Still in Oriental

August 19, 2007 Sunday
Yes, we are still here. Oriental is a hard place to leave. On the surface, it's a sleepy little town, but underneath it's bubbling with social life. A lot of very hip folks have made this their home after they were done with the other adventures in their lives. So folks here have usually accomplished quite a bit and have the interesting stories to go with it. Many are sailors. We have discovered that it takes about 2 weeks to penetrate a social scene and our previous cruising was too fast paced for us to really get to know the locals. But having been here for a while, our social circle has been expanding geometrically. We could party every night of the week.
We have gotten a super-warm reception for our flamenco and are booked for a theater gig in February. But just playing at parties - we've never gotten such a response! I must admit, it's pleasant after the flamenco politics of the bay area.
I know we've said it before, but we really are planning to leave next week - taking the ICW up to Norfolk and then out into the Atlantic for a 2-3 day trip to NYC. We're going to take a mooring off the 79th St. Boat Basin. A quick dinghy trip ashore and we will be in mid-town Manhattan with buses and subways to everywhere. I'm looking forward to it and then later to sail on up to Cape Cod.
Feel free to write or call.
Here are the local dock residents at one of the BBQ/Potluck dinners that we have every few days. It's tough!!!
Here is the creek that runs by the marina. We rowed our dinghy down to where the rich folks have their waterside homes with docks. When I first heard about Oriental, these homes were going for $149,000. Not anymore!

Fleetwood Mac attack

8-11-07 Saturday,
Sailing gives you the opportunity to meet folks from all walks of life. The other day we were introduced to John McVie, bass player for Fleetwood Mac. I didn't realize that Fleetwood Mac had been a terrific blues band before they moved into mainstream rock. I've been listening to their early works now.

We had a great time talking to John about the old days of rock and roll.
John is the proud owner of a new (to him) Hinkley 53 sailboat. Hinkley is widely considered one of the best built boats in America.
Here we are on our bikes again in Jeff and Ellen's driveway. Who are they, you might ask? If you were here, you would certainly know them.

Still enjoying Oriental, NC

8-11-07 Saturday
We've made ourselves at home here in Oriental. There is an active social life here on the docks. We've been riding our bikes all over town. It is level, so a biker's dream.
Here is the road leading into the marina. Lots of trees and very little traffic. Folks drive very slowly here and always wave to you.
Here is a log cabin that we really liked.
And here is a very typical NC house right across the street from the cabin.
And here is a very elegant house along the street that fronts the Neuse River. Big lawns are very typical. I guess riding mowers are necessary.

We have become very comfortable here. It was very hot this week, but we finally got our air conditioner working with a new water pump. Now the cabin is cool throughout, not just our bedroom. The bug level dropped last week and I haven't been bitten in a while now. Yay!

Back in NC after a vacation in CA.

July 30, 2007 Monday,
We have been back here for a few days now and Andrea is getting her first look at Oriental. I'd say she likes it! We have met a bunch of great folks, both house dwellers and cruisers. Last night, there was a big potluck/BBQ on the docks. It's not hard to put our weight down for a while.
At the moment, we haven't at all decided where we are going to go from here. North is as close as we can get. NC isn't a total paradise - hot, humid, and buggy have something to do with that and air conditioning on the boat becomes critical for comfort. We have borrowed an A/C unit from a dock neighbor that fits over our forward hatch and cools our sleeping area. What a relief!
Our phone doesn't work well here, but our regular email does, so don't be afraid to write.

Oriental, North Carolina

Monday, July 9, 2007 Oriental, NC
While in Florida, I took on the revarnishing of the cabin floor. The old original finish had worn through and was stained with salt water. This is a shot of the original.

And here is the finished job. It took almost 2 weeks, given the heat. I had to strip and scrape back to bare wood and then build up 3 coats of varnish. I'm sure Andi was glad to not be around for this job and I was glad to be able to leave my messes out overnight.
Here is Saeta in her slip in Oriental, NC.

And here is a panoramic shot off our stern showing the incredible green woodlands, the Neuse River to the left and Whittaker Creek to the right. Double-click on it to make it larger.

Paul and I brought the boat from Historic Beaufort, NC after spending a few days checking out the town (sorry, no pix). We enjoyed the town, but found the restaurants pretty pedestrian. We are spoiled by the high level of competition in the San Francisco area. Here, the restaurants serve decent, but uninspiring fare. We do better cooking on the boat.
We took the boat 24 miles up the ICW through Adams Creek into the Neuse River and in short order were off Whittaker Creek headed for our slip. On the way in, I saw a bunch of crab traps off to port and thought they marked the edge of a shoal. So I moved a little farther to starboard. Oops. Big mistake. We went aground...stuck in the mud. There are no lunar tides here and so we couldn't wait for high tide to float us off. Since the mud was soft, the marina advised just "plowing" through it. So I put the boat in forward and gave it some power. The GPS told me that we were moving at 0.1 knots - not very fast, but still moving. It took almost an hour of "plowing" before we got back into the channel. After that it was easy.

I've now been here more than a week and Paul, a great companion, has flown back to Carmel, CA. In a few days, I will also fly to CA to join Andrea at a music camp called Sweets Mill. This is where we first met, so it is very special for us. We will do music for a few weeks and then fly back here.
We can get mail here addressed to us, care of:
Whittaker Creek Yacht Harbor
PO Box 357
Oriental, NC 28571
One of the differences we're finding here is there are thunderstorms most afternoons that produce a bunch of rain for an hour or so. It's starting that right now. That means things are very green. If this state weren't cleared, it would be wall-to-wall trees! But the humidity is high and the next month is going to be hot! I'm glad the marina has a swimming pool.
Don't be afraid to write.

