Then we hit an area of no winds and the motor was started. The winds returned once again that evening so we were able to rest without the roar of the motor. Instead we were able to be serenaded by the lapping of the water as is rushed by the side of the boat. Part way through the next night the wind died again and we were forced to motor once more.
Friday, 27 February 2015
Doldrums & Dolphins
We had great winds for the first two days of our sail to the Galápagos Islands. Each day about 4:30 or 5:00 PM we had visits from Dolphins. What a wonderful sight to see them playing. You can see them jumping out of the water and flipping over on their side and splashing into the water. They also would come and play on the bow off the boat zipping past the bow and then surfacing for a breath of air while they weave back and forth.
Sunday, 22 February 2015
My first poem from the Pacific
The Pacific Beckons
Pacifico Oceano as the Spanish in Panama call it
Beckons you in all its blue as you sail upon it
The dolphins await to welcome you
And turtles swim out far from land too
Captain Rob at the helm with a steady hand
Guides us along with a spinnaker, a parasail brand
We glide through the water with nary a sound
It's 6000 feet down to the ground
Admiral Carol is hard at work as always
Writing her blog as she tries to do most days
Through sailmail we'll send it on to be posted
As we cross the Equator, Neptune will be toasted
Crew member Barb has returned to the heat
For a turn at the helm and has come with a treat
With cookies, snacks and parts in tow
She was warmly welcomed and we were ready to go
Crew member Bob is enjoying the view
Of Oceano Pacifico, the great ocean blue
The waves have calmed as we approach the ITCZ
Soon it will be time for the crew to be fed
The boat has be provisioned for 7 weeks or more
Out in the Pacific there isn't a store
The cabin is tidy and the crew have been told
Galapagos is the next stop and it won't be cold
Barb at the Helm
Bob watching Bow Line in Canal
Pacifico Oceano as the Spanish in Panama call it
Beckons you in all its blue as you sail upon it
The dolphins await to welcome you
And turtles swim out far from land too
Captain Rob at the helm with a steady hand
Guides us along with a spinnaker, a parasail brand
We glide through the water with nary a sound
It's 6000 feet down to the ground
Admiral Carol is hard at work as always
Writing her blog as she tries to do most days
Through sailmail we'll send it on to be posted
As we cross the Equator, Neptune will be toasted
Crew member Barb has returned to the heat
For a turn at the helm and has come with a treat
With cookies, snacks and parts in tow
She was warmly welcomed and we were ready to go
Crew member Bob is enjoying the view
Of Oceano Pacifico, the great ocean blue
The waves have calmed as we approach the ITCZ
Soon it will be time for the crew to be fed
The boat has be provisioned for 7 weeks or more
Out in the Pacific there isn't a store
The cabin is tidy and the crew have been told
Galapagos is the next stop and it won't be cold
TCTZ awaits
As we approach the ICTZ the winds have died on us. We were zipping along in 15 to 22 knots winds through the night and suddenly the winds started to disappear. We were making fairly good headway with the genoa and the main with 4 to 8 knots of wind. Eventually the winds got down to 5 or less consistently and we got the spinnaker up so that we could make the most of the wind we had. We have been doing fairy well with 3 to 7 knots of wind. The Blue Planet Odyssey parasail spinnaker has been carrying us along at 4 to 5 knots.
We saw dolphins playing on our bow this morning and also saw a turtle way out in the middle of the Pacific. Very strange. The Galapagos beckons and we are well on our way
We saw dolphins playing on our bow this morning and also saw a turtle way out in the middle of the Pacific. Very strange. The Galapagos beckons and we are well on our way
More on the Panama Canal and Panama City
A few things I neglected to tell you about our trip through the Panama Canal. There is a fault line where earthquakes have occurred that Oscar pointed out to us. We saw it just before Centennial Bridge. We also saw the jail that Noriaga is currently in along the canal. We also saw them dredging the canal. They are making the canal wider in the Gatun Lake area and in the Gailliard cut. This is because they will have larger ships going through once the new locks are open.
While anchored La Playita we were entertained by 100's of brown pelicans. It was amazing to watch them diving for fish. A pelican would hit the water ever second. It was amazing. After catching its fish it keeps its beak under water while it eats the fish then straitens it's neck, beak strait up in the air and you see the fish go down it's throat. The sea gulls are right beside the pelican waiting for any scraps and sometimes land right on the pelicans head.
In the evening on Tuesday we saw fireworks over Panama City celebrating the final day of Carnivale.
While anchored La Playita we were entertained by 100's of brown pelicans. It was amazing to watch them diving for fish. A pelican would hit the water ever second. It was amazing. After catching its fish it keeps its beak under water while it eats the fish then straitens it's neck, beak strait up in the air and you see the fish go down it's throat. The sea gulls are right beside the pelican waiting for any scraps and sometimes land right on the pelicans head.
In the evening on Tuesday we saw fireworks over Panama City celebrating the final day of Carnivale.
