enterprise we need to continue our life in the condition to which we are accustomed. The freight as I've discussed in previous posts consists of boat supplies (spares, replacements and upgrades), health supplements, specialty foods that aren't available in Central America and some specialty liquor that also is only available from a few sources.
Our dinghy loaded of luggage and our car loaded before shipping.
When we return to Amekaya each year with our goodies we always spend several days getting it onto the boat and then getting it away. One of the nice things about our boat is the generous storage and it just consumes hundreds of pounds of stuff easily. Unpacking is not an easy job as we unpack everything on the dock because we don't allow cardboard on the boat and the luggage is too heavy to lift on so we move it from the bags to the boat while checking our shipping manifests to be sure it is all there. Then, as we put it away we add it to our inventory.
We left the marina when we could to get out on anchor.
We continued to live in Groundhog Day. The movie, a story of a reporter who is stuck reliving the same day over and over until he redeems himself and becomes happy. For about 2 years our engine issue has kept us from moving ahead. We make a repair hoping that will solve the problem but it doesn't and we're back to rethinking a plan.
We planned to leave many times and each time our plans were dashed. 2022 slipped away and we stayed in Bocas. After returning we were determined to leave Bocas in November and seek solutions elsewhere, I decided that maybe we should continue the purge of the exhaust side of the engine in case there was back-pressure on the recently replaced turbo. To do that I would need exhaust hose. I search around Bocas and nobody had 3" exhaust hose so I went online and thought I would order it from a West Marine Store in south Florida. Shipping to our freight forwarder would be overnight and we would have it very quickly so I could complete the job and we would be on our way. Well, as they say Murphy is an optimist.
The convoluted West Marine online system which leads you to believe you are buying from a particular store decided to ship our hose that I was in a hurry to get, not from South Florida but from Charlotte, NC and instead of shipping it the next day they waited about a week before shipping. As a result of West Marine's incompetence the hose arrived in Panama about the time the Suntracs Labor Union organized a nationwide strike to allegedly protest a new mining contract (there's a whole bogus story about that) that shut down routine operations in Panama for about 6 weeks. So, instead of having the hose in about a week to do the repair it was about two months thanks to West Marine. Also as a result of the strikes food shortages occurred. We went into town frequently and bought what we could as we could and between those purchases and our boat stores we were able to get through fairly well. The biggest challenges were waiting for the supplies we ordered before the strike that we needed to do boat tasks.
Throughout the six week strike we still went out to anchor 3 or four nights each week between boat projects where we could enjoy being away from the marina, we could make water and enjoy the beauty of being on anchor.
Finally, the strike ended and we were able to finish our boat projects. The key projects that I did was to completely redo all of our exterior teak and clean/replace the exhaust system of our engine. I removed the entire exhaust system from the turbo back to the tail pipe. I replaced all the exhaust hose and cleaned the muffler and mixing elbow. With that we still had the underlying engine issue but it was better.
By the time I was finally able to get the work done we were into the holidays. We could have left, but we were happy to spend the holidays among friends. For Thanksgiving the marina provided turkeys for dinner and everyone brought a dish. It was wonderful. For Christmas, the Cantina had special dinners and we had a New Year's Eve party.
One of the biggest challenges before leaving was to gain confidence in the boat for an offshore passage so we planned an offshore shakedown cruise and several nights on anchor. We also had many friends we wanted to say good-by to before we left. So, by late January we were ready to leave. Our shakedown went well and we thought the boat would make it to Shelter Bay Marina where we had a mechanic standing by that would work on our engine.
On January 31, we left Bocas Marina for the final time and went to anchor in the Red Frog Anchorage. That night we had dinner with our old friend Louis and the next night we had a happy hour with several friends and on Friday 2 February we hauled anchor to leave our 4 year home, Bocas del Toro, and left for the future not knowing what lay ahead.
Our boat on the dock at Shelter Bay.
On the way out of the Bocas channel our Chartplotter shutoff. I headed toward the breaker panel to reset it. But, it came back up on its own and we continued. The last time we did an overnight passage in 2022 we had problems with our auto-pilot shutting off. This time, however, I decided to set the course but nor connect the auto-pilot to it. The result was we had the auto-pilot the entire trip and it didn't shutoff. This will be important later.