Almost to North Carolina

Thursday, June 28, 2007
We have about 20 miles to go to get to the entrance of Beaufort Inlet. We've have a pretty idyllic sail for the last 320 miles from Florida. The wind was light as we left, but it was upwind which meant that a little wind moved us nicely and we didn't have any waves to speak of. We had two days of that and then this morning it got lighter and I turned on the engine. We could have sailed but there is a cold front coming through this weekend that I would just as soon avoid, so we motored for about 6 hours.

Now as we approach Beaufort, the wind has come behind us and strengthened. So we unrolled the jib only and are doing an easy 6.5 knots.
I made gambas al ajillo for dinner and they came out pretty well - a little too salty maybe.

We are going to have to make a decision about whether or not to enter Beaufort in the dark. If we don't, then we will have to sail around slowly outside the entrance and await daylight. If we go for it, we will have to blunder around in a strange harbor in the dark. Hmmmmm. We shall see. Stay tuned.

Update: I chickened out about entering the harbor in the dark. Decided instead to sail as slowly as possible to avoid getting there before daylight. We unrolled just a tiny bit of the jib and eventually even rolled that up, leaving us with no sails up at all. But with a 20 knot wind behind us, we still made 3 knots towards our destination, arriving just at sunrise. We entered along with a couple of big ships and found our way to the Beaufort cityfront. There is a lot of commercial business in the harbor, especially at Morehead City across the bay, but Beaufort is cute - kind of restored anti-bellum touristy cute. But there are lots of restaurants and shopping is right near the docks.

Paul got converted to the joys of iced drinks on this trip. He doesn't have a freezer on his boat, but quickly got used to really cold sodas, beers, and ice water. It has been hot and they really help. North Carolina seems cooler than Florida (or maybe just less humid). The wind is howling outside now and it's good to be in the harbor.

In a few days, we'll take the 25 mile trip up the ICW to Oriental, NC on the Neuse River. Paul will fly home from there and a few days later I will fly out to join Andrea in California. Stay tuned.

Back at sea again...

June 27,2007 Wednesday
Off the Georgia Coast - 31 degrees 23 minutes North and 79 degrees 51 minutes West. Yesterday, Paul Brocchini and I left St. Augustine at 1:30 PM. We have had steady winds since then and have been moving along nicely under sail. We are trying to get into the main axis of the Gulf Stream to take advantage of the Northgoing current. But, we still aren't there. We are going as close to the wind as we possibly can but can't quite get far enough East to intersect the current. But later today we surely will.
Boy do I miss Andrea's cooking! Paul and I are doing reasonably well but I have a whole new appreciation for what Andi does in the galley. It will be good to have her back in North Carolina.
So for the meanwhile, we are headed for Beaufort, NC where there is a nice deep and safe inlet to get out of the ocean. The whole East Coast has these inlets. Many are shallow and most of them have strong tidal currents, so once you go to sea, you will have to contend with an inlet to get back to land. In bad weather, many are closed. But Beaufort is always open.
Even at sea we have email so don't hesitate to write.

Still in St. Augustine for a few days more

June 22, 2007 Friday
I'm still in St. Augustine. Andrea is still visiting family and friends in California and I will be flying out to join her in July. In the meanwhile, I am going to move the boat up to North Carolina. I will be joined by Paul Brocchini who I met in Puerta Vallarta after the Baja-ha-ha. He is a great guy, which I knew the minute I met him. I'm glad to have the company and a good sailor.
Originally I had thought about visiting Savannah and Charleston - two classic ante-bellum cities. But, we can visit them on the way back South in the fall. I want to get further along. Paul and I will take the outside route - 365 miles to Beaufort, NC. We will go out to the Gulf Stream to pick up a favorable current and we should be there in 2 days. We'll hang around Beaufort for a few days and then take the ICW up to Oriental, NC - a little town of 875 people and 2,700 sailboats. Obviously, lots of people leave their boats there.
I will do the same when I fly back to CA. Andi will really like it when she sees it in July. A lot of cruisers settle there permanently. Here are some pictures:
I told you that I was varnishing the cabin sole. Here is how it came out.
There is lots of wild life here. Here we see a small egret who is sitting on our power cord to do his fishing. There are also large ones about twice his size. Every evening, a pod of dolphins feeds off our stern. There are SOOOO many fish here!
This is one of the streets in classic "old town" St. Augustine (America's oldest city)
I'll write again from North Carolina. Don't you be afraid to write.

Flakey blogging

June 3, 2007 St. Augustine, FL
Hi folks,
I've been told that my lack of blogging has created some concern about whether we have sunk. Not to worry. We're still in St. Augustine, or at least I am. Andrea is off visiting family and I am taking the opportunity to strip and refinish the cabin floors. This is the kind of job that goes much better with less people trying to walk on it. We have greatly enjoyed St. Augustine and are earning enough money with music to pay for our marina bills. There is nothing like traditional flamenco here and so I'm getting a good response. The dance community has just discovered me, so I'm going to soon be in the position of having to turn things down. There aren't any dancers like Andrea, though. She will find teaching opportunities here if she is interested.
So don't worry, we are fine. I'd enjoy hearing from you, of course. Otherwise, it's back to my sandpaper.

