The Godess of the seas, our experiences, opinions and lessons learned
Ah Ma sits safely in her berth with enough water under the keel to weather the 5 meter tides. At Playita we prepare for the long journey to the Galapagos and onward. The boat needs to be filled with dozens of tins of food and staples. Our skipper for hire[…]
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Crossing the Canal is one of those once in a lifetime experiences. It’s amazing to cross through the American continent by boat from one big ocean to another. For a small boat making less than 10 knots the crossing takes two days, with an overnight on the Gatun lake. I[…]
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A small piece of plastic hose provided by the resident marina technician, Steve, solved our diesel tank problem. Ah Ma could now suck diesel from the lower belly of her tank. We can finally start the engine, well almost… It turned out the engine starter battery is indeed certified dead.[…]
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We have been stuck at Shelter Bay Marina for a week now. Not that we did not plan for some time here, but it all seems to go a fair bit slower than anticipated. I’ve planned to get a fresh layer of ‘Sea horse friendly’ antifouling in Panama as this[…]
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We entered the Colon breakwater around 5am under sail. The polluted diesel in the tank made us weary of starting the engine. The fuel filters might clog up at any time. But it was now time to lower the sail and turn the key for final approach into the marina.[…]
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Passing behind Aruba, we came out of the protective coverage of the Islands. The seas picked up to 2 meter swells at a 5 second interval, pushed by a 20 to 25 knot wind. We sailed in a North Westerly direction having the waves on our beam (side of the[…]
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All crew is aboard, the last groceries are stowed away, time to make the last run to town to visit customs and immigration. We join the morning traffic jam down Caracasbaai weg, off to customs first. The lady at the Marina office didn’t quite know where the new location for[…]
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The plans for 2020 are to cross the Pacific and ‘bring her home’. Ah Ma became ours on the island of Curacao, in the Caribbean. A 30 hour journey from our hometown of Macau. For our cruising plans to be feasible, we need the boat to be close to home[…]
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