Panama is home to several wonderful cruising grounds, with the Guna Yala (San Blas) Island archipelago being one of the best. A series of nearly 350 islands, inhabited by the Kuna people and governed by same. I have long wanted to visit these waters and decided to venture here for a short 10 day jaunt with my daughters, Kristina and Natalie, Kristina’s boyfriend Tyler, and my ex-wife and dear friend Dora. They arrived late Thursday, we provisioned and did some last minute detailing on Friday morning and headed out to the archipelago that afternoon at 1530. It was overcast with a light drizzle, typical of many days here now at the end of the wet season, as we left Shelter Bay marina and headed north east. Shelter Bay lies at the entrance to the busy Colon harbor, the mouth of the Panama Canal, with a tirage of ships bound to cross the isthmus at all times of the day. We were fortunate, with little traffic and exited the harbor with ease, then set sail northward up the Panamanian coast.
We had approximately 70 nm to traverse so we had adopted an overnight passage to arrive early morning at the region. The PredictWind models called for little wind, light shifting currents, so a motor-sail was in order. We settled for sailing along the coast and found a dynamic breeze of 6-10kts mostly just off the bow, which left us with a mizzen and main sail set, tightly hauled and engine purring at 1100 rpm. Started off well, with 6 kts of boat speed but as we ventured NE up the Panamanian coast, the current increased along with the wind up to 15 – 17kts on the nose and our boat speed continued to drop significantly even with additional engine power and we found ourselves crawling along at 2 – 3kts SOG for much of the night. Weather models showed even more counter current if we went further offshore and to change course NW to take advantage of the wind would only increase our distance needed to travel so we plunged forward. In addition, a nasty confused sea state set in and Galini was rocked in a chaotic motion, so it was quite uncomfortable aboard. What was supposed to be a leisurely overnight passage to a beautiful cruising ground holiday vacation was starting out tough.
Our goal was to skirt along the coast until we reached Punta Manzanillo, where Panama bends to the east, then continue NW for another 15nm so we could change course to the ESE and reach down to the San Blas. Finally, around 0220 on Friday, we had cleared the point, so we tacked over and pulled out the genoa. The first hour was grand. Galini was in her groove and we surged forward at 8nts SOG and the sea state improved. However, Panama coastal sailing brought other reminders of nature’s control. The squalls set in.
For the next three hours, small bursts of 20 – 30 minute squalls marched across the sea and the winds kept changing direction and intensity. There was no moon, it was dark, and we could just envision the coastal lights of small villages that kept us vigilant. No one was getting any sleep, all five of us were huddled in the cockpit, the sea state was rocky, and we found ourselves tacking often as the squalls would pass through. I usually find these small wind events helpful when sailing and take advantage of their trailing edges when at sea. This time was a different story and what was usually easy night watch sailing for the new arrivals turned into anxiety trials for the new helmspersons that resulted in a few backwinds of sails and crew.
At around 0545, the squalls subsided, Galini settled to a comfortable reach and Punta San Blas was about 20nm distant. The sun was breaking across the horizon and we closed that distance with 15kts of breeze. Around 0900, the small islets became visible on the horizon. Since we were tired and had a challenging night, we opted for reaching to one of the .nearest islands, Cayos Chichime. The sea was beautiful, the sun warm, palm trees were visible and inviting. At last, the weather, sun, and promise of adventure permeated our mood, with tired smiles we greeted the new morn.