Flamenco in St. Augustine

May 18, 2007 Friday
Here are a few more pictures of the ICW trip.
A lot of the canals on the ICW have homes on them, most with docks.
But sometimes we go right through big cities like Daytona Beach.
Here we are coming into St. Augustine. This is the South Anchorage with the cityscape behind it.
No tourist town would be complete without a traditional sailing boat taking out day-trippers. This is Freedom.
They are rebuilding the most famous bridge, the Bridge of Lions. It was deemed structurally unsafe and so the city raised many millions to rebuild it instead of just replacing it with another bridge. It is one of the city's major landmarks and a beautiful structure. It will take several years to complete and unfortunately the construction is right next to our marina. Fortunately, we got another slip further from the noise and it isn't bad now.
One of the amazing things about this marina is that the currents through it can run up to 6 knots. At peak, the water roars past the boat. That means that every move has to be planned around the tides. On the other hand, the marina is totally comfortable and they are going to let us store our bikes in an inside room so that we don't have to leave them outside. Last night we were having wine in the cockpit with friends and about 8 dolphin were swimming off our stern, feeding on mullet. They would chase the mullet and catch them with a leap to our cheers. There are so many mullet that tomorrow I am going to take our dip net and net a few right under the dock. Sometimes they just boil all around the boat. I'm curious how they fry!
We have been marketing ourselves as flamenco artists with a very good reception. Last night we went out to dinner with our friend, Eric. In the process, we played at three different restaurants. The first was an "open mike" where we made the audience stop talking for the first time since we got there. Nice reception. Then we went to a tapas bar where we now have a gig lined up for tomorrow night. Finally we went to the local Spanish restaurant and stirred things up with them. I think we're going to see a lot of action. This town has lots of musicians. Hurricane Katrina caused a lot of New Orleans musicians to migrate here and they never left. But we don't have too much competition in the flamenco world. We hope to meet the local dancers to see if we can put on some collaborations. This is serious fun!
Late update: we got a regular gig at the Tasting Room, a splendid tapas bar and wine tasting. Just the kind of place I like!
We will be in St. Augustine until early June. I will be doing boat projects during the day and flamenco at night. Don't be afraid to call or email.

The ICW to St. Augustine

5-14-07 Monday
Here we are in St. Augustine, in a marina where we can stay a month if we want. The trip up the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) was a trip! Travelling in a narrow channel of water that is from 10 - 14' deep keeps you on your toes. Our keel goes down 6 feet, so if we get careless and wander out of the channel for an instant, oops! Stuck in the mud. There are markers (colored signs on posts) sticking out of the mud on either side of the channel, so all we need to do is stay between the posts, except that they can be more than a mile apart. Fortunately, we have electronic navigation and can see the channel on the electronic chart. There are two dashed lines that show the edges of the channel and a single dashed line down the middle. So, I put the little electronic boat on the centerline and keep it there. Mostly, we have to temper that with a little judgement by looking out at the real world, but the second morning of the journey, we had just pulled up the anchor in New Smyrna Beach and started through some winding channels. Suddenly, a dense fog descended and we couldn't see the markers at all. So, going very slowly, we just put the electonic boat in the middle of the electronic channel and kept it there. Finally the sun came out and we were able to speed up. But there is no time to not pay attention. I steer with the autopilot and electronic charts down below and Andi stays on deck to watch all around us. Fortunately, we didn't go aground.
But the bridges! There are two kinds of bridge over the ICW, fixed bridges with 65' of vertical clearance (the top of our mast is 60') and opening bridges. The fixed bridges are nerveracking at first because it never looks like the mast will fit under them and you are sure that there is going to be a horrible crunch. But it fits. The other kind of bridge requires that you call the bridge tender on the radio and request an opening. Mostly they do that just as you arrive and you hardly loose any time at all. But some of the bridges are restricted so as to not cause traffic jams. Those bridges mean that you have to drift or go in circles until the next scheduled opening. We are in a marina next to the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine and it only opens on the hour and half-hour.
Here is one of our first bridges, a bascule (lift) bridge.
And here is a swing bridge, the roadway revolves around a pedestal. These are rare.



Do you think it will touch? We finally got used to it.
In the fog in New Smyrna Beach, this egret stood out. (Double-click to enlarge)
There are many beautiful estuaries that can be explored by dinghy, but not by the big boat.



It was an adventure. It's good to be here. Our cellphone works again because we are in the US, so you can call us any time you want. We're going to find some flamenco gigs in the next few days and start on some boat projects. I'll put up some more St. Augustine pixs soon.

Stalled by Andrea

May 11, 2007 Friday
We are still in Port Canaveral at the yacht club. There has been the first named storm of the season, sub-tropical disturbance Andrea off the coast of the Carolinas and slowly drifting South. This is not a hurricane since it started in cold waters, but it is a rotating storm around a low pressure. The winds in the center never got much above 40 knots and now are around 25 knots. But this has been enough to keep Florida weather unsettled and windy. I am reluctant to go poking around in the shallow waters of the ICW for the first time in strong winds. Ergo, we have remained in the marina and have partaken of a virtually non-stop run of parties hosted by the Davidsons. We were delighted to meet David, an English guitarist who accompanies cante and dance very well. We had a great deal of flamenco fun (to say nothing of good food and companionship).
Every morning we get up and check the weather and every morning the forecast changes from possible to not-any-fun. We are getting tired of getting our hopes up and then finding out that we can't go. Tomorrow is currently forecast as light winds and so we are planning to leave early. If we get in long days, we can make St. Augustine in 2 days. And that is handy, since a new cold front is forecast on Monday. But, we can't know for sure until tomorrow morning when we check the forecasts yet again. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

On the brink of the Intercoastal Waterway

May 5, 2007 Saturday
We are tied up at the Port Canaveral Yacht Club, a very friendly club. We actually got to hose the salt off the boat and are enjoying 110 V AC electricity. What luxury - at a considerable cost however, like all transient marinas in Florida. They charge what the market will bear. We have been visiting with Bill and Fran Davidson (the guy who distributes the flamenco DVDs) and talking about old times, playing guitar, etc.

