The Tahina Expedition

Fun in the Sun in San Blas

2010-03-11T13:15:12Z

On Tuesday we decided to move at last. We moved a few miles to West Holandes Cays. We sailed over, and because the wind had shifted to the NW, we ended up having a nice long sail since we needed to tack to get up to anchorage. So, we sailed past the island a bit and tacked in. The winds were easing along the way which also lengthened the sail a bit.

We dropped the hook near what looked like some delightful reefs. The sun was coming out too! We immediately broke out the snorkeling gear and confirmed some nice coral reefs and fish. After an initial exploration, we got the VideoRay gear out and I showed David the works. We then took it for a spin around the reefs. Great fun!

We spent so much time snorkeling and with the VideoRay, we didn't have time to go ashore and explore the beautiful coconut-tree-lined islands with white sand beaches. In the evening, we needed to run the generator, so we introduced David and Edel to "Captain Ron". They really seemed to enjoy it.

During the night we had a big rain squall, and then the boat started turning. I was up several hours watching how close we came to the reefs. But, we were ok. The winds eased quite a bit and the rain stopped.

Yesterday was a great day! Although, initially I was worried because of how close we were to one of the reefs. But, the winds clocked and moved us away and the winds eased all day and the sun came out. We did several snorkeling trips, we also drove the VideoRay for quite a while. We saw trigger fish, reef squid, sting rays, a lion fish, and many of the more common fish and coral as well. I also took a lot of underwater photos.

What really made it special though was David and I took the dinghy ashore and explored the nearby islands. The island NW of us has a wonderful beach on the northern side with coconut trees hanging over the beach providing great shade from the sunshine. We had a great walk. The only thing marring it was the huge amount of plastic trash all up on the shore (something you see on all islands unfortunately). The worst offender is plastic water bottles, but another common item are flip-flop sandals. There are many other plastic bottles (sun tan lotion, baby oil, cosmetics, oil bottles, pill bottles, etc.). But, if you ignored the trash somehow, the scenery was wonderful! It was so wonderful having the sun back as well! We ended up taking the girls to the island later and doing the same walk. This time we brought our cameras and took lots of photos (which I'll put up in a week from now when we have Internet).

We had a visit from some Kuna Indians who sold Karen a "Mola". A quilt-like piece of fabric with a pretty fish design on it. She also got a little purse. The local indians are very nice and we often see them going to all the islands and either fishing or tending to plantings or coconut trees. They mostly use hand-made boats with just a pole, or sometimes with a small outboard motor.

The scenery is just fantastic, and is so much better now with the sunshine back. Karen gave me a haircut as the sun set ending a perfect day. We played some games after dinner and then shined a spotlight into the water to see what kind of fish we could attract. We also did some stargazing before bed as the stars were beautiful and clear at last with no city lights or clouds to block the view.

Fun Day at San Blas

2010-03-09T12:50:13Z

Yesterday was a much better day weather-wise, and we finally got out and did a few things. We had a few breaks in the clouds and had some sunshine, and finally managed to do some photography. We did some exploring by dinghy at nearby islands, and the evening "cook out" with many boats visiting the area was well-attended, and we met many folks there.

In the early afternoon, David and I got the kite aerial setup out and went to BBQ island and captured the entire island from 250+ feet. Because we didn't want the kite string caught in the numerous coconut trees, we walked along the edges and even well out into the water to get the kite positioned over the island. Not only that, but we ended up taking the end of the string into the dinghy and maneuvering upwind to get the windward side of the island. The force of the kite was enough to pull us in the dinghy at about one knot if we didn't use the engine to counter-act it!

We went to one island to confirm the banana trees we thought we saw there. But, there were some nasty biting sand flies on that island so we left pretty quick. There were no ripe bananas. We then went to another anchorage where we saw s/v Songline - the catamaran we met in Cartagena that is from Australia. They invited on board for a beer and we caught up on each other's trip to San Blas. We've explored about 10 islands so far to some extent, and its been a lot of fun.

In the evening we went to the "cook out". Only it was really just a finger-food pot-luck - so no substantial food. But, everyone had an enjoyable time meeting one another and comparing notes on boating destinations and stories. David and Edel said there were some interesting people there - an attribute often associated with cruising sailors - as well as many other descriptions. :-)

Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until we get to Internet to see the photos (when we get to Colon, Panama on the 15th). But, have no fear, we got a number of photos of the activities.

