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The next port after Zihuatenejo was Barra de Navidad. We entered the bay early in the morning in early August. The majestic Grand Bay Hotel still towers over the narrow entrance to the lagoon. As we rounded the corner toward the fuel docks we saw the lagoon; empty. Not a single vessel anchored in "the mud". It was almost mysterious since the last time we were in Barra (December 2008) there was almost no room for us to anchor.

We planned to fuel up, splurge on a night or two at the fancy marina, tromp around Barra for a day or two and then launch our last leg home to Paradise Village, Puerto Vallarta.

Of course, planning any voyage in the middle of Hurricane Season, is laughable.

Entonces left Zihua a day after us under sail only as they had transmission issues. The storms and tropical lows chased them all the way there. They arrived in the Bay of Banderas a few days ahead of us at under six knots. Old Lost Elvis incurred a hefty marina bill from waiting out the storms that consistently ripped through or right by Barra. By the way, there were no visiting boats in the marina either but we still couldn't get a deal. Many Mexican business do not understand that when business is slow, jacking up the prices does not necessarily make up for things. We begged for a deal for our week long stay; but "nada". Next time we will anchor in the mud no matter what.

Barra is hot and muggy in the summer; much like Zihua but not as bad as Golfito, Costa Rica. Even the Columbian complained about Golfito and he lives in Baranquilla, which to me is just as hot. We toured around town with Eric (Northern Romance) and Heidi, his girlfriend, ate at Pipis, Ambers, and various other haunts. There was not a "cruiser" to be seen, nor any white folk either except for the odd ex-pat. It was the last few days of Mexican summer before the kids returned to school and they were everywhere with their bright pink, green and blue inflatable beach toys.

On Saturday, August 21, 2010, despite advice from Weather Routing, we decided we could no longer afford Grand Bay no matter how bad the weather was. We had to get out. We had the usual afternoon squalls and cells but made it from Barra to Nuevo Vallarta in about 19 hours.

We arrived in the dark near the markers for the channel into Paradise Village Marina. It started to pour rain. We motored around the bay, past La Cruz to see if we could find Entonces (Chad and Liza) waiting for dawn to help us see our way in. Lost Elvis can practically negotiate the entrance solo but the benefit of a little light was helpful.

Elizabeth and Richard (Seagnome; SG Boatworks) greeted us at the docks. It felt good to be home.

The Anatomy of a Hamburger

Zihuatenejo has the best hamburgers in the world we have decided. Our favourite stand is directly across from the basketball courts.

The burger consists of bimbo bread buns, grilled, hamburger patty, ham, string cheese melted on the ham, avocado slices, chopped tomatoes, pickled jalapeno peppers, mustard, ketchup, mayonaise... outstanding.

Today is kayaking at Las Gatas. Anders leaves for Vegas at noon so we are kayaking early.

Randy and Luis Bandito are working on the fridge and air intake lines as they are still full of trash from Acapulco. The generator line had celophane from a cigarette package and half of a toothbrush!

This afternoon we search for water filters and a Mexican flag likely stopping at Tamale Annies for pozole and, you guessed it, tamales.

Sunset Bar is closed. Some employees and the manager tried to sue the owner so she returned to Victoria/Vancouver. Ric's (Memo's) is closed until November when the cruisers return

The owners of Blythe Spirit left her here for the hurricane season and their deflated dinghy with engine are stranded on the playa principal. Other than that there are two other sailboats here; one in Playa Principal with us and the other at La Ropa.

Zihua is inundated with locals at this time of year... much busier than the winter. The only other gringos here are those that have chosen Zihua as their permanent residence.

Lost Elvis - Huatulco to Acapulco

This blogsite is very slow to load photos so unfortunately, I don't have any on this blog. Thea arrived in Huatulco from Vancouver via Phoenix and Mexico City. Flying on a US Airways guest pass sounds like a great deal but it's not. When I arrived at the gate in Vancouver (after confirming my reservation over the phone) I was advised that because I was flying to Mexico, I was not permitted to check any bags. Well, our sailing friends know that not checking bags is not an option. We are constantly lugging parts and supplies to our boats. In the end, I convinced them to at least check my bags to Phoenix but that was the end. I had to buy a one way ticket from Phoenix to Mexico City.

Huatulco was as beautiful as I remember but greener due to the seasonal rains. We at tacos al pastor as much as we could. On Sunday we went to Barra de La Cruz to surf with our friends Chad and Tony from "Entonces"; our buddy boat. It was fabulous. I was just playing in the breakers trying to stand up on my board but the boys were out on the point on a left break where the local surfers (1/2 of which were women) would push them out of the line up. As in most line ups, the locals stand their ground. If it were a week day it would have been more tranquilo.