We have decided, due to forcast bad weather in the Gulf Stream, to take a try at the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) that is a ditch running from the Northeast to Texas. It provides sheltered water (and frequently shallow water), but takes us through the heart of cities and through sleepy coastal villages and isolated anchorages surrounded with wildlife. Many folks travel up and down it every year to adjust the climate to their tastes. We don't want to see any hurricanes up close, so we are going North. We'll probably go fairly quickly up the "ditch" and then take our time coming back down next Fall. Boston is probably as far North as we want to go. I have always wanted to see the famous yachting centers around Martha's Vineyard, Block Island, Newport, etc. And I think that sailing into New York Harbor would be memorable. I can't imagine what slips cost there?

So we bought a bunch of charts and guides to the ICW and I have been studying hard to learn all the new skills needed. We will go through another lock just a few miles from where we now are and between here and St. Augustine, there are about 8 bridges that will have to be raised to allow us to pass. We have to call the bridge tenders on the VHF radio and ask for the span to be raised. That should be interesting! The channel in the ICW can be quite narrow and only about 8 - 12' deep. That means you have to pay attention to where you are or you drift out of the channel and get stuck in the mud. There are a bunch of channel markets on posts all along the ICW, so you pay careful attention and hopefully don't get stuck. Our boat is 6'-2" deep, deeper than most powerboats, so we have to be especially careful. Just in case, I bought an unlimited subscription to TowBoat/US - a good investment since just one tow would cost more than a whole year's subscription. And with 1000 miles of ditch up the East Coast, most folks get stuck at least once.

So in a day or so, we are going to move the boat up to Titusville where Bill Davidson lives. He will join us to provide a little local knowledge and we will put up some pictures of the ICW. We didn't put up pix of the Gulf Stream because it was just more water....

Cruising Florida

May 3, 2007 Wednesday
When the weather got favorable, we had to tear ourselves away from Key West. We had a 42 mile run up to Marathon that was easy enough. We anchored outside the harbor rather than try to fit our 6' keel into a 5' harbor. Actually, it is probably deep enough, but we are California kids where harbors are at least 18' deep and then there is a little bit of 200' and then it drops off to 2000' deep. We don't think much about how deep it is. Not so in Florida. As we ran along the keys in Hawk Channel, a deep spot would be 20' and much of the time it was more like 12'
The next day, we left Marathon early to do the long 92 mile day up to Miami. To get there before dark, we used the sails and motor. We don't like entering strange and shallow harbors in the dark. So we were roaring along at 7.75 knots in 11' deep water. We could see the grass and sand in the crystal clear water. After a while, we got used to it. Just before sunset, we arrived at Key Biscayne, felt our way through the shoals, and anchored in a cute little harbor called "no name harbor". It is maintained by the Park Department and had a nice little restaurant with a lot of Cuban things on the menu. Given the staff (Cuban) it was no surprise. We spent an extra rest day there.
And now, we are out in the Gulf Stream heading North with 3 knots of current boosting us along. The wind is light, so the waves are mellow. I like mellow. I also like to see more than 9 knots of speed on the GPS! We are going to take a slip at the Port Canaveral Yacht Club for a few days to hang out with some flamenco friends there. We were sorry that our good friend Miguel Ochoa is having a medical crisis with his kidneys and was hospitalized when we got to Miami, so we talked to his wife, Carla, on the phone. It wasn't the visit that any of us had hoped for. Now that we are pretty convinced that we will stay on the East Coast for the next year, we are going to be looking for flamenco performance opportunities. It should be pretty easy.
Don't forget to write.

We love Key West!

4-26-07 Thursday
Here is a shot showing the turquoise water at Isla Mujeres.
My old buddy Jeff from work came down to help us get the boat to Florida. Here we are waiting our turn at the fuel dock. After we left IM, we didn't take any more pictures due to the rough crossing...until we got to....
Key West where we found a guy from Toronto who juggled a running chainsaw, a large knife, and a hand grenade!
Then he lay down on a bed of nails and had Andrea stand on him. This is sort of representative of our week so far.
This town is amazing. My son describes it as a drinking town with a small fishing problem. There are about 30 bars and many of them have live bands, good ones! We anchored out in the middle of the harbor for free and so feel a little better about eating and drinking all we want. It is very lively - sort of like New Orleans, just as rowdy, but "whiter".
This weekend is the anniversary of the establishment of the Conch Republic. It seems that in 1983, the locals got upset with the federal government and seceded from the union. They then declared war on the United States and shortly after surrendered. They then requested foreign aid. The government ignored them, which made them feel that their secession was legitimate, so now they have their own flag and a few volunteer officials. This weekend features a big sea battle between the local schooners (of which there are some beauties!) and a Coast Guard Cutter. This will be at sunset tomorrow. Saturday there will be a drag race - folks in drag pulling beds through the streets. Unofficial high-jinks will go on everywhere. The bars normally close at 4AM. I don't think that we are going to be leaving for quite a while.

