I will continue to use Bob's journal to tell the story of the trip, so wait for more in the next few days!

With many thanks to Bob who sent me his journal of the trip:

After challenging flights to Panama City, Bob met John and Steve and the next day --April 29-- took the train at 7 am to Colon. The train goes all along the Panama canal to Colon. A taxi takes them to Fort Sherman and the Marina where Mike is waiting on Finishterre. The road crosses than Panama Canal at the end of the locks. As the locks swing shut, a steep bridge swings out. Bob says, "You can look up over the locks and see ships and you can look the other way and see the entrance to the canal. Incredible sight, big oilers and container ships going through. We almost have the feeling of going through ourselves."

"We meet up with Mike at the marina and go aboard Finisterre to stow our gear. I asked for and got the little captain's stateroom. Big mistake. There is no air movement to speak of in the room. Only lasted two nights then took other settee across from John. Mike puts us to work cleaning the boat. Dinner that nite at the marina restaurant."

April 30.. Caught the 8:15 shuttle bus to Colon to provision the boat. Spent $500 provisioning boat. Got lots of beer and wine. Some food, too. Store gives John and Steve a ride back to the Marina because we've purchased so many groceries. I ride back on the bus. Get to pass those amazing locks again. Back on the boat we store provisions, hank on main sail, then go for a beer and a swim. Hey, it's Panama and it's hot and muggy! Dinner in restaurant again. Might as well, who knows when we will get another chance.

May 1: Holiday today because of upcoming elections. Hard to find someone to clear us out of Panama. We hank on the jib and finally get clearance.

We're off! We head out of the marina and head down coast to Portobello. Lots of ships are at anchor waiting to go through the canal. We start hitting swells immediately and the first day turns into a rough sail! We close-reach into 5' to 8' seas. Several break the length of the boat. We reef the main and jib in 15-20 knots of wind. Finisterre is a quiet, smooth sailing boat, but there is still a lot of rocking and pitching in all directions. Very hard to move around. This lasts about 6 hours. We are glad to make port.