We have now spent three weeks at the Shelter Bay Marina, which is at the Atlantic entrance of the Panama Canal. We originally arrived on 2/4, departed for the San Blas Islands three days later, experienced a quick and adventurous break-down, returned to Shelter Bay and have been here ever since.
We've had some ups and downs during our stay. Initially, our break-down felt like walking into an emotional valley as we questioned our options for parts and repair. But valleys create peaks and the first peak moment occurred on 2/18 when our new cutlass bearing finally arrived in the mail. We also had the good fortune of meeting our newest cruiser friends, Nate and Nina, who kindly offered to assist with knowledge, tools and time.
As we began the process of setting the cutlass bearing, we quickly discovered that a block of wood and a hammer, unfortunately, provided only enough force to partially set the bearing, yet just enough to also make retrieval impossible. Although this sent us on a brief descent back into the depths of mechanical frustration, a trip to Colon for the purchase of a six-foot section of all-thread, nuts and washers, and the assembly of a homemade press, yielded ultimate success. The summiting of this peak moment was so exciting that Nate broke out his finest bottle of rum that evening for a celebratory toast!
On 2/20, with the cutlass bearing set and the propeller shaft, coupling, stuffing box and propeller back in place, we were ready to return from the hard and splash once again. Perhaps forgetting that we were on Panama time, it was another three days before we were lowered back into the water. We were eager to find out, and excited to confirm, that Traveler shifted into reverse, shifted into forward and was leak-free! We motored over to our assigned slip and kept a close watch for the next day. Everything looked good and we were eager to finally be on our way.
But for the weather.
For the past week, the winds have been blowing steadily from the northeast at 20-25 knots with 8-12' seas, also from the northeast; the exact direction toward which we need to sail.
So we began waiting once again, this time for a favorable weather window.
Meanwhile, we've had some crew changes. Lisa had joined us on January 2 in Costa Rica and stayed on board for 53 days. Thanks goes to Lisa for all her sailing help on deck and culinary creativity in the galley! Lisa will be missed until her next return.
We've also just picked up a couple hitchhiking crew members for the next leg of our trip, Jules and Luisa.
Jules is 26 years old and has been hitchhiking and sailing around the world for the past three years (a trip that was initially intended to be one year). So far he has explored Europe, Asia, Oceana, Polynesia and South America. Jules plans to crew with us from Panama to Colombia, Jamaica and the Bahamas before splitting off to make his way back home to Lyon, France by August.
Luisa is 24 years old and refers to herself as a "working digital nomad" who has been traveling full time for the past 18 months. Luisa spent three months in South Africa, and three months in Malta before continuing on to Italy, France, Switzerland and Austria. Luisa now plans to give travel-by-sailboat a try as she accompanies us from Panama to Cartagena, Colombia. Luisa hopes to be back home in Göttingen, Germany by summer.
Jules and Luisa moved on board last night as we planned for this morning's departure. The predicted easing of the wind and waves did not play out as expected overnight, which highlighted the fact that a need for repair is not the only cause for an unanticipated delay when traveling by boat. As eager as we are to move on, weather and safety must remain as our primary points of consideration. If the current four-day forecast holds, waiting one more day appears to be the smarter choice.
Occasionally, the Shelter Bay Marina hosts a musical trio to entertain guests. "Hotel California" is a regular number on their set list. While listening the other night, Ned said, "I feel like we are living at the Hotel California, where we can check out any time we like, but we can never leave."
Tomorrow, we hope to prove the lyric wrong.
Life at Shelter Bay
Yay for all of this (but especially tiny backgammon 😀)
Wow. Didn’t realize it was 3 weeks! I also didn’t remember how curly your hair is Tim, just like mine when long! Stay safe. Fair winds and travel!! ❤️