Join David and Susie in their travels around the world aboard their Nordhavn 55 “Last Mango”. After retiring from business and leaving England, David and Susie’s land base is in Panama City, Panama, at the crossroads of the world. They travel far and wide both aboard “Last Mango” and on many land-based adventures. Take your time and look around. DON'T FORGET, YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG BY EMAIL, JUST ENTER YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS INTO THE 'FOLLOW US BY EMAIL' BOX BELOW!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Blog hijacked by 'youngsters'!
Well here we are, the Lee, Jones & Mackenzie clan have arrived in Vancouver for their first voyage aboard last mango! An uneventful flight over and unbelievably quick exit from the airport meant we turned up at Coal Harbour approx 7pm, David and Susie met us with open arms and quickly got us acquainted with Last Mango. Very impressive, better than I even imagined. Anyway I will sign off now as I want to crash out on my very comfortable bed! I just wanted to make sure mine was the first blog!! More soon, watch this space...
Dawn Drama, Voltmeters, and finally making our Way.
The departure from Seattle didn't go quite as planned. We slipped quietly out of Elliot Bay but within a mile or two our main navigation computer powered off and we were down to Navnet2. And we discovered that all AC power was off. Then that the inverter had died. And it was cold, rainy, windy, and dark. After a fruitless twenty minutes of investigation in the lazarette (the inverter's lair) it was time for an executive decision - turn around and head back into the marina. After some research we activated the inverter bypass breakers and hooked the AC directly to the generator. A little bit later in the morning Dan at Emerald Harbor Marine quickly diagnosed that it was probably the 275amp fuse on the DC supply to the inverter. I had checked it but visually there are no indications that it had blown but a few minutes with the voltmeter (after a Phillips screwdriver probably the most used tool on board) verified that the fuse had gone. Once the fuse was replaced everything powered up back to normal.
It was clear that Saturday was a write off so there was really only one thing to do and that was to head out for lunch. Paul at the Market Arms ( http://themarketarms.com/index.html) will look after you and serve up Elysian IPA and great fish and chips. Not to mention watching footie/rugger on the telly (Old World expressions, sorry). After a leisurely lunch, a long walk, and the statutory stop at the bar at Palisades, Susie and I had plenty of time to reflect on our abortive start to the day and to figure out "what went wrong". In brief, definitely OE. Oh yes, operator error. One important area to pay careful attention to on your boat is power management, and I have not yet fully understood the parameters within which the inverter wants to operate. Looking back at our departure this morning we just had too many space heaters on causing overload to the inverter and it just didn't want to play. On this occasion the main fuse blew and on another occasion the inverter just went on strike. I have been unfairly expecting somewhat more than the 4000 watts that the inverter is capable of putting out and I will just have to be more careful, it is the space heaters that are the problem. It will just have to warm up in the PNW! But at least it has all been a learning experience and we now know more about the back-up system using the inverter bypass.
So now Sunday morning we left on the tide at 0500 and started our run north. We later learned that the wind and tide combination had made the Eastern Entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca very uncomfortable the previous day. But our trip was very calm and we were carried on a tide of 3 or 4 knots at times. We were in Anacortes by midday and we topped off the tanks. Last Mango carries some 2,300 gallons and since our last refueling (also at Anacortes nine months ago) we had used only 900 gallons. I had bought diesel treatment Stanadyne in bulk in Seattle so that came in very useful. Soon we were on our way to Roche Harbor where we made rendezvous with John and Debbie Marshall on Serendipity. A couple of sisterships at the visitor dock and a very sociable evening and a leisurely team breakfast the next morning at the Lime Kiln Cafe. Roche Harbor is a wonderful last-stopping point in the San Juans before crossing into Canada. Very protected, the harbor and anchorage are a pretty resort containing the Haro Hotel, named after the nearly Haro Strait which took its name in 1790 from the pilot assisting Spanish explorers who were researching and charting the region.
Monday lunchtime we cleared out of the US again with Officer Tarantino. He has always been very courteous and helpful since we need to bear in mind the non-visa waiver issues affecting entry to the US on private yachts. In an hour or more we were across the Haro Strait and close to Port Sidney and the Canadian Customs dock; before entering the marina we went through our pre-docking procedures and discovered that we had a problem with the thusters. 20 knots of wind, a single-screw boat, the Customs Dock to manouevre and then a reverse-in starboard tie in a tight slip. Not my idea of fun, so we headed out to sea for a few minutes to find out what was going on. There are four helm stations on my Nordhavn 55 and strangely enough only the stern helm station was fully operational. Well, so be it, in an hour or so we were cleared in to Canada and then snug in our slip. The following day we were round at Philbrooks Boatyard ( http://www.philbrooks.com/) and Tom led a marathon voltmeter session to find the gremlin in the bow thruster controls. Took a while too, but it was cornered and dealt with. Pesky relay switching device deep in the system.
Hopefully closing the chapter on maintenance and troubleshooting, the voltmeter is back in the toolbox. Ever the optimist. Wednesday we pressed north. Another very quiet flat sea run. Passing by the cliffs near the Indian Reserve on Valdes Island we saw a large number of American Bald Eagles, must have been around 20 in all, including fledglings from last year. The photos were a little distant so we will have to wait until a later post to get some close up shots. By late afternoon Last Mango was safely tied up in her Degnen Bay haven and we had a day or two's rest (does preparing the boat for visitors count as a rest?) including a tasty supper out with friends at a live music evening (Amber Hanley singing a wonderful Eva Cassidy selection at http://www.woodfirepizza.ca/).
We have now crossed the Strait of Georgia and are in Coal Harbour, Vancouver. We are awaiting the arrival of our visitors this evening.........the youngsters. We are still working on that list of things to do; the particular kind of boat list to which there are always things to add! Tomorrow we will head off for our two week cruise with the family. I am expecting that the guest bloggers will take over and report the travels from their own perspectives, we might learn something!
