Newsletter December 2003

"I got better look’n again this year! "

Yes, we are back with another newsletter. In our last newsletter we were anchored in Colon Harbor, just outside the Panama Canal on the Caribbean side. Our plans were to sail north to Bocas del Toro soon after the canal transit. So far, we have been stuck here for three weeks with constant rain, and “I do mean rain.” When Pipe Dream’s water tanks are low, we can open them up and take on 100 gallons of rain water within twenty minutes.
We were finally fed up with the rainy weather and the crummy anchorage in Colon Harbor. Every day we had to fight the wind and waves just trying to get back and forth with our dinghy. Another irritant was constantly having to watch our backs while walking down any of the streets in Colon. Our guide book says a mugging in Colon is not only probable, it’s very likely. It was time to cut the anchor line and head for greener pastures and better weather. The weatherman said today was the time to go. We were provisioned and ready. We pulled the anchor, hoisted the main sail and headed out of Colon Harbor in a torrential rain squall with winds at 20 knots. Ugly, ugly, ugly! Once we made our way through the breakwater, things settled down somewhat and we thought the trip would be ok. We had made our break Two hours out, the stuff began to hit the fan. So much for the weatherman’s prediction! The once smiling crew of “Pipe Dream” was beaten up for thirty hours. The seas were very confused, large swells coming at us from all directions. It felt kind of like loosing a slapping match with an octopus. We sought what little shelter there was in the lee of Isla Veraguas and went to bed. Early the next morning we started on the 40 mile leg to Bocas del Toro. It only took thirty minuets of pounding into the saltwater without making any headway, and we turned back to the island. Another night at Isla Veraguas. On Day three we woke hours before sunrise to a star lit sky, not a breath of wind and flat calm seas. Adios, we are out of here. Our weather ordeal temporarily over, we motored six hours toward Bocas del Toro, and our first marina visit in two years.
We are continually painting a picture of our life cruising in paradise, throwing our cares to the wind, living the life everyone dreams of. Well, our trip from Colon to Bocas del Toro gives you a glimpse at the flip side of this life. This does not happen very often, but when it does, it sucks out loud, or as Jimmy Buffett says “another shitty day in paradise”.
If any of you want to experience the joy of cruising at sea in a large sailboat, but are stranded on dry land, here is how to go about it: Go downtown to your local do it yourself laundromat. Ask the attendant if you can climb into one of his large commercial washing machines. Have him turn it on and come back to check on you in about thirty hours. Remember, don’t sleep a wink while trying to hold on for dear life, wear hot bulky rubber coated rain gear, and to top it off, add a little nausea.
A week after our landfall in Bocas del Toro our good friends Jim and Gail Philo arrived by plane for a three week visit. Unfortunately, the weather did not always cooperate. We found out that the Bocas del Toro area does not have a true dry season. While the rest of Panama has a definite dry season between January and July, overcast skies and misty rain showers are an almost daily occurrence in Bocas for much of the year.
Our Christmas dinner was to be a potluck at the marina. On Christmas Eve day the marina put a whole pig on a spit and everyone had to sign up for “turn the pig” shift. Jim and I had the 2 to 4 AM shift on Christmas morning which was interrupted by a large earthquake at 2:35 AM. No damage in Bocas del Toro but lots of damage on the Pacific side of Panama. Thank God, the pig didn’t fall off the spit! The Christmas party started at 2 pm and lasted into the wee hours of the morning. After a very short night for ourselves and our visitors, we departed Bocas del Toro for the city of David and a 5 day inland trip through the mountains of northern Panama.
Our visitors, Jim and Gail, were very impressed with Panama’s beauty, and especially the fifty cent beer. Jutta and I led them through the Sendero de los Quetzales, better known as “Jutta’s death march”. The hiking trail starts atCerra Punta at an elevation of 6,300 feet. From there we climbed another 1000 feet to the ranger station and the entrance to the National Park. We then hiked seven hours through rain and cloud forests to the town of Boquete, elevation 3200 feet. With the exception of soar muscles we lived to hike another day. Great fun was had by all and we returned to Bocas del Toro on New Years Eve, and yet another party at the Marina. This life isn’t easy!
We bid our farewell to the Philo’s on January 4th and Jutta and I started planning our next adventure to be released at a later date.
Jutta and I wish everyone a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year.
In 2004 the Chinese are celebrating the “Year of the Monkey”. In the United States there is a rumor that George Bush will announce that 2004 is the “Year of the Pipe Dream”. Be the first one on your block to give to the “Pipe Dream Cruising Fund”. A dollar a day keeps Ferdy far away.
From the rain soaked decks of Pipe Dream
Jutta and Ferdy