Cattitude 17 May 2013
Cattitude
Gordon Tourlemain
Fri 17 May 2013 22:08
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Cattitude Position 02:54.9N
80:26.2W
Phew! What a start! After weeks of painstaking preparation, anchored in the polluted and foul waters on the banks of Panama City, the moment had finally arrived, and at 6:00PM Tuesday, May 14th 2013, Cattitude set sail for the Galapagos Islands. With all the food and fuel we could possibly carry, we were all more that eager to start our new adventure. Panama City had been experiencing a
serious lack of water. What was supposed to be the start of the rainy
season was instead characterized by day after day of hot punishing sun, running the city's reservoirs dry. Air conditioners were prohibited, schools and offices were shutting early, and everyone was wondering were the rain had gone... Well we found it!
After 24hours of fair weather, good
winds and following seas, the downpour started. Downpour would be putting
it lightly, beacuse for the next 24 hours it felt as if all the rain intended for Panama for the ENTIRE SEASON was falling on us! We had entered the Tropical Convergence Zone and sailed into a Monsoon Trough only 100 miles off the coast. Rain fell so hard that the scuppers couldnt keep up, and the fly bridge was quickly being converted into a wading pool. Watch after watch we were all soaked to the bone, our jackets not having time enough to dry between shifts. At first it was a nice change to the relentlessly hot sun, but pretty soon we had had enough. By Thursday night it had let up, and
although we are slogging slowly upwind, I think everyone is relieved to
have
some dry(er) weather. That's all for now, more exciting details to come! Love to all our friends, families and better halves, from the soggy surly seafarers of Cattitude. |