Boarded at sea!

I made a decision last night; I’m going to Panama City to buy bottom paint. I have a little money (about 2K) and I want to hold on to it. Hauling and painting Namaste will end up costing me around $500.00. I’ve decided to buy the anti-fowling paint (About $200.00), and careen Namaste. Careening is when you lay a boat on its side and let the tide go out. There is a perfect beach in Espirito Santo. The sand is soft, and we are having around 16 foot tides, careening should save me around $300.00.

I left Contadora for Panama City around 3am this morning.

Just after sun-up, I was approached by a “Miami-vice” looking, go-fast, Panama Coast Guard vessel. They wanted to board me, and obviously, I let them. The first question they asked was “Do you have any arms”? I said “no”! I don’t know if I mentioned this but I sold my hand gun to another cruiser when I was in the San Blas, I really needed the money. They were very nice and polite when they boarded the boat. They asked if they could look around, “Please, have at it” I replied. The first thing the guy found was a plastic bag with my flair gun in it. It has a 357 insert for my flair gun, and 4 rounds. How am I going to explain this I thought? He put it down not noticing the rounds. They searched through the boat a bit as if they were looking for something. I showed him the latest issue of Latitudes & Attitudes with my “Exploring Panama” article. I told him I was a writer, and asked if they would mind me taking a picture. They didn’t want a picture taken. They filled out some paper work and quickly left me alone. All in all it wasn’t a bad experience for my first boarding.

I arrived at the Balboa Yacht Club just after noon. After writing this log I’m going to crash for a few hours.

Hope everyone is well.

Peace, Love, and Coconuts.

Alex