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Sam Je! erson heads to Panama to rescue a yacht and discovers one of the hidden jewels

of the Caribbean coast of Central America.

A SALVAGE MISSION

Cruising

Life is full of surprises and if someone had told me even a few days before this rummy a! air got started that I would be spending two months in

Central America salvaging a dead man’s boat at the behest of an eccentric, I would have been surprised. But, as John Lennon once said, ‘Life is what happens while you are busy making plans’. It certainly rings true in this case.

Allow me to elaborate and endeavour to put this complex state of a! airs in a nutshell: I had been hitchhiking across the ocean with my girlfriend, Ivory, for some months previous. We had spent a tedious time aboard a luxury yacht in Sint Maarten and were itching for a change when we were messaged by Dr Ben La Brot of Floating Doctors. " is esoteric charity uses yachts to bring medical aid to remote areas of the Caribbean and Ben needed help as he had just inherited a new yacht, Seahorse, and needed some expertise to fettle her up. He o! ered to pay our # ights out there and we promptly dropped out hazy plans in favour of this adventure. Up to speed? Good.

The mouth of the bullWe reported for duty in Bocas Town, the only large settlement with the group of islands that make up Bocas del Toro. " e enigmatic La Brot was nowhere to be found, so we took a few days to take in our surroundings. " e name refers to the main channel in to this archipelago and translates from Spanish as ‘mouth of the bull’. Columbus careened one of his ships here in 1504, and he found a group of $ ve or six large islands situated in Bahia Almirante on the Caribbean coast of Panama. It is a spectacular place. Across the bay tower the great Chiriqui mountains, luxuriant with verdant rainforest which sweeps right down to the water’s edge. Here, great complications of mangroves weave their tendrils into the water, creating impenetrable mazes regularly broken by gleaming, pristine white beaches, many of them still awaiting their $ rst footprint. It’s the Caribbean that Robert Louis Stevenson dreamed up when he penned Treasure Island and every bit as wild. " e forests hum and groan with wildlife; the scream of the parrot echoes through the trees and the cries of the howler monkey resonate. Look shoreward X

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Main: The harbour at Arbroath

Clockwise from above left: The harbourmmaster’s barge brought Liberty Jane safely into Wells-next-the-Sea; Dawn behind the old granary; on a fi ne reach o! the

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of the electrics were shot due to a leak in the pilot house window soaking the dashboard, there was a hole in the exhaust, a lot of rust everywhere and she needed a new bobstay but as yachts go, she was the usual amount of trouble and expense. More worrying was the state of the Floating Doctors’ # agship, Southern Wind. " is vessel was looking decidedly the worse for wear. She had voyaged twice to Haiti and her stay on the coast had done her little good. In places there seemed to be more rot than boat. We therefore divided our time between these two vessels.

Exploring the area Between times we explored the coast either by yacht or by Panga, a fast powerboat hugely favoured by the locals. Bocas is a wonderful place to sail. Once you are away from the bustle of Bocas town, you have your

We made the two mile trip...and prepared to step into a dead man’s shoes.

The Floating Doctors During our stay in Panama we worked for the Floating Doctors charity, led by the American Dr Ben la Brot, a charismatic, altruistic dreamer who seemed to live to help others. His enthusiasm had advanced an unlikely project further than I would have believed. He was impossible to pin down, a blur of energy working long into the night to get things done.

Floating Doctors provides medical care to deprived and isolated areas that are best reached by sea. La Brot, his sister Skye and an army of volunteers set to work in 2010 and ended up in Bocas del Toro, where they have been since 2011. www.fl oatingdoctors.com

from your anchorage at night and you will see the white/green glow of the $ re# ies # ickering. Truly this is a magical place.

