Another Ho Hum Day In Paradise.

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Greeting Readerettes,

I have nothing to report. Nothing exciting or horrible has happened. We did not get fined, laid or attacked by pirates, Kuna or the Coast Guard. We did not sink, break apart, do anything noteworthy, or see anything more unusual than Mota making breakfast. So, to keep my editors happy and fill the page, this missive will contain various, unrelated insights I've gathered, gleamed or got throughout my travels.

But first the mandatory update...

We've returned back to Shelter Bay, safe and sound, placed our boat in a slip and reduced our caloric output to unmeasurable levels while increasing our caloric input by two cheeseburgers and a fries per meal. Two days passed with nothing more thrilling occurring than taking a shower.

Yesterday, Mota (DONT GIVE HIM SUGAR!) left for the States. He will be sadly missed - he was a ball of energy surrounded by good intentions, covered with hard work. I'm convinced we could have lost both engines and still gotten here using only a long bridle tied to his waist, a pair of flippers and a thousand cans of Red Bull. Jeff has also taken off for Panama City, but he'll be back. He grabbed a bus to go exploring. The plan is for him to rejoin us on the 2nd and go through the canal with everyone else.

Sometime this evening AnnMarie, Thorny (head bean counter for Burning Man), Erik and Qat are all due to arrive. It has been nice having the boat to myself for a day, but quite honestly, there are no end of friendly cruisers about and one can always find some sort of socializing, even if it means making a fool of myself talking to people in Spanish.

It is a small world though. Last night I got to talking with another sailor and discovered that not only did we both work in exactly the same sub-field of programming, but that he had designed a small electronic product for cruisers that he wants to market, and was looking for someone who could do board layout and help organize manufacturing. Oddly, the exact talents he needed exist in my friend Erik, who is about to arrive. I will put them in touch. It seems so weird to be talking "embedded systems" nerd stuff in paradise, with another barefoot guy, also in a dirty T-shirt, and even more strange to be able to provide a solution to his dilemma. ONLY IN [central] AMERICA!

We go through the canal in a day or two. Everyone seems to be very excited about it. I'm still confused why this is such a big deal. The principle behind this technology is hundreds of years old, and is no different than that found in the standard American bathroom, yet no one has ever sent me an email asking to be "put on the list" of folks that want to come over and watch the next time I'm fixing the toilet. Apparently large scale plumbing is somehow more interesting.

Beyond that, nothing much has occurred, but that has never stopped me from writing a lot. So, here are some random thoughts that have been kicking around in my head...



On Boat Maintenance: There are three kinds of boat parts: "broken", "about to break", and "recently installed". Some times there are only two types of boat parts.

On Physical Appeal: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but nothing improves looks faster than a long sea journey. I've watched young merchant marines get off a boat and flirt with their best friends great grandmother.

On Anchoring: The probability of your anchor holding perfectly, in exactly the best place in the anchorage, especially on the first attempt, is directly proportional to the chance that another boat will then come along and anchor directly up wind of you and drag their anchor that night.

On Food at Sea: Unless there is a professional cook aboard who continually prepares your meals for you, after five days with rough seas you will be reduced to eating anything that can be consumed with nothing more complicated than a scissor, a can opener or a straw. After ten days, you'll make a meal of nothing but condiments. After twenty days, you'll regret having blown through the condiments as it would have improved the "Canned Squid With Corn Flakes" breakfast you've concocted.

On Clean Towels: There are two kinds of towels found on a boat. The first are those used to dry off dishes, mop up food spills, dry off salt water spray in the cockpit, act as floor mats, buff the gel-coat, and cover equipment from the sun. The second type are identical in appearance to the former, but are clean, just back from the laundry...and completely imaginary; they do not exist in this reality. After two days at sea, I'm yet to dry off with anything that didn't smell like a goat.

On Learning: Feelings work better than intellect when instilling good habits. Repeatedly explaining the importance of keeping your thumbs away from the winch as you handle the line has only minimal impact on another's consciousness, yet freeing their fingers from within the jib sheet block instantly conveys the same lesson in only seconds and never needs reminding.

On Sex at Sea: There is nothing so romantic as a tryst on the high seas. Once you both get past the sea sickness, and have managed to get enough sleep, and found something nourishing to eat that doesn't make you sick again, and have arranged your watch schedules to coincide, and have managed to both take showers, and have then negotiated the small, cramped space in which to snuggle while the boat bounces you around like the back end of an old pickup truck, and have figured out how not to make so much noise it attracts the the crew's attention (or scares off the dolphins), and you've remembered which crevice the condoms and lube fell into, you discover that you have already arrived at the next port.

On Meteorology: Weather prediction is no longer the black art it once was. The advent of computers, satellites and government employees have made weather prognostication almost an exact science. For instance, the weather prediction we heard on the Single Side Band Panama Net for April 28th, 2007 was, and I quote, "The wind could be coming from one direction or another, which could be good or bad, depending on where you were going". This turned out to be 100% correct.

