So I’ve delayed a post similar to this for about two weeks.  The truth is, I have a ton of respect for entrepreneurs and know how tough it is starting and running a business.  I also believe that informed consumers help move us all forward.  And finally, I don’t know how many folks this will really help.   With all that said, it’s time to shed a little light on an irresponsible business owner down here.

Mechanic vs. “Mechanic”

It’s been a hell of a couple of weeks.  But I should have known it was going to be this way.  Bringing it back to the day I left the boat in Panama, for my final month in the States…

Getting the boat shut up for a month leave was pretty stressful for me.  I wanted everything to be right so I didn’t come back to a complete mess.  I did pretty well, me thinks.  But it didn’t matter – I came back to a mess.   One that’s stuck with me.

 

The Watermaker

I spent some time learning the watermaker with the previous owner, and brought some of the cleaning and pickling compound down with me from the States.  So when I was ready to leave (in May) I carefully pickled it – ensuring that it wouldn’t grow any organic life inside of it.  If you don’t pickle a watermaker and leave it for a bit – it’s pretty damn gross.

Well, when the “mechanic” I hired to seal a hatch and change belts/oil came down – he decided he’d use my watermaker (without asking or telling me about it).  Normally this wouldn’t be a huge deal.  But in this case he really screwed me.

First – he ran all of the pickling compound from my watermaker into my water tanks (and out of my watermaker).  This caused two problems – a) my water tanks were now contaminated and b) my watermaker didn’t have  the pickling compound in it anymore.  The water tank was also left open, with my rainwater catch hose in it.  The whole freshwater system on my boat was a mess.  I fixed it (I think) by flushing it a few times, making multiple trips to shore and back with huge water jugs.

The second issue – un-pickling my watermaker – wasn’t really noticed until day before yesterday.  I left the watermaker alone until I had time to really work on it (I didn’t want to un-pickle it yet) – and right now my focus is on engine wiring.  So – when I finally had an extra set of hands onboard to help me flush and then service (replace some O-rings) in the watermaker, I went down there.

First thing I noticed was the growth.

Not supposed to be green…

The second thing I noticed was that the wrench set I was having trouble finding was hidden under the watermaker.  Third (and by far most expensive) thing I noticed was the geyser of water spraying out from my watermaker when I turned it on.

That crack = geyser inside the yacht

Here’s my theory:  the “mechanic” went down there to turn on the watermaker.  He turned it on (thereby flushing my pickling compound into my water tanks) and then noticed a leak (which I was going to fix with the new O-rings) and decided to tighten the bolts on that connection.  The issue with that is that overtightening them can damage the high-pressure housing (right term?).  And that’s what he did – he over tightened the bolt and cracked my $10K watermaker housing. Kind of a big deal.  

I called Andromeda Yachts (who damaged the watermaker) to try to arrange some kind of repair.  Of course they didn’t answer and then didn’t call me back.  When I finally got them on the phone, they denied damaging it (despite being the only people onboard), claimed it was “an old machine”  (it’s 3 years old – well within it’s service life), and said that they would come and work on it – but that they’d charge me for it.

The words I’ve used to explain this to others, I can’t use here.  I’d like to, but I have a feeling it’d be offensive to some.

Since they completely failed to take any kind of responsibility – I don’t mind mentioning their name again and steering people away from them: Andromeda Yachts.  They’re a joke.  A bad one.  Steer clear.

 

The Starboard Engine

When I arrived back in Panama (for good, a couple weeks ago), the “mechanic” from Andromeda still hadn’t finished doing what I paid him to do – replace a water-pump onboard the starboard engine.

So he came out with me to the boat (with his girlfriend, how professional) and worked on replacing it.  At first he put the replacement on incorrectly.  Then he put it on correctly, but the wrong direction (so, still incorrect – but closer).  Then he put the old one back on.    Then he realized he’d brought the wrong (new) part out.   So he left me with the old one on.  But there was something far more inconvenient:  he left me with my starboard engine non-functional.   

When he’d arrived, my starboard engine was working.  It started without issue.  But, of course during his time spent in and out of my engine room either a) the rain or b) his incompetence managed to cause an electrical issue that we haven’t been able to completely narrow down.

