START PORT _Huatulco_ END PORT _Zihuatanejo, Mexico____

START MILES_8373_  END MILES _8725_  LEG MILES _352_TOTAL MILES _8725__

START HOURS  _1440__   END HOURS _1496_LEG HOURS _52_TOTAL HOURS __1496_

START FUEL(3663) _870_  END FUEL _1098_  LEG FUEL _228_ TOTAL FUEL  228___

AVERAGE MPGs _1.54_ REMAINING RANGE _1790_ GEN FUEL 4437_/_4475/ __45__

END PRT __550_ END STRBD  __550_  END SPLY  _60_ FUEL BALANCE __1160____

SEA STATE_Very Calm _________

WIND DIRECTION__Calm_______

12/7/06 This is one of those trips that makes you really love cruising.  It was as calm as could be and we loved it.  The seas were so calm we skipped Acapulco and went right to Zihuatanejo.  Most folks would think that Acapulco is a great place and it is.  However, it is not great for cruisers. 

A cruising port needs certain things.  It needs a good and safe anchorage.  It needs cruising services and easy access to the land.  It is also preferable to have clean water.  The one thing Acapulco does have is a great view coming into the harbor.  However, it lacks most of the other things.  The anchorage is very tough to get an anchor in. There are really no marinas for visiting yachts.  And – the water is not so clean.

Ziwah on the other hand is right next to Ixtapa and has all the good stuff.  It has a great bay with clean water.  There are dozens of bars and restaurants on the beaches around the bay.  The town is laid back and very cool.  It has great restaurants and lots of small shops.  Lots of live music and even a movie theater.  It is very much a laid back beach town with a “hang-out’ kind of feel.  The people are very friendly and very willing to help.

12/19/06 We have been here almost two weeks and have been doing almost the same routine.  Larry does maintenance on the boat in the morning while DeeDee home schools Isabella.  In the afternoon we will either head into the town to get lunch and do some shopping, or we will head to the beach.  When we go to the beach we just take the dingy in and we can grab some beach chairs at one of the restaurants.   Isabella, like every kid on earth, loves to play in the waves.  She can do it for hours and hours.

One day we took the dingy over to the Marina in Ixtapa and then over to Isla Ixtapa.  Isla Ixtapa is a small island with a few restaurants on the beach.  It is a great place to hang out.  What was interesting is what Isabella had to say.  After spending the last week or so at the beach and around the locals, she asked “Why are these people so happy all the time?”  “They are never sad and always happy”

It is so hard to compare the “happiness level” with the Untied States.  These people truly are constantly happy.  When we spend so much time out of the United Stated one really notices the level of anger we accept as normal in the states. Here and in most of the rest of the world, they have little money and not much in the way of material goods.  We struggle with this because we LOVE the attitude of the people but we still have not gotten used to the third world way of life.  We have been too spoiled by our years of living in a wealthy country as wealthy people.  We are not wealthy as compared to the United States standard of wealth, but we are extremely wealthy as compared to most of the places we are visiting.

This past week we headed to the doctor for Isabella and DeeDee.  They both had very bad colds.  What is interesting is how medicine is different in various countries.  The doctor here said that although they are lacking in the sophisticated surgery options as we have in the states, he feels they are much better than doctors in the states with regard to medicines.  Because they don’t have the sophisticated equipment, they rely more on their personal diagnosis.  The diagnosis is usually administering medicine to address the illness and see what the results are rather then getting equipment being used and tests being taken. 

As an example, a doctors group from the US came down to Mexico and were having a convention.  One of the visitors was playing ball and got hit in the head with the ball.  He went down and was shaking on the ground.  The US doctors all wanted to address the problem by taking him in for an MRI and some neurological tests.  The Mexican doctor asked if he could first give him a shot and see if there were any positive results.  The shot was administered and within moments the fellow was feeling better.  The short story was he had a low blood sugar problem and giving him the shot fixed the ailment. 

DeeDee and Isabella were so sick and the Mexican doctor gave them a medicine which was a combination of an antibiotic and something that shrunk the inflammation in the lungs.  He said it would work in a matter of hours and it sure did.  After literally weeks of a hacking cough and an overall miserable feeling, within a few hours, DeeDee and Isabella were amazingly better.

12/20/06 We love Mexico and we are enjoying the time here.  However, now that we have done the Atlantic and the Pacific, we certainly prefer the Atlantic.  The one thing we love about the Pacific is the calmer cruising.  However, the other comparisons lean to the Atlantic.

In the Caribbean, it is a different style of cruising.  First of all, the cruising there is all islands.  The island mentality versus the mainland mentality is very different.  The island mindset is truly one of being isolated and the community is all wrapped around that island.  The mainland mindset is not as loyal or devoted to the local area.

Let me share some comparisons……..  The tides in the Pacific are big.  Sometimes 20 feet.  In the Atlantic, they are usually no more than 3 feet and often less.  This allows docks and piers to be built on the beaches.  The docks and piers allow us to bring our dinghy into any place we want to go.  On the Pacific side, there are very few docks.  The tides are just too big.  This means we must bring our dinghy into shore.  Everyone on the Pacific side has wheels attached to their dinghies so they can roll them up on the beach.  This is a good idea but the problem is that we need to first ride the surf in to get to the beach.  Not such a problem on the way in, but a big problem on the way out. The rough surf often makes getting to the beach just impossible on the Pacific side.

On the Atlantic and Caribbean side, we could take the dinghy to the beach and leave it all day with no worry about the tides.  Or, we could just take the dinghy to a dock and tie it up there.

The water clarity in the Pacific is poor at best.  Although the water is clean, there is lots of growth in the Pacific.  The visibility is usually no more than 10 to 20 feet.  Compared to the Atlantic where the visibility is often over 100 feet.  (This also requires changing water maker filters every few days in the Pacific and we could go for weeks on one filter in the Atlantic) 

This water difference creates a different style of cruising here.  In the Atlantic, the days are mostly wrapped around the water.  Snorkeling, spear fishing, swimming, diving, etc.  On the Pacific side, it is not so much like that.  It seems like there is a much more social aspect of pacific cruising.  On this side there are many organized groups.  The BaHaHa runs down in a group from San Diego to Mexico.  The Puddle Jumpers head to the South Pacific together.  It truly reflects West Coast or California type people versus East Coast or New York people.  The east is more independent and less inclined to form or join groups where the west is more social and welcoming.  We had maybe 10 pot lucks in the entire time we cruised the Atlantic and Caribbean while there are pot lucks here on a regular basis. 

One last difference is that the east has white sand beaches galore.  On the Pacific side, most of the beaches are muddy or if sand at all, muddy type sand.  This is also another contributor to the cloudy water on the pacific side.  The sand does not mix with the water and goes right to the bottom where dirt or mud mixes with the water creating a cloudy sea.

In the end, so far anyway, we seem to like the Atlantic much better.  The people here are truly great and friendly, but we prefer island cruising and the clear water with white sand beaches.  That is not to say we do not love the Pacific because we do.  The cooler weather is a nice benefit and the mountains views are fantastic.  I guess the reality is that most people will always have a favorite place.

12/26/06  Christmas with 80 degree weather and 80 degree water is not too bad.  We had a great Christmas.  We have been hanging out with two boats the past few weeks…….  Locura which has a Croatian couple aboard. And Salt Whistle, which has a family of five on board.  Salt Whistle has three kids.  A 13 year old girl, a seventeen year old girl and a 20 year old boy.  They have taken a year off of work and school to cruise down to the South Pacific.  They feel like it will be the last time to be together as a family before the kids are doing the adult thing.  They are a really great family and we spent Christmas with them and the couple from Locura.  It was a great day.  We enjoyed dinner with a huge Turkey which DeeDee roasted.  After dinner we sat on the deck and watched the sunset.  We just hung out and chatted until late into the evening up under the stars.

We have also been hanging out on the beach with our new friends and although the Salt Whistle kids are much older, they really spend lots of time with Isabella.  Also our Croatian friends have a small Yorkshire which Isabella loves to hang with.

We are trying to get a slip in Puerto Vallarta but everything is full.  As a result, we have decided to stay in Z-whah for New Years Eve.  As there is not really an anchorage in Puerto Vallarta, we are hoping some slips will open up after the first of the year.

We have also planned to have a New Years Eve Party on the boat here in Z-whah.  There are about 40 boats in the harbor and it will be interesting to see how many people show up.

Not much going on with the boat.  It has been running and operating great.  Larry has spent lots of time these past weeks waxing the boat and doing maintenance.  He just changed the oil, oil filters, and fuel filters in the Main engine, generator, and wing engine.  He also changed the oil in the watermaker.

12/28/06 Well, don’t speak too quickly.  Today the watermaker is not making hardly any water.  The brine production is up and the good water production is down.  The assumption is that the membrane has failed and is letting the water bypass the membrane.  Everything else seems to be working well so the best guess is the membrane.  We will try and get one shipped in.

1/1/07  We are entering our third year of cruising.  We celebrated the New Year in combination with our wedding anniversary by throwing a party on the boat.  We had a record number of people on the boat with about 75 coming thru the night with 55 on the boat at one time.  That is lots of people on a 47 foot boat. 

Isabella has plenty of dancing partners and she danced for hours with guests.  Most of them were young teenagers and really spent lots of time with her.  Once again we take notice of how cruising kids are able to play with all kids of all ages. 

We usually list the boats that come but I think this time there are too many to list.  We probably had over 40 boats.  As with most cruising parties, everyone brought a food dish and their own drinks.  We provided the music and the boat big enough (barely) to hold everyone.

1/8/07 We were trying to leave for Puerto Vallarta right after the first of the year however this past week has been hell for DeeDee and Isabella.  They have both been to the doctor now a total of four times for a virus they have had.  It appears as though DeeDee has had the Dengue(sp?) fever.  It comes with a rash to start and then with very painful bone pain.  They call it the bone breaking disease.  DeeDee has been in constant pain in her bones and joints from the virus.  She has actually thought she was better twice and then has had a relapse.  Finally today DeeDee and Isabella are feeling better and we will be saying good-bye to Z-whah.

DATE _11/12/06___    TIME _8:00 AM_

START PORT _Puerto Quetzal_ END PORT _Huatulco, Mexico____

START MILES_7534_  END MILES _7998_  LEG MILES _464_TOTAL MILES _7998__

START HOURS  _1330__   END HOURS _1392_LEG HOURS _62_TOTAL HOURS __1392_

START FUEL(3663) _466_  END FUEL _693_  LEG FUEL _227_ TOTAL FUEL  528___

AVERAGE MPGs _2.04_ REMAINING RANGE _1468_ GEN FUEL 4265_/_4384/ __142__

END PRT __300_ END STRBD  __360_  END SPLY  _60_ FUEL BALANCE __720____

SEA STATE_Very Calm most of the way, 3 to 5 foot swells_________

WIND DIRECTION__S – SW_______

11/12/06 – From Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala to Huatulco is about 365 miles across the famed Gulf of Tehuantepec.  The Gulf of Tehuantepec is a 260 mile open bay.  The winds blow over 60 knots an average of 140 days a year in this gulf.  It is famous for being hell to get through.  The winds are called Tehuante-peckers by the cruisers.  MANY boats including large ships have been blown offshore 300 to 500 miles when the winds come in. 

The strategy is to cross this bay is of-course to first find a weather window.  However, even with a weather window, we only travel at 6 to 7 knots and we could easily get hit with a Tehuante-pecker.  The other thing we will do is to HUG the shoreline the whole way.  Now when I say HUG, we mean hug.  We will stay as close to land as possible by using or depth finder and staying in 30 feet of water the whole way.  That means we need to be highly attentive at all times and this will be very draining over a two day period. 

The wind usually blows from the north off the land.  This means hugging the coast should prevent us from getting into wind driven huge seas.  We have spoken with a number of boats that have done this trip.  They tell us that when the wind blows the sand from the beach will be like a sandblaster on the boat even ¼ mile off shore.

The weather looks very calm for our crossing and hopefully it will stay that way.  As I write this we have just pulled out of Puerto Quetzal and the seas are as calm as they can be with no wind.  We have about 100 miles until we enter the Tehuantepec and hopefully it will stay calm there as well.

11/14/06  We have been completely lucky.  We have arrived in Marina Chahue in Huatulco and the trip was as calm as could ever be hoped for.  A very easy trip.

We did have one eventful night when DeeDee was on watch.  As we mentioned earlier, we were staying very close to shore the entire way.  Late at night at about 2:00 AM, DeeDee was trying to negotiate around a couple of fishing trawlers.  Fishing trawlers, when fishing, have restricted mobility and have the right of way.  They indicate they are fishing by displaying a certain set of lights.   

The trawlers were doing everything right but they were turning back and forth as they were dragging their nets.  DeeDee was confuse by there erratic path and not able to negotiate a course around them and somehow was in a direct collision course.  Larry was asleep and DeeDee sent Isabella down to wake him up by yelling we were going to hit a boat.  Larry ran upstairs and took over the helm and immediately making the sharpest turn possible to the port.  The avoidance rules state that we were the “Stand-On vessel” However, they had limited mobility.  The avoidance rules state the next course of action is to turn to Starboard to avoid the collision.  However, we were literally 50 feet from the other vessel and a turn to Starboard might not have been good enough.  The rules then say you do whatever it takes to avoid the collision which we did.  We took the hardest turn to port that could be made.

It was a very unnerving experience.  It was the closest we ever came to a collision and hopefully the closest we will ever get.  This is why we don’t like cruising so close to shore.  If we are out in deep water, we have much more flexibility to route around other vessels.

DATE _11/8/06____    TIME _8:00 AM_START PORT _Los Suenos_____ END PORT _Puerto Quetzal, Guat

START MILES__7534___  END MILES __7998____  LEG MILES ____464_____ TOTAL MILES ___7998____

START HOURS  _1330__   END HOURS __1392____ LEG HOURS ____62___TOTAL HOURS _____1392____

START FUEL(3663) _466_  END FUEL __693____  LEG FUEL ___227____ TOTAL FUEL  ______528______

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.04__   REMAINING RANGE __1468______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4384/ __142__

END PRT __300______  END STRBD  __360_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____720____

SEA STATE_Very Calm most of the way, 3 to 5 foot swells_________  WIND DIRECTION__S – SW_______

11/11/06  We had a very easy trip.  It is amazing to us that we just take off now for three days of cruising like it is nothing.  I think we have our sea legs back.  We of-course still prepare properly by charting in detail and checking all systems, but it s not as big of a deal in our minds anymore.

This was a particular easy trip.  If the weather is good, the only thing we have to deal with is only getting three hours of sleep at a time.  DeeDee can usually catch up on sleep in the day.  After two or three days, Larry is able to start taking naps in the day also, but he needs to get really tired.

According do the guidebook Puerto Quetzal was a very good port to anchor.  It was safe because it was a military base and it was calm because it was so protected.  Unfortunately, the book was wrong.  They no longer allow anchoring inside the port.  We had to go to a marina.

It was 10:00 at night when we got in.  We calculated our trip to arrive in the day but we had a 1 to 1.5 knot current with us and that had us arriving about 12 hours early.  We HATE arriving into a foreign port at night.  To add to it, a harsh rain squall came in just as we were entering the port.  It was tough to see the entrance.

We made it in OK and were directed by the Port Captain to head towards the marina.  We would go into a slip and then a clearing agent would arrive in the morning.  Poor DeeDee was out in the driving rain and wind getting the lines secure to the dock while Larry was at the helm.  It was just miserable.

The next morning the agent arrived with two sailors from the navy, immigration, and the port captain.  They informed us that it was $165 to clear in for 90 days and of-course we had no choice but to pay.  Then the marina person came down and informed us that it was $2 per foot per day to be in the marina.  That is $100 per day.  This is not all that expensive by US standards, but it is by third world standards.  The marina literally sits one hour away from the nearest legitimate cities.  In the last entry we complained about the Los Suenos marina being expensive, but Los Suenos had lots to offer.  This marina did not. 