It took us 36 hours to get the boat from Huatulco to Acapulco. Entonces stayed behind due to repairs. It was strange for me because we have two guests who are experienced sailors. All of my normal duties were covered. I slept alot. The weather was typical for this time of year; squalls, south swell; 60% good 40% not so good.

Entonces will meet us in Zihau on Wednesday.

We must have caught Chad's bad fridge karma because we smelled something burning in the main hold of the fridge. It turned out the the thermostat was fried. We got Marcelo and Jorge here at the Acapulco Yacht Club to fix it. It took them all of about an hour and they wanted $200!! We bargained them down to $100 including parts which is still a rip off.

We found Nacho Camacho again but too late. He said he would not have recommended Marcelo and Jorge had he known.

Nacho Comacho is the king of the bay of Acapulco. He is a captain and knows everyone. You can usually find him at Bar Mitla, across from the yacht club. By the way, fellow cruisers, there is a new marina called "Performance Marina" here in Acapulco beside the cruise ship docks. It's all med mooring but they also have mooring balls and a fuel dock.

Tonight its off to watch the cliff divers and off to the fuel docks here at the yacht club at 07:30 before we head to Zihua.

We love Mexico! It's sooooo nice to be back.

Arriba!!!!

Lost Elvis Arrives Safely in El Salvador

Bahia del Sol Resort

This morning I received the following email from Claudia at Bahia del Sol Hotel and Marina in El Salvador:

"Hello Thea

Lost Elvis was calling us on the radio at 5:30 am but they were too late for the high tide and had to wait for the next high tide at 4:45 pm.

They are all right.

Sincerley,

Claudia"

The reason they have to wait is that Bahia del Sol Marina is in an estuary and in order to enter, vessels have to cross a bar, sometimes in very high surf. The marina sends a pilot in a panga/lancha to weave each boat through the bar between sets of waves. The tricky part is that the pilot often doesn't recognize that a 23 tonned boat with a full keel and no bow thrusters cannot accelerate or manouevre like a sport fisher so the crossing in Lost Elvis can be a little challenging and quite stressful.

The entire vogage from Golfito, Costa Rica took almost exactly 72 hours. We did it last year (going the other way) in about 65 hours.

I have not spoken to Randy yet as he is still at anchor (standby waypoint: 13 degrees.15.7' N; 088 deg.53.5'W) waiting for the high tide late this afternoon. The marina monitors Ch 16 and during the high season the "cruisers" monitor Ch 22 and will arrange for the pilot who is employed by the marina (Rafael).

Tonight Luis Bondi and Richard Lee Johnton fly in to help Randy sail the boat across the Tehuantepec to Marina Chahue in Huatulco but not before enjoying the fine cuisine, papusas and Pilsen beer. They may also visit the stilt restaurants in the estuary for fresh seafood or perhaps visit with Jan, a kind Canadian woman, who operates a free English school for children. It won't be the same without our friend Alex Kao (Reflections) who just arrived from the South Pacific to Hawaii with his fiance Leah Prentice. Randy will have to find someone else to drink Flor de Cana.

Bahia del Sol Marina and Hotel has rooms and suites, conference rooms, excellent internet, a pool, a fantastic restaurant and discounts for "cruisers" on food and beverages and a mini casino.

PURA VIDA - More Nightmares

And all this time I thought Pura Vida meant, full of life or pure living..... after living in Costa Rica for 80 days, I now know it means STICK IT TO THE GRINGOS.

Gringos get charged more for everything and they are forbidden to buy cell phones. Gringos can no longer use the same border crossing to renew their visas every 90 days. If you use Panama once, you have to go to Nicaragua, the next time.

Also be careful with the marinas some of which have fully adopted the "Stick it to the Gringos" national policy of Costa Rica. They do not tell you any of their fees (except dock mooring fees) up front and try to offer services which they claim they are doing to help you and to make things easier (most of which as previously mentioned, the screw up). For example, they suggest that instead of taking the bus to the border to renew your 90 day visa ($5), they will drive you in their van to make it easier. What they do not tell you is that they will charge you $50 for "helping" you out. For six large bags of laundry they charged us over $400. They charge $50 a month for water (which they don't tell you either). Their electrical power is over priced. There is a 23% tax all all food and beverages and they charge American prices for mediocre meals. While many marinas offer a food and beverage discount to live aboards and long term slip renters, Golfito marinas offer no such benefit. There is absolutely no incentive to eat or drink at the marina if you are staying there. Order in from Chicken Bros, any of the Sodas, the chinese restaurants.

