Daily Logs

A Lady - Log 8 - day 32 - 07 Feb, Las Perlas Islands

  On 02 Feb, we had a lovely sail on sea as smooth as a billiard table to the Las Perlas Islands, we flew the Parasail on A LADY for a while, it was a most enjoyable voyage and anchored off Isla Viveros. The Archipelago of Las Perlas consists of a large number of very pretty islands which we have just spent four days exploring. The islands consist of rock, large trees and very beautiful beaches, many are unpopulated, unlike the Carribbean they are tidal and the sea was not quite as warm.In 1515 the Spanish conquistadores robbed a large number of pearls from the indigenous King Toe and enslaved his skilled pearl divers, The 31 carat "peregrina" pearl of Mary Tudor of England came from these islands.We have been doing what the Americas call Gunk Holeing, which quite simply is. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - shark!

Up 7ish,tuna and egg salad for breakfast(!),watched the birds diving on shoals of fish all around. Local boys we met yesterday call by with bread and ice (they did understand my Spanish!) so we won’t bother going across to the village now. Ian and I go over to Tramontana so we can go over the specs for the new boat with Phil. Around 10ish we all head for the river in Tramontana’s dinghy. Just at the mouth of the river, I’ve just mentioned how clear the water is for snorkelling when we see a BIG fin and tale cruising out. Phil reckons it’s at least 8-10feet long, and could well be a hammerhead . We cruise towards it cautiously but it dips below the surface and we see the large dark shape making it’s way out to sea. No snorkelling today! We motor upriver about. read more...

Lady Kay - The times they are a changing

Yesterday pm was idyllic, the temperature dropped and the sea was slight and the crew lounged in the cockpit of busied themselves with jobs around the boat. A very pleasant evening meal of mahi mahi was enjoyed in the cockpit whilst under sail. During the night the conditions changed with an circle of misty gloom enveloping the yacht as the night wore on, culminating in a tropical squall with intense rain and winds up to 25 kn from dead ahead. This necessitated activity on deck in the wind and rain for the skipper and crew. It is amazing how quickly one becomes cold despite being near to the equator. Anticipating a lessening of the wind Lady Kay took the direct route out of the squall as indicated by the trusty radar. The wind moderated a bit but it remained stubbornly from ahead. We are. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 27 - Cruising in company

5 February 2010Isla Canas to Bahia Pinas 65.2nmUp at first light we left in a small group of six boats, Dick (Tucanon) intermittently calling out the soundings for the rest of us following behind as we made our way carefully over the sand bar. Being high water we need not have worried, there was never less than 3 metres under the keel. We sailed and motor sailed alternately until the wind died altogether in the early afternoon. The waters were fish rich, rays doing somersaults, dolphins idling lazily by and small fishes most likely tuna, peppering the surface like gunshot at intervals. Closing with the west coast of Panama the backdrop of mountainous terrain looked wholly impenetrable. A patrol boat appeared on the horizon ahead and turned to keep a distance abreast of us following us. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 26 - Iguana for dinner?

3 February 2010Islas Chapera to Isla Canas 18.3nmWhat a difference a day makes. This morning our anchorage was an idllyic place, infinitely more inviting than yesterday but with so much more to see in and around the Perlas archipelago we decided to move on. We motored south to enter the channel between the islands of East Isla del Rey and Isla Canas, keeping carefully over to starboard to avoid a reef, and rounding up behind a sandy spit of land, where we were perfectly sheltered from the wind and the current that is such a feature around these islands. There is a significant tidal range which makes the beaches appear and disappear. What differentiates these islands from the San Blas is they are spared of much the ocean detritus that gets washed ashore and the inland vegetation here is. read more...

Tucanon - An iguana on its way to the cooking pot

We arrived at Contadora from Flamenco marina around 2pm and dropped our anchor in a bay not far from the local airport. En-route we had been visited by two dolphins but of a variety which was new to us.Contadora is the most developed island within the archipelago of the Islas Las Perles and this was emphasised by the number of flights. The planes are not very big but we did find them intrusive so were pleased to move on the next morning.There was less than 5 knots of wind as we made passage to Ampora, a journey of just under five nautical miles. We had planned to arrive a couple of hours before low water to ensure that there was sufficient water over the reef for us to enter the bay. A large canoe, powered by an outboard engine and towing a smaller canoe, passed by us early evening and. read more...

Whitbread - Log Day 5 (D.I.Y. autohelms, pizzas and fancy dress!)