Well anyway, we are 0 for 2 in the last two ports.  Live and learn.  There is a real skill to finding the right ports to check into.  The cruising community knows where is good and what is expensive with no real redeeming qualities.  We should do a better job of homework on this stuff but we usually do not.  We usually just read the guidebooks. 

There are “nets” in the morning with all the cruisers on them.  They all work the same way.  They are scheduled at the same time each morning on certain frequencies on the Single Side Band.  They work to keep a watch on each other and to pass useful information between cruisers.  The way they work is first to have all the boats cruising come on the radio and report their positions and current weather conditions.  Then the boats in route will have conversations with other boats they need or want to reach.  After all the cruising boats check in, then the weather is usually given.  After that, anyone wanting to give or get information can come on.  Then lastly, boats at anchor check in.

There are three reasons we are not regulars on the “nets.”   First of all, the nets are run acceding to FCC rules and regulations.  Although the FCC has no jurisdiction outside the US, you will often hear the FCC rules and regs quoted.  In other words, it is much “policed”   Some are better than others but you always have the handful of radio police and that is very annoying. 

Second, our boat has lots of interference when we are cruising.  Our electrical systems and engine or generator cause lots of noise and it is very hard to hear the nets when we are cruising.

Lastly, IT TAKES THREE HOURS TO WATCH 60 MINUTES on these nets.  As we can not hear when we are cruising, we usually are one of the anchored boats checking in.  That means we are last on the list and must sit through usually an hour of other stuff to get our chance to check in and ask questions.  Also, there are usually multiple nets each morning.  As an example, we have left Panama and are heading to Mexico.  We can get the Mexico nets and the Panama nets. 

The moral of the story is we do use the nets on occasion and they are a very good and helpful thing.  However, in all things the effort must be weighed against the reward.  Sometimes it is just too difficult to get information from the nets.  Usually the biggest problem is hearing the other cruisers on the net if you are not near by.  The reception is often horrible and scratchy.

Anyway, back to the check-in and marina.  We take a very American view of these situations.  We believe anyone has a right to charge any price they desire.  The laws of supply and demand work well.  We, as the customer, can decide to use their services or not.  In this situation we decided to not.  We left the next day for Huatulco in Mexico. We have heard great things about Huatulco and many of the places north of it.  Acapulco, Zihuatanejo, Ixtpa, Manxanillo, Puerto Vallarta, and of-course Cabo

DATE _11/6/06____    TIME 10:00 AM_START PORT _Golfito, Costa Rica END PORT _Los Suenos___

START MILES__7394___  END MILES __7534____  LEG MILES ____140_____ TOTAL MILES ___7534____

START HOURS  _1308__   END HOURS __1330____ LEG HOURS ____22___TOTAL HOURS _____1330____

START FUEL(3663) _395_  END FUEL __466____  LEG FUEL ___71_____ TOTAL FUEL  ______301______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.97__   REMAINING RANGE __2170______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4294/ ___89__

END PRT __450______  END STRBD  __500_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____1100___

SEA STATE_Started rough short 4’ then swells on ths port beam___  WIND DIRECTION__Variable_____

11/8/06  We arrived into the harbor very early.  We did our routine of dropping the dinghy and heading over to check in.  At this location, there is one very well known and very exclusive marina by the name of Los Suenos.  It is three dollars per foot per night to dock.  This is more than most American marinas.   Well, we anchored out.

When we cruised in to the marina we learned that there is no port clearance here.  We either had to use an agent or we had to drive to four different locations over an hour away to clear in and out.  After this was explained to us in five minutes by the marina, the marina then informed us that we had to pay $40 for tying up our dinghy to the dock.  We refused to pay because no one had told us ahead of time.  It did not matter though, we had to come in clear out and when we did we would have to pay the $40 to tie up at the marina then.  Long story made short, we only stayed one night and used an agent to get us cleared out.  It was $250 for the agent.

We cleared out to Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala.  It is a long trip to that port.  At least three days and three nights.  There are lots of great things along the coast that we are passing up going north.  We just want to get to the cooler weather and spend more time in Mexico.  We also have some plans in the back of our head to try and put the boat in a marina for a month and go snowboarding.  Isabella is now old enough to learn how to ski.  We don’t know if that will fit our schedule nor our budget, but if it does we will try to go.

DATE _10/31/06___    TIME 8:30  AM_START PORT _Contadora________ END PORT _Golfito___

START MILES__7055___  END MILES __7394____  LEG MILES ____339_____ TOTAL MILES ___7394____

START HOURS  _1257__   END HOURS __1308____ LEG HOURS ____51___TOTAL HOURS _____1308____

START FUEL(3663) _186_  END FUEL __395____  LEG FUEL ___209____ TOTAL FUEL  ______230______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.62__   REMAINING RANGE __1976______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4294/ ___29__

END PRT __550______  END STRBD  __600_____  END SPLY  ___70____  FUEL BALANCE ___1220____

SEA STATE_Rough start confused seas_-_Then improving___  WIND DIRECTION__Variable___________

10/30/06 Isabella got to see her two friends who live on the island of Contadora.  They are from a great and loving family who really get what is important in life.  The girls played all day and we ended up returning to their home for dinner that evening.  It was a great day for Isabella until it was time to leave.  She was just devastated because she had to leave the girls and did not know when she would see them again.  Once again, a big advantage of cruising is all the new people we meet.  However, the downside is saying goodbye.  That is hardest on Isabella.

10/31/06 Today was the last day in Panama for some time.  We are heading towards Alaska and don’t know if we will get there or not.  We have developed a very relaxed view of our travel.  We will head north, and if all is well we will keep going.  We really would like some cooler weather for awhile.  Living on the boat is different than living in a house.  We are in the tropical heat often and long when on the boat.  The question is how much do we want.  We will head north and play it by ear.  We think we will love the cooler weather but we will miss the great things about tropical as well.  We will miss snorkeling, swimming, and of-course the beach and island life. 

I get many emails and it is clear that the greatest amount of followers of this website are very interested in “boat stuff”.  So here is a little.  Today we left for Gofito Costa Rica.  It is the first port of entry in Costa Rica coming from the south.  It is about a 340 mile trip.  We are going to run this at about 2,000 RPM which is faster than we normally run.  We have had lots of soot coming out of the exhaust recently.  That typically is from running the engine at too low of a load.  For example, at 1,800 rpm we are running at about a 47% load on the engine.  This low of a load will over time hurt the engine as it will tend to develop a glaze over the cylinder walls.  This results in a lower compression and possibly some oil loss through the rings.  In reality, the Lugger engine uses a John Deere block and it is very rare that one would see this happen.  My greater incentive is to get rid of the soot.  I ran at the higher RPM back and forth to Contadora and noticed the soot was gone.

The downside is that we will use some more fuel.  At the 2,000 RPM, in calm seas we get 1.7 gallons to the mile and at 1,800 we get over 2.0 gallons to the mile.  Not a great difference but let me share another view of it.  We expect to travel 12,000 miles in the coming year.  At 1,800 rpm, that would take 5,714 gallons.  At 2,000 rpm, it would take 7,058.  That is a 1,344 gallon difference.  Multiply that by the average cost of fuel and it comes to a fair amount over 12,000 miles.

In reality, we will change our RPM often based on arrival time.  We will often slow down to make sure we come in at a certain tide or at a certain time.  We often need the sun high and not on an angle to see the reefs or rocks coming into a new port.  We will also slow down to make the ride more comfortable in rough or large seas. 

11/1/06 When we were in the Atlantic, we used a fellow by the name of Chris Parker for our weather forecasting.  We paid him an annual fee of $300.  He would send us daily emails and chat interactively with us on the Single Side Band radio each day.  I am sure there is an equivalent of this on the Pacific side but we have not found him yet.  In the meantime, we tried a service called Commanders Weather.  We pay for each time we use them.  It is $60 for a five day forecast but it sucks.  My first experience with them was not good because we have run into 25 knot winds when they told us that there would be calm winds.  I could even accept a bad report this one time except for the fact that the free NOAA weather service had the winds correct.  The bigger problem is that to get an updated forecast it costs more money. (even though the first five day one was so wrong)

Anyway, we won’t be using them anymore.  We have another service for $300 per year that will give you the 7 day wind and wave heights for any waypoint we give them.  The wave and wind height is the most important things anyway and I can get the general forecast from the free NOAA products.  I would still prefer to find another Chris Parker for the Pacific.

As you may have already figured out, our transit was not as calm as was predicted.  All day it was fairly calm but the first night turned into a windy and rough ride.  It was very uncomfortable.  Also, we have not cruised a multi day trip in some time and we don’t have our sea legs back yet. 

It is daylight as I write this and we have re-routed inside the big island of Coiba to get some protection from the wind and seas.  We don’t like to do this as it requires being attentive to the shallow water and hazards.  When out to sea in deep water we only need to worry about other boats. 

We are hoping by the time we pop out of the north end of this island channel the conditions will not be as rough.  If the seas are not too rough, we can be in Gofito by early morning tomorrow.  More later……

11/2/06 We don’t guess right often but this time we did.  By the time we came out of the inner passage the winds had died down and it was not so bad.  The rest of the passage was uneventful and quite comfortable.

Golfito is a much protected harbor.  The mountains and vista are just great.  It is surprising this has not become another hot spot for Americans.

11/4/06  We did not do much in Gofito except for using it as a jumping port.  We ate almost every meal at the Banana Bay Marina because it was GREAT food.  Also, there was a little puppy owned by the bar manager.  Isabella played with the dog every time we went to eat. 

DATE _10/29/06___    TIME 12:00 PM_START PORT _Panama City______ END PORT _Contadora____

START MILES__7021___  END MILES __7055____  LEG MILES ____34______ TOTAL MILES ___7055____

START HOURS  _1252__   END HOURS __1257____ LEG HOURS ____5____TOTAL HOURS _____1257____

START FUEL(3663) _165_  END FUEL __186____  LEG FUEL ___21_____ TOTAL FUEL  ______21_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.60__   REMAINING RANGE __2250______    GEN FUEL EST. 4265_/_4267/ ___2___

END PRT __full_____  END STRBD  __full____  END SPLY  ___full__  FUEL BALANCE ____full___

SEA STATE_Calm_______ ________________  WIND DIRECTION__Calm______________________________

10/29/06  We REALLY loved Panama and want to return soon.  The question will be when.  We also have an opportunity to buy some real estate in Panama and would like to pursue that opportunity.  If we continue north all the way to Alaska I am sure we will fly back to Panama a time or two before we return next year.

11/27/06  Isabella got to go to a Halloween party at the Balboa Yacht Club.  Unfortunately, there were no other kids.  That did not seem to deter her from having fun. She ended up on the dance floor by herself dancing for literally hours on end.  She did not want her parents dancing with her because she has informed us “Big Girls” don’t dance with their parents.  She did dance with about a dozen other costumed adults through the night.

DATE _10/21/06___    TIME _8:00 AM_START PORT _Contadora_______ END PORT _Panama City__

START MILES__6987___  END MILES __7021____  LEG MILES ____34______ TOTAL MILES ___7-21____

START HOURS  _1246__   END HOURS __1251____ LEG HOURS ____5____TOTAL HOURS _____1251____

START FUEL(3663) _142_  END FUEL __164____  LEG FUEL ___22_____ TOTAL FUEL  _____347_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.54__   REMAINING RANGE __645_______    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/_4257/ _673___

END PRT __160______  END STRBD  __220_____  END SPLY  ___50____  FUEL BALANCE ____430____

SEA STATE_1  - 2 feet ________________  WIND DIRECTION__NE 10 knots_______________________

10/21/06 We headed back to Panama City.  I know this log has been quite boring over the past few months but we have not been bored at all.  Although there is not much to tell about, we are enjoying the luxuries of modern civilization.

While we were back in Panama City this time, we took advantage of the low labor rates to get some work done on the boat.  The generator was starting to leak at the front seal and we changed that seal out.  This cost us $80 where it would typically have cost about $1,000 to get done.  Having seen how cheap the labor was, and the fact that we now have 4,200 hours on the generator, we decided to change out the seal at the back end of the generator.  This is was a much larger job and we got this done for $250.  This would have cost well over $2,000 in the states.

We also have more on the Davit drama.  The Davit works fine but when not engaging the motor the Davit will swing from left to right.  It will not hold its hydraulic lock.  This is a problem when launching or retrieving the davit in any kind of swell.  The arm will swing back and forth in the swell and the dingy will swing widely and dangerously from side to side.

While we were in Panama, we had the Davit manufacturer send the new seals for the davit piston to us.  We have been completely stumped by the davit problem.  It is hydraulic and losing its hydraulic lock so it must be losing oil somewhere.  However, we can not find any oil leak and we are not losing any oil in the unit.  Our best diagnosis at this point is that the seals are bad inside the hydraulic ram and oil is leaking internally on the unit.  Well, it did not go well.  To get the piston out, we must use a crane to lift the davit arm off the boat.  We did not want to do this but saw an alternative.  We could cut out the piece of steel that was holding the piston in place, and weld it back into place when we were done.

After cutting the piston out and taking it apart, we found that the manufacture of the Davit in Taiwan had sent us the wrong seals.  It would take too long to get a new set sent to Panama so we tried to find them locally.  We had no luck but found a set that were less robust.  We put the second set of seals on the piston in addition to leaving the existing ones there hoping this would correct the problem.  NO LUCK.  We are not sure if the new seals did not work or if we have another problem.  We will keep you up to date on the never ending Davit story.

DATE _10/17/06___    TIME 10:00 AM_START PORT _Panama City_____ END PORT _Contadora_____

START MILES__6953___  END MILES __6987____  LEG MILES ____34______ TOTAL MILES ___6987____

START HOURS  _1240__   END HOURS __1246____ LEG HOURS ____6____TOTAL HOURS _____1246____

START FUEL(3663) _115_  END FUEL __142____  LEG FUEL ___27_____ TOTAL FUEL  _____325_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.25__   REMAINING RANGE ____618_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/_4208/ _811___

END PRT __210______  END STRBD  __225_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____495____

SEA STATE_Rough 3 – 5 feet____________  WIND DIRECTION__South at 20 to 25 knots___________

10/18/06 Isabella could not have been more thrilled.  She has been without other kids for some time now and when we went to the pool on Contadora, there were the same two girls there that Isabella played with last time.  She was in heaven.

We invited the kids and their mom back to the boat for some play time and Isabella was so sad when they had to leave.

DATE _10/8/06___    TIME _8:00 AM_START PORT _Contadora ______ END PORT _Panama City_____

START MILES_________  END MILES __6953____  LEG MILES ____________ TOTAL MILES ___6953____

START HOURS  _______   END HOURS __1240____ LEG HOURS _________TOTAL HOURS _____1240___

START FUEL(3663) _____  END FUEL __115____  LEG FUEL ___49_____ TOTAL FUEL  _____298_______

AVERAGE MPGs _________   REMAINING RANGE ____________    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/_4198/ _798___

END PRT __210______  END STRBD  __250_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____520____

SEA STATE_1  - 2 feet ________________  WIND DIRECTION__NE 10 knots_______________________

DATE _10/2/06____    TIME 11:00 AM_START PORT _Panama City_____ END PORT _Contadora_____

START MILES__6832___  END MILES __6867____  LEG MILES ____35______ TOTAL MILES ___6867____

START HOURS  _1222__   END HOURS __1228____ LEG HOURS ____6____TOTAL HOURS _____1228____

START FUEL(3663) _40__  END FUEL __66_____  LEG FUEL ___26_____ TOTAL FUEL  _____249_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.88__   REMAINING RANGE __1,200_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/_4102/ _674___

END PRT __285______  END STRBD  __320_____  END SPLY  ___55____  FUEL BALANCE ____660____

SEA STATE_1  - 2 feet ________________  WIND DIRECTION__NE 10 knots_______________________

10/2/06 Larry’s daughter Lindsey and her friend James came into town on the 1^st.  We took off the next day for Contadora and Nebo took the ride with us out to the island.  We were able to see some dolphins very close and some whales in the distance.  We moored at the same mooring ball we stayed on last time right off the beach in Contadora.

