If you look at the map of South America you will see that Panama is sticking out on the left hand top side like a branch from a large tree trunk. As a result it is one straight course from the Panama Canal sea – buoy down to Manta In Ecuador. No reason to change course; the bulge of the Western side of South America comes closer and closer to the course line and the only thing you have to do is brake on time and you are at the pilot station of Manta. It is very quiet in the Eastern Pacific at the moment and as a result we had very little wind, very low swells and mainly overcast skies. The latter kept the overall temperature down and that was appreciated as today we had the King Neptune festivities onboard. Continue reading

Fuerte Amador is just around the corner at the end of the Panama Canal and is located on Flamengo Island. The latter is very well-known to sailors going through the canal as it is also the call sign “Flamengo Signal Station” for all traffic on the Pacific side of the Canal. On the Atlantic side it is called “Cristobal Signal Station. Fuerte Amador is not really a town as such; it is a Marina with some shops but as the island is connected with the main land by a causeway it is a perfect stop to make a landfall for exploring Panama City and surroundings. None of the problems that go with calling directly at a big city and all of the conveniences to get to where you want to go. Panama has more of these hidden places. On the other side of the Canal entrance is Isla Taboga and Isla Taboguilla. These two islands have very nice but small resorts. But they have no connection to the main land and are thus a bit limited for a cruise ship call. However Fuerte Amador has the causeway and that makes it work very well. We were not the only one who thought the same way, the Seabourn Legend showed up as well for a similar call. Continue reading

We had a rather bumpy night while we sailed for the Panama Canal entrance. It puzzled me a bit as this wave field was not to be found in any weather forecasts that I had pulled off the internet. However as it was more waves than wind, it turned out that it was the remnants of the wave field generated by the bad weather we had a few days ago and whose waves now finally made it to the Middle American Eastern shores. As we were heading straight into them it caused the Prinsendam to pitch a little bit through the night. I could not slow the ship down for a more comfortable ride as I had to keep the speed at 17 knots in order to make my deadline of 5 am. at the Cristobal breakwater. Arriving too late would severely impede a timely transit of the canal. I was right on time and then started an unusual but also the best transit of my career. Continue reading

Puerto Limon is not that far away from Isla de Providencia so with a decent speed of 17 knots we sailed in that direction on a South Westerly course. During the night we met the Carnival Miracle and the Zuiderdam. The latter makes a sort of Circumnavigation of the Caribbean Sea. Starting from Fort Lauderdale going east to Half Moon Cay and then hopping through the Carib with Puerto Limon as the last port of call before it returns to Ft. Lauderdale. By 06.30 I was laying nearly stopped at the pilot station as the pilot boat wanted a boarding speed of 2 knots otherwise the old contraption could not get alongside. With the pilot onboard and sipping tea on the bridge wing, we sailed into the port and were docked 30 minutes later. Puerto Limon is notorious for the large swells running into the port, swells that can make the gangway move considerably due to the swaying ship but today it was very quiet and the ship only very gently moved along the dock. At 08.30 we were joined by the Carnival Freedom who put out two double gangways and then approx. 3000 eager shoppers pored out and stated to invade the town. The great thing about Costa Rica is that most of the ports were developed in the past with a lot of German input and as a result things are fairly well organized. Except our agent who managed to load all our Panama Canal brochures onto the Zuiderdam. So instead of delivering them tonight we have to do it tomorrow morning at 05.00 when the Panama agent brings new ones onboard. Continue reading

Although this island is much closer to Nicaragua than to Colombia, it is part of the latter and as such we sailed from Santa Marta to Isla de Providencia while staying inside the same country, at least on paper. The weather forecast for yesterday had been extremely good with hardly any wind but by the time we arrived this morning the regular trade winds had returned and it was blowing 20 to 25 knots. However as the swell of the Caribbean Sea was stopped by the island; the seas were good enough to conduct a tender service and thus we parked ourselves as close as possible to the town. It turned out a windy but sunny and warm day. Continue reading

The wind did not change direction and thus it was a following wind for this leg of the cruise. That meant that the relative wind on deck would be the ships speed minus the wind force; a lot better than what we had when leaving Key West, when the relative wind on deck was the wind force and the speed combined. Together with sunny skies it turned out to be a great day to enjoy the Caribbean Sea. We are running at a slow speed, as the distance between Santa Marta and Isla de Providencia is too long for an overnight run and thus we spent a leisurely day at sea. Continue reading

After a rather bumpy night we arrived very early this morning at the roads of Santa Marta. This city (500,000 plus inhabitants) is located on the West side of an outcropping, end of a mountain ridge; and is thus sheltered from Strong Easterly Winds. The Half Moon shaped bay gives good shelter for anchoring and here it was that I stopped the ship and floated, making slow circles, for two hours to get our compass compensated. By 06.30 we had the pilot on board and 30 minutes later we were alongside the dock. Continue reading

This morning at 2 am. we passed the South West point of Haiti and entered the Caribbean Sea, and a very wobbly sea it was. The normal trade wind which blows with a force 4 or about 16 knots was doing at least 20 with gusts of up to 25 knots. As we were on a nearly straight Southerly course, that wind was pushing full against the portside of the ship and that caused the Prinsendam to list slightly. With ballasting we could correct most of it but as the wind was gusty we could never find the complete balance. As this wind had been blowing already for a while, the swell and waves had reached average heights of 8 to 10 feet and that made the ship quite lively at times. However most of our guests are veteran cruisers and were for the most enjoying the ride. Continue reading

We sailed through the Nicolas channel into the Old Bahama channel above Cuba with strong head winds and swells. The wind speed measured about 25 knots from the East and with the ship going against it at full speed it was very windy on the forward part of the ship. Normally we have 1 to 1.5 knots of current against us but this time we did not notice anything. I do not know what is exactly going on but also the Gulfstream was much weaker and colder than normal and this might have affected the North Westerly current in the Old Bahama channel as well. Tomorrow when we enter the Caribbean Sea we will find out what the Equatorial current is doing there, which runs from East to North West under the coast of Cuba and also feeds the Gulfstream. The weather in the Central part of the Caribbean Sea is at the moment very windy but that is supposed to start to subside by the time we get there. Continue reading

By 09.00 we arrived as scheduled at the pilot station of Key West, only to find that we had to go slow as the Majesty of the Seas did not make her 08.30 pilot slot. As there is in Key West only one group of linesmen, the ships have to arrive at least 30 minutes apart to make a docking sequence with the line handlers possible. Thus we travelled with a slow speed up the channel, sailed around the Majesty of the Seas and docked at the best berth at Mallory Square. The outside temperature was around 61oF, which is cold for Key West and as a result all the locals were dressed up as if it was winter time. Except one linesmen who was still walking around in shorts and slippers. The consensus was however that he probably did not even own a pair of long pants. The way of life is very casual here. Continue reading