It's not only Golfito; it's the entire country. Two bags of normal groceries (mostly local; not American brands) normally costs about $40. Diesel is over $4 a gallon. A can of beer in the store or direct from the supplier is $1.25. In Panama you can get 24 cans of beer for $10.00. A pipa fria on the street is $0.60..... that's a frickin' coconut! They grow like weeds every two feet. In El Salvador a coco frio (same thing the Ticans have their own word for coconut) at a nice restaurant is only $0.5o. A 1/4 chicken dinner in San Vicente, El Salvador is $1.25!!!!! Are Costa Rican's disconnected from the rest of Central America? Are they trying to kill tourism in Costa Rica? I believe they are well on their way. I gave Costa Rica two chances. I will NEVER return to Costa Rica until it comes into line with Mexico, El Salvador, Nica and Panama. In fact, Panama is equal in natural beauty, fauna and flora and it also offers so much history AND Panama is half the price of Costa Rica!!! It's just as safe and the Panamanians actually have a culture (eg. Carnival!)

The Ticans are all depressed and when they do deal with you, you can tell behind the false grin, they are trying to rape you for every penny they can. When something goes wrong, they try to blame someone else.

Do yourself a favor and skip Costa Rica all together. Go to Panama, it's just as safe, beautiful if not more and more than half the price for everything. El Salvador and Nicaragua are also better options for price, friendliness, natural beauty, surf, beaches. Pura Vida is Pura BS.

After arguing with Fishhook over our overpriced invoice for almost an entire day, we are moving Lost Elvis to Bahia del Sol Marina and hotel in El Salvador. Where slip rental is half the price of Costa Rica, the people are friendly, always smiling and honest and they offer a discount to the boaters who rent their slips.

We hope to get the boat to El Salvador by Monday, July 12 or Tuesday, July 13. Then, on about July 15 or 16, depending on weather, Lost Elvis will cross the Tehuantapec again to Huatulco to stay at Marina Chahue. The long term plan is to get Lost Elvis to Paradise Village Marina by the end of July where Dick and Gina and the rest of the establishment treat us with respect and where we are charged a reasonable rate for exceptional services (the antithesis of Costa Rican Marinas: exorbitant fees for substandard services)

Thea is in Vancouver working to try to help pay the incredibly ridiculous fees of our Costa Rican Marina and will likely re-join the crew in August in Huatulco.

Fishhook Marina Update and Warning

If you can believe it, we are still in Golfito. On Randy's last break we got skunked by bad weather yet again. We have resigned ourselves to the fact that SV Lost Elvis will remain here in Golfito for the rainy season. They call it "winter" and the dry season (December through April) is "summer".

Another unbelievable fact is that David, the Columbian is still in Costa Rica. Immigration (the girl with the purple hair) allowed him to stay in Costa Rica for 30 days without a visa (Columbian's need a visa) as long as he stayed on the boat and in the marina.

Thirty days were up on May 27. Two weeks have gone by with lame excuses every day. The assistant manager at Fishhook Marina tried the worst excuse ever. She said that because the Columbian worked on a boat in Panama that had some drug connection, that INTERPOL, yes Interpol was investigating, the Columbian, Randy, me and Lost Elvis!!!! Randy immediately contacted the Chief Commanding Officer in Afghanistan who confirmed with Interpol that NO SUCH INVESTIGATION happened or is ongoing or is going to happen. So a complete lie was offered by this woman at Fishhook to cover up her ineptitude and the bumbling immigration officer. This delay is costing us lots of money as we have been providing food and accomodation to the Columbian. Today I advised management at Fishhook that if the Columbian is not deported today, I will take matters into my own hands. My legal connections in Vancouver will get me the best immigration lawyer in Costa Rica.

If the woman at Fishhook tries to put the blame on us one more time, I will single handedly ruin her reputation among cruisers and yachties and even around town if I can.

I will start with this. She will insist on handling your immigration, customs and check in. Do it yourself. She has consistently botched everything she has handled for us. She even pissed off immigration which caused a week's delay in the deportation of David. I had only a 30 day visa for Costa Rica because we landed here without a Zarpe due to emergency. She told me that she would get me an extension on my visa (normally it's 90 days). I mistakenly assumed she had handled it. Mikael, the General Manager, showed up at my boat on the day my visa expired and told me I had to go to the border immediately to get my Costa Rica exit stamp. Mikael is excellent. He knows the procedures inside and out and will not make excuses or try to blame you, the customer, for delays or problems (which the assistant manager frequently does). Ask for their fees for ANYTHING, up front. If you need any advice or services at Fishhook ask Mikael. Do not ask anyone else. Mikael is professional and knowledgeable.

