Larry and I prepared to depart for the San Blas Island

Well it hasn’t been a great sailing and cruising year for Maiatla. Our beloved boat is still in Fort Sherman marina in Panama where we have been since early 2016 where we bedded her down after completing our Mexico to the Galapagos Islands and Panama cruise. That was a great and eventful voyage which is now the subject of our newly released book, Slow Boat to Panama: Mexico to the Galapagos and then Panama, which became available on Amazon in November of 2018.

Due to work commitments and some family health issues our time aboard has been limited to 9 weeks over the previous 12 months to perform some much needed maintenance while sneaking in a couple getaways to the remote San Blas Islands.

The past 6 years driving the boat hard in the humid tropics has taken its toll, expanding my list of repairs and refurbishing. Some of our main issues include but are not limited to the following.

Leaking Engine raw water pump.

Leaking Hydraulic steering pump.

Bearings failing in the head sail roller reefing.

VHF radio not transmitting.

Leaking port holes in aft cabin with broken dogs (latches on 4 ports) which require re-welding.

Electrical short in navigation lights.

Cockpit dodger needs replacing.

Electric flush toilet, pump seized.

Holding tank masticator pump seized.

All the sails are in need of some re-stitching and repairs- Some chaffing.

Bottom needs anti-fouling paint with new sacrificial zincs on rudder and drive shaft.

The wind Generator stopped working on this voyage and will either need rebuilding or replacing.

And if all of the above was not enough, there is some dry rot at the top and bottom of both main and mizzen mast which will require cutting out and rebuilding of these sections of Maiatla’s Spruce spars.

      Rot in the bottom of the mizzen mast.

Also while inspecting the rig, I discovered  cracks in the masthead tangs which  the  shrouds attach too. The tangs will required re-welding if I don’t want the mast to fall down. The above list is not comprehensive, but just some of my major projects.  Welcome to long term cruising and performing boat repairs in foreign ports.

My first visit to the boat was in the early part of 2018 and I was fortunate enough to have a friend, Rick Veters accompany me to help tackle the repairs which included the removal and repair of the mizzen mast as well as the painting of the bottom of the boat.  Fortunately when we left the boat in early 2016 I had the boat hauled out of the water and shrunk wrapped and had a dehumidifier installed to combat the mold. When I saw the boat again after almost two years, she was in surprisingly good condition. After a good scrub with soap and water, inside and out she was quickly ready to move aboard. Now livable the real work began.

The last pic is the completed main mast repairs.

Rick and I spent 4 weeks working on the boat then managed to get her to the point we were able to head out to the islands for a little exploring, rum drinking and R&R. The repairs went well and we had a great time doing it.

The 500 year old fort at Puerto Bello.

 

9 months later I again returned to the boat to carry on with the repairs which included this time the repair of the tall main mast. I spent the first 3 weeks alone in Panama working away but later a friend, Larry Berg joined me to lend a hand and to accompany me on another voyage into the magnificent San Blas islands. And again there was lots of rum.

In Puerto Bello we signed a flag and presented to the cruisers bar. Great hang out.

With most of the major project now completed we are planning on departing Panama to sail up north some 900 miles to the Rio Dulce in the country of Guatemala where we will sail up the river into the jungle where there is a marina where we can leave the boat for the up and coming hurricane season. The voyage will take 3 to 4 weeks with planned stops at a pair of offshore islands owned by Columbia. Isla San Andres and Isla de Providencia.

 

The San Blas Islands, 350 islands spread out over 700 sq/miles of ocean. (* percent of the islands and cays are uninhabited.

The pirates attack!

The week before mine and Larry’s intended sail to Puerto Bello and the San Blas Islands, some local cruiser were attacked, just 20 miles up the coast from us.  I was of course concerned and like everyone else in our marina, anxious to hear the detail and to see if any arrests would be made. See blow the details of the attack as posted on the cruisers website- NOONSITE.

DATE: 2019-01-13 21:30
Country Name: Panama
Location Detail: Portobello
EVENT: Robbery
HAND: 2
Stolen Items: Currency, personal electronics
SECURED: Unknown

 

DETAILS OF ARMED ROBBERY:

A private yacht with 3 of 7 crew onboard was approached by 6 men armed with handguns, using the pretence of selling water at 2130 HRS. They boarded aggressively and hit one crew member in the head with a gun and then spent considerable time ransacking the boat, terrorizing the crew that was made to lay on the floor all the while the armed boarders repeatedly yelled “cocaine, cocaine”. Cash, phones, computers and electronics were taken. Jewelry was left behind, no drugs were (found) onboard.

Coincidentally, the yachts tender, with the 4 remaining crew returned to the boat, which hastened the thieves’ departure without making further direct contact. A full police report was made, to local police and Aeronaval.

CSSN NOTE: Attempts to board other yachts in the anchorage were made this same night most likely by this same group of armed thieves. One later boarding (the same night) was only deterred when the owner’s large dog made its presence known on deck (see details below).

DETAILS OF ATTEMPTED BOARDING:

A panga with 4+ men attempted to board a cruising yacht anchored in the bay at around 2300 HRS (the same night – January 13th). Surprised, the owner came on deck and responded aggressively verbally, and was only able to dissuade the hostile boarders when his large, 60 lb. dog came on deck. Holstered pistols were visible to the captain.

After departing the panga lit up and then attempted to engage with another nearby yacht. The owner spoke Spanish and after much angry yelling the panga departed. Earlier this same night a cruising yacht was boarded by armed men, and the occupants’ pistol whipped and robbed at gun point.

While at the marina, one night I shared a few rums with the crew of a 130’ schooner that had just made the run from Mexico to Panama and they told me of their encounter with Pirates off of Nicaragua. As it was told to me, they said when they were about 20 miles off shore, sailing fast the two men on watch spotted on radar a small boat some miles ahead that was crossing their path but instead of carrying on the boat came to a stop directly in front of them and appeared to be waiting. No lights were visible ahead so the crew sounded the alarm and quickly all 8 crew members were on deck. Two armed with shotguns.

The 130 Schooner that was stalked by Pirates.

The captain ordered that all the deck lights be turned on so they could see if anyone attempted to board. They said it was a tense few moments when a 30 foot boat, all paint black materialized out of the night. The boat was dead in the water but inside they could see six men, all dressed in black wearing balaclava masks. The pirate boat, perhaps seeing the crew of the schooner ready to repel boarders with force, watched as the schooner sailed on. It was obvious that this black boat and its crew were not fishermen and apparently up to no good. The mate of the schooner later said to me, “we could have done a lot of people a big favor if we had just opened up on them with the shotguns!”

Pirates have been raiding the Caribbean for centuries and they are still here.

Despite the apparent danger of further attacks, Larry and I decided to go ahead with our plans to visit Puerto Bello and then on to the islands for a couple of weeks of snorkeling on the magnificent reefs and explore the islands that are home to the friendly Kuna Indians.  As time would prove, we would evade all pirate attacks and have a wonderful time of it before returning to Canada.

I would arrive back in Vancouver, greeted by a snow storm that immobilized the city forcing me to hold up in a B&B just 30 miles from home to wait it out. Larry’s trip home was better than mine. He was not greeted by a snow storm in Edmonton Alberta, just a -41C chill. I will take the heat of the tropics over the cold of the north any day.

Well that’s about it for now. I will keep you all posted of our preparations to head north.

Thanks for following.