Aruba and a Pacific Decision

Current Date: 27th March 2022

Current Location: Varadero Boatyard, Aruba

After a day or two in Renaissance Marina we discovered that the marina is associated with the Marriott Hotel and that we have free access to their pool and free boat trips to "Renaissance Island" a mile or so along the lagoon that fringes the west side of the main island. We made the most of it. Lounging, fishing, paddle boarding and flamingo spotting.

Wild flamingos.

Someone has to do it.

On the Monday we caught the bus to the airport and walked the 3km to Varadero boatyard to see Paul the French manager and Judith his assistant. "Can we lift out sometime?". "How about this afternoon?" they said. Cripes. We need to get back to the marina, stow dinghy, check out of the marina etc etc but yes we probably can do that. They gave us a lift back to the airport and we caught the bus back in the rain. Jobs done we cast off and motored down the shallows and into the VERY shallow (0.1m below the keel) channel and tied up nicely in 23 knots of wind. Phew.

In the boatyard we needed to sort the stiff prop shaft, vibration and dripping "dripless" seal that had had a maintenance kit applied in Curaçao. Initially we tried to fix it in the water but we all agreed there were still problems. Whilst we waited a couple of days to lift out I worked on Paul the Aries self steering which had stopped working on the way to Aruba. Somehow one of the cogs seemed to have slipped by one tooth and a new shim was also required. That had to be made from a spare stainless washer and the centre hole ground larger with the Dremel. When almost complete I lost the washer and had to start with a new one. Anyway it's all back together and hopefully working again.

The bit closest to the water should be parallel with the boat not off to the left.

Lift out day arrived and out we came again on yet another trailer. A tricky manoeuvre nicely executed in strong winds resulted in the yard manager telling Gilly she could "dock in a hurricane".

Five men to keep us centred. Still windy.

The prop shaft was disconnected, the shaft centred and cleaned of antifoul. The PSS seal was replaced with a brand new one and hey presto...all is good.

New seal to keep the ocean out of the boat!

Shaft meets coupling meets gearbox. All needs to be lined up.

Thank you Edmundo.

Back in we go yet again. The third tricky manoeuvre as we reverse round a corner and ferry glide back to the dock.

Tractor and trailer viewed from catamaran Raven.

One of the best and most reasonable yards we've visited Varadero was a great place to haul out. They even let us stay on the dock for free for several days which is unheard of.

A day off was called for so we hired a car for a day. It arrived two hours late and we are not very good at doing touristy things but we got to see the lighthouse at the northern tip of the island, some nice but busy beaches and stocked up with provisions.

In the afternoon we teamed up with Eileen an American woman on her own on a large Leopard catamaran and she joined us for a visit to the picturesque Baby Beach in the south of the island.

Baby Beach

Over the next few days we got to know Eileen better as well as David the scout leader rushing to get his new boat ready for charter in the USVIs and Jack and Penny back on their boat after 18 Covid months away. Jack can't get his engine started - I still think it's air in the line but we will see tomorrow when Rishi and the guys are back in the yard.

So with the prop shaft fixed, the seal replaced and vibrations eliminated it was time to think of the next passage. Santa Marta is 280 miles away and Panama around 680 miles. A small window of lighter (relatively) winds was forecast for the weekend so we were looking to make for Santa Marta. But were we putting ourselves under pressure to get to Panama to help Milly through the Panama Canal? After another review of the forecast and a sleepness night I had an idea which has become a plan.

Top line steady knots, second line gusts. Hmm, not nice.

This journey is known as one of the "five most dangerous passages in a circumnavigation" and not to be taken lightly. Strong trade winds together with gusts off the Colombian mountains and short, steep nasty seas mean it is not unknown to arrive in Panama with damage to your boat.

So the new plan is to leave Mehalah here in Aruba and to get a cheap flight to Panama. There we will join Peter and Sally and whenever they are ready we will act as two of their line handlers through the canal. We'll then spend a few days with them IN THE PACIFIC!! before returning to Aruba to wait for a better weather window under no pressure to leave before it feels safe. We both feel very comfortable with this decision. Here's what lies ahead transiting the canal.

It's still blowing in excess of 20 knots here in the sheltered boatyard so we will probably wait to hear from Milly about the timing for their transit of the Panama Canal. How exciting!

Stop Press: It looks as though Milly will transit the Panama Canal on 4th April so we will likely fly out to join them on Saturday.

Link to the full Mehalah blog.