It was clear that Saturday was a write off so there was really only one thing to do and that was to head out for lunch. Paul at the Market Arms ( http://themarketarms.com/index.html) will look after you and serve up Elysian IPA and great fish and chips. Not to mention watching footie/rugger on the telly (Old World expressions, sorry). After a leisurely lunch, a long walk, and the statutory stop at the bar at Palisades, Susie and I had plenty of time to reflect on our abortive start to the day and to figure out "what went wrong". In brief, definitely OE. Oh yes, operator error. One important area to pay careful attention to on your boat is power management, and I have not yet fully understood the parameters within which the inverter wants to operate. Looking back at our departure this morning we just had too many space heaters on causing overload to the inverter and it just didn't want to play. On this occasion the main fuse blew and on another occasion the inverter just went on strike. I have been unfairly expecting somewhat more than the 4000 watts that the inverter is capable of putting out and I will just have to be more careful, it is the space heaters that are the problem. It will just have to warm up in the PNW! But at least it has all been a learning experience and we now know more about the back-up system using the inverter bypass.
So now Sunday morning we left on the tide at 0500 and started our run north. We later learned that the wind and tide combination had made the Eastern Entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca very uncomfortable the previous day. But our trip was very calm and we were carried on a tide of 3 or 4 knots at times. We were in Anacortes by midday and we topped off the tanks. Last Mango carries some 2,300 gallons and since our last refueling (also at Anacortes nine months ago) we had used only 900 gallons. I had bought diesel treatment Stanadyne in bulk in Seattle so that came in very useful. Soon we were on our way to Roche Harbor where we made rendezvous with John and Debbie Marshall on Serendipity. A couple of sisterships at the visitor dock and a very sociable evening and a leisurely team breakfast the next morning at the Lime Kiln Cafe. Roche Harbor is a wonderful last-stopping point in the San Juans before crossing into Canada. Very protected, the harbor and anchorage are a pretty resort containing the Haro Hotel, named after the nearly Haro Strait which took its name in 1790 from the pilot assisting Spanish explorers who were researching and charting the region.
Monday lunchtime we cleared out of the US again with Officer Tarantino. He has always been very courteous and helpful since we need to bear in mind the non-visa waiver issues affecting entry to the US on private yachts. In an hour or more we were across the Haro Strait and close to Port Sidney and the Canadian Customs dock; before entering the marina we went through our pre-docking procedures and discovered that we had a problem with the thusters. 20 knots of wind, a single-screw boat, the Customs Dock to manouevre and then a reverse-in starboard tie in a tight slip. Not my idea of fun, so we headed out to sea for a few minutes to find out what was going on. There are four helm stations on my Nordhavn 55 and strangely enough only the stern helm station was fully operational. Well, so be it, in an hour or so we were cleared in to Canada and then snug in our slip. The following day we were round at Philbrooks Boatyard ( http://www.philbrooks.com/) and Tom led a marathon voltmeter session to find the gremlin in the bow thruster controls. Took a while too, but it was cornered and dealt with. Pesky relay switching device deep in the system.
Hopefully closing the chapter on maintenance and troubleshooting, the voltmeter is back in the toolbox. Ever the optimist. Wednesday we pressed north. Another very quiet flat sea run. Passing by the cliffs near the Indian Reserve on Valdes Island we saw a large number of American Bald Eagles, must have been around 20 in all, including fledglings from last year. The photos were a little distant so we will have to wait until a later post to get some close up shots. By late afternoon Last Mango was safely tied up in her Degnen Bay haven and we had a day or two's rest (does preparing the boat for visitors count as a rest?) including a tasty supper out with friends at a live music evening (Amber Hanley singing a wonderful Eva Cassidy selection at http://www.woodfirepizza.ca/).
We have now crossed the Strait of Georgia and are in Coal Harbour, Vancouver. We are awaiting the arrival of our visitors this evening.........the youngsters. We are still working on that list of things to do; the particular kind of boat list to which there are always things to add! Tomorrow we will head off for our two week cruise with the family. I am expecting that the guest bloggers will take over and report the travels from their own perspectives, we might learn something!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Splashed, Chilled, Ready to Go............
Our time at Seaview East Boatyard came to an end and the excellent crew led by Harris put us back in the water last Tuesday with our newly painted bottom, shiny propellers, and new zincs; not to forget the new winglet on the port stabilizer. A short trip back through the locks, the small one this time, and we were back at Elliot Bay Marina.
John and Gary from Hatton arrived and worked over the main, gen and wing so we will be ready for the best part of a couple of thousand miles of cruising, like, 250 hours at 6 or 7 knots. On the general maintenance front, Last Mango had some 35 maintenance alerts on the Wheelhouse Technologies list ( http://www.wheelhousetech.com/ ) and these have all been whittled down and dealt with by the team from Emerald Harbor Marine with thoroughness and efficiency. The range of jobs included: adjusting the autopilots and relocating the inbound signals; bringing the water maker back online after winterizing; fitting a pair of downriggers for controlled depth fishing; installing a stand-alone Maxsea system with USB GPS on our spare laptop; creating secure fittings for the new kayaks and dinghy, and much more.
Over last weekend we decided to explore the Olympic Peninsula. A southerly drive to pick up Route 101 at Aberdeen; we headed for Lake Quinault Lodge. Wonderful historic place where Roosevelt visited in the 1930's and the decision to make the whole area a National Park was formulated. We hiked the 4 mile Giants of the Forest Loop through marvellous mossy rain forest and ate an excellent dinner (5***** from the Admiral is hard to beat). The next day we drove up to La Push and walked the scenic beach before getting to Forks for the famed breakfast at the In Place Diner. All of these towns have been suffering in the economic downturn; let's hope that they see better days in the not too distant future. Saturday night we stayed in Port Angeles and Sunday headed for the snow on Hurricane Ridge then Sequim and a very pleasant couple of hours visiting with John and Debbie Marshall. John very capably fills the role of guru to many Nordhavn owners and more than a thousand Dreamers, add his blog to your list. http://sailblogs.com/member/mvserendipity/
It was very wintery up at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center......
