Melissa’s Soapbox

The following AFAQ’s are from an email update that Andy and I sent out on March 29, 2006 upon our arrival in Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Anticipated Frequently Asked Questions

(1) How hard did the wind blow?
The hardest recorded wind speed of the trip was 31 knots (about 36 mph) on the third night.  We had highly variable wind from just about every direction (except east, which is the dominant condition this time of year and was what we really needed) and just about every speed between 0 and 31.

(2) How big were the seas?
The biggest seas were 10-12 feet.

(3) How fast does the boat go?
Seven knots is a good speed.  This translates into 168 knots (about 195 land miles) per day.  We had only three days where we made this kind of time (days 7-9).  While “surfing” down a 10-foot wave, the boat will get up to about 11 knots for short bursts.

(4) How long did you go without seeing land?
From Marathon Key, Florida to Panama, we didn’t see land once.  We sailed past both the west end of Cuba and Isla Providencia at night so we saw some “urban glow” but that’s it.  We even had several days where we didn’t even see any other boats.

(5) Is it scary?
Depends on how easily you frighten.  We were actually in far scarier conditions with a far inferior boat on our return trip from Catalina Island on New Years Day, but also a heck of a lot closer to land and the Coast Guard!  Personally, I don’t think that “scary” is quite the word for sailing on the Earth’s second largest ocean during a pitch black night.  Rather, it was a very awesome experience in the truest sense of the word.

(6) Who was on the boat with you? (Andy’s comments)
In addition to the captain, Melissa and myself, there were two more crew members, Randy and Doug (both in their early 50s).  Doug is the Dean of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Tennessee at Martin.  In addition to bearing a striking resemblance to my former Criminal Procedure professor Albert Alschuler, he’s a very gregarious, social, storytelling type of guy.  Randy is a very fit, wiry former college professor with a decided “hippie” flavor and anti-starboard-learning politics to him who now works as a benefit plan designer for the Wisconsin Education Association in Madison.  Both of these guys are very experienced sailors (moreso than we are), very “into it” (both in almost a “weekend warrior” sort of way), and were absolutely great to sail with.  You really get to know someone spending 10 days with them on a 47-foot boat.

(7) Did you drink while underway?
The six cases of beer, nine magnums of wine, six bottles of rum, and one bottle of scotch never had a chance.  There were no leftovers.

(8) How bad did you smell by the time you got to Panama?
Fortunately, the boat has a shower.  Unfortunately, the boat also has a very limited supply of fresh water.  Over the 10 days, I took four showers (totaling about 16 minutes).

(9) Did you catch any fish? (Andy’s comments)
We began fishing off the back of the boat on Day 4.  Using the boat’s rudimentary fishing gear, this proceeded poorly.  Fortunately, we had an engineering dean aboard.  Using things John had lying around the boat, Doug rigged up a new lure (dubbed the “Death Lure” by yours truly) on the second-to-last day.  About two hours before dinner time on the last night, the Death Lure came through for us, yielding a seven-pound bonito (dubbed “Bonnie” by yours truly).  Bonnie put up a good fight but after a final cocktail of spiced rum on the gills, she made for a good supper.  Bonito is far from the most delicious fish, but some citrus-soy marinade helped yield a reasonably good meal.  Needless to say, Doug’s lure-rigging skill is just about the most Macguyver-level macho thing I’ve ever seen.

(10) How is it to try to sleep out on the open ocean? (Andy’s comments)
We had a double berth in the back of the boat.  I’d read many reports that beds for two are useless underway, which I had discounted.  “How tough can it be?” I wondered.  Um … pretty tough indeed.  Sleeping next to another person while underway is completely hopeless.  The motion of the sea is such that one of you is basically being launched onto the other at any given time.  The first three nights we tried to make a go of it.  After the third night (see below), Melissa gave up and moved up to a lee cloth in the main salon.  I still got thrown around in the back, but at least I was only landing on the piles of clothes I was using to try to wedge myself in.

