Author Archives: Michael Britt

A Bulleted History of Colombia

Why on earth would anyone go to Colombia?  It’s violent, dangerous, filled with armed militias and Narco gangs. A very dangerous place for an American Tourist.

It turns out that this is an image that Colombia has moved past.  There are many interesting lessons to learn, and parallels that can be drawn with the current situation in America.

Our oversimplified history of Colombia is based on several tours we took with English speaking guides, and a little wikepedia.

  • Due to disagreements between the various indigenous peoples, the country was broken up to create Venezuela and Ecuador.
  • In the early 20th century the United States sent Gunboats and helped create the country of Panama in exchange For a 99 year lease and the right to finish building the Panama Canal.
  • Colombia operated with 2 parties’ liberals and conservatives. (Sounds like America)
  • The liberals had internal friction between radicals and a more centrist group. (Sounds like America)
  • The two main parties enjoyed long periods in power. (Sounds like America)
  • There was increasing polarization between the two dominant parties. (Sounds like America)
  • Jorge Gaitan was the leader of the radical left and widely expected to win the election, but was assassinated in April 1948.
  • Gaitan’s death sparked a 3 day riot that destroyed the capital of Bogota, and was the beginning of La Violencia. (Jan 6?)
  • La Violencia lasted from 1946 to 1964 with 200,000 dead and an estimated 1,000,000 people displaced.
Monument to victims of La Violencia. Lights represent victims. Screens have photos of families…powerful stuff
  • Starting in the Early 60’s FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia) came into being as a force for agrarianism and peasant rights.
  • Other militias came into being at that time including ELN, M19 and right wing paramilitaries funded by large land owners.  (BLM?)(ANTIFA?)
  • With the United States as the biggest customer by far, the drug trade turned out to be enormously profitable.  And some of these entities became more focused on the drug trade. 
  • The Narcos including the Medellin and Cali Cartels became the distributors and processors of cocaine through US affiliates like the Black Widow in Miami.
  • Meanwhile refugees from the countryside began to settle in Medellin on the hillsides as squatters.  Their first house were built from scraps salvaged from building sites and scavenging in the dump.  But as squatters they had low housing costs and paid no tax.  Over time they began small businesses in their neighborhoods, and as they became more prosperous they began to rebuild their shacks with red terra cotta bricks adding a floor for each new generation and creating part of the iconic Medellin skyline.
  • Isolated from the business center of Medellin by the steep geography and lack of city planning, gangs of underemployed young men began to mark out their turf in these new areas of the city.
  • In 1993, Medellin was the most dangerous city in the world with a homicide rate of 400/100000 and these new neighborhoods in the hills like Comuna 13 were the most dangerous neighborhoods in that city.
  • Completed in 1995 the Metro system knits together the neighborhoods of Medellin with tickets that cost 1600 COP (about 0.50 USD) and include transfers to anywhere in the system. Before the system a campaign to educate the public in “Metro Culture” instilled pride for and good behavior on the new Metro. Almost 30 years after its inauguration our ride was on a modern smooth system that puts BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to shame.
  • In 2003 a new major Sergio Farjado was elected as Mayor. He began a series of policies that he called “social urbanization” that put the best schools, parks and Libraries in the poorest neighbor hoods.  This is often hailed as the moment that Medellin began to turn around. (would this work in America where the poorest neighborhoods often have the worst schools?)
  • Starting in 2004 a series of Cable cars were added to the transit system allowing easy access to and from the hillside communities like Comuna 13.  
  • The guerrilla factions are of course in the comuna 13 and in in 2002 the government moves to remove them with operation Orion.
  • Operation Orion has military helicopters hovering over the comuna 13 shooting people in support of ground troops.  In all  there were 80 civilians injured, 17 casualties committed by the Public Force , 71 people killed by the paramilitaries , 12 people tortured, 92 forced disappearances and 370 arbitrary detentions, according to the Corporación Jurídica Libertad.
Remembering the past
  • Many of the dead are in a mass grave on the hillside.
  • So I am not a rapper but Hip Hop music has a part to play here.   Hip Hop music evolved in New York using the music of Africa and rapping to create a music form that protests the injustice and oppression facing African and Hispanic Americans in the 60’s.  
  • Hip Hop came to Colombia not as music but in visual form via a movie called “Beat Street” other Colombian teens visiting America brought back music, break dancing and graffiti.
  • Brothers La Etnnia ages 8 to 12 began to practice break dancing and would become one of leading Colombian Hip Hop groups.
  • Hip Hop helped to get people back into the streets instead of hiding in their homes and breakdancing became a way for rival gangs to work it out without killing each other.
  • More on Colombian Hip Hop movement Here
  • One final overlay was the effect of Pablo Escobar and the various cartels, who took over the distribution and processing of Cocaine.   In an attempt to control the cartels the Colombian government signed an extradition treaty with the United States for drug offenses committed in either country.
  • The constitutionality of this was questioned and the cartels went to war with the government to try and overturn this treaty. Between 1989 and 1993 Pablo Escobar was responsible for the deaths of 657 policeman along with judges, politicians.  He began to commit acts of terrorism with many car bombings.
  • Today it’s all quiet in the country side, but Colombia remains as the largest exporter of Cocaine in the world.. More about that here.

One of the enjoyable aspects of the tours in Bogota and Medellin was trying to figure out the complex history of this country.   I am certain I have missed a lot, but being merely a traveler I feel I have an obligation to try and understand but no responsibility to create a definitive history….

Colombia is highly recommended, don’t miss the highland cities. Their climate is wonderful and the cities have an almost European feel. 

Farewell Panama, Hello Colombia!

Well, we did it. We are now in Cartagena! But first, it’s time for a fond recap of our farewell to Panama.

After leaving the boat at Red Frog Marina for a year, we returned to a boat covered in green stuff. Several washes later, Footloose started to look normal again. Even the mast required a thorough cleaning (Michael Loves going up the mast…not).

The boat came together with very few difficulties, except for the generator seemed to be fighting us. First the starter needed to be taken apart and the solenoid freed up and greased. Once started, the raw water pump began to leak saltwater. So, a replacement was ordered and installed, and all seemed well.

Pet onboard?

Turns out we have a pet, Spidey. I first saw him on the deck with his bright yellow shell and thought he was a kind of crab, but no…he’s a spider (Spiny-backed Orbweaver)

Touring Bocas del Toro

Finally, after a month of cleaning and boat work, we were underway! We left the marina October 1 and spent some time in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, visiting some favorite haunts including Starfish beach and the Chocolate farm.

Zapatillo Islands

Our last stop on the way out of Bocas was to the beautiful Zapatillo islands. We enjoyed some snorkeling and the beauty of the islands, but the highlight was watching the release of some hawksbill turtles!

Veraguas de Escudo

Another 40 miles brought a stop at Veraguas Escudo. We anchored for a few days and enjoyed the sparkling Caribbean water and dramatic views of the island.