Bocas could be a daunting part of the world to visit if it were not for the hospitable haven of Bocas Town. Located on one of the largest islands, Isla Colon, the town is used to dealing with foreign visitors. Bocas is not particularly well known to yachtsmen, but surfers have been quicker o! the mark and have been enjoying the steady swells and razor sharp reef breaks on the windward side of these islands for some time. " e ramshackle town therefore has everything the new arrival requires; food, a range of accommodation, plenty of English speakers for the linguistically challenged, plus that all important Wi-Fi connection. It’s a good place to establish yourself, acclimatise, and take in your surroundings. It possesses a good anchorage just o! the town and two marinas within a half a mile or so of the town.

The mysterious yacht A% er a lengthy and relaxing wait, we received our orders and met up with fellow sailors Helen and Otis, an

enthusiastic couple who were also helping the Floating Doctors with the restoration project on their yachts. " ey $ lled us in on the rather tragic details behind our new project boat, Seahorse. She had been owned by a couple which had sailed her down from California to charter her and live the dream. Evidently the dream had turned sour for they had split, leaving the husband alone on

Seahorse. What had happened next is unclear, but the owner was found dead in the water, # oating alongside his tender near the island of Isla Bastimentos. Mayhap he had fallen out of his dinghy and been run over. No one will ever know. " e family of the poor man, now stuck with a yacht they didn’t want, opted to donate the vessel to the Floating Doctors. We were to rescue this vessel, bring her back to Bocas Marina, and set about fettling her up. We made the two mile trip to Isla Bastimentos and prepared to step into a dead man’s shoes. It was an eerie feeling and there is no way I could have slept in her cabin that $ rst night, full as it was of someone else’s treasured possessions.

Shaking o! our repugnance, we headed back to Bocas Marina and assessed the state of Seahorse and concluded she wasn’t too bad. Most

Clockwise from above left: Newlyn harbour entrance, with the old lifeboat house to the right

pick of stunning beaches and secluded anchorages. Although there are six or so large islands, there are hundreds more tiny ones dotted throughout this archipelago and each one is absolutely bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful. Tourism is growing in this area, but it hasn’t destroyed the place yet and there is plenty of seclusion. " ere are reefs and shallows within the archipelago, but there is nothing too taxing provided you use your common

sense and your eyes. A night trip into some obscure backwater should be avoided until you are familiar with the area, but generally navigation is pretty simple. Shallow draught helps, but is not vital. Anchorages are on the whole excellent, although swells can get big on the seaward sides of the islands. If anything, winds tend to be a bit on the light side around Bocas. We experienced no major storms or even squalls during our two-month stay there.

Top: At anchor in Great Bay on St Martin, where a friendly seal kept us company

Above: Sailing into Falmouth Harbour in light winds

Above right: Under way and making good progress motor-sailing; Truro Cathedral; looking over The Bag at Salcombe; dried out in Helford Creek

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We were entranced by two places that we visited on our cruise. On one occasion, we sailed around to Bocas del Drago on the northern tip of Isla Colon and were hypnotised by the beauty of the spot. A narrow strip of gleaming white sand snaked away into the distance lapped by azure glassy seas as warm as bathwater. On the horizon lay the mountains of Chiriqui and there was an openness to the place that allowed a blinding bright whiteness of light to dominate. Its beauty and pristine brightness made you feel high.

On another occasion, we sailed around to a small hostel called La Luna on an island called Isla Loma and stepping ashore here we felt some true isolation. Across the water lay the mainland, a great impenetrable mass of jungle steaming in the heat. Below us was an anchorage so tranquil it was hard to imagine a more perfect spot. In the interior, we could hear the throbbing pulse of nature and from nearby the thud of a drum pounding out a primitive rhythm, centuries old. I felt the thrill of mystery and savagery that pulsates at the heart of these unfathomable jungles.

We were strongly warned about

the dangers of monkeys, which are by far the most common cause of serious injury to the jungle explorer. Monkeys will attack in a gang and have no compunction in going for the genitals and gouging at the eyes; a bit like a lively night out in Carlisle. We encountered a great many howler monkeys and gangs of Capuchin monkeys – who thankfully steered clear of the unmentionables.

