Repairs are never what you expect. After leaving St. Lucia we had difficulty using our whisker pole. It could not easily be pulled into the aft position to hold the sail open. When examining the mount in Santa Marta after arrival, it was found that the car had been mounted upside down in Martinique by the rigger from Caribe Marine! In addition, our second auto pilot was completely dead and after several hours of investigation by the technician in Santa Marta, one connection had been disconnected. So much for getting professionals!
The 5 day (900 nm) passage from St. Lucia to Santa Marta was quite rough with seas of 4- 5 meters (12- 16 feet) and lots of wind. Our entrance to the bay in front of Santa Marta was accompanied by gusts of over 40 knots (46 mph) of wind. Even our entrance to the harbor had at least 20 knots but calmed down to 10-15 (20-25 mph) when docking . We were also accompanied by a booby for the last 30 miles. He was so comfortable that he wouldn’t leave until we docked!
Santa Marta, Colombia
One evening out at a local restaurant with friends (boats Cavatina and Sana).
Cartagena, COLOMBIA
Over the weekend we took a bus with several other rally members and made a trip to Cartagena. What a lovely colorful city with wooden balconies and bright flowering plants hanging into the narrow streets.
Castillo de San Felipe- 16TH CENTURY FORT
What impressed me the most, however, was the poverty and slums, which were visible along the entire route, from Santa Marta to Cartagena.
San Blas Islands, Panama
We had a nice 2 day passage to the San Blas Islands, Panama, home to the Kuna Indians who make lovely ‘Molas’ which are embroidered and stitched layered fabric designs. They still lead a very simple life with minimal electricity although they apparently love their cell phones!
We spent 2 days enjoying the area at a nice pace and enjoyed snorkeling (infinite numbers of beautiful fish and healthy coral reefs) and having Sana and Celtic Star over for rice salad. If you ever imagined a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, you would find several in the San Blas.
We had an overnight passage to Shelter Bay, which is inside the first breakwater to the Panama Canal. We had to receive a VHF clearance from Cristobal Signal Station to enter the breakwater and proceed to the marina. There were dozens of ships inside and outside the breakwater waiting to transit the canal.
Preparing for the Canal and Galapagos
Our time in Shelter Bay was full! We still needed to lift out the boat and clean the hull for the Galapagos, and measure the boat and fumigate the inside for the Panama Canal. We were happy to arrive and get started!
The Adventures of SV JAN 