This is my first post from Puerto Lindo, Panama. It’s a sleepy little anchorage, very remote. At night the howler monkeys can be heard throughout the anchorage and during the day the birds create enough noise to drown out the occasional dinghy motor passing by. It’s pretty isolated, but I like it. I inherited a mooring ball here when I purchased my boat, so there’s no slip fees and it’s more secure than simply dropping an anchor.
This is the beginning of the rainy season, and it’s called that for good reason. When it rains, it pours. Bucketfuls. I’m learning quickly about the dangers of leaving the hatches open when I leave the boat. Enough about that though – here’s what happened yesterday.
Back Onboard NOMAD
Yesterday was a day full of change. At 9 AM I was picked up from my hotel by the mechanic who was sent to fix a water-pump on my starboard engine. I grabbed groceries on the way, and we made it to Puerto Lindo around noon. A short water taxi ride later I was home – onboard my sailing catamaran NOMAD.
I can’t possibly explain the feeling of stepping foot on my boat. It felt great. Better than that. Awesome. Finally on my boat, for good. The mechanic asked me how long I’d be in Panama. “Permanente” was my reply, which clearly wasn’t what he was expecting.
Luckily the rain had abated for the water-taxi ride out to my catamaran. With everything onboard I began making the rounds. For the most part everything was how I left it. The mechanics had clearly played with my watermaker, and since I’d pickled it while I was gone – that made me a little unhappy. No worries though.
On to the water-pump.
The mechanic (let’s call him Johnny) installed the new water pump incorrectly first time ‘round. The second time he got it right, but it became apparent that the water pump was the wrong model. So he re-installed the old one (which he claimed was faulty, I saw no evidence of this). During the installation it began to rain. Water in the engine compartment caused a short, and after some trial and error Johnny decided there was an issue with corrosion in some of the electrical components on the starboard engine. Needless to say, that wasn’t great news.
Johnny fiddled with the electrical stuff for awhile, blowing a couple of fuses and taking apart some other components by the cockpit. Long story short, he failed to fix it and told me I needed several new components and should also replace the wiring. Of course, if one engine component is bad – the other likely is too. At the end of the day I had the original (faulty) water-pump on my starboard side engine and I was no longer able to start it. When I arrived, both engines started flawlessly, the only fault being a minor leak in the starboard engine water-pump. After the mechanic left; my starboard engine was inoperable, I was short a couple of fuses, the faulty water pump was still on the engine, and he was claiming I needed a ton of new electrical components and new wiring.
While the mechanic was busy breaking various parts of my boat, I aired up my dinghy – it was almost flat. This wasn’t easy as my pump was a massive piece of crap, and I lost some skin figuring it out – but I got it done. Eventually I dropped the mechanic off and I was alone onboard. It felt great.
Yesterday I had suitcases and luggage scattered around my boat. I’m wasn’t in the mood to unpack, so I didn’t. Instead I made a rice curry, poured a Cuba Libre, and enjoyed the night aboard my boat. Being the rainy season here in Panama, I got the privilege of watching a spectacular lighting show – thankfully nothing close to the boat. The lightning makes you feel alive. Today though, I unpacked and started cleaning the boat. Clearly the previous owner and I have some differences of opinion as it relates to cleanliness. Make no mistake, I hate cleaning and have lived in some really nasty places (Iraq comes to mind) – but I can’t make out why anyone would leave a boat this disorganized/unclean.
All this said – I’m finally really excited about what’s in front of me. To date, there has always been some huge task looming in front of me that kept me from enjoying the moment. That’s not the case anymore. I’m free. And it feels great.
Some point next week the mechanic will come back out with a variety of parts and hopefully get everything under control. Once I get the basics knocked out, I’m leaving for some sailing. San Blas? Or all the way to Columbia? Truth is, I don’t know – which is exactly the way it’s supposed to be.
PS – this is my view as I write this. Not too bad, huh?
Back Onboard NOMAD
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