Weather Forecast ???

The problem with the weather is that it doesn't always adhere to the forecast. With very good conditions forecast, we made our decision to clear out of Panama. We actually cleared out on Tuesday with a planned departure on Thursday. Wednesday was the official Independence Day (from Spain) in Panama, although they moved the actual holiday to Monday for the long weekend. We didn't want to chance the government offices being closed on Wednesday, so we cleared early.

Typical House - This With Upgraded Roof - Location, Location, Location

Wonderful Sailors

On Thursday evening, thinking it was our last in San Blas, some guys came by with some very large lobsters, so we had lobster dinner, thinking, what a fitting ending to our short time in the San Blas. Well, Friday night we were still there, so we had pizza, which we decided was good comfort food before our long trip.

Lucky for us that our chosen waiting spot to depart, Chichime, was a wonderful location. We could have easily stayed for an extended period, but of course, when you have cleared out of a country, you are supposed to leave. The great-looking weather opportunity started to get pushed out and started to deteriorate a little. We decided to delay our departure til Friday morning. Friday morning, the wind had not abated, and the seas off San Blas were running six feet, so we decided to wait until later in the day. The winds blew steadily all day until around four, at which time they suddenly dropped to almost zero. The seas were still rough, so we again delayed until Saturday morning. During the night, the winds were calm, and upon waking Saturday morning, the seas looked good. As soon as we pulled anchor, the winds picked up again.

The wind direction for the entire trip was north-north-east east and our rhumb line was northwest, so we motor-sailed as close to the wind as possible and tried to get as much easting as possible in case the wind backed more to the north. The wind ranged between 15 to 25 knots the entire trip. We managed to gain about fifteen miles to the east, but in the end, we didn't need it, so the last few miles were a nice ride as we gave up the ground we had made.

Originally, with the good weather forecast, we had intended to go to Honduras, but here we are in Providencia. We like Providencia, so we are actually very pleased to be here. It was going to be hard for us to pass it up anyway. We are here with several boats that made the same journey as we did, but we were all spread out quite far from one another.

In the anchorage, we have two American boats (including us), two British boats, one Canadian, one French, and one New Zealand. 

So here we are, already studying the weather models for our next trip, also knowing the weather may not do as the models forecast.