Sunday evening saw us in downtown Port Townsend; the New York of Washington state which never happened since Seattle got the railroad terminus. PT is a charming town and we recommend the Bishop Victorian Hotel and the William James-Bookseller. There aren't many bookstores where even I emerege with half a dozen books in one go.
So here we are in Seattle ready for departure north. As before we have much enjoyed our time here and are sad to leave. Ballard has had everything we've needed. Shipyard. Boatyard. Every ship's supplier you can think of. India Pale Ale (check out the Maritime Brewery Jolly Roger Taproom where Jason will look after you). Fred Meyer. West Marine. Fisheries Supply. Quilting Loft. Nearby National Parks. Three weeks has disappeared quickly.
Tomorrow high tide here is at 0400; we will leave as early as we can and get a good carry up Puget Sound. The weather is not looking too bad for our planned 8 hour run to Anacortes where we will top up on fuel and contemplate the next leg of our journey. After Anacortes we head to the San Juans, check out of the US and head across to Port Sidney, Canada.
We have been working on various aspects of this blog. The maestro, son-in-law Daniel, will be on board in just over a week and no doubt will do some tuning. It would be good to improve the location and route features and also introduce some photo albums where we can display Susie's excellent photos. Watch this space.
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| Captain waiting for the lock gates to open |
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| Admiral on the stern line at the locks |
John and Gary from Hatton arrived and worked over the main, gen and wing so we will be ready for the best part of a couple of thousand miles of cruising, like, 250 hours at 6 or 7 knots. On the general maintenance front, Last Mango had some 35 maintenance alerts on the Wheelhouse Technologies list ( http://www.wheelhousetech.com/ ) and these have all been whittled down and dealt with by the team from Emerald Harbor Marine with thoroughness and efficiency. The range of jobs included: adjusting the autopilots and relocating the inbound signals; bringing the water maker back online after winterizing; fitting a pair of downriggers for controlled depth fishing; installing a stand-alone Maxsea system with USB GPS on our spare laptop; creating secure fittings for the new kayaks and dinghy, and much more.
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| New dinghy tucked away |
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| Kayak mounts on either side |
Over last weekend we decided to explore the Olympic Peninsula. A southerly drive to pick up Route 101 at Aberdeen; we headed for Lake Quinault Lodge. Wonderful historic place where Roosevelt visited in the 1930's and the decision to make the whole area a National Park was formulated. We hiked the 4 mile Giants of the Forest Loop through marvellous mossy rain forest and ate an excellent dinner (5***** from the Admiral is hard to beat). The next day we drove up to La Push and walked the scenic beach before getting to Forks for the famed breakfast at the In Place Diner. All of these towns have been suffering in the economic downturn; let's hope that they see better days in the not too distant future. Saturday night we stayed in Port Angeles and Sunday headed for the snow on Hurricane Ridge then Sequim and a very pleasant couple of hours visiting with John and Debbie Marshall. John very capably fills the role of guru to many Nordhavn owners and more than a thousand Dreamers, add his blog to your list. http://sailblogs.com/member/mvserendipity/
It was very wintery up at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center......
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| I was asked, "Snow chains Sir?" |
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| Iced up on Hurricane Ridge |
Sunday evening saw us in downtown Port Townsend; the New York of Washington state which never happened since Seattle got the railroad terminus. PT is a charming town and we recommend the Bishop Victorian Hotel and the William James-Bookseller. There aren't many bookstores where even I emerege with half a dozen books in one go.
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| Bishop Victorian hotel reception |
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| Admiral in book heaven |
So here we are in Seattle ready for departure north. As before we have much enjoyed our time here and are sad to leave. Ballard has had everything we've needed. Shipyard. Boatyard. Every ship's supplier you can think of. India Pale Ale (check out the Maritime Brewery Jolly Roger Taproom where Jason will look after you). Fred Meyer. West Marine. Fisheries Supply. Quilting Loft. Nearby National Parks. Three weeks has disappeared quickly.
Tomorrow high tide here is at 0400; we will leave as early as we can and get a good carry up Puget Sound. The weather is not looking too bad for our planned 8 hour run to Anacortes where we will top up on fuel and contemplate the next leg of our journey. After Anacortes we head to the San Juans, check out of the US and head across to Port Sidney, Canada.
We have been working on various aspects of this blog. The maestro, son-in-law Daniel, will be on board in just over a week and no doubt will do some tuning. It would be good to improve the location and route features and also introduce some photo albums where we can display Susie's excellent photos. Watch this space.
Friday, March 18, 2011
On the Hard in Ballard
We are hauled and up on the hard here in historic Ballard. Very convenient; I am pleased to report that the local brewed IPA is available a mere two blocks from the yard. Not to mention The Quilting Loft, Sam's Sushi and a host of other great shops and places nearby. More restaurants than one could possibly explore in a couple of weeks. But it's worth a try!
Our under the waterline inspection showed that we had damaged a winglet. These are the lateral extensions on the stabilizers. Our port side winglet was damaged - on the inside, and above the keel line. We must have been travelling at quite a few knots to have caused the damage so I guess that it was a submerged log or deadhead. We are having ABT send us a new one to replace the damaged part so that sets us back a little on the likely splash date.
The first week of maintenance has covered quite a range of items. The EPIRB has been tested; life raft taken for a service, fire extinguishers recertified; windlass checked over; propane system repaired; the bottom and all undersea fittings (props and keel coolers) have been painted and zincs renewed throughout, along with servicing the stabilizers.The dinghy was sent off for an outboard service; the new Porta-Bote has been assembled and new Honda 2HP delivered, along with a couple of kayaks. Work is continuing resealing the starboard hand and rub rails since it is believed that rain water seepage is the source of the leaks around the starboard fuel tank. And the leak into the overhead from the pilothouse head looks like it was a hose poorly bent round some chinese woodwork (actually you could probably re-arrange those words and get the right effect!).