10/4/06  We have been relaxing and spending some time on the island.   The first night we were going to have dinner with Nebo but it was just downpouring.  The nest day we took a dinghy ride south along the islands.  We met another boat anchored out but besides them we did not see anybody.  These are really isolated and secluded islands. 

Later that day Lindsey and James took the small dinghy for a ride to some of the close islands with some nice beaches. 

10/5/6 We moved the big boat south to an island called Isla Canas.  The anchorage was fantastic protected on all sides and we were the only boat there.  The current was strong but the place was really great.  From here we took another dinghy ride trying to find a sunken submarine.  We could not find it at the island where it was supposed to be wrecked.  We also took a dinghy ride up the River Rio Cacique.  It looked like something out of a Tarzan movie.  Truly deep jungle with vines hanging over the river. 

We also looked for some snorkeling spots but the water had terrible visibility.  Less than two feet.  We found this strange as we had very clear water at Contadora.  It was disappointing that James and Lindsey did not get to do some snorkeling here.

10/7/06 We headed back to Contadora today and got to see four hump back whales next to the boat.  It was amazing.  Take a look at the photos in the photo section.

DATE _9/11/06____    TIME __8:00 PM__START PORT _Contadora________ END PORT _Panama City_______

START MILES__6797___  END MILES __6832____  LEG MILES ____34______ TOTAL MILES ___6832____

START HOURS  _1217__   END HOURS __1222____ LEG HOURS ____5____TOTAL HOURS _____1222____

START FUEL(3663) _23__  END FUEL __40_____  LEG FUEL ___17_____ TOTAL FUEL  _____223_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.17__   REMAINING RANGE __1,400_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/_4082/ _498___

END PRT __320______  END STRBD  __335_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ____715____

SEA STATE_1  - 2 feet ________________  WIND DIRECTION__NE 10 knots_______________________

9/13/06 DeeDee headed back to Phoenix to attend to a medical problem with her family.  Larry followed a few days later.  This was the first time DeeDee got to see her new nephew Conner.  After Phoenix, we both went to Dallas to see Larry’s kids.   We ended up spending about two weeks all together in the states.

DATE _9/4/06_____    TIME __9:00 PM__START PORT _Panama City______ END PORT _Contadora, Perlas_

START MILES__6763___  END MILES __6797____  LEG MILES ___34_______ TOTAL MILES __6797_____

START HOURS  _1211__   END HOURS ___1217___ LEG HOURS ___6_____TOTAL HOURS ____1217_____

START FUEL(3663) _0___  END FUEL __23_____  LEG FUEL ___23_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____206________

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.50__   REMAINING RANGE ___1,000____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/4007_/ _550___

END PRT ____360____  END STRBD  ___375____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ___795_____

SEA STATE_1  - 2 feet ________________  WIND DIRECTION__NE 22 knots_______________________

9/4/06 – We left Flamenco Marina on our way to the Island of Contadora in the Perlas islands.  Our friend Nebo took the ride with us from Panama City.  We tied up to a mooring close to one of the beaches.  We went in for something to eat at a local hotel and took a brief tour of the island.  The island is an exclusive island with about 40 to 50 waterfront homes.  Some of the wealthier Panamanians have homes here as well as some film stars.  The water is clear and the island has 13 beaches.  The water is not as clear as you would see in the Caribbean but not dirty at all.  I believe that the water on the Pacific side is not as clear for two reasons.  It has big tides which does not let the water settle and there is more mud versus sand in the Pacific versus the Caribbean. 

The tides are very big at about 18 feet from low to high tide.  There are no docks here so every time we go to the island we need to anchor out the dingy and swim in.  Larry brings Isabella and DeeDee into the shore and let them get off.  He then takes the dingy out to deep water and drops the anchor and swims in.  He must drop the anchor with lots of line because the tide will cause the scope of the anchor to shorten and lengthen by 18 feet.  This becomes significant when you consider that the scope of the anchor line needs to be at least 5 times the depth and preferably 10 times the depth.  We don’t want the dingy floating away.

9/7/06 – We were introduced to another couple who have lived on the island for many years.  Mike and Becky.  They have a gorgeous rustic home on the island with great views from a high point on the island.  Mike is a world class spear fisherman and has caught many fish which were hundreds of pounds.  He has even speared a 500 pound fish.  In his younger years he competed and would free dive to 100 feet to spear fish.  Unfortunately, we were unable to go spear fishing with him this trip.  However, he offered on our return trip to take us out.  He would be a great teacher.  We will definitely take him on his offer.

9/9/06 – Mike and Becky invited us to their home for a barbecue today.  It was just like home with spare ribs and a sweet honey like barbeque sauce.  Larry was in heaven.    We had a great time and met a friend of theirs, Bill, who also has a five year old girl.  He left the states a year or so ago and purchased a bed and breakfast on the island.  He suggested we get the girls together the next time we come to the island and of-course we will as Isabella would love a playmate.  Mike and Becky were great hosts and we loved hearing about the history of the island and Panama in general.

9/10/06 – We have been taking Isabella to the hotel pool each day.  She loves the pool and we love to eat at the restaurant by the pool so it works out well.  Today we saw what we believe was a spider monkey with its baby at the pool.  It took some fruit from Larry and sat very close to us for a long time.  It seemed so human like.  Larry was even able to hold its hands and feet a few times.

Larry took the dinghy on a 50 mile round trip to the southern islands today while DeeDee caught a nap.  The islands here are just spectacular.  They are very similar to the San Blas but with jungle as the vegetation instead of palm trees.  One big advantage is almost all of them are uninhabited and we can find isolated anchorages everywhere.  One anchorage was well protected off of a white sand beach and the island had fresh water streams running.  One more advantage is that we are not being constantly disturbed to purchase something by the locals.  We can truly be alone in these islands and it is amazing they are only 35 miles from Panama City.  We are just blown away.

9/11/06 – It is the 5^th anniversary of the 9-11 disaster and we are cruising from Contadora Island back to Panama City.  We will never forget how long ago 9-11 was because Isabella was born just 11 days earlier.  We will probably hang out in Panama City for the next three weeks until Larry’s Daughter Lindsey comes in.  We will then return to the Perlas islands with her.

DATE _8/21/06____    TIME __7:00 PM__START PORT _Colon____________ END PORT Panama City_______

START MILES__6715___  END MILES __6763____  LEG MILES ___48_______ TOTAL MILES __6763_____

START HOURS  _1190__   END HOURS ___1208___ LEG HOURS __18_____TOTAL HOURS ____1208_____

START FUEL ___3635____  END FUEL __3663___  LEG FUEL ___28_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____183_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.70__   REMAINING RANGE ___1400_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/4000_/ _540___

END PRT ____345____  END STRBD  ___425____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ___830_____

SEA STATE_Panama Canal – No Seas_______  WIND DIRECTION__Very little wind__________________

8/21/06 – We are now on the Pacific Ocean!!  We transited the Panama Canal for the most part uneventful.

The first thing you do when getting ready to transit the canal is paperwork.  The paperwork is filled out and then they come out in measure the boat.  We were right on the edge of length.  Over 50 feet it is $850 and under $50 feet it was $600 dollars.  We measured out at 51 feet.  Larry used a $20 bill to convince the guy measuring we were only 49’ 11”   It saved us $250.

We also hired four line handlers who are the guys who tie the boat up to the wall or tug or whatever method is used when in the locks.  They stayed on the boat and even slept on the boat.  We also fed them meals as part of the deal. 

The line handlers are very important.  When going through the canal, the boat is first raised up to the level of the lake which is a few hundred feet above sea level.  We then cross the lake and go back into locks to lower us to sea level once again.  All this is over about a 35 mile distance.  The line handlers must know and be able to manage the currents and forces of the water as the locks fill and empty.  They must know, for example, that when filling a lock which way the current is coming from.  That dictates whether or not the bow lines or stern lines go on first.  If the current is coming from behind us, and the stern lines are not fastened first, then the bow will be tight against the wall and the current will catch the back of the boat and swing it out away from the wall with the bow getting crunched against the cement wall.   This happens often with small boats like ours.    Another situation that must be handled properly is being behind the huge cargo ships.  When they move and their props turn it creates a massive turbulence in the lock.  Lastly, when coming out of the locks, salty sea water mixes with fresh lake water.  The sea water is heavier and sinks and the fresh water is lighter and rises.  This situation causes a very strong current of the lake water going out an underneath the seawater coming in. This happens in the outside locks and acts completely different than the currents of the inside locks.

Once we were ready to go, we left Shelter Bay Marina and moved to what is called the “Flats” anchoring area.  This is the area where all small boats go in preparation to transit the canal.  Boats over 65 feet require a full pilot to transit which is much more expensive.  Boats under 65 feet have a choice of using an “advisor” or a pilot.  It you choose a pilot, he actually drives the boat through the canal.  If you choose an advisor, we remain the captain and in control and responsible for the boat.  We selected an advisor.  The advisor is delivered to our boat via a launch.   When the launch comes to your boat it looks like they are going to ram right into the side of it.  However, they softly put their bow right to the back of our boat and the advisor jumps onto our boat.

We hit a snag right away. Our advisor’s radio stopped working and he could not communicate with the “Lock Master”.  We had to wing it as we entered the locks not really knowing when the locks were going to open and fill.  As we entered the first lock, we got stuck behind a huge container ship and were just holding our position for hours.  We had no idea of what the delay was as our advisor’s radio was not working. The had just finished a 30 year maintenance where they remove the lock doors and clean them.  We thought maybe one of the lock doors were stuck but we never did find out the problem.  After a few hours we finally went into the first lock.

The entrance to the canal is via three locks.  You enter the first lock; it fills with water, then move on to the second and then the third.  We were scheduled to transit the canal in one night.  However, because we were so delayed, when we came out of the first set of locks it was too late for us to cruise the 30 miles or so across the lake and reach the exit locks in time to exit.  The big ships can do the needed speed to make the next locks in time but we could not.  We were instructed to anchor on the lake for the remainder of the night.

The next morning a different advisor came on the boat at about 6:00 AM and we were ready to go.  We cruised the lake and ended up having another day of delays.  We had to wait for a pilot to arrive for the huge container ship in front of us so we sat for many hours tied up in the lock until the pilot arrived. 

In the final leg of the canal entering the final lock, our engine stopped throttling up.  It was still running but it would not throttle.  Larry had a suspicion that it was the same plug on the Electronic Control Module which had been the cause of us losing our engine on the trip from the San Blas islands to Colon.  We thought we had fixed the problem by tightening the plug but obviously not.  To get our throttle back DeeDee had to run down to the engine room and move the plug until the throttle would pick up.  This plug was about one inch from the very hot engine block.  We could not have done this if we were out at sea.

We transited the canal, which usually takes about 8 hours, in about 20 hours.  We went into a marina on the Pacific side called Flamenco ready to begin our Pacific adventure. 

8/24/06 – We are about 8 months past our warranty on our Lugger engine.  However, we have to rave about the service from Lugger.  Not only did they stay on their personal cell phones after hours with us at sea while we were having problems, they sent us a new wire harness and Electronic Control Module under complete warranty to fix our problem.   They have really gained a dedicated customer for life.

8/25/06 – The few days we have been here have been just working on the boat and getting to know Panama City. What a GREAT city.  It is small but very urban.  Panama itself is only about 3 million people and Panama City is under 1 million.  Many people compare it to Miami but Miami does not have the great downtown area like Panama City.  I would compare it more to New York City.  It is very much like midtown NY but on the water.

We have also met some great people who we briefly met at Shelter Bay, A family who is from Croatia and has lived here for six years.  They have made it their home and feel as though they will be here forever.  They live right in the city and have been really helpful in introducing us to Panama City.  We think their life is great as they are right down town and access to the mountains or beaches are just few hours away.  We have just met this family but already have the feeling we will be friends for a very long time.

8/28/06 – There is a boat next to us with a few little marmoset monkeys on it.  We have become friendly with the captain and he lets Isabella play with the monkeys.  Now as soon as Isabella wakes up she goes right to the window and waits to see when the captain comes out on deck so she can go play with the monkeys.  This is the routine all day if we are on our boat.  She LOVES those monkeys.

8/31/06 – Today is Isabella’s 5^th birthday.  Anyone who is a parent will appreciate how fast it flies.  We can’t believe she is five years old already.  Dee Dee’s mom flew in for her birthday and was the generous grandmother as always.  She took Isabella shopping for her birthday.  How Isabella can love shopping already at 5 years old is amazing and scary.

In the evening we took Isabella to Bennigans (yes, Bennigans in Panama) for her birthday.  Our captain friend Jeff from the boat next to us was invited by Isabella and he came with his girlfriend.  Our Croatian friends also came to the dinner.  Isabella was very disappointed that no kids were there but she had a great time anyway.

9/2/06 – We are heading to the Perles islands off of Panama on Monday for a week or two.  We are loving Panama City so much we are going to stay for a month or two.  After spending a week or two in the islands, we will return to the city.  Larry’s daughter Lindsey will come in during the first week of October and after that we will probably start heading north.

DATE _8/07/06____    TIME __8:00 AM__START PORT _Coco Benderos____ END PORT Colon_____________

START MILES__6625___  END MILES __6715____  LEG MILES ___90_______ TOTAL MILES __6715_____

START HOURS  _1175__   END HOURS ___1190___ LEG HOURS __15_____TOTAL HOURS ____1190_____

START FUEL ___3574____  END FUEL __3635___  LEG FUEL ___61_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____155_______

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.46__   REMAINING RANGE ____________    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/3974_/ _487___

END PRT ____365____  END STRBD  ___450____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ___875_____

SEA STATE_4 – 6 NE Swell_______________  WIND DIRECTION__North 20 knts_____________________

6/12/06 Today we left to go back to Colon from the San Blas islands.  It was a day of boat problems.  First off, we could not get the dinghy up on the boat because the davit would not work.  The reason we were going back to Colon was to have the Davit worked on.  However, the davit crushed a hydraulic line and the davit would just blow oil out the broken hydraulic hose.  When the davit retracts, the lines get pinched between the hinges.  The line finally broke completely.  We had to drag the dinghy back the entire 90 miles to Colon.  We tied the dinghy to the back of the boat on a 60 foot line.  The most concerning thing to me when towing a dinghy is always the line breaking or the knot untying.  Neither one of us are great at tying knots.

The seas were not bad but not good.  We had a 4 to 6 foot swell on our beam from the Northeast as we traveled northwest.  The weather called for winds under 10 knots but it was blowing over 20 knots the entire way.

About two hours into the trip, we started getting an alarm on the main engine.  It said we had too much voltage on the throttle control.  The engine was still running fine, but the alarm remained.  About another hour into the trip, we lost all of our gauges.  It was obvious that something was going bad.  Again, the engine was still running fine, but not for long.  About an hour later, the engine started revving up and down.  I could not get it to keep the RPM up.   It would stay and run at idle.

At this point we started the wing engine.  However, because the wing engine does not run the stabilizers, we left the main engine running at idle to power the stabilizers.  Larry got on the phone with the Lugger dealer.  They walked him through the process of diagnosing the problem.  The long story made short is that it was a loose plug at the Electronic Control Module.  After an hour or so, Larry was able to locate and tighten the plug and get the engine throttle running properly but could not get the gauges operating again.

