Zack and Cody - Part 2

The boys were woken up by us listening to the SSB radio in the morning.  Fed them breakfast and then we met Mark and Deb from Sea Cycle to walk around Portobelo and pick up some fresh bread before we head out Wednesday morning.  Mark is an avid reader and has all kinds of historical trivia stashed away, so he was the walking tour guide.  Then we went for cheeseburgers and fries at Captain Jack's, their last meal out for a couple of weeks and did some shopping in the local tourist store.  Deb and I hadn't been in there before and we were amazed at the neat stuff and good prices.  The morning rain had stopped, so Dennis decided we should all go snorkeling.  Wow, we were surprised at how great the snorkeling was there.  The boys did amazingly well, considering this was the first time either of them had snorkeled.  Headed back to the boat, dinner and dishes and an early night.

At the fort in Portobelo

Captain Jack's sign

Up and underway by 6 a.m. Wednesday  morning, and the boys didn't wake up until we were past Isla Grande.  Sailing is not their thing, obviously, as they were both queasy and slept the majority of the day.  Cody was hungry and ate his sandwich before going back to sleep, but Zack just looked at his and promptly went back to sleep.  We caught a small shark, so that was exciting for them, and finally pulled into the East Lemmons and anchored around 5 p.m.  They had a swim and felt much better.  After dinner, we had another early night.

They're getting better at
the West Lemmons

On Thursday our plan was to hit as many places as we could to snorkel.  Unfortunately, there were a million jellyfish everywhere, so we weren't able to snorkel by the East Lemmons or Dog Island.  We headed over to the West Lemmons, and because we were on the other side of the island we didn't see any jellyfish.  We're amazed at how well the boys are doing with their snorkeling.

Digging the hole for
garbage burning

Picked up the anchor after lunch and headed down to the Western Hollandes, a great snorkeling spot.  All the boys went fishing and did a beach walk while I got dinner ready.  On Friday we were out nice and early (well, that means mid-morning for the boys) and took the dinghy over to the Central Hollandes to snorkel.  We saw an eagle ray and barracuda, and they spotted a shark on the snorkel I decided not to go on.  Woo hoo.  I don't care if it's a nurse shark, they freak me out.  Dennis took them to the beach to burn garbage, and then we picked up the anchor to head to the East Hollandes and anchor in the Swimming Pool.  We finally caught up with Sid and Manuela on Paradise, and they came over to 'noodle' behind our boat for happy hour, since they were leaving the next day to take Manuela's cousin Gaby back to Portobelo.

They take turns at the helm

Zack with a lobster

Cody with a lobster

Dennis took the boys out snorkeling on Saturday and he speared a grouper and 2 lobster, and they saw a spotted eagle ray.  It's hot, there's no jellly fish, so we're spending a lot of time in the water.  Turns out Cody's biggest thrill is going to bathroom, flushing, and then watching poop particles float by.  You've got to love 13 year old boys!  He and Zack laughed over that forever.


While Cody was on deck he made the comment about the shark that was swimming by.  Shark?  Really, I can climb the anchor chain if I need to.  Dennis tired them out with all the snorkeling, so we all had another early night.

Gathered starfish

Some of the starfish

Cody fighting the shark

Zack fighting the shark

The shark!

Movie afternoon

Sunday was a gloomy day, so we decided to stay put in the Swimming Pool anchorage.  We had to run the engine to charge, so the boys stayed below and watched Captain Ron.  Dennis put a fishing line out with bait and we had the resident nurse shark come and get hooked.  The boys both had a great time reeling it in before we released it.  Lots of pictures taken, and they were thrilled.  The weather finally cleared, so we headed off for a dinghy tour.  The boys wore their water shoes and brought masks and snorkel.  We found the starfish and they gathered them up to have starfish races.  Back to the boat for dinner.  Having dinner, Dennis' elbow hit the hot bbq, which made him jump, and Cody ended up with red wine all over him.  The stunned look on Cody's face had Zack and I crying we were laughing so hard.  While we had an early night, Zack and Cody had a movie night and put themselves to bed.


Time to change anchorages again!