Weather Dampens San Blas

2010-03-08T12:43:53Z

We arrived here in the beautiful San Blas islands on Thursday morning during a break in the clouds. It was one of the most beautiful places we've sailed into to date. But, the weather has been cloudy and rainy ever since. Yesterday was squally with strong winds and rain all day. We never even left the boat and had to raise the dinghy because it was bouncing around so much. Weather forecasts have the winds easing some in the next couple of days, but there is still a 30% chance of rain during the next couple of days.

So what have we been doing during this time? We have done a few chores on the boat, read books, swimming, watched some movies, played board and card games, played computer games, and when the weather has been clear enough we have taken the dinghy to nearby islands and reefs and explored. We found one island has some banana trees, but we're not sure whether the locals would allow us to pick any. Tonight there is supposed to be a cook-out on the aptly named BBQ island with the boats anchored in the area. We're really hoping the weather stays clear enough for the cookout!

Hopefully we'll get some clear days here, because I really want to take some pictures - especially kite aerial and 360 panoramas. Wish us luck for some good weather!

San Blas Islands of Panama

2010-03-06T12:18:57Z

We left Cartagena on Wednesday morning and had a very nice 24 hour sail to San Blas. Actually, at the start there was no wind, but I knew within a few hours we would catch up to some wind. We headed out through the Boca Grande passage (which is the one we passed up on our way into Cartagena due to the weather condidtions). Since there was no wind, the seas were flat this time, so we had no problem passing through the narrow port exit.

It seemed we were going slower than normal as we motored out, so we stopped when we got to some clearer waters about 2 miles from shore. I dove over to check the bottom - and, sure enough, we had some slime and a few barnacles and other growth. The port waters in Cartagena are a melting pot of growth. David jumped in with me and we spent about an hour cleaning off the growth. Once we resumed motion though, it appeared we only regained about .5 knots.

By 1:30, we had picked up some wind and started motor sailing. By 2PM we were under full sail and we sailed the rest of the way. David and Edel really enjoyed the sail and even took a night-time watch for a couple of hours. We had a few rain showers during the early morning hours the next day, but the wind stayed steady. We averaged 8-9 knots in the evening, and 9-10 knots during the morning hours. So, we completed the 200 nm run to San Blas in right at 24 hours. We first saw a couple of other boats headed in as well, and then spotted the coconut trees of these little tropical islands.

The San Blas islands are an archipelago of, supposedly, 365 islands (one for each day of the year). The islands are occupied by the Kuna Indians who still live a simple life with little influence from modern technologies. They trade in coconuts, fish the islands, and take care of their environment. As a result, these islands look much like they did hundreds of years ago when the Europeans first set sight of them.

We arrived at the East Holandes Cays and were stunned by the beauty. A thousand shades of blue and turquoise water colors. White sand, and coconut lined, beaches. A smattering of sailboats at anchor. We were in heaven!

We have been exploring the area, swimming in the super clear water, and walking the beaches. This is what cruising is all about! It's too bad that none of the online mapping sites have high resolution aerial photos of the San Blas islands. But, do a search on Panoramio, Flickr, or Google Images and you'll find many photos of these awesome islands.

Part Arrives!

2010-03-03T11:38:24Z

We stayed in Cartagena a few days longer than originally planned because we were waiting for a part to be shipped to us. Our primary fresh water pump died an ignoble death on our passage down to Cartagena. It had been giving warning signs for some time, and I have no excuse for not having bought a spare earlier. We thought the original problem was simply a broken diaphragm, which was the subject of another parts shipment back in the Grenadines. We performed the diaphragm replacement and the pump stopped leaking, so we thought it was fixed. But, there was another problem.

Anyway, we identified a company which said they could get the part we ordered (two of them, one as a spare) in the US delivered to us in a week. But, they were not very good at "tracking" the package's progress. We essentially did not know if they actually had the product here in Colombia until Monday night. Then, we didn't hear from the until late last night - but, around 7 PM they finally delivered it to me at the marina. Whew! By 8 PM, I had removed the old pump and installed the new one. And, it works beautifully!

Now we'll be able to leave soon for the San Blas archipelago in Panama (click on thumbnail above to visit in Google Maps - Google doesn't have high-res aerial photos of the area - yet). These islands are some of the most beautiful tropical islands in the Caribbean. There are supposedly 365 islands there - one for each day of the year. The islands (and surrounding tropical forest-lined shore) are occupied by the Kuna Indians who believe in keeping their lives simple, live off the sea and the land, do not use modern technologies, and keep their culture separate from foreign influences. They are reportedly very friendly as long as you don't harm their environment or violate their rules. For example, each Kuna family owns specific coconut trees (they use coconuts as a form of trade, and a source of food and supplies). It is forbidden for visitors to pick up and use coconuts for this reason.