DATE _7/15/06____    TIME __8:00 AM__START PORT _Portabella_______ END PORT Chichime – San Blas

START MILES__6531___  END MILES __6588____  LEG MILES ___57_______ TOTAL MILES __6588_____

START HOURS  _1156__   END HOURS ___1166___ LEG HOURS __10_____TOTAL HOURS ____1166_____

START FUEL ___3524____  END FUEL __3553___  LEG FUEL ___29_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____94________

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.96__   REMAINING RANGE ____2300____    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/3762_/ _231___

END PRT ____525____  END STRBD  ___Full____  END SPLY  ___Full__  FUEL BALANCE ___1175____

SEA STATE_4 – 6 NE Swell_______________  WIND DIRECTION__NE less than ten__________________

7/15/06 We headed to the San Blas today.  The Yamana kids and their 13 year old guest Lara slept over last night and are making the trip with us.  Isabella is in hog heaven.

The seas are not rough but everyone got sick again except Larry.  It could be due to the fact that we have been anchored in such calm water for so long.  We usually have some movement in the boat when we anchor but it has been perfectly calm in all the recent anchorages and of-course the marina.

We arrived in the Lemmon Cays with Yamana.  However, we had no luck in dropping an anchor without either dragging or being in a very strong current.  We spent a few hours trying to get the anchor set when we decided to just head for a different island called Chichime which was a few miles away.

We dropped anchor in a fantastic little anchorage at Chichime.  Before we could even get our anchor down many of the Kuna Indians were next to our boat trying to sell us their molas.  The local inhabitants are Kuna Indians and they are very traditional in the way they live.  They are in bamboo huts with thatched roofs.  In almost all cases, no electric or running water. 

The Kunas have the authority to be Autonomous and run their own society within Panama.  They are restricted from marrying outside of the Kuna tribe and as a result the lines of the Kunas are very pure.  They are a very short people and do remind me of the American Indian in look.  The children are all beautiful.

7/16/06 Kunas are constantly coming up to the boat.  DeeDee was in the shower and they were even knocking on the window to get her attention.  We try to keep a good attitude about it but it is really non-stop. We have met a family who live here on the island and they have been very friendly.  They offered to cook a lobster dinner for us for $2.50 per person.  It sounded like a great deal and we along with Yamana agreed.  When we arrived at the dinner we sat at the low table arranged for us.  I guess the lobster were not available that day as we were served six jack fish (not cleaned but whole with the head).  We also had rice but that was provided by us.  In the end, we brought our cokes, beer, and rice (for us and them) and paid for six small jack fish cooked by the family. 

7/17/06 although the meal was not what we expected, this island group is just fantastic.  Today we took the dinghies along with Yamana to and island called Dog Island.  It is one island among many which is the typical Caribbean island you would see in the Corona commercial.  It is pure white sand 360 degrees around the island with uncounted tall palm trees on the island.  At this particular island there was a wreck of a ship right off the island to be snorkeled.  The day was a great day of just being at the beach.

7/19/06 Today we cruised to the Holandes Cays with Yamana.  On the way we stopped of and anchored at Dog Cay for a few hours.  We dropped the dinghies and headed to the Lemmon Cays which are right next door to do some snorkeling.  The snorkeling was excellent. 

We arrived in the Holandes Cay in late afternoon.  The swimming pool is part of the Holandes Cays and the most popular anchorage of the San Blas.  There are about 15 boats here all anchored next to each other off of the island called BBQ Island.  We chose to get about ¼ mile away and anchored next to a secluded and uninhabited island called Ogoppirladup.  We are still in range of the other boats by a short dinghy ride but we also have our own Caribbean island to ourselves.

This is an absolutely breathtaking place.  Sitting here we are looking at dozens of islands with tall Palm trees and surrounded by great beaches on the edge.  The mountains of the mainland are in the background. However, I must say, the more we cruise, the more we appreciate the Bahamas.  Except for Bonaire, we have never found water close to the clarity of the Bahamas and we have never found beaches as spectacular as the Bahamas.

FROM DEEDEE’S PERSONAL LOG

July 24, 2006

Today I met a wonderfully exciting man, Tom Tholen, on board the s/v Bagoas.  His partner and I share the same birthday, although I have not met Peter yet.  Tom has led such an interesting life, Peter as well, traveling all over the world together on many adventurous excursions that have taken them from Indonesia, the Libyan Desert, diving in the Red Sea, just to mention a few.  This quick encounter with Tom, about 1 or 2 hours of riveting conversation on board Nexus, came just in time to bring me out of my funk.  I go through this funk when we’re just sitting around, killing time, waiting for a weather window or for hurricane season to pass.  I start thinking that I’d like to go back into port somewhere, get a job and put Isabella into school, or go backpacking some place in a much cooler climate, where there are no bugs, etc.  It passes, but it happens just because I hate the waiting game and the transitions into the next phase. 

Meeting Tom made me realize that traveling around on the boat, experiencing new cultures and what not, is not really what I like to do.  I get the most enjoyment, enlightenment, encouragement and inspiration from the people I meet, the other cruisers.  It’s people like us, those that are adventurous, who can’t wait to see what’s around the next corner, or over the next horizon, who don’t like to be forced into a mold and live their lives like others, those people are what make this whole ride pleasurable and intriguing.  Yes, it’s cool to see how the Kuna Indians live in the San Blas Islands, to witness some of their festivals first hand.  But the people, the cruisers, are what make this interesting.  The stories they can tell about the many different lives they have lived in just one life time keep me on the edge of my seat, yearning for more, and urging me forward with my own travels and adventures.

Some people think that cruisers are running from something or someone.  I guess that’s not such a stretch but most of the cruisers we meet are running only from the ever pressing stresses of living in the modern, civilized world.  They don’t like the constraints and rules and regulations that the traditional life- styles of the Western world almost requires you to partake in.  Cruising is the last bastion of freedom we have and it may not be here in this capacity in 20 years.  Tom is the epitome of an independent, nomadic, free soul.  He’s pure in his heart and his intent is for learning and experiencing with his own senses.  He, too, seems to not like the fact that modern culture dictates you must have insurance, you must wear your seatbelt while driving a car, you can get a speeding ticket mailed to you because a hidden camera took a picture of you going through a speed zone.  None of us, the cruisers we’ve met, can believe the pressure to perform and to be available 24/7 is accepted as normal and embraced by the western culture.  We all talk about what we were doing right before we “left” and cannot believe how blind we had been for so long to the nastiness and hostility that had crept into our lives and how difficult it was to just unwind and relax with our family and friends.  The thought of “going back” to THAT makes most of us, if not all of us, cringe and wonder what we’re going to do if or when we have to.  Larry is dreading it so much that I wonder if he’s really able to enjoy himself while cruising at all because he knows our cruising time is limited and not for the rest of our lives or until we get tired of it. 

Tomorrow we leave for Coco Banderas where Yamana is anchored and will hear how the Kuna Festival was at Rio Sidra.  We are considering leaving the San Blas early and going through the canal early.  We were thinking we could make it to Australia before cyclone season starts instead of waiting out hurricane season, just sitting about.  It is better than last year, sitting at the marina in Venezuela, much better.  But I think we’re just itching to get moving.

7/26/06  What can we say.  We are in the San Blas islands.  We are now at the island group called Coco Banderos.  We are doing the same thing everyday.  There are a dozen islands within a few miles of us that are just 360 degrees of white sand with hundreds of tall palm trees covering the island.  We just dinghy or swim to the islands each day and explore the island.  We spend hours each day in the water snorkeling.

I know this sounds boring but it is far from it.  It has been spectacular.

The boat has been doing well.  We had a watermaker problem where the breaker inside the watermaker has been blowing.  We reset it and it runs for awhile but then after time it blows again.  We are not sure of the cause for this yet and have sent emails off to the manufacturer to see if they can shed any light on the subject.    At this point the watermaker is still making water for us so we have been careful to fill the tanks every time we make water in case it craps out on us.

We will be getting the Davit looked at AGAIN when we get back to Colon.  After all the work done to it in Florida it is acting up again and we now also have a leak in a hydraulic line.  The company which fixed the boat Wayfinder’s Davit is here in Panama and Wayfinder was very pleased with their work.  Hopefully they can figure out what is the problem with this Davit.

FROM DEEDEE’S PERSONAL LOG

July 26, 2006

We’ve moved to Coco Banderos, San Blas, a small group of islands where only one is inhabited by Kunas.  In our “back yard” we have 3 beautiful islands that have lean-to sheds made of palm fronds and tables, benches and stools carved from old palm trees for beach parties and bon-fires.  They are small enough to run around and play on without getting lost or hurt.  They are somewhat cleared so you can see through to all sides and full of cool shells and great things to discover and uncover while beach combing, which is my and Isabella’s favorite thing to do.  We can balance on fallen palm trees like balance beams and tight ropes.  One side of the island, where several tides and currents come together and converge, is literally littered with starfish on the edge of the drop off where the sand meets the sea grass.  I must have counted 40 starfish is an area of about 20 square yards.  Just around the corner from that on the same island is nothing but coral, dead and still alive, but not attached, as if it were all just spawned and starting there own huge colonies.  I don’t know the names of the most of the different types but we picked up some small pieces of brain coral and these little balls of coral, not quite white, with little dark specks, almost like star bursts.  Laura and I snorkeled over from the boat, following Mikey and Birgit, while Larry swam Isabella over on his back while he snorkeled.  The girls rode with us over to the new anchorage while Yamana picked up anchor and headed over to anchor by us.  Last night was just too unprotected from high winds and very strong currents, so we all decided to move to where there are 3 islands very close together and the anchorage is beautiful, almost surreal.  There is a 40 meter steel motor sailing vessel named SteeleRatte (steel rat) from Germany anchored right in between all three islands, in the sweet spot where there is not swinging around or pitching due to winds and or currents.  He is heading out tomorrow, headed to Cartegena, Columbia, with many backpackers, some from Germany, some from U.S.A. and some from Canada.  They are paying $250 for a ride from Panama to Cartegena. The boat is huge, looks like a tank, but I bet they have fun.  As it turns out, Peter and Alice have been on the boat about 11 years ago when they were visiting Germany, invited by one of the guys who pays to service it and keep it in service.  Apparently, there is a group of Germans who don’t technically own the boat but have an interest in it and pay for it to stay in service.  It has the same captain as when Peter and Alice were on board, many years ago.  He just received an email from the guy that Peter and Alice know yesterday, the guy that invited them on board that long ago.  It’s beyond a “small world” thing. 

The steel rat has picked up an extra passenger, this blonde haired woman who approached us on the beach yesterday when we were out on a dinghy ride looking for a new anchorage.  She flagged us down in quite a desperate manner, from the beach of the only island close by that is inhabited with Kuna Indians.  Apparently, she was left there by another boat and has been living there for some time, waiting for a ride either to Panama or Columbia, which doesn’t make since to any of us because Panama is so very close.  So close that the Kuna Indians could give her a paddle over in one of their canoes.  She was really begging us for a ride and even though I felt badly about her position, I was not very open to helping her out because she doesn’t speak English, only Spanish.  She seemed very disappointed that we all turned her down, but what could we do?  We did mention to her about steel rat and she said they were charging too much money.  Today, early this morning when we moved over to the new anchorage by the island she was staying on, she was in a dinghy with one of the guys on board steel rat, leaving steel rat and heading over to her island.  Then we saw her heading back to the steel rat, dinghy loaded down with two big bags.  I guess they “took it out in trade” because they both had smiles on their faces and were very happy.  They were also on the island that everyone parties and bon-fires on, walking around, holding hands and behaving very much like a couple.  So, all is well, I guess, for now.  I just would like to know how the hell she was left on the island and why.  What were the circumstances and how did she get along with the Kunas?  I know there’s a story there some where. 

This place is by far the best of all we’ve seen since the Bahamas.  Just spectacular, absolutely spectacular.  The water is not very clear, though.  Visibility is nowhere close to the Bahamas, but it still is beautiful.  Tomorrow I am going over to the island with the girls from Yamana to purchase those wonderful beaded bracelets that the Kunas make.  I love them and they aren’t as expensive as the molas, and a girl can never have enough bracelets.  Today one of the provisioning tenders came by and I ordered some fruit and bread from him, not expecting him to come until tomorrow or maybe at all and he returned today with the best bread.  The apples were in great shape, the pineapples in great shape, too.  I also bought a small cluster of bananas, “chaquitas” as the Kunas call them, the little, tiny green ones.  All together I spent like $6 for him to go over to the grocery store island, 5 miles away and bring me some food stores.  I’ve heard that you can really get ripped off on buying the lobsters and crabs here if you’re not careful.  The lobster should only be about $2 or $3, not $5 each.  I don’t know how much the crab is but you also have to be careful about the size of the creatures, too.  All in all, the Kuna Indians are really great people and the outer islanders are less pushy than the others.  The children are beautiful and just adorable, always smiling and laughing.  Many cruisers stay here for several months.  I don’t think I could stay here that long but I could stay in an area like this for about a month, but no longer.  I guess I’m getting itchy to get moving, especially since we’ve been talking about heading to Australia now and being there before cyclone season starts.  Fine Tolerance is supposed to be headed this way, due to a change in their plans and they are headed to New Zealand before cyclone season starts, so I’m thinking if we can catch up with them before they go through the canal, we can get a jump start on what we need to do to prepare for the trip and maybe buddy boat with them.  I know it’s moving quickly, but I’m getting bored with the waiting game.  I will miss everyone that we will be leaving behind, very much.  It will be odd not traveling with them or catching up to them, but it will be exciting to get to Australia sooner rather than later and see if we will like it enough to move there.  It’s all so exciting.

July 28, 2006

Birgit Wulff, guest of Yamana, left today, early this morning out of Nargana, San Blas.  She is a long time friend of Mikey, another guest of Yamana.  Alice and Mikey have known each other for some time and Birgit and Mikey have been friends for over 25 years.  They are all traveling on board together, reminiscing, laughing, singing and what not.  It’s so good to see them with each other, the girls.  You can tell how easy they are, not having to entertain them, not having to make a fuss over them. 

I wish I still had friends like that.  If there’s one thing I’m learning while cruising is that I’ve been so shut off from having relationships outside of my marriage and family.  It’s been difficult for me because most all of my friends came from relationships with people that Larry had before me.  There has always seemed to be a problem with it one way or another.  However, I feel that these friends that I’m cruising with now I will keep in touch with for a long time, or at least I hope I do.  I hope I live somewhere with easy access for people to fly into and stay at my flat or house for a period of time.  I don’t know where we’ll end up, but no matter, I know I want close friends, people I can talk to and laugh with.  People I can help out and be there for them when they need me.  Alice has been a good friend to me and Peter as well.  Their kids are just wonderful, especially to Isabella, but we like having them over, too, because we get a fresh look at the facts of life when we’re with them and having conversations.  They have such honest opinions and express them so freely.  I love that and miss that so much. 

Today we all took a dinghy ride over to this ship wreck that’s been washed up on a reef or sand bar for about 15 years or more.  It’s totally rusted out and looks like a skeleton. Larry and Pete snorkeled over to and Larry, wearing his reef shoes, climbed inside and up on top of what was left of the upper deck.  He walked inside and tread lightly on a shifting, crumbling floor, where he also saw the remains of dinner ware and other sings of life left behind.  I would have liked to go, but also felt a bit creeped out, as if I would have been walking around in a haunted house, waiting for ghosts to jump out at me.  I did, however, jump in and snorkel the reef around it.  The reef was not all that colorful, but it was full of sea life, turtles, brightly colored fish feeding on the reef and a sting ray, all in sharp contrast to the hollowed out rusty bucket. 

