Returning to Panama...

I have received a few emails from folks interested in seeing the completion of my sailing trip story or for information on Blue Water Sailing School, the company I went with.

I may finish the sailing series at some point, but in the meantime we are going to Panama at the end of August.  I don't know if I will attempt to do a series on that trip or not, but at least I will have someone to take a picture or two of me.  :)

We will start off by exploring the area from Punta Chame to Farallon.  I have made contact with a realtor there and would like to get some ideas about what is possible.  What are rents like?  What would I get for my dollar if I buy?  Should I buy something now with the intent of renting it out until I move there when I retire in five years?

We will then be attending the 2013 Live and Invest in Panama Conference.  This conference is run by Kathleen Pedicord's Live and Invest Overseas organization.  This type of conference is designed to give an overview of all the issues that expats may face when moving to a particular country.  I'm hoping to pick up some general knowledge that I could apply to any country I may be interested in.

Organizations like Live and Invest Overseas, International Living, Escape Artist and others have great expertise, but they also have something to sell.  There's nothing wrong with the sales part... let's face it, they have to make a living and they do it by accumulating knowledge for wannabe expats and selling it via newsletters, books, special reports and conferences.  If you decide to use the services of these organizations, just be aware that each outfit has their own set of prejudices and limitations.  While I am not comparing any group to a car salesman, you don't by a car without doing research and verifying the claims of the salesman.

I have been getting Kathleen's emails for several years and I am an International Living magazine subscriber.  I loved Kathleen's book and pick up interesting tidbits, suggestions, factoids and cautions from each of these sources.  I will be sure to at least give a review of the conference.  I won't divulge the information they provide because I strongly believe in their right to sell the research and expertise they have, but I can absolutely provide a critique and let you know if I got my money's worth.

What an amazing experience!

I came away from my trip to the US Virgin Islands feeling totally energized and excited about the prospect of sailing again.  The St. Petersburg boat show is this weekend and I have joked to friends that I have cut up my credit cards to make sure I don’t do anything stupid.

I’m not going to try to explain all of the things I learned in a week of sailing instruction, but I will try to share the enthusiasm I have for my new hobby.

I arrived in Charlotte Amalie (the capitol of the USVI and primary city of St. Thomas) in the early afternoon with the intention of grabbing a taxi to Red Hook in the East End.  There are tons of taxis along with guys directing you to a van headed to your destination.  As soon as they have a full load, off you go.  The cost was only $15.00 per person and our driver was fairly cheerful (compared to subsequent drivers I had).  Including dropping off other fares, it took about 45 minutes to get to Two Sandals by the Sea Inn.

Sunset at the Sunset Grille

Two Sandals is a nice property on the hillside overlooking Red Hook and American Yacht Harbor on Vessup Bay. Two Sandals is clean, simple and relatively new.  The rooms are just big enough and have the usual amenities.  After dropping my bags and changing into shorts and a t-shirt, I walked into Red Hook to look around.  Red Hook itself is a ten-minute walk down the hill.  Be careful – driving is on the left side in the Virgin Islands (US and British) so as you cross the street, look right!

Red Hook has quite a few restaurants of various descriptions, a couple of gift shops, a good sized grocery (Marina Market), a pharmacy, an Ace hardware store, three banks and a couple of chandleries.  I’m sure I missed a few things but from a tourist perspective those are the high points.  Oh, I almost forgot the Red Hook Ferry Terminal.  There are ferries on the hour to St. John for $12 that takes you right into Cruz Bay.  Another ferry goes to Christiansted on St. Croix.  And still more ferries take you to the BVIs – Jost van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and Tortola.  The latter includes stops at both Road Town and the West End.

After wandering around a while, I hoofed it back up to Two Sandals and this time went up the hill and down the other side to the Secret Harbour Beach Resort.  There is a nice, somewhat secluded beach here and the resort’s Sunset Grille is right on the beach.  I couldn’t get a good estimate on the number of rooms, but I would imagine a room in the worst location on the property would be a three-minute walk to the beach.  There is a dive shop on the premises.  There was a 10^th wedding anniversary party going on with a bunch of 30-somethings having a great time.  I got one of the local brews, kicked back and just enjoyed hearing the lapping of the waves as the sun slowly set amidst boats of various sizes anchored on the inlet.  Compared to other parts of St. Thomas, the prices were very reasonable.  As I sat enjoying the view, a three-foot long iguana slowly made his way up the steps from the beach.  It started raining lightly as he came across the top step and he had his fill of fresh water as he meandered back and forth between the small pools of rainwater that accumulated.

View of American Yacht Harbor from Two Sandals Inn

Breakfast the next morning at Two Sandals was wonderful and included a warm chocolate chip scone, a yogurt parfait with granola and jam, coffee and orange juice served in a tall glass with a splash of grenadine.  Breakfast is served on the balcony overlooking the harbor, which provided a very pleasant atmosphere.

