Sailing Into Freedom

Margarida shows us she is the champ at catching crabs. I come second. Hey I don’t care, I get to eat a log of crabs. The next day I am up early for a long ride out to some reefs that are a long way away. It doesn’t all go to plan when the dinghy blows 1 seam and then another and then my pump breaks. Ah its all good….well, no it isn’t. The dinghy is dead.
Now without a dinghy we have to head back to civilisation where we have a surprise waiting for us.

I leave Margarida early morning and head out for a spear. The trouble is, the sun is not high and it is a bit overcast so I can’t see into the water and see the reefs. I stumble upon a reef when a set comes in and my motor dies right at the worst possible time and I get swamped by a breaking wave and almost have the boat turn turtle. Its all good though and I manage to get dinner for a BBQ. I see some amazing coral formations that look like Disneyland for smurfs. Just watch it and you will understand.
Later on we meet some Brazilian guys who challenge us to a game of volleyball and we trounce them 3 games to 0.

Our food and water situation isn’t good so we head back to the local Guna Village of Nargana to stock up. We hear there is a monkey in town kept as a pet so decided to check it and bring some bananas for it. We also hear that its’ living condition are not ideal and that some cruisers are trying to raise funds from other sailors to rescue the poor monkey. It is a cute bundle of all legs and arms and is very affectionate towards me (Plukky). I think it senses that I am not too far evolved from it and therefore good company.

I am out of action so Margarida has to catch the fish for us. She takes it so seriously she spears until after the sun has gone down and we have trouble getting back to Freedom because it is a long way away and we have to find a gap in the reef in the dark.
Ha, it isn’t always me getting into trouble.

We are still at Iguana Island and explore the lagoon out front. I come face to face with 2 large dog snappers and an oyster cruncher (Pompano) but I leave them alone since they are too big for the 2 of us to eat and look for something smaller. Meanwhile Margarida chases a schoolmaster snapper into a cave. I get a bit worried when I see she may have difficulty getting out of the cave so I yank on a flipper and she comes out with a bump on the ass and on her head. She is not too impressed but ends up getting her first small snapper so she forgets the bumps.

Also, there is an update on our plans and the gear needed to get us ready for the South Pacific. Follows the to do/get list:
-batteries for house bank
-batteries for starter
-toilet
-sail light wind Gennaker in a sock
-camera for filming
-running rigging except for halyards
-self furler for staysail
-2 jammers for furlers
-2 blocks for main sail
-track & car for main sail
-repairs on all sails
-recondition the dripless seal
-3 primary & secondary filters
-galvanize main chain
-chain hook stainless steel
-adjustable pole for headsail
-tubing to protect dyneema
-stainless steel turnbuckles
-winch for boom
-2 self tailing winches (so Margarida can be on watch herself)
-spare cable for steering
-spares for autopilot
-plastic bearings for rudder
-spare bilge pump
-throttle unit plus one spare cable
-replenish stainless steel spares, screws, nuts, bolts, pins, washers, etc.
-bottom paint
-remove fittings where it is l leaking into boat, remove rotten ply. Fiberglass & fill
-tethers for our safety gear
-emergency kit for dinghy, tools spares & handheld radio
-remove the stick on vinyl floor

We leave Hollandaise lagoon and head to a very rolly anchorage at Iguana Island. Its our very own island where we muck around and Margarida goes native and climbs a coconut palm too high and then has trouble get back down again. Coconuts, racquetball and general kanoodling are the order for the day with a beach BBQ at the end.

We get to Linton Bay and anchor and head to Sabanitas where all the supermarkets are, about 90 minutes away. But we are in for a tragedy. The supermarket does not have Oreos and Margarida’s smile evaporates. It is a sad time until she brightens up and realises we can go to the other supermarket in town where yes oh yes we find the holy grail. We use up our entire budget on groceries hoping to stay away for months…we need to save up for a lift and hardstand fees and the canal crossing.
We set sail as soon as the groceries are packed and hope for some large Colombian swell to hit us during our journey. Alas this doesn’t eventuate with Margarida being very thankful of that. And we finally arrive in San Blas again where I show you the best way to enter the maze of reefs is. It was a great sail but we wake the next morning to a problem no woman can put up with. Our bedroom has saltwater leaking into it so somewhere from the toe rail to the staunchions to the chainplates there is a small crack and we must find it. We both rip out the wooden trim on the toe rail and search and repair with Margarida working like a workhorse. Hopefully our repairs will do the trick.