We are looking forward to being able to jump in the waters again. The port here at Cartagena does not have very appetizing water, so we haven't been swimming in nearly two weeks! We'll have a to wait a bit for a weather window and to get cleared out of customs.

As I've mentioned before, we will have VERY limited Internet connectivity while in San Blas during the next couple of weeks. I'll still hopefully squeeze out a few blog posts - but, you'll have to wait until we get to Colon, Panama for me to upload photos. We won't be able to reply to our E-mails during this time as well. It will be a vacation!

Tahina Expedition Entering New Phase

2010-03-02T12:48:18Z

We started our expedition formally when we departed the US shores of North Carolina on November 14, 2009. Our first goal was to make it to the Caribbean island of St. Martin and begin adjusting to our new way of life as we re-visited many islands we had first seen in 2003 up until Grenada. We also needed to learn how to use new tools we brought with us like the VideoRay ROV for underwater video, 360 Panoramas, and our kite aerial photography equipment.

We began visiting new islands with the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao), and then continued west to Cartagena.

By the end of this month, we hope to be entering a whole new part of the world to us. We will be transiting the Panama Canal and sail in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Our first major destination will be the Galapagos Islands. After viewing (and sharing) the amazing variety of life that live on and around those mystical islands, we will depart for the longest single passage in our near-term voyage: 3000 nm from the Galapagos to the French Marquesas. It will take 2-3 weeks to complete the journey, without any land in sight, until we arrive (hopefully by early May). We are looking to have some additional crew on board to help with the passage.

We hope you are enjoying following our experiences so far. Since I'm a tech geek, we are making a lot of use of "new" technologies such as Google Earth and Maps (NOTE: our map has now changed to show a more accurate rendition of our recent path - in green), 360 panoramas, kite aerial photography, Twitter, and more. Hopefully, the resulting imagery and information enhance the experience for most of you. As we enter this new phase of our trip, we hope to begin sharing more observations of the life around us, environmental impacts of mankind on the ocean life and the land sharing the sea, and more of our experiences with the cultures we encounter. We hope you'll join us on our adventure!

Enjoying Beautiful Cartagena, Friends Arrive

2010-03-01T11:31:48Z

We have been enjoying the sights of Cartagena and most of the atmosphere of this vibrant city. One part of the atmosphere we haven't been enjoying: it has been quite hot and humid for most of our stay. But, the view of the city at night is nearly as good as the one we had in Miami. Make sure you view the slideshow below for photos from our visits to El Centro.

On Thursday, last week, we woke up with arms sore from the vaccination shots. But, not too bad, but we didn't want to do much work. The pain went away after a couple of days. We went shopping at a local mall called "Caribe Plaza Mall". One of the main stores is called "Home Center" and is compared to garden/home supply stores like "Home Depot" in the US. They also have a store called "Carrefour" that was compared to "Walmart". We took a taxi, and were curious to see they had strong security with guards - and gates at the underground parking area - who actually looked in the trunk of the taxi before admitting us, and closed circuit TVs in many areas. We were pleasantly surprised to find a huge modern air-conditioned mall. It had three floors and a real food court, and a large variety of stores. A great place to hang out during the hot days.

We also did more research on San Blas and Panama, and contacted the marina where we will stay while waiting for our canal transit. We got contact information for agents to help with the transit paperwork.

We confirmed that a couple we have been in contact with - who are doing a second round-the-world trip (a 1-year trip without a sailboat) and documenting it via a blog and photos - will be coming with us to Panama. They both have taken some beautiful photos. We have been writing each other since last year because David documents his travels using Google Earth, and had previously developed KML files written about on Google Earth Blog. We had hoped to at least rendezvous somewhere along the way.

On Friday, Karen and I went to El Centro - the beautiful historic part of Cartagena - and did some shopping and museum visits. We especially enjoyed the free museum of gold which had some excellent exhibits and english/spanish displays about the history of gold here in Colombia. As you'll see in the photos, the place is very popular and beautiful and a great place to wander and shop. All the sailors here rave about the place, and we could see why. We had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant that was popular with the locals. We ate their daily special which consisted of a huge meal with soup, chicken, a cole-slaw-like salad, bread, and a banana for dessert. Karen enjoyed the shopping and got some items for herself and our daughters.

