Week 66: San Blas (35nm)

This week we visited some remote spots, learned to collect and cook conch (so delicious!) and spent many happy hours in the water. In contrast, we also visited the area’s largest town and learned a little about Guna culture.

First Mate’s Log

Nov 30th: We upped anchor early and raced Hoodoo from the East Lemmon Cays over to the coral lagoon in the central Holandes Cays. The route was hard on the wind, which was exciting for us as it is the one point of sail where we can shine against a catamaran. We had 12-15 knots of wind, which Serenity just loves, and were making easly 15-20 degrees more than our rivals. A delightful start to the day! The lagoon was only charted a few years ago, having previously been assumed not to be navigable. There are now known to be two entrances to it, which our helpful cruising guide provides waypoint routes through. We decided to take the Western entrance, while Hoodoo opted for the Eastern, so we’ll never really know who won the race, but we can at least be sure we beat them on sailing angle :). We very carefully picked our way through the reef-lined channel into the lagoon; Alec ensured we followed the waypoint route exactly while I stood on the bow to keep an eye out for any unexpected shallow or rocky bits. After a couple of miles, we reached the anchorage, which was a beautiful sandy area at an even 3.5m depth – perfection! We got settled and then went off to explore a few of the reefs we’d threaded between on our way in. We were greeted by thousands of fish and saw a turtle! The coral was beautiful and healthy, and we really enjoyed bobbing around. Later, we caught up with Hoodoo and they revealed they’d discovered tons of conch in the grassy areas near our anchorage – jackpot! They invited us to share their bounty and knock up a conch curry for dinner. They also taught us how to process the conch, which was very helpful as its trickier than you might think! Our new pressure cooker was the kitchen MVP in tenderising the conch and then we mixed it up with some curry sauce we’ve been looking for a chance to use. A great day and evening all around!

Dec 1st: We finally put our dinghy back in the water, after getting by with just the kayak the last month or so. Our second attempt at repairing the rip at the front of the dinghy seems to be holding now, but the engine has not been very happy. Alec spent a couple of hours taking it apart, checking all the lines and even cleaning out the carbourator before it finally sputtered back to life. Mobile once again, we decided to explore further afield. Hoodoo had mentioned a channel in the shallows leading out to the outer reef that they’d dubbed “the lazy river” (on account of the mild current you could float back down to the lagoon on). We decided to go check that out, and some of the other shallows north of our anchorage. The shallows revealed many conch (we selected the four largest that we found, for future cooking!) but not much reef, however, the “lazy river” ended at a cool reefy area with tons of fish! We found a lionfish there, which Alec got with the spear gun, and a few lobster though they were too well tucked up in their holes to catch. Still, we came back with a seafood bounty and having enjoyed a very special time snorkelling. I spent the rest of the day making bread while Alec tended to the ever growing boat jobs list and made some water with the watermaker.

Dec 2nd: Keen to keep exploring, we headed out in the morning with the dinghy to the far eastern end of the lagoon, looking for other routes to the outer reef. We found a tiny cut through that carried us all the way out to the best reef I’ve ever seen, where we found that Hoodoo had also anchored up. Beautiful, varied corals and anenomes in crystal clear waters only a few meters deep – it was glorious! The fish were so tame many would come up to you to have a look. We saw a HUGE eagle ray and found a nurse shark snoozing under a rock. Alec saw another shark gliding through the reef at one point, and also got two small fish with his spear gun that looked tasty. We were feeling very successful until, on the way back, our dinghy engine died. Alec spent half an hour trying to coax it back to life; it would start but would die after only a few seconds no matter what we tried. So, it was a long paddle back to Serenity for us. There were a few shallow bits where Alec was able to actually get out and walk the dinghy, but otherwise we slowly paddled / poled our way along back to the boat. In a way, it was a nice bit of exercise! Back aboard, Alec took the engine apart again, re-cleaned the carb and eventually it decided to start working again. Not sure still if the underlying issue is poor fuel quality, poor fuel/oil mix, a clogged filter, or something else but with enough testing I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of it! It turns out the fish Alec had speared were a subspecies of Parrotfish – cool because the reef here does not suffer from the ciguatera virus, which means you can actually eat reef fish such as Parrotfish. We learned that they are considered a real delicacy on many islands (or at least were until ciguatera came along) so were excited to have an opportunity to try them.