Our under the waterline inspection showed that we had damaged a winglet. These are the lateral extensions on the stabilizers. Our port side winglet was damaged - on the inside, and above the keel line. We must have been travelling at quite a few knots to have caused the damage so I guess that it was a submerged log or deadhead. We are having ABT send us a new one to replace the damaged part so that sets us back a little on the likely splash date.
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| There is a lot of work going on .... |
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| But she is still home............... |
The first week of maintenance has covered quite a range of items. The EPIRB has been tested; life raft taken for a service, fire extinguishers recertified; windlass checked over; propane system repaired; the bottom and all undersea fittings (props and keel coolers) have been painted and zincs renewed throughout, along with servicing the stabilizers.The dinghy was sent off for an outboard service; the new Porta-Bote has been assembled and new Honda 2HP delivered, along with a couple of kayaks. Work is continuing resealing the starboard hand and rub rails since it is believed that rain water seepage is the source of the leaks around the starboard fuel tank. And the leak into the overhead from the pilothouse head looks like it was a hose poorly bent round some chinese woodwork (actually you could probably re-arrange those words and get the right effect!).
Friday, March 11, 2011
Puget Sound, Mega Depot & Scorpions
Hi All
We were very lucky with the weather window for our trip to Seattle. In the previous week the weather was so bad that there were hurricane force winds off Vancouver Island and, most unusually, the BC ferries were shut down for the day. And now we are here the weather has been, in a word, horrible. But for our trip we had mirror-calm seas over to Friday Harbor and then the same down to Seattle. We ran through the Coastguard Checklist in case we were boarded and inspected – it being a slow Monday and a foreign-flagged vessel just entered is a prime inspection target. Surprise, surprise a Coastguard rib came up alongside for questions. Later yet another CG boat came up and radioed us – but it was all ok, they were all just watching all traffic carefully because there was a massive naval exercise involving the escort of a submarine out of Puget Sound; we counted at least seven escort vessels.
Pictures: Last Mango in her winter home; next picture – two vessels in sight or one? Yes – one – although they are a third of a mile apart it is a tug with a tow. Look out! Lastly – the sub with escorts.
Border crossings, aren’t they something? My technique is to be as helpful as possible, after all the officials are only doing their job. One needs to be patient, and never be in hurry. Well, our trip from Canadian to US waters was a revelation. The plan was to tie up at the Customs Dock in Sidney, BC by midday and clear out of Canada. I picked up the courtesy phone and gave vessel details and crew when I was quickly informed “That’s all right sir, you are free to go. There is no check-out procedure for Canada”! Hmmm, no check out procedure! I am liking Canada more and more……….. So we untied and headed for Friday Harbor, where we tied up at the Customs Dock and picked up the courtesy phone. Well, it only took the announcement of the BVI registration and two aliens aboard before we were summoned to the office for a one-hour form filling session. We were fortunate to see that Officer Tarantino was on duty, and he remembered checking us out of the US in June last year. BUT - we learned something pretty important! You cannot enter the US on a private yacht under the visa waiver program – news to me! in other words “Where are your visas?”. Er……….this is one of those moments when you keep smiling but you can feel the rug starting to move under your feet…………..but suddenly we remembered that we transited via Houston the previous Wednesday and were stamped into the US for 90 days from 2 March– Phew! – that worked (planned it that way? No!). Anyway, we made it. After getting our Clearance Statement I was expecting the Cruising License and was asking to confirm the Reporting Procedure (whenever you move your boat from anywhere to anywhere) but there was another surprise for us. Because we are sailing in one administrative region, we neither need a cruising license nor need to phone in when we change location. Well, all very curious. And the visa waiver issue needs to be fed to the head of logistics (me) to factor in to our plans for 2011. Like entering Alaska, re-entering the US, travelling to California later in the year for outline plans. Oh well, it will get figured out. And, more than likely, another border crossing experience will change the rules yet again!
It has been a busy couple of weeks or so. Panama, Canada, US………worlds of contrast. Just ten days ago in Panama we took Susie’s granddaughter to visit one of the Indian villages on the Chagres River. It goes like this. We go to Mega Depot and buy a sack of rice and other foodstuffs, we never like to go empty handed. Then we drive for an hour or so along a steadily deteriorating road until we get to the river and the road ends. I then call our friend Melio on his cell phone; he is the Under Chief of the settlement and he sends his nephew up the river in a dug-out to pick us up. We always enjoy our visits there and every time we go we get to know these gentle folk a little better. As I say, life is a world of contrasts. Pictures below – Melio; and two pictures from Punta Culebra - sloth and baby sloth; and a raccoon who might have misjudged his scavenging, I think he is saying “ouch”!
So here we are in Seattle for our scheduled maintenance. I laid these plans four months ago but actually there was a glitch with our booking. But I am hoping that everything comes up to expectations. We are going to be here for two or three weeks. Let’s see how we go. We came through the Lake Washington Ship Canal to Seaview Boatyard, Salmon Bay, hauled out and are up on the hard. This is a new on-board living experience for the Admiral and I here in historic Ballard; a great place to be for all things boats, we are where many of the Deadliest Catch fleet base their maintenance. And we have been fortunate indeed to be safe from the after effects of the devastating tsunami in Japan this morning. And we are resting somewhat, we have both been struck by a Seattle weather-induced chill so there is a quiet weekend ahead.
Final picture is a sting in the tail! We were down on the Azuero Peninsula and had a wonderful four days there. On the morning we left I picked up my roll-aboard and put it on the bed. Packed it. Lifted it up and put it by the door ready to go………….and…………I had a hitchhiker lurking on my case. See below. This is about actual size. Life has its exciting moments.
Best wishes
And always check your shoes!