On the Nautical Lexicon: Ignore the common myth that there is a proper word for everything on a boat and that you must use only that word when communicating. For instance, there are many names for the left side of the boat, including "Port", "No, Mota, The Other Port", and "Not There You Bloody Idiot", to name just a few.

On Private Transportation Ashore: The cost of any taxi ride in any tourist location is determined by taking the cost of the average tourist's shoes and doubling it. I'm not sure why this is. Questioning it only increases the cost of your cab ride.

On Panamanian Cigarettes: "American Spirits" are still the only cigarette worth getting cancer for. The stuff they sell down here is horrific. It's so bad I'm amazed anyone can even get addicted.

On Communication: "Shirt-cocking" is universally effective and conveys the same meaning in all languages. Even die hard Kuna don't paddle up when your wearing only a Harley Davidson T-shirt.



Oh well, enough fun at your expense. I hope everyone is doing fine and all is well. I'll let you all know how the transit went, and then it's on to Costa Rica and then the great decision.

Cheers,

Robb


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Greetings From Shelter Bay Marina

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Greeting from Shelter Bay Marina, natures little pond of delight just minutes away from mankind's little industrial canal of the colon.
We returned back from San Blas today and pulled back into the marina to regroup. This meant long, uninterrupted, hot showers. And cheeseburgers with French fries. And iced tea with real ice. Its funny but one of the things that define Americans is their copious use of ice. European cultures don't seem to go in for cold drinks the way we do. Two nights ago we had a big party on the boat and invited all the other cruisers. Peter, a German cruiser came aboard and said "Okay, where's the ice? You Americans always have ice."

And he was right! I'm not really sure what it is, but I'll tell you that I won't go cruising again without an ice maker and working freezer. After two or three days with only warm drinks, you suddenly appreciate how much better it makes things taste. It also seems to make whatever you're drinking refresh you more, even if it is just a glass of water. It isn't that hot down here, but you do desiccate a bit and the cold makes a huge difference.

Oh, and another interesting observation I never thought I'd make: Coke is better than all the cola competition put together, including Pepsi, 7-up beats Sprite and other such alternatives, and all of it is made ten times better over ice. It is surprising how much of a taste difference there is (even for someone like myself who barely ever drinks this stuff) when you are suddenly looking at the last can of Coke and know that what remains are three six packs of Fanta and a quart of Gingerbeer. Honestly, I don't drink soda pop, I prefer seltzer (no calories, no phosphates, no sugars, no salt) but there is a real difference in taste. I realize I'm offending Pepsi drinkers, but there you have it.

Its also been very interesting how certain food items can brighten your day. We got off the boat this morning after twenty four hours of rolling waves and high winds, and not enough sleep. We stumbled up to the restaurant and slumped into the chairs. The Shelter Bay harbor manager walked over with a plate of freshly baked brownies. I thought Jeff and Mota were going to cry. They relished them and their whole mood changed. It was like watching someone come back to life. I'm thinking of adding some to the first aid kit.

Jen, Mike, and MaryAnn left earlier. Mota leaves tomorrow for the states, and Jeff is headed off to Panama City for a few days of solo exploration. They will be sorely missed. What's more, I'm beginning to realize that Jeff, Mota, Jen, Mike, and MaryAnn have become the standard by which I will judge all other crew to come. I really lucked out this trip and had a string of really great individuals that worked as a team. Everyone got along fantastically well, coped with adversities like clogged heads and non-functioning autopilots without even the slightest frown, and did more than their fair share of effort, including scrubbing out bilges, putting up netting, rerouting plumbing, fiber-glassing and many other thankless tasks. What could have been a horrific slog across the ocean was actually a fun filled, laughter strewn skip across the pond. I am much indebted to them all.



If it sounds like I'm blathering on about it, I'm not. Finding good crew is really hard. I've spoken with many, many cruisers along the way. They all have relayed their disappointment and frustration in finding folks that work hard and still have a good time. There have been quite a number of horror stories about crew quitting halfway through, or getting into fights, or freaking out, or breaking expensive boat parts. None of that happened, and everyone arrived in port safe and sound. A better trip could not have been had.

Now comes the much ballyhooed canal crossing itself. We are scheduled for the 3rd and it is supposed to take less than 24 hours to get through, but given the direction we're headed, we'll probably get scheduled with an overnight stop in the big lake. This is considered to be a great treat as there are numerous birds, monkeys and other exotic life (including giant crocodiles) to be seen along the shores. We'll take pictures and share them with everyone when we return.

Otherwise it has been a relatively low key last few days. We did some more snorkeling before we left San Blas with Slater and his wife Julie. It turns out that Slater also worked for the Berkeley West Marine, but a year before I did, and we figured out that we had once met in the store. It is a very small world. They lived in Europe, but had flew to Richmond to buy their boat, and lived there and worked at West Marine for about two years. He came on the boat and said "Wow, you have all the same West Marine parts I do!" Funny how that works out.

