September 28, 2013
Here, there and everywhere
When our little daughter, Rocket, was only four weeks old we had to unexpectedly fly to Mexico City and I found myself in the rather bizarre position of breastfeeding her whilst walking to join James in a queue at the airport. Yes, we have a baby on…
September 7, 2013
The art of letting go
If you read the post with our statistics of our first year on board you would have seen that we spent a total of 4 nights away from the boat. This year it’s a different story. In total we will have been off the boat for a whopping 11 weeks, this…
August 23, 2013
Mexican / Mexican’t
Whilst we happily wax lyrical about all things Mexican, (see previous post) we’re aware that our views are not shared by everyone. When mentioning that his future granddaughter would be born in Mexico, James’s father was met with reactions of horror…
August 9, 2013
Wish you were here or an ode to all things Mexican
Nineteen years ago two young men got drunk in a bar in San Diego and came up with the brilliant idea of flying down to Mexico, buying horses and riding them from Leon to Veracruz. One of these men was James and the few months that he spent on…
June 14, 2013
Method in the madness
So what vital bit of the story has been missing here? Were any of you questioning our decision to head north for 2,250 miles for over three and a half months in order to get to Banderas Bay in Mexico for hurricane season? Well, if not, then maybe…
June 13, 2013
To Motor or not to Motor, that is the question
You are off the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. The moon is setting. It’s five in the morning the wind is 9 knots from the North West and you have plotted your latest position on the paper chart on the nav-table. You have travelled only seven miles…
April 19, 2013
Beggars can be choosers
Since leaving the UK in October 2011 we’ve spent very few nights away from the boat. In fact, in 18 months, we’d only had 5 nights that we didn’t spend on board. Our plan to sail up the Pacific coast of Central America was very much influenced by my…
April 2, 2013
Time to turn
Long before we had reached the Pacific coast of Central America we knew that we would need to watch the weather for Papagayos. From December to March, high pressure systems move into the Caribbean, reinforcing the trade winds which then pour over…
March 22, 2013
The Pleasures of Passage Making
A frigate bird wheels overhead as the hazy dawn light is mirrored back by the water. The sea is absolutely still, more like a lake than an ocean, blurring the horizon so that the sky bleeds into the water. Slowly, gently, a large, old leatherback…
February 17, 2013
Reflections on a year in the Caribbean
From our first landfall in St Lucia on January 6th 2012 to our Panama Canal transit on January 26th 2013 we have had an incredibly varied sailing experience in the Caribbean Sea. Our twelve month tour of this area took us to 15 different countries…
February 13, 2013
Red tide at Taboga
Ahhhhh, Taboga. Only 7 little miles from the hustle and bustle of Panama City but it might as well be another world. We like it here immensely, in fact, it wins our prize for the place we’ve liked most in all of Panama. Why? Well, for starters it’s…
February 10, 2013
Rude awakening
It’s 5:30am, the boat is rocking violently from side to side and James and I are covered in water. Had we been on passage this might be something that we were expecting or at least prepared for. But no, this time, we are actually at anchor. The…
February 3, 2013
The Panama Canal
So we talked about it, planned it and worried about it for so long that the actual Canal transit seemed like an absolute doddle (does this remind anyone of all our talk of the Bay of Biscay?). We had decided to use a canal agent as our month in the…
January 23, 2013
Adamastor Admeasured
Yes – we’re finally doing it. The path between the seas beckons, we have our transit date for the Panama canal. We returned from the San Blas islands to Portobelo and were greeted by a mountain of admin back in the UK that had accumulated from a…
January 3, 2013
Sun, sand and Santa – a month in San Blás
The San Blás islands, also known as the Kuna Yala, is home to the Kuna Indians who are in charge of the entire archipelago of over 350 islands and retain autonomy without interference from the national Panamanian government. The archipelago is…
December 6, 2012
On crazy monkeys, hungry bats and lost camels…
Isla Linton is a sweet little island with a huge anchorage almost entirely occupied by French or German boats. Strange, first we found Bocas to be full of Americans, now Linton is full of the French – are there any Panamanians in Panama??? This huge…
November 23, 2012
Keeping up with the Joneses
Buddy-boating was a term that we had heard used but never fully understood until we left Bocas del Toro. We found ourselves in the fortunate position to have made some really great friends in Laurie and Damon of sailing vessel Mother Jones. We met…
November 14, 2012
Bye bye Bocas
The time has come. We have been in Bocas for 5 months now, had 4 sets of family and friends to visit, trashed and subsequently replaced our mainsail, done a full engine service, cleaned our keel and prop and even hosted a toddler. We've made amazing…
November 13, 2012
The family Edwards
Following the last post, I should have said it was the perfect break until...We got stuck at the border coming back into Panama. I was already anticipating issues as my passport renewal has resulted in me owning two valid British passports…