Of course, he couldn’t be bothered to figure out what the problem was.  So I gave him and his girlfriend a ride back to the dock.  He left me with the problematic water-pump and an inoperable starboard engine.  I was far worse off than when he’d arrived, and I’d paid for the shafting.

The next day I called Andromeda and asked what they planned on doing to fix this issue with the engine.  Their reply:  rewire the entire engine, replace the control panel, and all of the electrical components.  To the tune of $2.5K per engine.  Roberto (the guy I was speaking with) had the gall to say they could only give me this price if I let them stay on board (to keep expenses down).

When I balked at this, he said he could simply remove some of the connections in the engine room (which “may” solve the problem).  The cost for this?  $2K, and then they couldn’t “guarantee” their work.  Not that they’d done a particularly good job of this anyways (they’d “fixed” a couple of things onboard during the purchase process of my yacht – those things were broken when I returned to check their work – they refused to fix it).  Classy guys.

Now I know what you’re thinking:  Nate, why would you even consider using these guys?  Well, for one I’m stuck in Puerto Lindo, with very limited options.  The other is that these guys were supposed to be certified by Lagoon – the makers of my yacht.  The final reason is that Roberto speaks English.   Being new to sailing yachts, this area, and this country – those were pretty compelling reasons.

Of course when I started asking around – I found out that these guys were drastically overpriced, didn’t really know what they were doing, and generally not great mechanics.  Virtually everyone on the forums, and here locally gave me the same advice – troubleshoot, isolate the problem, and replace only that.

Naturally, Andromeda said something like “replace everything – and oh, by the way, we’ll do it for double the cost of anybody else.” Without even seeing if that would solve the problem.  To add insult to injury – recent troubleshooting has indicated their “solution” wouldn’t have solved anything.  I just would have paid $2.5K (per engine) for them to shrug their shoulders, and charge me for more work.  This is certainly their MO.

Looking for the moral of the story?  Allow me:

 

A)  Don’t use Andromeda Yachts for anything (don’t even get me started about their dishonestly during the brokering of my yacht)

B) Don’t assume that because a mechanic is certified by a yacht company – that they’re decent mechanics

C)  Always, always be present when someone is working on your boat.  Always

D) Learn to identify the difference between a “mechanic” and a mechanic.  It’s an expensive lesson to learn

E) Don’t underestimate the value of buying a yacht in-country, where it can be surveyed and refit professionally.  In some countries, yacht-service providers (in my case:  the “mechanic” and the “surveyor” both) are nothing short of astoundingly incompetent

Mechanic vs. "Mechanic"

No Brakes, No Engine

I’ve been trying to post more regularly, but the weird Laws of Internet here are working against me.  If I happen to have a couple of hours to burn and it’s not doing the monsoon thing (never) – I head to the only Internet spot in town.  But this spot is also a dive shop – so they open at 10:30 and shut down around 6PM.  Often taking off to dive – and yes, they shut down the Internet when they leave to dive.

And said dive shop/Internet spot is closed on Monday.  It’s crazy to me that the Internet has hours of operation here.  It also costs (an exorbitant amount of) money for access here in Puerto Lindo.  The whole thing goes against everything I’ve believed about the net.

 

No Brakes

The big news is that a) I have a car (which almost killed me) b) I finally went diving again c) the damn starboard engine still isn’t fixed (but I know what’s up).

Let’s start with the car.

I’m in Puerto Lindo, which is the boondocks.  It’s a solid 1.5 hours from Colon and about 2.5 from Panama City.  Neither are particularly fun drives.  But it’s better to drive than to ride one of the buses.  So I needed a car.  So I found a cheap SUV in town, which is a massive piece of crap – but I got it for $1700.  Not bad, as vehicles here are a little pricey.

Victor – the guy who sold it to me, is a cripple.  He doesn’t have use of his legs, at all.  Which makes negotiating with him a guilt-ridden exercise (exercise pun not intended).  But he was asking $2500, and that thing (now mine) is a rust-bucket.  So he eventually said yes to $1700.  But we needed to get it registered in my name, in Colon.  The way there was uneventful – but on the way back the brakes completely gave out.  Read that again.

