Panama Outbound Day 1

Hi everyone,
At noon today we were at 06 32N 080 08W steering 240M,  sailing under single-reefed main and full yankee at 4.5 knots, 6 knots including current.  The wind was 10G15 from the NNE.  Our noon to noon distance by the log was 129nm.

Departing La Playita

We spent our two days in Panama City topping up fuel and water, shopping for fresh food, cleaning the hull, changing the engine oil & filter and clearing out.  The latter was simple with port/customs & immigration offices in the same building.  We have 300 litres of water and 280 litres of diesel aboard.

The departure from La Playita anchorage is simple.  We stayed E of the Traffic Separation Scheme which is busy with cargo ships coming or going from the canal.  We departed within a few hours of SVs Lets Go, Onyx, Sea Change and Xora - three Aussies and a Pom.  52, 55, 41 and 49 footers respectively.  We 'raced' S beside the TSS all day and into the night.  The wind started 10G15 and ended 25G30.

We were under double-reefed main and triple-furled yankee for most of the afternoon and overnight.  Zen Again loved it, reaching over 9 knots down some waves.  Amazingly we kept up with all except Let's Go.  Onyx and Xora overtook us during the afternoon but we passed them overnight.  This morning we passed on the location of drifting trees from Let's Go to the others.

Yesterday afternoon we were accompanied by a pod of dolphins.  They put on a great show jumping out of the water vertically. Overnight had a lovely full moon above a clear sky.  Very good visibility.

Dawn

This morning winds were light again but we got into a WSW current which is helped us along.  In the early afternoon we gybed S, along with sv Sea Breeze.

Trust all's well where you are!