Today was a calm day in the Gulfo del Darien. As the weather forecast successfully predicted, this area would be lacking wind during the afternoon-evening, so we had quite a calm ocean and we were also able to wake up later at a good time to have some well needed rest. The spinnaker was up again in the morning however, but it didn’t take long before we had to take it down again.

We had another pack of dolphins visit us as well and we managed to get a a nice video of one doing a jump out of the water! Unfortunately, the videos will have to wait, as the bandwidth requirements for videos is quite a bit more demanding for the sometimes painfully slow internet connections you come across in South America.

I also took advantage of the calmer waters to do some necessary wire joining using a soldering iron, Leatherman, self galvanising tape, electrical tape and a bit of spiral trunking. The radio antenna cable and the tri-colour light cables had to be tied and tidied up, as we left quite a bit of extra length when erecting the mast. We temporarily joined them before in Cartagena, but never got round to tiding it up. The co-axial radio cable had to be cut and newly terminated with a connector and joining adapter, the two red-black cables for the tri-colour light were also cut, but soldered together and all cables weather proofed.

Later on we received a visit from an interesting bird. We didn’t have a clue what type of bird it was, but at first it looked like a flying penguin! He stalked us for a while and then decided to land on top of the wind turbine. He didn’t seem to mind us getting close, as when I climbed the instrument rack to get him off, I had to get within centimeters before he flew off. He was later joined by what seemed like his partner who also decided to fly around the boat a few times before perching on the instrument rack to join him. Trouble is, the wind started picking up and the turbine started up. It was spinning pretty fast and he often lightly put his beak into the blades. What would happen if he started opening his wings? I climbed up again and scared them both off before they caused any damage. He hit his wing on the blades as he took off, but he seemed to fly without issues so all was good.

They then both decided to sit at the front of the boat and even sailed with us most of the way into the night. They were just sitting there, cleaning themselves and chilling out on the deck. We sailed off into the evening and enjoyed a very nice moonlit ocean in the middle of the Gulfo del Darien. By now we were over half way there, so the anticipation was rising!

Early in the morning while it was still dark, I woke up to a smooth ride and the engines were switched off. I knew we were sailing well, so I got up on deck to find out that we were sailing downwind with the spinnaker and cruising at about five knots. It was really nice to feel the boat being pushed exclusively by the wind and the ride through the waves were so much smoother as the spinnaker was lifting our nose up and keeping it level.

I got some more rest after enjoying the sailing and chilling on deck, only to be awoken by a huge pack of dolphins swimming in front of the boat! There must have been about twenty of them messing around and jumping out of the water. It was incredible! I managed to touch one on the fin and I must have scared him as he flinched, splashed water in my face and swam off very quickly.

Just after the dolphins went their own way, the wind picked up nicely and came from ninety degree to port allowing us to reach very nicely. We managed to get up to a speed of about seven knots, which isn’t bad for having the sails reefed about half way. We spent most of the day just chilling, reading, sleeping and enjoying good food. The wind died down again later in the day so we had to start the engines again.

In the evening we were greeted by a nice sunset over the ocean and as the evening approached the wind started to pick up again slowly. Another choppy, yet enjoyable cruise through the Gulfo del Darien. More action to follow :)

This is the big day. We are off to the San Blas Islands! We had to top up the boat’s water and fuel stocks in the morning and then went to the supermarket to get some last minute supplies and use the internet for the last time to download the latest emails and weather information before we set sail. The tension was rising and we still were not sure when exactly in the day we would be leaving as Coen was not sure about the weather. The best winds we could have used according to the forecast, were in the late morning, but it was the afternoon already and time was ticking on. Victoria and I were waiting for this day since the 7th August, so the constant stalling was starting to get quite frustrating and we just wanted to leave.

We got back to the boat and finally the decision to set sail was made. Hurrah! The time had ultimately arrived. The engines were dropped and off we went, through the channels and out of the harbour wall into the sea.

As Coen was understandably concerned with his newly fixed mast, (weaker or stronger, nobody knows) he was reluctant to raise the main sail and only raised the aft sail about a third while still motoring out into the Caribbean ocean. There was a nice breeze as we passed the headland of Bocagrande, but it was a shame we didn’t get the sails up straight away and use it.

On our way out of the harbour I showed Coen a possible route that we could navigate that would take advantage of the trade winds blowing to the west just 30 nmi north-west of Cartagena. He seemed to have taken it on-board, but as we left the harbour we took a 280deg (WNW) heading instead of the 315deg (NW) heading that I suggested we take in order to meet the trade winds. The problem with taking the trade winds is that you have to get there first and it means taking a longer route around Gulfo del Darino to the north than the obvious direct heading. However, the trade winds are pretty much guaranteed so you could get there quicker by not cruising through dead wind unless you have enough fuel that is. The trouble is, we didn’t have enough fuel to take us all the way there even if we had to use the engines. If I were captain, the decision would be obvious; Take the trade winds, use the forecasts and go where the wind blows, as isn’t that what a big part of sailing is about, predicting the weather and plotting the best course of action?

As we got about 20 nmi out and the wind started to pickup towards the evening, we caught some wind from the north-east, turned the motors off and started sailing. A great feeling that I missed, I must say! It’s so nice to be powered by the wind without burning anything. I had quite a bit of sailing experience before with my Dad, Uncle and at a sailing school in Plymouth, but I couldn’t quite remember what it felt like. Grazia is also the biggest, functional sailing boat that I’ve sailed on and also the first catamaran. The bow pitches (up and down) a lot due to the inherent shape of the hull, but the moving from side-to-side is reduced with catamarans and nowhere near as much rolling as traditional mono-hull designs.

As we rode into the sunset and with swells coming from our starboard-aft side, the ride was not that comfortable, as a result Richard wasn’t feeling too good and had to vomit. Victoria was also not feeling too great and I was dealing with the stomach cramps a bit, but fortunately Victoria, Coen, Ruth and I didn’t join the vomit club.

I had a few rests rests during the day so I managed to stay up until about two in the morning. We managed to do a bit of downwind/broad-reach sailing along the way, but it was pretty calm with a few thunderstorms nearby displaying some impressive lightning strikes. We motored some of the time as there was not enough wind to carry us. I hit the deck after a long day a got awoken early in the morning to nice surprise… more to follow.