PSA: on a healthy reef like this one where there were many, many fish, it was okay for us to take a few parrotfish for supper. But, they play an important role in keeping the reef clean, so it is important not to overfish them! Also, they are responsible for the creation of white sand, so keeping a healthy population ensures lovely beaches! We celebrated our time here in the lagoon by getting the grill going and barbequing the parrotfish, lion fish and conch. It was an absolutely delicious dinner and a great end to our time here!

Dec 3rd: There was so much to explore that I think we could have stayed in the lagoon for weeks, but we’re getting low on fresh vegetables and could use a bit of internet (we’d had maybe one bar of service, depending on the time of day, so it was hard to even get emails); it was time to head elsewhere. We decided to try the eastern lagoon exit since it was a more direct route to our next destination, so I went up to the bow to reef-spot while Alec manned the helm. We’d timed it well as we had perfect sun overhead and calm water, making it really easy to see any hazards. Boy was this a shallow exit – at one point the depth dropped down to 2.6m (Serenity draws 2!) so our hearts were in our throats a few times, but luckily we passed through safely and were soon back out into open water. We headed 10nm southeast to a small island system that looked close enough to a town to have good signal but far enough away to be quiet. We anchored behind Sabudupored (yep, the island names around here sure are unusual!), and Alec finished off a big load of laundry while I worked on the template for the new dodger I’m making. We’ll probably have a chill day here tomorrow doing a few jobs and then head to Nargana (the nearby town) on Thursday to coincide with the weekly veg boat arrival so we can stock up on fresh food.

4th: With 3 precious bars of 4G signal, Alec spent most of the day catching us up on life admin and paperwork (so thankful that he takes care of so much of this for us!).

Alec also went out to check the nearby reefs for tasty fishies but there wasn’t anything on offer. Later in the afternoon, a Guna boat drifted alongside having run out of fuel for their outboard. We traded a couple of litres of petrol for an armful of limes and a bunch of plantains – seemed like a decent deal! Stormy weather rolled in with the sunset, driving us inside early. It tipped it down most of the night, and we were really wishing we’d managed to install the water collection tap in the bimini before now!

Dec 5th: Drove the few short miles to Nargana this morning, the first town we’ve seen in our time in San Blas. Its still not a huge island, but packed to overflowing with the houses, businesses, etc. of the 2,000 inhabitants. The structures spill out over the water; docks, latrines, animal pens and what appear to be trash pens (or maybe fish pens?) cover the shallows. We anchored in the lee of the island, where the silt from the nearby river meant the visibility was zilch. Luckily it was an easy entrance with no real hazards. With so many docks, it was nearly impossible to deduce where we should park the dinghy. Eventually we found a spot on the north side of the island and were instantly greeted by Frederico, the island’s friendly guide. He showed us around and helped us find fresh veggies, look for bread (unsuccessful) and find a place to grab a little lunch. It was such an unusual and different place! The buildings were an unusual collection of ramshackle bamboo houses with corregated roofs next to big concrete buildings and everything in between, but all very neat and orderly. There was a basketball court (apparently a very popular game here) and several particularly nice playgrounds. And, of course, a 4G mobile phone tower – always much appreciated! Very glad we had the chance to visit and get more of a taste of the Guna way of life.

Dec 6th: After an evening of gluttonous internet thanks to the proximity of the cell tower (watched a documentary film, recommended by Alec’s brother-in-law Elliott, called “Go Fast Go North” that followed a team of sailors racing from Vancouver to Alaska – lots of fun!), it was time to find greener pastures aka clearer waters. Directly west lay the long Naguargandup Cays, which we’d not heard much about and are only recently charted. We selected a secluded-looking spot about halfway along and upped anchor. A good breeze behind us meant we could meander along lazily with just the genoa out (still making 5-6 knots!). It was a very relaxed few hours, until the very end where more reef navigation was required. This area is well charted but the author hasn’t laid down waypoints, so there is still an element of figuring it out for yourself. This means Alec watching the depth sounder like a hawk while I squint around from the front trying to make out hazards. After our first choice anchorage proved to have unreliable holding, we found a nice spot behind a long island called Myriadup and got ourselves settled. Alec took advantage of the good light to go out for an explore with the dinghy, while I continued work on the new dodger. Initial impression of these Cays are positive – looking forward to doing more exploring tomorrow!

