Vostatsea

Shelter Bay Marina Colon, Panama

Que up Panama by Van Halen

It was hard to leave the San Blas. We previously had been gone from Raven for so long, and when we returned to our floating home that was jacked up on land and when we arrived back to her in Aruba, a good part of that time we were in the boatyard just working on projects. The work and the projects seemed endless, and when we left Aruba we still weren’t done.  Which alas, that is part of living the good life.

Now finally we were are enjoying once again what we really thought we signed up for; enjoying the gorgeous islands with the picturesque beaches of turquoise water and palm tree beaches.  You know, what you think life on boat would be like. We were there with the lovely Guna people of the islands that were trading fruits, veggies and their beautiful Molas. Having dinner with our feet in the sand, relaxing with beers in our hands on isolated beaches. And now it was already time to push on.  The time in the San Blas went by way too quickly, but we have bigger dreams and bigger places to go and everything is about timing and seasons.

We tried our best not to rush too much and enjoy the time on the way as we made our way to Colon, Panama. We stopped in Linton Bay and Portobello; enjoyed the holler moneys, eating out, checking out forts (they are just so incredibly rich with stories of travelers, sailors and pirates from over 500 years ago).  We took a fabulous Eco Canoe/Hike, our guide was really from Italy and ran a cute Italian restaurant at night and was guide by day.  He was so informative in regards to the history and the landscape.

From there our little group, carried on to Shelter Bay Marina our destination.  It didn’t take long to get into the groove of marina social life. Complete with pool, bar, restaurants, trails, daily farmers market and yoga. 

We rented a car and booked a night stay in Panama City, had our appointment with the French Embassy which we had weeks of planning and preparation to get this appointment and working on the paperwork.  We somehow all arranged to have our paperwork ready, sent in and received appointments for the same day with TC and Sapphire.  Then afterwards our group was complete as Pisces joined our little band for lunch.  On our way back to Colon we dropped David off at the airport and he flew home for a couple of weeks.

When David returned from California, we worked on finishing the last projects, the parts we had been waiting for had arrived, the provisioning was almost complete. We were called to go back to pick up our longterm visas and arranged to go back to Panama the same day we were picking friends from California… Matt and Loren arrived and it was time to head through the canal. Everything was falling into place.

Aruba to San Blas 696 NM 5 day sail 2023

Today we are anchored on one of the beautiful amazing islands in the San Blas, off the shores of the coast of Panama.  If you picture where Gilligan and his fearless crew landed on that fateful trip, you are picturing the San Blas Islands.  No movie stars, or millionaires here with this Captain and Skipper on Raven, but we do have a phone, which is something that they did not have on their tiny ship.

Just when we thought we would never get here and were questioning what our next moves might be… in a blink of an eye, a plan was set in motion and here we are.  We are here with our friends Sapphire that we met at the very beginning when we were in Fishing Bay up on the Chesapeake and we had apparently been in the same anchorage for our first send off in the Bahamas.  Our other buddy boat to starboard is Texas Crewed that I first met in Grenada through running and we have been traveling with on and off.

Turns out that Texas Crewed and Sapphire actually had met each other previously in the USVI’s when the world was in lock down.  I always thought I met Renee first with our friend Mary on Pisces, as us gals became running mates.  Pisces and Sapphire had already been traveling together way before we really had met either of them.  And that’s how the sailing community rolls or sails, you never can tell where we all met, everyone seems to know everyone, has also been sailing on and off with ones that have become our good friends.  Our little sailing group is like a family, or an ameba.  Take your pick. 

Not exactly how we thought it would go….

We spent a little time on the island of Curacoa, with our pals Wind Ensemble, Pisces and Rum Truffle the group threw in a couple of dives, explored the island a bit.  There were some fun, scenic trails to hike and run on.  Shortly after our arrival we pushed off with WindEnsemble and enjoyed a lovely overnight sail to Aruba on Thanksgiving Day, 2021.

Within the first week after arriving in Aruba our plans went South… really actually to the West Coast. Not exactly how we pictured the end 2021 and going into 2022.  First, I went home, and David stayed.  He hung out explored and saw an amazing firework display off the front of the boat in the marina ringing in the New Year.  Soon after Pisces and Rum Truffle had joined the party.  By the time I returned everyone was sailing away in different directions and were gone.  Including David who after my return now unexpectedly also needed to fly home.

