I spent a few days at the Balboa Yacht Club moorings, I had been led to believe that they were very rolly with wakes from big ships but I found this not to be the case at all.
Making final preparations for the Pacific I spent some time visiting several chandlers but I couldn’t get all the bits I wanted which I found a bit surprising in such a big place. I did in the course of my wandering use the Metro subway, very fast and efficient in addition to taxis and the metro bus.
I did get a chart for Tonga which I was missing and a new Nautical almanac from Islamoradora the excellent chart agents in Balboa.
I went to the open air vegetable market at Abastos which was huge and bought lots of good quality unrefridgerated fruit and vegetables which keep much better than cold stored supermarket ones for the journey. Another purchase was a new windup kitchen timer – just the thing to time your catnaps at sea, though I wont be able to doze with it on my chest as used to be my wont with my old one as it it egg shaped and so would roll off.
International zarpe got from the Port captain at Flamenco and Immigration visited,
I went to get diesel topped up and whilst moored up some clot in a work boat who was moored astern decided for unknown reason to reverse into me. There was a horrible noise and the wind vane paddle was horribly bent. I was fuming as you might imagine. The design of the monitor is such that there is a sacrifical tube between paddle and gear mechanism and it was this that was bent. I do carry a spare but I wasn’t about to tell the other boat that. A yacht club offIcial on the fuel dock was helpful taking all the details . I took off the paddle and stripped out the tube giving it to the guy on the dock who said he would insist it was fixed today as he knew I was leaving. I went back to the mooring to wait. They came by later but it was still not quite straight so he went away again. They came back later with a new one which was a better result and I have also got the old one which is not quite straight but will do as another spare at a pinch. Have just finished putting it back on which involved some slightly dodgy sitting on the back framework.
All ready now think I need a beer after all it will be last one for a while.
First stop is planned for Las Perlas islands about 40 miles away then it will out into the Pacific proper for the long haul.