Google Earth Image

Jennifer's voyage from Panama to Tahiti. The positions shown are
co-ordinates of the vessel at 24 hour intervals sent via the 406 EPIRB

I Heart the Galapagos!

After a more or less uneventful 6 day passage Bubas pulled into Isla San Cristobal of the Galapagos on the morning of April 22. In the anchorage we saw giant beautiful black birds swooping around, tuna swarming and sea lions and swimmers alike frolicking in crystaline waters. Seriously? We had originally planned to pull in, top up on fuel and food and be underway - in less than 24 hours. It wasn't long after we dropped anchor that a fellow approached in a water taxi, asking if we had an agent (thus continuing the taxing test of Jen's conversational Spanish skills). Once we found out that there wasn't an exorbitant charge (rumoured to be $150/person) for staying longer than a day, we decided to stay 2 :-)

We arranged for a tour of the island following our clearing in procedure, which was quite simple. Our tour consisted of getting taken around the island by a very friendly fellow and getting shown to the key tourist spots - the volcano, a panorama view of the island, the turtle sanctuary and the surf beach with all the iguanas. What we all found amazing was the fact that it was probably close to 100 degrees and super humid down at the boat, but within a few minutes up the volcano, it was probably 75 and quite pleasant. Calling the landscape 'lush' would be an understatement - there's banana, mandarin, guava, etc. trees everywhere. The turtle sanctuary was also quite cool, of course. Some of the turtles are well over 100 years old, and they can weigh 90-110 kilos! We arrived at the surf/iguana beach at sunset. Unfortunately, the iguanas had already gone to bed, so we didn't see any. And even worse, in our quest for them over all the volcanic rocks, Jean stumbled. Opting to protect his camera rather than brace himself for the fall, he crashed head first into a rock. He laid there dazed, bleeding profusely, while Oly and I quickly surmised that he needed stitches, pronto.

Our driver brought us to the hospital, where we were seen immediately. The quite young nurse started mopping up the blood and fished a small rock out of Jean's head. She then numbed him up and put in 5 clean stitches. She ordered an x-ray, wrote out a prescription for 3 types of pills and asked us to come back in 7 days to have the stitches out. I explained we'd be at sea in 7 days, she said 'no problemo.' I asked how much we owed for their services and they chuckled at me. 'No paga nada.' Shocked, I told them that en los Estados Unidos, nosotros pagamos para todos los servicios medicos (we pay for all medical services). She laughed and waved us off.

The little town of San Cristobal is adorable. Most of the streets are cobblestone, the water taxi service drops you off at a little dock that is well lit at night with blue and green neon lights so you can see the sea lions playing, and the buildings are all painted with brilliant colors. The currency is Ecuadorian, but it's tied to the dollar so todo es el mismo (so it's all the same). Provisioning for a passage, however, is extremely expensive...but we knew that and got most of our stuff in Panama.

I am sooooo proud of my Spanish. I've been having legitimate, sometimes long conversations with several people. My grammar is awful I'm sure, but I'm communicating, and often translating for everyone else. Yay me!!

We shove off tomorrow morning. It's 3-4 weeks to the Marquesas, weather dependent of course.

Life on Board

I'll write a much more detailed account of life on board once we're underway again, but I wanted to give you a little snapshot of how it goes.

I'm on watch 3 times over a 24 hour period.
9am-12noon
6pm-8pm
12am-2am

On watch I simply watch for traffic and make sure we're moving in the correct direction. Bubas has an electronics setup that allows us to specify our destination and then the computer takes into account the wind and current we're experiencing and puts us on the correct course to get us where we want to go. We of course have to make sure the sails are trimmed properly for the wind conditions, but even the winches are electronic, so I'm not ever breaking a sweat through manual labour or brain power. This is *not* how I would like it to be. I'd much prefer having to work a bit more, but beggars can't be choosers, and I am on board a boat crossing the Pacific, so there.

Though we of course wanted more interaction between the 4 of us, the language barrier is significant. So most of the time I'm only chatting with Oly, having only minimal conversations with Elze and Jean.

Off watch I've been reading A LOT (~750 pages so far). My book is FANTASTIC - Shantaram - awesome can't recommend enough. Thankfully I have several on my kindle once I plough through this one. I take little naps throughout the day, and usually watch about half a movie every night before I sleep around 10pm (to later get up again at midnight).

We share cooking and cleaning duties - right now we have no system - we each cook when we feel like it and clean up when we feel it's our turn.