Key West

April. 23, 2007 Key West, FL
We anchored here at Key West just after lunch following what could not reasonably be called a pleasant passage. It's funny, when I did the run from the Yucatan to Key West in 1980, it was just as nasty. We downloaded all the weather and it showed an easterly wind to 15K. I wasn't real keen on that as it was going to be wind against the Gulf Stream, which always makes the seas short and steep. But, we had a crew available, Jeff Martin, from my former place of employment. Jeff is a keen sailor and all around good guy, so we were glad to have his company, but the schedules of land folks always seem to bite you in the butt. So we didn't get to wait for southerly weather, we left.
Then the weathermen failed us - instead of 15 knot winds we had 20 and above. That little change was enough to change rough and uncomfortable into very rough and very uncomfortable. We had 10 foot seas with steep troughs in between. Ugh! And then it shifted so that Key West was directly upwind. At that point, we decided to motorsail and eventually just took down all the sails. We weren't going very fast, but we were going where we wanted to go. It was a long slog uphill until we got to Key West. Poor Jeff, it wasn't anything like the sail we had from Colon. But he is a good sport and a delight to have around, so I hope it was worth it for him.
One piece of new technology really worked for us and greatly reduced the possible stress. Our AIS (Automatic Identification of Ships) receiver put a picture of all the passing freighters on our electronic map on the computer screen so we could see the name of the ship, it's course and speed, the closest point of approach and the time to closest point of approach. Then, if we were frivolous, we could look up their destination and cargo. You can't believe how nice that is. There you are in the middle of the night and there are lights out in the darkness that can only be ships - and there are three of them. You're not really sure which way they are going until they get a lot closer. Now a sailboat isn't all that visible to the big boys although we run our radar and thus make a big picture on their radar screens. So we are always afraid of being run down. Now, we just call them on the radio to make sure they see us. It makes a huge difference to know the name of the ship so we call, "motor vessel Texaco Maru, sailing vessel Saeta calling". In seconds, the captain is back and we can talk about how we can avoid one another. It is so lame to call out "to any large ship off Cozumel" - usually nobody answers.

I just ran ashore in the dinghy and turned Jeff loose to get to his airplane, but Key West looks VERY cool. I think I am going to like it here. The marinas wanted $2.50/foot/day and so we decided to anchor. We are 5 minutes from town, so I don't mind. Considering what we saved on a marina, I don't think Andi will complain if I take her out for oysters at the raw bar on the wharf! Who knows, maybe we'll stop by for lunch at the clothing-optional lunchroom? This looks like a lively town. Wish you were here. We didn't take any pictures at all.

Leaving for Florida

April 19, 2007 Thursday
We are leaving for Key West in the morning. I'm typing this on our "new" computer. Our friend Jeff that I used to work with came down today to join us for the sail to Florida. He got a used Sony computer off Craigslist for $375 and we took the hard disk from our old computer, stuck it in the new one and voila - it worked. We had all our navigation programs all configured and working again. Most happy camper here!
We enjoyed Isla Mujeres although we had little time for tourism. It will be interesting to be back in the old USA. We're looking forward to Key West and it's craziness. Then we'll head up to St. Augustine which is charming and far enough from South Florida to be affordable. The megayachts have driven prices out of sight to the point that a night in a marina can cost from $75 to $125 for a small boat like ours. For those prices, I expect to have the bed made every morning and find chocolates on my pillow. We're hoping we can afford to live in the USA. We'll see.

More canal pictures...

When we were up-locking, we got to tie to a tugboat, which is really easy. You just use it like a floating dock.
Here we are coming into the Pedro Miguel Locks at the same time as a big freighter.
I made a panoramic picture out of 6 individual shots. When I put them together, the picture looks as if there was a big curve in the lock. Actually, it is straight, so you have to adjust the view in your head. Double-click on it and it gets a bit bigger.
These days, the Koreans are building mega-container ships that are as big as the canal will hold. Here is one of them that went through just ahead of us.
Our canal advisor, Rudolfo, was a terrific guy. He spoke good english, which made everything easy. He is a tugboat captain most of the time and fills in helping yachts through the canal the rest of the time.

Canal Pictures at last!

Here is some of the stalwart crew of linehandlers as we left the Balboa Yacht Club to start the adventure.
And here is the Miraflores Lock as seen from the inside. You may remember that wall with the name on it from a previous picture of Andi and Elinore having cocktails at the restaurant just above it.
When you are down in the locks on a small yacht, they look pretty imposing. You can see the turbulence as the locks begin filling with water from the level above. The lines need to be very tight to keep the boat from being pushed around.
These little locomotives are called "mules" and our canal pilot tells us that they cost several million dollars each. They haul the big ships along the locks. Obviously, little us didn't need their services. Four men holding our lines did the job.
This is either the Gaillard Cut or the Culebra Cut. I was so busy that I didn't get it straight. Thousands of laborers perished in making those cuts, thanks to yellow fever and malaria. There was a terrific museum with old movies and photos of the construction. What a job!

