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Sorry for the long delay in a blog update. I’m finally home after a 6-week stint trying to deliver a boat to Nicaragua and I have so much to talk about!

The past 6 weeks have been tough as the boat I was to deliver had been severely neglected. The rudder post was broken as was the manual bilge pump and the cutlass bearing was shot. The Navigation lights had do be rewired and the boat is full of electrical shorts. There is also a bridge in the battery wiring so when it is supposed to be on the house battery the starting battery drains as well. The slugs on the main sail are also worn to the point the main is impossible to raise all the way and I was constantly worried that a slug would get caught in the track and I wouldn’t be able to pull the sail down in a blow (no mast steps).

The good things about the boat are that it has a good motor (Yanmar), a new CPT autopilot I installed, and my old windlass. This wasn’t really a “delivery” job, but a “lets refit the boat and take it to Nicaragua” job.

Carla and I sailed it to Colon where we spent a week anchored waiting to transit the Panama Canal as we were dealing with the canal agent and paperwork. Colon is truly the arm-pit of the world but the Panama Canal transit was a blast.

The owner came for the transit and I’ve spent the past few weeks with him. The good thing about the “delivery” was I’ve made a new friend.

The owner was overwhelmed by all the problems, and I must say I don’t blame him. The big mistake here was he didn’t get a marine survey or have a knowledgeable friend survey the boat before he bought it. This is his first real boat and he didn’t know what to look for. The previous owner told us both that the boat was “ready to go”, and nothing could have been farther from the truth.

After our Canal transit we had to haul the boat to change the cutlass bearing and fix the rudder post. The owner opted to do a bottom job in the process.

After fueling and all the repairs we left on out 750 mile journey North. There are only two real hurdles on the trip, Punta Mala (bad point) which is on the western side of the gulf of Panama, and the Nicaraguan coast which one has to keep an eye on as the Papagayo winds can be a real problem. Some of my older readers may remember Punta Mala was the worst conditions I experienced on my sail from Panama to Australia, it was also the first night of my trip.

During this time of the year the trip around Punta Mala shouldn’t be an issue but since this is an El Nino year we are experiencing very dry conditions which bring trade-like winds.

The plan was to sail for Isla Cebaco in Panama where we could take on enough fuel to bring us all the way to Northern Nicaragua after a quick stop in Playa del Coco in Costa Rica to check on the Papagayo winds.

I must say I didn’t feel good about the boat with the electrical problems and the main being in a terrible state. The non-skid was also non-existent and the decks an ice-rink.

The owner wanted to push on and we left Panama on our journey.

I really do believe in listening to the world, and letting my path guide me! The winds have been good to me throughout my life and have always brought me where I needed to go.

We had a beautiful sail for the first few hours however the wind steadily grew to 25+.

On any ordinary day I love a stiff breeze to sail by but the problem with Punta Mala is the extreme tide rips and current. Strong current with an opposing wind creates very bad conditions like you can find in the gulf stream.

I changed course to anchor on the leeward side of Isla Contadora in the Las Perlas group but by the time we got there (6 hours later) the wind had shifted so it was blowing down both sides of the island. So I turned and headed back to Panama city around midnight. We arrived in the La Playita anchorage around 4am. The last 5 miles of the trip were stressful as the ship traffic entering the Canal is incredibly dense and difficult to navigate at night.

The next day the owner decided to keep the boat in Panama until some repairs are made. I found a friend that had a spare mooring and the boat now sits in the Las Brisas anchorage on the Pacific side of Panama.

Guys, do me a favor, if you’re going to buy a boat GET A SURVEY unless you’re prepared to fix everything or know what your doing.

I was working on the delivery project for around 6 weeks and I must say I’m happy to be home. I have new anchor chain, and a new windlass to install. I have my new (used/need to rebuild) 7KW norpro diesel generator to fix and install, and some painting to do.

The Nicaragua delivery is being put on hold for about 6 weeks until the boat is ready. In the meantime I’m going to ready Splendid for another season of chartering and surfing in Bocas after November.

I’m also the proud owner of my first iPad. I got the iPad for Splendid’s navigation system. There is an app (SeaIQ open) that reads all of my CM93 world charts (like open CPN). I can also plug my SSB radio into it and download weather fax from anywhere in the world (no cell signal required).

I also run Navionics but I seem to be enjoying SeaIQ chart plotter better. I can also read the NMEA data (depth, wind, position, etc) on it via my wireless NMEA multiplexer, TOO COOL! This is the simplest and cheapest navigation system that I have found, and I must say, I’m very happy with it! If you’re going to get an iPad for navigation purposes remember it needs to be a cellular (place for a sim card) version. The cellular versions have a dedicated GPS inside.

It is SOOOOOOOO nice to be home. I really am in Love with my wife, boat, and life!!!!

Peace from Splendid.

Sail far and live slowly.

– Alex

Published in Alex Dorsey