Five Islands - Easter at San Andres

Easter at San Andres

Five Islands

John & Sue

Sat 30 Mar 2013 20:12

We have been here for 5 days and haven't done a great deal. The gearbox we had repaired in Panama started leaking a small amount of oil about 10hrs out of Panama. We had been sailing up to that point and hadn't noticed the problem. When we started the starboard engine a strange loud sound started coming from the prop shaft. We initially thought this might be a cuttless bearing, then that something may have wrapped around the shaft, but we now think that the stuffing box may have run dry (it is a seal that is lubricated with sea water) as we had been advised by Guido to clamp off the vent tube. Anyway, long story short, we could only run the Port engine for a few hours at a time and keep a close eye on the oil leak. We therefore had to rely on the sails. When the wind was favourable we were scooting along at 6-7 knots, at other times we were lucky to hold 2.5 knots. We are now trying to source a reconditioned gearbox from the USA and have it shipped here (there is a ship from Miami every week). The starboard engine seems to be running OK so if all else fails we may keep heading for the Rio Dulce where we can haul and get it sorted out properly.

We have walked around town a bit looking for parts for the outboard fuel line. It's a vibrant community and everyone is happy to offer a smile or a hello. We were impressed with the cleanliness compared to Panama, although the tourist strip at the front is better maintained than the streets back a bit. We leave our rubbish on the footpath late in the afternoon and it is collected over night. They recycle cans and plastic bottles. We found a quaint little restaurant not for from NeNe's Marina (where leave our dinghy for $2/day) called Laka Laka. We had fish and conch balls for lunch the other day, even though they don't open for lunch. Lovely people. The jet ski's, launches and party boats continue to move all around us. There is constant music and engine noise but we are getting used to it. The 'Pirate Ship' even circles around us so we can wave to the tourists. We went for a snorkel and found sand, a small amount of sea grass, no fish but thousands of sea urchins and 3 live conch. There were conch shells everywhere, most of which had been opened by humans. We were told that there was no fishing allowed in the harbour, but this apparently doesn't apply to the locals gathering conch. There are 2 other yachts and a motor boat anchored here with us so we had them all over for Happy Hour drinks yesterday. There were Bob & Elaine (USA) off Mar Azul (motorboat), Andy (Swedish) & Claudia (Columbian) off S/V Spray and Rene (French) off S/V Passim. Everyone spoke English so it was nice to here their stories and their plans. We will all be here for awhile for either weather or mechanical issues. The wind is due to increase again tonight and stay around 20 knots for a few days, so when it settles we will hire a golf cart and do a tour of the Island.