At Isla Mujeres

April 16, 2007 Monday
We got into Isla Mujeres in the wee small hours Saturday morning after a 5-1/2 day passage and carefully (nervously) found our way into the harbor. The Gulf of Mexico is typically shallow for people used to the deep waters off California. A deep spot in this harbor would be 14 feet. So we came in seeing 8 feet on the depthsounder a few times, which makes you a little nervous when you are 6 feet deep. Thanks again to electronic charts, we drove the little red boat through the deep spots and got ourselves anchored. The next afternoon, we came over to El Milagro Marina and ran aground trying to get into a slip. There is a sandbar just off our stern and it took lots of help from the local cruisers to get us pointed into the slip. When it's time to leave, we are going to use our dinghy to drag ourselves out stern first.
Isla Mujeres is a big change. First of all, it's cool! And dry! For the first time in a long time, I don't feel the need for a shower every hour. Of course, we are now 20 degrees North instead of 8 degrees North. Yesterday, a Norther came through and it blew 30 knots for a few hours and 20 knots much of the day. Northers happen every time a bubble of cold air comes down from the central US and into the Gulf. To get to Key West, we are going to have to find a window between Northers. That is 341 miles, so we'll need a little more than 2 days clear.
Another big change here is the cruising community. There is a lot of Texas and Southern twang in their voices, but they are very friendly and helpful.
We still haven't taken the pictures out of the camera, having chosen sleep over all other activities, but today we are more active and promise lots of pictures with the next post. We have quit a few projects on our list for today, including officially checking into Mexico. We have internet for a few days, so write.

The end is in sight...

April 13, 2007 Friday
We should make landfall at Isla Mujeres around midnight tonight. We have had a grand sleigh ride for the past 4 days with the wind behind us. We haven't run the engine at all except for dodging a squall the first night. This has been classic trade-wind sailing...and fortunately, the winds have been mellow but strong enough to move us well.
We have been surprised that we haven't seen many signs of life. We saw about 5 big ships when we were off Honduras, but absolutely no small craft of any kind including shrimpers and trawlers. The banks we crossed were supposed to be rich with sea life but we didn't see any fish feeding and strangely enough, there were no birds. I saw ONE bird several days ago. That's it! I didn't bother fishing because we didn't feel like messing with fish cleaning, etc. Other than one visitation of dolphins, we have been very alone out here.
We enjoy the informal nets of cruising sailboats that meet at 9AM on the HF radio. We talk to cruisers all over the western Caribbean and it's nice to know that someone is monitoring our progress and waiting for us to check in. We participated in nets in Mexico, Panama and now here. We meet a lot of people that way.
Once we get to Isla Mujeres, we are going to do some serious sleeping (and in the same bed). Standing watches hasn't been too bad for the two of us. The autopilot does all the steering, so it is just a matter of trimming sails and watching out for things that might go bump in the night. Still, we only have a few hours each day to hang out with each other. Andi has cranked out some great meals in spite of the challenging motion and last night at 3AM she crawled into a locker to grease the steering cables because big old me couldn't fit. She's amazing. Anyway, we're going to take some sacktime and then ready the boat for the next leg to Florida, which isn't really very far at all. Our friend Jeff is coming down to do that leg with us, so life should be even easier. If the marina prices aren't too expensive, we are going to take a slip and enjoy being on shore, including some tours of the pyramids.
We'll leave Isla Mujeres on the 20th. We'll try to get caught up on our internet work including putting up the pictures on this blog. We can't send those over the radio like this text message. Best to all of you.

On passage - going North rapidly

April 12, 2007 - Thursday
Sorry to have been so quiet for the last several days - we spilled coffee on the navigation/email computer in the middle of the night and effectively killed it. It took several days to get email working on the other computer - but we're back!

Here is the computer in better days showing us going through the locks of the Panama Canal.


We left you with me whining about being wet. Well that was pretty much the end of the rain and since then we have enjoyed classic trade wind sailing with winds that go day and night from the same direction and the same force. I haven't touched anything for more than 24 hours. Right now we are sailing dead downwind with the jib poled out on the spinnaker pole on the opposite side from the mainsail. The autopilot steers and we read, cook, write emails, fix things, and practice our singing.

We have 260 miles to go before we get to Isla Mujeres and so should be there in about a day and a half. We have been doing 150 to 180 miles per day, which is quick for a 41' boat. One night we averaged 10.5 knots all night long - with a little help from the Gulf Stream. This passage is more than 1100 miles, non-stop.
This is a view out of our "bedroom window" showing the beautiful blue color of the gulf stream - very different from the bottle green of the Pacific. Normally, our porthole isn't under water, but when a wave comes along, it buries for a few seconds.

We've seen a few ships, but otherwise little sign of life. We had a dolphin visitation yesterday and this morning I saw a bird, but that was it. One thing that has surprised me. I haven't seen a single shark since we left home. I used to see them around Catalina all the time, but not anymore. We saw a crocodile in the Panama Canal - that was exciting. He was big!

We're looking forward to some "dock time" at Isla Mujeres and, if we get time, will do the tourist thing and go see some Mayan Pyramids. We really like Mexico. Don't forget to write.

On passage - joys and travails

April 10, 2007 - Tuesday
We are just starting our 3rd day at sea. The first day didn't show much progress, but was easy enough. Our destination was directly into the wind, which means that we had to tack (zig-zag) to get there. But the waves were mellow and the wind was 12 knots, which is comfortable and fast enough.
The next day the wind started shifting (as predicted) and by afternoon, we were pretty close to our desired course. But when the sun set, we began our battle with squalls. A squall is a mini-thunderstorm with more wind, rain, and sometimes lightning. We can see them on the radar and visually, a dark black cloud with rain coming down under it. So for a while we dodged them, but finally they were so close together that we just had to sail on and take a pasting. We saw some amazing lightning - one group of flashes were right off our stern and were followed by thunder that sounded like the sky was being ripped. Most of the lightning was sheet lightning, but we did see a few bolts as well. We saw several that started up from the water into the cloud. The bolt was fat and pulsed about every second. The whole discharge lasted about 5 seconds. I don't ever want to be anywhere near that kind of energy! And the rain! Torrential! If we needed to trim the sails, we had to go outdoors and got soaked. Even in our "leisure suits", it was inconvenient. It got to where everything was wet. We kept tracking water in and out and a few times we left ports open by accident. It all resulted in a very large collection of wet stuff. The period from dark to midnight was one of the most loathsome nights I have ever spent at sea. Then at midnight, we sailed out of the rain and the trade winds started coming from a better direction so that we could go directly and quickly to our destination. Nice sailing! So the 2nd half of the night was really quite nice.
Today the wind has been favorable and the speed good. We have had some rain at times, but have made a lot of miles, averaging between 7 and 8 knots! For land people, that is good. We are in the Gulf Stream now and are getting a small lift from the current. Tomorrow, the wind is forecast to come behind us, which should let us get a bit more comfortable. Going upwind is a little like being an astronaut; you move from handhold to handhold and the motion is always trying to spill your drink. Getting the waves behind us will be grand. In the meanwhile, I dream of being dry - I mean Really Dry.

