Friday, July 1, 2016

YACHT ULTRA: BDT, FAMILY REUNION, KEY WEST FANTASY FEST 2015, PANAMA CANAL PASSAGE, JIMMY BUFFET VISIT, AND MORE! ENJOY!


JULY 2016


Ahoy, Everyone from ULTRA,

We hope that this fun blog entry finds all of you doing great!  WOWIE!  It is has been quite some time since we have updated our blog. We sincerely apologize for that.   However, we have been posting on our Facebook page and on our Yacht Ultra You Tube Channel some. However, without good internet, it is very difficult to do that and especially to update our blog, since we always love to include lot of photos.  We sincerely hope you enjoy this blog entry and we welcome all of your comments. We love to read them and hear from all of you and also how you are doing!  Thank you so much for following our blog! To see more of what we have been up to, you can check out our YACHTULTRA1 YOU TUBE CHANNEL! 

FUN BLOG SUMMARY:
  • ·         ULTRA ENGINE REBUILD IN PANAMA
  • ·         WE HAVE A GREAT VISIT WITH THE LEGENDARY JIMMY BUFFET
  • ·         OUR COSTA RICA GETAWAY
  • ·         FUN FAMILY REUNION AND CATCHING UP WITH FRIENDS IN TEXAS
  • ·         KEY WEST FANTASY FEST 2015
  • ·         OUR SECOND PANAMA CANAL PASSAGE
  • ·         EXPLORING PORTABELLO AND PUERTO LINDO AGAIN
  • ·         BACK IN THE AMAZING PARADISE OF THE SAN BLAS ISLANDS
  •   WE CELEBRATE 7 YEARS OF LIVING ABOARD ULTRA FULL TIME!











We sincerely appreciate all of you cheering us on as we chase our sailing dreams! 
BIG HUGS TO ALL OF YOU!
J & B & Sailor Kitty :  ) 



·        MARCH 2015:  ULTRA PERKINS ENGINE REBUILD
While in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, we had a complete rebuild done on our main engine, a Perkins 4.236 85 HP Engine. After we returned from our spectacular month long adventure in Colombia in February, we discovered our anti-siphon break on the engine had failed and saltwater had filled the 4th cylinder and the engine was completely locked up.  We tried and tried to break it free and even had others try, but it would not budge.  We located a company in Panama to do the rebuild and sent it off to them.  They are considered one of the very best companies in Panama.  It put a HUGE dent in our boat budget since it cost us $10,000 to do the rebuild, since we also incurred travel expenses as well as additional months of marina slip expenses.. We could have almost bought a new engine for that price! The problem was they quoted one price ($6,000) and then after it was apart another price.  EEK!  After several trips back and forth to visit our engine that was a 1 hour water taxi ride plus a 4 hour bus ride away and at least 3 nights at a hostel, we tracked the progress on our engine.  Since this is Latin America, the USA style since of urgency we have, does not exist here. The engine definitely did not get rebuilt in a timely fashion.  After a few weeks of We ended up dealing directly with the owner of this huge engine repair company. In the end, they had to send a mechanic twice from their location to our location to repair outstanding items that Bill had on their TO DO List for the rebuild.
However, in the end Bill still ended up doing around 30% of the engine work and also installed new parts, since our engine was not completely done to his standards nor to  the standards we were promised.  With the great help of friends that towed us back to the port to get a crane to put our engine back into ULTRA, we were one step closer to resuming our cruising life. Finally, in August we felt that our engine was complete and ready to be tested. We had to work out more kinks in it, but in the end it seemed to be happy once again.   Ultra and her crew were especially happy, since we all were able to cruise again. INTERESTING FACT: THE WONDERFUL GUY THAT TRANSPORTED THE 1200 POUND ENGINE IN HIS PANGA (LOCAL WOODEN BOAT WITH OUTBOARD) ON A 1 HOUR JOURNEY WITH US ABOARD FROM BOCAS MARINA TO ALMIRANTE WAS NAMED MOSES.  THE GUY ON THE OTHER SIDE THAT UNLOADED IT OUT OF THE PANGA INTO THE TRUCK WAS NAMED JESUS!
