When we left the channel the wind was strong and favorable for us to sail and we did. For about 4 hours we had a great sail until the wind died. Between Bocas and Shelter Bay where we were headed there are 3 distinctive weather patterns. The first is from Bocas to around Chiriqui Lagoon, the second from there until several miles before the canal and then the system by the canal.
A few words about these weather patterns. Bocas is in the extreme southwestern area of the Caribbean. The east winds come into there, bounce off the mountains and turn into a west wind. Then as the shore falls away on a heading of 90 degrees the weather is typical of the prevailing offshore weather. We have found the wind and waves go down in this area. Then when you get near the canal there are multiple diverse effects resulting in confused seas, including conflicting currents, fluctuating winds and the multitude of ships anchored in front of the canal that makes traversing that area a challenge.
As you come towards the canal it's required to call the approach control and ask for permission to pass through the canal breakwater. In the past there's been lots of traffic and we were delayed. But, this time with the reduced traffic due to low water we were easily allowed through.
I know I posted about this before, but, Shelter Bay Marina is on the grounds of the former US Army Fort Sherman. Fort Sherman was built over 100 years ago as one of the US Coastal Defense stations to guard the Caribbean side of the Panama canal from invasion. After WW2 when the defense mission became overcome by technology, Fort Sherman became the US Army Jungle Warfare Training Center right up until it was turned over to Panama. Now, most of the post has been abandoned. Some has been turned into a National Park of Panama and a little slice of it is now Shelter Bay Marina.
Before we left Bocas we contacted a Yanmar dealer in Colon about our issue and asked for support which he promised. Instead of coming the day he agreed to he showed up 2 days later. The mechanic he sent only spoke Spanish so communication was a little difficult. His assessment was the problem was with the fuel
pump so after some discussions with the manager the mechanic returned and removed the fuel pump. A few days later the manager texted me that the lab found the governor was closed. It may have been an issue with translation and I never got to ask him but, my understanding is if the governor is closed it wouldn't run or wouldn't run more than idle. So after a few days he returned and reinstalled the pump. We tried the engine and it appeared to run fine so we made plans to be on our way. But, we had not done a sea trial.
A few days later after clearing out of the marina we were waiting for the manager to come to collect payment, but we had to leave in order to get to our next port in daylight. So, we left. However, once out of the marina the engine was clearly performing badly and we returned to Shelter Bay. Shortly after we got back the manager of the mechanic service showed up and we talked. He said he would send his mechanic back out.
The mechanic came back and after several hours said the timing was off. Being Saturday he left early and said he would be back Monday. He returned and made some adjustments and now the engine wouldn't start. He tried for 3 days after that and the engine wouldn't start so I told him not to come back. Around the time we decided to fire them a friend gave us the name of a guy that worked on their boat and in fact he contacted him for us.
The following Monday the new mechanic arrived and did some tests. A few days later he came back and did some more tests and decided again it was the fuel pump. They came back on Saturday to remove the
fuel pump (third time the fuel pump was removed) and he gave me the name of a lab in Panama City for us to take it to. The following Monday morning we had a driver pick us up early and we dropped the pump at the new lab. I asked the mechanic to call them and tell them what he thought the issues were since they only spoke Spanish. The next day the lab sent a video of the pump performance. They found that all the seals were bad and the replaced all of the replaceable parts in rebuilding the pump.
Because it was Semana Santa nothing happened after we got the pump back until the following week. The pump was reinstalled but still the engine failed to start. They took out the injectors and tested them. The mechanic said they were all blocked. I had a rebuilt set that they installed but still the engine wouldn't start. They then concluded it was the timing. Initially they thought they could adjust the timing externally but, after some discussion they agreed that the front of the engine had to be removed. The mechanic that removed the pump for us 2 years ago said that he would have to remove the front to adjust the timing so we had come full circle.
