Panama City

We're anchored just off Panama City, about 4 miles from the Canal. The city is great, with Dunkin Doughnuts and Bennigans! A real treat after coming down the coast where finding anything fresh was a treat. The front seal on my engine went again so I had that fixed right away. The good news is that it was about 1/3 of what I paid in Mazatlan. I can also get hauled out for $100 so I'm thinking about getting my bottom painted before I leave. It doesn't need it yet but if I get it done now, I won't need to do it later.

We did a canal transit last week on a friend's boat, M/V Jenny. Dave and Mary asked us to come as line handlers. The best part is that we learned a lot so we're that much better prepared to bring Spirit through. It rained for 2 hours in the morning but outside of that, it was a great trip. Unfortunately, after spending 48hours on a Nordhavn 46, it makes it hard to come back to Spirit. My clothes were wet so Dave simply put them in the dryer for a few minutes! It was also nice to be able to sit in/on the bridge and turn on the defroster and windshield wipers when it poured. Unfortunately, Dave enjoyed that while I was out on the bow working lines and getting soaked, We had a blast and I truly can't wait to captain my own boat through the canal. Parents arrive on the 1st, we'll probably go through on the 3rd. I'll shoot everyone an email so that you can watch us on the webcams as we go though.

Going to keep this one short. Hosted a Bloody Mary party on my boat yesterday so I'm still recovering! More later,

Dan