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Celebrate - Log Day 8 - In Porvenir



We made it! Celebrate and her happy crew of Charlie, Cathy and Andy crossed the finish line of World ARC Leg 1 yesterday at 3pm local time, after 6 days 2 hours at sea. Charlie used his experience of the area and safely guided Celebrate to anchor at the Kuna village of Porvenier shortly before 6pm. The crew enjoyed a long-anticipated martini in the cockpit. ARC participant American Spirit followed us into the anchorage. Celebrate was the 10th boat to complete the passage, and as of this writing (9:30am) a few ARC boats were as much as 80 miles from finishing.

What a wonderful experience! Aside from the occasional breakage and reluctant autohelm, all went smoothly onboard. As with any passage, we made note this morning of the things we would like to check, maintain and repair while here.

And what a beautiful place! Small islands with little Kuna villages, people in dugout canoes (some with small sails), and crystal clear water. Charlie and Cathy know the area well, and they are anxious to return to a few special spots with quiet anchorages with few, if any, other boats. What amazed me is the number of cruising boats already here - apparently many of which come for the entire season. A true remote community of cruising sailors.

Our plans for the next few days are to move to one of the other islands for a little snorkeling and perhaps some trading with the Kuna people. Of course, ARC has a gathering planned, after which we will head down the coast for the short hop to Shelter Bay Marina in preparation for our passage through the Panama Canal on January 28. During the passage, we intend to stop at at Portobello and perhaps one other place just to see the sights and perhaps have a meal at a nice local restaurant.

Andy


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