This leg has so far meant many engine hours added to Whitbread's log. Flat seas and with no auto helm have left the helms person with a somewhat tedious job. The challenge to set up an autohelm had to be set. An early version consisted of trying to rest the wheel on Nills' nose after he fell asleep next to the helm. A small sudden wave woke him. Not happy with the resulting red head meant an alternative needed to be found. Lyall's clever idea was to rig up two lines either side of the wheel. Unfortunately this still required a person to operate, however we do now have steerage from the bow.Lunchtime and with the lack of success in the autohelm department a moral boost was required. I opened my first Pizzeria. It may also be my last. The small ships oven meant only 2 pizzas could be. read more...

Maamalni - Leg 2 - Day 3 Woo hoo Wahoo

Nothing like a break from boredom at sea with a fish on... And what a fish! A 30 pound Mahi Mahi. And it was beauty with an incredible bright yellow, green and blue skin which quickly changes to silver soon after its landed. Steve could barely lift the fish up it was so heavy, but the tail is an excellent handle. These fish have a spine to match any animal its size, huge ball and knob arrangement, unlike any other fish I have seen...thus far. So with a combination of Danish boning knife, fillet knife, scissors, cleaver and hammer, we were able to prepare it for the table and the freezer. Dinner was fabulous... what with a touch of bonita from the previous day and mahi mahi too -who could ask far anything more?... all this was followed with chocolates saved just for Valentine's Day.We are. read more...

Bristol Rose - Leg ? - Still in Panama

Almost ready to leave Panama. The WARC fleet left on Monday for Ecuador and are due in today. Not good to be left behind.  We had hoped that Panama would be have good facilities to repair sail boats, not so.  The work took longer than expected and our mail delivery was very late.  All this is now behind us and we will depart tomorrow morning.  Looking forward to connecting with the rest of the fleet in the Galapagos around the 21st of Feb.. read more...

Crazy Horse - on to Ecuador

We left the Las Perlas today at about 10am. We have no wind and are motoring right now. Bill was hopeful and put up the spinaker but had to take it down due to no wind! We have already spotted dolphins and others have spotted  rays jumping out of the water. Bob from Ocean Jasper came over and got Crazy Horse set up to catch fish. We will attempt to put out the line and see what happens. Matt continues to worry about what will happen if we actually catch a fish. He has doubts about my cleaning and killing them. I Can Do It!We went up a river off one of the islands of the Las Perlas. It was excitiing! The tide was coming in so it pushed us up the river. It was like the movie The African Queen. We thought for sure we 'd see some crocs-thank God not! We heard all the jungle sounds and. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Equator

We crossed the equator at 0650 Friday 15.02.08. It was pouring with rain I (Bob) was on watch on my own all the others asleep. Not what I expected at all it is now 1046 and it is still raining, though now such a deluge as earlier. Ron is making tea though I am led to believe he had a tot of rum at 0900 to mark crossing the equator, Ann is making a cottage pie for our evening meal, Dave is on watch and Keith just come off watch. Last night another WARC boat Graptolite called us to say she had got stuck in a net. Somehow she was managing to sail but couldn't use the engine. All the nearby fishing boats when they saw what had happened turned off their lights!. I called him up at 0800 to find that they had been over the side and cut the net free and were now motoring again. I have had my. read more...

Southern Princess - Approaching Ecuador 150208 00:24S 80:54W

Today's blog will be easy to write! The last time I crossed the equator on a boat was in 1960 somewhere south of Ceylon as it was known in those days. I was 20 years old, dressed as Neptune, with false beard & trident and some kind of a loin cloth attended by a bevy of scantily clad beauties (think itzy bitzy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikinis) all crammed into a rather scruffy aft deck of the Castel Felice a ship which used to bring the ten pound Poms to Australia from the UK. We were travelling 'steerage' and there was also FIRST & SECOND - all too posh for us. We weren't allowed into those classes but those classes were allowed to slum so most of the itzy bitzy bikini birds were from FIRST. While the ship's crew counted down to the equator using a sextant, they were. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 25 - Empty Nets!

2 February 2010Contadora to Isla Chapera 4.1nmAnd I am not talking about the fishing! A pathetic response from the rest of the fleet on the SSB roll call this morning. Only a handful of yachts responded. It really is unfair to the net controllers. Just wait until one of them has a problem then they might sit up and take notice! Leaving Contadora is to leave civilization behind. Also … we have left behind the American cruising fraternity that is so much a part of the Caribbean Sea and around the San Blas Islands. It is now that you come to realise how few yachts actually make the transit between Panama and the Pacific. Jean and Mike (Jeannius ) came over for morning coffee and recommended the Romantica Restaurant ashore. Of course David and I just had to have lunch there! We moved on. read more...