We did it! Into the Atlantic.

April 8, 2007 (Easter)
Yesterday we finally made it through the Panama Canal. It was an easy trip. The hardest part is usually the upward locks because water rushes up from the floor of your chamber from the one above it and that causes lots of turbulence. That doesn't bother a ship, but little yachts sure notice it. But we came throug ih the Miraflores locks tied alongside a tugboat, which worked like a floating dock for us. We rose up alongside them without having to do anything but take pictures.
After we got through the 3 locks going up we had to race through Gatun Lake in order to get to the Gatun locks in time to lock down. Fortunately, we are very fast under power. Even our Canal Pilot was surprised at how fast we were. We had a team of 5 line handlers and a canal pilot in addition to the two of us. Andrea had to provide food and drink for all those folks as well as treats for the tugboat crews. She did a marvelous job as hostess and the crew commented that it was a special trip for them as well. We did a little flamenco along the way and basically had a good time. After we finished, Andi surprised them with shots of tequila and the crew left us in a very good mood! And the Moroccan Chicken dinner she made didn't hurt any either.
The downward locks were easier due to less turbulence, but by that time it had started to rain. Yes, the rainy season is definitely starting in Panama. It wasn't too bad while we were locking, but by the time we were putting the crew ashore, it was pouring.
Still, it was a very pleasant day with memorable scenes. We'll post some pix when we can get to the Internet.
Right now, we are about 20 miles off Colon on passage to Isla Mujeres, Mexico. That will be a long trip and Andi's real offshore baptism. Until now, we've stayed out overnight a few times, but mostly went from harbor to harbor on daytrips. Now we have to cover 800 miles in one shot. There are lots of islands where we can seek refuge if the weather gets bad, but the weather predictions are uncommonly good at the moment. So we will try to get away from Colon and then turn left, putting the Gulf Stream behind us all through the Yucutan Channel. That should give us a lift of 2 knots which is a lot.
We'll let you know as we go along. Don't forget to write.

Let's try a new ocean - Panama Canal Time!

March 30, 2007 - Friday
We've been here at Balboa Yacht Club for a few days now, just downstream from the Miraflores Locks of the Panama Canal. We've been running around getting cleared into the country and getting the paperwork started for us to transit the canal.
Here is Elinore steering us down the main channel with a strong cross current. Mom is giving lessons.
This is what we see from our anchorage - the name seemed interesting as well. The ship traffic is fascinating.
We went up the Miraflores locks to see how they looked up close. Here is a ship locking down to Pacific sea level.
The canal company has a very nice restaurant overlooking the canal - very pleasant way to watch the ships.

We are scheduled to go through the canal on April 6th but our agent is trying to get us an earlier date if possible. We don't really want to go through on the 6th because that is Good Friday and we are concerned that by that time, things are really closing down for Semana Santa, at which time the country comes to a stop. We'd like to not have to find officials on a major religious holiday - but, we'll go through as soon as we can and take what we get. Then we'll shove off for the Yucutan Peninsula, Isla Mujeres. Elinore will be flying out on Monday because of much unfinished business/new job interviews in San Francisco. The indefinite nature of our travels does not give her an easy schedule. We will let you know what our actual transit date is so that you can watch it on the webcam if you want. www.pancanal.com is a site with 3 webcams that update every 20 seconds or so and give you a dynamic view of the ships passing through (and hopefully us).

