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American Spirit II - Day 26; Onto the Hard; Mike and Paul Leave; Wednesday, January 29, 2014



The day started at 6:00 AM, as Paul Fox had a flight to catch at 9:43 AM. At 6:00 AM also the Ferry berthed behind us and 100 yards towards the land, was blaring commands thru their speaker system. It was so loud that even boats in the anchorage a quarter mile away heard it. It sounded like a bingo game back home. There was no apparent reason for them to be doing this at 6:00 AM. Welcome to Panama.

Paul was picked up by Fred, the taxi driver we've been using while in town; to take him to the Tucumen Airport about 30 minutes away. Andy, from London, living in Houston and on board Caduceus of Burnham, joined Paul for the ride to the airport. Splitting expenses is always a plus.

After breakfast, we re-watered the boat(water tank filled); then Joel Heyne installed the new VHF Radio and Mic Units, which Mike Mogavero had brought with him yesterday. Joel then took apart the Y Valve on the head (toilet), as this valve, which switches the discharge from overboard to holding tank. The valve was acting 'sluggish.' Upon taking it apart, it was found to be clogged with hardened uric acid. Yuck! Smelly, also. An hour later we had a working Y Valve again. However, when switched to 'holding tank' we experienced a very small leak. So we'll need to find an O-Ring to solve that issue. That will be part of our shopping tour on Thursday, which Darlene Heyne and myself are going to undertake.

At 11:00 AM we checked in to The Beach House Hotel located a quarter mile from the marina. Since we had a bunch of stuff to off load from the boat, doing it before we moved the boat was easier than later. The room was spacious, had a working TV with a plethora of channels, a few of which were in English; and a great shower and bathroom. As is the apparent custom in Panama, besides paying for the room, if you have more than 2 people in the room there is an additional charge of $50 per person. Ouch.

At 12:20 PM we shoved off from La Playita Marina and headed to El Flemenco Marina to have the boat hauled. It was only a 20 minute motor away. We were scheduled to have the boat hauled out of the water at 1:00 PM. However, I forgot we were on 'Panama Time,' so the boat was not pulled until 3:00 PM. How foolish of me to think we'd be pulled at 1:00 PM! For those of you who don't know what hauling a boat out of the water entails, we position our boat in a concrete bottom type slip, and the travel lift, which is on 4 large wheels, is positioned in this slip. We motor over the four straps under the water. Then the lift pulls up on the straps and lifts the boat out of the water. However, it is very important that the straps are properly positioned under the boat, because if, for example, the aft strap is too far aft, it could be under the rudder shaft or propeller and when the boat is lifted out of the water, the pressure on the strap could damage the rudder shaft or break off the propeller. The yard sent a diver under water to position the straps properly. Once we were ready to lift, a small workboat pulled up behind us and Joel and I were directed to step off of the boat, as the yard does not allow you to be on the boat during the lift itself. Good idea. Joel jumped onto the workboat, and when I was stepping backwards onto the boat, he driver decided to back up quickly so that he did not damage some equipment on our transom, like the hydro generator. Subsequently, I was left with two prospects: either go swimming, or fall/dive into the workboat. I chose the latter. Ouch.

Mike was picked up by Fred, our taxi driver, from The Beach House at 3:00 PM for the drive to Tucumen Airport. He carried home with him some coastal life jackets which were put on board and used only for the transit of the canal; bed spreads, which would not be needed for warmth again until Capetown next Christmas; a large LED underwater light which works great but uses too much energy when in use; and some TV cable which I doubt we will need until we are back in the USA.

Once the boat was lifted out of the water, it was positioned in the yard and then lowered onto a steel stand just beneath our keel. Other steel beams were propped up along the side of the boat, and a forward and aft support were also added. Wherever a steel beam was utilized, a piece of wood was put between it and the boat so the fiberglass was not marked or damaged. Our boat was also positioned so close to the bow of another boat that I thought we were going to ram it during the lift. Close.

We met with the 2 yard workers who were going to help us on Thursday to remove the old rudder tube and install the new one. Neither of them spoke English and we didn't speak Spanish. Victor, a manager with the yard, spoke moderate English, so were able to communicate what we needed done, and they were able to communicate with how they thought they would go about doing what needed to be done.

At about 5:00 PM we left the yard and walked back to The Beach House, stopping on the way to sample an ice cream cone. When in a foreign country, one must always try to partake in as many local customs as one can.

Once back at the room, we picked up Darlene and headed out for dinner, a short walk away. Once there we met the crew of the Rally yacht Celebrate, who had just transitted the canal today during the 2nd transit; and had dinner with the crew of Nexus, the large catamaran that we were rafted to during our own canal transit on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner consisted of Shrimp Ceviche, garlic bread, shrimp in garlic sauce, and flan and cheese cake for desert. Once back in the room we found the science fiction channel, which broadcast in English, and watched part of Psycho. I'd forgotten the beginning of the movie, so it was interesting to see.


Lights out at 10:00 PM. Busy day tomorrow.

Brian Fox



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