Weather Forecast ???

The problem with the weather is that it doesn't always adhere to the forecast. With a very good weather forecast, we decided 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

Siblings bringing their lobster catch to sell

 

On Thursday evening, thinking it was our last in San Blas, a sister and brother team came by with some very large lobsters, so we had a 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 began to be pushed out and 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, when 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.

Checking to see what may have washed up overnight

The wind direction for the entire trip was north-north-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 and 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 apart.

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

We are already studying the weather models for our next trip, also knowing the weather may follow the models' forecast.