While David was gone, I could be found in the boatyard hanging out with friends in Aruba that we had previously met in Bonaire and Grenada.  Between boat projects time was spent going to the beach, playing games at night on Raven, having 5 O’CLOCK Tea with Mehalah, cocktails and playing with flamingos during the day with WitWat.  With a little island exploring thrown in the mix.

The majority of 2022 the Raven crew was flying back and forth to Aruba and spending a lot of time home in California.  We could also be found in Oregon and Washington.  Spent time with family, reunited in San Francisco with Pisces and enjoyed the lake house of WindEnsemble.  Quite unexpected that the year would go quite like that.

Sitting here in the front cockpit on Raven, enjoying music and a cup of tea.  The waves are perfect, wind is at our back and we are able to fly the Raven parasail.  We are sailing, and yes life is pretty darn good!  Just like life and the day to day…it’s not always that perfect or easy.  There is truly always something!  It’s what we do with that something that’s important!  This morning to be able to get to this moment, didn’t come without swearing, sweat and frustration.

We went to raise the Parasailor and all the lines managed to get twisted and tangled.  The stress level increases as we worry about the possibility of ruining the sail.  Sometimes you have to stop, reflect and start over. Which we did and the reward was great!  It seems to me that this is a bit of a metaphor of the past year and a half. 

We have had some unexpected twists and tangles.  We thought by this time last year we would have already gone through the Panama Canal and be on our way to French Polynesia.  However, when the world came to a complete stand still, it has changed our plans.  And truly it has been a blessing. 

We spent the hurricane season last year in Grenada, which wasn’t our plan.  But the beautiful country graciously hosted many of us that had no place to go.  We ended up making friends that we hope to call friends for a lifetime.  Grenada is usually a college town, but last year all of the students weren’t able to return.  Restaurants and bars were very welcoming for us to take their place.  Grenada had beautiful beaches to walk and run.  Our cruising community had yoga at the pool in the mornings and cocktails in the evening.  Life was pretty grand!

By Thanksgiving we were in Carriacou; and had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on the beach with our friends.  By Christmas time social distancing and lockdown were becoming a thing again in the islands again.  The restaurant wasn’t able to serve us, so they delivered the Christmas dinner to our boats.  For New Year’s fellow cruisers shot off flares in place of fireworks and so we rang in the New Year.

From Carriacou many of us went different directions.  Everyone trying to navigate what islands were open to us, what tests were required, the new paperwork etc.  Although all seemed inconvenient, it managed to help keep all of us connected and in touch.  As sailors we like to plan, often over planning and over thinking the plan.  This new world forced everyone to slow down, not be able to plan too far in the future, not move too fast and most importantly has forced us all to take a deep breath and be flexible.

After spending the winter and spring months in the stunning islands of Antigua, Sint Maarten, USVI’s we landed this hurricane season in Bonaire.  In Bonaire we discovered amazing diving.  We’ve been able to dive right from Raven, dive from the shore or the dinghy; diving was everywhere.  David worked at the dive shop for a few months.  We both improved our diving skills, and we made lots of friends through the diving and yoga communities.  We were able to have guests fly in and be on Raven again.  Everything seemed back on center.  We now have untied ourselves from the mooring ball and are ready for adventure.  The best part is… we are not certain of the plan!

Grenada June 2020 to November 2020

Grenada you were such wonderful hosts! Beautiful marina, hiking, cycling, beaches, chocolate, oildown, nutmeg, waterfalls, forts, breweries, diving, friends and beauty! You had it all!

Thank you Grenada

Eileen and I spent a month at Cooper Island during COVID restrictions in the BVI’s. If you wanted to move, you first had to contact the local Police constable who would authorize your movement on a specific day. We decided to stay put at Cooper Island as it was a beautiful spot with only a few other boats in an anchorage that typically has 45 boats all on mooring balls. We considered ourselves lucky to be able to enjoy a typically very popular spot in relative solitude. Turtles swam by our boat everyday, and the snorkeling was fantastic! I guess that is one positive COVID experience……

We had a nice pleasant two day sail from Puerto Rico to the BVI’s. We pretty much have it down, we take turns on passage and we each take a 3 hour shift while we sit up at the helm.  Depending on how rough the passage is the person off duty might watch movies on their iPad, read a book, cook or if it’s rough… take the time to get a good nap in before it’s their turn to be back on watch.

