10-24.686N
075-32.656W
Still Docked
Club de Pesca
Cartagena de Indias
Colombia
Sunday, April 29
We left. Then we came back.
Leaving is no mean task. Preparing for a two month trip is tense, but
at no time are we more efficient than when preparing to depart. We
got a lot done. We also cry (at least "softy" John), as we say good
bye to a lovely life style and to numerous friends, especially the Colombians
that we leave behind.
We left last Wednesday, motored out five miles, did a calibration turn for
our auto pilot, realized that it does not work, and came back to the club.
Sailing without an auto pilot is like riding a one-gear bicycle up
hill. No fun, at all. Turns out, the problem was only a wire
in the wrong slot. Life being a bit cruel at times, however, on backing
into the slip, John turned the helm too hard, and broke the auto pilot's
rudder sensor arm. Getting a new one, or repairing the old, or both,
will take a few days, and a few hundred dollars.
One hour after our return, we had the worst squall since our arrival here
in December. Had we been out and about, this would have been a challenge.
Life is so ironic.
About a week before our scheduled departure, most of our sailing friends
also had left, and we felt a bit alone. Three days before, Koukla arrived,
Donna and Cosmos. They had taught us to Tango at Monkey Bay Marina
in Rio Dulce, Guatemala. It was a joy to see them. Then, the
next day, Imagine came in, Sheila and Stewart, whom we did not know previously,
but who become instant friends, by their openness and by the similarity
of their experiences and objectives to ours. We have broken bread with
the four of them, and even walked with them at 5:30 in the morning.; Sailing
friendships, if natural, take place quickly, and last a long time.
Wednesday, April 18
The moment a boat leaves the water, and owners observe its underside, is
a revelation of what Mother Nature can do, left to her own devices, without
supervision. She runs amuck, attaching anything handy to the otherwise
smooth and curiously elegant superficie. In our case, Manual, Edie and
?? went to work immediately, clawing and scraping, and removing over 100
pounds of one inch thick stuff, a milkshake of barnacles and anything else
that might have been swimming by. Today, the second day out, they are
washing and sanding, preparing our bottom for coats of primer plus two coats
of Hempel anti fouling paint. We did this last in Le Ceiba, Honduras,
more than a year and a half ago. Along the way, divers removed "stuff"
once or twice, but nothing like this, because, for one, Cartagenan waters
are known for their production of unwanted attachments, and Pachamama has
been idle since Thanksgiving, reminding us that a non rolling stone gathers
lots of moss.
We are on the departure path, which includes: haul out and bottom
paint, cleaning mast, waxing and removing rust from the running rigging wherever
possible, testing the dinghy and outboard, and provisioning, plus complying
with the departure requirements of Colombia's immigration and customs systems.
If all goes well, we will sail out Boca Chica next week, turn left,
say hello to three islands, then turn right along Panama's coast, until we
return to Colon, where Pachamama again will sit quietly in the water, gathering
stuff, for more than four months. This will be out longest time home,
because of Laura's wedding, and the news yesterday that Cindy is expecting
in late October. Grandparents again, the third time.
Monday, April 9
Fighting intense boredom as our minds desire to leave, and the lift required
to clean us is out of service, we nevertheless have had moments of interest,
as this morning when the Mexican Tall Ship left Cartagena. The following
is from her web site.
"The ARM Cuauhtémoc BE-01 is a Sail Training vessel similar to the
USCGC Eagle, designed to train officers and cadets of the Mexican Navy.
She is the last of 4 sister ships built by the Naval Shipyards of Bilbao,
Spain and named for the last Aztec Emperor Cuauhtémoc. Cuauhtémoc
was captured by Hernán Cortés and with his execution in 1525,
ended Aztec rule of present day Mexico to Spain.
"Like her sister ships, the Colombian Gloria, the Ecuadorian Guayas and
the Simón Bolívar of Venezuela, the Cuauhtémoc is a sailing
ambassador for her home country and a frequent visitor to world ports, having
sailed over 400,000 nautical miles in her 23 years of service with appearances
at the Cutty Sark Tall Ships' Races, ASTA Tall Ships Challenges, Sail Osaka,
and others."
We visited her two hours Friday, escorted by a young naval officer. Today,
with warm memories of our visit, we sat harborside to see her leave
at 8:00. John tired by 10:30 and returned to the drudgery of personal
business. Chichi came back to the boat, took two Ibuprofens, smeared
on sun screen, grabbed her sun glasses and binoculars, and headed back shore
side, where she met members of a Catholic sailors' support group. Turns
out, the Cuauhtémoc was delayed in sailing for illness of a crew
member. She left about 1:15, as crew members scrambled to the yards,
and sang on their way out. They also paused for a salute to Gloria,
her sister.
Saturday, we boarded a Colombian tourist ferry to La Isla de los Rosarios
(which we will visit soon on Pachamama). This was an all day affair
with a one hour stop at "The Aquarium," and two hours at "Playa Blanca,"
where John thought all 255 passengers would drown between the anchored ferry
and the beach. They were transported, "en mass," like cattle, in what
looked like an old World War II naval landing craft. He embarrassed
Chichi a bit by getting mad. What irked him was the order to wear life
jackets from crew members who were not wearing life jackets. The order
was correct. The crew was not. Someday soon we will read about
a tragedy in this area.