Dec 7th: The sun shone gloriously this morning, bringing promise of a beautiful day. We decided to be good and get chores / jobs done in the morning so we could enjoy an afternoon of snorkelling and exploring the nearby reefs. Oh, if only we had not decided to be good! By 11am the sky filled with moody clouds and it began to rain intermittently. We kept thinking / hoping it might pass but before long it became clear this was to be the rest of the day. We still managed a short swim off the back of the boat, but with the poor light it was difficult to see much. Still, we made the most of it! Alec put in a long session revamping our running rigging strategies for downwind sailing, which will be a HUGE help, especially for getting the second headsail up and down.

Story of the Week: Conch!

This week, its all about that conch, the shellfish responsible for the beautiful, pointy spiral shells with bright pink insides that you sometimes find washed up on the beach. To eat, they have a very meaty texture, but the taste is almost a little bit sweet. I love conch, and have ever since my first introduction to the Caribbean at the age of 12, when my parents took us to the Bahamas. There, I had my first taste of conch fritters, which are still possibly my favourite food of all time. You often see them in fritter form, but can also find conch curry on many a menu.

Sustainability is very important to us, so we only collected large, mature conch on our trips around the lagoon and only took enough for a couple of meals. But that was still a good haul, so Alec got lots of practice gutting and trimming them, while I focussed on the cooking side. Conch is one of those meats that, like octopus, needs a LOT of tenderising. It starts out roughly the consistency of a tire, so, yeah its got a long way to go. The traditional method is to use something like a hammer to pound the meat until it yields, but that is really hard work. Our friend Lisa from Azimuth had shared a much easier alternative when we saw them in the Cocos – use the pressure cooker! Thirty minutes or so under pressure will do a beautiful job softening up the meat, which can then be finished in any number of ways (grilled, fried, curried – options abound!).

While in the lagoon, we tried them in curry and also grilled them like steaks on the barbeque. Its hard to pick a favourite but the grilled steak was totally unique and absolutely delicious, so I’d probably have to give that the win!

Parting Thoughts: Reef Navigation

We had our first taste of reef navigation way back in Barbuda in the spring, where we learned to appreciate the importance of having the sun high overhead for spotting coral heads (also known as “bommies”). But, the reef system on the south side of Barbuda had wide sandy areas between the bommies, making hazards very clear and leaving a good amount of room for error in navigation.

San Blas has taken things to the next level. The bottom is often a mix of weed and rock, making it that much harder to see bommies, and the safe passes are typically very narrow. The depth can be variable, and when it changes it shelves really quickly, meaning you don’t have a lot of time to correct mistakes before getting into trouble.

We’ve started to develop a good system though, which is so far serving us well. When we go through a reef area, Alec mans the helm, with all of our maps and charts laid out in front of him, while I head up to the bow to spot. The accuracy of the charts in these areas is usually dubious at best, so it is essential to have someone actually looking at what’s coming with their eyes. It can be really tricky, as, depending on the brightness, position of the sun and water clarity, it can be very difficult to tell whether something is a hazard or where the deeper water is. If the sun is very good and the water is exceptionally clear, 10m of depth can look like 3, whereas in the reverse scenario I might hardly be able to make out the bottom in only 3m. It’s an art! So, we make a detailed plan before entering a reef, and then keep in constant communication as we’re going. Alec calls out depth readings from the instruments, while I shout back about the visibility and bottom condition (sand, weed, variable, coral, etc.) and ask for course changes if I see any potential hazards.

Its been good to get all this practice ahead of the Pacific, which in many places, like San Blas, has only old charts with often poor resolution / not a lot of soundings. So, the skills to keep a good look out and direct the helm from up front will be essential! We have developed a bit more confidence over the last few weeks, and it no longer feels so daunting. Now, to work out how to factor tides and currents into things…