After the canal, we spent a couple of days at Shelter Bay Marina and then headed to Bocas Del Toro for a couple of days. On the way up Frank hooked a fish, he hauled and hauled and we eventually got to see the fish, it was a 5 foot long Tuna! Huge! He spent some time trying to haul the fish onto the swim platform but with the weight it was proving almost impossible, we started considering using the crane to haul the fish and before we could start actioning that, It got away. Damn! We arrived at in Dolphin Bay where our friends have the Dolphin Bay Yacht Club, we had not seen them for some years so it was great to catch up. They make great pizza and great burgers and great sauces. We had a great time with them but we had to move on because the weather was not getting any better, in fact it was deteriorating and we did not want to have to wait a couple of weeks for a break. We set off in the afternoon of June 3rd. The entrance to Bocas should have been a warning to us, the waves were rolling in relentlessly and it was not comfortable. The sky was moody with storms and there was hardly any moon. The only good thing about that was that we could not see and therefor anticipate the huge swell. The next day brought rain, heavy rain for hours. We didn’t mind too much because the boat would do with a wash. The swell was on the beam at about 5 feet. I was already lying down and taking sea sick tablets. We did not eat that day. June 5th, more big swell, but head seas. We took a lot of spray over the bow but luckily no blue water. And of course, more rain. We had to take action to avoid big systems with lightning. That evening I had to move everything off the counters in the galley onto the floor. The watermelon that I have bought for the canal line handlers was rolling around all over the show and I had to run around to catch it! Not long after that, I heard a crash and ran down to find the coffee grinder had fallen over spilling coffee beans all over the gallery. Black coffee beans all over the black counters and floor. It took what felt like for ever to clean up. Just what you don’t want to be doing in high seas. We didn’t eat again that day. We were now half way up the Caribbean Sea. Only half way.

June 6th brought some relief and entertainment in the form of only 3 foot swell, and dolphins. We also managed to have a bit of food. I think that lifted the mood a bit. Also, we had passed the coast of Nicaragua so no threat of pirates. We had been almost 200 miles off shore and the sea state was terrible so no real threat of pirates but, you never know.

June 7th we were nearing the Yucatan Channel where there is a TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme) and all ships heading North or South to and from the canal pass through this TSS so there was a lot of ship traffic so we had to be aware. We also put a line out and snagged a bit of Sargasso but no fish. Sunset was at 21:19. Beautiful. The next morning we woke up in the Gulf of Mexico where we would pick up the gulf stream to carry us to our destination. We had a bit of head seas but nothing too uncomfortable. We had a beautiful start on June 9th but within an hour, we had head seas and were bashing into it. As we passed Fort Lauderdale we saw a beautiful tall ship built in 1939 and is now used by the Romanian Navy for training. We had a few hours to get top West Palm, the sea state was not ideal but we were running at 10 gallons per hour to get there and entered the Palm Beach Channel at 10pm. This channel has leading lights but that’s about the only redeeming feature, all the channel makers are cans in the water with no lights. There is construction going on at Peanut Island so there are cranes and conveyor belts hanging out over the water. At one stage the depth showed 6 feet and then the screen went blank. There was a boat anchored in the channel. It was incredibly stressful and this stress was exacerbated when we approached Blue Heron Bridge and were surprised by a FWC of Police boat coming under the bridge with no lights on. I stepped out to shout at them and they thought I was out there to greet them. Their lights came on immediately. The next mile or two was also stressful because the channel makers are not lit and because there was no moon, it took a lot of concentration to locate them. And to top it all, there was a mis communication about which markers go where (port or starboard) we ran aground. It was łow tide. My first (or second) thought was that at least we could float off quite soon, Luckily our captain is trained in all eventualities and managed to free us and get us back on course. I mean, when you enter the channel from the ocean, red lights to starboard, then you turn at Peanut Island and it changes because now you are in the ICW, so red lights to port, then when we came to Old Port Cover, it changes again. I was not aware because clearly I was not listening when captain gave me this information so we started bickering and that’s how we ran aground. Last test of the day, it takes what feels like forever to decide on an anchoring spot, we drop anchor and then realize that there is less than 1 foot under keel. Tough luck, the tide is rising and by the time it is low again we will be at the dock so at almost midnight we had our customary post passage alcohol fix in the form of a BSB (Brown Sugar Bourbon) mini to share and went to bed.

We are now tied to the dock and I can tell you, I am happy and at ease.

It was a tough passage but I am gonna miss that.