Log book
- Port of departure: Ensenada Venao, Panama
- Departure date sand time: Monday, April 7 at 9:00am (0900)
- Port of arrival: Ensenada Venao, Panama
- Arrival date and time: Wednesday, April 9 at 9:00am (0900)
- Miles traveled: 114 nm
- Total travel time: 2 days (48 hours)
- Average speed: 2.4 knots
- Engine hours: 1245.0 begin – 1254.0 end – 9 hours
- Fuel consumption: 31.1 begin – 27.1 end – 4 gallons used
- Fuel economy: 29 mpg
- Tides and currents: Left at high tide with outgoing tide from Venao. The Gulf of Panama is crazy unpredictable with both the tidal and nontidal currents doing all sorts of nutty things. At some point we started drifting backwards.even with full sails.
- Navigation notes: Lots of inbound and outbound traffic – the lanes are not marked on our charts and they don’t seem to be consistent. Traffic was easy to spot in the Gulf and we believe that we showed up on their radars.
- Maintenance notes: Repaired mainsail, broken float switch.
- Weather: The forecast predicted 5-15 knots from the N during the day and night, though the reach of the N wind was greatly reduced at night.
It’s been a long week. With the exception of a very welcome reprieve in the form of dinner and drinks with our friends on SV BlueJacket in Puerto Mutis we have spent every waking moment sustaining travel, be it through raising sails, changing sails, trimming sails, navigating, keeping a lookout for traffic, cooking, cleaning, shopping, running errands, repairing broken systems. I, for one, am exhausted. But I’ll do my best to recap this passage.
Third time’s a charm, right? Getting around Mala had several distinct movements once we motored out of Benao and raised sails:
April 7 / 0900 – 1600 hours
Very calm seas with 10 knots of wind blowing from the N at first then switching to the E. Outgoing tide. With the N wind we made as much easterly progress as possible to get a good angle on the Perlas. When the E wind arrived we tacked to the SE to maintain a good angle on the point. When we were set to clear the point we tacked NE and made slow progress on a good heading. A pleasant morning and afternoon of light upwind sailing. We weren’t feeling the full effects of the current yet, though the current eventually started nudging us along strange, unintended courses.
April 7 / 1600 – 0000 hours
Very little to no wind with very little forward progress. Fortunately the seas were calm and drifting wasn’t an unbearable option. Unfortunately, the current, now in full effect, was pushing us towards the point. Which is counter to what I would expect. Perhaps we’re in some weird eddy? At this point we started to see quite a bit more traffic entering and exiting the Canal Zone. For sure going to have to maintain a good lookout at night.
April 8 / 0000 – 0600 hours
6-10 knots of wind at our back! All night! We lucked out with a SW breeze that kept us on a good heading for the Perlas. Unfortunately the current was very strong and we were only making 2 – 2.5 knots of progress (which is still pretty good, all things considered). Jeff took the night shift and tended the sails while I slept, waking me at 6:00 to take over. Traffic has increased, but apparently (according to chatter overheard on the VHF) the big ships can see us on radar and are steering clear. Every once in awhile a ship would get close enough that we would roll around in its wake.
April 8 / 0600 – 1200 hours
The SW wind decreased and sputtered out not long after sunrise, at which point I waited for some semblance of wind to show up. Meanwhile we were more or less drifting backwards. Didn’t have to wait long, however, until a light NE wind arrived. We made very slow (1.5 – 2 knots) of northerly progress in 4-8 knots of wind. With the current it was difficult to stay on a promising trajectory. The wind switched to the N, allowing me to make a tiny bit of easterly progress. I eavesdropped on conversations on the HAM while Serenity steered herself, poking my head out every couple of minutes to make sure we wouldn’t be run down by a freighter.
April 8 / 1400 – 2000 hours
No wind. Glassy calm. Very gentle swell from the SW. Without wind we started drifting backwards at 1-2 knots. Time for the motor. Perfect motoring conditions if you like the sound of a diesel chugalugging. Even under motor, though, we rarely get above 3.5 knots. Since there were no waves I didn’t dread cooking dinner, which is always a bonus. With excess juice in the batteries we had one cold Coke in the fridge and we each enjoyed a rum and Coke (light on the rum). Beautiful sunset.
April 8-9 / 2000 – 0600 hours
Not long after sunset a 10-13 knot N wind set in. Jeff helped me raise the main and Genoa before going to lay down. The N wind continued to build. When it rose above 15 knots sustained, I called to Jeff who helped me switch to the working jib. Much more manageable. Finally making great progress, up to 4 knots at time. Jeff stayed outside while the wind continued to build, now sustained 20. He helped me reef the main before disappearing to try to convince himself to sleep in increasingly large and sloppy seas.
Not 15 minutes after Jeff retreated, the wind died back down to 10-13 knots and I shook out the reef in the main. Still making decent progress, 3.5 knots. The waves were large and square, every once in awhile they’d slam into the bow covering the decks and cockpit with water. How quickly the sea can change from placid to ferocious. I sat inside the companionway to stay dry, poking my head out every few minutes to check for traffic, getting excited for the 2300 hour shift change (I love shift changes :-)). Jeff inherited the sloppy conditions and made the best of the light upwind sailing (now 8-10 knots), putting the Genoa back up at some point while I slept. The wind continued to lessen throughout the night and the sea eventually settled which meant more comfortable sleeping conditions. Jeff’s recap of his shift: “I just rolled with it baby, I worked with what I had. Why you gotta be scrutinizing it.”
April 9 / 0600 – 0900 hours
The motor was my alarm clock. Jeff fired it up after the sails refused to stay full. We had eked as much as possible out of any and all wind we had. I awoke to sunrise over the beautiful Perlas Islands and Jeff, exhausted, collapsed in the V berth. So many sea birds. Almost there.
At 0900 we anchored off of Isla Chapera in 20 feet. The islands are beautiful. The water is green, colder. The currents are crazy. A whole new mysterious puzzle.
We have declared it a Sunday. Sunday funday. No working allowed. No Sunday is complete without bacon and eggs and mindless entertainment. Tomorrow we’ll start getting the boat ready for a visitor! Our friend Steph is arriving in four days!