David and Susie
We were very lucky with the weather window for our trip to Seattle. In the previous week the weather was so bad that there were hurricane force winds off Vancouver Island and, most unusually, the BC ferries were shut down for the day. And now we are here the weather has been, in a word, horrible. But for our trip we had mirror-calm seas over to Friday Harbor and then the same down to Seattle. We ran through the Coastguard Checklist in case we were boarded and inspected – it being a slow Monday and a foreign-flagged vessel just entered is a prime inspection target. Surprise, surprise a Coastguard rib came up alongside for questions. Later yet another CG boat came up and radioed us – but it was all ok, they were all just watching all traffic carefully because there was a massive naval exercise involving the escort of a submarine out of Puget Sound; we counted at least seven escort vessels.
Pictures: Last Mango in her winter home; next picture – two vessels in sight or one? Yes – one – although they are a third of a mile apart it is a tug with a tow. Look out! Lastly – the sub with escorts.
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| Last Mango |
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| One vessel - typical "Tug with a Tow" |
 |
| Submarine with her escorts |
Border crossings, aren’t they something? My technique is to be as helpful as possible, after all the officials are only doing their job. One needs to be patient, and never be in hurry. Well, our trip from Canadian to US waters was a revelation. The plan was to tie up at the Customs Dock in Sidney, BC by midday and clear out of Canada. I picked up the courtesy phone and gave vessel details and crew when I was quickly informed “That’s all right sir, you are free to go. There is no check-out procedure for Canada”! Hmmm, no check out procedure! I am liking Canada more and more……….. So we untied and headed for Friday Harbor, where we tied up at the Customs Dock and picked up the courtesy phone. Well, it only took the announcement of the BVI registration and two aliens aboard before we were summoned to the office for a one-hour form filling session. We were fortunate to see that Officer Tarantino was on duty, and he remembered checking us out of the US in June last year. BUT - we learned something pretty important! You cannot enter the US on a private yacht under the visa waiver program – news to me! in other words “Where are your visas?”. Er……….this is one of those moments when you keep smiling but you can feel the rug starting to move under your feet…………..but suddenly we remembered that we transited via Houston the previous Wednesday and were stamped into the US for 90 days from 2 March– Phew! – that worked (planned it that way? No!). Anyway, we made it. After getting our Clearance Statement I was expecting the Cruising License and was asking to confirm the Reporting Procedure (whenever you move your boat from anywhere to anywhere) but there was another surprise for us. Because we are sailing in one administrative region, we neither need a cruising license nor need to phone in when we change location. Well, all very curious. And the visa waiver issue needs to be fed to the head of logistics (me) to factor in to our plans for 2011. Like entering Alaska, re-entering the US, travelling to California later in the year for outline plans. Oh well, it will get figured out. And, more than likely, another border crossing experience will change the rules yet again!
It has been a busy couple of weeks or so. Panama, Canada, US………worlds of contrast. Just ten days ago in Panama we took Susie’s granddaughter to visit one of the Indian villages on the Chagres River. It goes like this. We go to Mega Depot and buy a sack of rice and other foodstuffs, we never like to go empty handed. Then we drive for an hour or so along a steadily deteriorating road until we get to the river and the road ends. I then call our friend Melio on his cell phone; he is the Under Chief of the settlement and he sends his nephew up the river in a dug-out to pick us up. We always enjoy our visits there and every time we go we get to know these gentle folk a little better. As I say, life is a world of contrasts. Pictures below – Melio; and two pictures from Punta Culebra - sloth and baby sloth; and a raccoon who might have misjudged his scavenging, I think he is saying “ouch”!
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| Melio |
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| Opportunist Raccoon! |
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| Sleeping Sloths |
Final picture is a sting in the tail! We were down on the Azuero Peninsula and had a wonderful four days there. On the morning we left I picked up my roll-aboard and put it on the bed. Packed it. Lifted it up and put it by the door ready to go………….and…………I had a hitchhiker lurking on my case. See below. This is about actual size. Life has its exciting moments.
Best wishes
And always check your shoes!
David and Susie
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| Sting in the tale! |
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Friends, Pine Needles & Gabriola Pass
Hi All
The last couple of months in Panama have been so busy with family and friends visiting. Panama is a very popular destination and we have had a continual stream of friends coming either for a vacation or checking out second home suitability or retirement location. Susie’s granddaughter Ellie also came with Spenser and his girlfriend and we packed as much as we could into their stay. We also had cruiser visitors, both of whom have Nordhavn 55s – no coincidence there then! Anyway we left Panama on Wednesday and now we are back on board Last Mango!
Kevin and Robert had done a wonderful job of looking after Last Mango over the past four months and she was in great shape. I had written a brief for them and also a customized walk through check-list to try and anticipate any problems. To winterize the boat we had run down our diesel, gasoline(dinghy) and water tanks in the first instance. I paralleled all the batteries (thrusters, main and wing starters, and the house bank) so that all batteries would charge together otherwise the starter and thruster batteries would probably discharge. Charging would be by the inverter in the first instance, the 100A Victron as back up, followed by the Mastervolt charger in the last resort. On board we were running two dehumidifiers (on a timer), a couple of small space heaters, and just one small chest freezer; everything else was turned off. The sea water here is unlikely to freeze so it is rather like leaving your boat in a cold bath; the sea water will actually keep the boat slightly warmer than the air temperature (usually only just above freezing here in the winter) and so freezing inside is unlikely. The main danger is that there is a undetected power outage and a loss of shore power which will cause a battery run-down; fortunately we had no such issues. The other problem is usually dampness; but inside everything remained remarkably dry with no condensation. However there are three small but persistent leaks of water into the engine room and lazarette; probably rain water from a leaking deck drain. Trying to find and fix these is on the maintenance list.
