Full Crew
Blue Sky's Voyage
George & Michael
Sat 14 Nov 2009 17:33
|
Hello Friends
"9:33.8N 78:51.8W"
We're pleased to report that Alex
arrived on schedule last Saturday morning so we now have our full trans-Pacific
crew on board. The airport at Porvenir covers the full
length of the island where we picked him up and the plane stopped with a good 30
metres to spare before falling off into the sea... but Alex managed to retain
his composure! We waited until we heard the aircraft approaching before getting
out of bed and collecting him from the jetty just a few metres away -
possibly the most civilised airport pickup on the planet.
We're also pleased to report that Alex was
successful in sourcing the new Blue Sky camera - a Lumix FZ35 - with which we
hope to provide some great photos of the Pacific islands in due
course.
We had been running a little short of
supplies as Alex arrived, but just when things were getting critical we chanced
on a supply boat by the airport island and the following day, another supply
boat came up to us in our present anchorage. These shots show the grocery
shopping, Kuna style with Blue Sky Executive Chef George supervising the
purchases - on the left: the jetty at Porvenir island; on the right: tied up
astern of Blue Sky.
  So now we're OK for just about any fruit
& veg and of course fish and lobster. Last night we were pleased to
rendezvous with Petr on 'Endless' who very kindly provided several bags of
shopping delivered from Colon.
What else can we report? We eventually found
'Lisa' one of the few Master Mola Makers here in the San Blas. The cruising
guide describes Lisa as 'an infamous transvestite' which we think is a touch
harsh. The Kuna have no prejudice against gay members of their community, though
gay Kuna tend to fulfil the female role and dress appropriately and are good at
traditional female tasks like sewing molas. We were impressed with Lisa's work
and acquired several more molas as can be seen here.
 The 'scissors' mola was specially acquired
for Matt, who is obviously in need of a haircut now, but who is resisting our
suggestions manfully.
We've ordered a new anchor chain which is
coming from Florida and a new gypsy (the bit on the windlass which grips the
chain) from Sint Maarten. We're also getting a new AIS transceiver ** which
we hope will be of assistance on our ocean crossing and a new windmill to
replace our dead Air-X. But all that doesn't make for good photos, so here's a
typical view around Blue Sky at the moment. This was taken on 18x zoom
from a rocking deck, so the new camera is proving its worth
already...
(** AIS is the automatic radio
data-swapping system which is compulsory for larger vessels and which provides
vessel details and course and speed - it thus enables your instruments to
calculate 'closest point of approach' and gives the vessel name so you can call
easily by VHF if you're worried that the ship hasn't seen you.)
 We like this shot - it gives you a feel of
the gentle pace of life here and the gentle nature of the Kuna.
The next view from the stern of Blue Sky
shows you the tenuous nature of Kuna living - only a few centimetres above sea
level - though the fact that we're in an earthquake zone is more of a threat to
the islands than allegedly rising sea levels. I guess you tie the hammock a bit
higher on the coconut palm if you're getting wet.
 Finally we have to end on a sad note this blog and report
the recent death of Barbara Jiggins after a short illness. Barbara was one of
our much loved 'Golden Girls' who have visited us in Mallorca, Antigua, St Kitts
and this year in the BVIs - the most frequent visitors to Blue Sky. Barbara will
be sadly missed, but always remembered for the good times we enjoyed
together.
That's all for this blog, we hope the
weather improves in the UK (reports look horrid at the moment). We must confess
that the weather here is mixed and though it's glorious today, we have enjoyed
some days with truly impressive amounts of tropical rainfall... but you don't
want to see photos of that!
Best Wishes
George, Michael, Matt and Alex
|