This weekend was the beginning of an international film festival, and we ended up at the beautiful historic Teatro Heredia. The theater was first built in 1911 and later restored in 1998. It has four stories of seating, incredible decorations, and is quite beautiful. We managed to get inside and watch a couple of festival films which at least had English sub-titles. I really wish I had brought the camera equipment to do a 360 panorama of the theater! See the photos in the slideshow below:

View full-sized slideshow

Unfortunately, Google Maps currently has a cloudy image of the area of Cartagena we were visiting in the slideshow. If you go in Google Earth, you can use the "Historical Imagery" option and see some better views of this part of Cartagena.

On Saturday we moved the boat to Club Nautico marina and gave Tahina a much needed bath in fresh water. We also cleaned up the inside. On Sunday, David and Edel arrived from Santa Marta, Colombia by bus. We took a taxi to Centro for dinner and got to know one another better. They are from Sweden and Ireland, respectively, and actually quit their jobs to take their year-long trip around the world. One of them has already been offered a job back with their same employer upon return in April. They spend a lot of time camping and hiking to help reduce their travel costs.

Another Viewpoint

2010-02-26T10:58:31Z

[NOTE: This post is by Karen not Frank]

I know it's snowing where most of you are, but it is searing hot here, 95F in the shade, and NO wind. That makes for some very uncomfortable days. Fortunately, the internet cafe near us (in the grocery store) and some of the restaraunts nearby are air-conditioned. We have also had to run the generator some, which enables us to run the AC on our boat. Thank goodness for modern conveniences!!!

The trip over from Aruba was eventful, but I was never nervous. Frank handled the sailing expertly and set up the sails so that we were safe from the high winds. Sailing with the wind behind us (downwind sail) and the waves giving us a push (following seas) made for a relatively comfortable trip, even if the wind was howling. The fish we caught was a real fighter as I found out while holding the pole for a while. He was quite delicious too. :)

Life in Cartagena has been enjoyable. Food prices are inexpensive and the city is a modern metropolis with well preserved historic areas. Entrepreneurship is alive here with lots of street vendors selling cell phone minutes, fresh fruit, hot coffee, lunch foods, fruit juice, ice cream, ... almost anything you can think of. Even so, the grocery
store is well stocked, even if everything is in Spanish. We're managing, just barely, to communicate with our pitiful Spanish; but, we're learning. All of the people we've met have been very helpful even if we can't always understand each other.

We visited El Centro within the old walled city one evening and were delighted with the ambiance. The streets are well lit, but not glaringly so. There are plenty of police to discourage problems and plenty of people strolling the parks to make it delightful. Colon Plaza is a beautiful at night with lighted fountains and a big statue of Simon Bolivar on a horse; he was the man who was instrumental in gaining Colombia's independence from Spain. I hope to go back during daylight hours, maybe do some shopping especially for emerald and gold jewelry. Since both are mined right here in Colombia, the prices are supposed to be very good.

We spent some time today straightening out my least favorite sail, the spinnaker. It's tidy and stowed away for an easier deployment. Maybe we'll get along a bit better now.

An interesting activity in the anchorage is the fishing. The fishermen like to surround an anchored boat with their nets and slap the water with a big stick to drive the fish into the nets. Then they haul in the nets. It seems that the fish like to congregate in the
shade under the boats. I haven't seen any big catches yet, but they always catch something.

Well, that's it for now. I hope to write again before we set out for the San Blas Islands.

Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas

2010-02-25T13:17:44Z

Yesterday we accomplished one of our sightseeing goals here in Cartagena. We wanted to visit the large fortress called Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas. This well-preserved fort overlooks the city of Cartagena and is part of the fortifications including the huge walls which surround the city, and several other forts. The fort was first built in the 1500s and later improved in the 1700s. There are look-out towers on all the corners, tunnels open to tourists let you walk through the fort, there are small cubby-holes along the passages which could have been used to attack soldiers if they had managed to breach the fort, and today there are many scenic views of the modern city.

Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy at the start, so some of the photos do not do the fortress justice. But, there are plenty of other photos available in Panoramio if you want to see the city on a clear day.

Here is a slideshow of some of our photos:

View full-sized slideshow

I also took some 360 panoramas at the fort. Here is one on the SW corner of the highest part of the fort:

Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas in Colombia

After the fort visit, we made arrangements to go to a vaccination office. We needed to add some shots to make sure we are protected against tropical water dangers like Yellow Fever and Hepatitus. We ended up in the commercial district of the city which was a beehive of activity. We couldn't believe some of the shops selling and repairing hundreds of cell phones, jewelry shops, bakeries, and more. We'll have to go back when we have more time to look around.