It has taken us a couple of days to get everything organized and checked over. Yesterday we cleared up four months of pine needles and used nearly a gallon of SuperClean washing the boat. We had the usual distractions of (a) a pair of eagles (b) the odd seal (c) the kingfisher (d) the otters, who clearly have regarded our swim step as their territory over the winter and were curious as to who we were. Today we went out for a sea trial; it was a stunningly beautiful day with no wind and we ran Gabriola Pass at slack and then back nearly an hour later. It was a new moon yesterday and in the pass the current was already strong; today it increased from slack to 5.4 knots in only two and a half hours. http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/2071.html
And now the adventure begins, well, at least the planning and preparation for the adventure begins. The weather tomorrow and Monday is looking good so we are heading for Seattle and our scheduled maintenance and haul out. The plan tomorrow is a four hour passage to Sidney to clear out of Canada Customs and Immigration and then a crossing to the San Juans and clearing into the US at either Roche or Friday Harbor. If the weather holds then on Monday we will have a nine or ten hour passage to Seattle, the timing looks good from a tidal point of view and we should have the tide with us through Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. We need to migrate our internet and phone from Rogers to AT&T and also to move back onto the US boat notification system. Back in November I booked us into Emerald Harbor Marine http://www.emeraldharbormarine.com/and to Hatton Marine http://www.hattonmarine.com/ for our scheduled maintenance visit; we probably will spend at least a couple of weeks getting through the list of jobs. Engine, generator, wing engine, water maker, windlass, stabilizers, hydraulics, propane sensor system, life raft, and much more …………… at the start of the cruising season and particularly before heading to Alaska it is going to be important to be in the best shape possible. And there is some new kit in the mix too.
If you would like to follow our trip live while we are under way, you should be able to find Last Mango on http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/. We are on Pacific Time. The short term program is: Seattle for maintenance and things (maybe even a visit to the microbrewery………..); spending some time in Washington working our way North from Seattle to Anacortes for fuel and quilting supplies(yes!); the essential stop in Gabriola for R&R; picking up VIP passengers in Vancouver 9 April; heading North towards Alaska on 10 April.
Best wishes
David and Susie
Nordhavn 5508 “Last Mango”
http://www.lastmangotrvels.com
The last couple of months in Panama have been so busy with family and friends visiting. Panama is a very popular destination and we have had a continual stream of friends coming either for a vacation or checking out second home suitability or retirement location. Susie’s granddaughter Ellie also came with Spenser and his girlfriend and we packed as much as we could into their stay. We also had cruiser visitors, both of whom have Nordhavn 55s – no coincidence there then! Anyway we left Panama on Wednesday and now we are back on board Last Mango!
Kevin and Robert had done a wonderful job of looking after Last Mango over the past four months and she was in great shape. I had written a brief for them and also a customized walk through check-list to try and anticipate any problems. To winterize the boat we had run down our diesel, gasoline(dinghy) and water tanks in the first instance. I paralleled all the batteries (thrusters, main and wing starters, and the house bank) so that all batteries would charge together otherwise the starter and thruster batteries would probably discharge. Charging would be by the inverter in the first instance, the 100A Victron as back up, followed by the Mastervolt charger in the last resort. On board we were running two dehumidifiers (on a timer), a couple of small space heaters, and just one small chest freezer; everything else was turned off. The sea water here is unlikely to freeze so it is rather like leaving your boat in a cold bath; the sea water will actually keep the boat slightly warmer than the air temperature (usually only just above freezing here in the winter) and so freezing inside is unlikely. The main danger is that there is a undetected power outage and a loss of shore power which will cause a battery run-down; fortunately we had no such issues. The other problem is usually dampness; but inside everything remained remarkably dry with no condensation. However there are three small but persistent leaks of water into the engine room and lazarette; probably rain water from a leaking deck drain. Trying to find and fix these is on the maintenance list.
It has taken us a couple of days to get everything organized and checked over. Yesterday we cleared up four months of pine needles and used nearly a gallon of SuperClean washing the boat. We had the usual distractions of (a) a pair of eagles (b) the odd seal (c) the kingfisher (d) the otters, who clearly have regarded our swim step as their territory over the winter and were curious as to who we were. Today we went out for a sea trial; it was a stunningly beautiful day with no wind and we ran Gabriola Pass at slack and then back nearly an hour later. It was a new moon yesterday and in the pass the current was already strong; today it increased from slack to 5.4 knots in only two and a half hours. http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/2071.html
And now the adventure begins, well, at least the planning and preparation for the adventure begins. The weather tomorrow and Monday is looking good so we are heading for Seattle and our scheduled maintenance and haul out. The plan tomorrow is a four hour passage to Sidney to clear out of Canada Customs and Immigration and then a crossing to the San Juans and clearing into the US at either Roche or Friday Harbor. If the weather holds then on Monday we will have a nine or ten hour passage to Seattle, the timing looks good from a tidal point of view and we should have the tide with us through Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound. We need to migrate our internet and phone from Rogers to AT&T and also to move back onto the US boat notification system. Back in November I booked us into Emerald Harbor Marine http://www.emeraldharbormarine.com/and to Hatton Marine http://www.hattonmarine.com/ for our scheduled maintenance visit; we probably will spend at least a couple of weeks getting through the list of jobs. Engine, generator, wing engine, water maker, windlass, stabilizers, hydraulics, propane sensor system, life raft, and much more …………… at the start of the cruising season and particularly before heading to Alaska it is going to be important to be in the best shape possible. And there is some new kit in the mix too.
If you would like to follow our trip live while we are under way, you should be able to find Last Mango on http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/. We are on Pacific Time. The short term program is: Seattle for maintenance and things (maybe even a visit to the microbrewery………..); spending some time in Washington working our way North from Seattle to Anacortes for fuel and quilting supplies(yes!); the essential stop in Gabriola for R&R; picking up VIP passengers in Vancouver 9 April; heading North towards Alaska on 10 April.
Best wishes
David and Susie
Nordhavn 5508 “Last Mango”
http://www.lastmangotrvels.com
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Not a Captains Log!