Other than that short excursion out to the wreck, I have had a quite, lazy day.  Isabella and I have not gotten much sleep for the last couple of months due to her night mares or general restlessness and unease.  We were so sure that it was the books we were reading and the movies or cartoons that she had been involved in, and I’m sure that’s been a factor, but I think that it’s also because we’ve not been on a regular schedule for about the same amount of time.  I know it sounds like a bit of a contradiction when you live a life such as ours, cruising and relaxing and exploring, but you still need some structure when there are kids on board.  We had a schedule of getting up in the morning, having a quick bite of food, doing some school work, then Isabella would play or do whatever she wanted to do while I worked out.  I’d clean a bit, Larry would do his chores or what ever, and then we’d have an “outing” of some sort, get together with other cruisers and go snorkeling or what not.  Then we’d come home, have a snack or lunch, take a nice nap, get up and do something before it was time for dinner.  It sounds a bit regimented but it works.  Since we’ve been in Bocas del Toro, having fun with all the other cruisers and their kids, we’ve been off schedule for a bit and it’s wreaked havoc on us.  On us all, I think.  So, I’ve gone back to our schedule, just jumped right back into it, not too much like a Nazi general, but with some regularity.  It has had some what of an affect in other areas, but not yet on our sleep habits.  It will change and get better.  I just keep remembering what our friend, Phil, on board Fine Tolerance says: “Nothing lasts forever.”  I know he’s right, but I feel really disconnected when I go days, much less weeks, without sleep.  Something’s gotta give.

7/30/06 Yamana had three guests on board from Germany that we became very close friends with.  Birgit and Meike and Meike’s daughter Lara.  They are the type of people who enjoy every activity to the fullest and we have enjoyed their friendship immensely.  Birgit had to leave for Germany today and we took her to the airport.  It was a single strip airport with a building that truly looked like it was hit by aerial bombs.  The air strip was the only thing on the island.  We pulled up to the airport by dinghy to drop her off and we were worried it may not be the right place.  Soon a plane came in and by the time she got to the door, the seats were full.  The plane is loaded like a bus and first come first to get a seat.  We finally found women who explained to us that another plane was coming.  The third plane to come was the one she got on.  No request for identification and no request for a ticket!  Anyone could have gotten on the plane.  It was amazing.  Take a look at the airport in the Panama Pictures.

August 1, 2006

Today we all went for a snorkel around a reef not far from the anchorage.  We’ve had a new arrival, Impression, a 30 meter sailboat from Jersey, England.  They are a couple traveling with their 6 year old grandson, George, for a couple of weeks.  He is a wonderful young boy, very well mannered and well spoken.  I love these Brits with their perfect English and their wonderful accents.  George seems to be good with his snorkel and gets along well with all the other kids.  He invited everyone over to his boat this afternoon, after every one had lunch and a good rest.  Isabella just loved it.  The parents went as well, except for me.  I was enjoying my alone time on the boat.  I am not in the best of moods lately, due to the numerous insect bites and stings I get from snorkeling and swimming.  I scratch and itch all day and all night, and the heat doesn’t make it any better.  Larry, the love that he is, put on the air conditioner for me before he left with Isabella for their visit on board Impression.  I took a shower, got naked and cool, just relaxing, drawing and reading while I had the time.  It was great; although I’m sorry I missed the tour of the beautiful vessel.  Everyone said it was gorgeous and spacious and luxurious.  We all ended the afternoon planning a potential snorkeling excursion again for tomorrow, however, the kids have informed me that they are planning to play “capture the flag” on one of the islands.  That could be a good change and will definitely tire out the kids for us.  We’ve been getting together on our boat to watch these great videos from the BBC, all about the seas:  The Coral Seas, Tidal Seas, Coastal Seas, The Frozen Seas, etc.  I bought them before our maiden departure and thought they would be entertaining when we needed a change, but they are proving to be a really good investment.  Larry told all of the kids the other night that there would be a test at the end of the film and they all took him seriously.  I found them getting paper and asking for more pencils and found later that they had begun taking notes until Ruben finally got it out of Larry that it was all a big joke.  Just to get us adults back, they figured out how to turn off all of the televisions downstairs and went back to playing the Game Cube and playing with “cuddlies” (stuffed animals). 

We are learning so much about history while we cruise, but not just because we are going places.  By going to these wonderful places (the Panama Canal, Portabella, Panama, the ruins of Mexico, etc.) we have begun reading great books about them as well.  The book Larry is reading right now is “The Path Between The Seas” by David McCullough.  It’s enormous, about two inches thick, but he can’t put it down.  I’ve read some good ones as well, but have a list a mile long of others to order.  I’ve read some great ones about survival:  “Adrift” (can’t remember the author, but it’s a true story about a guy who survives living in his life raft, at sea for 76 days); “A Voyage For Madmen” (can’t remember the author); “Collapsed” by Jared Diamond, and so many more.  I don’t know how I have the energy to read.  Larry and I fall asleep so early now and when we do read, sometimes we get as far as one page.  It’s really difficult to read in bed and at night time. 

I have mentioned many times, lately, that I am itching to get moving.  I love where we are, and I am having a great time with our friends, but I find myself daydreaming about “what’s next?”  I’m not looking forward to going back to Shelter Bay Marina, only because there is not much to do around there, it’s not safe to go into Colon, so we will be stuck, waiting for boat repairs and preparing to go through the canal.  I’m excited about the canal, I think, but I’m not sure what we’ll do or where we’ll go when we get to the other side.  I’m looking forward to spending time in Panama City, getting to some civilization, good restaurants, movies, shopping, hair cuts, teeth cleaned, etc.  I’m ready for that.  I have spent enough time cruising to know that, while I like getting out and away from civilization, I need the interaction and the pulse of a city.  We have talked briefly today about what we’ll do when we get to the other side of Panama.  It is an awful lot of money and time to cross the Pacific, to go to more of the same that we are in now.  Sure, Australia and New Zealand will be great, but there will be a huge financial commitment in the decision to cross the Pacific.  If we don’t like it there and do not want to live there, or cannot immigrate there, we have traveled many miles and it will cost us much money to get the boat back to the states.  If we run out of money while there it will also be difficult getting the boat back to the states.  We will have to ship it, which costs $50K or we will have to cruise it back ourselves, which will cost time and money that we will need to establish ourselves elsewhere.  Selling the boat in Australia or New Zealand is totally out of the question due to the enormous taxes involved.

Therefore, we are reconsidering going to Alaska and hitting the Sea of Cortez on the way up, taking out time and choosing good weather windows, so as not to totally beat ourselves up on the way.  I’m not looking forward to more hot, humid islands, which is what we’ll be in for the next few years if we go south.  When I think of Alaska I get excited about the cooler temperatures alone.  I also like the idea for other reasons as well.  It’s closer and there’s a greater chance that my family will be able to come see us, on the way up the coast, as well as when we are in Alaska.  It’s also not nearly as expensive and time consuming as crossing the Pacific and getting to Australia.  I think it makes better since to go the least expensive route, look at the financial situation toward the end of the Alaska run and sort things out from there.  We may find that we have the time and the money to go on the Australia, or we may find that we want to go some where else, like back to the Sea of Cortez, through the canal and through the Western Caribbean again.  Who knows?  It’s exciting to think about and get ready for.  That’s the great thing about living on a boat.  When you’re ready to move you don’t really have to pack up and move.  Everything moves with you!

DATE _7/13/06____    TIME _10:00 AM__START PORT _Chargris_ River__ END PORT _Portobello__

START MILES__6503___  END MILES __6531____  LEG MILES ___28_______ TOTAL MILES __6531_____

START HOURS  _1150__   END HOURS ___1156___ LEG HOURS __6______TOTAL HOURS ____1156_____

START FUEL ___3508____  END FUEL __3524___  LEG FUEL ___16_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____65________

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.75__   REMAINING RANGE ____-_______    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/3741_/ _204___

END PRT ____Full___  END STRBD  ___Full____  END SPLY  ___Full__  FUEL BALANCE ___1300____

SEA STATE_6 - 8 foot swell_____________  WIND DIRECTION__NE less than ten__________________

7/13/06 We left the Chargris River this morning and headed for Portobello which is a port on the way to the San Blas islands.  When we first went out it was about 8 foot swells on the nose and couple with the fact that we had been in perfectly flat waters the past week, DeeDee and Isabella got very sick.  We actually turned around and started to come back to the river.  However, we realized we had no water left and needed to make water.  We can not make water in the river as it is fresh water.  The watermaker is set up to make fresh water from Salt water by forcing 200 gallons or so of sea water through the membranes per hour.  The unit will dump most of the water only keeping the salt free water.  However, when you make water from fresh water, all the 200 gallons will go through the membranes because none of the water has salt.  This results in too much water going through the membranes per hour and ruining the membranes.  So we turned around again with a plan to go to back to the Shelter Bay Marina which was only about six miles away and on the way to Portobello.  After we got out a little way, the seas started to subside and we continue onto Portobello.

Portobello is a very historic city.  At one time 1/3^rd of the world’s gold passed through this city.  Because of all the gold here, it was often attacked by famous pirates.  This is also the place that Sir Francis Drake died.

The city is run down but has lots of historical forts.  They are in the process of being refurbished and the refurbishing is being funded by many international and American grants.  One of the frustrating things when traveling around the world is to see the abuse of charity.  Here in Portobello there are three funds financing the reconstruction and they come from companies like American Express.  However, to actually watch the plan in action is a joke.  There are 10 local men with official shirts of the funds and they are “supervising” by sitting around watching young boys (who are probably making a few dollars for the day’s work) move bricks one by one.  They use a wheel barrow to move the bricks from the central location in town where they were dropped.  The process is so slow one could not finish a backyard patio in under one year.

As we travel we learn more and more how much Americans are hated around the world.  It is maddening to constantly hear about how imperialistic we are and not give credit to the humanitarian efforts we make around the world.  To hear how all of our military actions are solely for selfish reasons when these efforts have saved millions of lives and helped millions of lives.  I am not denying that many of our actions are and/or have been wrong in certain situations.  I am just asking that the good we offer the world is also included when the world forms their opinion of America.  Or as is pointed out to us so often, we arrogantly call ourselves America and Americans when we are only a part of North America.  I guess we should call ourselves Untied Statesers.

DATE _7/4/06_____    TIME _11:00 AM__START PORT _Bocas Del Toro __ END PORT _Colon_______

START MILES__6338___  END MILES __6480____  LEG MILES ___142______ TOTAL MILES __6480_____

START HOURS  _1127__   END HOURS ___1147___ LEG HOURS __20_____TOTAL HOURS ____1147_____

START FUEL ___3445____  END FUEL __3494___  LEG FUEL ___49_____ TOTAL FUEL  ____49________

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.90__   REMAINING RANGE ____-_______    GEN FUEL EST. 3584_/3712_/ _166___

END PRT ____Full___  END STRBD  ___Full____  END SPLY  ___Full__  FUEL BALANCE ___1300____

SEA STATE_3 – 4 foot swell_____________  WIND DIRECTION__NE less than ten__________________

7/4/06 We cruised to Colon overnight with the sailboat Minke.  We gave a fellow we met a ride to Colon.  His name is Martin and is originally for Australia.  He is traveling around the world in a unique way. He is very educated and holds a law degree but is hoping to get a job with the Australian Consulate in Columbia. 

We went right into the Shelter Bay Marina in colon.  The marina is right at the entrance of the Panama Canal.  We watch the huge ships come in each day to transit the canal.  The marina is far away from downtown colon.  It is at the location that the US troops were located when the US ran the canal.  The camp is run down and the barracks are abandon.  This at one time was a prestigious location and even the first astronauts trained at this camp.

Colon is just a war zone  The crime is so bad that we can not even walk one or two blocks to a store.  We need to get a taxi even to go a few blocks.   The crime is horrible.  We have not spent much time in colon.  We needed to get gas for the dinghy and we had to use jerry cans to transfer 70 gallons.  We also did some provisioning.  We were hoping to get some things shipped in as well but it is just too difficult.

The main reason to come to Colon was to arrange an agent to use for transiting the panama canal  We were able to locate a few and have not made a decision yet but are comfortable with who we met. 

After we got everything done we left the marina and headed to the Chargress River.  The Chargress River is a river that runs up to the first lock of the Panama Canal and is dammed.  The dam was created to support the Panama Canal and the Chargress River at times is used for spillage form the canal.  If the canal is going to dump water we will be advised and need to leave the river immediately. 

It is a deep river with an average depth of 30 feet.  It is a rain forest and is truly deep jungle.  The trees are over 100 feet high along the banks.  The Smithsonian even has an observation tower here to study the canopy. 

As we cruised up the river we could hear many wild animals hollering.  The monkeys and birds were of course the loudest but the monkeys were extremely loud with a guttural sound.  We were told we need to be careful swimming in the water as there are crocodiles here.

We are anchored right at the top of the river next to the first lock for the Panama Canal.  It is absolutely amazing that the canal is a stones throw away and we are sitting in deep jungle.

Today we took a dingy ride down the river.  We took the dinghy up the tributaries off of the river.  We could go a good mile up the tributaries in the middle of deep deep jungle.  We were hoping to see some monkeys but had no luck.

On the entire river there are only three boats anchored.  We are anchored next to Yamana.  We really enjoy being with them.  This afternoon we took the kids tubing.  They loved it.

DATE _6/11/06____    TIME __3:OO PM__START PORT _Providencia_ END PORT _Bocas Del Toro_______

START MILES__6082___  END MILES __6334____  LEG MILES ___252______ TOTAL MILES __6334_____

START HOURS  _1086__   END HOURS ___1125___ LEG HOURS __39_____TOTAL HOURS ____1125_____

START FUEL ___3355____  END FUEL __3443___  LEG FUEL ___88_____ TOTAL FUEL  ___792________

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.86__   REMAINING RANGE ____423_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3133_/3518_/ _462___

END PRT ____75_____  END STRBD  ___100_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ___235_____

SEA STATE_Very Calm____________________  WIND DIRECTION__Variable – Swells from East_________

6/11/06 We got underway from Provedencia in the late afternoon.  It was so calm we took off just a few hours early so we could run the wing engine for an extended period of time.  We will do this when we catch extremely calm days and this was one of them.

Once again we compliment the Port Captain.  As we were departing we were contacted by the Port Captain to say goodbye.  Extremely unusual for his position.  This is a man who we will surely keep in touch with and hopefully we can build it into a friendship. Now we must return to the Port Captains who enjoy making our clearing in and clearing out process difficult.  It seems Port Captain, maybe all offices of authority, have an issue with stressing their power.  It is very common for the officers to exert their power.  Sometimes it is a power battle between Customs, immigration, and the Port Captain.

6/12/06 Last night was one of those absolutely magical nights.  The moon was full and it was rising out of the east off of the horizon.  The moon was as big as you can imagine and totally orange.  As the night went on the moon rose higher and higher and it was almost like daytime.  Between the full moon and our eyes acclimating to the night vision, it is like day time. There was very little wind and it was just gorgeous.  It was an evening made for the fly bridge.  We had the music playing loud and just enjoyed the evening.  Larry even stayed on his watch an extra hour to listen to Music.

Each area we cruise in usually has a cruiser's net on the Single Side Band.  Today we are in range of the Panama cruisers net and the Northwest Caribbean cruisers net.  Most of the time when we cruise we can not hear anything on the single side band because so many of our electrical systems interfere with the radio.  We can hear just great when we are anchor but it is really terrible reception while underway.

Today on the net we heard the fleet of boats which left Provedencia underway from Albuquerque cay to Bocas del Toro.  One of the boats, Robins Nest, had seized their engine.  You will remember we wrote about this boat just a few days ago.  Although the calm weather is great for us, sailboats hate it.  They are forced to motor in this kind of calm weather.  Robins nest is be-calmed without their engine and really are victim to the currents.

We are about 50 miles north of them and heading their way.  If they do not get any wind we will head towards them and tow them into Bocas del Toro.  We have arranged to touch base every hour on the single side band to see what their situation is.  We will plot their position every hour to see what their direction of drifting is. The weather calls for no wind or at least wind under 10 knots for the next couple of days.  I will think we will probably be towing them before the day is done.

We had slowed down because we had such a strong current behind us and we did not want to arrive in the night time.  We have now sped up again to our normal cruising rpm of 1,800 rpm.  We are doing about 7.5 knots which is about ½ knot faster then we would normally travel at this rpm so this means we have about a ½ knot favorable current.  If they are not moving we will reach them in about eight hours.  We have never towed a boat before so we will see how that works.