In the evening we went to a local restaurant that caters to the boaters on Wednesday nights. We had a chance to meet some of the other cruisers, but we were both kind of tired and left early. We have been doing research on the San Blas islands as well. One thing for sure, we will be on a "vacation" from normal blogging there. There's reportedly no internet access in the San Blas islands. We will try to send out a few e-mail posts over our SSB though.

Colombia Slow Start

2010-02-24T12:35:56Z

We haven't been very productive from a tourism perspective so far in Colombia. We arrived on the weekend and spent two days before we found the agent we had been looking for to help with getting our clearance. Fortunately, some friends of ours were here the first evening (but, left for San Blas the next morning) and gave us some insights on local conveniences and information. Of particular use is the local marina's guide to cruisers, which is available on their web site here. This is the best online guide I've seen by a marina to date. You may not find all the services you want here, but at least they have information on what is available.

Unfortunately, the marina - Club Nautico - is in the middle of doing a major re-construction. For some reason the local government put it to a halt at the worst possible time. So, they are operating out of a rustic shack of an office and the main facilities are in shambles - no showers, no bar, etc. And, they aren't allowed to continue construction (no building permit?). The docks are still in place, and have power and water though. And, the staff are doing their best to maintain services for the boaters.

Cartagena doesn't seem to have full-service chandleries (marine stores). There are two nearby stores, but they only have a subset of the usual items found in chandleries catering to serious boaters. I couldn't even find 3M's popular 5200 glue/sealant at the two stores, nor the usual oil we use for our engines, and I haven't been able to get the cruising guide for Panama I expected to buy here. More importantly, and this isn't as surprising, they don't have the pump we need - to replace the one that drives the water pressure on our starboard hull. I spent two days trying to determine the best way to have a new one sent to us here. We finally ordered two of the pumps (one as a spare) in the US, and are having it sent to Miami. An outfit there sends it to Colombia in the main port. Then it is brought down to Cartagena, clears customs, and is finally brought to us - where we pay the fees for the shipping, handling, and customs. If all goes as planned, it will be here by next Tuesday. We may also see if the old pump can be overhauled.

Meanwhile, we have gone to a few restaurants. We even went to Centro - the old part of Cartagena - and had a nice dinner and walked through the scenic area one night. Cartagena is a beautiful city, and we look forward to seeing more. Karen has been a bit out of commission having consumed something that didn't agree with her. We're hoping she'll be well enough today to do some sightseeing. There is a wonderful grocery store with nice Internet cafe nearby that has been our favorite haunting ground outside the boat.

We have a couple of candidates for crewing on Tahina for the upcoming long passages. If you think you may meet our criteria/dates, please contact us soon.

There is a young married couple, who are photo journalists, with whom I've been communicating with for several months now on the chance we could get together. Turns out they are in Colombia right now. They may be joining us for a couple of weeks as we depart Cartagena and go to San Blas in Panama. Then they would leave us when we reach the Panama Canal. We hope to pick up some traveling tips from them as they have done two round-the-world trips (not by sailboat). And share some photography tips as well.

The weather here has been hot and muggy. It hasn't been helped by the lack of wind the last couple of days (and more still air the next few days). We have actually been running the A/C while charging the batteries with the generator the last two times (something we never did in the windward islands).

Google for Sailors

2010-02-23T12:47:17Z

Today I thought I would highlight some Google products and tips sailors should be aware of to enhance your ability to share your experience, enhance your productivity, or even help with your cruising kitty. For years now, I've been writing a blog all about Google Earth - and have a fair bit of experience with a variety of Google products. Here's a few of my favorites, why they can be useful for sailors, and some important tips:

