Blue Pearl - Blue Pearl-Rolling to San Blas

We thought it would be OK for Blue Pearl to miss the start of the Santa Marta to San Blas leg by a day since our Aruba sojourn had set us back about 4 days behind the rest of the fleet and left us with very little time in Santa Marta.

I should have mentioned , when I wrote before , the heroic performance of Joe, our senior crew member, docking stern to into a slip with the wind gusting 25-30kts on the beam in the marina in Santa Marta. For the uninitiated that's quite an achievement.

In any case less than 48 hours later we were on our way again, sailing West to the San Blas Islands. The San Blas Islands make for an interesting story. Worth your while to read up on and learn about the nation of the Guna Indians but too involved to describe here. One little tidbit:" keep your hands off the coconuts" . They are all owned by the locals whether on a tree, on the ground or in the water. Just leave'm alone. You should also know that the local art is beautiful.

The Islands are a treat and very much worth sailing through the big swells and strong winds that got us there. A different world from our more familiar Eastern Caribbean cruising grounds. A wonderful experience.

Tomorrow morning we start our sail to Shelter Bay marina on the Panamanian mainland and ,on the way there, are planning an overnight stop in the seaside town of Portobello. We are very much looking forward to Laurie rejoining our crew in Shelter Bay and are very excited about transiting the Panama Canal a few days later.

We feel fortunate to experience all of this.

Captain Ruud