Never disrespect the weather gods

March 25, 2007 Sunday
We left you yesterday, feeling good at having passed the dreaded Punta Mala. We weren't able to sail to the Perlas Islands as the wind shifted and put them directly upwind, so we turned for Isla Otoque. We had originally selected that destination as it was easy to get into after dark. The wind got lighter and all afternoon we enjoyed smooth seas and light winds. We must have gotten a little overconfident. At sundown, we decided to have a little celebration for Andi's birthday. We got out a bottle of Foxen Syrah that we had been hoarding for several years, a special Spanish chorizo, and other treats and laid them out on the cockpit table. After several glasses of wine, Andi got reckless enough to propose a defiant toast to Punta Mala. Within 5 minutes, the wind came up into the 20 knot range (plus) and the seas started to get lumpy. There she was in her party dress, mopping up spilled wine. The party was cut short by the need to tend to the sails. Soon the seas had assumed the classic Gulf of Panama washing machine configuration. Saeta would rise over one wave and as she came down the back side she stuffed her nose into the next wave along and then did that several more times at which point her speed was down from 5 knots to 3.5 knots. The 5 knots was already slow because we were pushing a terrible current going the other way. But 3.5 knots is seriously slow. At that rate, it was going to take us forever to get to the anchorage - and it did! It took until 11PM until we were anchored and that evening period was the worst conditions we have experienced since leaving California. Fortunately nobody got seasick - in fact, Andi and Elinore sat at the table down below playing cards for quite a while. But the seas were short and steep. Miserable, with the boat pounding and pitching. Not dangerous, just unpleasant. I don't mind getting a little beat up if I am going fast and I don't mind going slow if conditions are pleasant, but getting beat up and going slow was too much!
We found our way into the anchorage at Isla Otoque using the miracles of modern navigation. Our radar could see all the surrounding islands and the semicircle of our chosen anchorage. That exactly matched up with our electronic charts, so we drove the little red boat on the chart down the dashed red line, right into the anchorage and dropped the hook in the shelter of the island.
This morning, we awakened to a lovely anchorage in calm conditions. We decided that we would enter Balboa on Monday morning, giving us an extra day to rest up and decompress. The ladies decided that they would rather celebrate the big birthday in the fleshpots of Isla Taboga which is so close to Balboa that the anchored ships reach all the way out to the island. So we motored over to Isla Taboga, which didn't have nearly as nice fleshpots as the guide books tried to lead us to believe. However, we had a nice filet of Corvina lunch. Now we are back on the boat and the ladies are playing cards again, much to the consternation of one of them who is not showing her usual winning form.
Panama is much cooler than Costa Rica - I wouldn't have expected that since it is closer to the Equator. But the Humboldt Current that comes all the way up South America from Antarctica discharges into the Bay of Panama, bringing much cooler water. We can still swim in it - it is maybe 75 degrees, but that is a far cry from the 94 degree water of Golfito. We slept under sheets last night. I'm wearing clothes again. I think I like Panama.

Running fast and hard

March 24, 2007 - Saturday
We've been too busy to write much ever since Elinore, Andi's daughter, arrived in Golfito. We should mention the wonderful cruising community we met at Golfito. We had some fun parties and dinners. It does sorta pay off to stay in one place for a while and get to know people. It was great, in spite of the heat and humidity of Golfito.
Once Elinore was there, we set about clearing out with all the officials and then had an overnight 142 mile sail to Isla Coiba in Panama. We spent a night there and then did a 50 mile day trip to Ensenada (Bay) Naranjo. Again, we didn't hang around other than to have some great meals and to enjoy samples from the cases of duty free wine that we bought at the Panama border. The next night we did another 50 miles to arrive at Ensenada Benao, the last harbor before going around the dreaded Punta Mala. There we ate a tuna that we caught in the morning, ending our long fishing dry spell.
The weather forecasts for Punta Mala were all favorable, so at 0400 this morning we pulled up the anchor and started around. It wasn't bad at all. We were pushing a current that was slowing us down 1.5 knots or more, but at least the seas weren't their usual "washing machine" style. It was a little lumpy, but not bad.
So at the moment, we have passed Punta Mala and are on our way to the Perlas Islands. We are crossing the shipping lanes, but no ships are in sight visually or on our instruments. After a night in the Perlas, we will check into Balboa and start making arrangements for our canal transit. The word among the cruisers is that the Northbound transit can be arranged and started within a week, especially if we use an agent (which we probably will). Stay tuned. Oh yeah, don't forget to write.

Still in Golfito

March 16, 2007 - Friday
Sometimes life seems like an uphill climb. We were trying to get out of Golfito so that we could meet daughter Elinore in Panama. But we were waiting to our Ship's Document to arrive by mail. And we waited. Finally we decided that we would check the post office ourselves. It turns out that, the package being to big to fit in our marina's PO box, the clerk just threw the letter into a file drawer. And it had been there for A WEEK!
So since we have been so roundly delayed, we figured we might as well wait until Elinore gets here and then leave for Panama. But of course, Customs is closed on Monday, so we have to wait until Tuesday. That means very few stops in the islands of Panama. If the weather is good, we will have to be moving. At least, if the cruiser net is correct, the wait to get through the canal is not very long if we are going North. So we can make up some time there.
So what about Golfito. There is a very nice, if small, cruiser community here and we have enjoyed the company. We've been doing flamenco some. What is unique about Golfito is the heat and humidity. The water is around 90 degrees and so is the air. It has been raining in the afternoons for the last week, so the rainy season may be starting. We are told that, once we get around the corner into Panama, the climate will change again. It will get cooler and dryer. Oh, darn! Here are some more pix.

Here is a typical Golfito waterfront scene.
And here is a church with a creative use of one of the two staples of construction, corrugated metal.

Golfito

This is a view we see a lot - kicking back in the cockpit and reading. We have gone through so many books. In the heat of the day, we are not disposed towards physical activity.
Here is Golfito looking back towards the center of the city and the old banana piers. About 10 years ago, United Fruit pulled out of Golfito and it became a ghost town for a while. Now it is making up the slack with tourism and other ventures.
This is the little marina where we are now staying - well, we're renting a mooring and using their showers and book exchange. We stayed in a slip in the big fancy marina next door for 3 days and enjoyed electricity and fresh water washdowns for the boat. But, those marinas are corrupted by the big sportfishing boats, who seem to have no concern about the price of things.
We had only planned to be in Golfito for a few days. Well, our fuel tanks are full and we have loaded up on groceries, but we still can't leave. We are waiting for our Ship's Document to arrive in the mail - a mail famous for it's slowness. The Ship's Document is issued annually by the US Coast Guard and it is impossible to enter or leave a country without a current version. Ours has expired, so until the new one gets here, here we sit....