So I’ve managed to have the last of my credit cards stolen/misplaced, break my Mac, finish some remaining boat projects, and we even took a couple of days to sail to a nearby beach and hang with the locals. Fun times. For the foreseable future, my ability to post decent pictures and do real writing is going to be hampered. Bear with me.
The Last Few Days
After we got the last of the major boat-projects knocked out, we took off to Playa Blanca. There we anchored S/V NOMAD in a calm, picturesque anchorage. The sail was relatively uneventful, with some fair chop and one of the greenhorns getting pretty seasick. We managed to hit 8 knots with four people onboard, too much spearfishing gear, full fuel tanks, an additional anchor, and water. I’d say that’s fair performance for 37 + foot cruising catamaran.
Dropping the anchor isn’t nearly as stressful for me anymore. Now rather than dropping a 44 pound Bruce anchor, I’m dropping a 60 pound Manson Supreme. That extra 15 pounds makes a huge difference. Backing down on the Manson Supreme makes my bow drop, where as before, backing down on the Bruce often drug the anchor. In addition, I added a bunch of rope to the end of my anchor chain which helps me not worry about dumping all of my chain. All in all, much more confident anchoring. Confident enough now that I can sell my mooring and move my home base from that dreaded Puerto Lindo (Isla Linton). I’ll miss some friends, but it’s way past time to move.
There were some hiccups to the anchoring. The largest one was that someone put out fishing lines and then I completely forgot about them until I was backing down on the anchor. That ended in lines in my props. I can’t tell you how frustrating that is, but I should have seen that one coming. Regardless of who put the lines out, it was my responsibility to remember to pick them up – and all of this sitting around in Puerto Lindo made me a little rusty.
Onshore in Playa Blanca
By pure coincidence, the day we’d chosen to go to Playa Blanca was a local Holiday. So the locals were out in force. The good news is they were fairly intoxicated and all in a good mood when we arrived. So when Josh decided to scale a tree, install a rope swing, and rappel back down – they immediately begin feeding us whiskey. Their method left nothing to be desired, as they sent their best English-speaker (conveniently their prettiest girl) to pour whiskey straight from the bottle down our throats. We appreciated their style.
We gathered coconuts, ate some food, had some smoothies, and then went for a dive. I can’t condone drinking and freediving, but it does happen from time to time. And we manage to put fish in the boat.
Calm
The locals were gone. As soon as it began to get dark, they head back to Portobello. So, at night, things are calm and peaceful. It’s kind of a nice thing for a couple of days – socialization during the day and peace at night. Josh and I were both beat. We fell asleep when I was supposed to be grilling.
Luckily the girls figured out the grill and managed to cook a big spread of beef, pork ribs, sausage, and even some tamales (real ones, not Mexican tamales). It seems as if I’m spending time between two extremes – being immensely spoiled and being deeply tried. After some thought though – that’s fine with me.
Best Laid Plans
Josh was hoping we’d be headed to Bocas. I was too. We both actually completely and totally planned on it. But the family is coming in for Christmas and the committee spoke and I was overruled by my family. What happened, after looking back on it, is pretty strange – my family, with no real investment in my boat, the work on it, or my voyage – overruled me and my crew. Considering me and the crew had an immense amount of work (months) and money invested in the boat, it’s hard to really comprehend how that happens, but it does and it did. It will be great to have the family aboard and show them a little bit of the lifestyle. I’m looking forward to it, and consider whatever sacrifice to be well worth it. But the whole exchange was a stark reminder of how different the average American mindset is than what is required for a real cruising/voyaging mindset. The difference couldn’t be greater. And, again, even when crew comes from America – it becomes clear that there’s a real adjustment period.
So when I broke the news to Josh that I wasn’t going to be taking the boat to Bocas, the dissapointment was obvious and he quickly arranged to head to Bocas via a bus. Honey was headed to Columbia. My friend from Panama City had already headed home. So the boat was going from 4 people to just me. I was planning on heading to San Blas for the sake of the crew, but with now crew onboard I could now tinker with the boat at my leisure and head to San Blas when and if I felt like it. The relief was immediate, and I realized then how much additional pressure crew adds.
Without crew onboard, I’ll have to (again) relearn the art of cooking and cleaning after myself. I won’t have people to pass tools to me. I won’t be able to leave the boat and have things continue to progress. But I will have some pressure lifted. I’ll get back into a healthy routine, and I’ll have the kind of peace that you can only have when you’re alone on a boat in the middle of a third-world country in the middle of a remote anchorage. For short periods of time, this is priceless.
And then, I may have the opportunity to test my single-handing skills. If I have the chance, it’ll be a really gratifying experience to sail around San Blas again by myself – purely self-sufficient.
The Last Few Days
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