Leg 3: Las Perlas, Panama to San Cristobal, Galapagos

Lover of the Light
Lover of the Light

855 nautical miles, 5 days, but unfortunately, after the first day, there was no wind. We motored at reduced speed so we had a better chance of catching fish (not many fish that you want on board can swim at 8 kt).

At least, motoring, you don’t have to worry about a night-time squall requiring a sail-plan change, but we used 670 litres of fuel which won’t be cheap in Galapagos.

At midnight on the 12th of February we crossed the equator. I woke up the crew (fast asleep, as usual) and Karen came on deck with a bottle of champagne and an “Equator Cake”. After a suitable celebration I retired in order to be compos mentis for the Galapagos arrival.

We’re now on San Cristobal island, Galapagos, preparing for inspection so we can continue to stay. Fingers crossed they don’t find my stack of Cheesey Puffs!

Panama City

Modern city, lovely old town, but we spent most of our time in La Playita Marina getting the boat fixed after the Panama Canal staff drove us into the side of the canal.

Panama City Old Town
Panama City Old Town

We’d definitely come back here in the future – we’re learning that despite visiting places that we wouldn’t normally choose to visit, we don’t have enough time once we’re here!

World ARC Fleet 2023

Some of the boats on our adventure.

Voyager II
Voyager II
Lover of the Light
Lover of the Light
Blue Sunshine
Blue Sunshine
Amanzi
Amanzi

The Panama Canal

Timelapse video of the Canal transit

The first 12 boats in the World ARC 2023 transited the Panama Canal on 29 & 30 January 2023. We were divided into four “nests” of three boats each, with Mistral as the starboard boat of Nest 1. After collecting our Panama Canal advisor next to Shelter Bay Marina, we motored down to Gatun Lock which we cleared through in the dark. Next we continued on to Gatun Lake where we moored up for the night.

The next day was a long motor through Gatun Lake to the Pedro Miguel Lock and the Miraflores Lock. Unfortunately our advisors were unable to prevent Nest 1 from colliding with the lock wall as we exited Miraflores – the stanchions are being repaired as I type.

Passing under the Bridge of the Americas marks the transition from the Atlantic to the Pacific – we’ve now sailed our boat from France to the Pacific Ocean!

Tim & Jane have now flown back to the UK and Shirley & David are joining us for the next leg to Las Perlas Islands and Galapagos.

Read more at:
Karen’s Travels
World Cruising Logs
YB Tracker