Calling home from the San Blas

                                                                            ~~~_/)~~~

Zack and Cody - Part 1

Left the East Lemmons  bright and early to head to Portobello, on our way to pick up Zack and Cody.  Mark and Deb on Sea Cycle were out ahead of us, and having engine problems.  We motorsailed, and they pretty well sailed the whole way to Portobello.  We had three hits on our lines, and ended up bringing in one and a half tuna. Actually saw the shark that took our half tuna!

Tucked into the town side of Portobello for a change, by the town dock.  Needed water, fuel, groceries, and picking the boys up, so needed to be close.  Mark and Deb were great, taking us into the dock to pick up the bus to Panama City and then doing a couple of trips to take us back to the boat.  Long, long trip into Panama City.  Obviously the slow buses!  Plus, there is always a checkpoint on the way into Panama City, and they decided our bus was the one to stop.  Yeah, they took off students and housewives to check out, there was a 45 minute delay.

Zack and Cody's passports

Flying into Miami

Went to Price Smart, and then decided we ran out of time and needed to get to the airport.  Roger picked us up and while were standing at the airport, thought they should have been out by now!  Turned out their luggage didn't make their flight, but would hopefully be in on the 8 p.m. flight.  American Airlines gave us $100 credit for each of the kids to pick up what they needed for a day.  That's great, but now we have to stop at the mall and pick them up clothes and undies!  Worked out well, and we got into Portobello around 8 at night, with Mark picking us up and doing trips between the dock and our boat.

In Panama City

And here's Audrey Paige at anchor
in Portobello

The boys had an early night while I put away as many groceries as I could without disturbing them.  Touring tomorrow!!



                                                     ~~~~_/)~~~~~

Audrey Paige For Sale

It's time.  Here's a few photos, but the majority will be posted in our Picasa Web Albums, in the sidebar on the lefthand side of the page.  Audrey Paige is a wonderful boat, solid and sails great.  We've owned her for 10 years, sailed away 9 years ago, and lived aboard full-time for 7 years.  Explored many islands and anchorages, with many memorable moments, but can't afford to go home to visit the kids and grandkids, sail, and travel to the places we can't get to by boat.  Our plans are to buy a condo back in Michigan to be close to the kids and grandkids in the summer and fall (my fav time of the year), and then travel to warm climates after Thanksgiving.  We're both looking forward to being land based again. But, if the boat doesn't sell, we'll get crew to help us take her back to the States from Panama in April, and then do the Florida/Bahama trip for the winters, and summer in Michigan. Many options open!

AUDREY PAIGE FOR SALE

36' Bayfield Cutter   -   Built in 1987
LOA 41' 3" LWL 30' 6" BEAM 12' DRAFT 5' 6" DISPLACEMENT 18,500 lbs
100 gallon water tank 54 gallon diesel tank 40 gallon holding tank Macerator with diverter
44 HP Yanmar Balmar 100 amp alternator/Smart regulator

New sheets, main halyard, topping lift and lazy jacks 2010

Awlgrip 2007 - Hood furling systems on jib and staysail - New Doyle jib 2006 - New Doyle full batten main 2009

New stainless steel lifelines 2007

5 step stainless steel folding boarding ladder
44 lb. Bruce anchor with 150' 3/8" BBB chain - 22 lb. high tensil Danforth anchor - 15 lb. Guardian aluminum anchor

60' 3/8" chain - 150' 1/2" line - 50' 5/8" bridle line - 6 30' 5/8" docklines

Lofrans manual windlass
4 water jerry cans - 2 diesel jerry cans - 2 gasoline jerry cans

4' x 4' rain catcher - splash cloths - sun curtains and full cockpit enclosure
New Air X Wind Generator, 2011

3 Solar panels - 150 watt, 120 watt, 65 watt
Kato stainless steel davits with floodlight

Stainless steel outboard lifting crane

2 stainless steel fishing pole holders

Avon 9' 6" rib dinghy, 2002

5 hp. Yamaha, 2003, with 3 gallon gas tank

Magma bbq grill with 6 lb. propane tank

450 amp house battery bank and separate starting battery

Cockpit  --

New cushions - 2" closed cell foam covered with waterproof material

Folding table
VHF radio

Depth and Speedometer
Raymarine autopilot with 24,000 lb. core pack
Edson outboard motor bracket