For the longer passage, I really want to write more, and will have to sort out some form of exercise soon.

In the Galapagos!

Quick post to say - Bubas arrived safe and sound in the Galapagos! Will work on a writeup about this adorable little island to put up later. And you'd think I'd have a blog post all ready to go about the trip so far (since there's not a whole lot to do on board), but I don't! - procrastinator with ZERO excuses, really. K, more to follow.

Signing Off

<Blows Kiss>
Catch up with y'all on the other side...

Really Diggin Panama City

Since the passage on Bubas was finally 100%, I decided it was high time I left my hostel and enjoyed a little bit of Panama City. On the recommendation of a Peace Corps Volunteer staying here, I took a taxi to Casco Viejo - the old colonial part of town. I had a most enjoyable afternoon wandering through the old streets marveling over the architecture. Many of the buildings are in ruins, but they still had so much charm!

I found people to be quite friendly, and I was especially pleased to me a girl named Coco, a traveller from France who makes jewelry for a living here. It felt really good to support a fellow gypsy.

I had a fantastic $3 lunch at a little cafe, lit a candle in a cathedral for Brian and got a little teary, and took loads and loads of pictures (probably too many, but at every turn I was struck by beauty in the buildings).

I've decided that I quite like Panama City, and I think Panama as a country would be fabulous to really travel through. Two thumbs up.

Enjoy.

Panama City

(Scarce) Details on the Trip

We're still set to leave on the 16th, which I just realized is a Friday...which sucks. (Sailor lore.)

We may stop briefly in the Galapagos.

Oly has a flight back to the States booked for May 18, so we have to be in Tahiti by then!

No sailmail aboard, so I won't be able to send email updates from sea. We do have a sat phone though in case we have some sort of emergency.

Bubasian

Bubas is a Lagoon 440 catamaran. It was purchased in Fort Lauderdale and is making her way home to an area near Brisbane, Australia. The owner and his partner have been aboard up until now, I believe, but they are stepping off for the Pacific passage.

The crew taking her to Tahiti consists of Jean, a very experienced French skipper, Else (along for the ride), his partner, Oly (Oliver), a 25 year old skipper-level sailor from the UK, and me. Jean only speaks a little bit of English and Else doesn't speak any.

I believe we are going straight to Tahiti. I'm waiting on more details about any possible stops before (Marquesas maybe/hopefully) and our estimated passage time. It'll be somewhere in the ballpark of 25 days.

I will be joining the boat on the afternoon of the 15th for a morning departure on the 16th. Not a lot of get-to-know-ya time!!

I'm also waiting on word as to whether or not we'll have sailmail or some other similar application that will allow me to send brief updates at sea.

If we stop in the Marquesas, I may get off there. It's a little less crazy than Tahiti, so I've heard, and one of the highlights of French Polynesia so says a friend of mine. If I'm still in a good mood, I'll find another boat and see if I can keep hopping west.

It's been an agonizing few days, waiting for word on whether or not this passage was going to happen, and I know some of you have suffered right along with me. Your emails and IMs of "any word yet?" have been very cute. In this adventure I've undertaken, "desperate" is not a good place to make decisions from. Then again, when you're there, you don't feel like you have a lot of options. The good news is, this is a new, safe boat that the owner cares very much about it reaching its destination. The 2 professional skippers aboard will do everything in their power to see that that happens.

1.5 days left to kill here in Panama City. At least now that I'm sorted I can venture a little further away from the hostel. (Casa de Carmen is an EXCELLENT hostel, btw, should you ever find yourself here.)

Prescription Medication in Foreign Lands

Right around the time I arrived in Curacao, yet another pimple proved to be the straw that finally broke this camel's back. I have suffered with acne for as long as I can remember, going back at least 10 years. I'm 31, the teenage stuff should have stopped ages ago. I'm like one of those Proactive commercials - I've tried *everything*, from various drugstore cleansers and remedies, to more expensive "systems" like Proactive and Murad. I've gone on and off birth control pills and I've worked on changes to my diet. I've been to a number of dermatologists who have put me on various antibiotics and prescription creams. Every once in a while something makes it less horrifying, but nothing has completely alleviated the issue. In Africa, my malaria medication doubled as anti-acne, but again, not perfect, and once I got off those meds, the problems resumed with a vengeance. Out on my sailing adventure, I thought that I could shirk it off and not worry about it, and/or that the sun and the salt would take care of things naturally. But after a few weeks of new big, painful zits daily, that often bled and sometimes scar, I realized I simply couldn't take it anymore.

