INSIGHTS: Diary of a Circumnavigation – 3. Ready for a Panamanian Adventure

In this third installment of their circumnavigation story, Rick Delfosse and Candy Wood voyage onwards from Turks and Caicos Islands to Panama, where they complete their transit paperwork before heading towards the San Blas Islands. Currently Rick and Candy are in the Pacific, but in this series of articles for INSIGHTS we follow the start of their circumnavigation, step by step, until we catch up with them as they circle the globe.

Published 2 years ago

Much preparation goes into getting ready for an offshore voyage. After having experienced a week of relaxation and exploration in the Turks and Caicos, we were checking the weather window (yet again), sending last minute e-mails and managing the extensive departure checklists, including safety, rigging, communications, navigation, provisioning and mechanical items.

Setting sail for Panama

Finally, it was time to leave the beautiful islands behind and set off for Panama, some 900 miles and eight days away! We assume “watch mode” with two teams alternating three hours on and off at night and four hours on and off during the day. The “off” watch tries to sleep in the heat and constant movement, while the “on” watch scans visually and by Radar and AIS for other boats (ships). Days come and go, books are read and movies watched, food is shared and sunset dinners become the gathering time for the crew. The motion is constant, the wind sometimes fluky and when necessary the engine is run all day and night.

We were passing through the well-known Windward Passage, heading from the outer islands of the Caribbean to the inner Caribbean Sea and Panama. A sharp lookout was necessary for ships, fishing boats and navigation in the strong currents. Favoring the Haiti side of the 50-mile-wide passage, we kept far off the Cuban coast and could just make out Cuba in the distance. We navigated past the offshore Cays of Jamaica and blasted toward Panama and the canal entrance. Ships appear, all converging on the Canal and Colon, Panama. We finally sight land, the mountains of Darien, and finally – we’ve arrived, a little soggy and tired, but satisfied and proud of our accomplishment.

Dodging freighters and sunken boats

We pass through the giant breakwaters that protect the entrance to the canal and Puerto Cristobal and hug the breakwater, traversing the bay into Shelter Bay Marina while dodging freighter ships and sunken boats.

 

Our new home is Shelter Bay Marina (some 20 miles out of Colon), a full service marina enabling check-in to Panama and preparation for the canal transit. It has a lot to offer and is a necessary stop for yachties. Shelter Bay boasts a good restaurant, happy hour with $1.51 “Panama” beers, a pool, laundry, hot showers, a shuttle bus to Colon for provisioning and parts, a great crew and full service boatyard.

On the way to Colon we encountered an Anteater walking across the road!

Shelter Bay Marina a contrast to Colon

We took a day trip on the Shelter Bay bus to seek provisions in Colon and were aghast at the state of the city and overall aggressiveness of the vendors and drivers. In the large public outdoor market we were set up by a team of pick pockets (one the diversion and the other the thief) – we luckily realized what was happening and they quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd. Every bank had a body armored, shotgun-toting security guard and every other corner had a para-military police team with uzis on motorcycles!

A side street in Colon where a Taxi driver suggested sternly we “Go back to the main road – you will get killed here!”

Back in the marina, we accomplished most of the items on our to-do list and had submitted all of our Canal paperwork (complete with payments) for our canal transit in six weeks time.

Now it was time to leave the security of Shelter Bay and head down the eastern coast of Panama towards the San Blas Islands (called Kuna Yala or Guna Yala by the indigenous natives), with over 360 remote islands that have been inhabited since the 1500s.

The Adventure Begins

Suddenly we’re back in the Atlantic Ocean, with light winds and large swells rolling us uncomfortably as we motor sail into the dying breeze. Our first stop is the ancient harbor of Portobello, a deep, safe harbor discovered by Columbus in 1502 with the ruins of several old Spanish forts around its perimeter. This was the harbor through which tons of Spanish gold and silver flowed to the Spanish Empire and Seville.

On one side of the harbor is a rather poor village with a handful of small bars, a restaurant or two and a nightclub playing popular music in Spanish at a very high volume. We found a very small family-owned waterfront restaurant where the food was quite good and we were able to tie up the dinghy.

Fort remnants in their original state left in ruins.
Thick fort walls and a gangplank over the moat.

The next day we explored the ancient ruins of the forts and hiked around an exclusive vacation compound with a beautiful lake.  The inland hike was through a truly impressive rainforest.

Remains of a church and village within the thick fort walls.
Serene lake in the rainforest for clients of the exclusive retreat.

As beautiful as Portobello was, we knew that another day of sailing down the Panamanian coast would bring us to the beautiful San Blas Islands, where we would be introduced to the friendly Kuna natives… and so the adventure continues.

A view of Portobello Harbor from the fort, with Independence in the crosshairs!

Rick Delfosse and Candy Wood
SV Independence

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About the Authors

Rick Delfosse has been in the marine industry for most of his life. He is a Coast Guard captain, National Safe Boating Council close-quarters boat-handling and open water boat handling instructor, Connecticut and New York certified safe boating instructor and a US Sailing-certified instructor. He also conducts on-the-water courses and classroom seminars on coastal and offshore cruising and boating skills. The owner of “Independence”, a pilothouse cutter, he has coastal and offshore racing experience.  He has known Candy since high school and reconnected with her some eight years ago. Her first sailing experience goes back to high school, when she and other brave friends went out on Rick’s fathers Herreshoff ketch on Rick’s first time out without Dad! Then he popped the question in every sailor’s heart… Want to sail around the world with me?

Candy Wood is a CPA, with a private practice in Connecticut. She has been a town Public Information officer and part of the Emergency Management Team and holds Wilderness First Aid, AED and CPR certificates. Her adventurous side led her to take sailing and basic keelboat courses, enjoy cruising on Long Island Sound and chartering in the Caribbean. After a 25 year sailing hiatus, she joined Indian Harbor Yacht Club and re-immersed herself in sailing, becoming chairman of the clubs “Focus on Sailing” program. Some years later Candy and Rick found each other again. After some coastal cruises and a horrible boat delivery from Bermuda to gain offshore experience, Candy got her US Coast Guard Captains License and agreed to join Rick on Independence and set off around the world.

Their Boat

“Independence” is a 43 foot Pan Oceanic Pilothouse Cutter designed by Ted Brewer. Although she appears to be a heavy boat, she is very responsive in light air with her medium displacement hull, sizeable keel and low center of gravity, she also copes well with strong winds and rough seas. She is spacious and comfortable, with lots of deck space, an ergonomic cockpit, a large saloon and pilothouse with inside steering, complete navigation station and sofa/bed.

Their Goal

To circumnavigate by boat and immerse ourselves in the culture and heartbeat of the places we visit. While we like to “buddy boat” with others, our visits are often longer and involve land travels to truly explore what makes each location or country “tick”, make lifelong friends and help where we can with donations of children’s books, school and art supplies, donated reading glasses, tee shirts and hats. We are not in a hurry (other than getting older) and are in awe of the places we have already seen and wonderful people we have met so far.

Follow their adventures at www.cruisingindependence.com and on Facebook at SV.Independence.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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