Panama to French Polynesia – Panama Basin – Day 12

Position: We are now about 32nm east of Costa Rico’s Coco Island (Isla del Coco). The winds have been from the SSW. We are sailing mostly west through the Panama Basin. The body of water in the Pacific Ocean that separates Panama from the Galapagos Islands. 5 24’14N 84 5243W
*Note: I am told you can copy and paste these coordinates into google earth and it will show you where we are.

Mileage: 3365 – 3287 nm = 78m if we were able to sail in a straight line south west, which we are not.

Number of miles to go: 3287nm to go of approx. 3850nm (That is still hoping we can generally sail direct to our final destination)

Fish count: The count remains at 3 Mahi Mahi, 2 Cero and 6 tuna. One Marlin that we were happy got away!

NOW THIS IS SAILING
Finally the sea state has settled and the sun came out. And you have probably guessed already, the fishing lines went back in the water. Not as many birds, and only whales breaching in the distance, but I am sure there are still fish in ‘this here waters’ for dinner.

COCO ISLAND, COSTA RICO
We look set to bump into Coco Island. The winds have allowed us to sail west, but we can not get any south in our heading yet. In fact the winds last night pushed us a little further north. But we are making progress in ‘generally’ the right direction. Get a little bit further south, and maybe up ahead we will hit some more favorable winds. But everyone aboard Spirit of Argo are thankful for the calm seas and smooth sailing. It is so nice to get some consistent wind and be out of the squalls.
As for the island. A permit to stop must be obtained before departure from the Costa Rican government. We had not planned to stop here, so the humans did not get a permit. We could bluff ‘engine troubles’ and stop, but the charts we have are not very detailed and the accuracy is questionable. You are taking a big chance trying to approach this island and anchor for the sake of checking it out. But we will get a chance to see them from sea!

HOW LONG WITH THE CALM WEATHER HOLD?
Who knows, so it was full steam ahead all day for the humans sorting stuff out on the boat that is much easier to do in calm weather than in a jumpy sea. They are still doing everything at a slant. Mono-hulled sail boats lean sideways when they are sailing to wind. But at least tools are not jumping down the floor away from where they are trying to work. A little preventative measures and a clean after a week at sea.

HOME WORK
I have given the humans a little homework to complete for an upcoming blog. ‘Why are you sailing across the Pacific?’
I do not have a choice in the matter, but what processed the humans to sail a 39 year old mono-hulled sail boat across the Pacific Ocean? Would you do it? Why? You do know that the cost of air fare and luxury accommodations for a lovely holiday would be a fraction of what it costs to maintain a sail boat. Have a thought guys. Would you do it and why?
Put your ideas in the COMMENTS section of the blog and we look forward to reading them on the other side when we get some WiFi.

Just before sending you this update the sun went away and the clouds came back out to play. But tomorrow is another day.

END