Graptolite - Captain's Log Supplemental

00:00.00S 080:30.00W Early morning Friday 15th Feb on the EquatorWe had an unpleasant night when we ran into another unlit tuna drift net in a squall. It took some time to hack ourselves free but as we still had some net wrapped around our prop we had to leave the scene under sail. A few small local fishing boats stood off but offered no comment or assistance. The very heavy rain, and some big ships crossing nearby, didn't help the situation either. This morning at 07:00 Shin (James Bond) Terosawa used my diving gear (first time for the stuff in the water) and chopped off the remaining net and floats with a knife. Apart from some dodgy English, Shin has been a really good find. Besides needing no instruction in sailing he's an enthusiastic cook, photographer, engineer, diver and probably. read more...

Graptolite - Nearly 0 degrees South

00:30.23N 080:30.54W 21:37 14th Feb 30 miles North of the EquatorIt's been cold and damp again today. I must have been too long in the Tropics as somewhere on this trip 25 degrees Celsius became 'cold'.No success with the fish again today although Colin devised some heavy-duty tackle to get the lure deeper in the water and caught a drift net while we were distracted by a fast boatload of what we thought were pirates racingtowards us. The 'pirates' turned out to be fishermen trying to tell us about their net. Fortunately the very strong line Colin was using gave way first. We are fast running out of lures.The Equator should be crossed in the early hours of the morning, unless the wind dies altogether. This should sort out the old salts from the weekend sailors when everybody gets woken up. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Daily Log, Panama City bis Las Perlas Inseln

Erstmals segeln im riesigen Pazifik. Nach 38 Seemeilen schwieriges Ankern vor der Millionärsinsel Contadora. Bei 6 meter Tidenhub und ständig starker Strömung schwimmen kaum möglich.Mo, 1 Februar: Weiterfahrt durch tolle Inselwelt, noch schöner als Sylt und Norderney ;-), zum nächsten Ankerplatz. Kurz davor "Petri Heil" in Form eines prächtigen Bonitos fürs Abendessen. Es gibt Rogen- und Suschihäppchen vorab, danach Fischfillets vom Feinsten. Chefkoch Christos macht uns das geplante Abnehmen schwer. Di, 2 Februar: In Köln brummt der Kaneval, in Dortmund hoffentlich bald wieder Fußballheimspiel, wir genießen den dritten und letzten Ankerplatz im Süden der Insel Rey. Thomas und Christof kaufen per Schlauchboot für 4 Dosen Bier Kalamaris satt vom Fischkutter. Danach 1 Kilometer den Rio. read more...

Ronja - Transit Panama Canal and Panama City

Dear readers, After some relaxing days at Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, (except for the normal nightmare of provisioning the boat with food and other needs supplies), we were ready for transiting the Panama Canal. The provisioning was taken to the limits this time when we found a cockroach running around in one of the packs with cokes. The captain ordered, with greate support from Vilde, full deification of all supplies on the pontoon before getting allowance to move the supplies on the boat. There was some murmur from the boys that it was time to replace the captain, but the job was done. At 14:30 we released the lines from the safe and good berth in Shelter Bay and went to flat F mooring area in the Panama Canal to wait for the advisor to arrive on the boat. After a while the advisor. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - fish!

Didn’t get on to the beach yesterday as fishermen dragging nets sealed off the bay. We amused ourselves by watching the activities instead! Got a good bit of reorganisation done and found some space I never knew we had – room for more something! We relax aboard and invite Phil and Fay over for dinner. Phil and Fay contribute mackerel & potatoes, we do tuna and salad. I also make an apple crumble but nearly set the boat on fire while trying to toast the top – apple crumble flambé just invented! – spiced it up with some rum and Tramontana aerosol cream. Up early this morning and and busy with boat jobs – boys do up top & I do below – trying to locate the source of an unwelcome whiff . It’s a bit overcast today, although still dry and hot, so we decide to push on to Isla. read more...

Tucanon - 2010-WARC-week 4

We caught the shuttle bus from the marina to the shopping mall this side of Colon and bought some provisions.There are 2 courtesy shuttle buses per day. One leaves the marina at 8am and the other at 1pm. The bus holds 29 sitting passengers though there were also people standing on our second trip.Only one person per boat is supposed to travel on the morning bus which is free of charge. There is a charge of $4 US per person, each way, on the afternoon bus.Having heard that we will probably be rafted to another boat, or be at anchor, when we get to Flamenco bay marina, we decided to stock up with adequate fresh fruit and vegetables while at Shelter bay, to last us until we reach Ecuador.We purchased more than the requisite amount of shopping required for the supermarket to provide us with. read more...

Ideal - It's a whopper of a Fish!

See picture below.Also caught a very big Mahi/Dorado briefly before it snapped the line and jumped out of the water to free the hook from it's mouth!Today, the 14th, we caught a fisherman's net line round the rudder, Zac jumped in and freed us in no time, but there are lots of nets about just off the Ecuador coast.Now 150 miles from the equator, the champers is chilling!Should be in Salinas late Saturday or early Sunday morning as we can't enter in darkness due to bad navigation marks.Thanks for all the e mails, great to read them.Missing you all but, not the weather!Paul and SallyIMGP2925IMGP2930. read more...

Whitbread - 14 February 2008

today its german log on whitbreades war 11 15 und ich sass am steuerrad unseres grossen blauen schiffes als ploetzlich unser fruehwarn fisch system alarm schlug. nach tagen auf see nur dosennahrung und kein wind waren alle schnell an deck um die einholaktion mitzuerleben. ich holte meine arbeitshandschuhe aus meinem fach nachdem ich feststellen musste dass es ohne nicht ging. das 'ding' was immer es auch sein mochte war riesig und zog wie verrueckt. langsam und bedaechtig holte ich die schnur ein jeff wartete schon mit dem haken und sam mit dem messer und schneidebrett. jeder von uns sah sich schon am tisch sitzen vor ihm ein schoenes grosses stueck fischfilet auf dem teller. die morgenliche muedigkeit war verflogen und die spannung zum zerreissen. das 'ding' schwam auf unser boot zu und. read more...

Ariane - ARIANE - Las Perlas-Inseln

Las Perlas-InselnHallo liebe FreundeWir segeln in dieser interessanten und lieblichen Inselwelt umher und geniessen teilweise nette Sandstrände, teils urwaldähnlichen Baumbestand und vor allem leere Ankerplätze. Wenn man sich dann mal mit einer anderen Yacht treffen will, greift man zum Funk und ruft diese einfach auf. Klappt wunderbar. So sind wir morgen mit der"Lady Lisa" vor einem Fischerdorf der Insel Cania verabredet, um dort frischen Fisch essen zu gehen; wir freuen uns darauf.Heute sind wir in eine gut geschützte Bucht bei Casayeta eingelaufen, zum Glück bei Ebbe! Zu unserem grossen Schreck sind da ganz üble Felsen und Riffe sichtbar geworden, die weder auf dem Plotter noch in den zu ungenauen Seekarten eingezeichnet waren! Zum Glück verfügen wir noch über ein sehr gutes. read more...

A Lady - Log 7 - day 27 - 02 Feb, Panama City.

Flamenco Marina was very pleasant and gave us a base to relax and explore. The meal organised by WORLD ARC was superb. On Saturday 30 January the crew of A LADY arranged their own very interesting tour of Panama City which was followed in the evening by a party arranged by WORLD ARC and then the amazing PARTY BUS, all great fun and very exhausting. Retail therapy was undertaken by all members of crew, three of whom had to purchase quad band mobile phones, our phones from back home just didn’t want to know. Two members of crew took a taxi over the Bridge of the Americas to see an Air Display which was rather disappointing.Today we refuelled, cast off from the marina and headed for the Los Perlos IslandsKDSkipper's personal blog @ http://blog.mailasail.com/alady. read more...

Strega - log 14.02.08

Der Pazifik, der Sanfte...hatte uns tatsächlich sehr sanft empfangen -kaum Welle bisher- und hat uns nun ein sanftes Regengebiet geschickt, dass sich gewaschen hat. Seit zwei Tagen teils hefige Schauer, aber sanft, kaum Wind drin. Schön zum duschen also, aber langsam werden die Finger weich und die Haut schrumpelig. Der Dieselvorrat und die Reserve sind fast aufgebraucht und so hoffen wir auf etwas Wind um unserem Ziel näher zu kommen. Die Pos. ist 01°01'N und die dünne Linie des Äquators ist schon an der Kimm zu erkennen.undHappy Valentine Girls ! :-). read more...

Crazy Horse - Las Perlas, Mogo Mogo

Well, we are anchored here near the island where the TV show "Survivor" wasfilmed. I know some of you really got into that series. One thing, I cantell you it is very hot here! When it showed them hot, drinking lots offluid, and getting very tired - that is really true. Think Matt had a littleheatstroke yesterday after Maggie, Matt and I went exploring around one ofthe islands here. It was an interesting island where lots of frigate birdsseem to have their breeding area. We went climbing over rocks and sand andsearched for snails and other life. We saw pools of interesting fish trappedby the tide.There are about 7 or 8 other boats here enjoying the islands. Eowyn, LadyLisa, Voyageur, Jeannius, Brown-Eyed Girl, Sunrise, and Ocean Jasper are allhere with us. The rest of the boats are. read more...