Take a quick spin in the dingy at Isla Escudo de Veraguas

Rio Chagres

We next traveled overnight to stay a night in the Rio Chagres. As we entered the river and began to follow this verdant path with our ocean going boat, Lisa mentioned that she felt as though she was on the African Queen. The water is bright green with algae and yet this river supplies all the drinking water for Panama City. Spidey, still with us, helped by killing the biting insects that seemed fascinated with our bright white boat. Birds and monkeys called to us, perhaps dismayed at our presence. In the morning we took a dingy ride to explore a small tributary near our anchorage. After taking some pictures of birds including the mealy parrot (what a name) we started to raise the anchor. We usually traverse shallow areas with our fish finder on, allowing a detailed view of the bottom, and our trip up the river revealed the completely featureless bottom you would expect of a muddy green river. Nevertheless, on trying to raise the anchor, we found ourselves unable to raise the last hundred feet of anchor chain. Our anchor was trapped by some large submerged object. Despite the fact that our position on the river was very nearby Shelter Bay Marina (our next stop),there was no cellular service. We could have been on the moon. (not time to panic:))

So after an hour of attempting to hoist the chain, we used our satellite phone to call the marina and Juanjo promised to develop a plan to send a diver up the river. Anchored in 45 feet of pea soup, we had no way to get to the anchor ourselves.

While we were waiting, I thought about how the boat had drifted under the influence of the tides and currents in the river. I remembered that we had moved in a roughly clockwise pattern around our anchor and so we endeavored to make one more attempt at recovering our 75 pound stainless steel anchor.

We let out some chain to increase our freedom of movement and I began to circle counter clockwise, pausing to pull back every 90 degrees or so. After about four counter clockwise turns we were suddenly free. What a relief. Our call with Juanjo revealed that the cost of the diver would be $3500.

Boat Fun, Shelter Bay/Panama City

At Shelter Bay, we waited for our friends Celia and Art to arrive for a trip to the San Blas Islands (Guna Yala).

While we waited we had a few projects… one was to re-certify our life raft and the other was to try and get our SSB radio working. The later involved taking the various components to a Radio specialist near the port offices in Panama City. What an interesting man. He spoke very little English, but we managed to get through the necessary discussion with the aid of google translate. As we sat at his work bench, he pulled out a drawer to find something and I noticed that the top of the drawer was completely worn down. Full of holes from drilling and burn marks from the soldering gun. I asked him how long he had been there…. 50 years. Further probing revealed that he had arrived from Peru to Colon as a young man, as the radioman on a big ship. The main engines on the ship failed and when no repairs were in sight he found work in Colon and just stayed on. I asked his age– 79. You would have guessed him in his 50’s. He told his story of settling in Colon and building a life with grandchildren and a home overlooking the Caribbean. He knew radios. Electronica Cristobal – Joaquin Vizcaino 6675-7433.

Certifying a Viking 6 man life raft

Before leaving Shelter Bay, we were discussing games with Art and Celia and it turned out that Art is a big fan of cribbage. We don’t have a cribbage board and Lisa and I have never played. Off I went to the boat yard, where I scrounged a piece of scrap teak from the work area. In no time, we had a hand-crafted cribbage board. Art turned out to be a patient teacher and no money was lost in learning the rudiments of the game.

Learning Cribbage

Onward to San Blas

Our first stop on the way to San Blas was at Portobello and the rainy overcast gave a somber feel to the 16th century Spanish fortification there. After a rainy night we proceeded through several squalls to arrive at our first anchorage at Chicheme catching a Big Eye Tuna along the way.

We spent three weeks in the San Blas with Art and Celia. The San Blas Islands are a group of islands inhabited by the Guna Yala tribe. While being part of the Country of Panama, this group of islands is self-governed by the Congresso de Guna Yala. The meetings are held frequently and all tribal members are free to speak. The meetings tend to run a little long, so someone is always assigned the task of randomly shrieking out loud just to keep everyone on their toes. (Try that at your next meeting!)

Molas of the Guna Yala

The Guna Yala are a matriarchal society and also famous for their molas which are images formed by stitching layers of cloth in different colors. Transgender people are an accepted part of the society.

Ulus of the San Blas

The various islands are roughly five to ten miles apart, and the Gunas travel between them in sailing ulus. The ulus are carved out of a single tree. The mast is set in a thwart in the forward 20 percent of the boat. The mast is rigged when preparing to sail, and lowered at other times.

It’s a pretty interesting place and culture and you can read more about it here. BBC Travel Guna Yala

The Guna Yala live from the sea with lobster and fish very easily caught. We caught a big eye tuna and a king mackerel. Art made Poke from the Big eye one night, which was delicious.

King Mackerel have TEETH

Changing Views of the San Blas

These islands rise only a few feet above sea level making it very easy to observe the effects of sea level rise in these islands. Our charts from the Bauhouse guide were made in 2015 by a man who used high tech equipment to take literally millions of soundings of the area. His charts clearly show some long islands that are now broken into three pieces by the rising waters flooding the lowest portions of the island.

Snorkeling at West Hollandes

Our favorite anchorage was at West Hollandes which had great snorkeling to see beautiful coral gardens.

Another interesting stop was at Dog Island, where the captain of a sinking freighter deliberately ran his small ship aground in order to save its cargo. The wreck is easily available for snorkelers…

Cruising with Friends

Having friends aboard was great fun. We always learn something from these guys, including how to go 2 up on a SUP, and how to use noodles while cooling off with a beer after a hot day….

Meanwhile the generator was not done with its shenanigans and began to leak oil. A lot of oil, about 1/3 qt per hour! Despite a careful inspection, we could not find the leak and assumed the end seal had failed. With four people on board, we cannot live on solar alone and need an hour or two of generator time each evening. So, every other day we mopped most of a quart of engine oil out of the pan and in no time that used up all of our oil absorbent pads. Luckily, it turns out you can wring them out and use them again! During the three weeks we leaked 2 gallons of motor oil. No Bueno.

We left our friends in the small town of Carti, arriving in a total downpour. The muddy fresh water is less dense than the salty ocean and created a muddy layer easily seen in our wake.

Muddy wake

Fittingly, our last days in Panama were rainy ones (thankfully without lightening too close). We spent the time learning cribbage and watching the weather for our long-anticipated passage to Cartagena, Colombia. Finally, with a forecast for 70 percent reaching conditions in winds to 15 knots we departed in overcast conditions and lumpy 4 foot, 5 second seas. Despite using the recommended waypoints for our journey, the reaching conditions never materialized and we motored against 4 knots of wind in sloppy conditions, arriving in Cartagena 30 hours later. True to form in our cruising experience, the weather is never right….

Land Ho

Arriving at Club de Pesca Marina, with the boat set up for a normal docking situation, we were confronted with our first mooring between pilings opportunity. The complexity was too much for my tired brain, and we opted to anchor out. Time to rest. HA

We arrived during a weekend celebration. The normally crowded channel was even more packed with a parade of charter boats all blasting music and bright lights until late into the night (dawn)…. Quite a contrast from the secluded San Blas Islands I’d say. Welcome to Colombia!

Many more adventures to come, including Christmas in Cartagena and a haul-out/Footloose spa treatment at the yard.

P.S. Spidey is now an illegal alien in Colombia, if he survives the boatyard…

Countdown

10, 9, 8 ….  The countdown has begun, boxes of parts have been arriving, overseas shipping is planned Airline tickets… check.  Airport hotel check, taxi to Bocas De Toro got it, water taxi to Red Frog Marina.  We are going back to Footloose after a year of COVID.  We are vaccinated, masked and ready to go. Michael had a booster the other day…injection site soreness mild headache next day..

