Jamaica to Panama and through the canal...

Departing Santiago de Cuba

According to the pilot the passage from Santiago de Cuba to Port Antonio, Jamaica, is a straightforward beam reach, in almost all of the trade wind season; that is unless you are in Kurukulla! We departed Santiago at 1400 on Tuesday expecting to arrive in Port Antonio, 120 miles SSW in the late afternoon of the next day after a simple overnight sail. It was not to be. Almost as soon as we left the Cuban coast behind the wind went to SSW and dropped to light and variable; and there it stayed for 24 hours before dropping away completely! We tacked the wind shifts all the way and in the last three hours had to resort to the engine in no wind conditions. Eventually, at 0200, we dropped anchor in the East Bay of Port Antonio, 36 hours after departure!

The paperchase on arrival in Jamaica!

Fortunately it was a simple entrance even in the pitch dark.

Next morning, after a brief swim, we set off into West Bay, berthed at the Errol Flynn Marina, and set about filling in the multitude of forms needed to get us officially into Jamaica, more than I have seen anywhere else! After visits from Public Health, Immigration and Customs we were finally in, all we had to do now was register with the Marina Authorities. That done it was time for a beer in the marina bar....

Errol Flynn Marina, Jamaica

The plan was to spend the following day, Saturday, sightseeing in Port Antonio before setting off for the south coast and Kingston on the Sunday morning. “The best laid plans” as they say! On Saturday morning I went to get some local cash from the Scotia Bank ATM; all went well until the machine counted the cash and invited me to retrieve my card and take my cash; neither appeared! We were now destined to stay until Monday morning so that I could go to the bank and retrieve my card. I was not the only one; there were four of us outside the bank, at 0830 on the Monday morning, on the same mission. To fill the time we spent Sunday visiting the beautiful beach at Frenchman's Cove; a private beach with bar and extensive gardens attached.

Frenchman's Cove. Great beach..

After the bank saga, on Monday morning, we were finally ready to go and at mid day we set off for Port Morant, the most easterly anchorage on the south coast of Jamaica. A beat northwards out of Port Antonio augured well for a fast reach eastwards to the eastern tip of Jamaica, but no, as we turned east so did the wind and we ended up beating to windward for the whole day, resorting to the engine late in the day in order to arrive not long after sunset. Another night entry saw us anchored at the northern end of the anchorage by 2030, near the Marine Police base (very safe), and waiting to see more of where we had anchored in the daylight of the next morning..

Morant Bay, a good anchorage.

In the event the bay was beautiful but a relatively early departure was needed if we were to make our next anchorage in daylight and so, after checking the propeller for ropes (we had had a close encounter with a fisherman's float in the half light of the night before; he usual clear plastic bottles tied together) we set off for Portland Kay, just south of Kingston. After a day of motor sailing, due to lack of wind, we anchored, at 1730, off of the idyllic sandy island of Big Half Moon Cay just as the sky turned black and the wind got up for the first time in the day. Great!

Anchored off Portland Cay

Our long awaited swim in the calm waters of the Cays was going to have to wait for another day! Within 10 minutes of anchoring we had 18 kts of wind and a thunder storm threatening! Just what we needed.

The following morning however made up for it. We were anchored in the midst of a mirror flat sea with the sun beating down on us from the azure blue sky of the very early morning. Paradise! Simon and Christoph swam ashore to go beach-combing (they are both avid collectors!) whilst I stayed aboard to do a bit of navigation planning for the next few days. By 0945 we were underway navigating back out of the reef and heading for Alligator Cay some 25 miles to the west; sadly under engine; there was no wind! We arrived 90 mins before sunset but with black clouds gathering to the east of us. Sure enough within 15 mins of anchoring the sky was black and the rain started, lasting until well after sunset! Just our luck. Novel though, to be anchored in the midst of nowhere with only a very few coral outcrops for company, some three miles offshore.

Sunset, Black River Bay

Next morning was somewhat better but what little wind there was didn't last. After a swim to the nearest outcrop and a bit of beach-combing we were ready to depart. We sailed off the anchor but it was not to last, 15 minutes later we were motoring west again in virtually zero wind, a situation that lasted most of the day; we were occasionally able to motor sail but only managed an hour or so of true sailing. By 1730 we were anchored in Malcolm Bay, just to the west of the mouth of Black River which is home to Jamaica's largest population of alligators! Strangely a post anchoring swim didn't seem to be a popular option!.