Southern Princess - Towrads the Ecuador coast 14th Feburary. 01:50N 79:59W

Not a lot to report since yesterday. The fish tasted great for dinner last night and we have so much of mahi mahi it will be the staple diet until we land. The radio sched at 12:00 yesterday was interesting. 'Blue Flyer', one of our number was boarded by Columbian Coast Guard during the previous night. Must have been terrifying as it is sometimes difficult to tell the baddies from the goodies and to have shouts, lights, guns and fast approaching motor boats is not much fun. All the fleet was also in pouring rain but as we were a day or two behind it hadn't caught up with us at that time. Lots of rain during the night but no wind. We are now doing calculations to see if we have enough fuel to  motor all the way. Didn't hear anyone on today's sched as we are spread out over a lot of ocean.. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 1 - Back into the Pacific....

1 February 2010Flamenco Marina, Panama, to Contadora, Las Perlas 37nm We fuelled up and headed out into the Pacific in sparkling sunshine, the ocean a glassy calm. It was not long however before we unfurled the main and genoa and cracked along in twenty knots of wind. A beat! When were last close hauled? Not since the Canaries. Wonderful to be sailing again, and just heavenly to have a sea breeze blowing through the boat. Every day is hot, around 95degrees. But this is what we have to expect and acclimatize to now that we are nearing the Equator. The majority of rally boats left yesterday and had already moved on from our first anchorage in the Perlas Islands, Contadora. We dropped our hook west of the small runway and settled down for a quiet evening. Flocks of Pelicans fly in formation. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Daily Log, Final Report Panama Kanal

Der Panamakanal verbindet bekanntlich den atlantischen mit dem pazifischen Ozean und ist eine der wichtigsten Wasserstraßen der Welt und verkürzt die Passage z.B. von Europa in den pazifischen Raum erheblich. Porto Colon mit der Shelter Bay Marina liegt am westlichen, atlantischen Eingang des Kanals. Von hier aus konnten wir uns in Porto Colon versorgen und neben der herrlichen Landschaft, z.B. den River Chagres mit seiner tropischen Tierwelt besuchen. Am atlantischen Kanaleingang wurde jede Yacht vor Anker liegend mit einem Lotsen besetzt und sogenannte Agenten organisierten die langen Leinen und extradicke Fender. Die World ARC "Armada" wurde in mehrere Gruppen aufgeteilt. Wir wurden mit der deutschen Thetis als Lotsenboot in der Mitte und der Schweizer Yacht Ariane zu einem dreier. read more...

Lady Kay - Calm to Ecuador

Well we're heading down towards Ecuador. We're currently off the coast of Colombia. There is absolutely no wind and it is very hot and humid. We are having to use the engine all the time. The sea looks very strange, as calm as a mill pond with occasional ripples created by cross currents. Every now and again we cross great patches of red sea created by phytoplankton. The sea in these sections seem full of algae and perhaps silt which our watermaker doesn't like. Still we have plenty of fresh water. Today we have been doing odd jobs and boat cleaning.This morning it was so humid that the visibility was down to under a mile. Out of the haze we were buzzed by a US Coastguard plane. Presumably based in Columbia. As I write this, we have just caught a large Mahi-Mahi, so we know what we are. read more...

Graptolite - Getting Wet

01:53.33N 080:10.74W Thursday 14/02 04:26 in a squall 70 miles off the coast of EcuadorShin did a blog in Japanese for us today but it turned into a row of little squares in the email. We'll work on the technology. Caught a huge dorado this afternoon. At least we got it to the side of the boat but it made a final lunge and snapped the line under the keel. It was well over a metre long. Shin said it was "a big brudder". Can't argue with that. So far the score is Fish: 3, People: nil. Fortunately there is still plenty of chicken in the fridge to use up.The weather has turned a bit unpleasant. Cool and damp with lots of rain and the wind is no use at all. I have to say I expected something a bit more scorchio being this close to the equator.It's only about 120 miles more until the water. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 23 - Second time around.....

31 January 2010No hangovers on this boat, David and I were up bright and early. We had to vacate our space on the dock for its private owner and now rafted alongside A Lady, the Irish flagged Oyster 56. We may not have managed the city tour but I was not going to leave Panama without a second visit to the Miraflores Lock Museum. Francois came along too. We spent quite some time on the viewing platform watching the ships passing through, just where we, three days previously, had waved like mad to the crowd watching us. We ate in the restaurant beside the last and final lock, as these ocean giants paraded before us, dipping down as if in a final theatrical bow as the lock emptied itself of water. Forty ships a day transit the canal. It is compulsive viewing but we had to tear ourselves. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 22 - Party Bus

30 January 2010We settled happily into Flamenco marina. Tight for space we were rafted alongside Asolare. The marina has not progressed one iota, the pontoons still the rickety planks of four years ago. Ashore there are still a good choice of restaurants and bars but they could do so much more. Having spent more time in the San Blas, we had denied ourselves time here. Hoping to go on the city tour we had to abandon the plan, instead taking the part for the top of the furler to a metalwork shop in Panama City. It was however, expertly done, so a very successful outcome. I did make sure of my long awaited retail therapy and spent a lovely long languorous day at the Albrook Centre, completely lost myself in a shopping heaven, David totally tolerate of my indulgencies. In the early evening,. read more...