The brakes gave out, at 50 mph, with a red light in front of us.

It was going to be ugly – crappy seat belts, no airbags.  I wouldn’t be pretty anymore.  The good news is that some of that split-second decision-making, gained running through traffic at warp-speed on top of a motorcycle, kicked in.  I took the SUV through the median, went airborne, weaved through oncoming traffic, and then threaded it through the red light – all without getting smashed to pieces.  Victor and our other passenger?  Squealing like little girls.

Long story short – the brake lines were bad.  Fixed at Victor’s expense.  It’s taken us three trips to Colon to get the damn thing registered, and Colon isn’t a tourist destination.  So there’s that.

 

Engine Wiring – The Bane of My Existence

On to the engine.  I thought I had it figured out – a faulty connector in the wiring harness, next to the engine.  But after circumventing that, the engine would continue to start by itself.  The engine still starts randomly.  So I tore the boat apart again and we think that the boat has a short actually in the wiring harness itself.

Today I’m pulling all of the wiring harnesses and taking them to my German mechanic.  He’ll test them, and may be able to fix the issue.  If not, we’ll simply run another wire from the panel to the engine, removing the faulty one.  Either way, I’m supposed to be done by Thursday.  But if it were legal to kill folks for wasting your time in Puerto Lindo – this place would have a population of zero.

 

On to Isla Grande

After a week messing with my engine and dealing with a POS SUV, I needed a break.  All work, no play.  That’s what I came down here for, right?

So I convinced Amy and Austin to come spend a couple of days aboard, where we’d eat and drink too much – and maybe even take the boat out to Isla Grande.  We succeeded on the first count, failed on the second.  Turns out motoring a catamaran out of a tight harbor with only one engine is not easy.  With sails up, we’d have been alright – but without the sails up, she prefers to go in circles.

Nonetheless we made it out to Isla Grande (in the dinghy), and spent a day diving, eating, and relaxing.  We all got sunburned.  It was nice.

 

Underwater 12V LED – Nighttime Entertainment

Nighttime entertainment

Then there’s the fun we’ve been having fishing and watching my underwater LED lights.  It’s a great form of after-dark entertainment.  For about $100 I bought a waterproof, 12V, LED light.  It attracts all kinds of crazy stuff – even when the fishermen are gill-netting 5 meters from your boat (which they are).  For instance – a sea turtle (twice).  He just comes in, glides around the light for a few minutes and then takes his leave.  Last night we caught one of his remoras on a fishing line, unfortunately.  You can see some of the bait in the picture above…

 

I’m Over Puerto Lindo

All in all, I’m done with Puerto Lindo.  It’s time to start moving.  Past-time to start moving, really.  So I’ll be home-basing here – for provisions and boat stuff, because I have a car, a mooring ball, and it’s close to San Blas and only a short sail from Cartagena.  But as soon as the engine is fixed I’m out for a few days.  Then I’ll do a longer sail through San Blas in mid-July.  And hopefully take a nice, long 3-week sail through San Blas to Cartagena with a buddy in August (Craig, you hoodlum - you better come through).

It sounds like friends will be flying into Panama occasionally, so I’ll be back and forth.  But what was once charming, is now annoying.  The honeymoon is over and Puerto Lindo looks different. Now it looks more like what it is – a sleepy fishing village where it’s either baking-hot or pouring rain (and sometimes both).  When there’s a bit of sunshine it’s great – but right now that’s more the exception than the rule.  Other places (San Blas and Cartagena, for instance) are still pretty sunny this time of year.

Luckily for me, I have a floating house.  When this engine is fixed (this week, I’m promised), I’ll be free to move on and find somewhere new and exciting.

 

No Brakes, No Engine

A Little Hope, And Colon

The last couple of days have come and gone quickly.  It’s still doing that “monsoon” thing here, daily.  The downside of this is that everything stays wet, electrical shorts are more likely, and it’s impossible to do much work on my engine’s electrical system.  The upside is that I’ve had time to read, and that I’ve figured out where my last (hopefully) leak is:  in my starboard side salon hatch.

