San Blas Islands 6 March 2024.
We had agreed to get up at a reasonable time as we thought we may move on today. In Keith (Watson’s) absence I decided to cook bacon and eggs for breakfast and I had made bread the night before so I could make toast. (Yes we have a toaster and I have to put on what is called an inverter which converts battery power to mains so that we can use it). The breakfast went down well with all although David of course had no bacon.
I have decided not to talk today really of palm trees islands, snorkelling etc as I have done that for some days so I apologise!!. We decided to get Puffin out again and have a little sail. Puffin is our nestling dinghy – see the picture. I named her after a small bird -which Puffins are compared to Stormbird which is quite large. She can be used as a sailing dinghy or as a rowing boat or as a tender with the outboard motor.
The website says the following -The Spindrift dinghy is a sailing tender and fun club racer. It is available in four sizes from 9 to 12 feet, including nesting versions that fit more easily on the deck of a yacht -which is what we have and the 10-foot version. The boat is simple to build (not sure whether Mark who built it would agree with this), using the stitch-and-glue method, and has a reputation as a rugged and capable dinghy. Originally designed as a hard-working tender, the Spindrift has had a lot of success in racing. The Spindrift is designed with the daggerboard slightly off-centre for a strong, continuous keel and to reduce the amount of grit that enters the daggerboard case when the boat is beached.
Nesting Option
A nesting version is available for all sizes of the boat except the 12′ size. This allows the forward section of the boat to be unbolted and stowed inside the aft section, halving the tender's footprint when stowed on the deck of a larger boat – which is what we do on Stormbird. The main compromise with the nesting version is that there is no room for the side tanks that are standard in the non-nesting version. This means it has less built-in buoyancy and will be less stable when swamped after a capsize. There will also be more water to be bailed out.
We rigged Puffin and off I went first and had a great little sail around the bay. It looked just like a mini-Hallberg Rassy (Puffin has a white hull with a blue stripe around its gunnels (top edge) and so looks the same as Stormbird, albeit a mini version and it has the same blue stripe. I got the hang of it and it was good light winds but you have to be a bit careful as it is quite tender. What I mean by this is it can heal (tilt) and you have to get your weight right with the wind strength otherwise there is a risk of capsizing. After a while I sailed back to Stormbird and Joyce, followed by Carolyn and finally David all had a good sail and everyone enjoyed themselves. What great fun to have this as an option in the right place and thank you Mark again for building it (I am not sure Mrs M was that pleased by the end!!).
We decided not to unbolt Puffin (the front and rear) as we may use her again before returning to Panama and once we had taken the sail, boom, mast, rudder and seat off we hauled her on deck and secured her in front of the mast. We prepared and packed stuff away but for some reason I could not open the port lazarette (locker on the back deck) as the lock seemed to be in place. We did eventually get it open and we have now secured the locks as best we can so they do not move. We then upped anchor and moved off. We had spent a good few days in this anchorage and it had been great but the crew wanted to move on. We retraced our steps out of the reefs and set west along the Holandes Cays (Islands). I decided to use the time to make a bit more water and we slowly followed the Islands and we could see a number of boats anchored in different parts which were either a bit shallow for us or not marked in the pilot book.
We were heading for an anchorage on the Western side of the Holandes Cays called Wailsaladup. This was an anchorage between 2 palm trees Islands with sand (sorry!) with a reef at the end and looked quite attractive. There were several boats anchored including a whole load of Catamarans but we found a spot anchoring in 14/15 meters. We would have to be careful if the wind changed to come from the south instead of the north as this would push us into the shallows but this was not forecast. Thankfully about 6 Catamarans who must have been in a group left and there is no truth in the rumour that it was because we had arrived!!.
Carolyn had made a bean stew salad for lunch which was nice and we had a siesta followed by a cooling swim off the stern of the boat. David put up some green netting to shade us from the sun and it must have looked like we were a garden centre for a while. David, Joyce and Carolyn went ashore to explore and I remained and enjoyed sitting on deck at the back and planned our next week before we are due back in Colon. The sun gradually went down and we were entertained by what I can only describe as a fish dance. Lots of small fish en masse would leap out the water as if flowing above it in many places and it was as if Swan Lake was playing and the fish were dancing to the music and the plucking of strings. We have not seen this in other anchorages in the same way and it was very unusual.
We had a pasta supper with ratatouille which was nice and it was a lovely warm evening and whilst I write this everyone is reading by headtorch!!. It has been another great day in the San Blas.
Opportunity for any Readers/Sailors.
In late May 2024 we shall be in the Marquesas in French Polynesia and we will then move through to the Tuomoto’s before getting to Tahiti about the end of July 2024. There may be some space on Stormbird during this period should any sailor/reader be interested in joining for this period or part of it in what must be one of the most distant and beautiful places in the world. If there is any interest do email me at. hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we head off to Panama and beyond.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk