03/23/2006 - Down in Paradise - Isla Linton, Panama

We did it! We had a successful two-day transit of the canal. We could not have done it without the help of our sharp crew: brother Christopher, buddy Drew, fellow boaters Dana & Dwight, firstmate Cathy and myself. After the transit we spent the night at Shelter Bay Marina, just across the bay from Colon. ($47.50 a day- very expensive) There we dropped off Dana and Dwight so they could return to their boats in Balboa. And we picked up our next crew, Christine, who had just flown in from NYC. We pushed out to Isla Linton, Panama, our first leg of a 70 mile trip to the San Blas Islands. The sail was for the most part smooth until our approach. That is when I suffered what we call a little boat bite. I took a fall that cut my foot and toe. We quickly dropped anchor and with the aid of fellow cruisers who owned a car we drove one and a half hours to the nearest medico. Nine stitches were needed and our journey to the San Blas Islands was put on hold.

The Caribbean sea has a very different feeling than the Pacific. The most prominent feature are the trade winds. Northeast winds that can reach knots that make sailing very uncomfortable. Another very significant feature of the Caribbean Sea is the seconds between the swell. In the Pacific the swells are generally longer, 10 to 12 seconds apart. Here they seem to be 6 to 8 seconds. A small but very big difference when the swells get larger than the seconds. There also seems to be a plethora of cruisers on this side. So far mostly Europeans.

But now we wait. The foot I hope will take a week or two to heal and than we push on to the north. Our next destinations are Isla Providencia in Colombia, and Roatan, and then Belize.

Here is a picture of some artwork I did while while in Golfito, Costa Rica. Fellow cruisers painted their boat logos on the wall at the Land Sea Yacht Club. This is my boat logo.


The following are pictures of the canal transit and our stay at Isla Linton.

In Balboa, Panama our mooring was the closest to the bridge “the Americas”. Drew is taking down our new shower bag.


While waiting for our own transit we paid a visit to the Miraflores locks. Our friend Walter treated us to an amazing dinner at the restaurant situated atop the lock along with his family and friends. Thanks, Walter!




While Drew was here we rented a car... here is Mario himself at the wheel.



On the first day of our canal transit we had a little bit of drama. Just as we entered the lock and were getting into position behind a huge freighter the ropes securing the freighter in the middle of the lock snapped! It sounded like a live cannon! The huge ship started to slide back towards us. With everyone screaming at us to back up, we managed to stay out of the way and get to the next set of locks safe and sound. Here is a picture of that freighter that nearly crushed us. In addition to sharing the first lock with the freighter, we side tied to a tug boat. In the second set of locks we side tied to a big sport fishing boat - no drama in the second lock, thank goodness!



Unfortunately the ACP ( panama canal authority) delayed us on the second locks and we were forced to spend the night on the lake of Gatun. Here is Chris and Drew getting the boat tied up to a mooring.


Day two brought more excitement with a rain storm that made the day very unique. There is a viewing area at each lock for tourists to take pictures. The crowd cheered and roared at the antics of Drew and Christopher who were hamming it up while tending to the lines. Chris took a bow and responded back with a jubilant, ¨They love me!”



These are the locks opening up in front of us. It is difficult to see, but this shot shows our first exciting glimpse of the Caribbean Sea just a mile or so past this last lock.



Captain Jake at the wheel. Dana is busy handling the lines and also hamming it up a bit.



Here is Christine and the guys in the dinghy while exploring the island of Linton.


This is Drew showing everyone how to relax and not be a “show off”.


And last but not least my poor foot and toe. In turned out to be ten stitches. Don’t look too close. It may freak you out. Two of the stitches go through the nail.



Adios,
Captain Jake, email replies to jasonpruette@yahoo.com