The assistant manager also told me that I had to move Lost Elvis to another slip while Randy was away working. I told her I was not touching a thing; not even the ignition. I explained that Lost Elvis weighs 74,000 pounds and has a full keel and no bow thrusters and that I certainly hoped the marina had enough insurance to cover any damage caused by them moving our boat. She soon abandoned that hair brained plan.

Franklin at Fishhook will clean your hull and propellor. Make sure he does it after hours otherwise the marina takes a cut. He will also mind your boat if you take off on a tour inland or to Zancudo. He is trustworthy and reliable and knows a heck of a lot about boats.

Golfito's Rain

After seeing SV White Falcon (Veronica and Andre) off at the fuel docks downtown, some friends and I filled up the dinghy (RDS dos mas tres... or whatever Randy has named it) with fuel, beer, sodas, water, gatorade and some snacks to find fish and failing that, a beach. Even out in the big bay, Golfo Dulce, the sun was tough on us without even a whisper of breeze to cool us. My umbrella, which is a must have piece of equipment in this town, served well as a parasol. We trolled with my Ugly Stick and a huge lure along big bay up towards Abraham's estate, where we entered a smaller bay with two fishing lodges (also Abraham's). About two hours later we did not catch a thing "Ni un zapato" (not even a shoe!). We spotted a little beach which turned out to be gravel. It appeared that there were a few towels or clothes spread out on part of the beach. Several palms lined the shore and a few little streams offered nice landings. My skipper however chose to land in the middle of the beach and swamped the dinghy increasing its weight three-fold. We tugged and pushed and pulled trying to haul it up the beach and out of the beach break. Suddenly, as if out of no where, I smallish and slight man with no teeth, offered to help. The old guy was surprisingly strong for his size and the dinghy was safe from the breaking waves. We offered him a beer and he invited us to chat in the shade. His name is Miguel, and he lives alone in a one room hut with a corregated tin roof, a nice breeze surrounded by a colourful garden and then jungle. He uses the streams for drinking, bathing and laundry, which was what we saw drying on the beach. The only access is by water taxi since his outboard engine recently died. He loves his paradise and relishes the solitude which we sensed. So after he toured us through his property, showed us various plans included a giant if not monsterous bamboo thicket, we launched "RDS dos mas tres", tossed him another Imperial and left him in his little piece of heaven. Mentioning this encounter to Sr. Abraham, he said, "Oh, that's Miguel, my neighbour". I guess he would be a neighbour since he's the only human within 10 miles of Abraham.

And today I was almost frightened by the noise and duration of the "aguacero"; rain storm. I walked to the panaderia, well almost ran, as I was racing the storm. By the time I bought my french bread and some sort of empanada made with a light pastry, the onslaught had already begun. Winds clattering the corrugated roofs and bearing the undersides of the you teak tree leaves. The Ticans hide under bus shelters, overhangs, the gas station, trees and store entrances .... and they wait and wait.... and wait. I tried this tactic with no success the torrential rains kept pounding down. Eventually I found a little red taxi to take me and my french bread to Fishhook Marina. The floor in the back seat had about 3 inches of water. I guess he had some holes in the floorboards. It was 600 colones for a distance of about 2 blocks but it was worth it as the rain continued for another 45 minutes.

Everyone speculated that such an early downpour (1 pm) bode well for a nice afternoon and evening. There have been showers all day and in fact, it's almost downright chilly.

Annie just dropped by to borrow more videos, a common pass time during such bad weather which is why she comes to me to increase her selection.

Hiking In Golfito

I finally found  nice hike/walk in the jungle.  It's actually a gravel road but it's steep and the rewards at the end are beautiful.  From Fishhook Marina and Lodge you continue on the main road away from Golfito passing a soccer (football) field on your left that has artificial turf.  Just after that you turn left on a gravel road beside a small stream.  Accross the stream is another soccer field.

Wear good shoes as the rain, moss, leaves and other tropical growth make the footing slippery at times.
Cathy and Dave from Andante met me at Fishhook at 6:30 am to start the 2 hour trek.  The relentless rain from last night made the air thick and hot like a quilt or a blanket.  Within minutes we were soaked in sweat and the sun was just up. Even the shade of the jungle did not offer relief from the smothering heat of the damp tropical heat.

Within 45 minutes we had peek-a-boo views of the little gulf and the mangroves at the end.  When we reached the look out, we could see the town  of Golfito and the Golfo Dulce.

We saw Toucans flying about but but the were too far off to really see them even with binoculars.  Just as we were starting our decent, one of them flew to the lower branches so we could see him.  He didn't even flutter a feather when a motorcycle passed along the bumpy road.  I managed to get several photos of him before he found a better roost.  I've heard that the locals eat Toucans. Impossible!  It has to be an urban myth.