It’s been a good year.  Learning our new house and a little bit about the area.   Mom and Dad stayed with us for 4 months while mom recovered from hip surgery.  They are back on the ranch now.  I now have a nice work shop in one of our garages.  Lisa has been working out at Defined Fitness and doing yoga at Sacred Rebel.  I built a fence to keep deer out of our fruit trees. 

Another big move for Lisa is obtaining her New Mexico Real Estate license. She is associated with R1 Realty in Farmington.  So of course if you know someone looking to relocate out of the brutal California real estate market, Farmington is a great place to live and Lisa can make it happen.  In this area 500k buys a lot of house.

We took time to hear some music with Music in the Mountains and to visit the Mesa Verde National monument. We even went sailing with the kayak on Farmington Lake. 

This year we plan to leave the Bocas del Toro Area mid-October, spend 2 weeks at Linton bay in Panama getting our life raft serviced along with some other boat projects.  Then we are off to finally explore the islands of San Blas.   After that we make our way to Cartagena, Columbia to spend the next few months.  We plan to enjoy the Christmas season from an Air BNB near the old town.  Footloose will be getting a bit of a face lift while we are there.   Then we cross the Caribbean going through the Windward Passage, and to Turks and Caicos.   We will make our way to our new home port at Brunswick, Georgia via the Bahamas and Florida arriving by June 1 and the beginning of Hurricane season.

The Bay of Panama

The Cruisers Table

After our summer in the US we were happy to get back to the boat in Panama. We allowed a month for prepping the boat to get underway.  We did cleaning, and some repairs. Our fresh water pumps seemed to have given up on their vital work. I rejuvenated the flush mechanisms on both heads. We had new grates made for the showers. Dell technicians even came to the boat to install a new mother board in this computer. As they say, cruising is fixing boats in foreign places.

Our time at Vista Mar was not all work and no play. We went to a fundraiser to help an ex pat raise some money for medical bills,  and we were invited to a dinner at Sam’s house. Sam is a retired real estate entrepreneur and an amazing Harmonica player.

We had errands to run and rented a car for a week. Driving in Panama city during rush hour with Monsoon rains was a bit of an adventure. Turns out Panamanians don’t actually stop at stop signs and they honk if you do. A lot of cars on the road with rear end damage.

While we had the car, we took the opportunity to explore, taking a drive to nearby El Valle de Anton. There we visited the church and a museum.  Had lunch at a restaurant where Lisa ordered the Sancocho. This is a classic Panamanian soup made with Chicken and Yucca, served with a scoop of rice. Delicious.

On the way we stopped to take a picture and while we stopped, we were greeted by a man who spoke English and had just walked down from the farm. He was carrying an old wooden box filled with an assortment of fresh vegetables that he was talking to his mother. A snap shot from a simpler life.

Finally the day came to cast off the lines from Vista Mar. Footloose seemed happy to be out of there. I know we were. First stop was an anchorage at Otoque where we stayed for two nights enjoying a rest from the boat work at Vista Mar.

Then we went to Isla Taborcillo.  Taborcillo is also called John Wayne Island. This island was given to John Wayne for his work as an envoy to Panama when the Canal was turned over to the Panamanians. John Wayne was a Republican, but disagreed with his party, believing that the Panama Canal should be turned over to the Panamanians. A time when people were true to their beliefs rather than toeing the party line. Since John Wayne’s death in 1979 the island has been sold and is now owned by a German entrepreneur who tried to make a Hollywood destination resort out of the place. It has been vacant for ten years and much of the memorabilia is fading back into the jungle. A small museum with artifacts from John Wayne has a hole in the roof allowing the remaining artifacts to slowly disappear in a haze of dampness and mildew. A chapel named St John’s has a marker for John Wayne, but he is actually buried in Newport Beach.

Our friends Celia and Art were coming to meet us and Rogelio, our Canal Agent agreed to bring them from the airport to the Playita anchorage. So our next stop was Playita. We had a nice sail from Taborcillo, and spent the last hour and half weaving through the anchored freighters and across the canal traffic lane to our new resting place. A fascinating place to anchor with all the ships of the world passing through. Lying under the Flamenco station with lots of wakes in the anchorage, it was still quite pleasant.

During our stay at Playita, we did provisioning and visited the Museum of Biodiversity on the Amador Causeway near our anchorage.  An interesting graphic at the museum shows herds of animals crossing the isthmus when it was formed intermixing the species found on the previously isolated North and South Americas.

The canal authority came aboard to verify our dimensions. Canal transit fees are based on the size of the vessel. Some of the largest pay 1.2 million dollars for one transit, and do it every 2 weeks. We paid about $500.  Richard Halliburton was the lightest “ship” ever to transit the canal and paid $0.36 to swim through in 1928.

Celia and Art operate Searcher Sportfishing in San Diego. Art has been Captain of Searcher for 35 years ( they do whale trips to Baja and pelagic bird watching too). They arrived on November 12 and the fun began in earnest.

The next day, jet lag or not, we were off to the Perlas Islands where the Spanish killed the natives and brought in slaves from Africa to harvest the great pearl beds. Many of the slaves descendants still live in the islands today.

Our first stop, Isla Contadora (the Counting Island), was where the Spanish counted the pearls before shipping them to Spain. The island has large homes including one where the exiled Shah of Iran lived.

We stayed in a delightful anchorage enjoying the stand-up paddle boards and great snorkeling.

The Perlas Islands gave us beautiful jungle covered islands with white sand beaches. Excellent fishing.  Lots of snorkeling and Sup Boarding.  Celia and Art added greatly to our experience by giving us their knowledge of birds and fishing. We had conversations about boat management, politics, religion, all with great food.

Happy Crew

One of the highlights for me was our visit to Isla Telmo. The current was pretty swift so we did not stay over night, but the snorkeling was great,  and the beach has the wreck of the Submarine explorer.  Built in 1865 it is one of only 5 submarines known to exist before 1870. The bottom of the submarine had hatches that would open allowing workers to harvest pearls.  A visit to the island should include a long walk on the beach.  Beautiful

Submarine Explorer

Snorkeling

Smile

Great Food

What to do when that bunch of bananas you bought from the guy in the Panga that seemed would stay green forever suddenly decide to ripen all at once.

Of Course There Were Sunsets

And Water Toys

Another highlight of our trip was a dingy trip up the Rio Moskito…. That is how we think it is spelled. No mosquitoes while we were there.

We only fish for food. But there were a lot of fish, and if you wanted to, you could stuff the freezer.

After 12 days in the Islands, we planned to visit Isla Taboga and then return to the Playita anchorage to get our extra rented mooring balls and the four 120 foot dock lines necessary for a Canal Transit.

On the way to Taboga, we were visited by a pod of Pseudo Killer whales. These 20 foot long animals played with the bow wave and wake created by Footloose. We were all excited, but Art was most happy with the sighting. In 35 years of natural history tours, he has only seen this species 3 times. They are more common south of Mexico, Art’s stomping grounds.

Our trip to Taboga was ill fated as the anchorage was full of empty mooring balls and the conditions were pretty windy and choppy we continued on to the Playita anchorage. A couple days later, however, we took a ferry from Playita and got to see Taboga Island anyway. The sleepy little town features Iglesia San Pedro, the second oldest church in the western hemisphere.

