Heading Out

We are edging ourselves further south towards the Colombian border. The weather has been tricky with very sloppy seas. At times we have had waves in the 12' range fairly close together. The weather patterns do not follow what we are use to. Nights have LOTS of wind. We have had our noses buried in Caribbean weather books to get a handle on what we should be looking for and what to expect. On the Pacific side a rising barometer means good weather on the Atlantic side it means that stronger winds and larger seas are likely. Another factor that is affecting us is that the (ITCZ) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is lying on the Panama/Colombian border. Normally this time of year it should be closer to the Equator. The reason this is important is that the ITCZ brings rainfall and convection activity. (Thunder and lightning). THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE however is the low pressure systems that lay in the Venezuela/Colombia border that cause Large, Steep waves and strong winds. Luckily these begin to diminish approximately mid April. It looks like our weather window is to enter Colombia on Tuesday and Wednesday with 2 - 4' waves. 5 -10 knots of wind. Perfect.
Another learning experience has been the reefs and reading the water. The charts are bad and the reefs plentiful. Polarized sunglasses have been a God send. It is these reefs that keep the nasty waves out of most anchorages. I have a problem judging the water depth and we generally have way more water than I think we have.
Kids are kids no matter what country you are in. They love pop, candy and playing in the water. Today it was interesting to watch a tropical version of a snowball fight. The six boys picked up wet beach mud formed a ball and started to pitch them at each other. Laughter filled the anchorage. I couldn't help think of the snow version we have all participated in as children.
Currently there are 7 boats anchored here at Isla Pinos, as the weather has put breaks on movements. We are the only boat going south the rest are heading north to the Rio Dulce, Guatemala for the hurricane season. We do know that there are others planning on heading south in a few weeks.
As you can tell we are still have no internet connection therefore this is coming again through the SSB radio.

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