Golfito, Costa Rica Take II

This blog site is not too user friendly, so excuse the set up and the order of the photos.  On April 23, 2010 we left the port of Panama City.  Randy was reluctant to set sail on a Friday but we went anyway. We calculated about 5 days to get to Bahia del Sol, El Salvador.  Olga, Randy's sister came down for this leg of our delivery of Lost Elvis back to Paradise Village, Mexico.  We also have a Columbian crew member, David Jose Jiminez Pereira. David and his dad have been working in Shelter Bay and in Panama City, on Lost Elvis (metal, varnish, wax and cleaning) for the last three months.  They are like family.  David begged us to take him to Mexico on our voyage. We told him that we could not pay him but we would fly him home at the end of the trip.  His father agreed and now we have a 25 year old going on 18 to look after.  He's a good kid and a hard worker.

Randy arrived in Panama on April 19 to find that the generator wouldn't hold any oil, and even worse, the ice maker was kaput. We needed a marina badly so we could get power and hopefully fix the generator.  Flamenco Marina, the only marina in Panama City, was full. Thankfully,our friend Taylor Housser was hauling out his boat, Bakatawn which freed up a slip for us to use for four days. 

We found a good mechanic who goes by the name of  "Fish".  He fixed the crank case for the generator.  It looked like new.  After he installed it we discovered that the generator pump was leaking and needed an complete overhaul. Fish found a "tailler" that could fix it on a priority basis, if we paid a bit of a bump.  After about $600 in labour, bribes, parts and other nonsense we were back on track... except the ice maker which is still on strike.

We left Panama for El Salvador well provisioned and mechanically sound or so we thought.  Right in the middle of the shipping lanes for the canal, Otto, our auto pilot decided to drive in circles.  Out come the manuals.  It turns out, our new flat screen TV, which is mounted about 12 inches away from the autopilot sensor, interferes with the compass of Otto.  So now when we are under way, the TV resides on our bed.  So much for watching movies on long crossings.

Panama to Isla Coiba was a beautiful sail.  Light winds, calm seas, blue skies. As we were reveiwing our fuel consumption (divide by 2.5, carry the one.... both of us are math phobics), we got slammed by what we thought was a Papagallo.  It turned out to be a tropical storm carrying winds at gale force.  It was tracking us or we were tracking it.  For over 20 hours we took 6-8 foot waves on our beam at 4 second intervals.  Our portholes and gunnels were underwater each time we were slammed. Two of our crew members were in their bunks for over 18 hours with no food or water due to sea sickness.  Randy and I finally decided to abandon our El Salvador plans and head for Golfito, Costa Rica so that the boat and crew could rest and recover.

We arrived at Fishhook Marina and Lodge at 9 am on Sunday morning; exhausted.  Lidia, the manager helped us check in.  She returned to advise that Jose David, our Columbian crew needed a visa and would have to be sent back to Panama to apply for one which they couldn't do because of road blocks.  I explained that the only reason we are in Costa Rica (beautiful but really expensive) is because David and Olga were severely sick.  They were dehydrated and had not eaten for 2 days.  Immigration finally acquiesced and has allowed Jose David to stay in Costa Rica but he is not allowed to leave the boat or the marina.  Of course, this is nonesense but on the other hand, you don't want to risk it in a foreign country.  It really irritates me because he is a good kid and as long as he lays low, I'm sure he could walk down the street or go have lunch at a little "soda" but they won't let him. 

Before Randy returned to work, we went to Zancudo fishing lodge throught the mangroves to have lunch and swim in their pool and the next day, to Abraham's house out in Golfo Dulce (where we saw wild Guacamayas eating almonds) followed by "pescado entero" at "Bar Restaurant Juan" accessible only by boat/dinghy. 

Randy left for work on April 30 after a failed attempt the day before (no airplanes due to weather).  Thank goodness for Skype. We can chat for free when Randy is in Kuwait, Hong Kong or Africa.
David and I are working on the boat; cleaning the bilge, the dinghy, the seat cushions and plastic glass.  David is also going to put another coat of varnish on the rub rails.

Two days ago I went to the duty free zone here in Golfito.  It's about a tenth of the size as the Zona Libre in Colon but it has some good deals on electronics, alcohol and Italian housewares.  The process is like a wild goose chase however.  It's best to use one of the "facilitators"; unofficial young men who will lead you through the paper work and help cart your purchases around for about $15.

I met a nice couple heading for Panama; Andres and Veronica.  He's German and she's Tica.  This afternoon we will eat local ceviche while I give them the low down on Panama. Using Stanley as their maritime agent to get them throught the Panama Canal will be my first pointer and purchasing Bahaus' Panama Cruising guide, the second.