(11) What was the best part(s) of the trip?
(a) Swimming in several thousand feet of water more than 100 miles from land in any direction was pretty great.  The sea was so calm it would have made for ideal water-skiing conditions, and the water was amazingly blue and clear.  (b) The night sky full of stars was really magical.  After the full moon passed, we spotted the Southern Cross constellation which was really great.  (c) Hitting landfall in Panama at first light was also pretty amazing.  After a particularly fitful night’s rest and a long time at sea, we began to see the navigation lights to the bay just before dawn.  As the sun came up, a school of dolphins greeted us and surfed on the bow’s waves for a long time.  Suddenly we were overwhelmed with the actual smell of land … tropical soil, humidity, vegetation, jungle-ness, a slight tinge of sweet fruit (sounds like Andy at a wine-tasting, eh?).  (d) The other best part was just sitting around shooting the breeze with a boat full of very friendly, interesting, cool people with fascinating stories to tell.

(12) What was the worst part of the trip? (Andy’s comments)
The third night was pretty miserable.  Due to the speed and direction of the winds, the boat was heeled way over.  This was uncomfortable enough by itself, but there were some other unfortunate developments.  First, a small leak meant that Melissa was essentially getting the Chinese water torture through the deck above our bunk.  Second, the inexplicably shallow bilge (a design flaw for sure) on John’s boat meant that water was leaking out and running to the lowest part of the boat, which, while heeled over that far, was — you guessed it — the floor of our cabin.  This might not have been so bad if the intake line for the aft head hadn’t also started leaking — badly.  By sunrise, we had standing water in our cabin and 90% of my clothes (and about of quarter of Melissa’s) were soaked with slightly odiferous salt water.  I’m not going to lie to you — this sucked.  But clothes dry, and laundry has been done.

(13) How tiring was it?
Surprisingly exhausting.  It’s quite physical, and you find yourself in all sorts of strange, isometric-type body positions (step aside Pilates, there’s a new fitness craze in town!).  We slept very, very well last night, but I do feel alot like I’m still on the boat.

(14) What was the most surprising thing about the trip? (Andy’s comments)
To be honest, the most surprising thing was that the captain was able to turn out darn-near delicious meals for five seemingly effortlessly while underway.  We’d be up in the cockpit, he’d disappear for half an hour, and dinner would magically show up — and be good.  The other most surprising thing was how easy it really was for us.  I now have little doubt that Melissa and I could, by ourselves, easily and safely complete a passage of almost any length, which is what we came here to learn how to do.
(14) What was the most surprising thing about the trip?
The most surprising thing about the trip for me was that not alot really happens out there.  I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but much of the trip was almost mundane in a way.  Just like at home, there’s washing dishes and making your bed, etc., but other than that, there’s absolutely zero outside stimulus beside the beautiful scenery that never changes.  I would emerge from the cabin every morning to the same scene (scattered clouds, blue sky, blue oceans swell, sunshine) as far as the eye could see, and everyone would actually look around, scanning the horizon, expecting to see something different.  It’s a very strange sensation.  At one point, we sailed past a tree trunk, a regular run-of-the-mill tree trunk, the characteristics and origins of which we discussed for literally a half hour.

Now the next part of our adventure begins … almost a month in Panama and Costa Rica.  Currently, we are in Bocas del Toro and wow is it a crazy and eclectic kind of place.  We had hoped to spend more time here, but the sail took longer than expected and we are headed to Costa Rica tomorrow.  Overall, Bocas Town is very rustic and we were surprised to find it more Caribbean than Latin with tons of expatriate Americans and Germans.  The food has been amazing, and of course, Andy and I have found our favorite local beer already!  Unfortunately, this year’s “dry season” consists of constant down-pouring tropical rain of biblical proportion, so hopefully tomorrow’s travels to the inland jungles of Monteverde, Costa Rica will bring some milder weather.

Well that’s it for now! Take care!

Love, Melissa

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