Shelter Bay Marina, Colon, Panama
Now we’ve gone and done it. Early in the evening of March 21st under a nearly full moon we edged Kailani out of Soper’s Hole in the British Virgins and laid a course southwest by west for Panama.
This thousand-mile passage is a symbolic, if a not an actual, commitment to continuing the adventure, since only a masochistic sailor would think of going back upwind once they had successfully crossed the breadth of the Caribbean. Instead, we look to the vast expanse of the Pacific which lies just a few miles to the south on the other side of the isthmus of Panama.
Our last days in the BVI were a slow rambling through the island chain in the delightful company of Sophia and her friend, Sam, who joined us for the last half of their spring break. Life was slowed down for our crew with late risings and lazy days interspersed with swimming, snorkeling and the occasional venture ashore all capped off by an after-supper movie drawn from the archives of Kailani favorites. But all too soon it was time to say goodbye to the girls and send them back to their pressure cooker school lives while we turned up the heat to prepare Kailani for the arrival of crew for the Caribbean crossing and get Jen off to California to the wedding of her godson.
Normally it would just be the two of us on passage, but when Jen leaves it takes three able bodied crew to fill her slot. In any event, our good friend Bill who is a veteran of several thousand miles aboard Kailani graciously agreed to fill the role of first mate, and we picked up two unsuspecting souls off the Salty Dawg crew list.
Mike and his wife back in Virginia have their sights set on long term cruising and Mike wanted to use this passage as a way to get a taste of the life at sea. After surviving a couple of days of mal de mer Mike bounced back and took over the galley liberating the captain from one of the more difficult and important jobs aboard. Over the remainder of the seven day-passage we were treated to a series of memorable meals far beyond the simple boat fare the crew would have been subjected to had Mike not found his way below.
The final crewmember, Randall (dubbed Russell when he came aboard by the first mate because after all, us aging sailors can’t remember names from one moment to the next) proved to be one of the more enthusiastic crew that have crossed Kailani’s gunnels. Although his sailing experience might be limited, he was quick to volunteer for everything that needed doing, donning his knee pads and sailing gloves and just getting after it. The life experiences of both new crew members kept us entertained through the long boring parts of the passage.
Which brings us to the wind, or unusual lack thereof. That pesky El Niño, now supposedly retreating, resulted in the Caribbean going flat and virtually windless the last 4 days of the passage, unheard of at a time of year when the easterlies generally blow with a vengeance. We doused the main, unfurled the Code 0 and alternated between sailing at 3.5 kts and motoring at 7 kts, the changes generally occurring every couple of hours with little regard to our watch schedule. But by breakfast time on the 28th, six and a half days after leaving the BVI we were tied up here in the Shelter Bay Marina on the far west side of the Cristobal Harbor leading to the entrance to the Canal.
Panama, and in particular this marina, is a choke point for cruising sailors with their objective of getting to the Pacific. Gone are the days of anchoring off the Panama Canal Yacht Club for free while awaiting your transit time. Now you share a marina cheek by jowl with other cruising boats from all around the world as they arrive and wait and then leave. The Canal is down to 18 big ship transits per day from the normal 40 due to an unusually dry stretch (again, thank you Niño) and to the extent they can fit a few recreational boats in the locks behind the ships, they do. Nevertheless, the wait is now five weeks with Kailani scheduled to go through on 2 May.
So what do you do with all that free time? What else but work on the boat. There is a boat yard here, so we hauled out for a long overdue bottom job. Labor costs are lower than the States although the price of paint is staggering, almost twice what you can get it for back home. With any luck we’ll splash back in by the end of this week and we’ll have a couple of weeks to spend over in the San Blas, a pretty magical place 75 miles to the east. We spent time there back in 2006 aboard Manu Kai, and it will be a litmus test to see how much the world of the cruising sailor has changed over almost 20 years.
One final note. This past Friday Joyce Oen, Jen’s mom and Sophia’s grandmother, peacefully shuffled off this mortal coil after a difficult battle with dementia over the past six years. She was surrounded by her children and will be missed by all those who were touched by her over her 85 years. May she rest in peace.
09 22 N 079 57 W
Shelter Bay Marina
Colon, Republic of Panama
Great photos guys, and many more fantastic memories on Kailani. Very sorry to hear about your mom Jen. Di and I recall meeting her several times when we were at your place in Sausalito while your mom was visiting.
Good luck with the boat work and have fun exploring the San Blas (…again).
Thx guys … love hearing from you and wishing you safe travels on your UK adventure! Hope we see you next in FIJI