We were told that Taboga had quite a scene as visitors come from the City of Panama for the weekend, but a local told us that what actually happens is that people pack a lunch and go to the beach at Taboga enjoying the water and views of Panama City, but most go home at night. We were there on a Monday and the streets had a few dogs and cats and the occasional small vehicle just able to squeeze through the narrow streets.

At Taboga we saw Sea Shepherd a boat belonging to a controversial whale protection organization. They are known to interfere with Japanese whaling ships, but on this day they were educating the local school kids about the negative influence of plastics, particularly straws on sea turtles.

A recurring theme of our journey is the amount of trash, particularly plastics that we see. On Footloose, we are trying to limit our plastic consumption but it seems almost impossible. Silicone ziplocks seem good but what happens when the seam breaks or…. bees wax covers for bowls work for the potluck but not everything. Reusable grocery bags have certainly helped but for obvious economic reasons many things are packaged in or made out of plastic. It seems almost insurmountable. 10 miles out of Chiapas Mexico I remember seeing plastic every hundred feet or so in the ocean 10 miles off shore. A coke bottle here, a flip flop there, everywhere you look, plastic waste. And the canal authority, for example, insists that you provide bottled water for the transit crew. Very difficult.

I think a lot of the problem comes when first world products, like sodas in plastic bottles, wind up in 3rd world places with bad waste disposal. Everything winds up in the river or is burned. The Perlas are quite remote with few inhabitants, so where is the garbage coming from? Perhaps the mouth of the Darien river 30 miles away where indigenous people live in small villages on its banks. Yet, a villager can be in Panama city in a few hours by Panga and ferry. We actually saw a new refrigerator in a box going home in the bow of a small panga. Waste management lags development.

Back at Playita we celebrated Thanksgiving with a trip to Casco Viejo, the old town in Panama City. We visited old churches, enjoyed lunch out and splurged on Panama Hats…. Sold and made famous in Panama, actually made in Ecuador.

We felt better about the transit after watching ships and yachts locking in and out at the Miraflores Visitor Center. In our next post, we take Footloose through the locks to the Caribbean. Coming Soon!

What We Did This Summer- 2019

After a season of travel through the windiest regions of Central America,  we returned home from a steamy Panama to the cool California,  Ahhh.   It was a summer of few photos, but we enjoyed seeing friends and family again.

We started out staying with my friend Dennis Olson and attending Gus Beam’s Wedding.  Gus is the son of Marconi Cove Yacht Club member, Mark Peters…  I have known Gus since the car seat days and he is now an attorney practicing in Sacramento.  The bride and groom have known each other since middle school and witnessing their marriage was our pleasure.

After wearing out our welcome at the Olson’s, we moved over to our old neighbors Mike and Carrolyn’s place in Ballena Bay.  Centrally located in the Bay Area, we were able to visit with old friends and have my long awaited vitrectomy.  After a career spent advising patients to avoid this procedure, which among other things removes floaters (good), but also has a risk of causing retina detachments (bad).  I found myself so troubled by the floaters, which started in our first year of cruising, that I sought treatment, breaking my own advice.  Dr. Michael Jumper did an excellent job and my vision is much better.  I still have a large floater in my left eye, but having one good eye is a huge improvement and I doubt I will proceed with the left eye.

Rockridge Cafe after Vitrectomy.. been eating there since the 80’s

I had a follow up a few days later and then we were off to Soda Springs.

In Soda Springs, our sailing friends Lou, Patrice and Bear have a house, and put us up for a few days to enjoy the Tahoe area magnificence.

We enjoyed a quick visit with our cruising friends, Tod and Donna, in Grass Valley before our return to the Bay Area to catch a flight; we were off to St Louis.

My optometry license goes away permanently in April 2020, so I decided to move it to New Mexico, where work seems to be plentiful.  There is a shortage of optometrists in the state, and being of relatively sound mind and body (some might argue) I don’t think I would mind working a few days a week. So off we went to St Louis for the American Academy of Optometry annual meeting for some continuing education. It felt good to engage my brain in my old profession.

We loved Saint Louis.  Lisa found us an AirBNB that saved us hundreds of dollars over the conference rate.  A short walk through the campus of the Washington School of Medicine and then a short light rail to the conference downtown.

We stayed a week in St Louis and enjoyed a trip to the famous arch.  I never realized it was made of welded stainless steel plate.  We took the trip to the top in little trolleys (not for claustrophobics) that tip as the car moves up the curved legs of the arch keeping the occupants vertical.  At the top, a fantastic view of the capital and the ball park.

On the last day, we took a stroll through one of St. Louis’ great old neighborhoods near Forest Park.  A man working in his front yard told us these homes sold between 800K and 1.2 Million or so.  Lots of old, beautiful square feet for the dollar… not so sure about the maintenance.

Then off to New Mexico.

First stop was a visit to my parents in Roy. They are 89, and I am blessed to have both of them.  My mom had pulled a muscle in her leg and was in a lot of pain. After a couple hospital visits, I thought finally we would convince them to move closer to my brother Christopher in Farmington (7 hours away).  But, after a few days of better medication management, her pain subsided somewhat, and all bets were off.   Now they are once again adamant about living the rest of their days on their ranch. I respect their wishes, though it is very worrisome for me. I feel cursed that they won’t listen to me, but everyone makes their own choices and I have to live with that.

After a lot of driving, we retreated to my brother’s house in Farmington.  Great spending time with them and in some ways getting to know them better.

My nephew Mason turned 16.

In the middle of it all Sandy’s mom died.  I suited up and flew to Southern California for her funeral.  Jeanette is now at Mount Sinai in Hollywood close to her husband Webster and Sandy whom she missed terribly.  For the 12 years since her death all Jeanette could talk about was rejoining Sandy in the afterlife.  She will be missed. My mother in law was a generous and giving person who welcomed me into her family.  I am certain that there was some disappointment that Sandy had not married a Jew, but I always felt welcomed by her entire family. Rest in Peace

Two years ago we purchased property (with two houses) on the Animas river in Farmington. The tenants in the larger house vacated in August and then from the smaller Casita in September.  We took the opportunity to camp out in the big house for two weeks and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.  It was a pleasure to enjoy a cool drink by the river each evening as the sun was going down.  This house distracts us from cruising some as we plan modifications to the property.  Susan, one of the outgoing tenants, shared a couple of pictures of the property during last years more extreme winter.  We remain determined to enjoy cruising as long as possible, as it would feel foolish to abandon this until we are truly done. Perhaps with a modified schedule that includes staying in Farmington with temporary work and family for the summers during hurricane season.

We were concerned to be leaving with both houses empty, but a week later the management company called to tell us that both units had been rented.   🙂

For our last week in the states we were back to Alameda where we enjoyed a week in Felicia’s Yoga Room.  Fun cooking together with Felicia and Paul in their beautiful Bay Street home.

Even though it wasn’t October yet the Halloween season was starting to emerge near Bay Street, famous for its thousands of trick or treaters who attend the festivities on this heavily decorated area of Alameda. Here’s a link to this house from 2017 (I think)

Being in Alameda meant a great dinner with Allison and her husband Jerry and a trip to Berkeley Bowl to bring some goodies as our contribution. At the end of the meal, Lisa looked at her watch and exclaimed “It’s after midnight”….

