Over the past two weeks we were fortunate to have three good friends onboard sailing the beautiful Las Perlas Islands with us. The 40nm sail out from Panama City was one of those classics. There was a light breeze from the north that was just aft of the beam the entire way out and it couldn’t have been a more perfect way to start the trip. The gentle 10kts of wind slowly increased a little as we got out towards the islands and Spirit happily sat on 8kts, her speed was a pleasant surprise as she was heavy and not as light as she had been on previous sails. With an easy extra 500kg, which consisted of provisions, fuel, water and three boys and their gear onboard she didn’t seem to slow down much. She felt far heavier though with her reaction to waves being dampened considerably. The Las Perlas islands as the group is known is made up of more than 39 islands and 100 islets, spans over 1165km and stretches 30nm from north to south and 22nm east to west. There is an incredible amount of biodiversity located in this area and it’s amazing to see as its only 40nm away is one of the world’s busiest ports the pacific entrance to the Panama Canal. These Islands are a hidden gem that far too many sailors and cruisers rush by. We’ve hardly touched any of it during our couple of weeks out here and could easily spend months wandering around its spectacular bays and Islands. The anchorages are lovely and offer diverse surroundings that cater to all whom make it here. Contadora is the main Island for tourists and Panamanians holidaying and it’s one of the closest to Panama City. It also has a very interesting past that dates back hundreds of years to the Spanish Conquistadors and more recently it was home to the Shah of Iran when he excited there. Daily we watched large menacing black frigate birds sawing aloft and pelicans diving like missiles into the sea. Dolphins and turtles to huge schools of anchovies being rounded into balls and hammered by those higher in the food chain. One of our goals while we had the boys onboard was to test all of Spirit’s new systems. We had a new dinghy, outboard, inverter, cooker, freezer, water maker and so on to try out and having friends onboard would help us stress those systems a little, which was important to do before we head west across the Pacific. The first day out we made water for a few hours and are happy to say that the water maker hasn’t leaked or misbehaved at all and has functioned better than spec’t. These water makers from SeaWater Pro are in my opinion some of the best, no bells and whistles just a good simple and very reliable water maker thats made with commonsense. Uses around 40amps at 24v (1000W) and makes roughly 70-80LPH. While in the Las Perla’s we’ve enjoyed some lovely meals with Clo cooking up a storm everyday and the boys occasionally treating us to their delights. It’s been fun enjoying some Spanish, Italian and Spirit diets over the past two weeks and we’ve had a lot of fun in the galley. Spirit’s report card at the end of the two weeks from her crew was an A+. She succeeded in taking care of us all, providing us with a safe and comfortable home, supplying our power needs and more and keeping us clean, hydrated and secure while at sea. I’ll pop a few pics of Spirit XL and the surrounding areas below. Best wishes and Happy Easter to all!
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The goal after arriving in Panama in early January was to get Spirit XL to a stage where she could operate independently of marinas.
We’d spent the three prior months in Costa Rica in a marina and had more than had enough of them. Getting the final bits we needed in Costa Rica was out of the question. With import costs as high as 100% and delays a normal occurrence we decided to leave the big ticket items until we got to Panama where it was cheaper and easier to import them. Spirit was also still in her old owners name as transferring ownership was another bureaucratic mess we preferred to steer clear of so this had also been delayed until Panama. The main items we were yet to order and install were. - inverter - Water maker - New anchor chain 80m x 10mm - Spare windlass - Dinghy 10ft RIB - Outboard 2 stroke Enduro - New hydraulic ram for autopilot - Order starlink - Fit new 2nd hand sails Some of the main jobs we still had to carry out were things such as. - fit solar panels to decks - Rewire 12v & 24v board - Replace hydraulic pipes on autopilot - Fit new hydraulic ram on pilot - Remove and check rudder/lubricate/service - Simplify running rigging - Cut sheets and lines to correct lengths - Scrub hull - Remove SS sponson band - Remove redundant deck hardware - Fill numerous holes around the boat with epoxy. - Order and fit starlink - Remove nets for stitching & re-lash netting. - Fit hand shower to forward head - Replace fridge compressor and thermostat - Stitch in new tack on mainsail - Organise onboard tender stowage - Service blocks and winches - Source new portable freezer - Design, source and fit new stove This was all made easier when we were joined by Sam for five weeks in Panama. Sam had kindly offered to come and help us and was also looking to buy a trimaran and wanted to know and experience the realities of such an adventure. We had two months until the start of March to get Spirit sorted and to finally break free of marinas. Come March our plan was to head out and to cruise the Las Perlas islands, which are 40nm off Panama. This three week cruise would give us the time and chance to test the changes and additions we’d made and thus give us the confidence in the boat and her systems to make our final departure across the Pacific to French Polynesia in April. Three very close friends had offered their services and would join us for the cruise around the Las Perlas. Having more people onboard would allow us to stress the boat and her systems and to pinpoint any weaknesses or faults we had. As you can imagine the last two weeks have been incredible. We’ve finally broken free of marinas and Spirits presently being tested with five people onboard cruising the Las Perlas. Stay tuned for the next update and the test results from the Las Perlas cruise and adventures. |
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