·        



 AUGUST 2015: ROMANTIC GETAWAY TO COSTA RICA
We were to fly back to the USA in September, however, our visa in Panama is only good for 6 months and then we must leave the country and then get stamped back in again. This renews our visa for another 6 months. Well, our visa was going to expire in three weeks, and we still would have another 1 week to go before we departed to the USA. Pain in the neck!
We headed to immigration to see if they could help us with this situation. Well, all they could do was to charge us the price of renewing our visa which is $105 per person. If we allowed our visa to expire, the fine was going to be $50 per month per person for each month that it was expired.  Furthermore, the risk of being illegal since having an expired Visa is NO BUENO!  The problem with getting the $105 visa that is good for 1 year was that as soon as we flew out to the USA in two weeks, our visa would be null and void. Upon our return, we would have to start all over again and our visa via airplane is only good for 6 months.

So we worked up some numbers, and decided that for around $50 more, we could have a fun getaway to Costa Rica for almost the same price of paying the $105 for each Visa or the fines. So once again, we left Ultra and Sailor Kitty once again and took a water taxi and a bus ride to the border of Panama and Costa Rica. There we walked across a bridge between the two countries and checked out of Panama and then into Costa Rica. There we stayed in a great and very cheap hostel in the town of Puerto Viejo (old Port).  Our room was not ready, so we ended up getting a small house for the same price that included a big kitchen.   We rented bikes and rode all around the town. There were lots of art galleries, shops, restaurants, and of course the beach town. The very best part was that our hostel had a gigantic swimming pool, so we were in the pool every day. Since it was slow season, we had the hostel almost totally to ourselves. After our stay in Costa Rica, we got our proper visa stamps and loaded up on the bus once again to Almirante, Panama, and then the water taxi to Bocas Marina.   

Note: That was our second time to Costa Rica. The first time we went was in 2004, and we had cashed in some airline and hotel points and the trip was free. We stayed in Guanacaste in Papagayo Peninsula. Back then they were beginning to develop this area for ex-pats and the prices for beautiful oceanfront lots were around $50,000. Well, then the market crashed and the tax structure of Costa Rica had been geared towards ex-pats. However, the ex-pats bailed out and the country was left with the same tax structure for all people.  Therefore, in our opinion it was very expensive. We bought our groceries at the supermarket and cooked in the house, rather than going out to lunch or dinner. 
















 
 


















 
















































·        SEPTEMBER 2015: FAMILY REUNION IN TEXAS, CATCHING UP WITH FUN FRIENDS ALL OVER, AND THEN THE FINALE  WAS CHECKING THE KEY WEST FANTASY FEST 2015 OFF ON OUR BUCKET LIST
In September, after celebrating JoAnne’s birthday on the 25th in Bocas Del Toro, we hopped on a plane to Texas by way of Miami.  There we had an excellent reunion in San Antonio. It was Dad and Karen’s (JoAnne’s parents) Karachi American School high school reunion that was held at a beautiful hotel on the Riverwalk.  We had a great time and Dad and brother, Tobin, along with their other band members were the fantastic entertainment.  JoAnne's uncle Terry, she had not seen in several years, was also able to attend. Unfortunately, JoAnne’s other brother, Joe, and her sisters, Lisa, Jenny and Katherine and their families were unable to attend.  We look forward to seeing them all soon!  After spending a few days at the reunion, we were off to Boerne, just an hour away, to spend a fun filled week with David, Bill’s son. While in San Antonio, we were able to catch up with The Gothards, The Jordans, and The Koppes’. The Gothards threw us a great party complete with an early Thanksgiving dinner.  So fun!  

