Gallery

Gallery – Hurricane season in Panama

Gallery – Hurricane season in Panama

Refreshed and energized, we return from Jamaica to the Turtle Cay Marina, where Mabul is patiently waiting for us. We actually want to replace the rudder bearing as quickly as possible and then sail to Cartagena in Colombia to spend the hurricane season there. After some back and forth, we decide not to sail to Colombia but to spend the hurricane season in Panama. Mabul will therefore remain in the Turtle Cay Marina for most of the time, so the rudder bearing can wait for the time being and its repair can be planned properly. This immediately takes off all the pressure and stress, and we can relax and enjoy the untouched nature here.
It’s already time for Karin to fly to Switzerland to work for the SRF for five months. Alex stays on board for another eight weeks and deals with lots of little things and some larger projects. Then it’s off to Germany and Switzerland for him too, for the first time in two years…

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Gallery – Jamaica

Gallery – Jamaica

After Mabul is fixed, we make our way to San Blas. San Blas is over 200 nautical miles to the east, and we want to set off from here with an improved angle to Jamaica. The passage will be a tough ride upwind anyway. But we don’t want it to come to that. We continue to be dogged by bad luck and notice a loose rudder on the passage, the rudder bearing is completely worn out. As a result, we are unable to sail as far as Jamaica and Mabul has to be hauled out of the water again for repairs. While still in San Blas, we decide to park Mabul in the Turtle Cay Marina and fly to Jamaica for a (boat) vacation. It was a good decision. We enjoy two carefree and boat-free weeks on an incredibly green island in the best of company. We take a small rental car on a round trip through Jamaica, which takes us from Negril to Kingston and over the Blue Mountains to Portland and back.

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Gallery – Bocas del Toro

Gallery – Bocas del Toro

Finally, a weather window opens up that allows us to safely leave the atoll of Cayos Albuquerque without an engine, and we set sail. On the way, we are accompanied by a few birds that are still asleep when we drop anchor at eleven at night. There are lots of boat jobs to do here in Bocas del Toro. The priority is clearly to replace the cutlass bearing and find the cause of the rapid wear and tear. Before we haul out in Almirante, we spend a week close to Bocas and get all the provisions on board Mabul. The long-awaited and well-traveled gennaker has also finally arrived. Many thanks again to Stephan from our sponsor VM Sails! We tow Mabul the last ten miles to the shipyard with our dinghy moored alongside. Once there, the true extent of the damage becomes apparent after a few days. Once again, Alex works like mad for a whole three weeks before Mabul is floating in the water again.

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Gallery – Cayos Albuquerque

Gallery – Cayos Albuquerque

We say goodbye to Panama and set off for the Cayman Islands with our friend Lea. This is right on our planned route to the Bahamas and makes an ideal stopover. On the very first night, water spills into the forward bathroom in the middle of the night, so we sail to Cayos Albuquerque to dry out and seal Mabul again. A completely unexpected paradise awaits us here. Two small islands in the middle of an atoll surrounded by crystal-clear water. We meet the Colombian army and coast guard, spend time with the local fishermen and experience and hear many a curious story.

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Gallery – Panama Canal

Gallery – Panama Canal

Then plans change: We decide that we and Mabul are not yet ready for the Pacific and that we would stay one more season on the Caribbean side. Of course, we still keep our promise to be line handlers for SV My Motu during their Panama Canal transit. So we moor Mabul in the Turtle Cay Marina and go on board SV My Motu. Together we make our way to Shelter Bay Marina in Colon. This is the first (almost) necessary stop before heading into the canal. There, the final preparations are made, large fenders and long lines are delivered by the agent and we get a briefing. Then we set off shortly after four o’clock in the morning.

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Gallery – Panama

Gallery – Panama

There are different places one can go cruising in Panama. We visit San Blas and Portobelo and dock Mabul in the marinas of Linton Bay and Turtle Cay. Preparations for the Pacific are in full swing. Together with the crew of SV My Motu we rent a car to make various trips to Colon. In Shelter Bay Marina I pick up our new anchor chain, deliver lithium batteries from sailors in San Blas and in return get Canadian passports for people in San Blas. We buy food and alcohol in the Zona Libre, I get our liferaft serviced and pick up packages from the US. Before the second San Blas round with Georges, we visit Portobelo, a small town with a great history, and after transiting the canal on My Motu, we explore Panama City while Mabul lies patiently waiting for us in the Turtle Cay Marina.

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Gallery – San Blas II

Gallery – San Blas II

After all the jobs in Linton Bay Marina and Colon, are done, Mabul is equipped with a new 80 metre long anchor chain, six brand new AGM batteries with a capacity of 630AH and an incredible amount of food. Karin returns from Switzerland with not only some boat parts, but also her father Georges. We spend a short time in the marina and then set off under engine in total calm. If you ask the people here, you quickly realize that this is the best way to cruising back to San Blas. Once again we drop anchor off some small sand islands, snorkeling, cooking, drinking… Georges is doing amazingly well on board and brings new vigour to the galley.

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Gallery – San Blas I

Gallery – San Blas I

The next leg from Providencia will take us together with SV My Motu to Panama, or to be more precise, to San Blas. We heard a lot people saying, cruising in San Blas is a must, so we want to spend a few more nice weeks at anchor here and then sail through the canal to reach the Pacific. We clear in at the small island of Porvenir and spend two weeks exploring the archipelago with its more than 350 islands. But there are still a few jobs on the list before we can cross the channel, such as a liferaft service, then we need to buy the new anchor chain and loads of food. I sail single-handed into Linton Bay Marina for the first time, while Karin deals with things in Switzerland. Linton Bay is where Karin and her father Georges will return to from Switzerland so that we can sail one more time to San Blas.

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Gallery – Providencia

Gallery – Providencia

After leaving Rio Dulce, we are cruising 600 miles with a rare, extremely helpful but uncomfortable westerly wind to Providencia, a small Colombian outpost off the coast of Nicaragua. Here we drop anchor off the island’s largest town, meet the crew of SV My Motu and will spend Christmas together until after New Year. The island is easy to travel around by golf kart and, in addition to dream beaches, has plenty of jungle and super friendly inhabitants to offer. We find a reggae bar from which we watch the start preparations for a small fishing regatta, climb to the highest point on the island at “the peak” and the underwater world speaks its own language.

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Gallery – Providencia Diving

Gallery – Providencia Diving

We’ll see gray reef sharks – 99 guaranteed!” says our dive guide Justifer as we descend to the reef. Diving in Providencia means immersing yourself in the world of sharks. They approach us curiously and eye us up. One reason for their trusting nature is that the local islanders feed the sharks with lionfish, which have spread invasively here and threaten the other underwater inhabitants. During several dives, we are enchanted by the elegance, curiosity and speed of the sharks.

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