Hi All
Ok I admit it, this isn’t really a Captain’s Log. Last Mango is in Degnen Bay, BC, and Susie and I are in Panama – but never mind! There are some one hundred fifty of you on the blog list and someone will have time to peruse this Seasonal Edition before it hits the Trash! We arrived back in Panama mid-November after a great week and more with our dear friends in Tennessee. Bike rides, parties, a couple of days in the “cabin” in Hardy, Arkansas, and even a jam session with the local hillbilly band – what a fun time. And plenty of Scrabble too, although it is a bit worrying that Mary keeps track of the score over the week. One day I am going to be told that my average score has slipped; that will be the signal to pack it in I guess. So here in Panama we have been getting back together the land-life (affectionately referred to as dirt-dwelling in cruiser speak). That means that we are working our way through the list of chores we had in mind…………first on the list is to get my permanent visa now that my initial first year visa has expired. My how the tables turn, Susie already has her permanent jubilada status and it is me playing catch up. And what the usual bore it is, a collection of near-worthless documents for immigration to rubber stamp and then more visits to the glory of that familiar office on Avenida Cuba. Speaking of chores, another mission for us has been to rip out the wardrobe complex in the main bedroom here, only because it had been taken over by a drywood termite colony. Rather irritating rummaging around in one’s drawer for something to wear and chancing upon some termite nymphs trying to start up a new outpost. These creatures are fascinating in that they form a colony inside the wood and you never see them – just their frass, mmm. But when they feel the need to branch out they breed some emissaries and send them out to go and find another planet. “Go forth and multiply” - not in our apartment, thanks – the former wardrobe now resides in that great Panamanian repository of removed household fittings (Jacinto’s front yard). But it is not all chores here, Susie is now working on yet another quilt, another inspiration. For my part I have an hour at the piano most days; recovering lost ground and making inroads into something new, the world of boogie-woogie (dum-ti-dum-ti-dum, yeah!). We have also been out and about on the trails, looking for critters:
Now some advance planning. The winter months are useful in that many cruisers are lounging around at home itching to get back on board and spending far too much time on the internet firing messages at each other on the Owners sites or the Nordhavn Dreamers site (Yes, really! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NordhavnDreamers ). A useful time for me to be looking ahead a couple of light years and figuring out whether we need any more toys (I mean equipment of course) on board. And what do you know – we do! Hah! For example we have a super tender on board, a 14’ Caribe with a bloody great motor. But one fellow Nordhavn owner got it dead right when he said that those tenders are for the grandparents, and what we kids really need is something rugged, coral and pebble resistant, which even I will be able to pull up the beach when there are no marinas within a thousand miles. So..…, the plan in March is to get a second tender on board and I have my eye on a Porta-Bote, together with a 4 stroke 2hp Honda outboard which weighs just 27lbs (wow) and does a hundred miles to the gallon. Even the 12’ boat only weighs 77lbs and folds to 4”. So what else am I looking at, well, kayaks, although I haven’t figured out yet which ones. Then there are the downriggers………..to catch those (big!)salmon up in Alaska we are going to need gear to fish at the right depths, so downriggers it is. Last Mango is now booked into Emerald Harbor Marine in Seattle from around 7 March and we are going to get some servicing done, like, engines/generator, stabilizers, windlass, autopilots, fire and safety equipment, as well as getting the new stuff in place. I use an online system for my service records run by Seakits (http://www.seakits.com ),usefully it alerts owners when maintenance intervals are due. We are also going to haul her and check the underwater fittings, paint and so on and the through hulls. Much of this boat maintenance is new to me but grappling with it certainly keeps me entertained. The Admiral hasn’t yet taken the bait for the engineering course that I have suggested but I am working on it.
Here in Panama the dry season hasn’t arrived yet, we are having a La Nina year which gives us extended rain; the canal had to be closed this past week because strong currents from the Chagres River were a hazard to shipping; worse, there have been landslides and loss of life. Panama has one foot in the first world and the other in the third and is still trying to catch up lost years under indifferent government. (English language daily news can be found at http://www.newsroompanama.com ). And I am reminded that we have been celebrating for well over a month now my retirement. I didn’t know I was retired but I was asked to take a call one day to discuss my contract and that’s when I found out! Thank heaven for that, life is busy enough and now I really don’t have to worry about the office like I used to. (I did honest!) We just thank our lucky stars that we managed to sell the business back in 2005 before that nasty downturn started. Oh and by the way, please delete any old email addresses you have for me, they are defunct (Lee & Allen, CRAI etc). We are now looking at our forward plans and mapping out 2011 in the first instance. We have visitors coming to Panama (and through the canal) over the next couple of months and then we will be off back to our other home. After Seattle we head for Alaska; first visitors are due on board mid-April for the early part of the trip (all weather-dependent of course). I have been researching the anchorages between Port Hardy and Ketchikan by reading blogs of other cruisers. I don’t really have any idea how long we will be exploring Alaska, but I understand that it gets rainy in July so we should be heading South by then. We plan to make our way back down the Eastern seaboard to California and see what happens. I have signed up for the FUBAR rally in November 2011 from Long Beach into Mexico, that looks like good fun.
Here are some pictures of the effects of La Nina here in Panama. The high water level pictures are from the Gatun Dam and spillway on the Caribbean coast. The central picture shows damage to the access road onto the $120m Centennial Bridge over the canal at the Gaillard cut. The bridge is apparently sound, but clearly the access road construction did not allow for the level of erosion which had been experienced (!).
For visitor planning: January is still free here in Panama; February is pretty busy. Plenty of time to hook up with us on the Alaska run in May and June. All crew welcome.
So here’s wishing you all the very best Seasons Greetings. Special thanks to our wonderful support systems everywhere: to Robert and Marlana for looking after Last Mango though these cold months; to Kathy for looking after base here in Panama in the warm months. And to family and friends everywhere, Happy Christmas.
