This morning we got going early as there was a ton of stuff to get done if we are going to depart for Panama tonight. We went to the big duty free mall to buy a bunch of cheap liquor. Then the gals finished the provisioning while the guys did the checkout paperwork. They had to go to immigration to get our passports stamped (odd but not everyone has to be physically present for this), the bank to pay the exit fees, customs, and then the port captain for the final clearance paperwork to Panama. We had been hearing bad things on the forums about a corrupt official at the port captain’s office who was requiring a little extra cash to do the paperwork. And we’d been told by some locals that particular official was just awful. And we think the gal the guys dealt with was the same one. But apparently this is another advantage to (1) not dressing in cutoff shorts and stained t-shirts (some of the locals may have been off the grid a bit too long drinking the local beers), (2) traveling in pairs (i.e. with witnesses), and (3) looking like clean cut all American white bread.
We needed to pull up anchor and head for the fuel dock. So Melissa headed up to the bow to pull in the anchor. A couple of weeks ago we blew out our normal anchor snubber system and Dave had rigged up a temporary system that involved screwing a bow shackle to the chain with two ropes attached to the cleats. This means Melissa has to pull up the chain part way till she can reach and unscrew the shackle. The problem is that the two ropes tend to get wrapped up and stuck in the chain as its pulled up over the bow. So while she was getting the ropes free she failed to notice that the bow shackle which was still attached went all the way into the windlass (winch that brings up the anchor). Between the bow shackle and the knots tying the ropes to it, the windlass got miserably jammed. She immediately realized her mistake and tried to reverse direction on the winch, but to no avail. The winch was hopelessly jammed tight. She yelled back to Dave, “Oh no! I’ve totally screwed up! Come help me!” Dave comes forward takes one look and says, “Uh oh”. We both worked to try to unjam it. Dave managed to untie the ropes but they were so wedged into the winch that even with the knots undone they wouldn’t come out. Eventually we heard a loud SNAP! And the plastic part of the windlass that helps keep the chain in the track had broken clean off. The only good news is that this left enough space for us to pull the chain back out and remove the shackle. Now the question is whether we can make the windlass work without the chain protector thingy (technically known as an anchor rode management module). So Melissa puts on her keens shoes (to protect her toes) and stands on the winch as it pulls the anchor up to keep the chain in place. And that worked!
(Note: Apparently Melissa shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the windlass because while taking this picture a few days later she managed to lose the bungee cord that holds open the compartment when it slipped through her fingers and went whizzing off into the water.)
As soon as we got to the fuel dock, Melissa powered up her laptop and started looking for the replacement part. Dave had already told her that our model winch was no longer in production. So the fear was that we would have to replace the whole winch. But fortunately one of the Hunter owner forums gave a link to the one place that still has spare parts in the UK, and Melissa was able to get one on order – a mere $125 including shipping. So we will only have a few weeks of anchoring without the replacement part. Whew!
Then it was time to say good bye to the sleepy town of Golfito.
As we departed Golfito, Melissa snapped a picture of the US Coast Guard ship that has been at the main dock most of the past week. It seems odd to see the US Coast Guard here, but presumably they are protecting US ships headed through the Panama Canal. It sort of made us laugh though because there was a Costa Rica Coast Guard ship parked behind it. Melissa had taken a picture of it up north while we were at anchor. This picture shows both boats in scale relative to each other. Funny to think the US Coast Guard ship is so much more substantial than the local ships. This isn’t unusual though. When we traveled through El Salvador and Nicaragua the local Navy (their Coast Guard) would have been jealous of the Costa Rican ships.
As we headed out into the night, Melissa got a picture of Wanuskewin sailing into the sunset.