 

A Little Hope  6.22.14

The last few days I’ve been making repeated trips to a local German guy (Guido) – who’s walking me through troubleshooting this electrical problem on my starboard engine.

With a bit of guidance, some dumb luck, and a ton of frustration I’ve finally figured out what I believe is the problem.  And the guys who know stuff were right on two counts:  a)  the problem is likely in the area that was being worked on (engine room) and b)  the problem is most likely a connection (rather than in the wiring).  Of course, to come to this conclusion I pulled the wiring harness and checked all 16 pins for resistance/shorts in two different spots, thereby tearing the boat apart.  What a PITA.

After checking all of the aforementioned connections (and finding no issue), I found another, hidden connection on the bottom of my starter and glow relay boxes.  On the starboard side it looked rough – likely both shorting and allowing water in.  So – I called Guido and he said he’d come look at it.  I have yet to speak with him since.  Fingers crossed.

Engine Trouble

 

Heading To Colon  6.23.14

Guido is supposed to come check that engine electrical issue out tomorrow.  Hopefully he has some spare wiring harness parts laying around.  If not, I can simply splice the wires together directly– removing the (bad) harness connections altogether.  So, if this is the issue – I should be in the clear.

I, however, won’t be around when Guido checks it out.  I’ll be in Colon.  Colon is a dangerous spot – there have been beatings, stabbings, muggings, and a variety of other not-so-pleasant experiences there, experienced by travelers.  Even the locals are looking for a way out of Colon. But it’s the nearest city and I desperately need some Rum and Whiskey.  Some wine and food would be nice too.

The ride there is via a bus.  They’re lovingly called Diablos Rojos here:  Red Devils.  They’re like a schoolbus, but older, with more people crammed in, and they run at about 10X the speed down the windy roads around Panama.  Make no mistake – you’re taking your life into your hands when you jump on one.

The good news is I’m traveling with Amy and Austin, and I’m renting a car while I’m there so I’ll have a way to get supplies and continue to refit the boat.   That also means we cut down on the time spent on the Diablos Rojos.  Bueno.

We originally headed to the Colon Free-Zone.  It’s a tax-free zone in Colon.  We were expecting something like a mall – but it’s not that at all. It’s outdoors, dirty, unorganized, and massive.  Needless to say it was a bit of a letdown, and we spent half a day there getting lost and wandering into stores that only sold wholesale.

Eventually we freed ourselves from the Colon Free-Zone.  We did manage to procure a “foldering iron”  - in most places it’s called a “soldering iron.”

Foldering Iron

So I went grocery shopping.  This is probably the first time in 5 years that I’ve actually shopped for groceries.  This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve enjoyed it.  A diet of bananas, rice, and beans will do that to you.  Also of note – they carry liquor, wine, and beer in the supermarkets here.  Bueno.

Amy said she’d never seen such a shit-eating grin.  It was ear-to-ear as I filled up a shopping cart with enough alcohol to drown a small country and enough food to feed a small village.  Hopefully it’ll last for a while.

Then we headed back to Puerto Lindo in my rental.  It’s the smallest car I’ve ever driven, and has something equivalent to a lawn-mower engine in it.  I had so many groceries piled in the back of it that the lights were actually angled up.

Rental car and Amy

There was a Chinese “restaurant” on the way back that Amy and Austin swore was the best in the area.  It was also dirt cheap, with huge plates coming in at $3.50.   And  it was also unmarked in a now-defunct gas station, which made it pretty difficult to find.  But we found it.  Here’s where you find the best Chinese food in the area.  It was, in fact, great food. And, as promised, dirt cheap.

Chinese “restaurant” and Austin

Finally making it back to Puerto Lindo around 9PM, I dropped off Amy and Austin at their new apartment in “town.” It’s $45/month.  Amy volunteered to help me get my groceries into the dinghy -  a non-trivial task when it’s thundering and lightening and dark.  We managed to get everything onboard, I dropped Amy off at her apartment.