Golfito seems a little cozier and slightly less gloomy than last year; a few more smiles, an occasional unprovoked "Buenas Tardes".  The general sadness that douses the town like it's tropical rains is as damp and dreary as the Golfito afternoons.  I believe that when the National Fruit Company pulled up stakes here in the 80's, some of the town's happiness clung and left with it.

Isla Contadora, Panama

Isla Contadora is one of the Las Perlas Islands in the Golfo de Panama on the Pacific side.  It's a 15 minute plane ride from Panama City; four hours by sailboat.  It's a popular get away for the city dwellers and those who are better off.  Las Islas Perlas used to be loaded with oysters and pearls; hence the name.  They were stripped of their jewels and are now a Panamanian tourist destination.  After transitting the canal we could not sit still and we had to catch up with Alex and Leah on Reflections.  We hadn't seen them since the early fall in Vancouver. They were about to launch for the Galapagos and it seemed silly not to see them off when we were so close.  We snorkelled.  Randy and Alex caught fish with their spear guns.  I cleaned and cooked our fish but Parrot Fish have the texture of mud and taste like sand.  We found out later that because they eat coral; they are not good fish to eat.  Besides, I told Randy not to kill the pretty fish.  Later that night we went out for dinner to a fancy hotel restaurant where I ordered a whole snapper for $14; normally they are $6 or less.  We stayed for two nights.  By then our friend Paul Belna was a regular salty dog.  We said good bye to Reflections at dawn and made our way back to the big city.  The winds were about 15 - 20 and the seas relatively calm.  It was beautiful.  For contrast, on arrival to Panama, all three of us took over our friend Matt's house; listened to music, made pizza went for steak dinner and yes, even did laundry.  Thanks Matt for always being such a generous host.  Sometimes we feel like crusty cruisers but Matt always welcomes us. 

Panama Canal Transit #2

Here is Lost Elvis ready to go through the canal again.  It's the second time with us and the 5th time for her.   We have had two Columbians working on our boat for the last month or more; Jose y Jose Jimenez, a father and son team.  They re-caulked and varnished (5 coats) the cockpit, the companion way doors, the helm and the table for $700 plus materials (which are cheap).  Novi, a boutique Home Depot sells Marine Varnish at a good price.  Because Jose and Jose David needed a lift back to Panama City, they came through the canal with us as line handlers.  Papa Jose drove the boat over to the flats; he's a professional captain.  Our first advisor, Fernando, was outstanding.  He is a born again Christian, and immediately blessed me upon learning that I was a heathen.  He also blessed Randy and I as a couple and the boat on her journey; so we've got that going for us.  Honestly, Fernando was smart, interesting to talk to and was excellent and organizing our flotilla of two boats as we transitted the Gatun Locks.   It went off without a hitch. The second advisor who arrived at 6 am the next day, Hernandez, a gringo looking fat guy who claims to have been advising for over 20 years was USELESS.  He even argued with the advisor on the other boat.  He almost crashed us into the wall and then tried to blame it on the two Captains who had a system that worked flawlessly until fatty decided to scream out commands.  Again, my fellow cruisers (oh how I despise that word), they are ADVISORS.  They do not know your boat or any of the boats in your raft.  If they provide ill advice; ignore them and tell them to stand down.   Or in our case, give him more to eat and tell him to stand down.

Randy has been working like a fiend; 30 hour days with little rest.  While he has travelled around the world at least twice he has had no down time to enjoy it.  What little time he has; he tries to rest and even that's a challenge when you are in a different time zone every day.

He got very sick in Ethiopia which he discovered in Cairo; dangerously high fever, gastro mahem in every respect.  After a day of IV, Cipro, and about 4 other meds, his fever came down to 102 F and he wanted to come home.  Being sick to the verge of hospitalization in Cairo is probably the last thing any  non-Muslim person would ever want.  We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Sue and Sarah in Crew Scheduling at Southern Air for getting Randy home safely and as quickly as possible.  He is still very, very sick but at least he's home thanks to our friends at Southern.

Ship Wreck at Shelter Bay

This the sailboat that sat on the reef for a day and a half.  The poor guy must have been just sick to his stomach.  The hull and the rudder are severely damaged.  There is actually a hole in the hull but it's difficult to see in this photo.

Apparently they took on lots of water.  It was up to the floor boards.  They have a lot of work ahead of them poor guys.

I didn't ask too many questions as they were probably annoyed with everyone coming by with the same comments and questions.  I simply asked if the crew was fine and not injured, other than egos.  Thankfully, no one got hurt.

The propellor and shaft are fine.

