TROPICAL RAINS
Isla Espiritu Santo, Islas Las Perlas, Panamá, Monday, 02 November 2009

Woke up during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday to find that the wind had shifted around to the SW and squalls were blowing into the cove where we had been anchored for a couple of days. I let out all the chain and a lot of nylon rode to quiet the boat down and give me some peace of mind. But we were now on a lee shore and the wind was just strong enough to start howling mildly in the rigging. I considered the trade-offs of moving around to the north side of the island once again to the increased likelihood for screw-ups in the dark and rain. I resolved for the moment to keep and eye on things and went back to my berth to doze.

At dawn we were up and at ‘em. The situation had not changed. But of course in the daylight everything looks less worrisome. A SW breeze would take us down the east side of the island group on a nice close reach. Soon we were under sail and making 3 or 4 knots.

We watched as a big black squall appeared to be readying itself to cross our bows. As it approached, the wind shifted and soon, instead of sailing SE or SSE, we had to veer more to NE to be close to the wind. We were dawdling around waiting for the squall to pass and for new SW breezes to pick up. Meanwhile we considered alternative ports and picked the landlocked cove on the E side of Isla Bayonetta. By this time the wind had died altogether and we switched on the engine. The entrance to the cove required tiptoeing around submerged rocks and sandbars, but by noon we were safely anchored in a millpond.

We wound up spending three nights here despite the No See ’ums that required us to dig out our mosquito coils and keep them going the whole time. Nevertheless, Kathy was covered in about a hundred red bites after the first night. Liberal applications of lime juice or white vinegar seemed to help the itching and Autan-brand repellent works pretty well too.

Overcoming our lethargy, we decided to move the one or two miles to La Mina. The cruising guide says the holding is only mediocre, which is probably accurate. You anchor quite a way out from the wide arc of beach opposite the airfield and cluster of buildings (about a kilometer away; never saw or heard a plane land there, however) in about 15-20 feet of water over rock and sand. There is a very strong tidal current but no swells and no wind can get at you unless were really to blow up hard form the N, which is unlikely at this time of year. We were happy to be away from the bugs.

After one night, we decided it was time to move on if we expected to see a few other places and still be back in Panamá City by the end of the week when we have to check out. We decided to sail to Espiritu Santo where so many cruisers hang out. We planned to stay only for a couple of nights and then make stops on the way back NW to Panamá City.

After getting started in a nice SW breeze that had us tooting along at nearly five knots, the usual squalls began to shape up. We never had to shorten sail, but the whole voyage was in rain, sometimes heavy. Kathleen sat at the tiller for the nearly four hours with warm rain streaming down her sou’wester. Grace Darling! As we approached the anchorage, we doused the sails and motored in, also in rain.

In fact it has been raining on and off since we arrived. This keeps the air very soft and cool; were the sun to come out now we would really notice its heat.

There are only about five or six boats here, including Batwing (Ron and Diane), Little Qwyn (Alex and Angelika from Russia), Lumme (Wolfgang and Ute from Germany), Sea Fury (Roger and his wife) and two other vessels, whose crews we do not yet know. We shall do a little visiting.

Soon after we had the anchor down, I was baking a loaf of bread. We threw in the rice left over from breakfast and the whole thing turned into a kilo loaf with a few raisins. Delicious! This recipe has now become my favourite because of its simplicity and its reliability. If you are interested, here it is:

Super-Fast White Bread

This moist loaf requires no kneading and rises only once.

Ingredients
3-3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 package (approx 1 tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1. Combine 3 cups of flour, dry yeast, sugar and alt in a large bowl or food processor. Mix until blended evenly.
2. Heat milk and butter to 130oF in a small pan over medium heat (butter need not melt completely). (N.B. Since we used powdered whole milk and do not carry butter or margarine on board, I simply add the whole-milk powder to the dry ingredients and warm up only the water, which I pour into the dry ingredients and add a dash of oil. Seems to work. This is also the time to throw in whatever you find around the kitchen that needs to be used up: old rice, oatmeal, etc. and even other leftovers. It doesn’t seem to change the basic recipe and makes for interesting breads.)
3. Pour warm liquid(s) into flour mixture and beat until dough is stretchy (5 to 7 minutes). Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and dust lightly with more flour. Knead until smooth and satiny (about 10 minutes), adding just enough additional flour to prevent sticking. (N.B. Because our galley space is so small and I dislike the cleanup later, I tend to do all the mixing and kneading in a big plastic bowl.)
4. Shape dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Uncover and press dough to release air. Pat into a 7x10 inch rectangle. Beginning at a short side roll up dough, pinching edge against the loaf to seal. Place seam side down in a greased 4x8 inch loaf pan. (N.B. We bake our bread in a medium-sized heavy pressure cooker. So, I oil the sides and bottom or, better, spray them with cooking spray, and then press the dough down to cover the space well.) Cover lightly (e.g. with the pressure cooker lid) and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes). (Yesterday I placed the pressure cooker with dough on top of the engine block which was still warm from it usage on the way into the anchorage.)
6. Bake (uncovered) in a 400oF oven for about 25 minutes. Makes 1 loaf of about 10 servings. (If like us you are baking stove-top, it is better to use a flame diffuser over an open gas flame. But, in any case, be careful not to burn the bottom by baking too hot.)

Enjoy!