Kuna Yala

Typical way to sell Molas

Molas for sale

Outside a Kuna house

The Kuna are the second smallest people on earth after the pygmies!

Yesterday was our first full day in this wonderful area. The Kuna prefer the name Kuna Yala for their archipelago of islands over San Blas, a name given by the Spanish. There are 365 different islands although most are not inhabited. Although they are part of Panama they fought for self governance in 1925.  In that year they passed laws like, no marrying outsiders unless you leave home, no personal land property, no property sold to outsiders. It was a surprise to see a swastika on a flag but that was their country symbol long before Hitler's days.
Surprisingly trade is predominately done with Columbia with Kuna selling coconuts and molas and receiving food and other needed goods.

All the women and girls stitch the molas which are similar to a quilt with layers of fabric, appliqué, and hand stitching in intricate designs. They also make beaded bracelets and anklets. They are very colourful dressers. The women manage the business and finances and the men are assigned jobs. When they marry the man moves into his wife's family home area.

We were very fortunate yesterday to meet a local, Nestor, who knew some English from having working as crew on a sailboat, and some years in California. We met him on Wichubhula, one of the 4 islands we can reach by dinghy. None of them are larger than about ¼ km long. The 2 larger ones have 300 and 700 inhabitants. We took the dinghy over to see if there was a school there that we could make some contacts with. Tim, Bill, and Zeek from No Regrets were along also and fortunately for us speak a bit of Spanish. No luck with a school contact as they have their yearly vacation time Jan to March. There was no fresh produce available but the crew were happy that they sold beer.

Nestor said a supply boat would be in to his island, Nalunega, shortly so we headed there for a tour and shopping. He invited us to return to have a lobster   dinner at his home in the evening. We went and bought the lobsters from the fishermen and paid $40 for the 6 of us for the rest of the meal. Everything was very delicious.

A description of his home was typical of them all. The floor is sand, the walls bamboo stakes, the roof thatched. The only furniture was a plastic table and chairs. Everyone sleeps in a hammock, up to 3 children in one. Instead of dressers the clothes and any other possessions are hung from the rafters. Nestor has an old propane stove. Fridges are also run on propane. Six neighbouring homes house his extended family. Fairly recently there was a donation of solar panels to the islands that charge marine batteries. All are enjoying using the power for evening lighting and some tv and dvd's.

Also on the island is a school, church, community meeting place, outhouses over the water, a communal kitchen, bakery, grocery store, satellite dishes and a basketball court. Unfortunately a lot of garbage piles up on the shore mostly from visiting boats dumping overboard. The other environmental issue is flooding in the rainy season as the islands are so low lying.

For most it is a relaxed life style with little crime. Out of the 300 people on one island 100 are children so there are a number that eventually move to Panama City. That is a different life, for sure.

Arrival in San Blas Islands

Anchored off Porvenir Island

Waiting for light to enter between reefs into the San Blas

Short runway at Porvenir

Arrival in San Blas islands

This is exciting to have made landfall after the first big passage. We had to seriously slow down starting yesterday so as not to arrive during the night. The wind and seas stayed high so we were travelling with just a small bit of mainsail. Despite not seeing a boat in days most arrived this morning, including one of those coming from Jamaica. It will be fun to hear how the passage went for other boats. I know one caught a lot of fish.

We have checked in at the airport. There is a short runway, a small motel, and customs office and that is about the size of this island. We are in need of a long quiet sleep so will stay here tonight before moving on to one of the other small islands. We are busy cleaning up today and hope to get Bob’s bed back in use. It looks like the garbage and oily rags are with us to Panama.

There are 3 boats wrecked on various reefs that we can see from here. One was just 2 weeks ago trying to enter after dark. There have been locals on it all day stripping things off. Most charts for less travelled places were done a long time ago and are not very accurate. The governments don’t have the money to updating them.

The Kuna women have been by in their dugouts selling molas, an intricate fabric art. We may need to get one and hang it on the life line to get some quiet. I need to get out the Spanish dictionary and see if they could understand something like “tomorrow”. We have a good guide book on the area that we are anxious to finally start reading. We’ve only tackled the navigation parts so far. Looking forward to our time here until Feb8.

Good Sailing Straight to San Blas

At 11 last night we made the turn from traveling east to southwest to our destination. This plan was to avoid the worst of the strong winds off Columbia. Today winds are 20 t0 25 knots, seas to 10 ft. The boat is moving along well. The crew just need to get used to holding on and getting splashed by seawater. It would help if we had everything put away.

The good news on the diesel spill problem is that we have it contained and have cleaned up most of what came out. Yesterday Rob drilled and sawed a few holes to get access to the area under the fuel tank and pumped out a few gallons. We'll save the rest of the repair and cleanup until stopped.

We are getting excited about getting to the San Blas islands. We are entering at Porvenir as customs and immigration are at the airport there. We have about 230 miles to go. You can only enter the reef between 8 and 12 am so will need to slow down to arrive Tues am. The islands belong to Panama but have always been quite separate culturally. They are encouraged to marry only other Kuna, the name of the indigenous people. Many islands are low lying so are endangered with the rising sea levels that come with warmer temperatures.

