After a brisk sail out of Rio Chagres and around Colon, we made it to Portobelo. The trip entailed dodging several container ships and tankers that were making their way in and out of colon's harbor and the entrance to the Panama Canal. The weather was good the whole day, so it made leaving the Rio Chagres that morning easy. The winds stayed good for most of the trip. it was nice to have an easy close reach sail.

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Our night in Escudo proved to be fairly uncomfortable. There was just too much swell action going on and the boat rolled constantly. It was ok when trying to sleep, but for everything else like cooking and squaring the boat away, it was just too much movement.

Our next stop was the Rio Chagres, about 130 miles away. So to time our arrival for the next morning, we didn't have to leave until that afternoon. The weather got better as the day progressed, and I was encouraged by a West Wind that was blowing pretty steadily all morning. This would be the perfect wind to get us to Chagres on a nice easy broad reach.

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