Category Archives: Passage

Time spent between destinations travelling on the water.

Passage to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

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The moon rose shortly after midnight, but it was a tiny sliver that gave off virtually no light, so it was essentially pitch black all night. In the wee hours of the morning, something odd happened. Two boats passed us at the same time. One of the boats pulled out a spot light and was looking us over with it, but then turned it off and kept going. We are guessing they were trying to see if we had nets out to make sure it was safe to pass us.

By morning, the ocean was still as calm as a lake. Here is the sunrise.

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There were tons and tons of sportfishers out, and the wakes of their boats was about the only movement on the water. It was wonderful. Mike is prone to seasickness, but he was feeling great. Although, he never tried to read, not wanting to push his luck. Instead, he watched the horizon intently.

Not too long after sunrise, Mike saw a school of dolphins in the distance. Then he saw a sailfish. A little while later, he saw another pod of dolphins. This pod swam up to the boat and rode the bow wake for a few minutes. Since the water was so flat and calm, we could see them especially clearly. It was really exciting for all of us, but especially Mike.

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At 1030, the seas picked up some, but it was just small swells and the ride was still nice.
Mike saw dolphins again around lunch time, but they Continue reading →

Back to Golfito to Start the Passage to Nicaragua

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Yesterday we started the day with Gallo Pinto for breakfast followed by a nice walk around downtown Turrialba. The first photo is a typical street scene and the second is the town square, which is probably the most attractive part of town.

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After our walk, we headed out of town. It was time to get back to Kosmos in Golfito. We headed northeast towards San Jose, again guessing at where we needed to go. We drove through mostly farmland. They seem to grow a lot of Continue reading →

Welcome to Golfito, Costa Rica

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Since the seas had been so calm on this passage, we pulled into Golfo Dulce (Sweet Gulf) at around 0230, hours earlier than we anticipated when we plotted the course. Going in at night was of zero concern, though, because the visibility was like daylight. We could see the land on both sides of us clearly, as well as floating obstacles like tree trunks. And yes, we did see a few tree trunks in there! The aroma in the bay was so strong that it was almost overwhelming rich, fertile soil and sweet tropical plants. It smelled so good. The wind picked up and the water got a touch of wind chop, but it was still a great ride. Here is a shot of the moon after the wind picked up. Note how clear the mountain is.

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We meandered Continue reading →

Passage from Panama City to Golfito, Costa Rica

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The nice, smooth ride lasted until around noon yesterday. Then we turned a corner, so the wind and waves were coming from our starboard (right) side rather than the rear. The comfort level was only modestly affected and it was still an overall pleasant ride. Throughout the afternoon, the wind speed climbed quite a bit. The wind was coming from the shore, and since we were paralleling the shoreline, there wasn’t enough fetch for the waves to pick up too much, but it did get lumpier. The dual stabilization probably helped. The day was sunny, bright and clear, which was a nice change of pace. Pretty much the whole time we have been in Panama, it has been gray, overcast and gloomy, so we were appreciating the sunshine. We enjoyed looking at Panama’s scenic mountain coastline while we motored along. As the day wore on, we saw less and less traffic.

We ran our generator almost all day, making water, doing laundry, and enjoying the AC. It is really hot out today, probably because it is so sunny. Eric checked the fan and shaft temperature several times, concerned that they had been running hot in Gatun Lake. The fan seems to be working great. The shaft temperature is actually lower than normal, and we assume it is because the water temperature is about 15 degrees cooler than it was in the Atlantic.

At about sunset, a big school of dolphins came to play with the boat. Usually they only play on the bow, but this set also played with the paravanes. They are a different species to what we are used to seeing. According to a flier we had picked up somewhere, they are called Continue reading →

Checking Out of Panama

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Today the plan was to get an early start. We’d check out of the country and go to the grocery store in the morning, then spend a leisurely afternoon getting the boat ready for sea and pull up anchor at 1700.

It all started off well. On the way in to shore, we saw a big, pretty jellyfish in the water. We stopped to watch it for a couple of minutes. They are so graceful and elegant. Over the few days we have been here, we managed to pawn off 14 of the tires to assorted cruisers getting ready to transit. We had our 6 remaining tires in the dinghy with us. We carried them up the huge ramp to the trash dumpster, and paid the disposal fee at the same office we pay the dinghy fee. It was low tide, so it was a steep walk up that ramp.

We hopped in a taxi and went to Continue reading →