Post race and trip down to Panama

Four of us (LMax, Telemed, UNICEF and Derry) crossed the line within a few hours of each other and have since been motoring within VHF range. We are being followed by a further two groups of four boats each as we all head for Panama and our slot for the Panama Canal. Yesterday morning we stopped, along with Derry and LMax, for a celebratory swim in the Pacific - a couple of hundred miles due west of Nicaragua and in over 5,000 metres of water! A passing turtle with its flipper in the air was momentarily mistaken for a shark resulting in everyone mustering off the back of the boat until the reality was established, but after that scare we were all able to relax and have a very pleasant swim. Even with all the sails down the boat was moving along so that we had to swim to keep up and when the time came to get back on board by clambering up the diesel polluted scramble net it was no easy affair. It made me think again about not wanting to fall overboard as getting back would be almost impossible without the help of a halyard. Hopefully we will have the opportunity for another swim tomorrow morning as we still have about 36 more hours of motoring before reaching Costa Rica.

Motoring, albeit noisy, does have the advantage of giving us 24 hours of battery charging time every day as well as an endless supply of fresh water, as long as the water maker continues to work. A fresh water 'sluice' after the swim and permission to rinse clothes in fresh water before hanging them out to dry on the guard rails are a couple of uses for this valuable commodity.

Fast forward ten days and we are motoring towards Costa Rica where we will be refuelling before heading across to Panama. It is extremely hot and humid with an unrelenting sun and no wind. Any wind there is is from the seven knots we are progressing through the water, sounds good but in reality it is a bit like sitting in a fan assisted oven. Sleep is virtually impossible as everyone tries to find the coolest place on the boat, generally up on deck, and for me the prickly heat is back which as you can imagine is not particularly pleasant. Everyone is sweating 'buckets' and drinking gallons of water and cordial and we are all looking forward to getting to the marina.

The short stop in Golfito Bay, Costa Rica, was a welcome break to the relentlessness of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Banana Bay Marina did us proud with copious drinks, food and ice creams as well as a very friendly and efficient refuelling service before we had back out again for the final 300+ miles to Panama.

Having seen virtually no wildlife on the race itself we are now seeing turtles, dolphins, the occasional whale and numerous birds including juvenile Boobies (I think) who populate the bowsprit and pulpit like argumentative teenagers. They have taken up position on the front of the boat and even tack themselves when the boat tacks. They are not at all phased by human presence and cameras pointing at them from less than 12" don't seem to concern them. Funny looking birds with a very inquisitive nature.

We have had Rich the cameraman on board for this race and it has been interesting to talk to him about the influence of the skipper in the success of a boat. He has been on a different boat for each
race so has an understanding of what is needed for a podium finish and how different boats operate. From my perspective the skipper has a pivotal role with the makeup of the crew being important but not as important as the person in overall charge. We have had three different skippers on the boat since leaving London, Jm, Paul and Cloughy. The first two are basically training skippers while Cloughy has the experience of racing and definitely leads by example. He works us hard but is not afraid to help with all aspects of boat life, and I respect him for that.

We eventually got to Panama on the 24th May and moored up in a marina towards the end of the
Canal. We saw the city in the distance and I was surprised at the skyline as I hadn't expected it to be so modern. I imagine a lot of money comes into the country from the canal so why shouldn't it be
new? My ignorance! The marina was full of very large and expensive looking deep sea fishing boats
so there is obviously a lot of money around. I stayed on the boat that night with five others rather than find an hotel as we were due to leave the following morning at 0630 for our transit along the canal.