South of Negril Point

The anchorage was in the middle of a wide, deserted sandy bay. Superb but ,as we had to make Negril by Saturday (24 hours away) for Simon to catch his flight, loitering here for a day was not an option. The forecast for Friday was easterly winds, the reality was light wind from the west! Thus it was that we set off at 0900 to beat to windward the 30 miles to Negril in 10 kts of westerly wind and brilliant sunshine; not all bad.....

By 1800 we were entering Negril Bay and anchoring inside the reef. It was relatively calm but the wind had gotten up from the north east in the final hour and that had put up a decent chop, sending spray flying, as we entered the bay. Notwithstanding, we sailed onto the anchor and joined the other few yachts anchored there.

Negril Bay

Round the bay, tripper, catamarans were in abundance and we received the usual shouts and applause when they realised we were dressed in Kurukulla's normal dress style! Once they had departed for the night we settled down to supper, accompanied by the usual reggae beat echoing from the shore.

Next morning dawn ushered in a still and overcast morning. It was Simon's departure day so the morning was taken up with him preparing his travel-bags and the afternoon was spent over a leisurely lunch and a final farewell. From there Christoph and I returned onboard for a quiet night and a relaxing day at anchor the day after.

On the Monday morning the wind was steadily in the east and hence we were in no hurry to set off towards Montego Bay as our first overnight stop was only 20 miles away and would be a close reach. Wrong! We departed after lunch and set off for Lucea, a protected bay on the NW coast but as soon as we rounded North Negril Point the wind went on the nose yet again! It was a six hour beat to windward to reach Lucea and we arrived just after dark.

Montego Bay Yacht Club

Although the entrance was simple I attempted to cut the western headland a bit too fine (I should have put my glasses on when looking at the chart!) and we had a slight shock on entry when several vertical piles loomed out of the darkness ahead of us in what I was expecting to be a clear channel! Moral always look closely at the chart and don't trust a quick glimpse. A quick turn to port and the problem was solved but also a lesson learnt; keep your reading glasses around your neck when navigating in darkness!

The birthday celebrations

After a quiet night at anchor in the large but tranquil bay at Lucea we set off next morning for the marina at Montego Bay. We had phoned ahead and booked a berth for two nights to ensure we were alongside in order to facilitate re-victualling, departure clearances and celebrating my birthday etc. Although my birthday was not until the Friday, officially, we opted to celebrate on the Thursday night as it was already the actual day in UK and time was pressing for us to depart for Panama. After a trip to the local supermarket and a very enjoyable celebratory dinner in the club (marked by a chorus formed of all the waiting and bar staff singing “Happy Birthday to you”; very embarrassing!) we set off on the Friday morning with a slight hangover and the intention to get a good nights rest back in Negril Bay before setting off for Panama early next morning.

One handed steering!

The first part of the plan worked well, we got an excellent nights sleep in the Negril anchorage; the only minor problem was that we woke the day after to a completely windless morning! Although we weighed anchor at 0800 we had barely cleared the bay by mid day! “Hoist the iron foresail”. We motored for the next 8 hours on a calm and windless sea before the wind finally set in from the east at 2000, just in time to make serving dinner more of a challenge! By 2200 we had 15-20kts of wind and were doing 7+ knots. Much better, even if the sea was on the beam causing us to roll heavily. Three days later and we were only 60 miles short of the Canal Entrance, our prognosis was that we would arrive in the early to mid morning; it was then that the wind dropped away and left us rolling heavily in a very light NE breeze of 6 kts or so.

Arriving Colon, Panama

Far from ideal. We kept going and altered course to make best speed in the light winds but by 1000 next morning we still had 30 miles to go and were much further east than we had intended. An hour later we gave up the battle and hoisted the “iron foresail” for a second time and motored directly towards the harbour entrance at Puerto Colon. By 1600 we were through the harbour entrance and heading for “The Flats”, the anchorage where all small vessels are required to wait whilst they arrange their passage, or so we thought! On arrival in “The Flats”we had one tanker for company and not a single other small craft! Obviously something had changed! A quick search on the internet (thank goodness for the internet) and we discovered that the Panama Yacht Club had been demolished and a new waiting area, in the vicinity of Shelter Bay, had been established in the far north western corner of the harbour, 2.75 miles away. Forty minutes later and we were anchored amongst 10 other boats in the “New Flats” and preparing supper in comfort, in contrast to the rolling motion of the past 5 days.

