San Juan del Sur to Panama City

We (Mitch Heath, Nicole Muscoft, Justin, and I) pulled up anchor (Mitch manually did this since the electrical wench was broken - welcome back Mitch) on Friday, the 13th of January, and set sail just at sunset after a busy day in San Juan del Sur. We had 25 to 35 knots of wind, with occasional 40 knot gusts of wind, and 5 ft waves. The autohelm couldn't handle the strength of the wind and the waves, so Justin had to hand steer for 4 hours. We made excellent tome, cruising at 8 plus knots and hitting 9.7 knots when surfing the crests of the waves. We passed the Nicaraguan / Costa Rican boarder that night.

Adios San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

Nicole isn't phased by the prospect of rough weather

Mitch and Nicole saying goodbye to land

Justin taking us out to sea

We traveled 3 days straight to Panama. The wind died down a bit the first day, causing us to motor a few times. But for the most part, we sailed at a steady pace. We saw dolphins and sea turtles. We trolled for fish, but had no luck. We played cards. We would jump off the boat to cool off when it got too hot, and grabbed a rope trailing behind the boat. I got in some yoga on the bow. I started drawing a picture of Vada. On the third day, we made an assembly line and did some laundry. Nicole put our contact information in a bottle and we gave it to the sea at the Costa Rican / Panama boarder in hopes that someone might find it and contact us one day. We anchored at 3 am in the Parque Nacional Golfo de Chiriqui.

Nicole and Mitch enjoying the sea life

Dinner up on deck

The first sea turtle we saw on the trip, but not the last

Mitch trying out the laundry system

Nicole giving the laundry a go

Justin supervising the laundry assembly line

Nicole reading in the shade

How we cooled off

Dragging Nicole and Mitch behind the boat

Picture I started of Vada in progress

Justin climbing up the side of the boat to get out of the water

Mitch using a halyard as a swing

Nicole taking a turn at using the halyard as a swing

Now Justin's turn

Our message in a bottle

Nicole letting loose our bottle

We island hopped for the next 6 days. The first day, we anchored in a bay of Isla Parida. Nichole, Mitch, and I took the dingy to shore. We explored the island. Nichole and Mitch snorkeled. I read on the beach and climbed rocks. We ended the day with flips off the boat and a game of Yota, which Nicole won even though it was her first time playing.

Myself exploring Isla Parida

Mitch and Nicole taking the dingy to check out the next bay

Nicole beating us at Yota

Being anchored in sheltered bays allowed me to do some cardio in the morning. Normally cardio is too much of a hazard with the boat pitching around.

Justin fixed the electric wench for the anchor the next morning, much to Mitch's delight. We then sailed to Isla Baca Brava, seeing sting rays along the way. We had to approach the island very slowly under motor as there were so many underwater rocks. We anchored with no issues. Mitch, Nicole, and Justin took the dingy to Baca Chica to restock on groceries.

Nicole, Justin, and Mitch heading to Baca Chica for groceries

Market in Baca Chica

Fish from a local fisherman

Myself getting a bit of yoga in now that the boat is a bit more stable

Just Dreamin in Bocas Brava

On the following day, we went to Bocas Brava Hotel for lunch. They had 3 dogs and a pig , Lucy, who pretty much thought she was a dog too. Justin and Mitch went kyte boarding during the afternoon while Nichole and I went exploring with the kayak. We joined the boys later. Nichole and I took a turn steering the kyte.

Lucy the big holding her own with the dogs

Everyone at Bocas Brava Hotel

Myself and Nicole out exploring in the kayak

Myself at the keyhole rock formation

Nicole at the keyhole rock formation

Myself at the keyhole rock formation

Nicole trying to steer the kyte

Mitch flying the kyte

Justin as we passed him in the dingy

Mitch retrieving Justin

On the 20th, we lifted anchor and traveled to see some reefs at Isla Monitas, where Nicole, Mitch, and Justin did some snorkeling for a couple of hours. We then continued on to Isla Brincanco of Islas Contreras to anchor for the night. We saw some bats when we anchored; they must have been drawn to our lights. We shot off some expired flares.

Nicole shooting off an expired flare

I continued drawing Vada the next day as we cruised to Isla Coiba national park. Coiba island was a penal colony until 2004 and now is a UNESCO site. Nicole and Mitch kayaked into shore. Justin and I took the dingy to shore. We hiked Sendero "Cerro Gambute" to the top of the hill and then we snorkeled.

Anchored at Coiba National Park

View from "Cerro Gambute"

Mitch and Nicole kayaking

Justin pulling Nicole and Mitch

We spent the next day snorkeling with sharks at Isla Granito de Oro. There were hundreds of hermit crabs on this island. We left that afternoon to make our way to Panama City. Mitch finally caught a fish.

Nicole, Mitch, and Justin snorkeling

Mitch's hard won prize

We sailed the next 2 days. We played cards and I drew a bit more, finally finishing my drawing of Vada. We all read; Mitch finished his first book since probably grade school. Mitch also got into tying knots. Nicole caught 5 fish on the 2nd day of sailing.