Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Panama to Jamaica

Ralph left for Panama in January in order to get the boat ready for our cruise into the Caribbean. In addition to painting the bottom in the sweltering heat and humidity, he spent sometime de-mildewing below decks after 8 months in the jungle. He washed EVERYTHING and it looks great now. Meanwhile, I was at home watching the snow in Albuquerque!
For the passage from Panama to Jamaica, Ralph was joined by our friend, Tim, who sailed down the Baja with us last year. They reported wind/currents on the nose for the first 36 hours. It was slow going with not much sailing at first. After that, they were glad to report favorable winds for the next three days and until they arrived in Jamaica. Ralph got the boat up to a speed of 11.9 knots which is smokin' for a sailboat. Total trip was 5 days, 4 nights, 600 nautical miles.

In addition to being a congenial crewmember, Tim is a great fisherman (as long as the fish jump onto the boat and are not too big). I have to thank Tim for taking this segment of the trip, as I was not really very interested in the passage.


First stop in Jamaica, Port Royal. This is on the Kingston Harbor and when the guys awoke the day after their long journey, they found themselves in what was once called "the richest and wickedest city in the world" until it was partially buried in the sea by an earthquake-timing is everything.



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