Bill's son, David, was building a swimming pool while we were there, so very fun to be part of the last parts of the installation. We were even the first ones to get to swim in it with him!  :  ) We also got to visit his beautiful longhorn steer, Peppermint, that we had purchased for him as a Grand Opening gift for his business, Riverbed Concrete, Inc. 


After returning back to Clear Lake, we spent November visiting with more friends and family and catching up on routine doctor’s appointments.  




























KEY WEST FANTASY FEST 2015
At the end of October, we flew to Ft. Lauderdale and hopped on the Tri-Rail Train to Miami in order to catch the Greyhound bus to Key West the next morning.  We were ready for our amazing week long adventure at FANTASTY FEST 2015. The theme was an alien theme, but we love Heros and especially Super Heros, so we went for that theme instead. Imagine the very best Mardi Gras, Caribbean Carnival and Halloween Parties you have ever been to and multiply those by 1,000,000.  We have been to several Mardi Gras, Caribbean Carnivals and Halloween Parties, and we must say that this is one of the best and most amazing events we have ever been to!  The great part is that it is held over Halloween, so it makes even more of a celebration.  We had great costumes for every day, and even were included in all of the VIP parties.  Great thing is that the tickets offer free food and free drinks.  We love the word FREE!  The only catch was that JoAnne was competing in the different contests and since Bill was her guest, he got VIP treatment, too.  The competitions were: HOMEMADE BIKINI CONTEST AND BODY PAINTING CONTEST. THE FINAL VIP PARTY was for the EPIC HALLOWEEN NIGHT PARADE!  The entire week was full of amazing memories we will definitely never forget!  

















































SNEAK PEAK AT THE FORT LAUDERDALE BOAT SHOW









·        DECEMBER 2015: WE RETURNED TO BOCAS DEL TORO

    Jimmy Buffet walking passed ULTRA the day we met him. :  )




We returned to ULTRA and Sailor Kitty that were docked at Bocas Marina. We were so grateful once again, to have everyone taking such great care of Sailor. He had so many EXCELLENT babysitters looking after him!  We cannot thank them enough!   : ) 

We got the boat organized and we were prepared for our extremely long journey back to the Eastern Caribbean.  It was well over 2,000 miles and we had provisioned the boat. We departed mid December and ended up in Shelter Bay Marina in Colon, Panama, due to bad weather. We had to wait for the Christmas Winds to die down and then we would head for the San Blas Islands once again.  Well, being the way our life is, we never know what is going to happen from day to day.  Yes, we make a plan, but it never seems to stay the way we planned. We had the pleasure of reuniting with our fun friends, Steve and Sandra aboard S/V YONDER.  They asked us if we would like to be line handlers for them through the Panama Canal.  WOW!  In February 2014, we had the amazing experience of crewing for our wonderful French friends (that are more like our family) aboard their beautiful catamaran, and now we get a second opportunity to go through the Panama Canal. We checked our schedule and we still needed the winds to die down before making our journey to San Blas and then onto Jamaica and beyond and to be in Grenada, West Indies by June 2016. We celebrated Christmas and also rung in the New Year at Shelter Bay Marina and then the second week of January 2016, we made our second passage as crew through the Canal.  It was again a great experience and we ended up having another surprise. Yes… the whole plan thing, it always changes. 
Our friends, Alice and Steve on S/V OCEAN STAR, were in Las Perlas which is the Pacific Side of Panama and invited us aboard their boat to cruise the Las Perlas for a few days.  Of course we said YES, and were so excited to see them once again.  After making our way through the Canal, we rendezvoused with OCEAN STAR. We grabbed our bags and transferred from one boat to another via water taxi at the Balboa Yacht Club.  We immediately put on our swimsuits and were ready for our next adventure.  We had fun sailing with them and catching up. After spending 4 fun filled days with them, we hopped a high speed ferry back to Balboa Yacht Club.  

