June 2019

Date: 28th June 2019

Position: Makemo atoll, Tuomotus, French Polynesia

Bon jour!

Captain Bonzo here with the long overdue update from now even more distant shores. There is a lot to tell so this newsletter will cover Panama and the Pacific crossing.

When we last said hello from Panama, we were in Shelter Bay preparing to transit the Panama Canal. Friends Kieran and Sharon had flown out to join us to transit the canal and they did their level best to help with all the preparation.

Carla and Alex went as crew on friend’s boat Karma to experience the canal before taking Ari B through – the canal authorities stipulate that the boat has to have 4 line handlers plus captain, so the cruisers help each other by crewing for each other. They returned full of knowledge and training sessions were scheduled to make sure everybody was on top form. While the transit is not hard to do, if things do go wrong, the damage can be massive. Sailing boats are usually transited in groups of 3 or so, and are in the locks together with large cargo ships. The currents in the locks can be very strong, and especially when locking downwards, if the lines do not get paid out at the correct rate (or get stuck), it’s possible for a cleat to be ripped out of the boat, and then the boat drifts into the walls, causing major damage. This happened actually just a few days before our transit. Understandably, the crew was getting tense as the transit date approached....

We had rented 4 long lines of 50 meters each and 6 additional large fenders to make sure we wouldn’t suffer any damage, and on the transit date we exited the marina with virtually every inch of our hull protected by a fender. Harry and Camilla from the boat Itsara joined us as well and completed the required line handling crew, leaving one person free to be press officer and take lots of photos. See the 'Panama Canal January 2019' page under Recent Posts for all the photos.

At about 14.00 a pilot boat brought our advisor and a trainee, now we had a crew of 8 plus myself – that was a first! We still had time for a cup of tea, then the cargo ship we would be locking in with approached, we upped anchor and headed for the first set of locks, tied Ari B to the second boat going through, friends Martin and Lydia on Cheglia, and entered the lock behind the cargo ship. The line handlers on land had thrown thin lines with monkey fists (a ball like contraption at the end of the line to make it fly further) on to the boats to pull the strong lines up onto the wall – the crew had to take care not to get hit, and the boats were prepared (cushions on the solar panels for example). Lines are put over bollards, slack taken in and we were ready. Doors close, water rushes in and before you know it, you are 15 meters higher, always taking in the slack on the landlines. Our crew worked perfectly, fully concentrated, with Carla managing the foredeck, Kieran the aft deck and Alex on the helm. For some reason the advisor (who is de facto in charge when on board) did not feel it was good seamanship to let a stuffed dog steer the boat – what does he know! Ignoramus.

Line handlers ashore then walk with you us as we motor into the second lock, repeat the procedure, then the third lock and the last doors open into Gatun lake, the artificial fresh water lake that floods the areas between the set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific side. A short journey took us to a mooring buoy, where we spend the night. The advisors get to go home and the sailors are having a drink or two while reflecting on the days events that elevated us to 50 meters above sea level – an all together uplifting experience (see what I’ve done here, he!).

Day two of the transit starts at dawn, as soon as the advisors come onboard. Alex went for a VERY short dip in the fresh water lake – Gatun lake is famous for large numbers of crocodiles – and then we were off! Since the advisors are never really sure of the timetable that is determined by the large ships, we motored full throttle for a few hours to get to the Pacific set of lock, some 27 miles away. It is weird to sail through a man made fresh water lake that is large enough to transit Panama class cargo ships (which in turn transport in excess of 20,000 containers), some 50 meters above sea level. What it took to build this canal is hard to imagine, at the time it was done especially. It gives you some idea if you know that 26,000 people died during the building work and at any one time, some 80,000 people worked on site. Read more on it on the internet, it is quite the story!

We then arrived early on the other side (after motoring super fast earlier) and had to wait for the cargo ship to arrive. The advisors on the second day were second rate (a trainee again too), disagreed amongst each other, had no clear hierarchy and left us feeling less confident than on day one. At one point I asked Alex to demand a change in line position, as we feared for clashing masts – a request that was only followed after we started filming.....

Three locks later the gates opened into the Pacific, (contrary to day 1, day 2 was a totally draining experience...) and we headed for a mooring buoy at the famous Balboa Yacht Club (at 28 US a day not really a bargain), which isn’t anywhere near as grand as it sounds. Harry and Camilla left us that afternoon, and Sharon and Kieran had a flight organised for the next day already, so after a few weeks together it was time to say Good Bye! At this point, Alex asked me to extend all our thanks to you both, as you have been the best crew one could wish for, despite the stressful canal crossing (putting Alex and Carla on edge, I am much more experienced and took it in my stride...). Many thanks also for the parts mule service – both ways!!

And suddenly after a few weeks of stress, we were in the Pacific. Jumping in the sea was a shock. 23C instead of 30C on the Caribbean side due to the Humboldt current coming up the South American coast. Brrrrr

We then sailed to the Las Perlas islands for a few days rest – amazing bird life, whales on  route, right behind the boat, loads of dolphins, the sea life was amazing from the word go.

All too soon it was time to prepare to undertake the longest passage yet, and probably the longest nonstop sail we would ever do – 4000 nautical miles from Panama to the Marquesas in French Polynesia.

We spent a month in a marina on the Pacific side of to work through some scheduled maintenance and get the boat and crew ready for the big one!