We reached Robyn’s Nest about 4:00 PM.  They had sent Jane on another boat, Chica Bonita, because they did not know how long they could be out at sea. 

We had rigged a line to tow the boat.  We tied a line to each side of Nexus and let that be a loop about 10 feet behind us.  We then tied the tow line to the loop so it would stay centered.  It seemed to work well.  You can see a picture of it in the photo log under “Panama”.

We started out slowly at about 3 knots and they steered the boat from behind.  Larry kept a close eye on the temperature and pressures as we increased RPM.  Amazingly, Nexus did not even seem to know it was towing another boat.  We increased RPM to 1.800 and we were doing 7 knots.  This is the speed we would normally do at 1,800 RPM and we did not seem to slow down at all.  The temperatures and readings were normal and the load of the engine was still below a 50% which also normal for this speed.

We actually learned that Robyn’s Nest actually tracked better without steering her.  She would go to port a little and then track right behind Nexus.  This was less movement then when she was being hand steered.

We slowed down and the three man crew of Robyn’s Nest came aboard Nexus.  They had caught a large Tuna and we were going to have it for dinner.  We turned on the grill and had Steak and Tuna for dinner.  A much better evening for Robyn’s Nest after 12 hours of drifting.  There are also some pictures of us having dinner aboard Nexus in the Photo section under “Panama”

We towed them through the night and the swells ranged from 4 to 8 feet.  We had to slow down as we got closer as we wanted to enter in daylight.  We came into Bocas Del Toro with Robyn’s Nest in tow about 6:30 AM.  We went directly to the anchorage north of town and it was fortunately an uneventful process tow them in.  We gained even more confidence in the Nordhavn after this towing experience.  It is just a workhorse.

6/13/06 We arrived in the early morning and we had to wait until 4:00 in the afternoon before the customs and immigration people finally got to us.  We had to sit on the boat all day.  We suspect they were delayed due to the world cup being on all day.  It is interesting that they arrived right after the game was over.

Bocas Del Toro is a very cool town.  It has lots of life to it.  The town does not have any modern buildings but rather would structures usually built above the water.  The entire town is encircled by restaurants and businesses that sit right on the water.  Bocas Del Toro is the very end of the Island of Colon and the rest of the island is much undeveloped.   It has become one of the top tourist destinations in Panama.  Lots of Americans and Europeans visiting.

6/22/06  It has been over a week since we have updated the log.  We are here with lots of boats and it has been a very social week.  Isabella is in heaven as there are three boats with kids.  Yamana has two, Olive and Rubin, Minky has two, Ian and Heather, and Kyla is on Dagmar.  Every day the kids all seem to go to one boat or another which works out well for the parents who can go off and do what they need or want to do.

We have been learning to surf this week.  The guys on Robyn’s nest are from Australia and South Africa and great surfers.   Dave is only 15 and he could definitely turn pro in the future.  He is outstanding.

We on the other hand are not so good.  We have gone out with them a number of times.  Larry has gotten up on the board for a few seconds a couple of times but it is not pretty.  DeeDee has really struggled with getting past the waves to get out into the deep water.  The waves just keep beating on you and until you learn the skill of ducking under the wave it is just very difficult to do.  DeeDee reached near exhaustion a few times trying to get past.  Larry could not lift his arms the next day after trying to surf.  His shoulders were just exhausted from paddling so much.  The moral of the story is that we need to find smaller waves to learn on.  We are going to try and find a bigger board and smaller waves to learn on.

We also took a 27 mile dinghy ride through the many islands and mangroves.  It is really amazing territory.  It is perfectly pristine.  

6/23/06 Today we went and filled up with 1,400 gallons of fuel.  It was $3.20 per gallon.  Unfortunately we did get some water in the fuel and Larry had to drain the water out of the fuel.

6/24/06 Today was time to change the oil on the generator.  We do this every 200 hours.  Once again, we are now using the generator about 200 hours a month so we are changing the oil once a month.  We are thinking about doing this more often as the oil is looking pretty black at 200 hours.  We also are expecting to put some very high hours on the generator and it might give it a longer life.  

We are very good about the maintenance of everything on the boat.  However, a few of the maintenance items are “dealer” items and we typically can not do them ourselves.  We are also rarely close to a dealer who can perform these services.  One of the “dealer” items on the generator is to have the valves adjusted every 600 hours.  We now have 3,400 hours on the generator and have never adjusted the valves.  It was time we got it done.  There is a fellow cruiser here who is an engineer and very mechanical.  He is Cor from the boat Future. Larry asked if he would oversee him adjusting the valves.  It is a very straight forward process but Larry had never done it before and wanted to have someone who knew what they were doing with him the first time.  It ended up not being difficult and a good thing we adjusted them.  They were much looser than the specs called for.

Another dealer item is adjusting the valves on the Dinghy’s Yamaha motor.  We have also never adjusted the valves on this.  This is something else we might have to ourselves.  The dinghy is running very poorly and has no power.  We have already changed the spark plugs and fuel filters.  It could possibly be stale gas but I don’t know any way of testing this.  We got the gas in Florida and it is 93 octane so I don’t think it is this.

6/25/06  Robyn’s Nest left today for Colon.  You may remember this is the boat we towed into Bocas Del Toro.  They have no engine and are sailing down to Colon to have a new engine refitted into the boat.  They are also waiting on a part for their outboard motor and do not have an outboard motor working either.  As they have no engine, and no outboard motor, we lent them our small 15 hp Yamaha motor to use in case they got stuck with no wind going into a port. We will get it back from them in Colon.

Today we went to the mangroves with the crews of Yamana and Minke.  We took three dinghies and spend the afternoon taking the kids wakeboarding.  From Minke were the parents John and Leslie and the kids Heather and Ian.  Both kids were able to get up on the wakeboard and do well.  From Yamana, the Dad Peter and two kids Olive and Rubin came.  Neither Olive nor Rubin were able to get up today but they are both very young and are very very close to getting up.

Three big Kids, DeeDee, Larry and Duncan from Gook Karma took their turn at wakeboarding.

It was good to get away from the town and get into some real beautiful surroundings. 

6/29/06 Last night we had a party on the boat.  We know everyone is about to start taking off to different places and we wanted to have one last gathering.  Lots of boats came.  I will try to list them – Minke, Australia 31, Friction, Good Karma, Yamana, Lauren’s Grace, Pandura, Running Free, Zee Zot, Future, Bella Vita, Limerick, Dagmar, and Sunra.  I am sure I have missed a few.  In total we had about 35 people which is about the max the boat can hold without being just pinned to the wall.

There was LOTS of drinking and lots of dancing.  There was also some great food.  What we did is ask each boat to bring snacks or drink for the party so we had a good variety of food.  The party ran strong until about midnight and then about a dozen people stayed to about 2:00 am.  We did not get great pictures of the party but there are some in the photo section under “Panama.”

7/1/06 We are trying to get going to Colon but have been waiting two weeks now on a package coming from the states.  The package contains DeeDee’s medication and because of that customs is holding up the package.  For us to receive the medication, we must get clearance from the Panamanian health department.  We are not sure what this will take, but we will try to get it done on Monday.  Meanwhile, the package is being held at customs.  We are hoping the package does not get sent back to the United States while we are trying to sort this all out.

DATE _6/2/06_____    TIME __6:OO PM__START PORT _Roatan______ END PORT _Provedencia__________

START MILES__5693___  END MILES __6082____  LEG MILES ___389______ TOTAL MILES __6082_____

START HOURS  _1024__   END HOURS ___1086___ LEG HOURS __62_____TOTAL HOURS ____1086_____

START FUEL ___3163____  END FUEL __3355___  LEG FUEL __192_____ TOTAL FUEL  ___641________

AVERAGE MPGs ___2.02__   REMAINING RANGE ____881_____    GEN FUEL EST. 3133_/3446_/ _376___

END PRT ___160_____  END STRBD  ___215_____  END SPLY  ___60____  FUEL BALANCE ___435_____

SEA STATE_4-6 feet then calm___________  WIND DIRECTION__E then NE then_sw thens_____________

06/02/06 Today we are leaving Roatan.  It is another place we are going to hate leaving.  The people are great and the island is just fantastic.  We would have never thought we would love the western Caribbean so much.

We are heading for Provadencia which is an island off of Nicaragua but it is owned by Columbia.  It is about a four hundred mile trip.  However, there is a group of islands about halfway named the Vivirollos which are supposed to be quite quaint.  If the timing works out and the weather is not great we may stop there.

It is about 10 pm after leaving Roatan about 6 pm this evening.  The weather called for no wind.  However, the wind is about 25 knots and gusting to 35 knots.  The seas are not huge but about 4 to 6 feet and they are right on our nose.  We have now been tacking like a sailboat to try and take the seas at angles so we are not getting hit right on the nose.  We are zig zagging diagonally across the waves for about 5 miles at a time to reduce the pitching of the boat.  The boat rides much better diagonally as it has stabilizers to reduce the roll when the waves hit from the side but there is nothing to stop the motion when the seas are on the nose.

We have noticed that at night here the wind really picks up.  We are currently in-between the island of Roatan and the Honduras coast.  One explanation could be island effect wind.  Although the prevailing wind is not blowing, island wind works differently.  This happens sometimes with islands which have mountainous terrain.  The island heats up during the day and then when it cools at night the air is forced down to the sea from the higher altitudes.  This causes a sea breeze or in our case a sea wind. 

06/03/06 Last night was a rough ride.  The seas never really died down.  We also lost lots of time because we were tacking back and forth.  Today the seas have calmed a little.  Larry is actually sea sick which is a very rare occurrence.  He is not vomiting but is nauseas, has a severe headache, and is dizzy or better said disoriented.  Although the seas are calmer now, it seems getting off on the wrong foot has stayed with him and he has not been able to shake the feeling.

We put the air conditioners on last night as the rough seas kept splashing in the windows.  Each time we tack the windows open to the seas must be closed and visa versa on the windows away from the oncoming seas.  Because we can’t leave the winnows open in the direction of the wind, we do not get much air in the boat tacking.  So we put on the generator and the Air conditioner.  One of the many benefits of power boating versus sail boating.

We also noticed that the watermaker production was down a bit.  The parts per million jumped up by about 30.  Parts per million is an indication of what the remaining solid content is in the water which is made. The way our watermaker works is to force sea water through membranes under 800 psi of pressure. The membranes get progressively smaller until the salt and other particles can not get through and only water comes though.  Worldwide standards are under 1,000 parts per million and US standards are under 500 parts per million.  A bottle of Evian for example is usually about 350 parts per million.  Our watermaker will be in the 250 to 350 ppm range.  However, the watermaker reduces its ability to make water when the sea water temperature goes up.  We noticed the ppms had jumped n the watermaker and that caused us to take a look at the sea water temperature.  The sea water temperature was up to 86 degrees.  We are really getting closer to the equator and summer is coming.

Provadencia is at about 13 degrees North Latitude.  Each degree of Latitude is equal to 60 nautical miles.  A nautical mile is about 15% greater that a normal mile.  So we will only be roughly 800 nautical miles north of the equator in Provadencia.  We were further south when we were in Venezuela at about 10 degrees north or 600 miles north of the Equator.  In Panama we will be at about 9 degrees on the Atlantic side and 8 degrees on the Pacific side.  Then of-course if we do head to the South Pacific we will be crossing the Equator.

06/04/06 It is Sunday morning and we are still underway to Provadencia.  We did not stop at the Vivirollos islands halfway because we arrived at 2:00 am and did not want to chance coming in at night.  Also the seas were fairly calm.  However, this morning they have picked up again.  We passed through a trough.  In front of the trough the winds were light out of the NE and seas were small.  Behind the trough the wind is SE (right on the nose again) and the seas have picked up to about 4 to 6 feet.  As we are in daylight now so we are going to try and head directly south for a little while.  This way we will not be taking the wind right on the nose.  There are tons of little islands, cays, and reefs in that direction but we should be able to work around them in the daylight and be out of them before nightfall.  

Larry is feeling better today but not out of the woods.  Not a good trip for him.  Isabella also got an upset stomach last night.

It is now late Sunday night.  We made our way through the cays and reefs along the Honduran coast but it was not easy. The charts were not accurate.  We even spoke with a pair of sailboats which were anchored out at what they thought was Half moon cay but we figured out together it was not that cay at all.  The chart showed half moon cay as an island and the cay he was anchored at as just a reef.  In actuality, the half moon cay was no longer there and what was supposed to be a reef was actually an island.  They were actually 3.6 miles further south than they thought they were.  This is not uncommon once you get out of the populated areas.  These less traveled areas have charts that are sometimes literally from the 1800s.  Sometimes they are off by miles.  Even if the chart is accurate, there is another dynamic.  It is something called a datum.  In lay mans terms, this means where the chart is actually placed on the globe.  The entire chart may be off by a few miles because of where it is actually placed on the globe.  This is usually because the charts were not made using GPS technology and the Latitude and Longitude fixes were just not as accurate. 

Once you are out of the well traveled areas it is what is known as eyeball navigation.  In other words, rely on your eyes and not the charts.  As the first line of defense what we do is set up the depth sounders.  We look at the chart and determine what the lowest depth is that we should be navigating in.  We then set the first depth sounder for that depth.  We also set the second depth sounder for about 10 feet less in case the first one is not getting a reading for some reason. 

Comparing the actual depths you are in to the depths shown on the chart is an old and still reliable way of determining if you are in the right place.  This is especially useful if the charts are off in relation to the GPS and we are coming into a port.  For example, the GPS may show me 1 mile off the shore.  However, the chart shows that one mile off shore I should be in 150 feet of water and I am only in 100 feet.  This tells me the GPS is probably off, or the chart laid over the GPS is off, or the datum is off.  Most likely, I am closer to shore because the depth of 100 feet shows I am only ¾ of a mile offshore rather than 1 mile. 

Now add one more safety feature in the radar.  The radar will tell me where the islands actually are versus where the chart shows them.  On my Northstar system I can actually overlay the radar image over the chart plotter.  This will show me where the islands actually are by radar versus where they are shown on the chart plotter.  This means if I plotted my course for entry to a port ¼ mile off shore and the radar shows the island is 1/8 mile further to the east, then I can adjust my waypoint accordingly to make the proper entry.

One last key trick is to try and enter a port as close to noon as possible.  That allows the sun to be directly above the water and it is much easier to see the coral reefs and shallow areas.  Actually tomorrow’s arrival will be interesting.  According to the guide and the waypoints given, we are going right over a reef entering the harbor at Provedencia.  Ironically it is called Lawrence’s reef.  This is an example of not knowing what is wrong.  It could be the chart, the datum, the guide book or a combination of them. Tomorrow will be a careful entry.  The first thing we will do is try to get a boat which is anchored in the harbor to give us some help on what the entry is.  Local knowledge is always the best. 

6/5/06 The entrance to Provedencia was very simple and was nothing to worry about.  It was well marked and a straight shot in.  The buoys were even lighted.  When we arrived we had to wait a little while to come in because a rain squall had just come in.  We could not even see the buoys.  We called the port captain and asked for a heading but we could not get past the language barrier.  He kept welcoming us to the harbor. 

Upon our arrival, we contacted the local clearing agent.  In some countries it is a necessity to use an agent to clear in and this is one of those countries.  In all of our experiences, this was the friendliest and most helpful group of officials.  Everyone came to the boat and we did not even have to go into town.  The Port captain, the immigration officer, and the clearing official all came to the boat.  We did not have to fill out a single form, they completed every form.  We just had to sign them.