After breakfast I decided to head back into Red Hook to see if I could find my boat.  At this point the only thing I knew was that I was booked with Blue Water Sailing School.  I did not have the name of the boat, the dock where he was berthed or even the name of the skipper.  I asked various people where to find BWSS and no one seemed to know until I came across Sam, an instructor on a catamaran school that pointed me in the right direction.  It turned out that I would see Sam several more times during the coming days.  I wandered around Red Hook a bit more and stumbled across Lattes in Paradise, an open-air coffee and breakfast shop on the second floor of the American Yacht Harbor complex.  As I sat and had my medium latte with an extra shot, dock employees, shop owners, fishing guides and others with business in the Red Hook vicinity came by to grab fresh baked goodies and coffee, lattes or espresso made from freshly ground coffee.  It was fun to hear the banter going back and forth between these regular patrons as they began their day with a round of caffeine.

After checking out of Two Sandals I had a taxi pick me up and deposit me at AYH around 3:00 at a cost of $6.00.  Based on Sam’s directions, I met up with skipper Bill Miles and the other two students for the week, Paul and Beth.  More about my roomies later.  The boat, Prana, is a 1994 Beneteau 440 that is spacious and well maintained.  In fact, I actually thought it was a much newer boat when I first saw it.  I later learned that the boat is put in dry dock at the height of hurricane season for maintenance and was just put back into water a couple weeks prior to our arrival.

Next up, the beginning of my lessons and the experience aboard Prana.

St. Thomas sailing itinerary...

Here is my itinerary for my November trip to St. Thomas.

With all the delays plaguing American Airlines these days (don’t ya just love a good pilot’s slow-down?), I chose to use Delta SkyMiles for the trip.  And since you can depend on Delta to routinely screw things up in Atlanta, I chose flights that allowed for a two hour fifteen minute layover.  That way, when the plane from Tampa to Atlanta is 90 minutes late because a cabin steward slept in or they can’t find a widget to fix the whatchamacallit or the captain breaks a fingernail, I will still be able to catch my 9:44 flight to Charlotte Amalie.  That means that I have a 6:00 am flight out of TPA… good times!  As one of my ex-military friends likes to say, I’ll be getting up at “oh dark hundred.”

I arrive in St. Thomas in the early afternoon and will grab a cab to the East End for my one night stay at Two Sandals by the Sea Inn.  Two Sandals is a four-room B&B that overlooks the American Yacht Harbor in Red Hook.  I prefer small properties to the big hotels.  Traveling is all about the experience and I have found little inns and B&Bs to be more hospitable and interesting than large hotels.  You’re more likely to get the real scoop on local happenings, the best places to eat and the must things to see from the proprietor who has a vested interest in both your return and strong recommendation.  Ferries leave from the American Yacht Harbor Marina for St. John and the British Virgin Islands.  Two Sandals is also very close to Secret Harbor Beach so I will have plenty to keep me busy until 3:00 pm the next day when I join the other students for six days of intensive instruction aboard a Blue Water Sailing School vessel. 

The next six days will be spent applying all the material I’m reading for my American Sailing Association 101, 103 and 104 certifications.  Getting through all this material before I depart is going to be challenging because all of my reports and tasks at work need to be completed before I get on that plane.  All totaled, the material in the Sailing Made Easy, Cruising Made Easy and Cruising Fundamentals comes to 390 pages, not including glossaries, tests, check lists, etc.   I should have signed up a month earlier so I would have more time to digest all this information.  I even have a length of rope at my desk so I can practice knots while I work.  There is so much to learn and know.  How the hell did Columbus get here and back so many times?

Anyway, I end the week at mid-afternoon on Friday, November 9.  I am tentatively booked at the Villa Santana, a small inn on Denmark Hill overlooking Charlotte Amalie that was the home of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna in the 1850s.  During one of his several exiles from Mexico, the man who defeated the likes of Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett during the 13-day battle of the Alamo is rumored to have stolen a substantial amount of Mexican silver to build his stately home.  Although the great house was destroyed by a fire 1986, all of the outbuildings including the kitchen, watch tower, the library, a wine cellar and his attaché’s quarters have all been converted into what looks like a very quaint inn.  I have reserved La Torre (the watchtower) for a price considerably better than most of the hotels on the island.  Villa Santana looks to be located to most of the major landmarks of Charlotte Amalie and I have located a scooter rental place that delivers, so I will have some flexibility in getting around.

I hope the last few days will be relaxing, because it will be my last vacation for the year.  I usually take five vacation days around the President’s Day holiday so that I get a full ten days off in February, but that will be three months after my St. Thomas adventure.