We will have some free time there to explore as well as do any BPO work. More of the traveling projects will be done on the Pacific crossings. Three of the 4 boats from Key West are already there having traveled via Jamaica. I hope it gets calm enough to have a shower and boat tidy up before we cross a finish line with photos.

We have been having a SSB net each day at noon. By default Rob has been the controller- and is doing a great job. You need a controller because everyone can hear but only one person can talk at a time. Also the frequency used depends on your location and distances apart. We heard today that several boats have been enjoying caught fish. We won't get any until we get the line in the water. But we are eating well-no complaints.

Yesterday we crossed our first time zone and are now on the same time as at home. The days go by quickly as we take turns steering and also have to get extra sleep to make up for night watches. Our fourth" crew member", the autopilot has been a godsend for overnights. There is not supposed to be much change in conditions until we arrive.

PS It is now Monday morning - conditions did change with 25-30 knot winds most of the night. We're approximately 110 milles from our destination and should have no problem arriving first thing tomorrow morning.

A Big Mess

The offending fuel tank port with home made rubber gasket - hope it holds!

Yesterday was spent mostly cleaning. When we awoke we noticed diesel fuel on the floor of the aft cabin. One of our fuel tanks is under that bunk. It was leaking from the top of the tank where the fuel gauge goes in. The gasket needs replacing. Rob has a big rubber cone in the opening at the moment. He improvised a replacement but in the high seas we have now as soon as he took the plug out the fuel splashed out. It will have to wait until we are at anchor. We have sopped up a good gallon of diesel out of various lockers as well as what is being pumped out of the bilge. Various items like life jackets, spare parts, bathroom supplies, clothing, and a carpet are drenched. We'll be traveling with big garbage bags now. Everything needed to come out of that cabin including the mattresses so you can imagine what the main cabin will look like for the rest of the trip. We'll be "hot bunking" it now though the bow berth was pretty bumpy last night.

Other than that the sailing has been good. Now that the winds are 15 to 20 Maggie can really move. We had her up to 9 knots before reefing for the night. Now with both sails reefed we're doing about 8 knots. We are north of Columbia now (almost 72 longitude) and the winds should increase until we are at 76. There is a gale developing in the Gulf of Mexico that is expected to reach the western Caribbean by the end of the weekend. We'll have to keep an eye out for that on the forecasts.

Today Rob wants to try the internet on the sat phone. Also he is still trying to assess the power sources and usage. I have gone five days now without spending any money, a first. Our son, Mike, is spending his first day in his own townhouse. Lauren will be on her own watching our place. Hope all goes well.

I incorrectly typed the link to the tracking site previously. It should be
http://cornellsailing.com/blue-planet-odyssey/track-the-boats/

350 Miles Under The Keel

Evening at sea

The sailing is still going well. The winds are up now closer to 15 knots so it is easier to make progress. Unfortunately we can't sail directly on course so are following a zigzag line. The guys spent a lot of time again just working on the sailing. We have had a few squalls come through but not too bad as the gradient wind is so low. One of the sail battens started to come out of some broken stitching. It needed to be taken down to that point and the batten removed. A sewing job for later.

It has been great to have 3 people aboard. We are hand steering a lot in the day with the charts off to save power. Rob is checking all the power in and out as something does not seem to be working properly with the batteries. We're not getting quite 8 hours sleep a day yet but getting there. I have to get used to all the noises and motion.

When we hit the spot between Columbia and Haiti the winds are typically very strong. We are sailing west until past there and then turning south. That will likely be Sat sometime. Dennis has been giving us good forecasts on SSB and we can listen to Chris. We'll miss them in the Pacific.

We haven't seen much animal life yet. Last night a bird kept trying to land on our man overboard pole. Two flying fish have landed on deck. Lights are flashing in the wake from some sea life. Another boat has seen dolphins. We haven't tried fishing yet.

About 750 nautical miles left to go

A Gentle Start

Yoles racing off Ste Annes, Martinique

Yole regatta

First time for our spinnaker

Sailing wing and wing

It is now Tues am and we are into a routine with ourselves and the boat. Conditions have been pretty benign so we have had a chance to work with the sails for following light winds. This is a novelty for Rob and I and Maggie as most of our sailing has been to windward. Yesterday Rob and Bob worked an hour to get the spinnaker set up which was a first. Should go faster next time. That improved our speed. For overnight we set up to travel "wing and wing" which is main sail to one side and foresail to the other. Again produced a good speed, 5 to 7 knots, for going straight west.

Now everyone is waiting for more wind. Yesterday there was only 6 to 10 knots which ave us a speed of 3 to 5 knots. The forecast is for a gradual increase and once we are passing Columbia a lot more. Showers an laundry are on the list now. Also, after writing this, Rob will work on how to send an email using the sat phone. The BPO has been sending a short weather update and our positions which we have yet to see.

The BPO start on Sun was fun. Weanchored in the bay to watch the local race which was quite a spectacle. When we chose the spots to anchor we didn't realize we would be right in the path of some of the boats. Having been hit once in a race we were a bit anxious but it made for great photos. Then at noon we all passed the start under sail with the horn and photos.