Not bad for 15 months in the water

Next morning I made a quick phone call to Shelter Bay Marina, which is now the centre of small boat transit management. Within two minutes we had a berth arranged into which we moved at 1000. From here it was Immigration and the Port Captain's office to get legally into Panama and a “Cruising Permit” to allow us to stay in Panamanian waters for more than 72 hours. After three hours we had still not achieved either! The Port Captain arrived for work at 1145 but the Immigration official (who looked barely old enough to be in long trousers) was leaving at 1230, and, you've guessed it. We needed the papers from the Port Captain before we could complete Immigration and to make matters worse the Cruising Permit had to be collected from Colon, an hours drive away or pay US$50 extra for the Port Captain to collect it for us … we paid! Both the Immigration officer and the Port Captain stated that they would be in office next day from 0800. We arrived at 0900 and they arrived at 1100 and 1130 respectively, time means nothing in Panama unless you miss your transit booking, then it gets expensive. We met a couple who had paid for their transit, US$800 plus $300 “extras”, only to suffer an engine failure and miss their slot. In the wake of their engine repair they had insufficient funds to pay again for a revised transit and were stuck between a rock and a hard place!

Having arrived in the evening of the 9^th of April it was the 10^th before we could get started on the process of organising a transit. For simplicity we opted to use an agent for booking our transit. In the great scheme of things his US$ 300 fee didn't seem that bad! We made contact on the morning of the 10^th with Erick Galvez, one of the more highly recommended agents. He replied immediately with a questionnaire that we completed and returned. Before you can book a transit it is necessary to have your vessel inspected and measured, this booking was his first task. The earliest inspection date available was in the morning of Friday the 12^th of April. The inspector duly arrived at 1230, spent a convivial 45 minutes with us, measured Kurukulla's length over all protrusions, issued us our SIN (Ship Identification Number) and departed saying that we would have a transit date by that evening. Good to his word Erick came back with an earliest transit date of Sunday 21 April; 9 days hence! Although we would have preferred an earlier transit this was not too disappointing as we had already decided to haul out and re-antifoul Kurukulla's bottom either before or after the transit; the delay made our mind up for us.

But here was the problem....

We would haul out at Shelter Bay Marina. By now the marina office was closed and hence first thing next morning I was on the doorstep to arrange the haul out. The problem was that the “lady what does” the arrangements was not working Saturday but would be in tomorrow and “No, it was not possible to haul out today because she was not here to arrange it”. Sunday morning I was again on the marina office doorstep at 0800 and yes she was there. Unfortunately there were no slots to haul out before Tuesday morning and sadly we had missed an available slot the day beforeSaturday. I won't repeat what I muttered under my breath! Even now hauling out was still worthwhile, it just meant we would have to work harder and faster to get all the underwater work done in time for a Thursday relaunch (Friday was a public holiday; just our luck!). The fallback was relaunching Saturday but to my mind that was cutting things too close with our transit booked for the day after.

Plans, however, are a basis for change! On hauling out all initially looked well but on closer inspection it was obvious that our Cutlass Rubber bearing in the P bracket, the bracket that supports the propeller under the hull, was well worn out. Our time in the aggressive marine growth of Trinidad had taken its toll. A layer of calcium had built up on the propeller shaft and effectively machined away the bearing. A new bearing was needed which requires removing the shaft and that in turn means changing the stern seal as well. Both were original to when I bought Kurukulla in 2006 so they had lasted well. The problem now was finding spares in Panama. The local chandlery, operated by Lloyd, has a very limited stock and almost nothing in metric sizes. Lloyd himself is a very willing guy and spent almost a whole day researching all the suppliers in Colon and Panama City, to no avail.

Re anti-fouled and almost ready but .....

Ultimately I had to resort to inviting a very good friend, Mike, who lives in London, to act as forwarding agent. I ordered the pieces via the internet, from 3 different companies in UK, on Thursday 18^th of April; for them to be delivered to him and for him then to consolidate them into one package and forward it to Panama by FedEx. All of this over the Easter weekend! Our plan to transit the canal on Sunday was obviously a non starter and very fortunately Erick, our agent, managed to defer the transit, at no additional cost, to a date yet to be confirmed. The advantage of using an agent!