Maamalni - Leg 2 - Day 3 Flat calm

Happy Valentine's DayThe skies are a bit overcast today and we had a little drizzle this morning, but no wind to speak of and the seas are flat and look like a mirror. The good news with the overcast is that the temperature has dropped a bit - its 84 degrees, but the humidity increased to 82%. Now we know that friends and family tells us that there is record snow fall in the mountains back home, so much so that the mountain passes have been closed for days, so we shouldn't be complaining of the heat.... its just current perspective... we would like a like snow right now.... well actually we would prefer some ice cubes for the afternoon drinks. We are pleased with the versatility of our new dodger and cover... the maker, a guy in Seattle (Breezy Canvas) thought about cover from heavy seas. read more...

Maamalni - Leg 2 - Day 2 Pushing onto Salinas

After a lovely day of beach combing and general enjoyment of the lovely bay in the north end of Bahia San Telmo, we decided to weigh anchor and head towards Ecuador. Deb (of the English couple) caught her very first fish which we had for lunch and it was marvelous. Absolutely no wind and flat seas... but likely not to continue.. read more...

Crazy Horse - Las Perlas

We are here anchored in Las Perlas tonight. The moon is out and it is awonderfully clear and cool night. Ocean Jasper caught some tuna and whitefish and shared with us on Crazy Horse. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks!Many of the other boats are here too- Destiny and Brown-Eyed Girl- or willbe joining us in these islands before heading to Ecuador. Some boats areplanning or going straight to Galapogas from here. We hope to get somerepairs done here while at anchor.Rosemary. read more...

Andante of Mersey - Approaching Equador

It is 0900 on 14th Feb. 2008 We are now 90 miles away from  crossing the Equator. All yesterday was overcast with little wind we have been motorsailing for most of the day. The previous day was lovely and sunny and we had the cruising chute up most of the time only dropping it before the evening meal. This was the remains of the yellow finned tuna which we had marinated in Soya sauce ginger and garlic.  We have seen a lot of dolphins and have had plenty of time to read, listen to music and even watched a DVD yesterday afternoon! After the DVD we had our evening meal the ships favourite Leg of lamb with roast potatoes and peas. It was calm enough to sit below aound the table with plates and not bowls...there's posh! The peas even stayed on the plate. There is enough lamb left on the joint. read more...

Ariane - ARIANE – Panamakanal, ein einmaliges Erlebnis

ARIANE – Panamakanal, ein einmaliges ErlebnisLiebe FreundeDie technischen Details sind auf unserer Webseite gut beschrieben. Nur soviel: Am 27. erreichten wir leider bereits in der Nacht die 3 Gatunschleusen, die fast taghell beleuchtet waren. Wir waren jeweils 3 Schiffe miteinander verbunden, das innere steuert mit dem Motor, die äusseren, zu denen wir gehören, müssen die Leinen anziehen oder nachgeben.Nach dieser spannenden Durchfahrt wies uns der mitfahrende Adviser einen Ankerplatz zu, nicht ohne uns klar zu warnen: Nicht baden im Gatunsee, hier gibt es hungrige Krokodile!!! So übernachteten wir gemütlich in unserem Boot, getrennt durch die Schiffswand von den Krokis!Am 28. fuhren wir durch den Gatunsee. Dies ist wirklich eine traumhafte Landschaft: richtiger Regenwald auf zahllosen. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 21 - The Transit

27 - 28 January 2010The TransitIt was a two day transit. Up early I had spent the morning of departure preparing our evening meal. Meanwhile David checked out and prepared the fenders and warps. Francois arrived nice and early, taking the train from Panama City. We all had lunch together and shortly after that Paul from the WARC came on board. We cast off and headed over towards Colon and to the flats anchorage where we were to await our own personal advisor. We were given a departure time of 5pm. The wait there seemed interminable as it always does when you are anticipating something very exciting but at last at 5.30pm we saw the boat come storming out to all of us, manoevering expertly alongside each boat as it delivered each advisor to each yacht. Nick another employee of the WARC. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Wednesday 13th February