The first night of our arrival, the Port Captain had invited all the boats in the harbor to a pot luck dinner at his quarters. We met many other cruisers.  We met Peter and Alice with their two children Olive and Rubin from the boat Yamana.  Peter is from New Zealand and Alice is from England.  They have been living in England and are going to end up living in New Zealand.  We also met Lauren Grace whose owner’s were Ernie and Charlene from Orlando, Florida.  On the boat Robin’s Nest, there was a couple from Australia and a family from South Africa.  The South African’s nephew, David, is a sponsored surfer and was looking hard for someplace to surf.  The Australian couple, Vince and Leslie are along for the ride for an undetermined amount of time.  Duncan from Good Karma was also there.  We had met him earlier in Isla Mujeras.  Another boat was Bella Vita with owner’s Frank and Debbie. The boat Minke with Leslie and John had two children, Heather and Ian.  They are from Saratoga, New York.

The party was running late and everyone was starting to dance but we had not slept much and had to leave.  Isabella hated leaving as she was playing with four new friends she had just met.  It was truly an amazing night.  The Port Captain spoke with a special message to us about being a family of cruisers.  He truly appreciated what we were about and gave us an indescribable warm welcome.  He invited us to join him for Columbian coffee the next day.

6/6/06 Today we had coffee with the Port Captain.  He is a young and very impressive man.  His commission on this island is almost over.  We spent quite a few hours discussing his country and the relationship of his country with the United States and other countries. His responsibility was to patrol the surrounding waters of this island.  It is an unusual situation because these are Columbian islands but far away from Colombia.  Of-course the main issue he deals with being a Columbian country is narcotic trafficking.  We went on to other conversation and learned that he had written a book and it was being translated to English soon.  The conversation covered the plusses and mimeses of being an American or a Columbian.  We talked about how extremely important the family was in Columbia. He had been to the United States and even worked with the United States Navy for some time so he had an understanding of our way of life.  He was a deeply spiritual man.  Quite a contrast to the typical military person one would meet.  We enjoyed our time together and planned to try and have dinner together on the weekend.

6/7/06 Today we took the kids Ian and Heather from Minke and Olive and Rubin from Yamana for a cruise in the dinghy.  We stopped at the South West beach and anchored at a few reefs to do some snorkeling.  It was a good day although we got too much sun.

We have been cruising for 16 months now.  We have met many cruisers from all over the world.  We have been hearing an underlying theme that real cruisers really don’t enjoy the eastern Caribbean.  Most are very excited to go but most also come from the Pacific side and the Western Caribbean.  The disappointment they experience is that the cruisers are not really a family in the Eastern Caribbean.  They tell about how the Western Caribbean and the Pacific is more of a family.  We never really completely comprehended this until we started cruising the Western Caribbean.  In this harbor of Provedencia there are about 1 dozen boats and almost everyone is cruising together.  If they are not cruising together, they are planning to meet again at the next port.

As an example, within one day we were friendly and on a first name basis with most of the boats.  It is slightly difficult difference to explain but when we were with Williwaw they conveyed the feeling often.  We actually had conversations about the attitudes of “west coast”  versus  “east coast” people.   In short, East Coast people are harsher and less likely to mingle and West Coast people are more likely.  It seemed to be reflected in the cruising attitudes as well.  In the Eastern Caribbean it seems like most boats are from the east coast of America and as you get further west there are more foreigners and of-course west coast boats.  As you travel west it sure seems like the cruising community acts more as one. It definitely seems like more of a family.

The entire fleet of boats here less one is heading down to Bocas del Toro in Panama.  Five boats left tonight for Panama and we expect we will see most if not all of them when we arrive in a week or so. 

06/11/06 We are getting ready to go again.  The weather is almost a dead calm and should be a great cruise down to Bocas del Toro, Panama. 

Yesterday we went down to the local beach where they had bareback horse racing right on the beach.  All the locals come out and gamble on the race.  They then fight for the next hour about the outcome.  It was lots of fun.

As Americans we have no idea of how important the World cup is to the rest of the World.  Businesses shut down and even immigration was not taking in any boats here while the games were on.  The passion for this event I believe is unmatched for any event anywhere in the world.  Even the Olympics don’t seem to have this kind of passion behind them.

DATE _5/19/06____    TIME __6:30AM__START PORT _Isla Mujeres__ END PORT _Roatan – Honduras____

START MILES__5390___  END MILES __5693____  LEG MILES ___3033_____ TOTAL MILES __5389_____

START HOURS  _924___   END HOURS ___923____ LEG HOURS __83_____TOTAL HOURS ____923______

START FUEL ___2994____  END FUEL __3162___  LEG FUEL __168_____ TOTAL FUEL  ___449________

AVERAGE MPGs ___1.8___   REMAINING RANGE ____1440____    GEN FUEL EST. 3133_/3307_/ _208___

END PRT ___360_____  END STRBD  ___375_____  END SPLY  ___65____  FUEL BALANCE ___800_____

SEA STATE_Calm 1^st then 3 to 5 feet_______  WIND DIRECTION______Mostly east @ 15 knots___________

5/19/06 We have a great weather window for a few days to make it further south.  We keep saying to each other that we are getting spoiled.  Over 16 months since we started the only bad weather we have cruised in was our first crossing of the Gulf Stream.  Even that crossing was not too bad.  It is almost unheard of for a boat which travels as slow as us to not get caught in a few storms or some rough seas.  One reason we have been so lucky is our strategy.  We are willing to miss certain places in exchange for cruising in calm seas.  One example is right now.  We are willing to miss Belize and head directly to Roatan. (an island of Honduras)  We are doing this for a few reasons.  Most important, hurricane season is closing in and we would rather be south of the hurricanes.  Another strategy is to just head south when they come or head up the Rio Dulce River in Guatemala if necessary.  However, this would mean that if a hurricane was coming and the weather was bad, we would HAVE to cruise south to get safe no matter what the sea condition was.  We would rather miss a few good areas and be able to cruise in calmer weather.

The seas are very calm.  The wind is expected to pick up and turn out of the east tomorrow which will be a little more rolly but not terrible.  The biggest challenge right now is the current we are fighting.  We are cruising at 7 knots over the water but only 5 knots over ground.  At times we have been as slow as 3.5 knots over ground.  The current here is usually about two knots against us.  It is expected but still frustrating.

DeeDee has the same routine on the first day of cruising.  She is dead to the world.  She does not get nauseas but gets zombie like and needs to sleep.  This usually goes away by the second day but today she is just knocked out. 

Larry is taking advantage of the calm seas and waxing the boat.  He has spent about 8 hours waxing today.  This is unusual as he has a schedule set up to wax the boat.  He used to wax 1/3^rd of the boat every month so the entire boat was waxed every three months.  Now it is broken down to smaller parts and has become a regular routine.  DeeDee usually home schools Isabella in the mornings and Larry does boat maintenance, repairs and cleaning.  The waxing is now broken down into very small areas and he waxes the area and polishes the metal of each area and then moves on to the next one.  Each area takes approximately four hours.  It is a continually revolving schedule and is broken down like this:

• Stack Area
• Flybridge
• Dinghy Deck
• Pilothouse Area
• Bow Area
• Salon Area
• Rear Cockpit area
• Front Hull
• Mid Hull
• Rear Hull
• Clean Dinghy
• Clean bottom
• Clean running gear
• Polish portholes

5/20/06 Last night was a little rough.  Not bad but not the calm seas we had all day.  Larry was able to keep watch all day yesterday while DeeDee caught up on much needed sleep.  DeeDee also spent a few hours cleaning all the inside of the boat including both bathrooms.  At about 4:00 pm yesterday Larry took a few hours rest.  Then at 6:00 pm he went back on watch while DeeDee made dinner and got Isabella ready for bed.  We started the generator and grilled steaks.  Then at 9:00 pm DeeDee took over.  She did an extra hour and let Larry sleep until 1:00 PM.  Then at 4:00 am this morning, DeeDee came back on until 7:00 am.  When Larry took over at 7:00 AM DeeDee was pretty exhausted.

This is typically how we run.  Larry sleeps a little more at night because he can not sleep in the day most of the time.  DeeDee can sleep at a drop of the hat.  So during the day Larry will man the helm for most of the day.  For example, today Larry was on watch all day from 7:00 AM until 9:00 PM except for a two hour break this afternoon.  He was actually able to catch some sleep today. 

In the day, it is not necessary to keep such a close watch.  A glance up every 15 minutes or so is sufficient.  Once we are out in open and deep water, it is just a matter of confirming we are on course and that no boats are in the vicinity.  Then we check the engine room every three hours and keep a watch regularly at the engine temperatures and pressures.

Larry today watched a DVD movie.  He updated his log.  He worked on the computer and listened to music for some time.  The rest of the time he was reading guide books about our upcoming destinations. So it is not a grueling watch during the day.  The night is when it is more of a challenge because we are tired and a more careful watch is required.

Before we left we met a single hander by the name of Duncan on a boat Good karma.  He is a young guy at 30 years old and living full time on a boat.  In our opinion, he has life exactly on target.  He comes from a successful family and he is very educated.  However, he wants to live an alternative lifestyle.  He plans to live on his boat full time and stop every once in awhile where he can get work.  He has already lived in the South Pacific and speaks Samoan. 

The interesting thing is that because he is a single hander and when he cruises he must leave the watch to get some sleep at times.  If he feels he is in a busy area, he will set a timer to wake him up every thirty minutes to scan the horizon for other boats and to check his position.

We never leave the helm and most sailors think we are over conservative.  They suggest that at minimum we can leave the helm to have meals.  Maybe we will do that some day but are not comfortable in doing that today.

We are really hoping to hook up with Duncan for some extended time.  We seem to hit it off and he is a kite boarder.  That is rare to find down here cruising.  He is also spending some extended time in Panama and the San Blas islands like us.  Hopefully we can get back to kite boarding with him.  It is much easier to kite board with others when learning because one can go pick up the person kite boarding with the dinghy.  Duncan is at the same level as us and still needs to get returned with the dinghy so he would be a perfect person to board with.

5/24/06  We have been able to meet up with another boat we have cruised with before.  Sangela is a sailboat with a family of four.  The kids are a little older than Isabella but they are great kids and are very good about including her when they play.  We have been spending afternoons at the Luna resort which is right in front of where we are anchored...  The resort is very generous with their property and if you eat meals there they will let the kids play in the resorts pool.   It has one additional side advantage which is free wireless internet at the bar.  This allows us to get on the computer and catch up on things.

5/29/06  We are really enjoying this island.  It has such a cool rhythm to it.  The West End is where we are anchored and it is basically strip of a few miles of restaurants and clubs.  This is the party area for the island but you would not know that by the day.  It is a relaxed resort area during the day.

This past week everyday has been pretty much the same.  Isabella gets school in the morning and then in the afternoon we head over to the Luna Dive resort to hang out at the pool.  There are two other kids which Isabella plays with at the pool.  Alex from Island Time and Sara from Sangela.  When kids are around we make a special effort to get Isabella with them.

5/30/06 Today we went on a Canopy tour.  This is a tour where you slide down cables to each level of the forest.  It offers great views.  Isabella was not scared at all although at times she was 100 feet off the ground on the cable.  She would normally ride with one of the workers but there were a number of cables where she actually went down by herself.  It was amazing to watch her do this.  There are pictures of the three of us doing this in the Photo section.

5/31/06 Well, another first for Isabella.  She went snorkeling today on a real reef.  She got to see tons of fish.  It started out well but after the waves got a little bigger she started screaming and wanted to go back to the boat.  It was a great start with a not-so-good ending.  She was not used to the movement of the sea as she has been snorkeling only in calm water.  She will be fine as she learns these waves are not going to harm her.

We have been trying to get a FedEx package in to Roatan for over a week now.  Here in Roatan there is not a corporate FedEx office.  There is a licensee of FedEx.  The way it works is that the package is sent to a holding warehouse in Miami.  Then every Friday all the packages are sent to the mainland of Honduras.  They are then sent to the island of Roatan.  Well, we have been waiting almost 10 days and still no package.  It has lots of stuff in it like our Binoculars that were repaired, some navigation software, medication, boat parts, medication and our mail.  We REALLY hope this package is not lost.

We have been wanting to get going but the seas have been a little large.  They are only 4 to 6 feet but we would be heading east and going right into them.  This boat (all trawlers) will pitch a lot in head seas like this.  We are now right at the southern edge of the Hurricane line.  That means this is the lowest the hurricanes have typically come.  Therefore we do not need to be in a hurry from here.  If a hurricane comes, we can head south further from the lowest level of the hurricane belt. 

From here we have to head east to the end of Honduras and head south past Nicaragua and Costa Rica to Panama.  We will probably stop at a few places on the way to Panama unless the weather is so good then we will just keep going.

6/1/06 Today is the official start of Hurricane season.  We are looking forward to getting even further south of the hurricane belt.

We did get the FedEx Package today and it cost $100.   We are supposed to be exempt from paying duties because we are a cruising boat in transit.  However, although the law says we do not have to pay, the execution of the law hardly happens in these countries.  We went to the customs office, which is responsible for making these decisions, and they responded as if they are not familiar with the law.  After pushing them, they then explained the complex process but were not really sure how to do it.  The long story made short is we just paid the duty on the package so we could get it.

Today Larry spent most of the day working in the engine room.  It was lot of maintenance and fortunately not any repairs.  The main engine gets the oil changed every 500 hours and the transmission oil gets changed every 1000 hours.  The main engine takes 5 gallons of oil and the transmission takes 2 gallons of oil.  That seems like a lot of hours in-between oil changes.  However, that is the manufacturer’s recommendation and that should be good enough.  500 hours at an average of 6 knots will give us 3,000 miles of cruising for each oil change.  It is a great thing to have oil changes every 500 hours on the main engine because it is such a pain in the neck to carry fresh oil and even more difficult to store the used oil.  Another amazing thing is that the Lugger engine hardly uses any oil.  I probably don’t add more then a quart over 500 hours of use.

We carry 5 empty five gallon buckets to store used oil.  (total of 25 gallons of storage)   We also carry 30 gallons of new oil when we are fully provisioned.  One or two buckets are used for storing the used oil and fuel filters.  That leaves basically 15 to maybe 20 gallons of used oil storage.

The generator oil is changed ever 200 hours.  As we use the generator an average of 5 to 7 hours a day, the oil is changed every 3 to 4 weeks.  Typically it is closer to 3 weeks because we have a few nights we will run the generator all night.  For example if we are very low on water and we need make lots of water we will run the generator all night and make water.  Also if it is very hot we will sometimes run the generator all night to keep the air conditioners on.  Anyway, the oil is changed every 200 hours and the generator takes 2 gallons of oil.

When changing the generator oil we also change the oil filter, racor fuel filter, and primary fuel filter.  Every 600 hours on the generator the impellor is also changed and the air filter is exchanged.  When changing the main engine oil the oil filter, racor fuel filter, and primary fuel filter also get changed along with the air filter.  Over a three month period we will use about 25 to 30 gallons of oil.  A simple calculation will show one main engine oil change at 5 gallons and about 8 or 9 generator oil changes totaling about 18 gallons plus a 2 gallon transmission oil change.  That totals about 25 gallons over a six month period.

The hardest thing is finding places to dump the used oil.  It is very difficult and sometimes very expensive.  In the BVIs we paid more to dump the oil then to buy it.

Anyway, today was an EVERYTHING change.  On the generator it was the Oil filter, Fuel filter, Racor filter, air filter, and impellor.  On the main engine it was the same thing.  It was hot as hell in the engine room in the middle of the day.

One additional job was to replace the engine room blower.  I had installed a second blower in the engine room because the temperature was getting too hot.  However, the blower failed on the first trip.  I am not sure if it is just a bad blower or if something else caused the failure.  I got a new one shipped in and will replace it.  Time will tell if it was a bad blower or something else.

