And then suddenly... nothing.
No internet. No stove. No coffee. No 220V. Everything shut down.
Why?
A blown fuse? A short circuit? Water intrusion after last night’s heavy rain?
The boys are still on board and we’re sailing between two islands.
JM disappears below deck with Karsten as his assistant while I keep watch from the flybridge as we continue toward yet another island. JM checks everything, performs a full system reset, and miraculously everything comes back to life… but exactly 33 minutes later, everything dies again.
Samen met Sven, de vorige eigenaar van de boot en bedenker en bouwer van het systeem, komt JM er na heel wat testen, resetten van accu, omvormer en Victron Quattro erachter dat de Victron Cerbo, het brein van onze hele elektrische installatie (de Cerbo zorgt voor de communicatie tussen zonnepanelen, laders, omvormer, noem maar op), het net heeft begeven. De lampjes die eerst nog flikkerden zijn nu dood en daarmee ook ons overzichtsscherm met percentages van de accu en het electriciteitsverbuik… samen met het brein is zowat de hele boot stilgelegd.
We’re left with only 12 volts. Which means: water pump, toilets, lighting, and navigation equipment still work, but depending on the load, the batteries will hold for maybe twelve hours at most. Nothing is being recharged anymore.
Night has fallen by now but we decide to make a night passage to Linton Bay Marina, around 45 miles away. We don’t want to end up without instruments, autopilot, toilet or water pump once the 12V battery gives out.
We lift the anchor and follow our incoming track back out. Once outside, we rely on the Bauhaus charts in OpenCPN to guide us through the reefs from Porvenir to the open sea. It’s pitch-dark. We don’t know this area well and have no previous track to follow through the reef but we have no other choice. The charts are correct and 30 minutes later we are at open sea.
It’s not a pleasant journey: 18–20 knots of headwind combined with a heavy swell slamming hard against the hulls. One by one, the boys crawl into their cabins. JM and I take turns on watch. All night long, thunderstorms surround us. Lightning everywhere, mostly inside the clouds but some bolts strike the sea. I whisper a little prayer hoping lightning won’t find our mast.
A bit later, I get soaked after misjudging a passing rain shower too late to zip up our little enclosure on the flybridge. Luckily, it’s not cold!
We dodge several fish farm buoys, nearly invisible as they disappear in the waves. But then, finally, with the very first light of dawn… Isla Grande! The entrance to Linton Bay Marina lies ahead. Captain JM maneuvers the boat flawlessly into the berth. I throw the lines to the marina crew. Tied up! We made it. Safe at last.
The next day, we leave the boat in the marina and take the boys to Panama City. They’re flying back to Belgium but not before we enjoy the National Day parades in Casco Viejo, admire the skyscrapers up close (and even sleep in one!) and end the adventure with dinner at the Hard Rock Café!
Our time with them on board flew by. They got a fantastic taste of San Blas:
a new anchorage every day, snorkeling colorful reefs right from the boat, a jungle hike along tiny trails and through a river to the Río Azúcar waterfall, a visit to a traditional Kuna village, playing with nurse sharks, a special dive through the tunnels of Cayos Holandeses, from the bay to the open sea, Halloween pizza with fellow sailors, and of course, Mexican Train domino nights aboard SY Sea Dog.
Safe travels, see you next time!
Early the next morning, as soon as we’re back on board, Alex from Suminapa (the shipchandler of Linton Bay Marina) comes to help us with our electrical troubles. He brings a new Cerbo from his stock and installs it on the boat, we can now at least run on shore power again.
the next day, Sven, the previous owner, rescues us once more by helping with the full system re-configuration. All parameters need to be re-entered and you definitely don’t want to get anything wrong and risk a battery catching fire. After an eight-hour phone call, with the both of us testing things and looking up information, everything is finally set up again. We’re ready to go!
Some more San Blas pictures:
