Archive Blogs from Sailing Vessel Cetacean
The Ups and Downs Entering Jamaica – but it’s the people in the end.
By Cptn Ron As we closed on the island of Jamaica Port of Kingston gantry cranes emerged from the mist in the distance. This is the 7th largest port in the world, so we expected heavy ship traffic and would need to be on the lookout for these monsters. From the...
On The Transit to Kingston, Jamaica
By Judy Odenheimer Sunday, 6/5/16...We left Cartagena's Club Nautico marina around noon. Spent a long night with strong winds hitting 22 knots, but not into the 30s Chris Parker, our forecaster, had suggested. We lucked out with that because the higher the winds, the...
Exploring Cartagena some more and finding workarounds
It’s the third day of our return to Cartagena’s Club Nautico marina. We lucked out with the current space tie-up and are actually alongside the dock (rather than bow in with no side ties, see commentary below). Our shorelines are tied to vertical cement columns on...
Cartagena de Indias and Colombia
By Ron O. We’ve been in Cartagena de Indias in Colombia waiting to sail to Kingston, Jamaica. The weather has stopped us, it’s kind of yucky out there so we can’t leave. Inside the bay, though, things have been very pleasant. Go 20 miles offshore and...
The last of San Blas Islands and Sapzurro, Colombia
Dinner last night was excellent. A young woman from upstate NY runs a small restaurant/hostel in Sapzurro served us one of the best meals we’ve had in the last two months. Sapzurro has about a few hundred inhabitants. Sapzurro is a small border town in Colombia...
San Blas
San Blas Islands, Panama Interesting set of islands. Only have time for a brief update due to limited connectivity. There are 360 islands in this chain spreasd out over 100 miles; where only the Kuna are allowed to live here, but we can sail and anchor here. Most...
The Serendipitous Fort Sherman
When traveling and especially by boat - our skills in improvisation, invention and patience are constantly exercised and tested. We also need to embrace ambiguity when the paths forward aren't clear. The boat needed a fair amount of work to become sea-worthy...
Return to Panama, Boat Repairs and a Chicken
It’s hard to believe we’ve been in Caribbean-side Panama since February 24th. But, we know we're here. The Trades are blowing 18knots. It's really hot too...about 90 degrees with 70% humidity. A squall will be coming soon, bringing a tantrum of rain and howling. Then...
An End of the Year Photographers Reflection
It’s a bit past Dec 31 but still early enough in the new year to call this a reflection the past year's photos. Since many of the photos come from the sailing trip, I can say this exercise is a look at where we’ve been and where we are going, both metaphorically...
Winter Days in Portland
The first day of 2016, there was this bit of tongue-in-cheek commentary in the Oregonian: “That big yellow orb in the sky is not a Death Star; it's a thing called the sun, and it's a natural phenomenon.” After what has been (for us) months of unending greyness...