I also spent several great hours with Folkher and MaryLou, a lovely German couple sailing on a really nice Privilege Catamaran. They'd been out cruising for several years and had been around quite a lot of the Caribbean. Their attitude was that it made more sense to leave now while their health was still good and they could enjoy themselves. On one hand, I agree with them, but on the other hand, I've been meeting a lot of folks in their seventies that have been out cruising for thirty years and look to be about twenty years younger than you might guess. This life style is definitely good for some folks.

I've also come across quite a number of families with children. A big part of their cruising life is home schooling them. If the folks I've encountered are anything to judge by, I'd say that this form of education beats anything I've seen in either private or public schools. I'm regularly amazed at the high levels of knowledge, poise, intellect, maturity and responsibility displayed by the children of cruisers. They are still playful kids, but are invariably achieving several levels higher than their land based counterparts. You regularly hear about some child turning sixteen and being admitted to college early. It is very impressive.

There hasn't been much else to report. We spend a lot of time making snide comments, laughing about them, then realizing that nothing we've said can be transcribed in any fashion that would make another person laugh, or even smile. It has all been location jokes that would take about three hours of typing to explain just ten minutes of on the spot humor - and then it still wouldn't be funny, so I won't try.

The boat continues to perform well, although with each day I find another thing about it I'd like to modify or improve somehow. We've enjoyed ourselves immensely, managed to avoid getting seriously hurt and have spent most of our time giggling at each other. Sounds trite, but its is the truth.

I hope all is well back home and look forward to seeing everyone again soon.

Cheers,

Robb


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A Letter Home

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Editor's Note: Not all emails went out to our readership. Many were far too personal to publish, but we've included this one just for fun.


Hello my love,

It was great to hear your voice again, I miss you so!! Mota and Jeff are fabulous company, but I really wish you were here. Please do whatever you need to be ready to fly back down, I want to hold you again!

Please contact Mike, MaryAnn & Jen and find out how they made out and if there is anything they need or left behind and thank them again for their help and company, please tell them they are welcome back anytime. Also please contact my folks and explain my absence and that I will fly to see them as soon as we get the boat to a logical stopping point.

We are on our way to the San Blas now, wind has been low, seas flat, but that makes for slow going as we don't want to waste a lot of fuel. The stay in Shelter Bay got better in that we kept meeting more and more new and wonderful people. We almost decided to stay another night and jam with another musician but seeing the islands seemed like a better idea.

Cruising definitely suits this crew, each of us wander off and find new friends, then introduce them around. Jeff ended up fixing a computer problem for the French couple (Alaine & Madeline) on the red & white Outremere cat, and practicing his French. We could probably get jobs doing IT down here, the way so many cruisers need help. Maybe I should switch careers.

Can you please check to see which emails of mine made it through? Also, please send a message to the email list asking them not to send any emails directly to the boat address as this severely reduces my ability to use email. Ask them to send things to you instead. Also, I haven't seen anything in my email that seemed urgent, but please look over it, there was a message in there from the folks from Aruba Marina saying they forgot to bill us for something. Please tell them that I'm not able to respond just yet but we will look this over during the next couple of weeks and get back to them if there is any problem.

I hope all is well with you. Thank you so much for dealing with all this shore side shit. I realize how less glamorous it may seem, but in reality it is far more important for our long term goals than fixing the boat. Please do spend some time doing something fun this week, don't work so hard you go crazy. Remember, we both have to work a few more years before we can go sailing, you don't want to burn out just yet!

Please write as much as you want, I love hearing from you and wish I could kiss you all over.

I love you madly.

Robb



p.s. There isn't anything we can't live without, but some things that would really be nice are:

1. Lots of crystallized ginger.
2. Chocolate covered ginger.
3. Those ferrite collars you bought at the HAM Radio Outlet (black cylindrical items that snap around the radio cables) also called RF chokes. I need about ten more.
4. If you have the opportunity, please look in the three big black plastic container boxes in 5A storage - I think there may be a box or two of boat gear that got left in them - I'm especially missing two snatch blocks - the brand new one I just bought broke - I'm gonna bring it back to West Marine but I'm pissed that it failed already.
5. There should be another stash of tools somewhere around the boat - I'm missing an Ammeter (it has a plastic loop arm that can be opened and placed around wires), and a signal
6. Tracing meter that was blue and has a black plastic pointed tip. Also, I need to get my soldering stuff from Ron and bring it down here, the crap I have here is worthless.
7. If you see any discs that appear to be at all related to sailing pack them down, I'm missing one for the Garmin GPS especially.
8. A couple of those razor blade holder knives and some razors, the one I had has gone missing.
9. A reasonable amount of toy stuff, lube especially.
10. All of the T.Pratchett paperback books that are on the shelf.
11. A copy of "A Cock & Bull Story" (or whatever the title is of that book by Tristram Shandy) that was written in the 1700s that the movie was based upon.
12. The three way chess game.
13. Your breasts.
14. Your girlfriend's breasts.



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