Berkeley Bowl Cheese

We love our trips back to the US, but we hate living out of a suitcase.  A trip to the states means accumulating thousands of dollars worth of  replacement boat parts, carrying clothes for 5 months, shlepping a couple of computers, and camera gear which this year included a drone that needed repair. The beauty of traveling by boat is the ability to travel to new places with your home.  On the boat we don’t lose stuff.

We Don’t Pack Light

Thank you to all who hosted us this summer!

 

 

A Night at Naranjo

We’ve been traveling from Costa Rica through North Western Panama.  This part of the coast is very remote.  We have had no cell signal for 6 days.  That means no internet…Are we starting to shake?  It’s very hot and sticky but at least the days are overcast as Panama heads into rainy season.  Each little bay, surrounded by dense jungle that overhangs the beaches, has squads of Parrots flying overhead in pairs squawking to each other noisily.  The bays often have a small boat with a couple of guys fishing who have braved the surf in their small boats.  In Mexico the fisherman’s Pangas had lots of freeboard and big Yamaha engines with at least 75 horsepower. Here the boats are Pirogues.. narrower than Pangas, sturdily built from fiberglass or wood plank construction, but a 20 horsepower is a big motor.  Sometimes you see these small boats motoring between the bays with five or six people on board.

Hills of Naranjo

After a pleasant day motor sailing we arrive at Ensenada Naranjo with about 150 miles remaining to reach our season’s resting place at the Vista Mar marina. As we pull into the protected bay, the Pacific swell subsides and we anchor in 30 feet of water. On a mooring ball a small pirogue is at rest, brightly painted in red.  We set up the bridle and back down to ensure that the anchor is set.  As we look out over the hills, we are reminded of Northern California with the coastal hills green turning gold as the hills wait for the drenching to come during Panama’s famous rainy season, just 30 degrees warmer than California with twice the humidity. It’s happy hour, and although we have stopped drinking alcohol for now, we lie down on the trampoline with a cool drink of fruit juice and soda water.  We watch as 20 or so white brahma cattle graze the steep hills.

Grazing Brahmas

Suddenly a single shot rings out. Yesterday, at Bahia Honda, we were boarded by a man in a small blue pirogue carrying an AR 15 and a pistol. He was very friendly, and wearing a national police uniform for Panama, although it looked like he might have stolen the shirt. He welcomed us to the anchorage, assuring us that we were safe, but guns do make us nervous. We get the binoculars and I see a man walking down the beach with a rifle. He seems to be looking towards us. Two women watch from the little house on the beach, one very obese and one in a bright red tee shirt that almost matches the boat.  As I nervously scan the beach I notice a tan colored head in the water swimming between the man with the rifle and our boat, possibly a dog, except the nose doesn’t look quite right.

Another man appears, dragging a smaller pirogue down the beach. He sets off with one paddle through the surf from the steep beach. The man on the beach is yelling instructions to the man in the boat. The creature turns to avoid the small boat and I see the ears that tell me it’s a deer swimming in a panic. Nervously I think don’t shoot.  Eventually the man in the small boat puts a line around the animal’s neck finishing it off. After a brief struggle with the deer in the water the man pulls the animal into the pirogue and paddles back to the shore, as the two women look on. The man carries the deer up the shore to the waiting women, and the anchorage is peaceful again. Unnerving to say the least.

We resume happy hour and eat an early dinner outside. The last few nights we have developed a new practice. To fight off the humidity and heat we have been running the generator for air conditioning for a few hours before bed. This cools off the cabin giving us a better chance at getting to sleep. We have noticed previously that insects are attracted to the lights on the boat so as the darkness sets in, we turn off the cockpit lights and head indoors.   Now, with the air conditioning and the cabin lights on we sit listening to an audible book.  In The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 the author is describing the difficulties of building the Panama canal, with malaria, yellow fever, insects, heat, and rain.  As we are listening to these harsh godforsaken conditions experienced by the French engineers and all of the workers who endured such adversity, Lisa suddenly lets out a shriek.  Our cabin door is built like a patio door.  With large, thick plastic panes and a tightly fitted aluminum frame.  Beyond the panes are thousands of insects, attracted by the lights in the cabin.

Bugs

Flying ants, crickets, beetles, moths a nightmare of entomology.  We are trapped in the cabin.  Some of the creatures have a golden thorax with what appears to be a white LED on the underside…easy to see, as they are walking on the window. Then we notice that the “LEDs” are in fact flashing a bright greenish gold.  Chapter four is about to start and we call it a night.  I figure that turning out the lights will cause the bugs to abandon the party on Footloose.  Our dreams interrupted by visions of creepy crawlies, we awaken to a cockpit filled with a snow bank of wings shed from the flying ants. Some partiers remain, snacking on the bodies of those who did not survive the bacchanal.  Using the wash down hose, we wash away the evidence and get underway for Bahia Benao, after which we will round Punta Mala named so for the huge tidal currents, winds, and swells which focus at this turn into the Bay of Panama.

A school of tuna are leaping out of the water glinting blue in the sunrise. Perhaps, I’ll catch a fish.

Passing the Papagayo

Crossing the Bar

Portions of this entry are for the benefit Panama Posse members and our regular readers can just skip content with brackets and a PP….[PP:………]

The Papagayo winds are gap winds similar to the Tehuantepec winds where the Caribbean trade winds are accelerated and intensified as they pass through gaps in the mountains that form the back bone of Central America.  The goal is to avoid sailing in winds that can gust into the 40 knot range.  So it’s all about the weather window.

Entering Golfo de Fonseca

After an uneventful exit over the bar at Bahia Del Sol, we sailed overnight to enter the Gulf of Fonseca as the sun was coming up.   As we entered this huge gulf, the rising sun revealed many pangas, with various types of fishing gear and a skyline filled with volcanos.  Most pangas fished with nets having the Panga at one end and a black Flag at the other.   Our image stabilizing binoculars have never been more useful as we spotted each net and adjusted course to avoid obstructions.   Getting a net or a longline loaded with hooks wrapped around your propeller, is not good.  For the yacht it may mean diving in the open ocean to cut the propeller free while the boat bounces above your head in the waves. For the fisherman it represents a significant financial loss.   Yet these lines and nets are often poorly marked, with the floats being clear soda bottles.

Unscathed, we made our way to the small town of Amapala, in Honduras.

Amapala

[pp: We anchored in 20 feet of water at 13 deg 17.901 N 087 deg 39.099 W.  The holding is mixed sand and mud.  It took a couple of tries to set but by backing down gently and then letting the anchor settle it held firmly in winds to 20 knots  and a tidal current that was reaching 2 knots.]

We stayed anchored at Amapala while waiting for weather to move further to Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua where we would wait to cross the windiest portion of the Papagayo region off of Lake Nicaragua. Here winds blow fiercely from the Caribbean and can gust to 40 MPH.  Not fun for sailing.

Amapala is a town on the northern edge of Isla Tigre where about 12000 people live scattered around the shore of an island that sports a huge Volcano at its center.  The last eruption was 10,000 years ago.

We bought a few Honduran Lempira at the Casa de Pepsi.   A house at the corner of the main drag one block up from the customs dock.  They are the local Pepsi distributors and also change money out of an old wooden drawer. 23.5 lempira per dollar. The bank rate was 24.5.  With fresh Lempira burning a hole in our pockets we had beers and lunch at El Faro.  Daisy the proprietor, teaches in the school mornings and runs her restaurant in the afternoons.  She served an amazing bowl of seafood soup $10 and crispy filets of Corvina.  We tested all four local beers and the majority felt that Sal Vida was the best Honduran brew at the table. In this part of the world they serve fried plaintain (not as sweet as a banana) instead of french fries.

