Panama....Panama

Starcharger
Sun 31 Jan 2016 18:12
Where to start...
"09.22.014N 079.57.035W"
Yesterday at 2.30pm, exactly nine days since we left the Customs Dock in Jolly Harbour, Antigua, we sailed through the breakwater into Christobal to the sound of Van Halen playing "Panama" on the stereo. The end of a journey and the real start of our adventure!
We sailed all the way and used all our sails (except the storm jib). I think in most combinations.....
Both foresails poled out either side, both with the mizen and without.
Goose winged with mizen, main and Genoa
Reaching with all three white sails, then we added the mizen staysail. And the cruising Shute...
Oh and just a reefed jib.
The wind ranged from 8 knots to 41 knots (Force 3 to Force 9). The seas from almost flat to four metres!
But the highlight was the Dolphins... We had a number of sightings twice with pods of around 50! Once in fairly rough seas we saw the Dolphin Display Team in action! Three or four would leap out of the front of waves two or three metres above the trough. One did a barrel roll, one a back flip and several did forward somersaults. Just awesome!!
The low points....
The Hydrovane lost a bolt and we had to hand steer overnight...
A diesel jerry can came unattached and fell over spilling diesel on the aft deck...
And one night while Gill and I slept we got slapped by a wave side on and the boat swamped.... Now I know the perceived wisdom on heavy weather sailing, baton down cats, hatches, wives etc. but it is nearly 30 Celsius. Therefore we had the hatch over our bunk cracked just a little open and the hatch from the cockpit to the galley open too. I awoke to watch a waterfall pour through the open crack, leapt up and run on deck through the torrent of water heading into the galley. The cockpit was still full of water and I assumed the drains had blocked, no just that volume of water takes a while to dissipate. Poor Brad and Karen looked like drowned rats! Now in the marina everything is being washed in fresh water and dried... Not a nice experience though!
But all in all we had a fantastic time, the excitement coming through the breakwater was amazing. We are really looking forward to heading out into the Pacific and exploring the world.
With love
Alasdair and Gill

+1758 520 6961

Sent from Alasdair's iPad