Dear Family and Friends,

 

We are some 90 miles North of the island of Aruba off the Venezuelan coast, approaching the western Caribbean sea where all of the Easterly winds pile the sea up against the Panamanian coast in the semi enclosed Colombian Basin. So the swell is becoming quite challenging, following advice for this area we are keeping well off shore in 2000-3000m of water to avoid the worst of it. It is hard whilst below deck not to get slammed into the fittings (more attractive black/blue colouring!), sleeping was a battle last night, so we will be using the lee cloth berth which gives a hammock like security until we reach land again.

 

Our attempts at fishing continue to be a dismal failure! Having loaded a higher breaking strain line, we still lost another lure, probably to Sargasso weed, which has dogged our course since about half way across the Atlantic. This light brown weed lives in large mats (and individual clumps) on the water surface, travelling with the wind and current, piling into the windward Eastern bays along the Caribbean islands, sometimes until they are quite clogged. Some has made it east of island chain and unerringly finds our lure. Anyone with any tips of sea fishing?

 

We were visited by a pod of porpoises yesterday, quite suddenly they were rushing to play in our bow waves from all directions, swimming close to the surface and faster than our 6 knots, they can weave and turn with such speed. With one accord, as though the end of playtime whistle had been blown, they were all gone. Being shorter and stouter than Dolphins their movements quick and darting, they remind us of kids having fun.

 

The sun is shining, the sky blue and the sea goes on and on, especially at the our rate of travel, it feels nothing like February. Our ETA at the San Blas Islands is around lunch time on 25th February, we are currently about half way.

 

All our best to you,

 

Lynne and Alan