CROSSING THE LINEAn unpleasant morning with lots of rain and we are motoring into a slight headwind all day, although by the afternoon it is dry and humid and the sun is poking through the clouds.Heard this terribly serious and formal net controller at lunchtime only to realise after a while that it was Steve and could imagine him sitting there in his bowler hat! First thing we heard on the radio was that one yacht, 'Harmonie', had been boarded by Columbian coastguards and 'Blue Flyer' had been approached by them!The fisherpersons have been at it again, this time with some success! They had fish on both lines simultaneously! The larger of the fish a black monster (possibly a small shark) got away, but a 'dorado?' was caught and dispatched to the freezer! (Lori) The larger black fish. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Log Tuesday 12th Feb

12th February 2008(Lindsey writes) Wow this is a rare honour indeed. Whilst JB sits on an extended night watch (due to the poorly skippers) I have got my hands on the log writing. Having come off my evening watch at 10pm I shall appraise you of the events of the day. Well the dawn broke fairly misty and murky. Still with high humidity it was a grey old morning. Bob cheered us up with 'eggy bread' for breakfast. Poor Robert still did not show his face for more than a few minutes at a time but luckily Malcy seems 95% recovered.The 2 fisher persons (Bob and Lori) decided to set their tackle and catch us some supper. Whoops of joy were heard when the line started to spin out and thoughts of fresh tuna or mahi mahi made our mouths water. Alas the big fish (and I am sure it was a whopper) got. read more...

Lady Ev.VI - Daily Log, Final Report Leg 1

Bericht über die 1. Etappe von St. Lucia zur Shelter Bay Marina, Atlantikseite Panama KanalAm Mittwoch, dem 06. Jan. um 12:00 Uhr erfolgte der Startschuß zur Ralley um die Welt. Wir erwischten gleich eine gute Position und konnte uns in die Spitzengruppe des Regattafeldes von ca. 30 Yachten vorarbeiten. In Höhe der Inselhauptstadt Castries bog das gesamte Feld in die Karibische See ab, mit Kurs 280 Grad, Richtung eratem Ziel, den San Blas Inseln, ca. 1100 Seemeilen entfernt. Nach anfänglichen schwachen Winden aus Ost, begann der 2. Tag mit auffrischendem Passat aus Ost, der sich dann von Tag zu Tag steigerte. Ab Samstag hatten wir nicht die im Wetterbericht angekündigten 5 Windstärken, sondern 7 und am Sonntag und Montag volle 8 mit 6 Metern Wellenhöhe. Die Passatbesegelung mit 2. read more...

Crazy Horse - Emberera Indians Log 5

What an interesting day we had with the Emberera Indians today. They took us down the Chagris River to a wonderful waterfall swimming site. It was very refreshing after some challanging trek through the forest. Of course the youngsters took it all in stride and encouraged this older folk, me- along.They prepared lunch for us and had some great fruit to go with it all. Afterward, they did some native dances for us and invited us to join in.If you are interested in their history you should look them up. They have been put off their homeland before and this village is a way they can keep their land. They are part of the tourism in Panama. They grow some of their own crops and fish out of the river. They are not permitted to hunt anymore.Matt and Bill stayed on the boat today and did some. read more...

Asolare - Leg 2 day 4 - Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to my very special absent Lover!Today we reluctantly left the Archipelago de Las Perlas to give them their correct name. Over one hundred islands, most small and uninhabited, others with air strips and great hotels and restaurants. Most with fantastic, dreamy beaches. The tidal range here in the Pacific Ocean is about 7 meters, compared with less than one meter in the western Atlantic/Caribbean so the beaches are long and wide with beautiful soft sand, fringed with both Coconut Palm and Deciduous trees. Gentle fresh water streams meander down the long sand making fantastic patterns with the separation of the intensely black volcanic and the golden sand colours. Some beaches have low cliffs with fresh water waterfalls falling right onto the beach and orgasmic. read more...

Crazy Horse - Log 4 Panama City

This is an exciting day for all the ralliers since we will all finally bereunited since we had the opportunity to attend the reunion at San BLas. Wewill be together for a dinner tonight here at the Flamenco Marina. I'm surewe will have some stories to share.Half of the fleet had a wonderful time at a dock party hosted by WildTigris last night. There was wonderful company, food, atmosphere, and music.A plus was that we even had a full moon. Thanks to Casey, Heidi, Sophia,Sean and Yoyo for organizing and hosting the get together.Tomorrow I plan to go to the Emberra Indian camp. The rest of my crew willstay on the boat and do the repairs to the water pump and various other oddjobs. It is hard to get parts here and we are all having a tough timegetting our repairs completed. I will be happy. read more...