DATE _4/25/06____    TIME __6:30AM__START PORT _Ft. Lauderdale END PORT _Isla Mujeres__Mex

START MILES__4882___  END MILES __5389____  LEG MILES ___507___ TOTAL MILES __5389______

START HOURS  _840___   END HOURS ___923____ LEG HOURS __83_____TOTAL HOURS __923________

START FUEL ___2712____  END FUEL __2993___  LEG FUEL __281_____ TOTAL FUEL  ___281________

AVERAGE MPGs __1.80___   REMAINING RANGE ___2050_ ___    GEN FUEL EST. 3133/3157/ 30Gal

END PRT ___575_____  END STRBD  ____full___  END SPLY  __full___  FUEL BALANCE ____1140___

SEA STATE___Calm____________  WIND DIRECTION______Mostly SE – Some West___________________

4/26/06 We took off yesterday morning for Key West.  We had a very calm night although the Gulf Stream current was killing us.  The Gulf Stream runs from South to North along the east coast usually between 1 and 3 knots.  Typically if you stay close to shore it is avoidable.  For some reason, we could not get out of it last night.  We were cruising at 7 knots through the water but only 5 knots over the ground.  This means we were against 2 knots of current. 

We arrived at the Key West entrance early this morning.  The weather is supposed to be very calm over the next few days so we decided to keep going to Mexico.  We are both tired but we would prefer to cruise in calm water when we can get it.  We are doing three hour shifts.  By the time we get ready to lay down it only gives us a maximum of 2 ½ hours sleep when we are off watch.  Once in awhile, DeeDee tries to run a little longer at night to give Larry more sleep.  Larry typically runs the boat most of the time during the day so DeeDee can catch up on sleep and tend to Isabella’s needs. Fortunately for DeeDee, she is able to nap easily.  Larry has more difficulty sleeping during the day and rarely can grab a nap in the daylight hours.

We should get into Isla Mujeres, Mexico sometime on Friday.  (that is two days and two nights from now) Isla Mujeres is an island right off of Cancun.  We are hoping to see a good friend of ours, Ric Corso, who moved to Cancun quite a few years ago.

April 26, 2006 – FROM DEEDEE’S PERSONAL LOG

This is our second night at sea and we couldn’t ask for better weather.  We decided to by-pass the Florida Keys because we have been blessed with such wonderful seas and skies. 

Last night was a bit rough getting used to the watch schedules, but now that I’ve rested today, caught up on some sleep and rest, I feel o.k., really good, actually, and I feel good about continuing on to Mexico.  Yesterday was our first sunset at sea in many weeks and it seems as though it has been much longer.  I thought it may take a bit of effort getting back into the groove of cruising, but it has gone pretty well; however, I don’t like the way Isabella has spent her last two days, watching TV., getting no exercise, no sun and no education.  It is because her father and I have been getting in our groove and now it’s time to put her in hers.  Today we had definite meal times, not snacking in between, we had a bit of education with out television, we had a bath promptly after dinner and read 3 books before lights out, and she’s sleeping in her own bed tonight, thanks to the wonderful weather we’re having.  So, tomorrow we should be closer to our goal of 3 meals, one snack, some exercise, some sea life watching, some rest, some education, a shower, family time, bed time.  It may sound too regimented, but it works well and we all feel better when we’re in sync.  It just happens that we spend our days and nights like that when we’re cruising.  We wake up early, play and work hard all day, rest a bit and go to be early.  Anything else, like our schedule on land, is very much the exception, like when we have company, when we meet up with old friends in old or new ports or when we’re forced to the grind of our old culture.

How we managed to live like that is beyond comprehension.  I cannot believe that just 15 months ago we lived like crazed rats in a cage, and we didn’t even have jobs!  What the hell were we killing ourselves for?!  Just getting together with friends was a job in and of it self.  I can’t stand to watch the demise of my culture and fellow country men and women and children.  How did we get so far from what’s real and what’s important?  I know we’ve found a remedy for it.  I don’t think the method is for everyone, the manner in which we’ve chosen to get back to basics, but the result is good and such an eye opener.

April 27, 2006 – FROM DEEDEE’S PERSONAL LOG

It is 531 A.M. and I just cannot keep my eyes open.  I am ruining my night vision by having my computer on, the bright light blinding me for the vision necessary to see well into the dark, moonless night, but I cannot do much about it.  There haven’t been any ships since around 1030 pm last night and then there were only 3 in total, a far cry from the night before when objects would appear on the radar screen constantly, alerting you to channel markers, buoys and night fishermen.

It has been another interesting night at sea for the M/V Nexus.  Last night Larry flooded the master head by leaving water running in the sink for Cosmo to drink, if you can believe that.  It flooded the floor locker that I had just filled with food, dry goods at that, but fortunately there were no casualties thanks to the zip lock storage bags!  We also had a problem with one of the auto pilots going a little whacky on me, crossing tracks and then doing its typical 360 degrees to get back on track.  I had to awaken Larry to help me get back on course.  This night provided me with the same entertainment, which made me break out into a full sweat trying to get her back on course, which didn’t happen tonight either.  It was about 11p.m. when she decided to go totally berserk.  Not one, but both auto pilots seem to have something wrong with their internal compasses, or maybe it’s the compass from the GPS (both of them) and causing a 30 to 50 degree difference in readings; therefore, we don’t stay on course properly and actually never get to the desired heading.  So, Larry was woken up 30 minutes prior to his official shift and I had intended on letting him sleep even more, but was too terrified of the circling that Nexus was doing.  Thank God there were not boats, obstructions in the water or shallows to worry about.  He finally got it corrected, a temporary fix only, enough to keep us heading in the right direction and on course.  We will need to have it looked at or someone call us to walk us through it. 

We are just off the coast of Cuba, which is one of the reasons why we were worried about the situation, because we really couldn’t get a good fix on where we were in the water.  We knew which way we were headed, but not exactly where we were.  Were we in restricted water?  Were we in Cuban waters?  Pretty scary.  I can still pick up some radio traffic from U.S. Coastguard, which makes me feel a little better, but it’s still very humbling, being out on the sea alone and not know exactly what your position is.  I don’t know how in the hell sea exploration ever advanced, were it not for the adventurous and “ballsy” souls like the Norsemen, Columbus, or even Capt. James T. Cook. 

Back to the weird auto pilot ordeal.  Larry thinks it could have been an anomaly, which he says happens from time to time and that is what’s said to be wrong with the Bermuda Triangle.  We had a problem when heading west, a 30 to 40 degree of a discrepancy, but when we headed any other direction everything was in sync.  Totally weird. 

It is now 930 p.m. and Larry’s down stairs trying to get some sleep after not napping all day long.  He did the smart thing by staying awake all day if possible so his sleep would be good tonight.  I cooked breakfast for everyone, took a shower and did some cleaning up a bit before I went to bed around 930 this morning.  I woke up with Isabella napping on top of me around 1130 am, and felt really good, well rested.  I did some chores, watched “March of the Penguins” with Isabella, made lunch and ended up napping again, off and on for the next few hours while she watched “The Chronicles of Narnia”.  Cooked dinner, and now I’m listening to “Sponge Bob The Movie” in the pilot house.  It’s a bit too rolly down stairs in Bella’s room for her to sleep there, so she’s camping out in the pilot house with me. 

I can’t believe we’re going to be in Mexico in the morning.  I’m just getting into a great groove of cruising and it has to stop.  I’m actually not looking forward to stopping in Mexico.  I’m not sure why.  Maybe it’s because we heard that if you get boarded they confiscate your meat (beef) due to mad cow disease.  That would really piss me off and its worth is to me to by-pass Mexico all together, although, Larry says that Belize, Honduras and Guatemala all have the same practice.  It’s a roll of the dice, and my attitude should be “what ever happens, happens.” 

I’m also not keen on the typical trip to Mexico, although, I’ve never been there by boat cruising on my own.  I would like to see some of the interior if it’s feasible to do so.  I think Isabella would like to see the ruins and do the hikes, which is really why I’m interested in Central America anyway.  Larry’s friend, Rick Corso, lives in Cancun or Cozemel and I hope we get to see him.  I haven’t seen him since Isabella was an infant and I would love for him to see her and the boat, as well.  He’s such a cool guy, so fun and easy going.  Larry said that they could never get Rick to even go away with them for the weekend when they lived in Dallas.  They used to call him Mr. Zipcode because he never would leave his neighborhood.  Then one day he just moved to Mexico, without warning, and said that living there has been the best thing for him and that they really have it right and know how to live.  It’s all about working, having fun, playing in the sun and hanging out with friends.  I can’t wait to see him.  Of all people, he’ll truly gets what we’re doing.

Today we had a strange thing happen.  I noticed a little bird flying around the boat, not a seagull or any water fowl looking bird, and it was so cute and tiny, that I wondered if it was lost or something.  But it kept landing on the boat so I put some bread crumbs out for it.  Then I saw that it landed on the port bow, so I went up and the cats saw it too, so naturally they were interested in catching it, or at least the white cat was.  Cosmo is such a wimp.  Anyway…it would come and go and then Isabella said, “Mom, there’s a dead bird on the boat!”  So I ran up to see the white cat with the bird in his mouth and running around like crazy trying to get away from us.  Larry’s laughing and Isabella and I are screaming, Isabella on the verge of tears.  This happened a couple of more times because the bird kept flying back to us and appeared to be flying into the port side door window, the glass.  Isabella got to hold it in her hands and comfort it because it was a wreck from the cat attack and then we let it go.  It came back about an hour later, stayed with us a few minutes, Isabella cried because she couldn’t hold it again, and then it flew away.  I don’t know what it was trying to tell us but I know it meant something.  I wish I could find my book “Animal Speak” and look it up.  I think it’s on board but I’m not sure.  I remember thinking, “should I bring this or not.  I know it’ll come in handy or I could use it and realize I didn’t bring it.”  That’s why I’m thinking it’s probably in storage. 

We’ve had such wonderful weather and seas.  It has gotten rolly with beautiful swells and the water looks like a mirror.  Isabella and I rode the waves on the bow of the boat this afternoon and it made our tummies tingle and feel like we had butterflies.  She enjoyed it for a few minutes.  Then it was time to go in and assume the position…in front of the TV.

It is quiet now.  Almost 10pm and Isabella turned off her movie and I can just hear Larry’s TV. in our room.  The sound of the waves rolling passed the boat is so incredible.  Last night there was no moon and there doesn’t look like one will be visible tonight, so that means the phosphor-essence will be visible again tonight.  Truly amazing, this life is.  We are all so happy together cruising like this.  It is quite a wholesome and wonderfully spiritual feeling being together and this close to nature.  No distractions, just us three and the cats and the sea with all its glory, living life.

April 28, 2006 – FROM DEEDEE’S PERSONAL LOG

Well, we finally made it to Isla Mujeres, Mexico.  We were slugging along all night at 3-4.5 knots and I didn’t think we’d ever get here.  We actually thought we’d have to slow way down because the currant was going to put us in around midnight, but something happened around lunch time today, something good.  We caught a ride on a currant and we were flying at 6.5 knots most of the time.  We got in early afternoon, dropped anchor with plenty of time to play and do a bit of cleaning.  We’ve lined up an agent to help us clear in first thing in the morning, or so they say, and then we’ll start planning some trips to the ruins. 

The boat did really well, as usual, but we really didn’t have much to deal with.  The weather was just spectacular and outside of the weird anomaly with the GPS and auto pilot we had no problems.  Oh yeah, there was the thing with the bird.  Apparently the bird that Sweetness tried to eat, the one that came back long enough to say good bye and fly off, didn’t fly off forever.  Late that night, when Larry was on watch, he walked downstairs into the galley and stepped on the damned thing.  It had come back and either the cats got it without us knowing it or it came back to die on our boat, which really freaked me out the rest of the night and all during my shift I kept trying not to think of the potentially bad sign it could mean.  Even Italians have a superstition about birds flying into your house.  I’m not sure what it means when one flies in, gets attacked by your cats, escapes, returns, leaves, returns again to die, either on its own or at the paws of the cats again. 

As we were pulling into Isla Mujeres we could see that the island was full of lively music, people and cruisers.  It’s so colorful and clean, at least from the water it looks that way.  The ferries are bringing people back and forth, fishermen come and go, weekend boaters come and go, and the people seem really friendly and helpful, for the most part.   It has been many years since I was last in Cancun, and I must confess I haven’t had the desire to return, except maybe to see the ruins again.  I want to find that little bay with the small huts that you can rent daily and also rent a hammock for your stay.  It’s somewhere by one of the ruins.  The locals cook breakfast, lunch and dinner and in the evening there are bon-fires on the beach.  I can’t wait to get Isabella touring the ruins.  I know we haven’t got much time before we have to get going again, but I can tell I already love it here.

04/29/06 Boy did we miscalculate!!  We thought we would miss the Gulf Stream and we hit it head on once we got close to Cuba.  We were doing 7 knots through the water and only 1 knot over land.  That means we were only progressing at one knot per hour.  The current against us was the strongest I have ever seen at six knots.  It was dreadfully slow.  When we arrive we were chatting with a sailboat that came in right after us and they could only do five knots and they ended up LOSING 24 miles before finally finding their way out of the current.

Another weird thing was going on during this leg.  The Autopilot and the GPS were out of sync on compass heading by 40 degrees going west.  That is usually caused by some kind of metallic object being too close to the compass on one side.  But we had both autopilot compasses and both manual compasses all reading the same thing.  One might then conclude that the GPS had a malfunction.  However, we have four GPS units and they all read the same.  All GPS units read the same and all magnetic units read the same, but they were each 40 degrees different.  Larry temporarily fixed the problem by entering a 40 degree offset into the GPS to have them match.  The problem was now determining which one was right, the GPS units or the Magnetic Compass Units.  Larry went with the Magnetic units.  Even stranger, this happened along the Cuban coast about 25 miles north.  Once we passed the Cuban coast and were closer to Mexico, all the units were in sync again.  It was like some kind of Bermuda Triangle event.  It was concerning that there was this much variation and even more concerning that it was only temporary. 

We are attempting to clear into Mexico and it is the most difficult country we have come across.  We must first go to the Port Captain, then go to the hospital for a medical check-up, then to immigration, then to the bank ACROSS BY FERRY in Cancun to pay the clearance fees.  After all of that, if you stay in Mexico more than 5 days, (which we are) then you must import your boat. It is a $49 fee that lasts for 10 years.  That is the easy part, the hard part is going to another port two hours drive away, completing the process with folks who do not speak English, (our Spanish still sucks!) returning to the boat, then having the customs officers come out and photograph the boat, then finally getting your clearance papers.  We will let you know how it all shakes out.

5/3/06 We have been here quite a few days now and have gotten all of our paperwork done except for our importation of the boat.  We will be going down to take care of that on Monday.

We have met quite a few people while we have been anchored.  Phil and Liz on Fine Tolerance are amazing people.  Originally from Australia, they have cruised the world and even got struck in the ice inside the Northwest Passage for a year.  They ended up living in igloos and getting towed out.  The boat was damaged by the ice leaving some nice dents which can still be seen in the steel hull.  They have also turned the boat over close to Greenland.  Their story is amazing and they tell it as if it is just another walk in the woods.

We also met Jim and Connie on Valhalla(sp?).  They were friends with Peter and Elizabeth on Good Hope and as they came in they hailed us on the radio to ask what the clearing in procedures were.  Ironically, Peter and Elizabeth told us to keep an eye out for them and to say hello.

We have not made it to Cancun yet but our friend Ric came out to visit us on the Island.  We had a great time catching up and we hope to get with him this week again.

This island of Isla Mujeres is just great.  It is colorful and clean.  The beaches are the fantastic Mexican white sand and the water is clear and 80 degrees.  There are tons of great inexpensive restaurants and lots of shopping.  We spent the afternoon today shopping and bought a ukulele for Isabella.  She loves it.

05/03/06 We went to the North Beach on Isla Mujeres.  It is a great beach with chairs on the beach where they will bring drinks from the restaurant.  There are a number of restaurants on the beach and it is a great set up.  The water is shallow and clear, the sand is