Shelter Bay Hen Party

Joan on Panchita organized a wine and cheese, manicure pedicure party at the end of D Dock at Shelter Bay Marina. Each woman introduced herself and summarized their boating history. At least three women had completed or were very close to completing a circumnavigation with their spouses. Nancy will finish theirs next fall and Lynn on Canic will complete theirs by May of this year.

A double ender sail boat of about 40 feet hit the reef approaching the marina at 3 am (yes, I know, why would you enter any place at 3 am?). Apparently their charts did not show the reef. They hit it quite far away but the wind and swell drove them further up onto the reef to the point where they were in about 4 feet of water quite close to the marina entrance.

Randy and I snidely commented that they must be French because the French are always driving up onto the reefs in the San Blas. Oops! They are from Canada; BC in fact.

They ended up paying over $300 per hour to have a tug boat pull them off the reef. They drove her into the travel lift yesterday and started draining out the water. There is a small hole in the fiberglass and the rudder is completely chewed up. My next post will have a photo.

Randy just finished a hellish tour from Munich to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Etheopia, Kuwait, Dubai, Munich, Luxembourg, Liege, New Jersey. He is now in Miami trying to get here today.

Lost Elvis Lettering

Here's our new lettering! I hope Randy likes it. I had to choose it in his absense. Letras Alfarro did the work. He's from Panama City. He did a good job but it took him a month and a half from the time he showed me his samples to the day he showed up with the letters. Thank goodness I didn't pay him in advance.

We have decided to transit the Panama Canal again (North to South, Caribbean to Pacific) on March 24, 2010. Stanley is our agent again. He's very jolly these days as he has much more business during the "dry" season. Our neighbours who use Stanley, Woolloobooloo (Simon) got delayed in their transit. They are hoping to get through tomorrow.

Cristobal Marine said they were going to inspect the vacu-flush heads today but I have not seen them around. There is no "vacu" and hence no "flush". It's always something.

Panchita (Ted and Joan) are back early from the San Blas due to the fact that their refrigeration quit. Equinox (Hank and Betsy are coming in tomorrow with autopilot problems. It'll be nice to have some old friends around. We met Panchit and Equinox back in Huatulco last February. We all set out to cross the Tehaunapec together.

Our plans after the canal transit are to visit the Las Perlas Islands, Panama and then take Lost Elvis back to Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. We will commute, as little as possible, from Mexico while we make money for our next trip to the South Pacific in March 2010. But you never know, one of Randy's nicknames is, after all, "Random".

San Blas again

We took Lost Elvis to the San Blas again. The first few days we spent with our friends Greg and Christine. The first stop was Portobelo where we caught the last night of Carnival. We toured through Chichime, Swimming Pools, Salardup, Carti and Porvenir. We met Hank and Betsy (SV Equinox) and their guests, Gary and Liz in Salardup where we set up a swim up bar using our dinghy as the bar. In Swimming Pools, Equinox and Lost Elvis hit the Monday night cocktail party where we met and in some cases re-united with Southern Belle, Runner (Reg and Debbie), Blow Me Away (Aaron and Cathy), Bubbles (Sheila and Alex) et al. Blow Me Away gave us the number of Eulogio (651-79850) who runs the jungle jeep ride back to Panama City from Carti. It's $30 per person and they pick you up from your boat in a nice panga. Greg and Christine left Carti on February 24 in the jeep ride. The jeep will drop you off wherever you want in Panama City. Our friend suggested Hotel Discovery (225-1140) in Panama City as it's only $25 per night. We stayed in Carti for an extra day as the Kuna were celebrating their 80 year revolution against the Panamanian armed forces. The celebration included a parade, dancing and a wandering play re-enacting the event. The grande finale was drinking Chicha in the Chicha hut (segregating men and women) as the Sailas (shamen) chanted. In Porvenir we lost our hold in the anchorage (again). It was a disaster and of course, it happened at night. We had to re-anchor in an uncharacteristic storm that came from the south. The southern storms usually blow in the summer. Our plans to leave Porvenir were dashed by the storm which gusted to 35 knots and was conistently over 20 knots with 5 foot seas at 3 second intervals. It took us over an hour just to make it back to Chichime where at the usually flat entry, waves were breaking. Chichime had 12 boats anchored and the entry was a mess so we went to Salardup again to wait out the weather. Hank and Betsy did the same. The next day brough fair weather, winds and seas and we had a lovely sail to Isla Linton. Sunbow (Sharon and John)was an hour ahead of us. Effie was in Panamarina. We all dined at Caballo Loco (a french restaurant). The next day Randy, John and Sharon took two dinghys through the mangroves to pick up Alan and Mac who are leaving their boat in Panamarina for a month or so while they head back to the US. The voyage from Islan Linton to Shelter Bay was and adventure; 6 to 78 foot following swells at 7 seconds or less and strong winds. Our auto pilot couldn't take it so Randy and Alan took Lost Elvis back to Shelter Bay in shifts. On the way in our furling rigging on the staysill broke at the furling drum so Alan furled it by hand with a wrench. As we were furling the main (in mast) the pulley on the boom broke. Time to call the rigger! Now we are poolside at the marina.... playing guitars and drinking beer.