When David is at the helm, he is typically scrolling through the chart plotter, and going through all the data, speed over ground and all that techy stuff that guys love. When Eileen’s at the helm, she’s typically listening to music or book on tape, dancing and exercising.  Well… we do what we need to do to stay alert and awake.

We were getting close to the BVI’s, sails up; cruising along. Somewhere in the middle of the night/two in the morning, a giant cruise ship was off on our starboard.  It’s always fun to see the names of the ships and boats as they pop up on the radar, you can see how fast they are going, their length and tonnage. This ship was The Epic, which was exciting to see.  We sailed on the The Epic a few years prior, on their second voyage.  This information also tells you when your paths might cross. My watch was almost complete without incident, when I decided to punch a button on the autopilot to fall off just a hair, they were looking REALLY CLOSE. Then all of a sudden, I am doing a U-turn in front of the Epic. Now they are really bearing down on us! “DAVID!!!!”  Of course David saved the day, we were not run down.  My watch was thankfully over and we landed on Jost Van Dyke the next morning without incident.

We caught our first mooring ball together on Raven and somehow managed to do it like pro’s. Not only once, but twice! (we had to wait on one, and then move to the one we reserved) After that we might have become over confidant, it occasionally was a bit more challenging, for now it was perfection!

Later while enjoying cocktails we met a couple that were on vacation; traveling on The Epic.  What we learned from them was the world was starting to shutdown and that they were turning all the cruise ships around. Before we knew it, all the hundreds and hundreds of lounge chairs that are pretty much for all the cruise ship visitors would be empty.  Shortly we would see more and more of the lounge chairs stacked up as cruise ship guests would not be arriving.  The guests that charter sailboats had to cancel their trips as well, but a few and the lucky that had previously arrived were able to enjoy the islands.

We explored a couple of islands, hiking the steep roads, that were barely walkable.  Impressive that cars can make it up and down those roads. Fairly certain they get new brakes every six months.  We visited the famous Jost Van Dyke Bubbly Pool. Checked out the bars and restaurants that you hear Jimmy Buffet and Kenny Chesney and others sing about and would normally be packed with tourists, but were fairly quiet.

Made a visit to the Calwood Distillery where they have been making rum the same way over four hundred years. The more popular sellers were the “Panty Dropper” and Viagra”! Ha Ha!

Our friend Meagan came in on one of the few flights still arriving and joined us for a week on Raven.  We continued to have the islands to ourselves, with the exception of the charter boats guests.  Every morning David would get up before 7am and reserve our mooring ball for later that day, they were still in demand and all were reserved by 7am on the dot.  

We explored many islands, trails, beaches, a rain forest, snorkeled, enjoyed cooking on the boat and eating out!  Had fun at Willy T’’s… no one jumped off topless and got their free t-shirt, well not in our group anyways.  Scrambled around the amazing rocks and maze at “The Baths”.  Toasted another St Patty’s day!  

Before we knew it Meagan was catching the ferry and grabbing pretty much the last flight out, before there were no longer any planes in the sky. Just hours before she left, we were notified of the lockdown and were buying our last groceries before they all closed that night for a “week”.  We were lucky Raven was well provisioned with everything we needed but we wanted a handful of fresh veggies before we hunkered down.

A couple of days before we lifted our sails for Puerto Rico, we sat around with a bunch of sailors at the Chat-N-Chill.  That’s where everyone started really making a plan and making decisions.  It’s a funny thing; us sailors… we can have something in mind and then get blown off course by someone else’s knowledge of unknown places.  Many of us were chartering new territory and many had information to share.  Some were on their way to Domincan Republic, Turks of Caico, and a couple of us as were headed as far as Puerto Rico.