(I should insert a word here to answer all of you who would try to offer comforting comments of "it's hardly noticeable" and "beauty comes from within" and all that jazz. Acne is extremely painful psychologically, and unless you've suffered it or some other deformity, it's really hard for you to understand just how horrifying it can be. I never ever leave the house without makeup (when I'm not in profusely humid environments where I can't). With each new blemish I feel like there are neon lights around it, and my old scars will never fade enough to make me forget they were there. When I see myself in photos I cringe, and I often sit and wonder what my face would be like if it were clear. I know I'm pretty as-is, but gosh what would I look like if...Every single person I meet with flawless or near flawless skin is the subject of my inner jealousy (wrong wrong I KNOW, but can't help it!) And I share a silent sad bond with anyone I meet who also suffers.)

The end-of-the line for acne is a medication called Accutane or Roaccutane overseas. You've probably heard of it, along with its miraculous powers and/or horror stories. Accutane works by reducing the size of your sebaceous glands (oil producing glands), decreasing cell buildup that leads to pimples, killing acne bacteria and reducing inflammation. Once you finish treatment, it's possible that you never have acne again. (Though many patients require a second course some time later).

Sounds fantastic, right? It is until you hear about the side effects: extremely dry skin, very painful cracked lips and extreme sensitivity to the sun. These effects are guaranteed. There's a whole laundry list of others that are possible, including severe liver damage, and in the case of pregnancy, horrifying birth defects. In the US, Accutane is highly controlled. In order to go on it you must submit to monthly pregnancy and liver function tests. And for each monthly refill, you and your doctor and pharmacist have to jump through a litany of hoops and paperwork.

But I'm not IN the states now am I? Back in Curacao I decided to try my luck and getting it, figuring I'd probably at least need to see a doctor. On a little errand run, I kept my eyes open for a clinic, but what I came to first was a pharmacy. Eh, why not, I'll give it a shot. So I walked in and asked the pharmacist if they had it. It took writing out the word before she understood me, but yes, they did in fact have it available. "Have you taken before?" she asked. "Oh yes, I have." "OK. You sometimes have to see a doctor, but for you it's OK." She went to the back and produced a couple of boxes, amounting to 60 10mg pills. The bill was $153 bucks - OUCH. But the prospect of starting treatment right there and then far outweighed the cost.

I took the first pill that night and practically trembled putting it to my mouth. WHAT THE HECK was I thinking taking some medication that severely dehydrates you and increases sun sensitivity when I'm setting out to SAIL in the TROPICS!? But I was going to start out on the lowest possible dosage (per my Doctor's unofficial advise in the states), and treat it with great respect. I'd commit to drinking as much water as I possibly could, use loads of sunblock, but also work on getting a good base down before the medicine really kicked in. And, of course, keep alcohol to a minimum.

After 20 days of 10mg/day, I can safely say I think I'm improving. I knew to expect to get worse before I got better, and really I think I stayed about the same. But the pimples clear up much quicker than before, and my skin tone seems to be evening out. I have not experienced ANY side effects yet, but I literally drink 4-5 liters of water a day. 5 liters is 1.3 gallons. This doesn't count any coffee, juice or soft drinks I may have. I put on 30spf on my face every morning, and duck out of the sun when I think I've had enough (usually not more than 15 minutes if I can help it).

I will do 10mg/day for another 10 days. Then, per doctor recommendation, it'll go to 10mg 2x/day. This will last for another 3-5 months.

Obtaining more in Panama was slightly more involved, but not by much. I went to a pharmacy and found that I did in fact need a prescription. Just having the pills wasn't sufficient as it's a regulated medication. I was directed to a doctor on the next block. For $5 he wrote me a scrip for a month. I told him I should probably get 2 months worth since I'm heading out on a boat. OK, another $5 then. I walked back to the pharmacy and the ladies got upset - I didn't have the prescription in triplicate. One called the doctor and found that he didn't have carbon paper. So, get this, she sort of tucks the special in-triplicate pad of forms into the crook of her wrist, and discreetly beckons me to follow her. (All communication only in Spanish btw, with the doctor as well). We walk over to the doctor's office and he signs where he needs to. Back at the pharmacy, I'm all sorted with 1 month of pills at my new dosage - so 60 10mg pills for $106 (cheaper than curacao, but still expensive). The whole scenario took about 45 minutes.