The next three weeks will be filled with studying and other preparations.  I picked up a pair of open-fingered sailing gloves today and I need to make sure I have plenty of sun block, extra pairs of glasses, sunglasses, quick-drying shorts and other items necessary for a week aboard a sailboat.  The weather should be pretty nice since we will be at the tail end of hurricane season, but I have to be prepared for anything.

Sailing lessons in St. Thomas...

Every time I start planning a trip I am racked with indecision… my list of “must see” places increases on an almost daily basis.  Do I go somewhere just for fun (Morocco, Chile or the Canadian maritime provinces)?  Go see friends and family (Key West, LA or Seattle)?  Or take a look at a potential retirement location (return to Panama, Costa Rica, Columbia or maybe Ecuador)?  Or do I take a week to go through the basic sailing courses that will allow me to charter a boat while traveling?  My problem is that I want to do it all.

If I go to Costa Rica or Panama I can get some dental work done at the same time and save money.  I could do a stay-cation by doing the sailing training in St. Petersburg or Sarasota.  And if I go to Key West I will just drink a lot of beer and maybe get in some diving.

So… sailing or retirement research?  After going out on a friends little daysailer two weeks ago, the decision became easy.  I’ve been putting off sailing lessons because I hadn’t done the research and so I just didn’t know where to put it in the list of priorities.  Well, I got so excited after a day on the water that I knuckled down and got the research done.

There are literally dozens of sailing schools in the Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota area.  Lessons range from single classes taught at the various schools and the several yacht clubs, to weeklong get-the-basics-done courses.  In the course of my research I decided I want to get the three basic American Sailing Association (ASA) classes done all in one shot, so I can take single more advanced courses as I have the time and money.

As I dug a bit more, I discovered that I could take the same course somewhere in the Caribbean for only a few hundred dollars more than staying at home and get a great vacation out of the deal.  Until all of the frequent flyer miles I picked up with new credit cards post to the various mileage accounts, I really have to use either Delta or American.  So after comparing the locations of schools that offered what I wanted, had a reasonable cost and matched where I could fly for free using miles, I pared my list down to eight American Sailing Association accredited schools.

At a minimum I wanted to take the Basic Keelboat Sailing (101), Basic Coastal Cruising (103) and Bareboat Chartering (104).  Since I am very interested in someday having a catamaran (I think they tend to have more living space) I also want to take the Cruising Catamaran (114) course.  Many schools offer the first three as a combo because they only have monohulls, but three schools (Barefoot Offshore Sailing School, Belize Sailing, Blue Water Sailing School) offered all four classes. All three looked good, but I really wanted to attend Barefoot because it is located in St. Vincent and you spend the week sailing the Grenadines, a place that would be new for me.  Going to Belize was my third choice, in part because I have been there a couple of times in the last two years and would like to go somewhere new.  I figure that once I reach my destination I would spend a few extra days playing tourist and relaxing and while I could hop over to San Pedro to see my buddy Michael, I reallllly want to go somewhere new.

As it turns out, both Belize Sailing and Barefoot Offshore Sailing School were booked up and Blue Water Sailing School (BWSS) had availability, but not for the 101 through 114 course.  I suspect that if I had acted a few weeks earlier I would have had my pick.  So I will spend November 3 through 9 with BWSS taking the 101 through 104 courses in the gorgeous blue Caribbean waters around St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.  I wish I had been able to pick up the Cruising Catamaran class, but that will have to be done later either locally or on another trip.

I am really excited about this trip and I haven’t been to the Virgin Islands since 1986 (?) so it will be almost like going for the first time.  I am actually departing on Friday, November 2 before the cock’s first crowing and will arrive at Cyril E. King airport in Charlotte Amalie around 1:30 pm.  BWSS is located on the St. Thomas East End in the Red Hook area.  The folks at BWSS made a few suggestions for lodging and I chose what appears to be a charming B&B within walking distance of the American Yacht Harbor on Benner Bay where the BWSS boats are berthed.

Two Sandals by the Sea Inn only has a handful of rooms and I was able to get a single night reservation for November 2.  We board and start our voyage and classes approximately 3:00 pm.  Between now and then I have several books to read and pre-exams to take; this is going to be pretty intense.  There will be a maximum of six students aboard so our instruction is fairly individual and I anticipate studying together in the evening.  Our rates include the boat, instructor, provisions, fuel, ice, customs and immigration fees, books, certification fees and sales tax.  I noticed some other schools charge extra for books, taxes and a whole variety of things including the certification!  Our trip covers all costs except alcohol.  I may need to try out the local rums (Cruzan makes a black strap rum that is supposed to be quite good).

After six days at sea, we return to Red Hook and the balance of my vacation.  More on those details in my next post.