The decision was made!  There was about 20 or so of us and we all lined up on February 26^th at 6 am, one would have thought we were lining up for a race and we all set out for the open sea.  The wind was just right and together we all hoisted our sails and sailed out of Georgetown.  What a beautiful site to see.  Off of each side of Raven, everyone’s sails were up and we were all riding the wind and waves.  After a few hours; some were behind us that we could no longer see and some were making their way ahead.  Everyone was now scattered on the sea. 

One would say this was a perfect sail! For four days we kept our sails up, mostly had great wind.  Occasionally had to run those nasty engines, but for the most part we were able to enjoy the wind in our sails.

One afternoon while I was off watch and enjoying a nap… David started to yell with excitement.  My discovery was, he had thrown out a fishing line and he had caught a fish and was in the middle of reeling it in.  Turns out he had thrown out two lines!  By the time we had caught this beautiful Mahi-mahi, cut it up, cleaned the fish and the mess, and now had the fish vacuum packed and in the freezer…  It was literally less than a minute the second reel took off.  Well, it was easy to realize we didn’t need another large fish for the two of us and our little freezer.  So, needless to say, that was one lucky day for that fish.  We reeled it in, removed the hook and gave it back to the beautiful sea.  Here’s hoping that Neptune will look kindly on us next time we get those rods back out.  There is also nothing quite so good as a fish you just caught off your own reel.  What a great dinner!!! Nice job Captain David!

Next evening, we landed in Puerto Rico, we just missed getting there before sunset and everyone was gone for the day.  So, we tied up to the fuel dock and waited until morning. The next day our friends on White Wings joined us, they had waited outside the marina until morning.  After the four of us were all fueled up again and tied up safely in the marina, the four of us were off exploring.  We rented a car for a few days did a little site seeing and provisioning.  One would have thought we hadn’t seen a store in years!  There was good shopping to be had so we felt that we should take advantage of it, so we did!

The time went quick and after a week we said good bye to White Wings as they were going to stay a bit longer and go explore another island close by and we were off to the BVI’s.  We had company flying in soon and wanted to get there early. A few weeks later we would see White Wings again at Willy T’s for drinks and dinner.  For now, we were each on our own journey!

We had a nice sail once we left Florida, surrounded by floating cities-Cruise ships. They passed us on all four sides, all lit up like giant cities. Sometimes you can just picture the festivities, music, drinking and dancing on board. Then there’s Raven and her crew quietly cutting through the night with the comfort of White Wings on her tail.

The next day there we were, on the shore drinking Goombay Punch and eating conch. Turns out Shark Week was doing a little filming in the marina. All was fairly quiet except the cameramen ready with all their artillery to film. They feed these behemoth creatures right off the dock and then visitors can get in a cage and observe, I passed! Swimming was discouraged in the marina.