I suspect that the increased dosage will result in more noticeable dryness, as if I go with less water for a day (when I was on/off planes, buses, taxis), my skin gets scaly. But presumably my face will get even better. And with time, it'll even be pretty, in my eyes.

Transiting the Panama Canal

As previously mentioned, I arranged to be a line handler for a German couple on a sailboat called Momo. As 4 line handlers + the captain are required to transit, they arranged to have 2 "professional" line handlers join as well. Last, an Adviser from the Canal Authority must be aboard. (For a sailboat used to only having 1 or 2 people, this many people can be very overwhelming!)

I said goodbye to the folks on Shayele and thanked them profusely for my timely rescue, and we set out to the anchorage to wait for our line handlers and adviser. The German couple consist of Uwe (pronounced 'Uve') and Bridgette. They are circumnavigating over about 3.5 years.

The line handlers came first, Beqa and Mauricio, locals from Colon. Our Spanish-English-German conversations were entertaining. As per usual I'm fine with small talk but can't get into a much deeper conversation. Uwe was at about the same level - impressive! About 3 hours later (tarde!) our advisor, Emiliano, was dropped off by a pilot boat (scary maneuver) without incident.

We were off in a jiffy, motoring full steam ahead to the entrance to the Gatun Locks, which raise boats 26m from sea level to Gatun Lake. 

Small boats usually (not always) raft up (tie together) to transit.  We, luckily, got to tie up with Shayele, and our little paqete (package) was behind a big container ship.  Being tied up meant we only had to have 2 line handlers, one at the bow and one at the stern, so Bridgette and I got to be on camera duty!

Inside the locks, the line handlers are thrown "monkey fists", weighted balls that carry lightweight lines. You tie your heavier 150ft lines to these and the guys along the canal pull them up and attach us to the walls of the locks to hold us in position while the water rises/falls. The first lock was very exciting! These gigantic doors closed behind us and slowly we started rising as water was rushing in. Up to the top, we were untied and went forward into the 2nd lock. Excitement waned a bit. By the 3rd lock, we were all sort of over it and the cameras got put away :-) We then motored off to spend the night in Gatun Lake. The moorings were full so we tied up to another boat there. Our adviser left us then, but the 2 boys stayed on for the evening. Bridgette and I got to work on dinner and we all had a few beers to celebrate a successful day.

Around 6am the following morning, a new adviser came via pilot boat and we set off to cross Gatun Lake. "The lake was formed by flooding the existing landscape with a big dam and apparently the drowned buildings and even a train sitting on its tracks are still down there in almost perfect condition. The total canal length is around 80km, most of which consists of the Gatun Lake so it was quite a long time before we crossed the lake and reached the Gaillard Cut, the final 12km stretch forming the narrowest part of the canal that leads to the final locks."

We approached the final locks and found another monohull waiting for us. We tied up with them and off we went into the 1st of another 3 locks on the Pacific side. This time we have to go down, so once the big doors are shut, the water rushes out and down we go. The line handling procedure is the same. So, #1, #2 go by without much excitement. Then #3 is the biggy - the final lock before entering the Pacific. There's a webcam and a big ole tourist building with an announcer giving the play by play to hundreds watching from a balcony. It was somewhat anti-climactic though. The doors opened up and we were through! Welcome to El Pacifico!

We untied from our buddy boat and set to work breaking out the champagne. I, sadly, had nervousness in my stomach anticipating what I'd find (or more to the point wouldn't find) on this side. Per tradition, we poured some champagne and threw some coins into the sea underneath the very pretty "Bridge of the Americas". I naturally wished that I'd quickly find a new boat to call home.

At the dropoff point for the line handlers, super long lines and extra fenders, I disembarked as well. Bridgette, Uwe and I were all sad to have to part ways. They said they wish they could take me, but just didn't have the space. They pushed some cash into my hand, which I adamantly refused, but they wouldn't hear of it. They bid me well and motored away. (Much later I looked at what they gave me and it was $80US! Oh my goodness - sooooo sweet, but sooooo unnecessary! I quickly sent a profuse thank you email.)

Once on shore I realized I was quite a ways from any normal looking marina, so I set out to walk. OH MY GAWD my stupid bag is too heavy. It's gotta be around 45 pounds or so (why did I think I needed camping gear again?!) I was in the heat of the day too, around 1400. So I trudged around 2k before I got to a road and hailed down a taxi. I found a marina, sorta, but not really the cruisers type of marina and left some cards on a window, knowing they'd be utterly useless. The feelings of dejection were quickly overwhelming me.