As captain, I had been planning the route for ages and Alex was working on boat preparations while Carla was responsible for emptying the Panamanian supermarket of any food she could get her hands on and our navigation aids. Not only would we be spending a month at sea (and need to cater for more, just in case), we stocked up on essential goods  (wine, beer, rum and all the staple dried and tinned goods plus lots of cheese, ham, salami etc.) filling every available space on Ari B, as the prices in French Polynesia (FP) are somewhat higher than in Panama, especially drinks (bottle wine USD 30 upwards, beer USD 3 per can etc etc you get the picture).A whole new set of satellite picture based navigation aids had to be downloaded, installed, and learned (charts are notoriously inaccurate in the South Pacific, so we use these as a second source of info).And then the boat preparations included water maker membranes changed, some rigging replaced, dinghy chaps and sprayhood overhauled and restitched, the list was endless. And of course, we always find things that need fixing that are NOT on the list – this time, a main engine head gasket had a small leak, and due to the trip ahead the team decided to remove the cylinder head and get the local mechanic to test it, replace some plugs, reseat the valves and refit with a new gasket. Sounds easy. The engine is a 5.8 liter 6 cylinder from the 80s, and weighs over 600 kilos, just to give you an idea of the size of the lump. Removing the associated machinery to be able to take the cylinder head off took 18 hours, assembly the same.......... In any case, surgery was successful and all is well on the engine side – just meant we spent longer preparing and were rapidly approaching the intended departure time.

It wasn’t all work though. We took the opportunity to hire a car for a week and hike in the surrounding national parks, although we have still not managed to see a sloath! Alex was going to do some kite surfing at a famous spot but after seeing someone carried out of the water in agony from a sting ray sting he quickly changed his mind!

While we had the car, the crew went through a police checkpoint, and despite the fact we had all papers in order, got pulled over. Battling with limited Spanish, Alex and Carla soon understood that foreigners were allowed to drive for 90 days on their normal driving license – but for 90 days after arriving in the country, not actual driving time. They had been in the country for 107 days.... Needless to say, nobody was aware of that rule, and the rental company didn’t tell us either. More of a ploy to threaten unsuspecting tourists with impounding the car etc, so to extract a suitable bribe for the poor policemen. This was the first time for the team to meet corrupt authorities and they didn’t enjoy the experience. An hour and 50 dollars later they were on their way. Luckily the police didn’t check the boot of the car, as there were about 50 liters of drinks (rum, gin, vodka etc) in there, earlier that day smuggled out of the Colon tax free zone. 50 bucks? Bargain. We had the last laugh you bastards!

We had planned to wait for a good weather window to depart, but by the time we were ready, it was time to leave, and since the forecast looked the same for the next 10 days – light winds, on the nose – we upped anchor and left Panama on the 30th March at 12 noon.

The route would take us past the Galapagos islands (after much deliberation we didn’t stop due to enormous restrictions for visitors, including much hassle and lots of dollars) and our new satellite connection and weather program helped us to make the best of the light breeze and we made good progress towards the islands – including some of the best ocean sailing we had experienced – calm sea, light winds and good boat speed saw us approaching the equator in good time (we were lucky, other boats had a much harder time). After a week at sea, it was time to prepare to welcome King Neptune on board!

Tradition has it that sailors who are Pollywogs (i.e. have not crossed the equator in a boat yet) will have to show their respect to King Neptune by swearing to respect his domain and being smeared with rotten fruit or similar disgusting items and have to drink a strong drink. The navy apparently took it a lot further in the olden days, including shaving hair and other disgusting practices.

So, I ordered the crew to get ready for the ceremony and dress up (it’s recommended you have a look at face book – Neptune is scary on many levels) and after being doused in rotten eggs, washing up water and who knows what else (actually only Carla was doused for some reason!), a stiff drink was offered to Neptune and also taken by the crew and the equator was crossed. Wow. Even my stuffed dog heart was beating a little faster on this momentous occasion! We were now officially shellbacks (i.e. have crossed the equator in a boat). King Neptune must have been satisfied with our offering as he rewarded us shortly afterwards with three fish.

The downside was of course that there was still over 3,000 miles to go, but the crew was in good spirits, the weather was kind and daily mileage runs went from 120 to 150/170 as soon as we passed Galapagos and picked up a bit of favourable current and good winds. Of course we had the odd day with squalls and some rain, but by and large, the second week at sea was fast, comfortable sailing. However the sea state increased with the wind and by the end of the week, the log book shows the first entry “rolly”. Such a small word to describe what it is like to live on a sailboat when the seastate causes the boat to roll from side to side. Washing machine is more accurate I guess – Alex even had to tie me to the chart table, otherwise I would have gone flying!!

Week three saw a lot of Spinnaker sailing, one run was 96 hours nonstop – great sail, especially because it reduces rolling by about 80% - not sure why, but it does.

We made landfall in Tahuata after 27 days and 22 hours and 3995 miles sailed. Conversations with the other boast highlighted this as a fast time - the fastest boat we heard about was 24 days and the slowest 60 days. And most of the boats had suffered damage or malfunction of one sort or another – Alex is delighted that we didn’t – of course that’s my superior boat management, nothing to do with anything else!!

Ari B had thousands of goose barnackles that covered the whole underwater ship, and took the crew 2 days to remove plus lots of green growth, but was otherwise fine.

Making landfall in French Polynesia after years of planning, months and months of preparation, lots of money spent to make it happen and a month long passage, was not as uplifting as we thought. In fact we felt no elation at all. Actually a little disappointed, unsettled and grouchy. Almost every other sailor we spoke to felt the same. We are putting it down to having been exhausted, and after all the hardship of the prep and the passage even garden Eden probably wouldn’t have been good enough. After a week those feeling disappeared and the crew is now enjoying new lands, languages and cultures.

A big Thank You to those of you who stayed in touch, sending us messages and lifting our spirits on a long crossing. It really made a difference.

Next up, the Marquesas Islands amd The Tuomotus.

Until then

Au revoir

Ari B out

Panama City