Kealoha 8 - Crossing the Equator - Respecting Neptune

At 05.55 local time (10.55 GMT) we finally crossed the equator, we are now in the southern hemisphere ( much to Adrian and Jen’s joy) !  David’s claim of previous crossing in a cruise ship was dismissed as not qualifying - so with Rosie on hand as photographer, Rosie , David , John and Nick all paid their respects to Neptune in the traditional manner  . Not that Neptune was kind to us for the last 17 hours it has rained constantly in varying strengths – at times even wetter then Dublin or Sligo , as Adrian & Jen did not get up to pay their respects  -  Neptune gained revenge by turning a routine impeller change into 120  min task .  Other fun elements of our trip from Panama   have included , dodging various shipping at night  - it really is v busy here , coupled with. read more...

Jus'Do It 3 - on the move again!

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) }Sorry no logs for a while – we got busy and distracted on a regular basis in Panama city! We saw a good bit of the city, including the old town, a few local bars,some traditional dancing and a superb typical Panamanian restaurant with no menu – you got what you were given ! Also did a day trip into the country where we were taken up the river in dug out canoes by the local Indians. They took us to waterfalls where we all went in for a swim, to see birds and iguanas throughout the river route and to visit their village where we were given food and a chance to learn about their way of life – gentle, kind people who made us welcome despite our bumbling touristiness! We of course did the carnival again and also had a very raucous night on the rum with. read more...

A Lady - Log 6 - day 22 - 28 Jan, Panama Canal Transit.

Our fourth day at Shelter Bay has almost given us port fever, but it also gave us an opportunity to get to know quite a lot of people on the other boats which form the second half of the WORLD ARC fleet. It is a really nice group of life minded souls. Three nights ago we celebrated Robbie Burns (the Scottish poet) on the marina next to Voyageur, we were given a taste of Haggis and mash, washed down with a dram of Scoth Whisky.Yesterday 27 Jan, with all formalities completed we departed Shelter Bay and headed for Panama Canal Ricardo our pilot arrived on board late afternoon, we were nesting-up alongside the yacht J Sea (Canadian) so with lots of fenders we tied up together and headed for Gatun Lock at the northern end of Panama Canal. The feeling on board was amazing and really exciting;. read more...

Quasar V of Lleyn - Log continued

Emergency 'Nav' lightsYou can imagine that we were all feeling a little jaded the following morningbut we spent most of the day working on the boat preparing her for sea.It was a long day and an early night! (JB out)Sunday 10th FebruaryTO PEE OR NOT TO PEE THAT IS THE QUESTIONJB: No doubt the title is causing you to frown my dear readers but all will be revealed in good time. Today was the start of LEG 2 - Panama to Ecuador, which is a 4 day sail due south. The rally started at 12 noon, however, we decided to leave at 9.00am given that Asolare, the boat we were moored alongside at the marina, wished to leave early. Our departure was uneventful save that a parade of Panamanian pelicans bid us a fanciful farewell as we left.The wind persisted in its flightiness and so we pressed ahead. read more...

Chessie - WorldARC 2010/11, SY CHESSIE

Auf die letzte Minute - oder: jetzt werden erst mal die Weihnachtsgeschenke ausgepackt.Hallo Ihr Lieben,leider haben wir verpasst, Euch ein schönes Weihnachtsfest zu wünschen, und für ein Happy New Year ist es auch schon reichlich spät.Nicht verpasst haben wir dagegen unseren privaten Start - nicht direkt ins Neue Jahr, da lagen wir in der Rodney Bay vor Anker und haben bei einem? Gläschen Sekt das Feuerwerk der umliegenden Hotels genossen - sondern zur Round the World Rally des World ARC, welche ganz nach Plan am 06.Januar um 12:00 in der Rodney Bay stilvoll mit count down und Startschuß begonnen wurde.Und das auf die letzte Minute, am Vormittag wurde noch die Rettungsinsel von der Wartungsfirma per Watertaxi auf unser Schiff gebracht, und gegen 11:30 war dann auch endlich das. read more...

Voyageur - Log day 20 - A giant "leap" across the land!

26 January 2010I really do hope that our fellow ralliers fully appreciate the significance of transiting the Panama Canal. For a start it is the short cut between west and east. How many of us would want to go round "The Horn"? It is the 'Path between the Seas' to quote the title for McCulloch's famous account of the whole history and building of the Panama Canal. It is a point of no return, there is no going back and who would want to, for it just gets better and better. The Atlantic and Caribbean Sea are behind us now. We only have the South Seas ahead. Today we received our Panama warps and fenders. Last time we had to use our own 100metre lines but this time the WARC have arranged for the warps and fenders to be delivered directly to the boat. This is good as now we have light weight. read more...

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