We gambled a bit when we loaded the groceries in the dinghy.  We assumed that it hadn’t rained in Puerto Lindo.  Well, we were wrong.  So there was 3 inches of water soaking my groceries.  Everything faired alright except for the eggs.  They would have been fine, but the cartons turned to mush and I didn’t notice in the dark.    I lost a coupe of fine eggs.  This is my table, it’s a fine table.  But more importantly, it has my recreational substances on it – including spare starter relays (for my engine), a couple of Hunter S. Thompson novels, and yes:  my rum/whiskey.

My table

The good news is that I now had some whiskey to help with the loss of my eggs.  So I poured a whiskey neat and stowed the dry groceries, and left the rest in the sink to drain.   Then I got the best sleep I’ve had in the last three weeks.

Exhaustion, it appears, is a great cure for insomnia.

A Little Hope, And Colon

The last few days have been one of the circles of Hell.  If Dante had a boat, he’d have included marine electrical troubleshooting in his epic:  Inferno.

Promise.

 

Electrical Troubleshooting in Puerto Lindo

So, a “mechanic” was working on my engine when it decided to begin starting by itself.  Since then I’ve been quoted $2.5K to rewire the engine, have pulled every panel off my boat, have become fluent in wiring schematics, have ruined some clothes, and have managed to completely bloody both of my paws in the engine room.  The good news is that I have two engines, so I’m not completely dead in the water and I have a full set of (working) electrical components to troubleshoot with.  And it’s a damn sailboat – I can always sail.

Of course – I had no idea where to begin fixing this issue.  So I posted a heads-up on a cruising forum, and I received a wealth of knowledge, several recommendations, and some valuable contacts (see here).  During this time though, I managed to meet up with the only real mechanic in town – purely by chance.  His name is Guido (Goo – E – Doe), he’s German, and he runs a hostel here:  Hostel Wunderbar…  At first he just gave me some vague advice, but as he’s gotten to know me – he’s dedicated some time teaching me about the electrical system onboard and came out to the boat for a bit and helped me troubleshoot.  He destroyed my nice, clean boat,  - but he put me many hours ahead in troubleshooting.

It’s kinda like having a mentor.  Who is German, a sailor, a father, an ex-biker (like biker-gang) and a little nuts.  I like him.  Smart, methodical, and thinks/talks very quickly.  He speaks French, German, English, and Spanish.  The English part is huge for me.

 

The Charm is Gone

So, I’ve been pretty frustrated the last few days.  The remoteness of Puerto Lindo makes it very difficult to provision and refit my boat.  In addition it’s the rainy season, so I’m dodging torrential downpours to get this problem fixed.  And I’m running out of liquor and beer.  They should just call it “wet season.”  The entire time you’ll be wet.  It will be sweat or rain, probably both.  I d0n’t think I’ve actually been dry more than a few minutes.  Why would someone call this home?

And the diving here is shit.  Complete shit.  For three reasons:  a)  it’s the rainy season so the visibility is bad (on a good day) b)  I found that they’re gill-netting right next to my boat  c)  I’m not very comfortable heading out of here to freedive alone (it’s a little risky).  On the gill-netting:  they’re killing everything larger than a minnow less than 30 meters from my deck.  I hate it.  Gill-netting is a horrible, non-selective way to catch dinner (or feed your family).

It’s similar to the carnage the commercial fisherman and shrimpers wreak in the Gulf of Mexico – but of course, I’m on a cruise around the world onboard a 38′ catamaran.  The guy doing the gill-netting is trying to feed his family.  Hardly fair for me to condemn.

Anyways, I’m ready to get this engine fixed and sail away.  San Blas? Cartagena?  Anywhere but here.

 

I’m Learning

I’m now done complaining.  The silver lining is:  I’m learning a ton about the boat.  I feel more confident troubleshooting, installing, and wiring things.  I understand (somewhat) how my diesels  work.  Generally, I’m getting to know my boat.  Which is actually a good thing to know before one takes off.  So – the charm of Puerto Lindo may be gone, but I’m glad that it forced me to learn.  I’m also glad that I didn’t just fork over $5K to have the “mechanic” from Panama City rewire both engines.

