San Blas to near Haiti for Mike and UK hospital for Kate

Happy Birthday to Hannah for 1^st April

We’ve been incredibly lazy and just hung around here for a week, The fridge thermostat has given up responding so having to get up every 2 hrs or so to switch the fridge on manually for 20 mins!

Exciting text from Charlotte to say she and Chris had got engaged on holiday in Egypt. Lovely news, we are both very pleased and Kate can’t wait to get back to celebrate with them in the summer.

On morning of 6^th we awakened to engine noises and realised a French boat, Ninamu had gone aground in the night. Mike went to help and after much ingenuity and engine they got her off. We were later invited to lunch with them, fab fish tagine and met the family Florent, Leila, Maya 4 (“et un demi!”) and 7 mth old Mateo. They have been living in Tahiti for years and been sailing for a while stopping at Martinique to have Mateo last year. We had a boozy lunch with them and left deciding they were definitely PLU! Happy Hour ashore that evening and a rum cocktail/ guacamole/ popcorn bash back at their boat afterwards cemented the friendship, definitely PLU or in French, GCN!

My birthday the next day and a card from Charlotte (very forward thinking!) unlike her Dad who hadn’t managed even a card! He did bake some birthday bread tho – but forgot to put the candles on it! Ashore to pick up loads of ecards and Facebook birthday posts, thanks all. Skype with Hannah and Will and Henry later made my day.

Local Kuna have spent the last 2 days slow roasting a pig over their BBQ for Easter. Smells delish but suspect its for themselves as there are loads more of them than the usual 4 on the island.

Mike took our windlass motor apart but its dead, we spent an hour taking the boat apart looking for the spare we thought we carried but eventually worked out we’d only bought spares not a replacement. So he had to pull the anchor up by hand. Knackering. Good sail to Green Turtle Bay where there is a half-built unmanned marina so we didn’t have to use the anchor.

Went looking for Nakesa  to see if they still need us to linehandle for them through the canal. Instead we found the lovely French family on Ninamu. Managed to order yet another windlass motor from UK and a fridge thermostat from The States, hopefully they will arrive early next week.

Motored up to the Gatun dam, which is there to stop the canal emptying into the Rio! Lots of monkeys swinging in the trees at sunset and making an amazing noise. No croc sighting yet!

Happy Birthday Pete! Mike, up early, (there’s a surprise!) managed to get some fab photos of the sunrise monkey parade and also got to see green parrots and a massive fruit bat.

Moved back to the marina to seek out Nakesa but their transit has been delayed another couple of days. Kate’s arm beginning to be a cause for concern, surgeon thinks it might be fractured so told to splint it and try not to overdo (!) use of it. Nakesa still happy for us to line-handle in their canal transit so I designate myself one-armed photographer! Croc spotted in marina!

Finally, Nakesa is underway to transit Panama Canal, pics say it all

The start of works for the next canal

We got a taxi back to RT having said our farewells and wished Nakesa fair winds, by which time, Kate is feeling increasingly unwell and arm continues to inflame.

Mike takes over writing the blog.

After a disturbed night and brunch Kate sets of for the airport by taxi and then straight to hospital. I set off at noon after fuelling, just to get out of the marina. A fickle breeze takes me to Portabella. Boat seems empty without Kate; I do hope she’s ok on the long flight back.

Much cooler and mossy-free unlike the marina, a good nights kip. An easy day preparing for the trip back to UK and waiting on news about Kate. Fanny texts with the news that Kate is back in UK and on her way to the hospital, flight must have been on time – huge relief. Got as far as Linton Island and the wind died. Big surprise to find Ninamu at anchor. Got an invite for sundowners, which was very nice.

 One of the old Spanish forts built at Portabella to protect the harbour, which became the main departure point for the Spanish bullion fleets.

Set off at first light and quickly settled into a good sail but not for long. Huge amounts of rain for the next 20hours. Horrible, really appreciate my early birthday present (new sailing trousers), of course I now know how much my jacket leaks!  A lost swift (?) - could have been related to Capt Jack Sparrow of RT1 fame- spent the night onboard and set off again at first light, he’s now a long way from land….

A better day but no2 reef line has broken, and the B&G has stopped talking to the Furuno! But it’s dryish.

Sun out this morning for the first time since I left Colon, thought I’d try the new lure and very soon had the largest tuna I’ve ever caught. Cut off enough steaks for at least 8 dinners and the rest went over the side. Tuna with everything. Decided to reach off to Cartagena to sort out no 2 reefing line.  Anchored and accosted by “agent” who you apparently have to employ. Told him to come back in the morning.

 Up early did all the jobs and out by 0800hrs, A nice sail up the coast and then a bit of a motor to get into some wind. Good PM sailing. Kate has first of 5 ops, this one to drain away the infections.

By daybreak the seas and wind had built to such an extent that I’ve come off the wind some, and after an hour we have a full gale - not forecast – and so I run off which is a great shame as I’m losing all the ground to windward that I gained these last few days. And of course it’s raining heavily again. By PM the wind has eased somewhat and we can make some progress in sort of the right direction.

Steady winds at last, caught up with some kip. Now able to make the Windward Passage but its tight, should have been a fast close reach but for yesterday’s strong winds. Even a bit of sunshine, can’t be bad.

First light brought sight of the coast of Haiti. Wind died as I closed and engine soon on. Motored until the evening and then the wind came in along with loads of rain. Wind died again by midnight. Still waiting of news of Kate as she is being transferred to Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore today ready for op to remove elbow tomorrow.