There we rendezvoused once again with Steve and Sandra and had a great dinner and drinks to celebrate their fun Canal Passage.  The next day, we hopped onto a water taxi and were prepared to take the Express Bus from Panama City to Colon and then a taxi ride to Shelter Bay Marina. Since we had some hardware store shopping to do before getting on the bus, we picked up some items. While there, we ran into some friends from Shelter Bay. They reminded us that the Shelter Bay minivan was picking everyone up in 2 hours.   It was the only day in the week that the minivan does a shopping trip in Panama City.  IT WAS DEFINITELY OUR LUCKY DAY!  The great part is, that is FREE!  If not, it would have cost us $4.00 each for the Express Bus from P.C. to Colon,  and then another $40.00 to take a taxi from Colon to Shelter Bay Marina.











·        JANUARY 2015: PORTABELLO AND ISLA LINTON
We arrived in Portabello and explored the forts and the town. When we were here there in 2014, we had anchored in Puerto Lindo and then took a 45 minute chicken bus to Portabello. We had explored the town then. This is the location of the famous Black Christ where people travel for days by foot and even arrive on their knees to worship the Black Christ for all of its’ healing powers.  We stayed in Portabello for about a week and then we were onto Puerto Lindo. Here we had a spectacular surprise as we met up with our fun friends, Dawn and Randy, that we had written about before.  They had set sail to the South Pacific around the time that we had headed to Bocas Del Toro in 2014 aboard their sailboat Nirvana Now. Randy and Bill had gotten the HUGE GROUPER in San Blas that year. Well, on their passage to French Polynesia their boat began taking on water. A LOT OF WATER! 1000 miles off of the Marquesas, they had to be rescued. They were able to escape with a couple of suitcases of their belongings and the rest was sunk with their boat. Randy had to cut the hoses on the thru hulls and sink the boat, so it would not be a hazard to navigation. SUPER SCARY!  Well, upon their return and within 6 months they had bought another boat, a very beautiful boat. The name is RENACIENTE, which translates to New Beginning

Here we also snorkeled very often and also explored the wildlife.  There are countless sloths, monkeys and more!

We had a great time catching up with them, fun happy hours, exploring and also helping them on their boat projects.  As having any boat is always a challenge, since everything is always in some sort of stage of broken or breaking. It is especially difficult if one is not familiar with the boat and what was done by the previous owners.  The cool thing about the boat is, there were only 6 made. One of them was owned by the Beach Boys and they even had a recording studio put inside.  How cool is that!


·        
     FEBRUARY 2015: WE ARRIVED BACK IN SAN BLAS
We got the boat organized once again and then we were ready for our passage to San Blas and then onto Jamaica and beyond. The weather had finally calmed down and we had a great trip to the San Blas. We arrived safe and sound and met up with our Kuna friends that we were supposed to have met up with in December 2014, but our engine had other ideas for us.  :  )
We had a spectacular time hanging out with them. We alternated with them on the meals. One night we cooked, the next night they did. We also hunted for fish with them. We had fun making sails for their ulus (local wooden kayak) and also repaired the numerous holes in their wooden boats.

·        MARCH 2015: BILL’s BIRTHDAY BASH AND WE CELEBRATE 7 YEARS OF FULL TIME LIVING ABOARD ULTRA
This was a fun month, too. We celebrated Bills birthday on March 25, by having an amazing day of exploring the islands, snorkeling, hunting for fish, and then a big party aboard ULTRA complete with all of the cruisers in the anchorage and even live music!  
On March 29, we celebrated 7 years of full time living aboard ULTRA! It is hard to believe that we have been aboard that long. Seems like only yesterday. Time flies when you are having rum!



Note: It is 3:20 a.m. in the morning and we are here in San Blas. Been working for several hours on the blog, but now a Culo de Pollo which translates to CHICKEN ASS has blown in and is bringing 40 mph gusts. So gotta go for now. More fun photos coming your way on next blog entry.  

We hope you all enjoyed this Blog Entry! We will have more updates asap!  In our next Blog Entry, we will share our immigration nightmare as well as our 16th wedding anniversary! 

CHEERS, JoAnne , Bill and Sailor Kitty  : )