In the ensuing days we removed the prop shaft and old bearing plus the stern seal, re-antifouled the hull, had the topsides polished and set about other general maintenance onboard. We had plenty of time on our hands! Fortunately the marina had a decent bar/restaurant and swimming pool. There are some compensations! One slightly alarming aspect was meeting up with a Canadian crew who had been set upon by pirates/rogue fishermen, off the coast of Ecuador, as they sailed south towards Panama. They were first approached by two small boats 30 miles off the coast; the boat crews requested beer and money before departing, not an unusual event; only this lot came back with two more boats some time later. Fortunately the yacht crew escaped unharmed, if traumatised.

They had sent out a “Mayday” call on Chanel 16 and fired off red distress flares but all to no avail. The pirates rammed their boat several times, broke several windows but were unable to get inside the boat, where the crew had taken refuge behind metal grills fitted to the hatches (these they had had made before leaving Canada). Eventually the pirates departed taking all the upper deck electronics, which they had wrenched from their housings, probably wrecking them in the process, and anything else of value that they could find on the upper deck of the yacht. Fortunately Ecuador is not on our route!

And we think we have problems! Their keel is completely rotten!

Of the three different suppliers; the two forwarded the parts via Royal Mail and these arrived Easter Saturday; unfortunately the one piece forwarded by FedEx arrived the Tuesday after (next “working day” service!). Within 2 hours of the final piece arriving Mike had them consolidated into a single package and back in the hands of the FedEx depot at Feltham, London, it was now 1430 Tuesday. Via their tracking system we received a forecast delivery in Panama of “Thursday 25^th April by 1800”. Needless to say Thursday 25^th came and went with no spares delivered. According to the tracking system it took 24 hours to get the 4700 miles from UK to Panama, via Memphis and Bogotá, and arrived in Panama at 1510 local on Wednesday. The next 40 miles took 47 hours with the package finally arriving at 1430 on Friday; notwithstanding the fact that we had paid extra for “FedEx International Priority, Express Package Service”! I am not sure what our extra investment bought?

New bearing in and prop like new!

With the parts in hand, on Saturday, we set about fitting the new bearing and stern seal. Bearing first. It was an excessively tight fit and after many hours of sanding it down and using a puller to get it into the P bracket we had it 70% in. The problem was, no matter what we did, it was neither going in any further nor coming out! We and it were stuck! There had to be a reason...and for a few hours it eluded me; no mention at all of the P bracket in the Boat Handbook; then “the penny dropped”. Although the shaft was 30mm diameter the bearing housing was not 45mm diameter as we had measured, it was 1¾ inches, which equates to 44.45mm i.e. just over half a millimetre less. Hence the one we had had delivered from UK was never going to fit! Why an Italian boat builder installed a P bracket that requires a bearing in a mixture of metric and imperial measurements goodness only knows but that is what it is! Net result we were going to have to order another bearing, of the correct dimensions, from UK, via a courier. Oh joy... I wont tell you what I said but the air was blue!

On the move back in!

At 0300 on the Monday morning (0900 UK time) I was seated at the computer talking to Tom at Exalto Bearings in Derby UK; he was very efficient and fully understood my problem. Within 2 hours a second pair of bearings were on their way via DHL; two in order to give me a spare; just in case! DHL were forecasting delivery for Friday, four days hence, so not too severe a delay. Now to sit and wait.... By 0130 local, on Wednesday, DHL web tracking showed it was already in Panama awaiting clearance; amazing; however, Wednesday was May 1^st, a public holiday, hence nothing was going to move again until start of the working day on Thursday. “Every time a coconut” or should I say a public holiday! Thursday came and went as did Friday … no bearings …. “Clearance delays” being the excuse. The only entertaining part of the day was sighting an alligator swimming silently around the marina in between the boats. No swimming here then (other than in the pool)!

First thing on Monday morning I contacted the bearing suppliers and enlisted their help to “kick” (their words not mine) DHL. Suddenly, an hour later, I started to get messages from DHL saying it was on the move! Later in the day the marina office also informed me they had received an e-mail stating delivery would be Tuesday; eight days after collection and six days after it arrived in Panama. Amazingly it actually arrived, at 1230 Tuesday! Moral of the tale...for deliveries to Panama use FedEx; never DHL. By 1600 we had the new bearing in (a tight push fit) and decided to delay installing the new stern seal until the following day when the light in the depths of the after cabin would be better. By mid-day Wednesday all was back together and ready for relaunch the following day, all that was needed now was a new date for a transit!

