Ecuadorian welcome

9AM Position Report

Yesterday morning at 9AM found us at the "Waiting Room" in Bahia de Caraquez, after a relatively benign day of sailing. The waiting room is the place where you hang around until a local pilot comes on board to guide you through the nightmare of shifting sandbars at the entrance the the Rio Chone and the estuary where the Puerto Amistad marina is located.

Our last day at sea saw some of the best weather we have had on this passage. We were able to sail for much of the way with a west wind, on a beam reach, just cruising along at 4 or 5 knots with less than 10 knots of wind. The only problem was that we were going too fast. We had to time our arrival at the waiting room for around 9AM, in order to catch the 10:45AM high tide (the only time you can enter the river with a deep draft sailing vessel). If left to itself, the boat was determined to get us there around 3AM. We reefed our sails right down and when we had to motor we did so at barely above an idle speed, and we still ended up having to overshoot our destination by about 5 miles and double back, just to stall for time. We were kept busy though, dodging a large number of fishing vessels all night long.

The pilot showed up around 9:30AM and we were safely anchored near the marina by 11AM. As soon as we had submitted our paperwork to the marina staff so they could get us checked into the country, we hit the very nice marina restaurant for lunch. Afterward, we had to hang around the marina until almost 6PM, waiting for the "health" inspector to clear us in. As soon as we got back to the boat, we pretty much crashed and slept until late this morning. What a treat it is to be in a very safe, calm, anchorage after all that time spent in Panama City.

I will post more details as soon as we sort out some better internet access.

{GMST}00|35.8|S|080|26.8|W|Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador|Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador{GEND}

Panama to Ecuador - Day 5

9AM Position Report

Things are looking up today.

After a rough day of sailing yesterday, in 15 to 20 knots of wind from directly where we wanted to go, overnight the conditions improved considerably. During the heavy conditions we got to try out some different sail combinations, eventually settling for a double-reefed mainsail, the staysail and a severely reefed genoa, which allowed us to sail fairly close-hauled for much of the day. Unfortunately, the course we were making was taking us closer to the coast than we wanted to go and we were forced to go back to motor-sailing with the main alone just before dark.

This morning, the winds are down to about 5 knots form the SSW, the swells are very light, there does not appear to be any significant current, and the sun is even peeking out of the clouds now and then. We have had no sign of any squalls for the last 12 hours, so maybe we have passed through the ITCZ and are in for much kinder conditions for the remainder of the passage.

We are less than 90 miles from our destination at Bahia de Caraquez now, and expect to make our entry into the river tomorrow morning, always assuming we can get in contact with the pilot - we have had no response from our emails as yet. One other boat is a short distance ahead of us and are also planning on making their entry on tomorrow's 10:45AM high tide.

BTW: We are now only 44 miles north of the equator. Should be crossing in about 8 hours.

{GMST}00|44|N|080|23|W|To Ecuador - Day 5|To Ecuador - Day 5{GEND}

Panama to Ecuador - Day 4

9AM Position Report

What a difference a day makes.
After some pleasant sailing yesterday afternoon, we started to have a little of everything.
Lots of shipping traffic as we were apparently crossing a major route from South America to Panama.
We encountered a series of squalls and winds in the 20 knot range throughout the night and still with us this morning. The combination of the slightly favorable current and the strong south wind have combined to give us some spectacularly rough seas. Big waves at short intervals which is making forward progress very difficult.
We are currently tacking towards the Ecuadorian coast, mostly because we cannot keep any direct south heading any more against these winds and waves. The shore is still over 50 miles away but does have a couple of possible anchorages where we could take refuge if we feel we can't handle the conditions any more.
At the current rate, we may not be able to make our anticipated Thursday arrival at Bahia.
Now we have to start thinking about some sail changes - nothing we have tried has worked very well except to motor-sail with the double-reefed mainsail, but this is using up a lot of diesel.

{GMST}02|28|N|080|11|W|To Ecuador - Day 4|To Ecuador - Day 4{GEND}

Panama to Ecuador - Day 3

9AM Position Report

Good progress over the last 24 hours, with some actual sailing.
Yesterday, starting around 11AM, we caught some moderate, 10 to 14 knot, winds from the east, allowing us to sail on a beam reach for more than 6 hours. After that, the winds got light and directionless and we ended up motor-sailing for all but a couple of hours around midnight.
This morning we find ourselves in very calm seas with a nice blue sky and sunshine. It is nice to see the sun after so much time spent in overcast conditions lately. A little bit of wind would be nice though.
We had contact with a boat about 100 miles behind us and another about 80 miles ahead, both heading for the same destination in Ecuador. They both reported that they have enough wind to sail, so maybe there is hope for us later in the day as well.
Distance made good so far is about 290 miles, leaving about 300 to go, almost half way!

{GMST}04|18|N|080|23|W|To Ecuador - Day 3|To Ecuador - Day 3{GEND}

Panama to Ecuador - Day 2

9AM Position Report

Amazing progress over the last 24 hours.
Although we had no wind to speak of, we did get a nice push from the outgoing tide in the Bay of Panama. We rounded Punta Mala just after midnight and threaded our way through a bit of shipping traffic, including two cruise ships enroute to Puntarenas in Costa Rica.
We were followed for most of the night by a line of squalls that finally caught up to us around 3AM. The seas got a little rougher and we got wet, but the winds never exceeded 8 or 9 knots. The only sailing we have done in the last 24 hours was about 2 hours just before Punta Mala, and a very brief attempt before the rain hit us.
This morning finds us motorsailing in extremely light winds again. Our mileage made good since leaving Panama City is about 150. Another 450 or so to go.

At this point, we are making an attempt to get some distance west in hopes of picking up more favorable winds and currents tomorrow (or maybe even sooner?)

{GMST}06|36|N|080|15|W|To Ecuador - Day 2|To Ecuador - Day 2{GEND}