On Our Way To Panama

Last season, we did not make the 37-mile trip to Guanaja because we had planned to be there at the end of the year, waiting on the weather to continue on east and south to Panama. Well, so much for that idea. We saw very good conditions developing for our trip, so our stay in Guanaja was just 17 hours. We arrived at El Bight, got anchored, and then hurried to the town of Bonacca to clear out of Honduras and to jerry jug fuel to top off before our 343-mile trip to Providencia, Colombia.

We were very disappointed that we could not spend more time on Guanaja. We definitely will try on our return trip. Our very limited experience was fascinating. Bonacca is actually a very small island in a bay protected by the larger island of Guanaja. It is literally packed shore to shore with structures, homes, and businesses, with only narrow sidewalks running between them. The people were friendly and quick to lend assistance, as getting lost in the maze of buildings is very easy to do for the inexperienced.

By dinner, we had checked out, topped off the fuel and checked the weather, and decided it was a go for a 6 am departure. We departed our anchorage at 6:15 am. At 8 am, we called into the Northwest Caribbean Net on SSB to report our position, weather, and conditions aboard. This way, the Net Controllers can keep tabs on us, and also our friends on the net are updated on our progress. Each day, we reported in at 8 am.

We had just about the best conditions that could be hoped for. The wind was always favorable throughout the trip, usually on our side from a close reach to a broad reach, but usually a beam reach. We had a few hours with the wind behind us, but slightly off the port quarter, which made for comfortable sailing. The seas were not as kind. We traveled east until Vivorillos Bank and then turned more southeast. Until the turn, we were sideways to the waves, which made for a very uncomfortable sideways rolling motion. After 26 hours, we reached our waypoint and made the turn.  Immediately, the boat motion was very comfortable, and it remained that way for the remainder of the trip.

We arrived at Providencia at 1:30 pm after 55 ½ hours. We were actually several hours ahead of our plan due to all the help we got from the wind. So here we are in Colombia. We plan to stay here through the holidays. We are only slightly more than halfway to Panama, and early in the new year, we will finish our trip. More on Providencia in our next post.

Ariel Secure in Providencia

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