So I may be here for a while, but there are things worse than working on a boat in Puerto Lindo (like being stuck in an office, or fighting traffic everyday).  And however long it takes, I’ll have learned quite a bit about the boat and have saved some money.  Both of which are super-important right now.  It’s not all bad, I’m just being forced to learn something new at an inconvenient time/place – which I reserve the right to gripe (a little) about.

 

Electrical Troubleshooting in Puerto Lindo

Last Few Days

Another mix of days around here.  Some wet and overcast (crap), the others clear and nice – but hot.  I wasn’t too happy about said overcast days, but I made it out to the local internet hotspot – Panama Reef Divers.   There I met a couple of fellow nomads – Amy and Austin.

New Friends

Amy is English, Austin is American – Cuban and speaks excellent Spanish.  I forgave Amy for being English, just to get that out of the way.  They met over craigslist, in the United States, when she responded to one of his craigslist ads – they were both looking for a ride to backpack through a national park.  Now they’re both in Puerto Lindo, Panama helping out at a local hostel.  She (Amy) manages it and he (Austin) works there part-time doing minor boat work and anything internet/network related. I desperately needed to get my WiFi network set up onboard – so his skillset was appreciated by me.

That  overcast day Austin showed me around the “town.”  Which mostly consists of a couple of places to buy cold beer (one French, one Dutch), one place to buy a hot meal, one place to pray to God, a small tienda (super-limited store), and a place to buy fuel (Jose’s house – he drives fuel in from somewhere else and sells it here by the liter).

Jose has a minor racket going on – everyone needs fuel (boats, cars, motorcycles), and he’s the only one who sells it in Puerto Lindo.  The good news – it’s not overly expensive.  He really could gouge you if he wanted to – but the prices are fair to slightly expensive.   It cost me about $125 to fill up the boat with diesel and my dinghy with mixed gas.  And I had some diesel leftover.  I almost spent that much every time I filled up my truck back home – down here that’ll last much longer.

Anyways – I ended up eating with them that night.  They made octopus, it was delicious.  They fed me ice cold beer as well.  Bueno.

A Network Onboard

The next day I met Austin early to get the WiFi network set up onboard.  Roughly 10AM.  Life’s tough.

He’d agreed to help me wire and set-up my wireless network onboard (yeah, I know how that sounds).  We poured sweat all day below-decks – fighting with some of the panels and figuring out how to get everything wired.  There were times when I really thought we’d never get it figured out.  But we did.   I bought this system through Island Time PC – great stuff, simple to figure out and setup.   The thing that took all day was running the wire from the antenna to the router (through the damn boat).

I now have a wireless network onboard, but I’m just out of range of  Panama Reef Divers, where there’s internet intermittently between 10:30 AM and 6:30 PM.

Amy and Austin have also helped me figure out my laundry issue, procure local fruit from the “fruit guy” (a dude that comes through in a truck that yells into a megaphone every couple of days), figure out getting to Colon, and finding a local mechanic.  Handy people to know.

Boat Projects

My starboard engine is still acting up.  There’s a short somewhere that’s causing the damn thing to start randomly.  I’ve cleaned connections, checked fuses, and tried what limited trouble-shooting I’m capable of – to no avail.  I have a local (German) guy coming out to look at it this afternoon, hopefully.   It would make my week if he could figure it out.   If he can’t, there’s a big decision to be made – and it could involve quite a bit of money.  No bueno.

I have two other boat projects that I want to get done before leaving Puerto Lindo – hook up my AIS and play with the watermaker.   When I say “play with the watermaker”, I really mean:  flush it, take it apart, replace all of the O-rings, and put it back together.  I have a feeling that both of those projects will take longer than I thought.  Good news is that I can do it all inside, so rain or no-rain I can work on those projects.

There’s a bunch of shopping I need to do.  I’d definitely prefer to do it in Panama City, so I’m seriously considering renting a car.  I need some bigger stuff – like a BBQ grill, a kayak, and a couple more fishing rods.

Finally got some diving in as well.  Turns out my French neighbor was right – the fish are small and smart.  It’s also a bit murky right now with the recent rains.  I’ll probably give it a shot again tomorrow.