I HAD to get rid of my bag and get myself sorted for the night before I did anything else, so I hailed another cab and we set off for the recommended hostel, Casa de Carmen. Sadly, it was a 10 minute drive - WAY too far to realistically "commute" between to schlep myself to other boats. But the hostel turned out to be fantastic and had space in the dorm for $15/night. Perfect.

Without even so much as splashing water on my face, I checked my email. As I said in my last post, there was one waiting from the Cat that was a 'maybe' back at Shelter Bay. Was I still available for the passage to Tahiti? YES!!!! They coming through the canal today, so I will hopefully be getting confirmation later this afternoon.

I'm apprehensive. I know nothing about this boat, NOTHING - I don't even know it's name! Don't know what's on it or anything about the owner or captain. Stupid Jen stupid Jen. I need to find out as much as I can as soon as I can.  I'm fairly certain it'll be fine - I do know they've made it from Fort Lauderdale to Panama, so that's something right?  Still, need at least a cursory run down of the deal before hopping aboard.  Really unfortunate to feel so desperate.

Panama Canal Photos & Videos

Wow - what an experience! I'll be working on a writeup about it tomorrow, but the pictures are already uploaded, so why wait!?

Panama Canal

PS - The catamaran that was a 'maybe' at Shelter Bay has emailed asking me to join to Tahiti. They are in the middle of transiting the canal themselves, so I won't hear from them until late tomorrow at earliest to confirm. I REALLY hope this works out because finding a boat from shore in Panama City (my hostel is *IN* the city) is going to be impossible.

Trying to Stay Positive

Shelter Bay Marina is not the mecca that I thought it'd be. Apparently it was, about a month ago, when 400 some odd boats were passing through. I can't change the past, and I *try* to cut myself slack about decisions that turned out poorly...I mean, I chose what I thought was best with the information I had at the time. But gosh darnit, why did I waste so much time in Curacao? AGGHHHHHGGHHGHHH!

Alright, rant over.

I've had a bit of good luck here, fortunately. Running into s.v. Shayale, who I met in Curacao, was super lucky as they gave me a place to crash for a couple of nights. This tipped the scales to good luck from bad as the hotel is full through next week! (And NO other accommodation options are available.) They happened to meet a German couple on a boat called Momo who was in need of line handlers for the transit of the canal. I spoke to them a few hours ago and I'm jumping on tomorrow. In itself, this is awesome news - I GET TO TRANSIT THE PANAMA CANAL! I won't be going any further on Momo though. On the Pacific side of the canal I may be able to hook up with boats that have just transited in this last week in the hopes that maybe someone still needs a hand.

Bad luck has reared its ugly head too. Obviously, I'm late to the party here in Panama. But beyond that one of the luggage locks on my pack was cut and I had an emergency stash of $200 cash stolen. (And interestingly enough, my lucky $2 bill that I've carried with me travelling since 2001 - I guess it lost its luck status). However, staying on a boat is defraying that unforeseen cost, so I'm not tooooo upset.

There's a big cat that's just pulled in - a Lagoon 440 - that is en route to Australia. I've met the owner and the captain and they're going to get in touch later on today about a spot. Fingers, toes, legs, boobs if they're big enough, crossed on that one.

There just aren't any other options. There's a boat here headed to Texas that needs crew, but that would be the end of the line. I'm not ready to give up yet. I kinda feel like it a little bit today. If I were a crier, I think I'd be pretty teary right now. But NO DURNIT - MUST KEEP TRYING!!

Bit of good luck, Bit of bad luck, Bit of Oh F$%£.

2 flights, 1 hotel, 2 shuttles, 1 taxi, 2 buses, and 2 very fortunate hitchhikes later, and I'm in Panama. Sadly, there aren't that many boats here, and the hotel is full. Luckily I found a boat I met previously that's rescuing me. Finding a permanent crew spot, however, looks very daunting.

As the Cruising World Turns, part Trois

Ah today, Tuesday, the day that we were finally going to be able to lay our hands on the long-awaited auto-pilot part. So I jumped up and was like "ok, let's get goin, what do we have to do, go go go."
Todd didn't seem concerned and set off on a different boat project.
I stayed calm until around noon, but then let my concerns be known.
Our island agent brought the part after 3pm, which again, would have spurned me into action.
Todd, however, decided it was time for a drink and a cigarette. I went downstairs to get out of the smoke.

