Last days in Bocas
AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Tue 30 Oct 2012 20:56
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We spent some extra time in the marina fitting equipment from
Marine Warehouse in Florida that had arrived in our absence as well as some of
the considerable amount of gear we lugged back in our baggage from the UK. We
switched from halogen lighting to LEDs which have made a big difference to our
electricity consumption onboard. Larger drains were installed on the rear
platform - no more puddles.The primary fuel filters were changed and the diesel
injectors, removed for servicing before we left, were refitted. What a
difference that made! However, working in the tropics in summer is hard work and
progress was slower than anticipated - thus the extra days tied to the dock. The
'Admiral' placed a massive order for provisions from someone operating such a
service for cruisers from the mainland with the delivery arriving by truck on
the Bocas ferry. This was a hit and miss affair as much of the order was out of
stock or they sent the wrong items. We revised the next order but fared
little better so gave up after that. Still it did save a lot of leg work walking
around town with shopping bags. Amongst other tasks a trip to the top of
the mast was also required to fit the new Raymarine windvane brought out from
the UK. It actually works! Then there was the cleaning whilst we had copious
amounts of fresh water......
  Impatient to go cruising again...............but
we need some provisions first
One particular job that took up too much time was a repair to
our chest fridge. It had been shut off on leaving the boat and mopped out.
We were dismayed on our return to see water lying in the bottom. It was
sponged out but the next morning it was back again and on closer inspection it
became apparent that the bottom of the GRP box that forms the fridge had
developed a small crack from a void in the lay-up. This meant that the
insulation foam beneath must be waterlogged and therefore ineffective. There was
only one remedy and that was to cut out the area beneath the void and see what
was going on. Sure enough, the foam was saturated and the start of a week long
project commenced. Purchasing a can of foam from the local hardware store along
with resin and GRP mat our resident laminator set about hacking out all the
sodden foam and drying out the area before attempting to pump more foam into the
one cubic foot of space which was now dry. The project also included adding some
drainage at the bottom of the fridge as it's always been a tiresome job sponging
out the residue of condensation that collects over time.
 
 The soggy area exposed and cleaned out, with the
void that caused the problem in a moulded divider slot and the new foam being
applied
Off course our erstwhile Skipper is truly a 'Jack of All
Trades and Master of None'. This was confirmed when he pumped too much new
foam under the existing fridge floor from under which he had excavated the old
sopping wet stuff. With no structural strength to defeat the
progress of the frothing foam the floor bowed upwards despite the use of
diving weights strategically placed in anticipation of such a
problem. This meant having to hack out the top inch of new foam
to get the floor straight again. The next ploy, to avoid a repeat bowing
performance, was to fill an old mop bucket with four gallons of water and
place that on the floor in the fridge. This worked perfectly until, when lifting
the bucket back into the fridge following another application of squirty
foam, the bucket handle gave way. At a height of 2 ft, the
depth of the fridge itself, the bucket hurtled down into the fridge
exploding water everywhere. When water could still be heard flowing through the
fridge floor Phil realised that the bucket itself was now fatally flawed with a
huge crack. A further gallon of water leaked over the newly
applied foam and down into the bilge locker below where various tins and
spares were quickly soaked through! The bucket, now gushing water from the
crack, was lifted out and passed to the 'Admiral' of the Red (face) to dump
it overboard. Eventually, after much hard work and 'encouragement' from the
'Admiral' (who had freshly
acquired cheese reserves sitting in
a friend's fridge) ours was up and running once
again.
Phil continued with his duties of net controller for one day
each week both on the VHF Bocas Net and the SSB (Single Side Band) Southwest
Caribbean Net. He also resumed his daily music trivia section on the VHF net as
this had become very popular throughout the Bocas area. Socially, being in the
marina made it easy to reach the bar for happy hours. On the last weekend before
leaving the marina we gathered up as much boat junk as possible and attended the
Swap Meet (Flea Market) which was also held at the Calypso Canteen in the
marina. We had another successful morning taking over $100 whilst clearing some
much needed space in lockers that were crammed with items not being
used.
  A profitable Swap Meet, lots of local
'Dirt-Dwellers' and cruisers in attendance all buying up lots of our rubbish -
but we couldn't shift our 2nd spare anchor
One sad aspect of this period in the marina was saying
goodbye to Frankie and Roger on Infinity who were leaving their boat
and flying off to Australia via the USA and UK to visit their family and
friends. Frankie has been fighting cancer for over a year whilst still living on
the boat in the marina and the Panamanian doctors had given her the all clear
which was celebrated at the time by all with a big pot luck coinciding with her
Birthday and their wedding anniversary. Sadly, the cancer has returned and has
spread, so bravely Frankie has opted to see her family in Aus while she
still can and will then decide whether to continue treatment after that. She is
one very brave lady and Roger a most supportive husband. We wish them
well.
