It was May 2009 Work in Progress

We departed Providencia in company of the catamaran Damiana

with Roy and Marlene aboard, sailing in moderately light winds and moderate seas.  Late in the afternoon we passed San Andres and at about sundown we had cleared the Alburquerque Keys.  We had an uneventful second day at sea with a few clouds threatening to produce rain and we heard thunder a few times, but nothing developed.  We were out of sight of Damiana, but we were checking in on the VHF radio every three hours for reassurance that all was well.  At about two the next morning the wind died with about sixty more miles to go to reach Bocas del Drago so the motor was called into service.  We approached the inlet at dawn and were impressed with the lighted buoys showing us the channel in the early morning twilight.  As the sun began to show its face the lights on the buoys went out and it became surprisingly difficult to determine their location at a distance.  I found this to be somewhat disconcerting, but as we got closer the channel was plainly evident and we entered with no problem.  As we approached, we called Pearl S. Buck and Bryan responded.  It was great to hear his voice as we had not heard him since he left Guanaja two months previously.  He and Dorothy were anchored at Starfish Beach (pictured).  We rounded the island of Colon and tucked into their anchorage to rest until Monday when we could check into Panama without paying a weekend surcharge to the officials. 

We enjoyed a swim and Barb walked with Dorothy on the beach.

On Monday, we called the port captain and said we would anchor near the Bocas del Toro Marina.  He said we should not leave the boat and that he would round up the necessary officials and visit us in an hour or so.

 

Till then, be well!

Isla Providencia April to May 1st 2009

Providencia – 4/10/09 to 5/1/09

Remember - double clicking on a photo will enlarge the view! (I hope!)

A Canadian fellow sailed in from Nicaragua one day, stayed long enough to stir up some interest and then left for the Cayman Islands.  This little catamaran has to be about ten feet long.  Yikes!

We arrived on Good Friday, but after we checked in we stayed on the boat, resting. We missed a local presentation for the boaters in the town square. We were able to attend a similar show a few weeks later. We listened to a spirited local band and watched a dance group show off their skills. We were invited to Roland's beach restaurant and we went for a fun evening with the crews of four other boats.

We liked the island of Providencia, the people who live there and the cruisers who were visiting along with us. During the three weeks we stayed, we hiked, motorbiked, sailed and socialized.

There is a fine hike on Catalina, the island that shelters the northern side of the harbor. The trail leads past the old fort and allows the hiker to approach the rock formation known as Morgan's Head.

It takes a little imagination to make out the profile of the notorious pirate. Looking to the south, it is easier to make out the profile of Split Mountain, also known as Morgan's Ass.

We made two circumnavigations of Providencia. The one by motorbike took three leisurely hours as we visited several overlooks ..

..........and beaches ...........

............ and stopped for a nice lunch.

The lunch stop was at a resort where Internet access is available...on some days...not today...maybe manana. The food was good and the view was gorgeous. We met a couple that took the motorbike ride too. They made the entire trip in twenty minutes and then went back around at a pace like ours. The second circumnavigation was with the crews of Pelican's Flight and Tempest on board Tisha Baby. The waters were calm and the wind light so we motored around and through the reefs. We stopped in a cove for lunch and got back to the anchorage in time for sundowners.

We were there on the anniversary of the wreck of the S/V Viva caused by hurricane XXXX. Our friend Viva Bob intended to be there too, but the present Viva had engine problems and he had sailed back to Rio Dulce to replace both his engines. Maybe next year?

We visited the Bamboo Restaurant several times, bringing the crews of about 20 boats with us on two occasions. The friendly proprietors were well rewarded for their hospitality. They are closed on Sunday, but allowed a group of us to gather to play dominoes at their tables.

We watched and waited for a good weather window and on May 1st the opportunity arrived for

S/V Damiana and us to depart for the two day passage to Bocas del Toro. We bid a fond farewell to the cruisers in the harbor and the wonderful people of Isla Providencia.

April 9 – April 30, 2009: the Hobbies to Providencia, Columbia

The other boats, Damiana, Tempest, Pelican’s Flight, Tisha Baby and Jacana intend to stay a while to fish, swim and snorkel. While we enjoy those activities, there is hardly any dry land around to explore and the weather window is too good to pass up. We decided we would leave the next morning for Isla Providencia, 196 nm away, with good conditions expected for the entire trip.

Before dawn, we had the anchor up and we were underway, motoring, retracing our course out of the anchorage and along the inside of the reef. By the time the sun was up we had sails up and had exited the reef. The wind was blowing about twelve knots from the north-northeast and our destination was generally south-southeast, so this is pretty light wind. We left the motor on and running at seven knots with the sails up as we navigated the bank for nine hours when, at 2:30, the wind shifted to east-northeast and picked up to thirteen knots. We had covered enough distance to be comfortable slowing down with the expectation that the wind would increase soon and we could expect to arrive at our destination with good mid-day sun, so the motor was turned off. We sailed at 6.2 – 6.6 knots for twelve hours and into the night with winds up to seventeen knots, until we encountered huge, dark clouds blotting out the full moon, with flashes of lightning and trailing rain. We reefed the sails as the wind speed dropped eerily and we turned on the engine. Three hours later, the clouds had disappeared without incident and at 6 am the engine was turned off again. We were under full sail doing 5.7 knots in 14 knots of east-southeast wind and .5 knots of opposing current in 2-3 ft seas, close-hauled for six hours arriving at the sea buoy off Providencia at noon. By 1 pm, on Good Friday, we were anchored in the beautiful harbor between Providencia and Catalina Islands and in touch with the famous agent, Mr. Bush (this one has a high approval rating), ready to clear into one of Columbia’s most far-flung islands. This leg of the trip was completed with the only excitement being the fact that it went nearly exactly as planned and without incident, safely.