Gmail - Fantastic e-mail! It allows you to consolidate multiple e-mail accounts into a single account, manage your contacts, very accessible, powerful search and filtering, great SPAM control, and much more. Important tip: Offline use (set it up through the "Settings" mode). Offline lets you download your E-mail and then still use Gmail to read, search, and respond while you don't have a connection. Not only that, but it enables a very handy "Flaky Connection Mode" that is invaluable with weak WIFI connections sailors often encounter.
Google Earth - Fantastic way to research places you are going. Turn on the Geographic Web layer to see pictures and important information about places you want to visit. There are many other layers in Google Earth that can open a wealth of information about locations. You can even see the undersea surface in 3D now - so, you know what its like underneath your boat while on long passages. Google Earth is also a great way to document your travels. Show your passages (GPS tracks or just draw approximate routes), show your photos tied to location, or just put placemarks of significant places or events during your travels. Just read this blog and look for Google Earth content for examples of what you can do. Important tip: Google Earth can be used when you don't have an Internet connection using a local cache on your computer. The application remembers the last few places you visit. Simply peruse your next destination area and zoom in to view the imagery you want to remember. You can use Google Earth without the connection and still view those places! Very handy on a passage. You Google Earth content can also be viewed with Google Maps. Read Google Earth Blog for many, many tips. There's a special category dedicated to sailing-related stories.
Google Maps - when you just need 2D maps, Google Maps is another great mapping tool for looking or sharing information. Your same Google Earth KML files can be viewed with Google Maps as well, and in some cases is a better way to view them on your web site. You can also use what's called "My Maps" to create and share maps. Very handy tools.
Picasa Web Albums - Your free Google account entitles you to a free amount of photo upload space on PIcasa Web Albums. You can also upgrade the space for a modest fee. You can place slideshows of your photos on your blog or web site and create galleries of your photo albums.
Picasa - a really great free photo processing tool that runs on Mac or Windows. It can help you store, manage, process, and organize your digital photos. It also has integration with Google Maps/Earth, and Picasa Web Albums. It does a great job of dealing with large numbers of images.
Panoramio - Another free photo service from Google allows you to upload photos and map them. Your photos are then viewable by anyone using Google Maps or Google Earth when users turn on the photos layers (your photos have to be approved first - usually takes less than 1 month - they prefer only scenic shots - not people shots).
Mobile Phones - Many of Google's applications can be used from your smart phone. You can access your Gmail, check your calendar, do Google searches and more. If you have a smart phone like the iPhone, you might be able to use applications like Google Earth and Maps to help you find your way around. I use Google Earth on my phone to have a hand-held way to check on aerial photography of places we are sailing for visual reference.
Adsense - if you have a really popular web site or blog, you can actually use Google's Adsense program to place ads on your site which can earn you some money - at least to help pay for some of your online expenses. If you have thousands of visitors a day, it could amount to a noticeable amount of income. You have to insert snippets of code in your web site's pages to allow Google to place ads from their huge advertiser market place. Google automatically chooses ads based on the relevant content of your pages. So, ads are mostly of interest to some of your readers. Only a small percentage of your readers will click on ads, but Google pays competitive rates for legitimate clicks on ads. Just don't click on the ads yourself or tell others to do so. That's against the rules of being an Adsense partner and your account can be shut down.

Google is constantly enhancing tools and data which are helpful for travel related experiences. If you are technology oriented, you will especially enjoy learning about some of these products and trying them out. But, even if you aren't, you can really make use of these free applications to help you learn about places, and share your experiences with your friends, family or more.

Looking for Crew on Tahina

2010-02-22T11:47:43Z

We have some long passages coming on Tahina, and would like to have some additional crew to help us with the sailing. The need for a constant watch 24-hours-a-day is more challenging with only two people on board. When we left North Carolina in November, we had our friend Wilson join us for the 7 day passage to St. Martin.

We have two long passages to consider:

The passage from Panama to the Galapagos Islands - an approximately 7-10 day passage. This passage can have variable winds (mostly light, but also in direction). We would be leaving near the beginning of April for the Galapagos.
From the Galapagos to the French Marquesas - a two to three week passage. Two boats identical to ours completed this passage in 15 days in 2008. This passage can have some variable conditions at the beginning, but is typically a nice downwind (with following seas) ride for most of the days during the time of year we are going. We would be leaving the Galapogos about 10-14 days after we get there. So, approximate departure would be mid-April or closer to the end of April.

Our goal is to have crew who have experience with blue-water passages, and are not prone to sea-sickness. Prior experience crewing with similar passages is a big plus. If you have the time flexibility, and enjoy our company, you would be welcome to stay several days beyond the passage to see the sights at our destinations. These are long passages and everyone has to live together for many days and share responsibilities including sailing, cooking, and cleaning. Read our about page to learn about our backgrounds. Ideally two additional crew would be nice, but we will do fine with one extra crew.

You need some flexibility in your time commitment to crew with us on these passages. We don't have an exact date yet for departure, or especially arrival (which is somewhat dependent on weather). You will need to have a valid passport and possibly some vaccinations.

