Panama to Key West

Greetings blog followers....We are writing to you from a very delightful internet Café in Key West called “Sippin” .  The coffee is strong and rich and the atmosphere much like the town is very playful and vibrant.

Gearing up to leave the Panama after all the time we spent there gave us both a feeling of anticipation for the adventure ahead as well as a feeling of reverence for the all people we had met and the incredible places we had visited.  Our thanks especially to our friend Bolivar who together with his wife is a Sheppard for the street kids of Colon.  Our last days in Panama were filled with all the details of final boat prep as well as provisioning for the voyage north.

On March 17^th we finally untied from the slip at Shelter bay and headed for Isla Abajo northeast of Colon where we could have one last night enjoying Panama in natural surroundings.  There we anchored for the night and in the early morning we pulled anchor and began our journey north. 

Our departure was met with overcast skies and NNE winds so we began our voyage “hard on the wind” at a speed of 5 knots and heeled over at 30 degrees.  The feeling of weight and gravity is incredible at this point of sail. Everything you do feels like you have lead in your boots so even brushing your teeth is a considered move.  Over the next two weeks we would have nine days of “close hauled” sailing where the direction we wanted to travel was met by wind coming from that direction. 

Crossing the Caribbean Sea going north we did get a break with the current and on a few days made upwards of 150 NM in a 24 hour period.  We made great time in the beginning and in 8 days we had crossed the Caribbean Sea and arrived at the Yucatan Channel between Cuba and Mexico with only 300 NM to go to Key West.

The moment we reached the Yucatan Channel a monster cold front slammed us with huge waves and intense wind on the nose.  Within an instant we went from relatively calm seas and sunny skies to pelting rain and swirling winds with white caps coming at us. We dropped all sails aside from the stay sail and rode out the first pass of the storm as we maneuvered out of the freighter shipping lanes.

It was an intense ride for the next four days with times of 4 meter high seas and winds up to 35 knots. As we crashed through a wave the sound of it was like a shotgun as it careened past the hull.  At first the only direction we could travel was NW into the Gulf of Mexico opposite to the direction we wanted to go.  Once the storm abated we picked our way NE tacking and jibing most of the way to Key West with most days only gaining 50 NM or less toward our goal even though we clocked twice as much distance traveled on the log. 

Finally on day 12 the wind direction shifted slightly and allowed us to gain some much needed headway.  As it was Easter Weekend we decided to anchor off one of the keys near Key West and spend a day at rest and play.  We were visited by dolphins and curious seabirds and discovered a stowaway gecko on the deck who must have come in on the bananas we kept aft in the lazarette.  He later visited us again once we were settled in Key West and found a new home with his American cousins at the Marina..an illegal immigrant.

On April 2^nd we arrived in Key West and settled in at the Galleon Marina just off “Old Town” .

The Marina offered a safe haven and perfect launching place to explore the incredible color and history of Key West.  Aside from the fact that Key West is hugely expensive it is truly one of the funnest and most vibrant places we have visited in the US.  Live music spills out onto the street nightly and the most favored modes of transport for visitors is either cruiser bicycle or electric car both with easy rental from a variety of vendors. The contrast from the delicious solitude of the open ocean to the vibrancy of Key west was a perfect way to end this first leg of our journey.

Today we depart on leg two of four and are bound for Bermuda which we expect will take us three weeks with a brief stop in the Bahamas in the hopes of finding some playful spotted dolphins to swim with.  We will continue to track our progress and will check in again once we make landfall again in a few weeks.

With happy sailsCheers from Barbara Ann and Paul.