Cabin Equipment and Accessories
New Jabsco head
New stainless steel faucets with soap dispenser in head and galley

Whale galley salt water foot pump

Nova Kool refrigerator

Origo 2 burner non-pressurized alcohol stove/oven
Origo 5,000 BTU cabin heater

Nav station VHF radio

ICOM 700 PRO SSB with auto tuner - 2009
Garmin 230 GPS

Garmin 430 chartplotter with chips for the Eastern and Western Caribbean
Jensen AM/FM stereo/CD player with 6 speakers

Teak dish rack, spice rack and all galley dishes, etc.

5 cabin Hella fans

Globalstar phone
Tools and fishing gear

Safety Equipment

2 Sospenders life jackets - 2 offshore lifejackets - 2 dinghy lifejackets

Lifesling Rescue Pack

406 EPRIB - new battery in 2010

25 millimetre flaregun with flares, etc.

Emergency Ditch Bag

Any inquiries, email us at sailingdream@aol.com

                                                          ~~~_/)~~~

My next blogs will be on our visiting grandsons  :)

Time to Change Anchorages

After a couple of weeks in the East Lemmons, it's time to visit some more of the anchorages we love.  Plus, we really need to do laundry.  Not much wind these days, so we motorsailed over and anchored off of the Mangles River.  Took a dinghy trip up the river to check things out, pick up shower water, and check out the tide to do laundry the next day.

The Mangles River

After doing our month's worth of laundry, we headed back to the boat to wring it out and hang it up to dry.  Luckily, a small wind came up and everything dried before the rain started.  Sometimes you just get lucky!  Only saw one croc at the beginning of the river, nowhere near where we do laundry, so I was a happy person.  Nothing like looking over your shoulder for the hour it takes to wash and rinse everything.


Somehow, when we were up in Bocas the chartplotter managed to dump all of my tracks for getting in and out of the San Blas anchorages.  So, a few discussions about which reef to cut through to get into the Nabadup and Cambombia anchorage.  I didn't agree with Dennis, so instead of arguing, I turned the helm over to him and decided I would watch the depths from the bow.  That lasted two minutes, and he decided it would be smarter to let me go where I thought we should!  In safely and nothing less than 30 feet!!!


Mark and Deb on Sea Cycle have finally arrived in the San Blas and are heading down our way after they check in.  Had fun catching up, but we decided we needed some stronger internet for banking that needed to be done, so we headed off to Green Island, where they'll join us in a day or two.  As always, we don't anchor near each other, for privacy, but manage to get together when the mood strikes!

Was this container empty when it
floated to shore? 

Did some snorkeling over at Esnasdup, wondering where that container came from.  Then, off to the Western Hollandes where the snorkeling was probably the best we've seen down here.  It got a little rolly and we were chased out by a backpacker boat who anchored too close.  When your dinghies can mate, they're too close.  Off to the Central Hollandes for a few days for more snorkeling, and then to the Swimming Pool in the Eastern Hollandes. I'm seeing way too many sharks out here.  A smiling nurse shark was swimming my way -- nice to know Dennis can hear me underwater when it's a high pitched scream!!  Finally managed to have Bob and Sue from Sunrise over for happy hour, along with Mark and Deb.  Had a fun night.

The next day, while we were out snorkeling again (need exercise) we saw a beautiful 57' Nordhaven pulling into the anchorage.  Met Mike and Lynn on Time2.  Dennis went out fishing with Mike, and then they invited us over for dinner that night.  They even turned the air conditioning on!!!  Great food and company.


Back to the Western Hollandes since there seems to be some sun for snorkeling (looking for those elusive sea horses!), and then to the East Lemmons, getting ready to head back to Portobello.  Zack and Cody, our 13 year old grandsons, are arriving July 4th, so we need to get fuel, water and, most importantly, groceries!!

                                                                        ~~~_/)~~~