Eight boats were in Martinique preparing for the trip. In the end 5 of us left Sun. The other 3 boats plan on leaving as they are ready. One was awaiting insurance confirmation, one a ripped mainsail when they started and one awaiting their dinghy motor. By Monday no one was within site, but last night I could see 3 others. The boats are from the USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, England and Brazil. There are quite a few younger sailors between captains and crew. Not all the boats that were to leave from Key West were ready to go for various boat problems. We'll get more details in time. I think they may leave later and go straight to Panama. W will be stopping in the San Blas islands first. 

Another squall is approaching so I'll wind up for today.

Martinique Start

Our Blue Planet Odyssey Flag

All dressed up!

Blue Planet Odyssey (BPO) starts tomorrow.

During this past week of preparations we have felt more like we are part of an event. Kathy and Roger have been here representing the BPO and helping with logistics. We have passed that ”final exam” to go and are looking forward to beginning.

There is a race of local sailboats called Yoles tomorrow at 10 which is supposed to be our start time. So the plan is to leave the dock between 9 and 10 and anchor near the harbour mouth and watch the race. Then at noon we will have a classic starting line to cross under sail just there. We are expected in San Blas a bit more than a week later. We are lucky to have mild weather for the beginning at least.

Tonight there was a skippers’ meeting with all our last minute instructions, weather, and other logistics. The local tourist board had a reception for us and our logbooks were distributed and signed by the mayor of Le Marin. We had an earlier meet and greet and many visits with Kathy and Roger. One night a local high school student gave us some tips on fishing. Hope we can catch something!  I think we all would have liked more time to visit but everyone has been so busy doing last minute things.

On Maggie we have repaired the main sail, added mast steps and installed the new life raft. We deployed the old life raft near the garbage as a demo and removed some of the emergency supplies for our use. Our courtesy flags are up and the BPO flag and splash guard with our number 22. We decided in the end to hire someone to install the new engine throttle. A good thing as he was here from 10:30 to 5 yesterday with Rob and Bob helping most of the time. Food and supplies are quite limited in San Blas so I have been buying as much food as I can fit into the boat and getting it packed away.

Our tracker is started now. You can check it at http://cornellsailing.com/sail-the-odyssey/blue-planet-odyssey/follow-the-rally/track-the-boats/

You can subscribe to receive a daily summary of all the boat positions via email. Just email   positions-bpo-subscribe@cornellsailing.com

Next time from the high seas!

The Countdown Has Begun!

Le Marin - Largest marina in the SE Caribbean .......can't buy flares!

 The countdown has begun! We arrived in Martinique on Tues and have been working ever since to get the boat back in liveable and sailable condition.

Monday we flew from Toronto to Montreal to catch the early flight Tues here. We left home at 10:30 and were in the hotel by 4. That was for a 50 minute flight. That’s flying! At least we got to watch the Canadian Juniors win. It was -22C in Montreal and +28 for us later in the afternoon.

As well as many small jobs, the big ones on the list are life raft, new throttle and relay on engine, sealing the hull/deck joint, buying updated safety equipment, reinstalling the repaired chart plotter, and installing more mast steps. We have been disappointed with the marine stores compared to Grenada and St. Lucia. Many things are unavailable and it is hard to get helpful advice. That last one is probably our own fault as we cannot converse in French.

I’ll start with news on the liferaft as some of you know our initial concern. The one that came with the boat was recertified July 2012 and normally that needs doing every 3 to 5 years. We called the only company here that does that but they don’t work on our brand. The US company that made them requires a yearly inspection now since it is 15 years old. A new life raft can be ordered from France, but takes 5 weeks as they do not fly them. Our friend, Francis, in St Lucia, would do it and give 2 year certificate. The weather has been very blustery this week so did not look forward to taking several days to get there and back. Rob tried calling a Florida company and they would send a new one by air next Wed-for a price. He had already ordered that when we walked into another marine store and saw the exact same raft sitting on the floor for sail! It is now on our deck awaiting installation. We may be transporting 2 of them to Panama as so far haven’t found anywhere to dispose of it. I’m sure if there were a net here someone would take it for free.

The other supply thing we were surprised about was flares for safety. The stores don’t want to carry them because they are considered hazardous and they can’t get rid of them when expired. One suggestion was to rent a car and visit the fishermens’ coops on the east coast as they still require them.

We have managed with difficulty to get the dinghy and motor in the water. We are tied stern to the dock with no space between boats, with the motor on the back and the dinghy on the bow. It feels better already to have a “car” which we used to bring the life raft from the store. At the dinghy dock we bumped into friends, Tim and Patti, who are anchored at Ste Anne’s. We plan on getting together again this week.

The BPO staff and other boats doing this leg with us arrive Mon. Bob comes in Tues. I’m not sure what all is planned for us but we know the boat inspections will be a priority. It is like a “final exam” on boat prep. It would be nice if the wind would calm down for a gentle start but we will have to take what we get.