We  arranged a driver (Gustavo) to take us around the island the next day in the back of his pickup truck ($40), and on the way back to the customs office I met Roberto.  Roberto is in his mid-seventies, and he sauntered up and began telling me stories about the island, Its German heritage, and its history as a shipping port.  He told me he was the best English speaking guide on the island.  I wasn’t sure we would have room for one more passenger so we left it at that.   The next morning however one of our party had a little tourista and stayed off the tour, so we got Gustavo to pick up Roberto on the way.

This turned out to be a great move as Roberto came with his briefcase, a plastic shopping bag, containing a manila folder filled with maps and pictures about the island.  Roberto has a sixth grade education, and taught himself to speak English.   He is an amateur historian for his island but does not use the internet or type…  At 19, he entered the merchant marines, travelling to Hamburg Germany and other ports. Blushingly (if a 75 Year old Honduran can blush) he told us about visiting the red light district in Hamburg with the rest of the crew where the girls all sat in the windows.   He quit the ship because he was only being paid $25 per month. Back at Isla Tigre, he began to work at the port as a stevedore loading and unloading the ships.  He met a girl from El Salvador whom he lived with in common law.  During the 100 hour war with El Salvador they were separated and he has lived as a bachelor ever since.  In typical government fashion, the Honduran’s negotiated a new shipping port at San Lorenzo, and Roberto described a day when the ships just stopped coming.  They had no idea what had happened, and the once vibrant town filled with visiting sailors, bars and restaurants became a shadow of its former self.  Islander’s now live by fishing the productive Gulf of Fonseca.  We saw many fish on the fish finder as we came in.

At the end of the tour, we took Roberto to lunch, although he had his boxed up to share with his nieces and nephews at home.   During lunch, he continued to regal us with stories of his life and the island. Apparently Albert Einstein stayed there.  We gave him a tip of 30 dollars for his time which he seemed grateful for.

Roberto and Daisy

One last point about Amapala is the check in check out process.  At immigration you get fingerprinted using equipment provided by the United States.  The officials here speak no English.  The port captain on the other hand is a friendly man who loves to practice his English on the visitors and flirt with the ladies.  Since he has all of this going on, he is a little loose on the details.  Make sure you have all of your documents, and that the exit Zarpe is correctly filled out.   He printed our Zarpe three times trying to get it right but nevertheless the third copy still has a speck of white out changing an 8 to the 6 in our Coast Guard documentation number.  The officials are all at the end of the big concrete pier.

[pp:Helpers will assist you in tying up to the steps which is not a “sketchy“ as  it looks.   Bring a long painter 20 feet plus.  They will shift your boat as the tides change.  Having a fender on board may also be helpful.   3-5 dollars seems to bring a smile depending on how long they have been “watching”.  Paying in Lempira is best.]

The conditions between the Gulf of Fonseca and Puesta del Sol in Nicaragua are pretty benign. So we made a day’s run entering through the narrow mouth.

[PP:Enter in the middle with 15 feet of depth go to the first red mark and turn 100 to 200 feet shy in 20-30 feet.  Keep the red buoys on your right and follow into the marina.  I saw 6 feet briefly before the last red buoy one hour after low tide]

First mark at Puesta del Sol

We checked into the country with the help of lovely Juanita, who translated for us and helped each boat get through the three Spanish only officials.

[PP:Total fees on entry were $79 Bring exact change, ones and 5’s, no one has change and your change just seems to find a home somewhere else not on your official Recibo.]

The Navy guy boarded our boat, and asked for a $5.00 donation.  I told him loudly that he could have my change from the immigration guy.  He shushed me and told me no problem.   His behavior left the impression that bribes are a strictly prohibited here and he wanted no trouble.   After he left I felt bad knowing with certainty that he is probably seriously underpaid.

The Marina is attached to a nice hotel with a good restaurant and swimming pool.   Because of the social unrest in Nicaragua, there are few tourists and the hotel is clearly in survival mode.  They run the generator 10 hours a day with a gap from 2 to 5 in the afternoon.   That’s when the cruisers meet at the pool to cool off.   Service in the Restaurant is slow due to the minimal staff.  Juanita, who runs the place even helps in the kitchen.   We waited 2 hours for our meal, and were amazed when they delivered food for twelve with different dishes all at once and hot.   A work around for this is to order an hour or so ahead of your show up time.   We really can’t say enough to praise the helpful pleasant hotel staff.

[PP: Our exit had another $54 in fees]

The next step was to plan our crossing of the most severe region of the Papagayo, south eastern Nicauragua.  We planned to cross the gulf in two steps. Puesta del Sol to an open anchorage at Matsachapa.  The following day we would plan to cross the windiest portion that lies off shore of Lake Nicaragua.

One recommended strategy for this region is to look at the gust strength rather than the wind strength.  Forecasts showed winds in the mid-teens which is very comfortable sailing but gusts into the thirties..not so much.

The first day we sailed with the first reef and motor sailed through variable conditions.   Our little fleet of 5 boats anchored for the night at Matsachapa as planned.

[PP: The waypoint from the Sarana guide was pretty inshore and the Pacific swell coming into the bay felt like it was piling up and getting ready to break.   So we anchored outside the Sarana guide waypoint at 11 deg 47.884 min N  086 deg 32.014min W in 19 feet of water just after low tide.  We use our fish finder when anchoring and the bottom looked irregular but like a sand bottom.  Our set was very abrupt. Like hitting a concrete block.  One of our buddy boats anchored just south and east of us and they felt their chain moving over what felt like rocks.   When they tried to recover the anchor it was stuck in the bottom and they wound up losing their anchor when the swivel failed.  Boats that were 100 yards or more astern and west of us seemed to have no problems.  One of our group felt that we were anchored on a lava flow.]

Anchored at Matsachapa

Motor sailing in high winds on a beam reach may seem like a lame strategy, but we expected winds varying from the teens to the thirties, so we organized our sail plan to handle 40 knots…third reef and adjusted our Genoa when winds were lighter for a prolonged period.   Having the motor on allowed us to have good speed in lighter air while protecting the boat in stronger gusts.  For the second leg our winds were constant low to mid 20’s with sustained gusting to 34.  One of buddy boats had their head board car system fail while beam reaching in high winds on this leg.  Their sail bag was damaged in the process.

Our first stop in Costa Rica was at Bahia Santa Elena, a beautiful and protected bay.  After anchoring, I had the customary celebratory anchoring beer and listened to the strange bird sounds coming from the mangroves.   As I watched in the binoculars, three birds were loudly chasing each other and as they turned in the setting sun their wings flashed bright green….wild Parrots.  This bay feels remote like some anchorages in the Sea of Cortez, we could have stayed there a week,  but big winds were coming, and we needed to check in to Costa Rica, so we took the opportunity of a light air day to move to Playa del Coco.

