Sint Maarten to Panama Passage Summary

Hi everyone,

Here is a summary of our passage from Simpson Bay in Sint Maarten to Banedup anchorage in Holandes Cays in the San Blas islands of Panama.  It was a very pleasant 9 day downwind passage.  

We had an excellent weather window and stayed well clear of the well-known wind compression area NW of Santa Marta, Barranquilla and Cartagena.  We had positive current all the way of up to 2 knots but averaging 0.5 knot.  We arrived at Banedup at 1500 local time (UTC-5) yesterday.  

Zen Again at Banedup

Here are the usual plots...

Track

Arrival Track

Graphs

The Speed & SOG graph clearly shows our log was fouled for most of the passage.  For a period it was stopped entirely.  We 'scared it' (removed, cleaned and refitted it) several times but there was clearly weed on the hull upstream of it.  It recorded 831nm and given the GPS distance over ground and current we reckon it under-recorded by 200nm.

Here are the vital stats for the passage…

    • Distances/Speeds

        • Route Distance = 1090nm (including an intermediate waypoint to clear the 'compression zone'

        • Logged Distance = 1031nm (after correction)

        • GPS Distance = 1193nm

        • Duration = 9 days 0 hours

        • Average speed over ground = 5.5 kt

        • Average day's run = 132nm (over ground)

        • Best day's run = 149nm (over ground)

        • Minimum boat speed = 2 kt

        • Maximum boat speed = 8 kt (over ground)

    • Weather

        • Minimum wind speed = 2 kt

        • Average wind speed = 15 knots

        • Maximum wind speed = 22 with gusts to 30

        • Apparent wind angle range = 90 to 150

        • Seas up to 1.5m

        • Swell up to 2.5m (which didn't help with sailing in light air!)

        • Mostly scattered small cumulus with occasional broken small cumulus &/or mid-level stratus

    • Engine

        • Total = 20 hours

        • Driving = 20 hours

        • Charging = 0 hours

    • Failures

        • Lost our Insta360 video camera overboard

    • Stars

        • The boat!

        • WindPilot vane gear (steered well when apparent wind over 10 knots)

        • Icom HF/SSB radio (SVs Mitzi & Altimate sked, Coconut & Cruzheimers Nets, JS8call)

        • New "Minibim" canvas bimini

        • StarLink (for PredictWind and SailDocs GRIBs and internet access)

This passage is one of the "top ten" difficult passages for round-the-world cruisers.  It is notorious for the "Christmas Winds" which blow from December to March.  The very high mountains close to the Colombian coast cause an extensive wind compression zone.  There are also strong W currents in the Caribbean which eventually flow into the Gulf (you know its name!) to form the Gulf Stream.  Off the W Colombian and E Panamanian coasts a current rotor/gyre can form, producing wind-over-current conditions not unlike the also notoriious Agulhas Current off the E South African coast.

Happily we had a relatively good weather window, but even so the effects were clear during our passage as shown in the GRIBs below.  A friend of ours went through the zone on the same day we went around it.  They didn't enjoy it and sustained damaged when gybed by the seas/swell.  We rode the positive current around the zone and had a pleasant sail.  It's one of those PPPPP places - "proper planning prevents poor performance" places.

PredictWind ECMWF Wind GRIB showing compression zone in red
"Comfort" routing option and intermediate waypoint give us a route around it

SailDocs Current GRIB
note the rotor W of Cartagena

So happily our preparation worked out and we had a good passage.  I kept busy on the SSB taking part in skeds, nets and sending APRS position reports vis JS8call.

Yankee and trisail-sized main for most of the passage

Westward Ho!

Hitchhiker

On watch

On watch

We motored only for the last 20 hours when we had light winds from astern.  We wanted to 'run-in' our new PSS shaft seal so this was an ideal opportunity.

Banedup anchorage

Banedup sunset

We slept well last night.  Quietest anchroage since La Hune Bay in Newfoundland in July last year!