.
The weather is becoming rainy. There were two days in a row with rain and overcast skies. Not enough sunlight to recharge the batteries to 100%. The lowest level measured one morning was only 51%. But that still leaves the glass half full. 🙂 On the other hand, with cloudy skies it’s pleasantly cool, only about 29°C, even the Nutella got hard 😉 The rain showers are quite heavy. The picture shows Mathias emptying the dinghy.
.
Something’s happening in the corona quarantine.
Panama has drawn up a multi-phase exit plan, which was published without specific dates for the beginning of each phase. The first phase already came into force in May with the reopening of some shops such as DIY stores etc. The second phase started on June 1. At the same time, the curfew was relaxed. People are still only supposed to do important shopping or to go outdoors for sports, but the time slots have been lifted. It is allowed to leave the house again Mon-Sat between 5 a.m. and 7 p.m., for men and women together again. Facemasks are still obligatory.
According to the relaxation plan, private sailing could be placed in phase 5 (Transporte no escential (recreativo)). Assuming that a new phase will start every 14 days, sailing to other places could be allowed again from mid-July.
On one of my shopping trips I took some pictures:
On the first shopping trip after the lifting of the time slots for going out, a difference was already noticeable. Especially on the way back I saw many people walking on the dam, families with small children. I’m sure they are doubly happy that they are allowed to go outside again. There are also more private cars on the roads again.
.
This kept us busy:
Sometimes problems solve themselves if you just wait long enough. We had hoped for this effect when our toilet in the port hull was clogged. But nothing happened. We had already started some attempts to get to the blockage without success. So, finally we decided that we should get to the holding tank. We transferred one sail to the compartment in the starboard hull, pushed the second sail through to the rear and thus were able to reach the access to the lower part of the backbord hull where the holding tank for this toilet is located. Prepared for an unpleasant task we unscrewed the drain. But the tank was very light and only a little liquid trickled out. Checking in the bathroom showed that the level indicator was green again. The tactic of sitting it out had worked after all, the plug had finally disintegrated and the toilet had emptied due to the rocking in the waves. Now our guest area is ready for use again. 🙂
A cargo ship from Hamburg
.
Overflowing bread dough. The climate here is great for yeast dough.
.
The dinghy must also be cleaned from fouling if it is left in the water too long.
.
A fire in the neighbourhood:
On the two excursion steamers, there was a loud argument the other evening. One could not understand exactly what was said, but it sounded quite annoyed. The next day they were far apart from each other, living in divorce 😉 Good for us, as the soot of one steamer can not reach us so easily anymore.
.
Mathias has worked intensively on his calculations for safe anchoring. Our “Fun Facts” page is constantly growing. In the next issue of the German magazine “Yacht”, his article on dynamic anchoring will appear as a follow-up to an article by a Swiss national on static anchoring. Someone also found our webpage and posted a link to it on the Cruiser’s Forum, asking if this German Math Guru might be from another planet, which caused long discussions there. Meanwhile Mathias has found some more articles on the internet, which calculate the anchor length by means of the catenary. In Japan the necessary chain lengths of tankers are determined in this way.
.
Small change of location
Every now and then we have to think about redropping anchor. Very gradually we slip towards the shore. The last time we moved the boat it was not easy to steer. There was little propulsion. This pointed to a new unpleasant task. This time, however, waiting would not help. The propeller is most likely overgrown and we have to scrape it free. We set to work in the morning. In the mornings there is usually no wind and the ship movements are therefore low. Mathias put on a wetsuit and armed himself with scraper and diving goggles. Too bad that he is very shy of water and panics easily when diving. He didn’t manage to get to the propeller, after 20-30 cm diving depth his courage left him. So, I had to try. Fortunately I had taken part in a yoga course on the Internet for some time as a sporting activity. Meaning that I trained for over 20 days how to deeply breathe in and out. This came in very handy. In numerous dives I pushed myself under the boat and freed the propeller blades from the mussel growth. Down there the boat looks like a small reef. Every time I scratched the propeller I also scared away small fish that seemed to feel quite comfortable there.
By now it is almost 11 weeks that we are anchored here, and Mathias has only been ashore once during this time. So it was time for him to go ashore as well. He went to see if the boat supply shops were open again. They were open, but they are very small and he couldn’t find what he was looking for, but after walking 2 km he had a blister on his foot in his sandals. He wasn’t used to wearing shoes anymore, has been jumping around barefoot for too long. 🙂
