Cental America
And Back
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The Highly Unlikely Impossible VoyageAs we were preparing to leave the island nation of Curacao a thru-hull cracked open. It was a miracle we weren’t 300 miles at sea when it happened. The repair bill cost us all of our Canal transit fund. We are very lucky to have very good friends that helped us once more to get us back on track and the trip to Panama was back on. We felt truly blessed. We also couldn’t help but ponder what the Universe might be trying to say? Then… the trip to Panama was mostly difficult. There was no wind for the first 4 days, but a lot of waves. Then… way too much wind... from the bow of course. The waves grew into impressive growlers, with just the right amount of roll to scare me. Our wind instrument and auto pilot failed in the first half of this voyage to Panama. The fuel tank clogged in the 2nd half. After 8 days of a 6 day trip we landed in Portobelo and we were feeling extremely lucky to have made it to Panama. (The full story here: https://svashika.weebly.com/the-caribbean/curacao-to-puerto-rico ) PortobeloThen… we went in search of internet data for our phones, where, for the first time in our world cruise we were foiled. We haunted the store until they found a cure. Later that week, as I grew older and more grey, we acquired “H” internet which is not 3G, 4G or 5G, it might be 1G. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dois. We were finally able to call our canal agent only to discover he no longer worked there. Quit, fired, absconded… pick one, I didn’t dig deeper although he did contact me on his way to Brazil. I wished him a happy life and then fired the agency for hiring him in the first place. Then… our new agent said that our transit date would be set at least a month or maybe more out. Then… the cost to transit the canal was increased, mostly because we didn’t arrive sooner but also because the first agent did not mention all the fees. Shelter Bay3 days later, while we were considering another change of plans, our agent called to tell us we were offered an extraordinary transit date set in just five days. But then we wouldn't have enough money because our payday was in 9 days. If we didn’t take this date, we would not get a date until April. Then our friends helped us again. More than luck, lots of love. Then we had to find 3 guests who wanted to cross the canal with us working to handle the lines. Gratis. Then we had to make sure we had enough food, drink, bedding and beds for extra people that would likely be on board for 2 days. Then we had to get a slip in Shelter Bay Marina to take on crew and long canal lines (rope). Then miracles started coming fast; our agent told us we scored a 1 day transit slot. Then we had 2 savvy sailors volunteer to be line-handlers. And then the third volunteer confirmed he was on his way. Gustaf is from Belgium and is a solo sailor. He left his boat at anchor in Bocas Del Toro then took trains, buses and taxis to reach us in time. He is planning on bringing his boat to the Canal for a crossing in the future. It was an honor to have met him and a real asset aboard. Ethan is from Florida, 19 but skilled beyond his years. He will be crewing on a trans Pacific voyage later this month. He was a joy to have around, helping where ever needed. And he was a monster in the galley, even surprising me with a clean galley after a major mess made by moi! He’s currently working on his Captain’s License and I have no doubt he will succeed with honors. Then we had our 3rd volunteer and it was a Trifecta! Simon was a computer software engineer from Germany and currently backpacking around Central America. He made huge efforts to make it to our boat in the nick of time. Although he didn’t have much boating experience, he was an incredibly fast learner and a valuable addition to our team. Most of the spectacular photos for this blog are made by him and Gustaf. Simon found out that Gustaf was going to trek to the top of 11,400’ tall Baru Volcano in Panama and signed on as trail mate. All three of our volunteers were absolute miracles! Roy was a bonus line-handler from Panama. His father was our agent. He was very professional and worked well with our Advisor. Roy’s presence meant I was free to keep everyone fed and hydrated. Nice. I think we won the Advisor lotto too. Very kind and on top of everything. Our agent and Roy, our 4th line-handler arrived at 4am and delivered the (pretty blue) long lines needed to reach the canal walls. Then we were pulling out of the slip.. turning sideways from current in the most compromising way. I thought “this is going to end before it even starts”. Then… Dois pulled us out safely, missing all boats by at least an inch. It’s a dark and rainy night and once in the fairway Dois started hollering for “direction“. When I heard him say he couldn’t see and we were in a narrow S turn channel, I tried to be his eyes on deck. We missed a million dollar bowsprit by another inch. How many near misses do we get? In the Beginning…And then we had an Advisor on board and we were now a full boat. We were still waiting for our raft up boat, a catamaran. We worried about the raft up for a few reasons;
Another break! Our Advisor was informed by the Canal Authority that the catamaran dropped out because of a faulty engine in one hull. I hope he gets it all worked out, it could have been us. But now Altair Leader would be the only boat joining us for the canal transit. And we would not have to raft to him. The first Gatun Lock came up fairly quickly. There would be three Gatun locks and 3 MirraFlores locks. Ethan made a huge fruit salad. Thankfully. I had cooked up a pound of bacon and 18 eggs and it might have been enough when paired with the salad. There were no leftovers. Gatun LakeMiraFlores LocksReleased into the PacificThe Bridge of the Americas and our Circumnavigation Goal Post
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Frick & FrackAshika and crew are still in Ensenada. Thats the Lun II leaving port for Europe. She's a 100 year old boat that had been left here to die and a few folks with vision fixed her up and they are sailing her to where she was built in Europe for her birthday. They have gone through the Panama Canal and apparently the first mate went ashore and cut his foot (perhaps broken glass?) on the beach while in the Carribean. It was serious and he couldn't sail. But Lun II couldn't leave without him due to immigration issues. So the Lun is late getting to the Azores. Hope the hurricanes go around her.