Cowboys and IndiansBetween these moments of repose, we sweated over the yachts. Work progressed aboard, yet there were all kinds of infuriating delays: Spares were hard to come by and we experienced days of torrential rain which reduced work to a snail’s pace, not helped by the cowboys conducting the repair job. Between times we helped the doctors with their trips in to the jungle to provide medical aid. Puttering up jungle rivers and tramping through muddy trails laden with supplies to help out the isolated Ngobe tribes. Once there, we would set up a makeshi% surgery in the middle of the village and held a consultorio session. Initially the villagers would be reticent, but gradually they would

come shyly forward and share their ailments with the doctor.

" e villages were generally modest a! airs, consisting of a number of shacks huddled together. Buildings are generally raised up on stilts and quite pleasing to the eye, consisting of rough-planked walls and pitched roofs thatched with palm fronds. People are generally subsistence farmers and $ shermen, although this income is sometimes supplemented by selling cra% s to tourists.

" e Ngobe and Bugle are two distinct tribes with di! erent languages. Both are descendants of the Guaymi tribe who, in times gone

SEAHORSERobinson 45 built out of steel by Kerr Robinson of Sausalito,

California, 1972

LOA: 56ft (17.1m)

Beam: 13ft 2in (14m)

Draught: 6ft 3in (1.9m)

Displacement: 38,000lb (8,500kg)

Builder: Kerr Robinson It is believed that she is a one o! . Certainly this was hull number one.

Panama Factfi leCurrency: Balboa. This is pegged one for one with the US dollar – also accepted anywhere within Panama.Health: Bocas is in an area where you can contract malaria. The drinking water is generally alright, but can be mixed with rainwater, better to buy bottled water.Climate: Temperatures are uniformly high. The Caribbean coast gets more rain than the Pacifi c side. Panama is not situated within the hurricane belt.Supplies: If you want something westernised, then you pay a premium and luxuries are expensive. Alcohol is very cheap. Expect to pay 50 to 70p for a beer.

Newlyn harbour entrance, with the old lifeboat house to the right

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on Seahorse and Southern Wind, but I’m afraid it’s not the case. When we le% , the boats were still some way from completion, but we both hope to return and help get the job $ nished. " e project is in sore need of some skilled yacht workers. I was considered one of the more talented cra% smen on the job, which says a lot. If you are in a position to help, I would recommend getting in touch. You will be rewarded with a visit to the Caribbean that you always imagined and dreamt of. " is is the Caribbean at its most riotous and ramshackle: unsanitised, untamed and unforgettable.

by, became noted by the Spanish Conquistadors for their $ ghting prowess a% er repeated defeats. Ultimately, however, it was the Guaymi who were decimated by the diseases that the Conquistadors brought with them and depleted tribe retreated into the Chiriqui area where they are still found today. Many of the leaders still cannot speak Spanish, but in the tourist areas of the coast this is changing.

Much of the work of the Floating Doctors took them back to the Ngobe settlement of La Solucion on the outskirts of Bocas town. " is is a heartbreaking slum area situated over a mangrove swamp. Beneath the stilted houses, rubbish and e& uent gather in the foetid water beneath, a hotbed of disease. " e only way to get around is by traversing a terrifying system of narrow planks and walkways. " e Ngobe were displaced to this area when General Noriega decided to build an airport in Bocas del Toro. " ey were moved from the airport site and the solution (La Solucion) was to shove them in a swamp. Despite the patently unclean

conditions, children emerge from the swamp every morning for school in gleaming white shirts and crisply ironed uniforms. Despite conquest and decimation, Ngobe pride still burns at the heart of the community.

Tradesmen required I’d like to say we $ nished our work

‘Despite conquest and decimation, Ngobe pride still burns at the heart of the community.’

Top: At anchor in Arthur Porth, where getting ashore was hard with all the rocks!

Above: Dolphins enjoying our bow wave o! Newlyn

Above right: Dinner! Fresh Scilly lobster in Porth Cressa

ABOUT THE AUTHORSam Je! erson is a journalist, author and sailor who has worked at everything from marina manager to sailing

instructor. He spent two years as Deputy Editor of Sailing Today and is currently working as skipper of a private yacht.