On a happier note, with the boat disabled at the dock we were
invited with other cruising friends on a day excursion to Rana Azul's - the
restaurant in the jungle some 12 miles from Bocas town. Eileen Farrell
is a converted shrimp boat which Lorenzo and Joyce have adapted for cruising. It
was a fun day heading out in a 60 ton steel shrimper with its big thumper of
a two stroke Detroit Diesel hammering away below deck burning its one
gallon of diesel per mile. We had a great day - but oh! the fuel bill
Lorenzo!!
  Look - no wheel. They just use an autopilot
knob and leave an idiot in
control
Rana Azul's in sight
!!
  Err - what are we actually looking at
here? The Eileen Farrell
lies to anchor off Rana Azul's dock
It's amazing that in a place like Bocas we are privileged to
be able to listen to live music of quality (mostly good) and from musicians that
are passing through on their travels around the globe. One Friday evening at the
Calypso Canteen we had a great night listening to a local group of musicians
including our very talented Saxophone playing friend Shannon and featuring a
musician from Africa who had brought his Cora which looked like a cross between
a harp and mandolin and had a great sound.
  That's a Cora he has in his hands!Looks like a
large scale baby's rattle if you ask me - but these two enjoyed the
evening
We also attended a re-naming ceremony on a Lagoon
catamaran. It had been for sale for a while in the marina and had been
bought by a family of five to spend a 10 month sabbatical cruising the Caribbean
before returning to Florida to sell it again. They invited the local cruisers to
attend, duly splashed a liberal amount of champagne over the bows until the
protests became too strong from the gathered mass who couldn't bear to see such
good stuff going to waste. Later in the bar they cut a re-commissioning cake,
handed round some very acceptable sangria and the next day were back to their
refit work with Ajaya exchanging a fresh water pump for some
dollars as theirs was not functioning correctly.
  I name this boat ........................ Hey,
whoa, stop - that's good drinkin' stuff going to waste there
!!
Finally, on Saturday 13th October we limped out of
the marina. Limped because, although the engines were running superbly, we
had not dived on the hulls and props whilst docked as the water in
that vicinity is not particularly savoury. Had it been blowing more
strongly we could have had some issues with propulsion as in fact we had very
little! Once anchored it was on with the hookah system and into the water for 3
hours of hard work clearing the props of the barnacle infestation. No wonder we
were struggling to make any progress. We were on a time limit as the next day we
were due to take our good friends Jim and Laura off to Rana Azul's for
Oktoberfest celebrations.
   That's 'live' music (printers
error?) this was the
'life' music....... and some of
the many enjoying the day
Oktoberfest was a fun day but we agreed it wasn't quite the
same as a usual Sunday gathering as the hosts Joseph and Maria were kept so busy
behind the counter. There was a live band playing on the grassed over swamp in
the restaurant garden. Despite Joseph's best efforts at erecting awnings a
rainstorm developed forcing the musicians into frantically rearranging them to
prevent electrocution from the amps and instruments. The spit roasted pig and
lamb meal was indifferent which was a shame as it's usually first class but with
the usual attendance almost doubled you couldn't be too
critical.
We left early and went back to Ajaya with some more
friends where an impromptu party broke out, the rum was broken out, and later on
in the heat of the festivities Shannon's nose was nearly
broken! It was truly bashed hard due to the sheer excitement of
our guests bopping around to the music. That soon quietened everyone down as
tissues were quickly dispensed to deal with the flow of red stuff.
  Pole dancing 'Laura style' and Air Guitar 'David
Gilmore style'. Did we have some sore heads (and noses) the next
morning. Yep!
We were back at Bocas anchorage the next day and it was
back on with the hookah gear to finish cleaning the hull ready for the
anticipated motoring trip 200 miles to the San Blas islands. It was time to
leave 'Crazy Bocas' with its wonderful personalities and begin our new cruising
season back in that tropical haven of sandy beaches fringed with palm trees -
most peoples idea of what cruising paradise should be.
So, what about Bocas. We were never looking forward to
spending time there. The water's murky, lots of bugs, not many beaches to walk
and not the best choice of food in town - but the people are what make it
what it is. A great social life, a good place to spend time and meet the local
ex pats who are the friendliest we have met anywhere in our travels so
far.
The view from our marina
berth.......
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