Well its been an interesting week.
I had a great crew and made some new friends.
We spent our first day of our 5 day charter in the western Lemons. There is a small bar/internet hut, good snorkeling, and beautiful surroundings.
Then we went to Chichime, boy was it blowing! When we got to Chichime the first thing I noticed was the shipwreck (like a beneteau or something, 38’ish) in about 25’ of water at the mouth of the entrance. We proceeded to the anchorage and had a wonderful lobster dinner :)
The next day I went to go snorkel on the wreck. It was totally intact, winches, furling, etc), “Christmas” I thought!
Well I free dove on it for about an hour and a half and got the windlass (Lofrans Tigress) unbolted and unwired.
The guy that previously owned the boat (ship wreck) was being questioned for the murder of the French Sailor (J.P.) which happened a few weeks ago. Apparently he wanted another boat pretty badly. I knew taking the windlass had possible future implications and it turns out that he (The Spaniard) told all the Kuna and cruisers “if anything was touched on the boat he would Kill them ”. It’s really odd that the Kuna didn’t strip it in the first few hours it was sunk, they must have been quite scared.
Well you know how it is, if you leave your boat sunk it’s a shipwreck, that’s the way it is. If it was my boat that went down I’d salvage what I could and when I was done, I’d leave…, done!
Well the boat has been there for two months and had the windlass I want on deck. Had I had my under-water cutting gear I would have taken 6 barient winches, a profurl furling, the hatches, and the rig. I might have even taken the motor.
The reality was I had a charter and had to entertain and not work so I’m happy with just the windlass. I probably need to put $500 into it but it will sit beside my ideal windlass soon and act as my main windlass. It has a manual override, the ideal does not.
When I got to the San Blas I heard Don on “wind dancer” had gone missing. Everyone was really concerned. He is an American guy and has been here for quite a while. Well it turns out his body was found tied to an anchor with a bullet hole in his head the same as J.P. a few weeks ago. “Wind Dancer” was also found and towed into port. The name had been painted over and changed, lots of blood in the cabin.
Anyway I wont mention his name but the “Spaniard” who was being questioned and released was officially arrested today for the murder of JP and Don. It’s all over the news and news papers. They are comparing him to “wild Bill” an American serial killer caught in Bocus del torro last year. Wild Bill was down there killing other Americans, burring them in the yard, and claiming their real estate.
Now that the Spaniard is in custody I’m sure the boat will be stripped quickly.
This is really disconcerting to all the cruisers here because this is just not a dangerous place, unfortunately bad things happen every ware. Both JP, and Don will be missed. I’m sure rum is being poured into the sea all over the islands, I gave them a shot tonight as I wrote this.
The five of us had a Glorious time in Chichime. We ate well, played, and experienced the San Blas. I had a bit of an unfortunate event. Two days before we were to return for Linton my newly root canaled tooth broke in half as i was eating a sandwich. The pain was building the last few days of the trip and was quite uncomfortable.
We had a good stiff sail (20-28 knots) on a beam reach the way back, we made really good time. I caught the biggest barracuda of my life and we had Hanz prepare it for our last dinner together, it was yummy!
I could barely stand the tooth pain last night. I had to wake the folks up a little early and get everyone moving. I had to see the dentist ASAP! Well I missed the buses and did something I haven’t done in years. I rented a car from a friend. I didn’t want to wait another day to have my tooth dealt with. The younger couple tagged along for the ride to Colon and I had to be at the dentist before noon, its a two hour drive.
I cant believe it but the dentist tried talking me into fixing the tooth with a crown. I wanted to pull this damn thing two months, and $500 ago. “Pull the damn tooth NOW please”! Anyway you have to look for it in my smile but on my right side I have a gaping hole in my teeth:) I think its just going to become part of my devilish charm ;) I had to keep a swab in my cavity for an hour after the grueling procedure. I drove to Quatro Altos (a mall) and found myself buying a new pair of jeans, t-shirts, and flip flops ($40.00). I was trying to burn the hour away so I could have some lunch before driving home.
I actually felt a little normal tonight driving a car by myself in new cloths with a few bucks in my pocket. It was nice :)
Peace, Love, and Life
– Alex
Alex, Why don’t you head back to the sunken ship and strip it clean? I am sure there are enough parts to sell to pay for the restopration of Slendid. What you can’t sell on ebay you can possiblly trade or use on your boat. I think it is worth a sail back there with one of the boat workers there to help you salvage thnigs. Maybe you can employee a Kuna for a couple of days. i am sure they are amazing in the water.
I may, I have a few appointments this week for my job in April. I’m going to call my buddy out there and have him check it out for me. The police may become involved with the boat in which case I wont want to have anything to do with it.
There will be another boat and I’ll be standing by with my underwater cutting gear :)
Alex do you have any safety plans to stop intruders ?….base ball bat or pepper spray,Very sad to hear about the sailors
Yes I do ;)
A friend told me that wasp spray works better than pepper spray in that it shoots a stream out 15 feet and is cheaper to buy. I t can be used if someone is trying to board you before they get close enough. Great to hear the tooth problem is gone.
We had a good stiff sail (20-28 knots) on a beam reach the way back, we made really good time. I caught the biggest barracuda of my life and we had Hanz prepare it for our last dinner together, it was yummy! aion kinah