Stravaig's Travels

During the last few weeks in Bocas del Toro, we managed to get hold of sufficient materials, plywood etc. with which we were able to reconstruct the galley. The stove was moved nearer the cockpit, the entire countertop was widened with cupboards and drawers below and a sparkling new sink installed and at last pressure water! During the construction miraculously Jose was able to continue producing great meals despite the fact that the stove was jury rigged outside in the cockpit! No mean feat! All in all a successful and worthwhile project. Once completed we loaded stores, diesel fuel and water and set of belatedly for Florida. Our first stop was the beautiful island of Providencia, off the coast of Niguaragua . This island is part of Colombia however and we were delighted to find the local people kind and friendly and we never felt as welcome as this in the rest of Central America. Our friends Pete and Robbie on PR2 had sailed from Curacao and were there in Providencia to meet up wit...

We are in Cartagena! What a wonderful place! No, no pics yet, not a long story either. We have been busy organizing supplies, like wood and fiberglass so we can go to one of the outer islands and do some work and swim and snorkel as well. We will also write the update since Colon, have been lazy I think! But all is well, we are really enjoying Colombia, its a very nice and friendly country, contrary to all the bad stories, so far we think its wonderful. More soon, dont give up on the stories yet!!

hello to you all! Its been a while since our last update, we have had some trouble with the boat, but hope to be at sea again as from tomorrow. On the way from Providencia to Jamaica we found some water in the main cabin and suspected it to come from the underwing hull connection. Not good, so decided the only safe thing to do was to go downwind and try to get to Colon, Shelter Bay Marina where we hauled out in December. Not our favorite place, but no other options that we could think of. it was a good decision, we did have a crack in the underwing and after 17 days of hard work she is as good as new and we are ready to try and make our way to Curacao where we hope to spend the hurricane season. So, the rest of the story and the latest pictures will have to wait a few more weeks, just thought to update you all a little bit at least! Keep reading the blog, send a comment if you like!

Here a few more pics from Shelter Bay, hauling the boat and my favorite sloth! Thia liitle guy is o Coati-mundi and the next one a Capucin Monkey. Leaving the Panama Yachtclub early in the morning we motored out and crossed the inbound and outbound shipping lanes for the Panama Canal and in quite strong wind made our way up to the breakwater which guards the whole canal approaches. Although we knew there was plenty of room for a couple of ships and us, the big waves and a cross current made our exit feel quite precarious. Once we had managed to get well clear of the pounding surf we headed almost south towards the Chagres river. THE CHAGRES RIVER SEEN FROM THE FORT This is only a mere 5 or 6 miles from the breakwater but to get there we had to pick our way between the anchored ships waiting for their transit. The entrance to the river is quite difficult, the water about 15 ft deep but reefs on both sides tend to make breaking sea...

Well, we hope you all had a great Christmas and we wish everybody the most wonderful New Year.2008 for us was far too exciting for our liking and we are hoping for a quieter life in the year to come, ie no whales, no storms and no equipment failures would be much appreciated. We did enjoyed most of it though and are just very happy and grateful that we are here to look forward to a next year, it could have been very different. In order to transit the Canal we first were required to be measured and generally checked out by a Canal official and upon receiving his paperwork blessing we were then permitted to pay the fees and agree a date for our transit. Just before we were due to go, there was a very bad spell of significant weather which caused landslides and other catastrophies and for us such high winds that we cancelled the trip and opted to go a few days later when things had settled down. OUR CREW FOR THE TRANSIT We picked up our advisor( pilot)and four friends to act as line hand...

Have gone succesfully through the canal, will get whole story online asap! had a great time!

BRIDGE OF THE AMERICAS RAINSQUALLS OLD AND NEW IN THE PORT OF PANAMA WHERE WE HAD TO FIND THE PROT CAPTAIN FOR OUR CRUISING PERMIT ON SEPTEMBER CELEBRATING HANS BIRTHDAY A ROCK THATS ONLY VISIBLE WITH LOW TODE, SO THANKS VERY MUCH FOR GPS! SEPTEMBER MOTORING ALONG ON THE WAY TO PUNTA GUANICO, THE LAST NIGHT STOP BEFORE PANAMA IS THAT A SHIP?????? PANAMAX (WHICH IS THE BIGGEST SHIP THAT FITS THROUGH THE CANAL), SEEN FROM WHERE WE ARE ANCHORED THE BRIDGE OF THE AMERICAS IN A RAINSQUALL, ALSO SEEN FROM OUR BOAT IN THE FLAMENCO ANCHORAGE, SORRY HAD THIS ONE ALREADY! A LOCAL HOUSE ON THE LITTLE ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF BAHIA HONDA, WHERE WE HAD A TOUR AND VISITED THE SCHOOL GABY WITH SOME OF THE CHILDREN WHOM ALL WANTED TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE TAKEN JEFF IN THE LOCAL BAR IN BAHIA HONDA AFTER OUR TOUR THE REEF NEXT TO ISLA CATALINA WHERE WE SPEND ONE NIGHT ON THE WAY FROM SUNSET IN PLAYA PLANTANAL (BANANA BEACH) ANOTHER OVERNIGHT ANCHORAGE JEFF ASHORE IN THE ISLAS SECAS FOR A WO...