Almost eight months of hard sailing and cruising has taken a toll on my beloved Jargo, a 1976 Allied Mistress MK III.  The engine is tired, worn, an needs work, the water maker needs a rebuild, the stove needs a rebuild, dingy and outboard need attention, bottom needs another scrubbing, fuel system needs to be reconfigured, fuel tank needs to be cleaned, every locker needs to be emptied, cleaned and restowed, mizzen needs major patching until I can get a new one, two fixed ports need to be rebedded, two or three stanchions need to be rebedded, the windless needs a paint job, and the list goes on.  I my hope was to work my way to Cartagena, Colombia where skilled labor is available and cheap.  It just isn’t going to happen before much if not all of the maintenance is tended too.

There is a new marina that is just coming online on the island of Bastimentos which is about a 10 – 15 minute dingy ride from the town of Bocas del Toro.  There are maybe eight boats there already and there are only two more out of the 26 slips total that have power and water.  There is no club house, no pool, no internet, no bar, no nightlife, no town, no office, and no distractions.  Perfect.  They regularly run an irregular ferry between the marina and Bocas town which will give me a chance to pull the dink and outboard out of service so I can tend to it properly.  With no one around I can make a mess of the place and no one will care.  There is lots of room to work without getting in anyone’s way.

It’s strange to think I’ve been here a week now somewhat down with no idea what I was doing.  A potentially serious engine problem yesterday that I have not yet resolved made my plans clear.  Get in a slip and tend to the boat.  It feels oddly good to know what I am doing.  I think the engine problem was the final straw that brought me to the realization that it’s time for a break and to tend to the boat.  I am heading into a very isolated spot without internet access at all so don’t expect too many updates.  I’ll still get on at least weekly via cafes in Bocas up update via the sat phone.  I may also pick up a cell phone if there is service at the marina.  I don’t yet know. 

Cheers to getting your house in order.

Lee

Lee Winters
Phone: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853

Web: www.SailingForSOS.com
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com