[PP:The best anchoring at Santa Elena is probably on the north west side of the bay but these spots were already taken.  The head of the bay is reported as mud on our Navionics SD card, so I anchored in the east portion of the bay on a lee shore at 10 deg 54.810 min N 085 deg 47.952 W in 29 feet over sand mud shells.  We had a solid full RPM set, but with the chain out we were a little close to shore still in 30 feet.  Doing it again I would drop in Mid 30’s].

At Playa del Coco we dropped the hook, and jumped into the delicious clear water of the bay wahoo.   We could see the anchor chain arching down towards the bottom.

The following day we began the check in cha cha.   First the port captain then the immigration office down the street,  then return to the port captain, then $60 cab ride to the airport for customs and an import certificate for the boat. Then back to the port captain for a National Zarpe, allowing us to move to our next official port Quepos.  We have to check in with the port captain every place there is one.

In the town we enjoyed a couple of meals out, and had amazing gelato at HELADERIA ITALIANA.  The Auto Mercado was also excellent with great breads.  Try the dark brown loaf.

These were great…

[PP: at Playa del Coco, we anchored at 10 deg 33.718 min N  085 deg 41.651 min W.  We had great holding in sand but our spot seemed to be in the blast zone as the now raging papagayos threw gusts up to 42 knots at us.  Doing it again, I would anchor 500 yards further north, closer to the hills which seemed to be more protected. ]

Smoke on the water

Exhausted from the constant wind we headed to Marina Papagayo.  Where early mornings are very calm.  We went around the corner, motoring up Bahia Culebra “snake bay” in high winds with the water blowing off the tops of the waves making a golden mist in the early morning sunlight. The marina is beautiful but isolated.  I find that I am exhausted and take naps every afternoon, with a few boat projects in the morning.  I took an early morning walk with Allan Niles a visitor on Sonomara and an excellent photographer.  We took pictures of a troupe of howler monkeys and birds in the area.

Recommendation – Tipke fold-it cart

 

Tipke Fold-it cart

Moving stuff

Cruising is not going on a cruise. Cruising is definitely more work than that, and a lot of that work is about hauling the freight, schlepping your stuff, getting the groceries, and so forth. We use the fold-it aluminum cart. This has been a great help hauling 4 batteries at a time, huge loads of laundry, provisions for a month. In this picture we checked into a hotel while our boat was in the yard. Here we are moving our stuff, back to the boat, all in one load, no taxi. The large wheels and sturdy construction let us easily move our stuff a half mile back to the boat. The cart takes seconds to fold or unfold and stores in a small flat package. The folded handle is designed to keep the cart in the folded position making a package that weighs only 33 lbs and is 41 inches long, 9.5 inches thick and 23 inches high. We love this cart and it has held up well over the past 4 years. An airless tire option is available although we top our regular tires off about twice a year.
If you’re not a boater this would make a great garden cart or use it to walk to the grocery store. Please support our blog and buy your cart here…

 

Recommendation – Skyroam….. bandwidth for the traveler.

Ok, we are cruisers, and we are supposed to be watching the clouds, catching fish, using the sup board or enjoying a sundowner. Truth is, we are bandwidth hogs. We need to order stuff, get YouTube videos about how to fix stuff, figure out the weather, follow the news, check our investments, and keep up with our friends. And then there is the blog with all its photos. Of course after dinner, we wouldn’t mind streaming a video on Netflix. Catching some NPR on Sunday morning from our home town feels kind of cozy. We want bandwidth.

What we used to do:
T-mobile’s international plan came highly recommended so we gave them the extra $50 per month. 4 lines came to about $170 per month. We would use our hotspots and things seemed to go swimmingly but after about 4 months we got a sweet text from T-mobile telling us that roaming was actually a privilege (despite the fact that we were giving up $50 per month) and they were canceling the offending lines in 30 days.

We also had a Wirie antenna. This is a router and external antenna. This worked pretty well and gave you the option of connecting to a local wifi hot spot or a 4g cellular tower using a sim card. One of our T-Mobile lines was this sim card. Unfortunately, most Wi-Fi hotspots are secured and their antennas are indoors making reception difficult. And the sim card became part of our T-Mobile problem. Just learned wirie is out of business, too bad it was a good product.

So this year we are on to plan B:
We parked our phone numbers with Google voice. Twenty dollars to transfer the number, then free, and while this does not allow international VOIP calls, our friends and family can text or leave a message on the same old number and we will be notified by email and through the voice app. While in the US we can forward to the sim we are using at the moment.

We use a local telephone sim card in our unlocked phones. Here in Mexico we get most of a month for about 200 pesos, 12 dollars for each of us. enough voice and casual data for us when we are away from the boat.

Enter the sky roam. This is a little hockey puck. Designed for frequent business travelers. You basically plug it in, or it will run on batteries for most of 24 hours 6000mah. The batteries can actually be used to recharge your cell phone if desired.  We don’t do that. Turn it on for the first time and go to the website where you need to buy some time. The charge is $9.95 per day, or $99 per month. We do the $99 making our total Cell Bill roughly $124 per month a $35 savings. Once its turned on, and provided you have purchased some time, The little light on top of the gizmo swirls for about 1 minute and finally you see a white ring on top of the device. The swirling means its busy picking out the best cellular signal to latch on to. You don’t care what carrier, the gizmo does it all. There is no need to buy a sim card. When the swirling stops, you connect the same way you would to any wi-fi, the password is on the bottom of the gizmo. You are ready to go for up to 5 devices. We often stream a couple of hours of Netflix with no problems. When we travel, the Skyroam is better than most hotels, and all Marinas.  Marina Wi-Fi is always in the brochure and is universally abysmal. And while we don’t do it, its easy to carry this hot spot with you.

We plan to try VOIP using a new app called Line.

 

10 Days in the Boatyard

We leave Paradise Village Marina and anchor for the night off of La Cruz. On the way out we have no power, the engines are smoking black and boat speed is limited to 3 knots. Props? I don’t swim in marinas, which can be pretty gross and may even sport the occasional crocodile; plus, being a cheapskate, I didn’t have the bottom cleaned since we were going to the yard for that service.

We anchor outside the mouth and I dive in to scrape a thick layer of calciferous creatures off of my propeller. Boat speed increases to 7.5 and engines stop smoking. Another cruising lesson learned.

Calciferous growth

Prop looked like the drive leg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day One
We motor into the yard and they pick us up right on time. The boat glides into the way with a couple of feet between the boat and the cement walls. We spend the morning supervising the blocking of the boat. Footloose has a cored hull so taking the pressure unevenly on the supports can cause delamination.

Peter Vargas at the yard shows us the trick of using pieces of foam boogie board to spread the load from the blocking. We have two jobs to take care of in the boat yard. 1) bottom paint, which the Peter Vargas crew will handle. 2) my job- is to replace the sail drive hull seals. I’m nervous, thinking about it.

We check into our hotel, the La Cruz inn, take a swim and enjoy a Paloma by the pool.

Day Two
The yard guys are sanding the bottom and I begin the work of removing first our propellers and then output shafts from the sail drives.

Next, I remove the starboard sail drive from the boat, a Volvo 130S. I have been worrying about this step. The instructions include the direction to slide the engine forward 30 mm. They tell you to support the front of the sail drive with a 12 mm rod, but after spending a lot of time looking for that, I learn that a 12mm is actually too big and the hulls are too narrow to allow sliding the rod in anyway.

