More Boat Chores

Whew! So, to the uninitiated, let it be said that cruising is not all "margaritas on the foredeck". Once again we find ourselves spending nearly every day working on the boat, doing paperwork, or, in general taking care of the business of living in strange foreign countries. Very little of our 28 days in Panama City was spent having fun, being tourists, or relaxing.

Just to give you an idea, in addition to the items already mentioned on this webpage, there were many other tasks we did during our stay in Panama City, not counting the planning and scheduling of our transit of the Panama Canal:

• Change Fuel Filters
• Eye exam and order eyeglasses
• Get and Install New Smoke Alarm (old one bad)
• Get and stow Motor Oil
• Get 7' Hardwood Board
• Get, cut, paint, and install new board to hold fuel tanks on deck
• Provisioning (3 more times)
• Laundry (2 more times)
• Take Trash to Shore (every other day)
• Clean Freezer Hoses (every 2 weeks or so)
• Clean all Strainers (every 2 weeks or so)
• Pickup (delayed) Eyeglasses
• Defrost and Clean Freezer
• Make marina reservation (at Shelter Bay, on the "other side")
• Schedule Haul Out and Bottom Paint at Shelter Bay Marina
• Put up New Flags (US, Panama, and GD, all frayed)
• Fill Diesel Fuel (1/2 day task at dock)
• Go to ATMs to get Cash on board
• Restart Freezer & Stow Provisions

In addition to all these tasks, I'd like to mention that I volunteered to run the "Panama Pacific Cruisers Net" on the SSB radio each Thursday. So, every Thursday for 4 weeks I would get up, and by 8:00 would download the weather forecast, and from 9:00 to about 9:30 am, I would run the net, coordinating traffic, giving the weather, and so on. These networks are very important to cruisers who may have no other way to check the weather or get in touch with each other. I was proud to be able to help out once a week to do this.