Panama Canal Again on Pursuit IV

On Wednesday, January 20, 2010 I crossed the Panama Canal again; this time as a line handler on Pursuit IV (Gary Last and Tara Lunn).  David our canvas "go to guy" and his friend Willie, a fireman also came along as line handlers.

We were supposed to fuel up at Shelter Bay at about 1 pm in order to make it to the flats by 2:30 pm.  At noon, in awe, we watched the fuel barge leave Shelter Bay. Gary had pre-paid for his fuel at the Shelter Bay office a few hours prior so he was a little confused to hear that the fuel barge left but would return by 2:00 pm.  Typical of this country; it's whatever, whenever.  They can run an international shipping channel and canal but can't organize a reliable fuelling system.  That wasn't the first or the last I've hear about fuelling problems at Shelter Bay. There was talk of fuelling out in the shipping lanes on the way to the flats but, not surprisingly,  it all fell through.  Shelter Bay promised a refund on his credit card for the pre-paid fuel.  They also promised to find me the stove that Gary left us that magically disappeared.  Haven't heard a peep. 

We left the flats around 4 pm with our first advisor Guillermo, went through the Gatun Locks and arrived at the mooring  buouy on Gatun Lake about 1/2 hour before sunset.  Gary and Tara provide a wonderful meal of BBQ'd steak and chicken, salad and baked beans accompanied by Balboas and fine wine in a box.

Our second advisor, Roy, arrived at 6:30 am just as the sun was rising.  One of the catamaran's that was with our group took the short cut through the submerged forest but Roy thought that with Pursuit's draft and

the navigational markers having changed, it would be better to take the conventional route.  Just as we approached the chanel, the engine began to fail.  It turned out to be the primary filter which was too fine and was clogged. After changing the filter we were back on course but too close to catch the other two boats in our group. In the end it worked out fine.  After a wonderful breakfast(actually it was lunch by then - we didn't have breakfast) of fried egg sandwiches (Roy loved them so much he asked for second and Tara was running out of eggs!  I guess she hadn't planned on a hungry crew), we made the last two locks, San Pedro and Miraflores with a huge commercial freighter and I was on board SV Effie visiting Mac and Alan by 4 pm!

Isais, from Shelter Bay picked me up in his grey Nissan Centra (the national car it seems) just after 5 to cross back to Shelter Bay by land on the fairly new toll highway.  He charges $60 with a surcharge for extra passengers but I guess it's worth it.  Other than asking me for a photo that he can put on his computer (which creeps me out but Randy will rectify), he's a good guy.  Trained in mechanical engineering in Santa Barbara he is intelligent, presents well and speaks excellent English.

Shelter Bay

Here we are back in Shelter Bay Panama. We've been walking from the marina up the road through the remains of Fort Sherman and through the jungle toward San Lorenzo. Christmas dinner was hosted by Tom and his family who run the restaurant at Shelter Bay. Although the restaurant was closed, he provided ham, rice and beans and potato salad for about 25 "cruisers". The rest was pot-luck style. Lost Elvis brought cocktail sausages and mustard for dipping, Consort made a lovely tossed salad and others brough yams, coleslaw, bread, corn and carrots. Tom's children helped serve food and drinks.

Since Randy had only 5 days off from ground school at Southern Air, we spent most of our time by the pool, checking our systems and visiting with other boaters. Fortunately, all systems were "go" thanks to our dear friend Gary Last (Pursuit IV) who looked after Lost Elvis while we were gone. The outboard on the dinghy needs servicing but that's minor compared to what could have happened during our long absence.

We met the crew of Lynx (privateer.org) who joined us by the pool for a few cold Balboas and returned the favour with some fine Panamanian cigars.

I'll be back in late January to provision (Panama Supply will do it for you if you don't want to shlep groceries all day) and wait for Randy and Greg Cox to join us for the next leg of our trip toward Florida.

Southern Air

Randy has a new job. Well, actually it's old; he used to work for Southern Air about six years ago. Randy is in Miami until the end of January training. I will join him in mid-January then we will move Lost Elvis through the Caribbean with the long term plan to bring it to Key West which is closer to work for Randy. Lost Elvis is still in Shelter Bay, Panama (near Fort Sherman). Randy has four days off at Christmas which he'll use to visit the boat, start her up and check all the systems.