Anyways – I’m off to try to make progress on those boat projects.

Last Few Days

I’m pretty stoked to be writing this.  When I was getting ready to head out of the US, I reached out to a couple of companies that I thought would mesh with my trip.  Pelagic was one of them – they specialize in offshore clothing/gear.  Needless to say, I got a positive response and a few days later got a package in the mail with some killer gear.  So – thanks Pelagic!  You can check out there gear here:  Pelagic Gear.

 

Pelagic Gear Sponsorship

Though I’m new to the sailing game, boat life is something I’m familiar with.  And there’s one constant when you spend alot of time on a boat:  on a boat it gets hot.  The sun’s beating down on you and there’s not always a spot in the shade.  So if you spend alot of time on boats, it really helps to have gear built to keep you cool and protect you from the sun.  That’s the kind of stuff Pelagic makes.  The clothing necessities are:

• Lightweight, breathable, quick-drying, long sleeve shirts (Pelagic Vaportek)


• Lightweight, quick-drying, board shorts.  Bonus points if they can be worn as regular shorts on shore (Pelagic Evolve Hybrid Shorts)


• A coupe of hats/visors.  When it’s really hot, the visor is king (Pelagic Flag Visor)


• Quality, comfortable, lightweight, polarized sunglasses (Pelagic Polarized Fish Whistle)


• Comfortable, lightweight, sun shields (Pelagic SPF Sunshield)


• A rasta-themed coozie to keep the refreshments cool (Pelagic Coozies)

In case you were thinking I’m just promoting a brand because they gave me free stuff – let me address that.   I’m a far-too-white boy that is now living in a tropical climate.  Everything is always wet (sweat, humidity, or rain) or burning hot.  If I didn’t get sponsored by Pelagic I was completely prepared to buy the very gear they sent me.  I lucked out, and I’m really happy to be sponsored by a company that I have bought and will continue to buy products from.

Fish Whistle Polarized Glasses – what I chose

One note on the sunglasses.  I’m big on quality polarized sunglasses.  There’s nothing that gets more use and is more bang-for-the-proverbial-buck than a pair of sunglasses that allows you to see fish and reef structure clearly underwater – in the glaring sun.  Equally important, they need to be comfortable and lightweight enough to wear all day.  Having blown through several pairs of Costa sunglasses, and not finding the “perfect” pair – I was curious how these Pelagic polarized sunglasses would compare.  I was super-pleased (and admittedly, a little surprised) to find they were of the same quality of my previous Costa’s – but far more comfortable and noticeably lighter.  It’s always a shot in the dark when you order sunglasses online – but this was an epic success!

So far, the Pelagic Polarized sunglasses, my Pelagic coozie, and my Flag Visor are hands-down the most-used gear on the boat.  I use all three daily, unless it’s pouring rain.  In which case the coozie gets the most use.

Colin is the guy around Pelagic that showed an interest in my trip, so here’s a little thank-you to him personally: thanks Colin, I’m using the gear daily!  Out of curiosity, I asked Colin why he responded so positively to this (out of the thousands he reads) sponsorship request:

 

Nate’s worldwide expedition perfectly encompasses what the Pelagic lifestyle is all about… A love for the ocean, fishing, diving, and simply spending time on the water.

 

Boom. Sounds like a match made in Heaven.  Thanks again Colin and Pelagic, I’m definitely celebrating the offshore lifestyle!

Pelagic Gear Sponsorship

Getting Settled, In Puerto Lindo

The last couple of days have been relatively uneventful.  I could venture out for a daysail, but I really want both engines functional for that. A sailing catamaran is so much more maneuverable with both engines.

The big accomplishments include:

• testing my new underwater LED light (designed to attract fish)


• catching a small dog snapper for dinner (the aforementioned light works as designed)


• getting my fishing gear organized


• breaking down (and more importantly:  putting back together) my 9/0 Penn reel


• restringing my 9/0 Penn with new line


• taking a couple of pictures


• not getting bit by an eel (more on this later)

My other list (the to-do list) is so long, I’m not even going to attempt it here.  It all consists of minor boat projects and getting settled in Puerto Lindo.

