If you remember in the last episode, we were just about ready to drop the boat back in the water…. BUT (and there’s always a but) the “Biocide-free” paint we used didn’t dry. Ever.
What are we suppose to do now? Sail away? Wait in the boatyard? Start going crazy on the paint manufacturing company? We’ll see. Watch and find out.
We made sure to follow the directions perfectly, but after 27 hours it’s still wet. Damn. So we let her stay up on the trailer for another 5 days while we try to get a refund for the paint, and see if it will ever dry (it didn’t, we got a refund 6 months later).
After we finally splash Zingaro Kimmi is in heaven being out to sea again, and the boat is WAY faster than it had been, and much safer.
We now just need to check out of Costa Rica, and head for the PIRATE ISLAND of Isla Del Coco 🙂
Every cruiser’s nightmare: thieves. They stole our drone, radio, tools. Now the police are here investigating, taking fingerprints, and for what? Watch and find out…
See how the crew of Zingaro handled it in this installment of the life and times of Zingaro!
I take a Tico (that’s what they call a local Costa Rican guy – girls are Ticas) on a 200nm sail from Isla Caño to Isla MurcĂalagos. What a great time. Here’s the real story on that one…
So we get up to this beautiful island chain, the “Bat” islands – named because of the shape of a bat made by the second island (you can see this very clearly at 2:39). This island chain is very rarely visited, mostly because it lays in a very dangerous zone – the Papagayo wind zone. This is an area of the Central American peninsula where the eastern trade winds from the Caribbean shoot through the mountains and make their way (very strongly) to the Pacific. Within 5 nm of land you are subject to 40kt catabolic winds, sometimes out of nowhere. Needless to say, it’s a dangerous place to bring a boat… so we went!
I laid out two anchors, about 60degrees from each other, and faced the boat dead east in a little cove (also visible in the drone shot). Super cool spot, but ass puckering dangerous. We were so close to the rocks that I barely slept, always coming out to shine a light and check to make sure the anchors were holding. It’s one thing to be anchored in 40kt winds, it’s another to be anchored 20ft from rocks, in 6ft of water, in 40kt winds.
But OMG the diving! It was amazing. We talked to the rangers, and got permission to spearfish. I actually took a shot at a mahi-mahi while we were out. We ended up getting lots of fish, and bringing the rangers a bunch, to which they were very thankful, as they had no boat to fish so were eating canned foods for weeks. Ugh. Great view though.
Bottom line: If you are ever in Costa Rica, try to get out to the MurcĂalagos Islands. They are very special. Bucket list item for sure. Climb to the top of one of the islands and watch the sunset. You may get lucky like us and see whales breaching right afterward. What a night… Why is this not in the vid, you ask? We had the footage on our failed hard drive, not backed up. 100 videos are gone. That sucks, but you get the real story here.
The rest of the film is pretty self explanatory, Kim comes back (Happy Captain!), and we haul the boat…
– James
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
After sailing all the way to Costa Rica just to find a cheap yard to haul out, they kick us out!?!?! The dude does not abide. What are we going to do now? We need to repair the bottom of the boat and nobody will let us in!!! Well, there’s only one thing to do… We hoist the sails and go SAILING!
Much love
James and Kim
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
Can you see what’s wrong with this picture? Find out in this week’s adventure sailing around Costa Rica on a plywood catamaran. The where, why, and when of one of life’s most intriguing questions: When will Zingaro’s dinghy die??
In this episode you’ll see “the incident” that finally killed our outboard. We ended up giving it away to a dock worker when we arrived in Ecuador. Funny enough, I needed some parts off of it later on and we were able to track it down and get the little pieces I needed for the new one.
Hope you like! This is a LONG episode, and took us quite a while to make. We think it’s got just about everything you’d need to get your sailing/maintenance/adventure fix today!
-James & Kimmi
PS: Big thanks to Sue and Pirate Pawl of Pitcairn island for the hospitality, food, drink, and love. We have some lifelong friends on one of the most remote islands in the world.
