About these updates… I started an email list so if you prefer not to receive these updates let me know. Also a few updates are only on SailingSalsa.com, and all the email updates are there, but not some of the recent photos since I have very limited internet for uploading large files they are only going out compressed via hotmail. So if you are reading this on the website rather than via email, you can email me to get on the list and I will try to get you the back emails that have all the photos attached since I...

Sorry, cant type a real update, but I have been having a great time here in the Marquises, and will leave soon in a few days for the tuomotos for a week or two, and will be in Tahiti shortly after, in about two to three weeks when I should have decent internet to update everyone. All is well! . –Kirk...

Wow, can you believe I actually made it across the Pacific Ocean!?!?!?!? Well I DIDN’T. Well not yet, turns out that Marquises is less than HALF way, so in addition to the 3000 miles I just sailed, I have about 4000 more to go before I get to Australia. But screw the technicalities, YAY I MADE IT!!!!!!!!……. It took 28 days to sail a distance of 2981 miles, that’s averaging about 106 miles per day or an average speed of about 4.5kts. Certainly not any record breaking times but considering that I nearly never used the motor and on a...

Probably the last update for a while.  Galapagos has been great, definitely worth the stop!  You can only anchor in one spot, well you have your choice of two islands, Santa Cruz or San Cristobal, but you have to choose one and stay there, for no more than 20 days.  The winds seem to be diminishing over the weekend and into next week so my escape plan is to leave tonight or Friday Morning depending on what time I get my Zarpe (check out clearance) and get back to the boat.   To sum up the time here… There has been...

FINALLY in Wreck Bas, San Cristobal Island, GALAPAGOS!  Here is the summary for the trip. I was underway for almost exactly 10 days, (11 days if you count the last morning), my route took about 900 miles so averaged 90 miles per day, I used 22 Gallons of diesel and motored a total of three days, (72 hours) at an average speed under motor of 3.5kts.  Caught three fish not counting ones that got away plus two birds (go figure) one drowned and the other one I was able to get off the lure.  Lost one lure and broke two. ...

Friday, March 20th. Isla Contadora, Las Perlas Islands, Panama. Yesterday seemed like the first day I was back on track from my 9 month detour that started when I didn’t get through the canal last year. I suppose that technically when I transited the canal a month ago I was moving in the right direction but it didn’t feel the same. Yesterday I sailed from the anchorage just outside the Panama Canal to here, and it just “feels” like I’m back on track. Even though I made this same sail (round 1) a week ago, it didn’t count since I...

Well I’m not going to go in to perfect detail at this time but here are the basics. I figure I need to arrive in Australia by November and will encounter mostly expensive food in the South Pacific. Based on those assumptions the general consensus among budget mindful sailors leaving Panama is to buy as much food as you can, or enough for 6 months. I think I have accomplished that after three taxies full of food. Basically I have around 25lbs of spaghetti and pasta not counting the 60 packages of Chinese noodles. Another 20 lbs. of rice, couple...

Everything is going well. Just got back to Panama City from a great 6 day trip to the Las Perlas Islands 40 miles or so from Panama City. Plan to do final provisioning over the next two days and hope to depart for Galapagos around Thursday and spend a few more days in Perlas before making the big leap into the Pacific. Salsa is more or less ready with no major issues while I have used some spares and have not replaced them do to budget cutbacks, they were just basic engine parts I figure I can live without anyway...

Salsa has successfully transited the Panama Canal, and is now anchored in the Playita anchorage, Panama City Panama. The plan is to stay here for about one more week and then head off for a few days in the Las Perlas Islands about 40 miles off the Panama Coast, then head on to Galapagos, hopefully arriving there around mid March, departing Galapagos late March, arriving in French Marquises around May 1. Then Island hopping across the South Pacific hopefully arriving somewhere around Brisbane Australia sometime around November this year before the start of the cyclone season. This year, at least...

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html?cam=Expansion Cant be 100% sure of the schedule until just before the transit but normally we pass the Gatun locks to enter the canal around 8 or 9PM and are in those locks for over and hour. Then the best view should be from the Mira Flores locks around 2PM on Saturday. I can give spot checks along the way so you know about where I am, or I can try to call from the cell phone at least just before the aproach to the mira flores locks. If you can try to use the high resolution and I will...

1/17/09 Sat East Lemon Cays, San Blas, Panama. The italicized text is more or less the ships logs. The other text was added in retrospect as comments or additions. 12/20/08, 2:30 PM, Depart Cartagena Colombia, anchor up, ran motor 20 min. (Time, Position, speed, heading)5:30 PM, 10.22.65N 75.47W 5kts, 260’ Salsa was pissed off. The sails were trimmed for close hauled and yet the wind was now just behind the beam, nearly a reach, the wind vane’s reluctance and straining to steer gave the secret away. After trimming the sails speed went up to 6.2kts. Apparent wind around 15kts, some...

I still haven’t updated my adventures throughout Colombia and a side trip to Peru however I wanted to get the message out now that I’m heading out soon to Panama via San Blas. The plan is to sail from Cartagena this weekend either Saturday or Sunday for San Blas Panama. The islands of San Blas has been one of the best places I have been yet and a logical stopover on the way back to Colon Panama to transit the Canal. I will likely repeat the same itinerary I kept coming to Colombia from Colon only in reverse. First stopping...

At last the most procrastinated blog entry of all. San Blas to Cartagena Colombia. Almost exactly 200 miles, from San Blas Panama to Cartagena leaving from the Holandes Keys. Salsa can comfortably do around 4kts if there is any breeze at all or if you feel like running the motor. 5Kts doesn’t really push her too hard either but requires a nice breeze or quite a bit less economy using the motor. My weather forecast was the best one I had seen in a week and I had to be in Cartagena within a week to meet with Jen and...

The Holandes Cays is only about 20 miles from the East Lemon Cays and even nicer. The entrance through the reefs and islands is as easy as the Lemons even though it appears a bit complicated when you look at the chart. Luckily there was enough wind and or current to move along at 3.5kts making me happy. A few other boats making the same run under power passed me around noon having left later than me and arriving earlier but of course burning all of that precious diesel, I was very satisfied just to have enough wind to make...

The trip from Chichime to the Lemon Cays was very short, only a few miles with light wind and I didn’t even bother with the main sail only flying the Genoa part of the way. The entrance caused me a bit of grief since the charts in my Panama Cruising Guide did not completely agree with the paper charts. No harm done but I did abandon my approach twice since I was expecting closer to 60 feet of water under the keel yet I only had 10 feet or so. I just motored VERY slowly hoping not to bump into...