Tahina is a beautiful 50' catamaran with 4 queen-sized staterooms (see photo gallery). We have plenty of room for crew and many comforts including: watermaker, icemaker, fridge/freezer, generator, TV with DVDs, and have at least basic (text-only) E-mail access. We also have a satellite phone when calls or Internet connection needs to be made (costs are high though). Our boat is rigged very well with electric winches, and most lines led to the cockpit. Although, going on deck is rarely a problem since we have plenty of room. We also have a spinnaker to help with the downwind sailing.

You can read about us on our about page. If you are interested in making one of the passages, please contact us by E-mail as soon as possible.

New photo content

2010-02-21T19:02:58Z

I've uploaded a bunch of photos today. First we have an album of photos from the passage to Cartagena (which I also added to yesterday's long write-up about the trip). In this album are photos of our big fish catch!

View full-sized slideshow

Also, I've published a very short video clip of one of dozens of clips I took while watching the Carnival Parade in Aruba (see photos from this post):

And finally, here is the last of the 360 panoramas I took during the Aruba Jeep Tour we took which was such a great experience. This one was taken at Wariruri Bay on top of the natural bridge there:

Wariruri Bay, Aruba in Caribbean

Passage to Cartagena, Colombia

2010-02-20T14:54:52Z

For several weeks, we've been keeping an eye on the weather between Aruba and Cartagena. There's an area just north of Cartagena that is notorious for strong winds. A river comes out to sea near Barranquilla and the contrary currents and temperatures apparently churns up some wind. We've regularly seen gale-force (> 30 knot) winds appearing in this area in recent weeks. Our package finally cleared customs in Aruba on Tuesday afternoon (Monday was a holiday). We picked up our new anchor light, but it was too windy to go up the mast to install it. But, the weather forecast for Cartagena was looking pretty good for the next day. There were still some 20-25 knot winds in the forecast, and it was all following winds and seas. NOTE: this is a long post! We decided to stay well offshore to avoid risks of piracy sometimes reported out here, and to reduce the risk of weather effects closer to Cartagena. Check out the map of our GPS track below.

Meanwhile, another boat in the anchorage, named m/v Antipodes, came over and invited us out for drinks. Jim and Lara's boat is a motor trawler live-aboard, and they have come from San Diego to Aruba in the past few months. They plan to attempt a circumnavigation as well. Only 18 motor trawlers have ever made it apparently. Their boat is registered in North Carolina, so naturally we had to meet them. They also have worked in the information technology business as well. And, the most amazing coincidence is that they know Pat and Ali from s/v Bumfuzzle (an amazing couple who I followed on their web site when they circumnavigated a few years ago). In fact, they met them in person a few times. I really enjoyed hearing their first-person accounts of what they are like.

I spent the rest of Tuesday preparing a route and planning our arrival in Cartagena. We got up Wednesday and first sent me up the mast to install the light. That went very smoothly and it worked perfectly. Next I drove Coconut down to Barcadera port and cleared out of customs. One more trip to town to take in trash and get some cash. Then we got the dinghy up and prepped for departure. We weighted anchor at about 10:30 and headed out. Shortly after we left, we had two dolphin swim over and join us at the bows a bit. I always consider it a good thing when they visit us on a passage.

We had good winds (20-25 knots) all afternoon and were sailing wing-on-wing (main sail out on one side, jib on the other side) making 10-11 knots steady. We use lines to tie the boom and jib in place to prevent them from moving too much if the winds shift. And, we use the autopilot to keep us pointed at the angle of the wind we want.

As the sun set, the winds started to ease. We ended up taking down the jib and having to motor sail most of the night. The fishing lines were put away at dark, and we had no bites. The first night was pretty uneventful and involved motor-sailing all night. In the morning, the winds were still light. We attempted to sail several times, but it was too slow. I put the fishing lines out shortly after dawn. At 9 AM we heard a fishing reel scream. I ran over and looked out - we had hooked a huge bill fish - a marlin! I'm guessing about 7-8 feet long, probably 200 lbs! I called Karen and asked her to get a camera quick. Just as I got it in my hands and took pictures he snapped the line. I got pictures of his splash, but that was it. Nevertheless, it was exciting! I just wish I had a photo.

