THE GOOD NEWS AND THE BAD NEWS

After an arrival drink and setting our watches to Panama time (GMT -5 hours) we all fell into bed only to be up a few short hours later at 06:30.  We radioed for permission to manoeuvre in the anchorage so that we could raise the mainsail and genoa and check them for damage.  With the boom tied off to one side we were concerned this might be difficult but it all went smoothly and we were very happy to find no damage to either sail.  We headed into Shelter Bay Marina and moored alongside.  Our first shock was to find that due to being 86’ instead of 85’ we were in the next price bracket and would have the pleasure of paying an eye-watering 70% more for our berth for those extra 12 inches.  Heavy negotiations with the marina fell on deaf ears.

With the benefit of internet and telephone communication again, Miranda and Robin immediately set about obtaining all the parts we need to get Spiip back in full action.  The first bad news was to be told that Harken had no winches in stock anywhere in the world and that it would be a minimum of 16 weeks to get them made up and delivered.  We were all astonished that these winches cannot be easily replaced and can only imagine that racing yachts must have to keep their own stock at hand.  We were gutted and feeling that the whole Pacific trip was in jeopardy.  Not to be defeated the lines were hot and our luck turned when we discovered a friend of the owner knows “Mr Harken” and he is trying help.

Halls Spars are flying someone in to check the rigging on Tuesday.  There is no apparent damage but safer to be sure when we are about to cover so many thousands of miles.   All other necessary parts are being sourced and so we are hoping our trip is still a go.

DISASTER STRIKES

How quickly situations can change and how unexpectedly.  Saturday afternoon we were all commenting on what a pleasurable, smooth passage we were having.  It was about 04:30 on Sunday morning, my watch (it would be!), winds were behind us at around 25 knots with occasional gusts up to 30/31 knots, seas were moderate with 2 metre waves and the genoa was goose-winged and poled out.  I had just moved from the port to the starboard helm checking for ships on the horizon (the nav screens at the helms had given up the ghost again).  I heard the foresail slam and saw the autopilot had failed.  I took the helm and Robin appeared up on deck quickly followed by Nic and Miranda.  In the pitch black night we were all disorientated and at our lowest ebb at that time in the morning resulting in crash gybing, the spinnaker pole breaking in two and losing a couple of winches before the boom could be brought under control.  In daylight we tried to assess the damage but realised it would have to wait until we were at anchor.  The hydraulics (likely problem with the autopilot) are buried under the dinghy and we didn't want to put any unnecessary strain on the rig while still sailing.

With nearly 500 miles left to Panama and no autopilot we were reduced to hand steering to the compass, tiring in the following sea.  We decided to cover our usual watches but in pairs; an hour and half was more than enough at the helm and it meant there was someone to take over if one needed to leave the wheel. 

Nearly 48 hours later we approached Port Cristobal, Panama, feeling it was prudent to anchor for the rest of the night and go into Shelter Bay Marina in daylight.  The last few hours kept us occupied keeping an eye on the myriad of ships arriving and departing from this busy hub especially as we lacked the benefit of charts with radar and AIS displays on deck.  Miranda stayed at the chart table inside relaying information to the helmsman.

DELAYED DEPARTURE

We were up early on Wednesday morning, ready to set sail for Panama only to find the navigation screens were not working!  The technician had to come back on board, twice, and believes there is a problem with the Furuno black box.  After hours of tinkering Robin managed to get the screens on deck displaying the chart and our position but nothing else is working.  We were finally ready to leave just after 2pm.  Light winds necessitated the huge spinnaker (480 sq m!) being raised and remaining up until half way through day two of our passage.

We have agreed our watch system, 3 hours on, 9 hours off.  Nic has 09:00-12:00, 21:00-00:00 and I have 03:00-06:00, 15:00-18:00.  At night we wear lifejackets and safety harnesses.  The vast aft deck of Spiip is fantastic for boogieing to music on our Ipod to keep awake.  Our days are spent reading and chatting in the cockpit.  The fishing rod is always out in the hopes of catching a fish and we’ve hooked a couple of bonito but thrown them back in the hopes of getting something that’s better eating.

RAINY SPELL IN MARTINIQUE

Sadly it was pouring with rain on Sunday morning for Nic’s birthday so no pre-breakfast swim, indeed no swim at all.  After a leisurely morning we set sail for Martinique and covered the 26 miles in less than 3 hours in time to have tea and cake.  A delicious steak dinner rounded off a great day.

Monday we were back in action.  Miranda and I rented a car and set off for the supermarkets to finish provisioning the boat.  It was somewhat of a frustrating trip as stocks were low after the weekend and holidays.  Despite that we filled the car and have somehow managed to fit it all into the lockers, refrigerator and freezer.  We even topped up with more today from the market.  We certainly won’t be going hungry on our forthcoming journey!

Robin and Nic have been working on more technical jobs.  We’re waiting for the return of one of the navigation screens which has been removed for repair.  The two spinnakers were back this morning and have been stowed in the sail locker. 

If all goes well we will be able to leave for Panama early tomorrow morning.  We plan to stop in the San Blas islands for a few days before transiting the canal around the 19^th May.