January 10, 2011
We left Stone Island at 3 pm yesterday, Sunday January 9.
What can I say but, for the first few hours I was so frightened, and there was some reason for my fright, but I am easily spooked on the boat.
To begin with the seas were rough. I tried steering while Bob put up sails but I was immediately seasick..yes …so great. Bob then put the boat on auto pilot. The auto pilot is very sensitive so it had the boat going in circles…that went on for a while but Bob did get the main sail up. After some more work with the auto pilot, Bob got it to behave. But by then I was so anxious and even with the sail up the boat was bouncing. Then Bob couldn’t get the GPS system to work. I have used our GPs’s but I had never worked with this one. There I am with Patches on my lap (he too is pretty anxious), trying to work the GPS. Bob is trying to help me but that didn’t work very well. After many false attempts through sheer dumb luck I had our trip charted. And we were off.
What a dark night it was. Bob had to climb around in the dark trying to get the lines straightened out. The wind kept changing direction so he was doing a lot with the sails. It was really chilly. He had on sweat pants, a heavy woolen sweater and a jacket.
At about 7 am I took over as everything seemed to be working well. The seas were much calmer and so was I. I had managed to get some sleep, so I was feeling good. Bob slept for about an hr and was fine. We didn’t reach our first destination which was San Blas, until about 2 pm. When Bob shut off the engine, the bilge pump was pumping and wouldn’t quit. I had heard it the night before but when I mentioned that I was hearing a clanking Bob assumed it was just the diesel. Luckily the pump hadn’t burned out so he switched it off. That means we check the bilge for water and turn it on manually.
Into the dinghy and off to shore. We were anchored in Malanchen Bay near San Blas.
We saw some restaurants but when we neared they had nets protecting the swimming area. We were so tired that we got Patches ashore and let him run for about 15 minutes and then we were back on the boat. We ate on board and it was a good meal. Bob was asleep by 7 and I wasn’t far behind. I kept waking to all the new sounds. At about 5 am a woman came on the Marine Radio…oh she was drunk. After a few minutes of her singing, someone shut her down. You on not be on channel 16 unless you have an emergency…I think she thought it was her singing debut.
January 11
Up at 7 am to take Patches to shore. Yesterday he went 25 hr without a bathroom break! We played with him on the beach for about a half hour and then back into the dinghy.
We all hate the dinghy. Bob and I both had wet butts today. Patches fights me when I pick him up to put him into the dinghy. But when Bob is getting the dinghy ready to leave the boat, Patches is right there ready to go. We are afraid to take him off his leash when we are onshore…he would likely run off never to be seen again.
On our trip so far we have seen whales, dolphins and many birds. One whale surfaced right beside the boat.
This morning we set sail in lovely conditions. The sea was flat and what a glorious morning it was. The bay was circled by palm trees and low hills. The mists were rising off the water, and the only sound was the lapping of waves.
Of course with no wind we motored. Bob put up the main sail to stabilize the boat and off we went. Oh yes the bilge pump is not working again. Who knows?
Moments after we set out, I went below only to smell rubber burning. Off came the engine cover,,,I now know how to do that. No sign of smoke. We search everywhere and find nothing. Bob decided that it was a piece of engine insulation that had fallen into the engine.
Today we should get to Guayabitos for the night. It is a favourite spot for Canadians.
I must comment on Bob. He just loves this life. Seeing all the sea creatures, has him so excited. Now that at this moment the boat is working well he just loves to sit and watch the water. Mind you seeing all the whales so close is thrilling.
As for me, I am feeling much better today. I have taken no medication for seasickness today and I am okay.
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