On Tuesday June 14 we weighed anchor from Providencia at 7:50 am and we were rounding the sea buoy by 8:15 to begin our 260 mile final leg of the sail to Colon, Panama.
By the end of the first full day the seas had calmed significantly as well as the wind. Through the night we sailed passed all the lightning storms around us with only a little bit of precipitation, thankfully. We went down to a double reefed sail and the motor was on since there was no wind. Also, this way if we were to hit a squall we wouldn’t be caught unprepared.
The sky remained mostly cloudy all day and we dodged a few more squalls, until it began clearing up closer to sunset. By this point the seas were glassy with gentle slow rollers for waves. Puffs of clouds littered the sky as I imagined animals and objects out of them. An excitement and sadness crept in as I thought to myself, “this is the last overnight sail of the trip”! I embraced that night and sat through it in silence, filled with gratitude for everything I have received, the good and the bad.
Then just before 1:30 am nearing the end of my night shift the engine light went on. I shut off the engine right away and the Captain woke up to check what had happened. The fresh water pump had broken. While the Captain looked for a spare I unfurled the Genoa and hoisted the main in little to no wind. Somehow we were still making 2 knots towards our destination with 45.9 miles to go, but our time to destination went from 8 hours to 30 hours.
At 6:45 the Captain had finished installing the spare fresh water pump and an oil change, and we were back on our bearing towards Colon, Panama with 36.7 miles to go.
Arriving to Panama
We made it to Shelter Bay Marina just outside of Colon, Panama in the early afternoon on Thursday, June 16. It felt extremely good to complete another journey of my travels, and I was somewhat ready to move on due to a few very specific events on the boat in the last month and a half (altercations throughout the trip). I was not ready to “up and leave” just yet however, so I mentally prepared to hang around a bit longer and make sure the Captain was all set.
This didn’t last very long, and due to one more unfortunate situation I decided it was most definitely time for me to get going. Personally I am extremely grateful for the experience of yet another successful sailing trip, and I know it has offered me many valuable lessons that I will take with me forever.
Thank you all for following along on this #CrewingToPanama series and I look forward to sharing my future travels with you.
Stay tuned for some exciting new adventures to come as I wait for the arrival of Romi to Panama City!
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