I’ve been working on a post describing the trip from Bluefields Nicaragua to Bocas del Toro Panama but I just can’t seem to get the thing finished. In the meantime: I made it to Panama safe and sound, and am presently hanging about in Bocas del Toro doing a bit of sailing and waiting for the right situation to appear conducive to my replacing the entire deck on the main hull of Desesperado which has decayed to the point that my foot goes through it all the time and the holds flood in rain or waves to an extent that is no longer bearable to me. I must also make some kind of alternative sail along the lines of a stoprm jib to render the boat safer in foul weather. Bocas del Toro is quite pleasant and safe enough if one ignores the odd robbery or rape, and the frequent rains are not a bother to me since Belgian Christian, a fine bloke, took pity on me and let me live aboard his unused and empty sailboat. So all is well. I am likely to be here for some weeks yet, after which the San Blas Islands and the Kuna indians beckon. And then I suppose Columbia. Will this ever end?
goodonya mate,you seem to be in fine spirits again.
Great accomplishment Chris! You are indeed a master sailor. However, the friend you came to see has relocated to Veracruz… ha! Don’t get too settled there for Tierra del Fuego beckons. Plz keep in touch.
Glad you are out of the weather at nights, anyway! I’m puzzled why the deck is rotting. I thought you built all of the boat the same way, strip planking covered with fiberglass, so if the deck is rotting, why is the hull holding fast?
The deck of the main hull is flat with no curves, let alone compound curves, so it is made from plywood. I sealed it with epoxy but water got in around the screw holes when I installed the bucket-top hatches. The hull has been scratched a bit but very little water has gotten through to the cedar strips below the glass. Barnacles and weed grow ridiculously fast on it though; I have to swim and scrub every few days.
Thanks for the update mate; see if you can finish your full report of the trip down. Your community of lurkers awaits!
good to hear you’re making it! good luck on the repairs and getting to san blas. folks say it’s amazing down there.
Ahoy there sailor! So very glad to know you made it to your destination and beyond!! Wishing you fair winds and good friends! Much love, Mary Ann, Isla Mujeres
Yay! Christopher.. alive well and I trust wearing a rather fetching new hat. Back on yUKy shores and in communicado. Pressed for time at this moment, but thinking of you and will write more (nonsense) soon. Pip pip.
Glad to hear from you. We were worried for a bit, googling ”handsome/literary/crazy British sailor lost at sea” and some such. Good thing your dad left a comment on your whereabouts. Is it possible to miss a person you only knew a few days? Answer: yes. Be safe and let’s meet again. x
It has been almost a month! The suspense is killing me! Post something!
Truth be told I’m starting to worry just a little bit…
The Captain Grillabong is alive and well and I fear I have been distracting him from his planned repairs as well as his blogging responsibilities here in lovely Bocas Del Toro, where the winds are fickle and the fish elusive at best. However, rest assured, he has another juicy blog post in the pipeline soon to be hot off the presses!
“About damned time!”, grumbled his grumpy old man.
Just adding a comment to see if the link is still active, and to inquire as to how the deck repairs are going? BTW, saw two videos of you sailing on You Tube. Are there any more?