8/9/09: It’s time to depart Cebaco Bay and head to Santa Catalina. It’s said to be one of the best surf spots in Panama, and that’s where we’ll pick up friends Tim Clearwater and Chris Kopra to join us on our surf safari for the next two weeks. 0830 it’s my turn to pull up anchor, manually, and Colin helps put the chain into the locker. Successfully spitted with salty and rusty chain spray, I scrub it off my skin as Colin washes down the bow and deck with our aptly named “Fish Bucket”. It’s our old, reliable, rusty handled bucket that serves as our primary holding tank for freshly caught fish and hauling seawater on deck. It’s only an 8 mile transit to Isla Catalina, but with the wind and current against us, we drop anchor off Isla Catalina at 1200 in 15’ of water at low tide. It’s a beautiful protected spot, just short of a 2 mile dingy ride to the surf line up.
8/10/09: 0700 morning surf session! Excellent. Solid and consistent 2’ (Hawaiian style) right and left hander’s off a reef break with some 3-4’ sets, glassed with off shore winds at 5-8 kts. Mellow crowd. With 12-15 foot tidal ranges, it’s surfed at medium to high water only. Sweet!
8/1109: 0700 surf session #2! Successful mission with better shape and bigger size. Consistently arriving at 2-4’ and hollow, barreling right hander’s are plenty. Crowd’s a little more aggressive today, but there’s still plenty waves to go around. By 1100 Colin stays aboard while Chris and I go ashore to purchase diesel, visit the local bakery, walk 1.5 miles to the internet café which has intermittent service, and purchase produce off the local produce truck roaming the streets and announcing their presence with a LOUD speaker. Tim & Kopra were expected to arrive today, but at 1800, without any means of announcing their arrival on the beach, we give up hopes of picking them up amid a high tide and massive shore break, and in total darkness.
8/12/09: Surf is not as good as the last two days, but still refreshing. At 1200 there’s still no sign of our guests, so we go about meeting some locals, and attempt to collect our diesel which was ordered the day before. After a while, the diesel man shows up, and we load the canisters of diesel into his pick-up truck to haul down to the shoreline. As luck would have it and as is the Panama way, the battery is dead. After changing it out two times, we end up gathering a couple of passerby’s and pushing the truck to jump start it down the road. Success! We hop in and head out before it goes ka-put again. On the beach, we load Opihi with our cargo with the help of Javier, an ex-pat married to a local and living in Santa Catalina. At 1730 we settle in aboard Iwalani as a heavy lightening storm unleashes its wrath. 1830: Colin jumps up and yells, “What’s that in the water????” He grabs the flashlight and shines it onto the water in almost total darkness. With a strike of lightening illuminating the surface disturbance, we see it’s CHRIS KOPRA!!! Oh-my-gawd! He frog manned it out from shore to Iwalani. A 2 mile paddle against an outgoing current in the middle of a heavy lightening storm! In total awe, we haul him onboard with surfboard and fins amid hugs and laughter. Hooting and hollering the excitement rictor scale escalates to maximum velocity, and Capt. Chris readies Opihi to retrieve Tim, sopping wet in the rain, waiting onshore with luggage and surfboard bags. Crap! Opihi plug plunges into the sea. Unretrieivable, a cork substitute is engaged. I toss him my dry bag and he speeds quickly off towards shore. A beach landing is decidedly sketchy at high tide, but Chris manages to ride the back of a wave onto the shore break. Spinning around in the darkness, he’s caught unaware by a rogue wave and gets wiped out. Gone is my dry bag. Bummers. Another item claimed by the sea. With the help of a drunken local, Chris and Tim load Opihi and shove off amid an unexpected lull, and putter back to Iwalani unscathed and dry, minus my dry bag. After rounds of storytelling and raucous laughter, we call it a night.
8/13/09: 0630 surf session in solid 2’, a little smaller than the last two days, but still nice conditions. Crowd is a little more aggressive, but we still have a great time.
8/14/09: 0700 surf session in 2-3’ with 4’ sets. Lots more people in the water today, and the crowd is a little more agro. Later in the morning, Tim, Kopra and I hire a local to drive us into Sona for provisions, as Chris and Colin stay aboard to watch Iwalani.
8/15/09: Surf check at Punta Rocas provides no incentive, so it’s La Punta again, amid crowds and inconsistent wind chopped waves. After lunch, we cruise the shore of Isla Santa Catalina to collect land hermit crabs for our hermit crab races. Washed out ashore by the rain, we continue the races on deck on Iwalani, gawking and prodding the little buggers to win-place-show.
8/16 – 8/18/09: Surf is diminishing and crowds are gathering in aggression, so we decide to pack up and head out the next day.
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