When the agent left Todd came in and said "you're probably going to be happier if you get to Panama. We aren't going to rush leaving." I said, "yep, you're right."

Within 15 minutes my new flight was booked. I leave tomorrow at 3pm. Unfortunately I have to overnight in Miami. I arrive in Panama on Thursday early afternoon.

The Joys of FindACrew.Net

Here's my favorite inquiry so far (spelling errors included):

-----------
Dear Jen,

My girlfriend and I are planning to start full-time cruising this summer. She is tall, gorgeous, and very bi. She has two teenaged boys (11 and 13) that will be joing us.

We are looking for an open-minded woman to assist tutot the boys and share our open lifestyle.

If you are interested, pleae frop us a line.
-----------

No comment.

New Pics Online

I added some pictures of the interior of One World.  Link is to the right: http://picasaweb.google.com/heyjenjackson

Subscription

Alright, sorry for all the confusion with the Google Groups thing, but I finally figured out how to add 'Email Subscription' to this blog.
On the right, there, you'll see a place to enter your email address. Then you just get emailed every time I update the blog.
That's nice and easy right?

As the Cruising World Turns, part deux

Woke up this morning, and even before I had a chance to pee Todd informed me that he had changed his mind again.  He thought he'd always regret it if he turned around now, but that sailing around the world was too big of a bite to chew.  So his new destination is Australia, and would I consider staying on at least until Panama. 
My gut reaction was 'No way, Jose, I don't want to put up with any more drama.  I'll find a new boat in Panama.  And if I don't by the time you guys get there, we'll talk.'  (Mind you, while I have been looking forward to getting *off* the boat and away from Downer Central, I've also been dreading re-packing my bag, 8 hours of flying/airports, the 2-8 hours it'd take to get from Panama City to Colon, and the schlepping of myself around the docks again.  P.S. staying in a hotel would be lovely, however.)  Anyway, Melissa then had a very good point....what's the purpose of this whole adventure of mine?  TO SAIL!  And if we're really getting out of here Wednesday night or Thursday morning, then I'd get to SAIL to Panama.  Should I still not be happy after the passage, I can just as easily get off there and find a new boat.  It's tough to argue with that.
So it's done - my flight is cancelled (Credit can be used within the next year, but travel MUST originate from Curacao...haha, not likely.  I feel bad for Todd that that's $560 thrown away, but then again, it was his doing.)
Oh ya, Happy Easter.

As the Cruising World Turns

I realize that my blog is now reading like a soap opera, and I have to laugh.  Matt, would you say I'm still living a "blogable life"? 
Let's see, it was yesterday (wow, feels like ages ago already) that Todd said "we have to talk."  He had made up his mind – he wasn't ready to cruise, financially and emotionally.  So he's turning the boat around and going home to the BVI to work for a few more years.  The back story here which I've learned piecemeal is that he started this voyage thinking he'd have his girlfriend, her kids, and her bank account added to the kitty.  A few weeks before I came, she left.  He thought he could carry on but as it turns out, he doesn't want to.  Now, everyone that knows the guy thinks that if he would just get sailing that he'd snap out of this state he's in.  But Todd doesn't wanna.  Sooooo, he offered to fly me anywhere I wanted to go, and put me up for a few weeks once I got there as an "I'm sorry I got you into this mess".  It was very generous.
I pretty much knew what my plan would be immediately, but I needed to spend an hour or so reeling over the news.  Truth be told, I was going to try and find another boat in Panama.  But it's infinitely easier to find a boat if you're on a boat.  So I had a chat with Ian, who is the co-master of giving pep talks.  (I say co-master because folks say I'm the master of pep talks.)  He echoed the details of my plan:  get flown to Panama and put up in a hotel; find another boat.  The experiences of the last month are not wasted – I've learned a lot about what to look/watch out for.  The right thing will come along, and if it doesn't, well, cross that bridge when I come to it. 
There was a slight chance of hitching a ride on one of a couple of boats here in Curacao that are headed to Panama.  But the boat we were closest with, Lison Life, set a policy of no crew which they wanted to stick to.  Liberty had a full house.  So why monkey around?  Get my booty to Panama!
Todd and I booked a flight for Monday morning, and he'll give me cash for the hotel and taxis in Panama. Sooo nice!
What the other crew, Melissa, is going to do I don't yet know.  She hasn't been on the boat since Todd broke the news.  She's got a friend visiting so she's off with him.  Lucky girl.
The atmosphere on One World is, as you can imagine, somber.  2.5 more days.