Evening still in Shelter Bay Marina

The relaunch went well as did the sea trials, no leaks, no problems. 7 knots recorded under engine where the minimum required for a canal transit is 5. Erick, the agent, worked some sort of magic and got us a transit for the Saturday, two days hence! By the time we came back from the sea trials the fenders (8 large) and warps (4 x 120ft x 1”dia!) for the transit were already awaiting us on the jetty! By close of play Friday all was ready. Andrew, a member of the Canadian Coastguard, had volunteered to act as a line handler and the agents provided the other two ($100 a head), that with Christoph made the four necessary. All was set.....

Canal advisor arrives.

By midday Saturday our two local line handlers had boarded and we set off for the Flats anchorage where we had to anchor and await further instructions from Port Control, plus the arrival of our Canal Adviser. From here it is mandatory to call Cristobal Signal Station and report your readiness to transit. In return you are given an arrival time for your Adviser, ours was due at 1630, so no move before then.....

Good to their word the “Advisor” arrived at 1630 and we were in the first lock by 1730, out of the top lock at Gatún by 1915; after which we were required to moor to a large (3m dia) mooring buoy for the night.

Our rafting partner comes alongside

Fortunately our “buddy” yacht, with whom we were rafting for the lock transits, went alongside the buoy and were were able to go alongside them, bow to stern. It saved us the worry of touching the buoy! Why the canal authorities do not put in half a dozen yacht moorings I cannot understand. Mooring to a 50 ton, circular, mooring buoy is far from ideal for a yacht! Especially at £1000 a transit! Before departure our “Advisor” for the following day (he was on our buddy for the first section) instructed us to be ready for the off at 0730. I am sitting writing this at 0900 and still no sign of him! For an organisation that needs to run like clockwork, if accidents are to be avoided, their timekeeping sucks!

In the Gatun canal locks ...

Once we had the adviser onboard we set off at a very leisurely pace, 4kts, across Gatún Lake towards the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks. As we approached the Gaillard Cut (the canal created to connect the man made Gatún Lake to the sea) we again had to drift for an hour plus to allow an LPG carrier to clear the cut coming in the opposite direction. For dangerous cargoes like LPG they do not allow other traffic to pass in the opposite direction.

In the Gatun canal locks ...

Eventually we reached the Pedro Miguel lock and, after a relatively painless descent (other than me having to kick the adviser responsible for the evolution to get him off his mobile phone and overseeing what was going on),

In the Gatun canal locks ...

we then moved to the Miraflores locks where by 1815, and only two hours behind schedule, we found ourselves back at sea level.

Gatun Lake....

By 1845 we were off the Balboa Yacht Club where we were required to drop off the two agency line handlers and the equipment they had provided. 

It was also here where the adviser was due to be collected by pilot launch, that took another 40 minutes to arrive!

In the channel leading to Miafiores locks

This was after I had threatened to land the adviser at the yacht club if the launch did not arrive within the next 5 minutes, it miraculously turned up.

Miafiores locks

With no hint of apology for delay he departed leaving us to head for the Flamenco Marina, where we had pre booked a berth, some 3 miles away.

Exiting the last of the Miafiores locks

Needless to say, when we arrived in the marina, in the pitch dark, and after calling three times on Ch10 (the marina frequency), there was no sign of the promised boat that was supposed to meet us. We stooged around the marina for 20 minutes and were just about to choose our own berth when the boat finally turned up and guided us to an empty berth. Safely alongside we settled down for a evening beer, Andrew then departed and Christoph and I retired to our cabins for a well earned rest.

Approaching Panama City

Monday morning dawned with the marina staff knocking on the hull inviting me to go and log in at the marina office ASAP. Given their disinterest the night before I was in no hurry! Later in the day we headed into Panama City to collect a new outboard motor for the dinghy, its predecessor having died in Jamaica and been sold to a mechanic in Shelter Bay. The skyline of Panama is truly amazing, skyscrapers too numerous to count, some housing offices and others apartments. That said there are also very extensive and desperately dilapidated slums on the outskirts of the skyscraper city; it is no wonder that Panama City has a reputation as a dangerous place to be in at night; some of the people here are living right on the edge.

Panama City skyline from the Uber

Tuesday held a new surprise. Part way through the morning I noticed that the batteries were not charging despite it being a bright, sunny, day. It was obvious our new'ish 160W solar panel was doing nothing. A quick investigation with the multi meter showed that there was nothing arriving at the regulator from the panel. My assumption was that, being a new panel, the problem must lie with the wiring connecting the two. Two hours later, having checked everything twice I was still no closer to finding the root of the problem. Out of curiosity I opened the waterproof connection box on the underside of the panel and eureka, two of the three “soldered” connections were not soldered but had only been touching for the past few weeks. A combination of movement and age had broken the connection. So much for Chinese quality control! Ten minutes with a soldering iron and the problem was solved, 10 amps going into the battery! Unfortunately the time this had taken put us back a day on our departure.

