March 6, Wednesday
at anchor off Isla Culebra
Steve, the rigger, showed up this morning at 10:30 with an assistant. The mast was up and the rigging sorted out by 12:30. The mainsail was bent on and the boom in place. I could not bend on the jib while GANNET was on the cradle. It was a windy day, windier than I wished as I was to find out.
at anchor off Isla Culebra
Steve, the rigger, showed up this morning at 10:30 with an assistant. The mast was up and the rigging sorted out by 12:30. The mainsail was bent on and the boom in place. I could not bend on the jib while GANNET was on the cradle. It was a windy day, windier than I wished as I was to find out.
I was told that GANNET would be put in the water at 1:30 and about that time she was.
Before that happened I was presented with two bills. One for $707.27 cents. The boat yard charged me $160 a day to sit in abdominal heat and squalor while they were having Carnivale. The additional is tax.
I also received a bill for $856 which is the truly outrageous charge for the travel lift to launch GANNET They have, as does Shelter Bay Marina, a 40’ minimum charge. $856 for a 24’ boat one way. Not out and back in. Despicable.
I do not recall in all these decades of sailing any boat expense exceeding my estimate by a greater amount than this extraordinary transit. $100 a mile will be far too low. Getting GANNET across Panama will cost very nearly what I paid for her.
As the travel lift raised GANNET from her Gucci priced cradle, I had an odd experience.
A man, perhaps in his forties or early fifties, came up to me and asked if GANNET is my boat. I said she is. He said, “Have you brought her here to race locally?” I replied no, that I was nearing the end of a circumnavigation with her.
He said he was circumnavigating too. Solo. He stressed the ‘solo’.
I asked what boat.
He said he has a Valiant 40 and started in San Francisco.
He asked my name.
I told him.
He shook my hand harder than is customary, perhaps proving something to somebody, and then said, “I am sorry you are an American. You are an arrogant bastard.” And walked away.
There was the smell of beer on his breath and he did slur his words, but I suspect he is not a fan.
The travel lift put GANNET in the water stern first. Strong wind was blowing on her stern. I don’t like to use the Torqeedo in reverse, but it performed admirably and we backed out until we could swing into forward.
Once outside the breakwater I set the mainsail and cut the Torqeedo. The distance from Flamenco to Balboa Yacht Club is only 3.5 miles, but as you know I prefer to sail.
As we rounded the end of the causeway, the wind increased to over 20 knots and came from ahead. GANNET rounded up in gusts the tiller pilot couldn’t handle. Spray came on deck.
Without a jib, we could not sail against the wind and chop. We could not power against it. We could not motorsail against it. At times even with the main drawing, we were going backwards. Finally I gave up, fell off, lowered the main and anchored here on the west side of the causeway within sight of Flamenco Marina on the other. Maybe Culebra was once an island, as perhaps Flamenco was. Now both are just part of the causeway.
I telephoned Ricardo at Balboa Yacht Club and told him I hope to get there tomorrow.
This is a rolly anchorage with ferry boats going by leaving wakes.
Still I am on the water and at last independent of others. On deck GANNET is organized, if perhaps irredeemably dirty. In addition to not having the jib bent on, the bow spirt is still below deck and the reef lines are not in the mainsail.
The breeze coming though the forward hatch is pleasant and I don’t have to contort around the mast to go through the companionway.
Below deck chaos reigns.
I expect to sort that out at Balboa. The yacht club is only 2.5 miles away. Surely we can make that tomorrow.
6:30 I am not free and I can hardly express how disappointing that is.
While on deck, sipping gin and listening to music, I looked up and saw the upper swivel of the furling gear near the top of the furling gear. To set the sail it needs to be within arms reach of the deck. How could I have not have moved it there? How could not the rigger have foreseen that? Well, that answer is easy and goes back to Captain Cook, who also complained of ship yards, and far beyond. While boat yard workers sleep comfortably beside their wives, sailors suffer because of boat yard incompetent work.
So a swivel is near the masthead and needs to be near the deck, It would have been so easy to move during the four days I unknowingly was being charged $160 a day to live in inhuman temperature and squaller, while those who run the business were on holiday.
March 7, Thursday
Balboa Yacht Club
I was up at first light and had the anchor up a few minutes later.
Even with little wind and smooth water the current was still strong and we used 82% of the battery to cover a little over two miles.
I called the club on my handheld VHF and a man came out in a launch to direct me to the mooring.
As expected its pennants were far too thick for GANNET’s cleats, so I looped one over a winch and then ran a dock line from GANNET’s port bow cleat and back through the eye in the mooring pennant and tied the other end to the toe rail. However, the force of the current was so strong I had great difficulty in lifting the pennant from the cleat. Finally I was successful and ran a second dock line through the pennant eye, securing it to the starboard bow cleat.
GANNET’s mooring is at the northwest corner of the mooring field and will be easy to sail off of.
