TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums General Caribbean Days 25-31 Passage to San Blas

The internet is aggrevatingly slow here so I'll just post the text now and edit in the photos when we get to Colon on the 25th.

Jan 11, And we’re off
I awoke startled at 5:30 am, suddenly realizing I had left my snorkeling gear in the hotel when I checked out yesterday; we were scheduled to leave the dock at 9ish so I quickly grabbed a shower and some coffee and took the bus back to the hotel where, with the help of the staff, I was able to retrieve my gear. Trendy came by to see us off and wish us well, then we hauled up the dingy and cast off our lines.
We motored around the bay with the other boats awaiting the official start of the rally; there was a turning mark just off Casteries, which seemed kind of silly, but the St. Lucia government had been very welcoming to the fleet so it was only appropriate to give them the spectacle yachts rounding the mark in full view of the cruise ship in port.
Although I have much more in common with Homer Simpson than the famous Greek philosopher, here I am for the start of Skyelark’s Pacific Odyssey. The start of a passage always gives me a feeling of anticipation and trepidation; we will be seeing some fantastic places before I have to return to work and for many of the yachts and crew this is the start of a 15 month adventure as it will be that long before they return to St. Lucia.
Jan. 12
Today is Dan’s birthday and to celebrate Em made a homemade carrot cake, she is amazing with the way she can bake just about anything in the small galley of a boat rolling at sea. As an added treat the birthday boy himself made one of his famous vegetable and meat lasagnas for dinner. Sleeping aboard underway is a bit difficult as the seas are coming off the starboard quarter causing a never ending rolling motion. We are getting use to our watch schedule, 3 on 6 off, and it is a lot nicer than the Atlantic crossing I did last year with only three onboard; having a watch partner gives you someone to talk to and share the job of hand steering the boat, as the auto pilot is only used during dinner.
Jan. 13
The weather has been marvelous, winds in the upper teens to mid 20’s, glorious sunsets and sunrises and the camaraderie of eight people sharing the voyage. We have a very international crew onboard representing 4 countries, England, Germany, Norway and the United States. Today some of the crew enjoyed saltwater showers on deck with a fresh water rinse. We are making steady progress and the miles to our waypoint are counting down at the end of each watch. Arvil, Jan and I have been assigned the task of keeping the log; noting our position, the sea state, the wind speed and direction, the barometer reading, distance traveled and distance made good. A favorable current is helping us along nicely.
Jan 14
Today a small group of dolphins came along side and played in our bow wake, other than the occasional sea bird and numerous flying fish this was the first sign of life we have seen. The days continue on broken up by lunch and dinner, each watch team takes a turn in preparing the evening meal and the washing up. We are being entertained by Robin playing his travel guitar and mandolin on occasion. Last years crossing was a study in solitude, but this is much more of a group endeavor and what I have always imagined a passage to be like. We had our best day yet, making 196 miles to our waypoint and paradise.
Jan 15
Today is the day we have all been waiting for, not only did we reach our first waypoint during the 9:00 pm to midnight watch last night, but it is also the first day we can take a fresh water shower! Although the yacht has a water maker onboard it cannot make enough for eight people to shower each day and if something should go amiss we will not have an opportunity to make repairs until we reach Colon on the 25th.
Jan 16
This was one of the best sailing days of my life; the winds were blowing steady between 30 -33 knots, providing many a fast surf down the faces of the tall steep waves. In the afternoon a school of dolphins came along side and put on a show that would make Marineland envious, leaping out of the water in groups of two or three at a time the show lasting for a good 10 minutes. I took some video from the cockpit then went up to the bow to film the best of it, unfortunately I had some difficulty pressing the button and ended up with 10 minutes of great video of the inside of my pocket.
Jan 17
We are approaching our destination, however the current is now running against us at about 2 knots; our ETA keeps changing with each change in wind speed and we hope to be able to make the anchorage in time to enter safely. The seas are still running tall and steep making fishing impossible as the lure keeps flying out of the face of the following waves and tangling itself on the line. As we came within sight of the islands it was oblivious that we would not make it before the sun set; Dan contacted some of the boats that arrived earlier and they confirmed that the charts are accurate as was the GPS navigation, so very slowly with Jan at the bow equipped with a spotlight we made our way through the wide gap between the reefs and arrived at 2039 (8:39 pm). As soon as the anchor was down out came the beers and Captain Bligh rum, along with some fine whisky and gin and tonics. All were in good spirits and although we could just see the silhouettes of the surrounding atolls we could tell this was going to be a gorgeous place in the daylight.

Thanks so much! Enjoying the ride!

Glad you've arrived safely. We had the biggest waves of our entire trip when we came around the corner and past Cartagena.

Enjoy the San Blas. They are pretty special.

The editkey didn't show up, but here are the pictures

The crew ready to go


At the starting line


An amazing sunset


And a beautiful sunrise


The sun come up, the sun go down again


Full moon sailing

Some more pictures

End of the graveyard shift


Changing sails at sunset


At the finish line


Jan sailing in heavy following seas


The sun sets as we approach the anchorage


Happy days!!!