We stuck around for a few days and then we slowly made our way to Nassau. At one point along the way, we anchored on a shallow spot where you felt you were in the middle of the ocean. No land in sight. Just White Wings and Raven resting out at sea. We had a beautiful sail into Nassau and arrived before sunset. We hung out there for a couple of days but other than venturing into town and having lunch we did not spend much time onshore or explore.
Initially, we were going to stay there a bit longer. However, we needed to get Raven safely tucked into the next spot, Staniel Cay before I flew out for Christmas and a wedding. I jumped on a little prop plane which felt like I was on school bus with wings. Left White Wings and Raven below and was able to see the beautiful islands and ocean that we had just passed through. What a sight to behold.
While I was back in California, David celebrated Christmas with Sondra and Stuart. Then later the three of them with David’s past coworker Melinda (who flew into help David hold everything down while I was gone) rang in the New Year at Staniel Cay Yacht club and so started the New Year 2020.
Before I returned, Melinda flew out and I flew in with friends Reynolds and Debra. The winds were high, the water was rough, it was questionable if we’d have to stay onshore. David did venture into get us and so the trip began for the new guests.
Both Reynolds and Debra had just gotten certified and so our plan was to dive. Raven was all set up with new gear. However, we didn’t know where we could dive and most areas looked out of reach to go by dinghy. The two of them with a lot of work on their part were able were able to get a dive boat to pick them up and do some diving. We did do a little snorkeling. One day we dropped into Thunderbolt Grotto which is oh so beautiful. However, I ended up having a panic attack, feeling trapped and had to get out fast!
We spent a few minutes with those pigs on the beach; that for whatever reason are a big tourist attraction. And for the first time we busted out our paddleboards that we picked up when we were in Annapolis. Most days were spent relaxing, reading and playing Mexican Dominos thanks to Melinda bringing that wonderful game to Raven.
Then before we knew it all guests were gone, and Raven and White Wings had their sails flying again. We went by and anchored close to David Copperfield’s island, and spent a couple of days at Black Point. We made exotic plans to see islands near and far. In the end the plan was to push on to the Exumas and get straight to Georgetown.
In Georgetown, we jumped right into the cruising community. Listening every morning to the net. Where they tell stories, trade boat parts, report the day activities. We did yoga on the beach, tried volleyball a couple of times. Went to the cruiser jam sessions. There was Texas Holdem, basket weaving, cornhole, drum circles, etc. Well it was pretty much summer camp for older people. It was a beautiful island with many sand dollars to be had. A long thin island that you could hike, and run some very nice maintained trails and run along the beach. Before we knew it almost two months had flashed by and we were itching to leave.
Before we left Georgetown Steve and Ann from Happy Times that we had spent time with in Virginia, jumped on board with us for a few days. We were hoping to dive or possibly sail off to Puerto Rico all together, but alas once again our plans were foiled by the wind and weather and it didn’t happen. We did get the dive equipment out and start to play with it and even though it wasn’t deep, it was too murky to enjoy. We enjoyed some beautiful dinners, sunsets and hikes with them and then we waved our goodbyes and two days later we had the weather window we were hoping for and we set sail for Puerto Rico.

Raven-Bimini to Staniel Cay

In November we pushed off from the Chesapeake and as we were leaving Virginia Beach… we were surrounded by cruise ships, large Navy boats, it feels a bit like being on the highway on a moped. Our trip down the coast from Virginia was beautiful and delightful. We spent one night along the coast where there was a beautiful little cove with a lighthouse, Carteret. A hidden treasure along the coast.

We took a pause and pulled into Bohicket where we were greeted by dolphins at the entrance coming into the marina and two friends from Jim-Kat that were ready to grab our lines. There we enjoyed a few days in the marina with friends; going to the ice cream shop, popping around the cute little town, spending time enjoying the restaurants and then it was time to say our goodbyes and we sailed away, the dolphins led us out.
From there we pushed straight to Florida. We had the perfect sail… Filled with full moons, smooth sailing, butterflies, rainbows, chaperoned by dolphins. There were rockets ready to be shot off from Cape Canaveral, Jet Fighter Pilots having a dog fight. We were able for a bit to fly our Raven head sail; and before we knew it, we were entering back into Port Everglades.

We tucked ourselves back into the folds of Hollywood, Florida. It felt like we were back home as we reconnected with friends both at the marina, the boatyard and friends Chris and Tony that we met at TY Park. Then we left Raven safely behind as we flew back to California for our pre Thanksgiving feast and spent precious time with the family; played games, caught up and ate too much turkey. In a flash it was time to say goodbye and get back to our life on Raven and Florida where we enjoyed another feast with Chris, Tony and Tony’s parents. During our stay, other friends passed through; Mylene from National Harbor flew in for a business trip with the cruise ship industry and Mudit as he was on a layover passing through on his way to India.

When we pulled into Suntex marina we also arrived the same time as good friends we met in Harbor Towne while Raven was having her makeover; Stuart and Sondra on White Wings. When they sailed away in February I cried thinking were never going to see them again. Now here we were on the Broadwalk watching the Christmas parade and making plans this time to leave Florida for the Bahamas together!

December 8th we were headed back out of Port Everglade with White Wings on our stern and waving good bye to Chris and Tony as they drove from spot to spot. We were easy to catch as Raven held her position waiting for the bridges to open. And then from the shore as they were waving at us, and we were idling past giant cruises ships all chaos broke out. At the same moment we are ready to come through, not just one but three cruise ships were ready to leave the docks. The Coast Guard with their very impressive guns in hand are telling us to get back at the same time the cruise ships were radioing us to pass on the portside. Well, in the end we listened to the Coast Guard they did have the bigger guns.