Sailing Into Freedom

Let’s get back in time when Margarida left Panama and watch her time in Portugal. Did she enjoyed the European summer or went to work to save up to haul out in Colombia 😉 Press Play!

So, crazy as it may seem, I go for a spear and see lots of big fish that are too big to shoot but I get onto one that is just right with a bit of a plan that actually works….a first for the vlog something that I thought up actually worked. I have dinner sorted so I then play hide and seek with the wildlife. I lose track of time in the water, pretty common for me (sometimes I lose 8 hours in the water wooohoooo), but get wiken out of my reverie by a bolt of lightning. I look up and see a storm bearing down on me so it is time to skiddadle and get the flock out of here but it is a bit tricky because the light has gone and I need to get through the reef and then I need to get back into the storm to get
back to my boat. These storms can blow up to 60 knots and it is not a good feeling to be outside the reef being blown further out at sea when I should be back at the boat. It’s a race and I make it by about 5 minutes – plenty of time.

But the show is not over, the cell turns into and electrical storm and I have lightning all around me for hours with a few really close calls. It’s all good – until its not and in the end it’s all ok. Bloody let down really. If I was lightning, I would hit the tallest thing in the area.

Margarida is arriving soon and the boat is a mess, well not really a mess according to guys but to Margarida it’s a pig sty so lots of cleaning to be done to make it like the last porridge – just right but another storm threatens to stuff up my washing schedule so I need to get the clothes and cushions in before it hits. Crikey!

This episode is an underwater marathon. I show a bit of how I do things with the vlog with finding new reefs and capturing a sunset that never seems to come. It just gives a glimpse into the time it takes to arrange a shot and how much effort it requires – nothing but quality. If you don’t like underwater stuff then don’t watch this episode.

I show you viewers where exactly I am and how to get around the myriad of reefs. Some friends join me to go to an anchorage in the middle of the Hollandes Group. It is a little tricky to get into but well worth it – don’t forget to get the Eric Bauhaus book for Panama and this will see your way clear of almost all the reefs. I check out some awesome caves and have a little trouble finding a breathe hole….it’s all good in the end although I am a bit of a turkey. These caves are amazing and seem to go on for ever all the way underneath the reef crest almost to the lagoon itself. I have a great time. I hear dogs barking crazily during the night and wonder on their welfare so I go on a mercy mission to check on them to see if they are alright.

It starts out a perfect day with not a ripple on the water so I use the opportunity to pretend I have a breakdown and try to steer the boat with the dinghy by myself. Not too hard at all really.
The next day it starts to cloud up and I go for a quick spear to get dinner before I get hit…well my timing was a little off and I seek shelter behind an island, albeit the wrong side, that is the windward side. I wasn’t going to stop on the sheltered side because that’s where the 3 meter croc lives. I just need a spot to lay low and allow the lightning to strike the higher trees while I am lying as low as possible in the water. It all turns out OK even though we appear to have a strike very close by.
And our favorite time is upon us once again, that’s right people, it’s croc watch. This time it gets really close to the boats.
Enjoy!

I help out some Gunas with some fuel and they reward me with some fruit, 2 bread fruit a bunch of bananas and some lemons. I have never had bread fruit so I am eager to try it and so are my friends the bees.
We test out the Rocna in weed and it is surprising, it fails first go so I talk a bit about that and I also look at how much fish is wasted when we fillet them and throw away the carcass. Too much I think.
Enjoy!

Nature is awesome. An electical storm passes over Freedom with some very close hits. There is lightning everywhere and I am outside to enjoy it.
I am running out of food because of bad weather and no fish caught. After 3 days I have a short spear at the end of the day without the electrical threat from above. But no luck for me I am afraid.
It is out of season and the launchers aren’t coming anymore with the veggies. Bugger. SO I visit an island where I hear there is a lemon tree and go searching for it.
The storms have finally left so I am free to go out spearfishing. I easily get a nice snapper and come face to face with the largest nurse shark I have ever seen. I also come across another wreck and this one comes with a story.
Enjoy!