Best wishes
David and Susie
Ok I admit it, this isn’t really a Captain’s Log. Last Mango is in Degnen Bay, BC, and Susie and I are in Panama – but never mind! There are some one hundred fifty of you on the blog list and someone will have time to peruse this Seasonal Edition before it hits the Trash! We arrived back in Panama mid-November after a great week and more with our dear friends in Tennessee. Bike rides, parties, a couple of days in the “cabin” in Hardy, Arkansas, and even a jam session with the local hillbilly band – what a fun time. And plenty of Scrabble too, although it is a bit worrying that Mary keeps track of the score over the week. One day I am going to be told that my average score has slipped; that will be the signal to pack it in I guess. So here in Panama we have been getting back together the land-life (affectionately referred to as dirt-dwelling in cruiser speak). That means that we are working our way through the list of chores we had in mind…………first on the list is to get my permanent visa now that my initial first year visa has expired. My how the tables turn, Susie already has her permanent jubilada status and it is me playing catch up. And what the usual bore it is, a collection of near-worthless documents for immigration to rubber stamp and then more visits to the glory of that familiar office on Avenida Cuba. Speaking of chores, another mission for us has been to rip out the wardrobe complex in the main bedroom here, only because it had been taken over by a drywood termite colony. Rather irritating rummaging around in one’s drawer for something to wear and chancing upon some termite nymphs trying to start up a new outpost. These creatures are fascinating in that they form a colony inside the wood and you never see them – just their frass, mmm. But when they feel the need to branch out they breed some emissaries and send them out to go and find another planet. “Go forth and multiply” - not in our apartment, thanks – the former wardrobe now resides in that great Panamanian repository of removed household fittings (Jacinto’s front yard). But it is not all chores here, Susie is now working on yet another quilt, another inspiration. For my part I have an hour at the piano most days; recovering lost ground and making inroads into something new, the world of boogie-woogie (dum-ti-dum-ti-dum, yeah!). We have also been out and about on the trails, looking for critters:
 |
| Sloth with baby |
 |
| Cheeky monkey |
 |
| Snake eating a frog |
Now some advance planning. The winter months are useful in that many cruisers are lounging around at home itching to get back on board and spending far too much time on the internet firing messages at each other on the Owners sites or the Nordhavn Dreamers site (Yes, really! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NordhavnDreamers ). A useful time for me to be looking ahead a couple of light years and figuring out whether we need any more toys (I mean equipment of course) on board. And what do you know – we do! Hah! For example we have a super tender on board, a 14’ Caribe with a bloody great motor. But one fellow Nordhavn owner got it dead right when he said that those tenders are for the grandparents, and what we kids really need is something rugged, coral and pebble resistant, which even I will be able to pull up the beach when there are no marinas within a thousand miles. So..…, the plan in March is to get a second tender on board and I have my eye on a Porta-Bote, together with a 4 stroke 2hp Honda outboard which weighs just 27lbs (wow) and does a hundred miles to the gallon. Even the 12’ boat only weighs 77lbs and folds to 4”. So what else am I looking at, well, kayaks, although I haven’t figured out yet which ones. Then there are the downriggers………..to catch those (big!)salmon up in Alaska we are going to need gear to fish at the right depths, so downriggers it is. Last Mango is now booked into Emerald Harbor Marine in Seattle from around 7 March and we are going to get some servicing done, like, engines/generator, stabilizers, windlass, autopilots, fire and safety equipment, as well as getting the new stuff in place. I use an online system for my service records run by Seakits (http://www.seakits.com ),usefully it alerts owners when maintenance intervals are due. We are also going to haul her and check the underwater fittings, paint and so on and the through hulls. Much of this boat maintenance is new to me but grappling with it certainly keeps me entertained. The Admiral hasn’t yet taken the bait for the engineering course that I have suggested but I am working on it.
Here in Panama the dry season hasn’t arrived yet, we are having a La Nina year which gives us extended rain; the canal had to be closed this past week because strong currents from the Chagres River were a hazard to shipping; worse, there have been landslides and loss of life. Panama has one foot in the first world and the other in the third and is still trying to catch up lost years under indifferent government. (English language daily news can be found at http://www.newsroompanama.com ). And I am reminded that we have been celebrating for well over a month now my retirement. I didn’t know I was retired but I was asked to take a call one day to discuss my contract and that’s when I found out! Thank heaven for that, life is busy enough and now I really don’t have to worry about the office like I used to. (I did honest!) We just thank our lucky stars that we managed to sell the business back in 2005 before that nasty downturn started. Oh and by the way, please delete any old email addresses you have for me, they are defunct (Lee & Allen, CRAI etc). We are now looking at our forward plans and mapping out 2011 in the first instance. We have visitors coming to Panama (and through the canal) over the next couple of months and then we will be off back to our other home. After Seattle we head for Alaska; first visitors are due on board mid-April for the early part of the trip (all weather-dependent of course). I have been researching the anchorages between Port Hardy and Ketchikan by reading blogs of other cruisers. I don’t really have any idea how long we will be exploring Alaska, but I understand that it gets rainy in July so we should be heading South by then. We plan to make our way back down the Eastern seaboard to California and see what happens. I have signed up for the FUBAR rally in November 2011 from Long Beach into Mexico, that looks like good fun.
Here are some pictures of the effects of La Nina here in Panama. The high water level pictures are from the Gatun Dam and spillway on the Caribbean coast. The central picture shows damage to the access road onto the $120m Centennial Bridge over the canal at the Gaillard cut. The bridge is apparently sound, but clearly the access road construction did not allow for the level of erosion which had been experienced (!).
 |
| Gatun Dam |
 |
| Spillway |
 |
| Centennial Bridge |
For visitor planning: January is still free here in Panama; February is pretty busy. Plenty of time to hook up with us on the Alaska run in May and June. All crew welcome.
So here’s wishing you all the very best Seasons Greetings. Special thanks to our wonderful support systems everywhere: to Robert and Marlana for looking after Last Mango though these cold months; to Kathy for looking after base here in Panama in the warm months. And to family and friends everywhere, Happy Christmas.
Best wishes
David and Susie
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