Lightning update- 4 months in, Our New Normal

Everyone is going through this, the new normal. Making adjustments we never thought we would have to be making. Wearing masks, social distancing, staying home are just a small part of what has become status quo. 

Provisioning the boat for our escape from the marina.

For us the new normal had been living in the marina, but now four months later, we have slipped the dock lines and broken free. As Bob puts it- we are really just on parole, we will be going back. We don't have everything fixed yet ( its a boat- we will never have everything fixed) but we have enough fixed that we can survive in the wild, at least for a while. We have headed out to Las Perlas Islands, about 40 miles out from Panama City on an extended sea trial, shakedown cruise. We have already begun a list of things that are still not back to functioning at the pre lightning level and that we hope to have fixed upon our return to Panama City.

Melody, our dinghy, hanging from the davits. Rhapsody on the slant leaving Panama City in the background.

Dolphins greeted us as we left the marina, playing in the wake of our bow. Lines of pelicans trail behind the fishing boats, waiting for their share of the bounty and we refamiliarize ourselves with the boat under sail (which lines are we supposed to pull?).

Now we have to adjust our lifestyle again. Rhapsody is generally level and relatively still while she is tied up at the dock. Now we have the motion of the ocean lulling us to sleep. We had the creaking of the docklines, now we listen to the anchor chain and the snubber line (sort of like a shock absorber between the anchor chain and the boat) holding us in place. While at the dock we had unlimited water, but now we have to make our own, so we need to be more aware of the amounts that we are using. We had unlimited data in the marina, now we only have data near certain islands. Sometimes I feel sad that internet becomes one of the criterion of choosing an anchorage, but when I can participate in my weekly family Zoom call I am happy to make the choice to be in the data zone. Garbage is easy to dispose of when you just have to walk to the end of the dock, now we can toss our compostable garbage overboard when we are out st sea, but everything else has to be held onto until we return to shore. And finally, we have temporarily put away both our masks and our shoes. Neither are needed out here, much to my delight.

We were lucky enough to see several white tipped reef shark while snorkeling, and no, we did not feel at all threatened.

Good food, great colors.

And now we are out in Las Perlas with friends on two other boats (WaveRiders and Taku) enjoying snorkeling and swimming and good company. 

Both Bob and I are taking the time to make some art, learning and enjoying. Readjusting to our newest normal, until it is time for something else!

Photo of Rhapsody in the Las Perlas sunset, courtesy of the photographers on Taku.