Wedge to Position Sail Drive

Wedge to Position Sail Drive

The Catana group on Yahoo enlightens me. One of the members emails me a word document that describes using a piece of 2×4 fitted between the drive and the hull opening to keep the drive in position. I modify the procedure making a wedge that gives me the ability to adjust the input shaft angles slightly as needed.

I create a short fall with two triple blocks that came with the boat and a length of dyneema I had on hand. I am able to lift the motor slightly and after disconnecting the motor mounts, I am able to separate the sail drive from the engine with one gentle kick on the bell housing. At about 50 lbs I am able to lift the transmission assembly out of the engine room and drop it over the transom with the help of a line. This won’t be so bad after all.

Both propeller shafts are scored from the lip seals, so Peter Vargas drives me down to Torno Neptuno in Puerto Vallarta and we plan to have the grooves welded up, then lathed to specification. I am a little worried about the welding taking the shaft out of true, but they assure me that they apply the weld in small lengths on opposing sides of the shaft. The answer I wanted to hear.

Scored Shafts

Scored Shafts

Back to the pool and another Paloma.
The Inn has a restaurant and Lupita our waitress befriends us and patiently helps us to learn a little more Spanish… Gotta figure out the verbs.

Day Three
We are removing the drives because we want to replace the rubber seal that goes between the hull and the sail drive. If this fails, your engine room fills with water… not good. Volvo recommends replacement every 7 years. I think the port side is original with the boat (20 years). The metal retaining ring is oozing rust, so the time has definitely come.

 

To change the hull seal, we need to separate the transmission from the lower portion of the sail drive. In the middle, there are a series of shims that you need to keep track of. These limit the endplay of the vertical shaft in the sail drive. I separate the two pieces and am moving things around when Peter comes over to talk about something. I look down and there are 2 shims lying on the ground. Argh.. I pick them up and with two more shims and a spacer, I put them safely in a plastic bag and into the tub with the rest of the parts from that side of the boat, and then double check that there are no more shims that may have rolled a distance.
The sail drive is aluminum and needs special anti-fouling treatment, so a guy from the yard takes the drive leg along with the parts tub over to the shop to carefully prepare for the new specialized aluminum bottom paint we are using, a coating called Petit Hydro coat.
I take the Port side drive out during the rest of the afternoon and then back to the inn for a swim and another Paloma. Just sitting on the steps sipping an icy drink made for a great end to another very sweaty day in the yard. Most days are mid 80s for both temperature and humidity.

Day Four

I disassemble the second drive leg. This is a Volvo 120S. Yes the two sail drives are different because years ago, the boat hit a log off of Panama and the starboard drive was replaced with a later model. I carefully place the shims in a plastic bag and then into the parts tub. The yard collects the second leg and tub to prep for antifouling. I reassemble and reinstall the 130

Outer hull seal

Outer hull seal

and glue a new outer hull seal to the bottom of the boat. This does not keep water out of the boat, but acts to improve the hydrodynamics as the water flow passes the drive leg.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Willa is parked off shore and boaters are doubling up their dock lines and preparing for the worst. If the Hurricane comes here, hauled out is a good place to be.
Swimming and another Paloma.

 

Day Five

Time to reassemble the second drive. I carefully set up the drive gasket with Permatex adhesive and then get ready to replace the shims. I cannot find the shims! I tear apart our garbage. I never really throw anything out until I’m done with a project like that. The yard guy is sure he never saw them. In my heart I believe he misplaced them in the shop which is very busy with many simultaneous projects going on, but I have no way to be sure, so I keep looking.

Permatex on the gasket

 No dice. I spend the afternoon figuring out how to order new ones. I use my old Vernier caliper to measure for replacements according to instructions in the manual. Some shims for the older 120s drive are discontinued, so I contact another outfit who specializes in out of production Volvo parts….for a price.

Swimming and more than one Paloma.

Day Six
It is raining off and on but the air temperature is still mid 80’s giving me the odd sensation of walking miles in my shower. Lisa accompanies me to the yard. Fresh eyes, new day, we will try to find those shims. The tubs have been closed up in a garbage bag to keep the rain out, and I carefully look again. Lo and behold the shims are actually in their bag in the garbage bag! Somehow I missed the tub when I put them in there. Hooray….. I confess my sins to the yard guy who seems relieved.

 

How many shims does a saildrive take?

I begin to reassemble the drive, but now there seem to be too many shims. The spacers and shims seem about ¼ inch too thick for the space they need to fill. Remembering the 2 shims that I dropped originally, I begin to worry that some of the shims from the first drive were confused with the second drive. Although the dropped shims were far less than ¼ inch in thickness. OH NO that means there may not be enough shims in the first saildrive….. I feel trapped in a bad movie.

I have to be certain. Tomorrow I will remove the first drive again. At least I’m getting good at this.
Swimming and multiple Palomas.

 

Hurricane Weather

Hurricane Weather

 

Day Seven
It’s Hurricane time, raining a lot but only light winds, even the predicted swell fails to materialize and the storm passes 100 plus miles outside of Banderas Bay.
I remove the 130s for the second time and dissect. No problems, the shims are actually a different diameter and not interchangeable. I measure and all seems good. But what is going on with the 120? I start to measure again and press firmly against the bearing race that will support the shims. It slides into the transmission ¼ of an inch. Now it will work out. I measure again and everything seems OK. I start to put the 130 back into the boat, but stop when the rain picks up.
Things are looking up. I sit on the steps of the pool in the rain drinking my icy Paloma.

Day Eight
It’s raining, but the yard charges $50 per day for parking there, so I need to keep moving. We rig a plastic awning over the engine room and I finish connecting the starboard transmission to the motor, then shift to the port side and install that transmission.
The rain made for a dark day, but things are looking up.
Pool and Paloma

Day Nine
The sun is back, and the yard is sweltering in the humidity. They need 24 hours for the paint to dry so today is the day. I arrive early and glue down both external seals. They do the first coat, while I reassemble the propellers and put oil in the sail drives. The second coat of paint goes on in the afternoon. What a great job Peter and his crew have done. In the afternoon, I prep the propellers and apply Propglide, a less expensive version of Propspeed, but probably the same stuff at a better price point. Tomorrow is Splash Day!

Almost done. A relaxing swim and a sweet Paloma.

Day Ten
We wait through a little scheduling issue. The delivery captain ahead of us is fuming, but I’m done with heavy lifting, so what’s a few more hours? They hoist the boat and paint the patches where the stands were touching the hulls and it’s splash time. They gently lower boat into the ways, stopping for a moment when the deck is at ground level so we can get aboard, then into the water. We check for leaks and after a minor exhaust issue, we are good to go. The engines start and we begin to back out. Oh no, the starboard dagger board snags the lifting strap causing the starboard side to drag against the cement wall, with gel coat crunching and popping off to my dismay. Disappointed, we move to the Marina. At least we are back on board and afloat. Paloma please.

Day Eleven
We meet Dublas, a freelance gel coat artist who comes highly recommended. For $1000 he will repair the injury plus about 30 or 40 minor dings and scratches. Boats accumulate these things over 20 years and this is a great deal.

Soon we will be off towards Panama and new adventures—with the boat yard, a distant memory.

That's not a Paloma

That’s not a Paloma

Michael’s Paloma
2 parts tequila
1 part soda water (Aqua Mineral)
2 parts grapefruit juice (Toronja)
Mix well, Pour over ice,