business version, which costs no more but has 32 extra pages. We've learned that European Union airlines won't let anyone fly to South Africa unless they have at least four blank pages in their passports. Anyway, we're currently at the international check-in dock, which is free but not very secure. But it's the only place that has space available for our cat. We could tell lots of tales of nasty seas getting here, but we're off to see lions, leopards and elephants, our daughter Samar will join us for Christmas in South Africa, and we think we'll make it to the Caribbean by March or April." We presume the docks in South Africa are crowded because most circumnavigators still think that the only other option — going by way of the Red Sea and the Med — is still too dangerous thanks to Somali pirates. While piracy is way down, it's not out, and most cruisers don't see the risks of the Red Sea route as outweighing the rewards yet. "October 14 was an interesting day here at Boca Chica, Panama," reports William Nokes of the Chetco, Oregonbased Gulfstar 41 Someday. "I was
FORGERIES R US
CHANGES
When applying for a passport, get the 'business class' upgrade. It's free, and the extra pages could save you a major inconvenience.
running the engine to charge the batteries when Pamela Bendall's Port Hardy, B.C.-based Kristen 46, Precious Metal, a vet of the Ha-Ha as well as cruising in Central and South America, motored in
behind a sailboat named Rapscallion. To my surprise, they passed through the anchorage — apparently on their way upriver to Pedregal — without responding to calls on VHF 16. Both Derek of Seagull Cove Resort and I tried hailing them on a variety of channels, but got no response. Derek finally jumped into his small boat and took off after them, wanting to make sure that they knew of the local hazards. Obviously they didn't, because Derek caught up with them just in time to see Rapscallion's mast take down the power line, and then Precious Metal go aground on a reef. It took several hours, but we finally got her boat off the reef and anchored. The fact that Precious Metal is a steel boat may saved the boat's life, as she suffered no leaks." Nokes, who writes a frequent and very readable blog from onboard in Panama, reports that it's possible to continue on past the Boca Chica anchorage the seven or so miles up the windy Rio Garibaldo to Pedregal and the big metropolitan area of David. But you do need the latest local knowledge to do it safely. Who needs the mainland?
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Larry and Nelda on Diamond Girl, their Beneteau 393, in Paradise Village, MX March 2012
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Page 128 •
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• December, 2012
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