Departing Panama (the first time)

On Wednesday we set ourselves the task of getting at least a paper chart for the Galapagos Islands so that if the opportunity arose we could sail through the islands without stopping. That achieved we took our Uber to the largest supermarket in town and stocked up on everything we thought we would need for a month at sea; from fresh veg to toothpaste! All of this was shipped back to the boat courtesy of a charming and incredibly helpful Uber driver and was stowed in the depths of Kurukulla. Thereafter it was a celebratory dinner ashore and an early night.

The following morning we watered ship, moved to the fuelling jetty to fill up with diesel and then on Thursday, May 16^th, we set off for the Marquesas Islands about 4500 miles away.

The reason we came back!

After two hours of motoring in a flat calm we were at last blessed with some decent wind and at times recorded 8kts on a close reach. Fantastic but it didn't last. The night fell and the wind eased, by midnight we were doing 2-3kts and that is how it stayed until morning. With Christoph sleeping down below and trying to shake off the beginnings of what looked like a flu bug I was on watch and trying to eke out the best speed possible in the light wind conditions.

It was then I noticed that one of the lower shrouds (wires that hold the mast straight), on the port side, had failed; holding on by a few strands! Not a great situation! Returning to Panama was a “no brainer” but to do so meant motoring the 80 miles back over the ground we had already covered. Not quite the start we had hoped for! To make matters worse, as we motored back and just as the sun was setting, we found ourselves negotiating our way through a very large field of floating debris. It mostly consisted of baulks of timber and old tree trunks, some of them large enough to do us significant damage. They seemed to be the residue of logging operations, brought down river by the torrential rain we had had 12 hours earlier and the thunderstorms that had been going on all day and night. Fortunately by slaloming through we managed to avoid all but a couple of smaller pieces which were semi submerged. Not good to have one of those pass through the propeller, damaging it; that would be all we needed!

By 0300 we were back in the Flamenco Marina, tied up in the berth we had left 36 hours before. No one noted our arrival and we settled for a night's sleep before starting to resolve our problem. Later that morning, after several hours of quizzing all and sundry, we had drawn a blank. There was not a rigger or rigging company to be found anywhere in Panama, notwithstanding the fact that it stands at one of the worlds major crossroads.

Guess where?

The only solution was to order the replacements from UK. Sunday was a day when no progress could be made other than measuring the rigging we needed to replace. I had decided to replace all four lower shrouds and leave the intermediates and cap shrouds for when we were in New Zealand or Australia where greater support could be obtained. Monday morning, at 0300, again found me on the phone to UK, this time calling rigging suppliers trying to find the company who could respond the fastest. The winner of the competition was Jimmy Green Marine in Seaton, Devon. Their senior rigger, Peter, and salesman, Jason, could not have been more helpful; within 4 hours the order had been placed and less than 24 hours later the new rigging had been produced and was ready to consign to Panama via FedEx. Impressive service!

View of Flamenco Marina from the masthead

All that was left to do now was to wait and track the package on FedEx. Wednesday dawned a grey, rainy day, just the sort of weather to fill you with enthusiasm! Thursday much the same. Friday morning I awoke to a message from FedEx timed at 0902 telling me the package had reached Panama but was now subject to “Clearance delays”. Nothing new there then! What was new was the next message at 1347 telling me it was now in Bogota, Columbia! Whatever they are doing it is not what was intended! Three messages later, at 1700, I was informed that it was again back in Panama, awaiting clearance but by now of course it was too late for clearance on the Friday and so we will have to wait for the weekend to pass. Goodness knows what news Monday will bring!

The new rigging + courtesy flags for the Pacific arrive..

Answer nothing! On Tuesday morning I was back on the phone at 0300 asking Jimmy Green to "kick" FedEx. It worked! Six and a half hours later, at 0930, the rigging arrived; after crossing the palm of the driver with $4.25 and customs with $10 it was mine to install. By mid day Tuesday we were back ready to go. All that was needed now was to top up with water, victuals and fuel. It is now 1100 Wednesday and we are ready to depart. More when we arrive in the Marquesas..........