Getting Settled in Puerto Lindo

Yesterday was a horrible day – cloudy, overcast, and pouring rain most of the time.  I didn’t feel all that well either.  But the day before was glorious.  A little cloud cover, but not a drop of rain, sunny, and hot.  Which is exactly what I needed to dry/air the boat out.  The rainy season here is always wet.  Humidity, rain, or sweat.

I spent the majority of that glorious day pouring sweat below decks organizing the under-bunk storage and tossing a bunch of things I didn’t need.  I spent some time with my neighbors – a French couple that is repairing their trimaran for the crossing back to France.  When I left here in May, they said they would be gone by early June.  Now it’s looking like it’s going to be late June.  But that’s the way boat repairs go.

 

Neighbors

The guy, Michelle, is a good dude.  He’s a fellow spearfisherman and was genuinely surprised when he learned I enjoyed freedive spearfishing.  He said it’s rare to see an American that enjoys freedive spearfishing.  Apparently it’s a much larger sport in Europe.

Full Frontal

Anyways, I woke up yesterday morning kinda early and took a look around.  Michelle was out on the back of his trimaran having a shower – nude.  He saw me.  I waved, he waved.  He went back to showering.

I went below decks to give him a little privacy, but when I came back up his wife was in the same spot showering – also nude.  So I gave up and went around the boat hanging clothes off the lifelines.   This happened in May when I was down here, almost exactly the same way.  I’m not quite there yet, but I’m sure I’ll be taking showers on the back of the boat somewhere along the way.

After their showers I motored over and we talked dive spots.  Apparently there are a couple close by.  Not great, but decent.  Michelle says the fish are smart and small.  I prefer big, dumb fish.  But I’ll give it a go when I’m done with the dog-snapper in the fridge.  There’s also a nice reef out in the open water, off of Isla Grande that I learned about from the French girl that works at Panama Reef Divers.  I don’t know what it is about this place, but the only people I seem to meet are French and Dutch.   I’ll take a whack at that spot when I have both engines functional.  Hopefully Thursday or Friday.

 

Fishing in Puerto Lindo

So, about that eel.  Day before yesterday I had such a great day that I decided to pour myself an early rum and Coke.  Well, that rum and Coke turned into a couple.  And then I got a little bored so I decided to try out my 12V underwater LED light.  At night it is supposed to attract fish.  And it does.  That thing is bright.  A fun toy to liven up the night, which can get a little boring when sailing around by yourself.

Back to the story.  So here I was, a couple rum and Coke’s into the night, playing with my new light.  There was a ton of bait gathered around it so I decided to throw a hand-line out.  In about twenty minutes I had a good pan-sized dog snapper.  Not bad.  I refilled my drink and went back at it.   A little play on the line convinced me that there was something on the other end.  I jerked, it jerked.  I pulled really hard and eventually it gave way.  When it got into the light it looked like a ball on end of my line.  It was a damn eel.

 

Destroyer of drinks

I put it up on deck to remove the hook and it starting writhing all over the place.  Enough that it clipped my drink.  I watched, in slow motion, my cup tip over – spilling my fresh rum and Coke, and bouncing down the steps into the water.  What a disaster.

Now I had to get the hook out of this slimy, writhing, toothy critter without getting a handful of teeth.  Eels have a nasty bite; a friend of mine suffered a bite going after a lobster and it made him pretty ill.

Long story short:  I got the hook out and didn’t get bitten.  I’ll chalk that up as a win, despite sacrificing a rum and Coke and one of my four glasses onboard.

Another recent discovery is Monkey Beach – I named it that.  Apparently it has no name, and so that’s the name.   You can hear the howler monkeys all night, but they don’t come down from the hills.  On the other hand, on Monkey Beach – you can occasionally see Spider Monkeys out messing around.  I’m going to head over there one day when it’s not pouring rain and see if they’ll let me sneak a picture or two.

Monkey beach

And with that, it’s time to get back to the boat.  The boat projects are piling up and I’m finding it takes 300X as long as it should to do anything onboard. And there is some exploring to do, between the rain showers.

A beach that needs to be explored

Getting Settled, In Puerto Lindo