Galapagos Bound
We finally got out paper work done on Wednesday morning and headed off for the Galapagos. We had to motor for 2 hours to get far enough away from land to find some wind. The wind was 12 to 18 knots and we made great time heading south out of the Bay of Panama. On route we caught 4 fish. 2 Benito and 2 Spanish Maceral. The Spanish mackerel were small and we threw them back. I filled the 2 Benito and they tasted great. Later in the day I hooked a big mackerel or sword fish, 2 jumps into the air and it broke the line. Since then we have had 2 more strikes but the line was broken almost immediately. Fishing is curtailed for the present time.
Barb who joined us in Shelter Bay prepared 2 wonderful meals of jambalaya that was enjoyed by all. We are currently headed for the equator which they recommend you cross at 84 degrees latitude or east of there. We have had winds from 15 to 25 knots and have been sailing along at a good clip of 6 to 9 knots. The forecast is for the winds to be good for the majority of our trip. We will let you know if the forecast holds true.
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
WOW We have gone through one of the 7 wonders of the World
Our remaining time in Shelter Bay Marina was filled with
trips into Colon and Panama City to provision for the next 7 weeks.
We started our passage through the Panama Canal at 6:39
PM local time upon our entry into the Gatun Locks with Maurice our pilot safely
guiding us through the rafting up process where we are tied to another boat OM
who also had No Regrets tied to her other side. A bit of trivia. A boat is always referred to as a she. We entered the locks behind a much larger
ship and had several boat lengths between her and the 3 of us rafted
together. We had several boat lengths
between us and the gates of the locks.
We also had to have 4 line handlers as well as a helmsman on board so we
had Abdel a line handler that was arranged by a local agent Teto. As you can
tell the canal has very strict rules that you must follow. Even though we are rafted to another boat and
only needed 2 people to handle lines you are required to have 4 just in case
for some reason you are unable to go through the canal as planned because one
of the boats have a problem.
On with the trip through the canal. Upon entering the locks 4 guys on shore throw
a line to the bow and stern of the 4 corners of the rafted boats. The ropes
they throw have a rubber ball on the end. The guys then walk along the side of
the locks as you drive into them. The
pilot of the center boat tells them which spot to tie the lines. We then feed the heavy lines up to these
canal workers who loop them over the cleat and then we tighten the lines on the
boat on our cleats. The gate locks close
and the water boils in moving the boat around. As we go up you tighten the line
to keep the rafted boats in the center of the locks. Each lock raised you 9 meters up. Once at the top the middle boat puts it in
forward and the pilot of the middle boat blows a whistle and you loosen the 4
lines and the canal worker removes it from the cleat. You then pull the heavy
line back onto your boat and the Canal Worker carries the lighter line while he
walks to the next lock. When he reaches
the stairs to climb to the next lock you need to hold the lighter line high so
it does not catch on anything. You then
follow the same procedure through the next 2 locks. The next 2 locks were much more turbulent and
the rafted boats moved further away from the wall we were against due to the
currents generated by the filling of the locks. After we were raised up the 3rd
lock (28 metres in total over the 3 locks) the Canal Workers just dropped the
lines into the water after removing the lighter lines they had thrown to us
prior to entering the first lock. After
leaving the 3rd lock in the dark we separated the 3 rafted boats and the pilot
boat picked up the pilot. We then
proceeded to a mooring ball where we rafted up to Capricho (a 56 foot catamaran
that had 3 levels).
Gaillard cut area
The next morning our pilot Oscar arrived at 6:17 AM and
we separated from Capricho and passed through Gatun Lake past the mouth of the
Chagres River into the Gaillard cut which was the most difficult part of the
canal to build in 1902 to 1914. Then
under Centennial bridge to the Pedro Migul locks where we waited. We rafted up with OM in the middle and
Coconut Woman on the other side of OM.
We entered the locks at 12:30.
The procedure was the same except we let the lines out rather than
pulling them in as the water left the locks.
It was a much less turbulent decent. The water just disappeared. The
lines were released and OM motored out into Miraflores Lake (about a kilometer
long) and into the next locks. There
were 7 boats in the locks together. Our raft of 3 boats and 2 other rafts of 2
boats each. Down 2 more locks and out
into the Pacific Ocean where all the boats separated. We then passed under the Bridge of the
Americas, our pilot was picked up by a pilot boat. We proceeded to Balboa Yacht Club where Abdel
was picked up along with the tires and lines we rented. We proceeded to the La Playita Yacht club
where we anchored.
The original plan was to head directly to Galapagos
Islands once we departed the Canal. Because this is Carnivale weekend we were
unable to check out in Colon so we are required to stop in Panama City to have
our passports stamped and to check out.
As we are waiting fireworks are exploding over Panama City. A real sight to behold.
Panama Canal Dredge Ship
Approaching Centennial Bridge-Panama City
Bridge of the Americas
Panama City from the canal
Sunday, 15 February 2015
Pictures from the Start of the BPO until now
Airplane landing in Porvenir, You can't anchor in line with the runway or the plane will hit the mast on the boat.
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| All the wheels are each controlled by remote control. Each one moves separately and can turn any direction. They are used to transport this huge gate to the lock into place so it will run on rails while floating to open and close the locks on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal |
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