My next update will include some before-and-after photos of Ashika's "manny/peddy". Her paint and varnish was really showing her age. I'm just a bit overwhelmed by how much we've taken on. Dois took on the outside and me, I thought I was getting the good end the deal by taking on the inside. Hmm... Dois may have noticed there are miles and miles of teak down here and tiny little holes in the walls for ventilation (also called port holes). He's so smart that way. Merry MerryShould I apologize?! Well, maybe yes, maybe no. Yes, it’s almost been a year since my last blog update, so perhaps I do owe an apology to my faithful band of Ashikalites. But hanging out in a slip does not an adventure blog make. I mean, I really do not think you want to hear about our mundane dockside existence, even I find it too boring. That is unless you want to hear me gush on (and on) about the cutest and smartest grandchildren on the planet. Just drop me a note if you do and I will oblige. So let me be brief on the missing year: Hurricane size waves followed us up the California coast. We stayed in Oceanside Harbor waiting for more normal conditions.Ashika's Coconut Milk RunNOTE; I published this blog under the Central America heading by mistake. Since I cannot figure out how to republish it under The South Pacific heading… it will stay until further notice.We expected our voyage to the islands of the South Pacific to be day after day of perfect 15 knots of wind to match perfect rolling seas. We envisioned long peaceful days with nothing to do but read, pull on the strings and eat all the delicious meals I had provisioned for the journey…errrr….eeeekkkekk screech!!!!! That film did not play.
The morning breeze was from the north, as usual right on the nose, but nice and light. Unfortunately for us, It did not last very long... it got bigger and steep waves converged to create the old washing machine effect. We changed course from Isla San Benito on the outside of Cedros Island to going inside that Cedros for the protection it offered. Just when we started to feel the calming effects of our late decision, we spot a Mexican Navy ship speeding towards us. Great. I have a fishing line out but my license to do such activity had recently expired, but that wasn't all.
Turtle Bay; where all roads are dirt and lead to more dirt. The surrounding hills and mountains are quite barren, hardly a cactus growing there. The winds blow ceaselessly through this dusty town, leaving cinder block shacks with a layer of soft dirt. It's the largest natural bay in Baja and the only thing probably stopping it from becoming a very busy port is water. There isn't any fresh water for hundreds of miles away, it must be trucked in. The thing is, I can’t figure out why this town appears to be in the middle of a financial boom.
It was beautifully sunny though, helping to warm our tropical bones from the chilly Pacific breeze we were no longer accustomed to. Ginger was treated to a huge school of dolphin who joined us during our second morning at sea during a welcome lull in the weather.
We think our fate will be somewhat less dramatic. The forecast is calling for Blanca to dissipate before reaching our neighborhood and so those are the laurels we are resting on. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there has never been a hurricane to hit the Baja Peninsula the first part of June in recorded history. Ever. Dois says that it’s like waiting for a bus that’s coming right at you, full speed and the driver is supposed to slam on the brakes just before he hits the bus stop. It may be dumb blonde, but I have faith in the bus's brakes.
We were all ready to go, decided to check the weather this morning one last time. If the forecasters are right, this will be the first ever hurricane to hit Baja in the first week of June. Back in the 50's there was one that hit in the last week of June. The worst news is that we don't think we will be able to actually leave La Paz again until June 5th or 6th. Hopefully the above forecast is just wrong. Hopefully it doesn't make a right hand turn and visit La Paz.
UPDATE: They were right. Peace. This is Ballandra. You can actually drive to this beach so it's not exactly desolate, but I don't mind sharing a place this gorgeous. We climbed a sand dune and found a lagoon on the other side with a deep blue hole. What an amazing surprise. This kind of beach is Ginger's paradise. She ran to the end, jumped in the water for a swim, then ran to the other end, repeat.
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