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Aretha - Chichime Cay, San Blas Islands



630am. 25th January 2015

The boat is quiet apart from the sound of the waves lapping against the hull and the cries of tropical birds on the Islands next to us.

Nichola woke me some 20 minutes ago for me to take my turn on anchor watch. This is where we maintain the watch system through the night just to make sure the anchor doesn’t drag. Having had only one shot at anchoring as the light went last night and being only metres away from the reef behind us there is no margin for error. If we do drag anchor we need to know about it and be able to respond immediately.

Testamant to the importance of this was the sight of a yacht on her side on the coral reef as we entered the anchorage last night. She had clearly either missed her navigation marks or had dragged anchor. Either way, she was high and dry with her keel exposed. A salutary reminder of how important it is to be vigilant here and on top of your game. You can see why people advised us to buy the very best anchor you can (I’m wishing I had the Rocna or Spade anchor now rather than the CQR…we will probably switch over to our Bruce anchor whilst in Panama).

Being able to see things by morning it truly is a a tropical paradise here. It is so very different to the Caribbean which feels like light years away. There are 2 tiny islands - a small one to windward and a larger one just behind us. The larger one is the size of 2 football pitches. Over to windward (the winds blow from the North East here) you can see the waves breaking over the coral reefs. The Islands are dense with palm trees and you can see the hand made shacks where the 3 families who live on these islands are. By contrast the Caribbean feels very commercial and packed with boats. There are no shops here - just some coconuts and fish and the local embroidery you can buy from the locals who come out in their canoes.

The local people here are Kuna Indians. They aren’t keen on the name the San Blas Islands as it was a name from the Spanish invaders. They are proudly Kuna Indians and are meant to be very friendly and welcoming. They are a short people - the closest tribe in height to Pygmies.

There is a whole host of new wildlife here - there are meant to be crocodiles and sharks here which will make the snorkelling interesting. Apparently the crocodiles are friendly (I’ve not heard that concept before) and there are no reported attacks and most of the sharks are harmless with the exception of the hammerhead sharks. The birds and the monkeys we will learn more about later.

There is a World ARC rendezvous here at midday today so we are looking forward to catching up with our friends and meeting the rest of the fleet - most of whom we haven’t met yet.

Reflecting on our 8 day sail here, it has been a great back to sea passage covering some 1000 plus miles. 7 days were terrific downwind sailing with light to moderate conditions and just the one day with fast wet and wild conditions as the wind accelerated over the Colombian mountains giving us 35 knots of breeze. The children have been outstanding on this passage - Bluebell has transformed into a polite charming and helpful crew member who is really contributing to the running of the boat. Columbus has been doing lots of reading and has been great catching up on schooling and Willow has been as happy and content as ever. It’s definitely contributed to a calm happy boat all round. We’re all getting on well and enjoying each others company.

It’s been super to have this first sail with Caroline - she has fitted in from the word go and feels like she has been with us for ages The children are really enjoying being with her and she is working very well as part of the sailing crew. She has been picking up jobs on the boat and for one is in charge of our provisioning - the last few days have been spent planning and discussing meal plans for the Pacific. She has really picked up the pace on the schooling as well and whilst at first the children had some resistance it feels like it is getting easier.

What is also noteworthy is we’ve had 8 days without any sea sickness from any of the crew. That is indeed good news and bodes well for the future.

So, whilst I’ve been typing I now have Bluebell and Columbus for company. It’s like having 2 bouncy tiggers while you are trying to write. They are keen to go swimming and have breakfast and go exploring. I think that signals a natural break from journal writing.

Columbus calls me on deck. He’s spotted a parrot and want to go exploring.

Out from Team Aretha

PS As always, we’re loving hearing from everyone and read out every message over breakfast. The daily quizzes from my mum are going down very well and they are racing to answer the questions first!

PPS just had a local Kuna Indian come alongside - $2 US for 2 coconuts and a very large fish (which he will bring back later). The offer of a large lobster as well for $10 US or a smaller one for $3-5 US.


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