Hatuey in Providencia and Edam Cheese

[ posted by willem eickholt december 27, 2005 ]

We do our last minute shopping in a Colon supermarket. To my surprise there in the cooler are several balls of aging Dutch Edam cheese begging to be purchased. The price isn't bad but the aging has developed into a white mold. I point out to the manager that he cannot charge full price for cheese that is that far gone. He agrees and is obviously happy to have a buyer for cheese he would have to discard pretty soon anyway. So he lets us have 3 balls of thoroughly aged Edam for half the price.We stock up on Balboa beer, clear Customs and Immigration and head NNW destination Providencia Island, Colombia.
Conditions are just perfect. A 10 to 12 knot ENE breeze gives us a 6-7knot speed with 1100 sq. feet of working sails. The boat hardly heels and steers herself effortlessly while we make ourselves comfortable in the cockpit We scrape the mold off the Edam balls and find a perfectly aged gourmet delicacy at the price of velveeta.
It goes down beautifully with the Panamanian beer. Before we know it we reach Isla de la Providencia. The two hundred some miles have slipped under our keel in 24 hours. We have averaged 8+ miles an hour, while partying on beer and cheese. There is a full moon and the wind is just as steady as a day ago.Our excitement reaches new heights when we discover rainbows created by the moonlight on the spray at the bow. There are several good reasons to forego the temptation of a Providencia landfall.
First, the rocky approaches are notoriously treacherous even by daylight, even to mariners with local knowledge. So who am I to try this at night without any local knowledge at all?
The second, perhaps even stronger excuse to forget our scheduled landfall is the sheer excitement of the situation. Here we are under the most blissful of sailing conditions, moving close to hull speed, great music from our cockpit speakers, moonlight rainbows on our bow....
I fear a mutiny telling the crew of my changed plan. Instead, they are all in agreement.
This is too much fun to pass up. We'll do Providencia Island some other time, for now we'll take in the soothing breeze, the rhythm of the bow riding on a moderate swell creating a swooshing, foamy sound at regular intervals Swisshh.........Swisshh.....Swisshhh..............Providencia Island soon vanishes off our Starboard stern.To be continued