other than they may have been anticipating the wet rainy day we've been having.
We've been enjoying the late afternoons in this anchorage. It's quite beautiful
when Portobello is far enough away to be unaware of the 3rd world elements.
We were planning to take the bus into Colon today but we looked at the
weather and decided that tomorrow could only be as bad or better, so we decided
to have a 'chill day'.
We have to take our boat papers to the Admeasurer's office. That will enable
us to book a time to be measured. Every boat going through the canal has to be
measured or have a certificate from a previous transit. We will then have to
motor the 15 miles to the harbour for the appointment. Only then can we make
another trip into the office, pay the total fee, in cash, including a $891
refundable bond in case we break their canal, and book a date to transit. At the
moment most small boats heading for the Pacific have already gone through so our
wait shouldn't be more than a few days, and we'll probably be tucked in behind a
cargo ship.
Many boats employ the services of an agent which does make life easier, but
the process is fairly straight forward and when I asked a few for cost estimates
it appeared to me that there was a fair bit bill padding. While they claim their
fee is around $400, and the total cost would be close to $2,500, I suspect we
may be able to get through for around $1700.
It's still a lot of money, but the alternative would be sailing to the bottom
of South America and around the Horn.... tempting!
In addition we have to hire fenders - car tyres wrapped in plastic, and
lines. They have to be 125 ft long, 7/8" min thickness and have no knots or
joins. We also have to have 4 line handlers... Sandy plus 3. In the season many
boat crews just help each other, but if you hire locals it's $75 each, plus
transport back. They also have to spend a night on the boat because it's a 2 day
exercise and everyone needs to be fed too.
It's quite a logistical operation. From the Atlantic side we leave in the
afternoon, go up 3 locks to the Gatun fresh water lake where we moor for the
night. The next morning we motor along the lake and in the afternoon we go down
one lock, motor some more and then down 2 more locks to the Pacific ocean.
But we may be in luck. The rain had eased by midday and Trevor and Gwen from
Perigrine rowed by. We sounded them out on the idea of coming through the canal
with us as line handlers and they would like to, but it means deferring their
departure for the San Blas Islands. But if we go through soon it may be worth it
to them.
It would be so much better to have fellow sailors we know on board, and they
are planning to go through to the Pacific in February themselves so would love
to get the experience of going through with us first. Luca, a young Swedish guy
from Captain Jack's has been through 4 times and would be keen to come too.
The ride into Colon is going to be interesting. There is a bus culture here
and these guys are like a bike gang... wild with an elitist mindset. They are
speed fiends with little regard for the rules of the road. Not only do they
drive highly decorated ex school busses from the U.S. known as red devils, but
the exhausts are removed and the engines finely tuned. We hear them roaring
through the jungle long before we see them. But for $1.60 we can get to Colon in
about 90 minutes.
Apart from that, I managed to find the electrical fault that knocked out all
the fans in the back half of the boat... it only took 2 days! But now we've
discovered a pinhole leak in the high pressure vessel of the watermaker. It's
still useable, but it can only get worse and I don't much like having a fine
spray of brine going over the various components. I've just emailed the agent in
Panama City to see if they have the spare part we need. We can't head out for
the Pacific crossing with it faulty so fingers crossed.
We get some species of large fish splashing around the boat sometimes. Out came Sandy's fishing gear. Well, they don't think much of her lures, or the special recipe she dreamed up with flour and water, oil from a tin of tuna, various herbs... and chili for colouring! They even turned their noses up at the bright red and orange gummy worms we found on the boat. But something must work because we see local guys paddling out in their dugout canoes with handlines when the fish are jumping. I actually called one over the other day but we couldn't understand each other at all, but I ended up with a miserable bunch of little green bananas, and he ended up with $4.00.
To be fair, they are ripening and there probably will be enough for a banana smoothey, or half a loaf of banana bread. And talking of bread, Sandy made a loaf of very healthy, delicious bread based loosely on a recipe from my sister, Heather. It tastes positively divine with Sandy's homemade coconut jam. The uneaten part is a great anvil, but I've been promised the next one will float above the breadboard.
Until next time...