By noon we finally were getting some more wind and had both sails wing-on-wing again. Suddenly, at about 12:30, we had another fish! And boy was he strong! We were going about 9+ knots so I told Karen to take down the jib. Still, I couldn't reel the fish in. The rod was bent way over. So, Karen attempted to get the mainsail down. I helped her align the boom to help, but she couldn't get it down because we were going down wind and the sail kept wanting to fall outside the jacklines over to one side or the other from the boom. So, I had her hold the rod while I coaxed it down. This all took about 30 minutes, and with no sails we were still going 4 knots. Still, the fish was fighting hard, but I was able to slowly reel him in. After another 10-15 minutes I finally got him close enough to see we had a large bull Mahi Mahi. I've caught maybe two dozen Mahi Mahi, but none fought anywhere near as hard as this one. He was easily 5 feet in length (see the photo), and weighed about 50 lbs.

Getting him on board was a challenge as well. I gaffed him, but he still fought like crazy. I tried pouring some alcohol down his mouth (which kills most fish very quickly) - and wasted nearly half a bottle. Finally I got him up into the dinghy and dosed him good. Whew! We used the outside coldbox to store him for a few hours until the sun was setting, then I cleaned the fish and we had several bags of fish fillets all cleaned up and ready to eat.

Meanwhile, the winds cooked up all afternoon. We were flying along at a minimum of 9-10 knots, and surfing into the teens. We saw 16+ knots on the GPS a few times! As the sun set (much later since we were over 150 miles further west, we switched to EST as well), we had some fish dinner. That fish was delicious! The winds continued building in the night. It started getting to 30 knots true (only 20 apparent since we were straight downwind), but I decided to double-reef the main. We were still going 10-11 knots and surfing higher speeds. Around midnight, the winds were regularly getting above 30 knots. So, we turned and dropped the main. Then we put up only half the jib and even reduced down to just a bit of jib. The winds got to near 35 knots and gusts to 40 the rest of the night. But, we were on a comfortable direct down wind tack and the seas only gradually built bigger. I slept between 1:30 and 5:30 and the conditions stayed the same.

At dawn, I could see the waves had built to about 20 feet! Tahina was riding them really well downwind. But, we needed to turn left (south) towards Cartagena, so we were going more parallel to the waves. Tahina still managed this quite well, but our boat was leaning pretty sharply as we rose up and over these huge swells. Karen said she felt like we were on a mon-hull! I had to put some things away that were falling in the cabins. Even the laptop wasn't staying on the chart table.

Here is the map of our GPS track, which you can also load in Google Earth :

View Passage Aruba to Cartagena in a larger map

According to my forecast, the winds were supposed to die off as we approached Cartagena. Unfortunately, that didn't happen very much. We were still seeing 30 knots until just about 5 miles from the smaller, closer, entrance to the bay of Cartagena we had chosen - called Boca Grande. Out of the misty skies we not only saw mountains, but also a skyline full of skyscrapers! It was like approaching New York City. The water was much shallower, but there were still 4 foot waves in the area with all this wind. At the entrance, it was reportedly only 8 feet deep. Not only that, but there is only a narrow channel marked by two bouys. When we got close enough to see it, I could see there were still the waves, and the buoys were really close (barely wide enough for Tahina). So, I turned us south to go down to the main ship channel entrance called Boca Chica. This was a disappointment because it would take another 2 hours to get to the anchorage because of the diversion. Zoom in on the map above to see what I'm talking about. The other concern with the other entrance is that a boat recently was assaulted by some crooks who managed to board the sailboat and divert them to the shore. They then ransacked their belongings and sent them on their way before the police (who they had hailed on the radio) managed to get there. Fortunately, no boats approached us during our passage.

One thing we were noticing as we made the longer trip - it was really hot. About 94 degrees and humid. We finally motored our way to the anchorage. It is in a bay surrounded by skyscrapers and the huge ship port with container ships and cruiseships. And, they have a large statue in the middle of the bay. Not as large as the Statue of Liberty, but definitely reminiscent. We set our hook just one boat behind A Small Nest - our friends we met in Bonaire. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and we had gone about 430 nm, and we were in a new country. At last, here are some photos from the trip:

View full-sized slideshow

360 Panorama of Bushiribana Gold Smelter Ruins

2010-02-17T11:36:19Z

As part of our Jeep Tour last Friday, we visited the Bushiribana Gold Smelter Ruins. The fort-like ruins were built out of stone in order to protect the property from potential pirates while they were processing gold found in Aruba. I managed to take a 360 panorama from the top of the fort which you can view here:

Bushiribana Gold Smelter Ruins in Aruba in Caribbean