We were ready to get moving - leaving Panama City was almost a relief - being there for nearly a month … it was time to move on …. the “wanderlust” does kick in …
Again provisioning was a necessity as we planned to sail for 10 days to Costa Rica - so off Tina and I went to shop and made Companion sail ready … washed her down with “sweet water”, all engines double checked, oil gauges a triple check … all is well. One overnight sail to meet up with Ben and Nannie at the southern peninsula of Panama -----, they will be our traveling partners for the next eight days. Neither Dual Dragon nor Companion has sailed next to another vessel.
Tina's smile says it all...
Leaving the Balboa Yacht Club at 9:30 am we set out by ourselves - we actually had somewhat smooth sailing - just little incidents and mishaps that first morning and afternoon - Dale workin’ with a couple of “sailor rookies” for sure … but to give you a little insight on our day - the spinnaker was raised - a little chaos getting that done, then the wind kicked up (of course) two notches - got that down with some resistance from Dale but he knows me better and realized that I was not comfortable with the speed so we got it secured - then the steering stopped - no turning the helm in any direction - not once but twice… Geez Louise - what is happening … when the steering went out the second time - we had a “fish on” - there was no way Dale wanted to lose another lure - so Tina held on - taking her time to reel her in - Dale working diligently on the steering cable and me behind the helm making sure the wheel was coming back to life …. The steering restored - Tina brought her 5 pound, 30” yellow fin snapper to the deck - whew … way to much excitement … we all but collapsed - looked at each other …. and just kept on sailing … thankful all this happened in the daylight.
Now for the nighttime - we took turns sleeping - the girls watched together - the first and third shift - of two to three hours each … Dale the other hours. The girl watch between 2 and 4:30 am was predicted to have a meteor shower - well Tina saw a couple but no shower for me - the stars were out and glorious - the moon ¾ full was a tremendous spot light - the waves calmed down and we actually had a beautiful sail - to tell you the truth I kind of liked it. Dale back at the helm brought us to our destination by 7:30 am. What was glorious; we knew that where we were headed was a sheltered bay - and lo and behold our Ben and Nannie - arrived earlier that morning (3am) - seeing their “cat” just bobbing in the water - made that crazy day all worth it … we anchored, slept the morning away and enjoyed an afternoon of swimming and visiting - life was oh so good!
Dual Dragon at anchor what a lovely sight!
Catching up with Nannie
I think (if everything goes as planned) that was to be our last overnight sail for this journey … kind of bittersweet as much as I don’t really like them - the success of the sail and the sweetness of the morning dawn is the memory that I will hold in my heart - lovely.
Relaxed ... Life is good!
The Pacific coastline of Panama has been a complete surprise to us - it is magnificent - never could we have imagined the mountains, trees, rock formations, the gorgeous surf, the sand beaches - plus waves and wind that are calm - the sun beats down on Companion - we are shaded by the sails and bimini, but after we are secured at anchor the water is so welcoming and refreshing - a little chillier than the Caribbean side - ahhh Panama! The nights cool down - lovely sleeping weather - we like it here!
These guys swam with us daily ... really blessed to witness this sight
Having Dual Dragon to our starboard or portside has been a real comfort - actually real sailing lessons, too. Ben radioed Dale a couple of times explaining a few sail trimming techniques to increase speed, etc - Dale - the good student that he is - listened and learned - how great to have a veteran sailor near and so willing to share!
What I love about Ben is that he loves enjoys life! And food!
Tina enjoys the culinary experiments - especially when she has guinea pigs! Delicious bread sticks!
Think this has anything to do with her Biology background?
Sailing into the Isla Parida was simply amazing - never in our wildest dreams did we expect to have our own secluded islands - just our two boats cocooned in the bays with manta rays just jumping all around us, fish flying out of the water, the birds absolutely alive and the sounds of the jungles incredible.
Dale reeled in a 12 to 15 pound Spanish Mackrel - we had delicious fillets for dinner!
My vision of the Galapagos Islands are what we were seeing on our way to Isla Parida -
maybe someday we will go there, too and compare!
These visual memories are embedded in my brain … I am trying to work hard to collect them!
No comments:
Post a Comment