We had to transit the staging area for the canal and cross the break water to get to open sea. Container ships everywhere, keeping us on our toes and forcing us to dodge; one was even pitched on its side and abandoned. We had to wait for one container ship to exit the break water and then we had to tuck in behind it to get out before the next container ship came through.
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| Tankers and container ships waiting to go through the canal |
The trip to Jamaica was rough as we were beating to weather for the first four days. We frequently saw 30 plus knots and sailed with the 90% sail and 3 reefs in the main. We had waves coming over the boat those first four days. So we stayed down below as much as possible. Everything got wet. However, we made good speed (often 6 to 7 knots).
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| Myself trying to keep warm and dry while catching up on sleep |
Justin tried to grab a flogging rope while we were hoisting the 90% sail. The rope was moving with enough force due to the strong winds to damage our solar panel. Justin got whipped all over his body and had welts and bruises for the next week.
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| Welts on Justin's back from the flogging rope |
We had to tack eastward to avoid shallow strips of exposed rock in the middle of the ocean, which added some time to our passage.
On the last day, we needed to motor around Jamaica's west end because the winds had dropped off.
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| Jamaica! |
Justin and I arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica on the morning of February 15th.
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