The next day they came out, removed the front and adjusted the timing gears so that they were all in line. Because of the first mechanics advice 2 years ago I had bought the seals and gaskets needed to pull the front and they used them when reinstalling the cover. Once everything was completed the engine started up as it should. We ran it at the dock and we got full power. Initially, there was some smoke that cleared up because of all the failed attempts to start the engine. Through all the attempts at starting I kept the water intake closed so that the engine wouldn't be flooded with seawater and result in a hydrolock.
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| Another friendly monkey. |
During our trip from Bocas to Shelter Bay our fuel filters filled with dirt and water so I realized that even though we kept the tank full, lots of debris had accumulated in the bottom of the tank. Obviously, the injectors had become blocked from either dirty fuel or the incorrect injection timing from the fuel pump. Since the pump had been rebuilt and we put in clean injectors I decided to have the fuel cleaned. I wanted to do it before a seatrial but we decided to do the seatrial before cleaning the fuel.
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| We often saw Woodpeckers |
We went out for a seatrial that revealed a nicely working motor but it overheated. Several things came to mind. The first was that the bottom was dirty after sitting in the marina for two months. Second was that it could be the thermostat and I thought I had a spare. I later checked and I found that I had already replaced the thermostat 3 years earlier so I dismissed that as a possible issue. I also thought it was possible that the heat exchanger might need cleaning.
We had the fuel cleaned and the filtering removed a very significant amount of residue in the fuel. With that done we decided to try and leave again. This time we left the marina and as we went into the large swells we weren't able to get the engine to high RPM's without the temperature gauge rising. So, we turned back to the marina again.
After returning I arranged to have a diver clean the bottom. But the more I thought about it I decided to remove the thermostat and test it in boiling water. It was bad. It didn't open. I went to the marina store in the off-chance that they might have one and of course they didn't. So I inquired about ordering one. The store manager called the Yanmar supplier who said they didn't have one so they would order it. I was encouraged by the updates about its arrival but each one failed. It finally came in about a week-and-a-half after it was ordered. I probably could have gotten it sooner if I had ordered it myself directly from the distributor in Florida. I considered having the heat exchanger cleaned but passed on that. I didn't have the gaskets for it so I wanted the mechanic to do it but he wasn't available. So, I didn't do that.
Once I received the thermostat I tested it in boiling water and it worked fine so I installed it.
We took the boat out for another seatrial and it ran fine so we started making our plans.
The day our thermostat came in we went to Colon to check out at the maritime authority because our Panama Cruising Permit expired the next day. The next day we checked out of Panama at the authorities located at Shelter Bay. We planned to leave the next morning, Thursday 26 April but the weather was horrible. High winds, rain and storms that lasted all day. So we thought we could leave the next day and we did.
The weather still wasn't good but it was better and we motored directly into big winds, seas and rain but we were out.
We had spent nearly 3 months at Shelter Bay Marina. We had many frustrating days. First of all we were exasperated with our badly and then non-performing engine but then we sat in the boat almost everyday waiting for the mechanics to come who some days never showed up and when they did it was several hours after they said. Our last mechanic often came at 4 or 5 PM and worked until 7 or 8. We were grateful for the effort but we sat here in the boat all day unable to really start anything or go anywhere for fear that they would show up at an inconvenient time. On those days they worked late we had gotten up early and ate breakfast and usually skipped lunch because we didn't want to get into it. Then dinner was after nine. And this routine went on for several days.
So, for the past 3 months our days were very frustrating although the final outcome was what we wanted. It was like living the same day over and over. Get up early and get the boat ready for workers that didn't come when expected if at all. They would work on the engine and it wouldn't start. Just like the movie Groundhog Day. When we could, we went for daily walks and saw some incredible wildlife in the jungle and somehow we managed to work around their schedule with occasional trips into Colon to do shopping. One day Linda went in by herself while I waited in the boat. Linda got back at 4 they arrived at 5.
When we finally left the marina and went to Linton Bay, we really didn't believe it. We had planned for over 2 years to make this move only to be turned back each time so when it finally happened it took a while to overcome the fears and anxieties of the failures. In the end, if the original mechanic had been able to complete the job we probably would have been gone almost 2 years ago.
But, we're on our way to our next home in Colombia and it's the morning after Groundhog Day.
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