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
Ever wonder how long line fishing works? We met Arturo while we were hanging out in Costa Rica, and asked him what he did all night. He invited us to come along, and we couldn’t say no (though when he told us what time we were leaving we had second thoughts).
We hauled in a lot of fish that night, slept on a lancha (Spanish for dinghy, uncomfortable as hell), almost got stuck by numerous hooks, and got a very fast ride in/out of the bay.
We are exhausted by the end of the day, but pull in over 40 mahi mahi, and even get to take home the biggest one! It was definitely an experience.
Big thanks to Arturo for inviting us into his life and taking us on this adventure! Muchas gracias Arturo!
Much love, Pura Vida!
Kim and James
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
We’re loosing our crew! You guys have no idea how bad it’ll get without Lucie. She was the only cook aboard. She came, she cooked, she conquered. Bye, bye Lucie!
We’re just getting to Costa Rica at the end of this episode, and good times await us here! We’re going to sail the entire coast, all the way to Nicaragua. Islas Caño, MerciĂ lago, and even the elusive Cocos… Stay tuned!
We had some amazing adventures in CR. It was beautiful, expensive, crazy, locals came to the boat, Kimmi went back to Berlin, and James and a local went on a spearfishing/sailing adventure with a friend. We can’t wait to share all of this with you.
But, first, hope you like this one.
Pura Vida!
James & Kim
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
This is the very last Panama video, it is our longest (and best) episode to date, and it has a bit of everything you guys love in a sailing video: storm sailing and spearfishing on this uninhabited island (Isla Montuosa), when we run into the navy! Watch what happens, you won’t believe it!
We also go to Isla Coiba and show you some amazing dive footage from there. What a beautiful place.
In the next episode we’re finally leaving for Costa Rica.
Much love!
James & Kimmi
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
Lucie comes back from Chile, and we head out to the islands again (I see a recurring theme).
We spearfish and sail through the south coast of Panama as we prepare for our journey to Costa Rica! We visit Islas Secas, Montuosa, and Jicaron, and have another cruiser over for a catch & cook fish taco dinner.
This is the second-to-last video in Pacific Panama. We decided to see as many of the islands we could before leaving. Great idea.
Stay tuned for next episode, where we visit Isla Coiba and leave for Costa Rica!
Hope you like! Much love from Kimmi and me!!!!
James
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share!
… or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
[Sponsored post] How cool is it that? We’re the first and only channel to be sponsored by Spectra? Wow.
You’ve ever wondered how watermakers turn saltwater to fresh, drinkable water, how to install one in your boat or how much work this really is? This video will teach you everything you want to know about watermakers. We’re installing a Spectra Ventura 150C watermaker including layout, plumbing, wiring, operation, and connecting wirelessly through your computer/phone/tablet.
Took me all week, and a lot of sweat equity, but man it’s nice to not have to worry about water anymore.
This video is brought to you by Sailing Zingaro and Spectra Watermakers.
Fishing fail: That mahi mahi threw a knife at us! Tune in to find out just how the heck we got ourselves in this precarious situation, and if we got the fish if the fish got us…
We’re sailing in the Seca Islands, Panama: Cruising, fishing, storms and diving – This one has a bit of everything.
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share! … or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
Theres nobody here. It’s paradise. The weather is perfect, the sea is calm, and the spearfishing is amazing. Follow us for an amazing journey into the untouched and rarely visited Isla Secas.
They’re often passed up by cruisers, because it’s hard to slog up the coast towards Costa Rica. Furthermore, there isn’t any widespread knowledge about these islands.
That is the kinda place I want to be. And this time it worked out so well… What a beautiful island chain. It’s very close to Isla Coiba (World Heritage site and same underwater archipelago as Galapagoes). Just amazing.
Hope you like!
You like our content? Please don’t forget to like, subcribe and share! … or spend us a cold one on PayPal and become landcrew on Patreon.
Close your eyes and hold on! Shipping lane crossing at night, no fresh food, no water.
On our search for a boatyard we spend seven days sailing the southern Coast of Panama. The wind was in our favor most of the time and we had a blast. But our range without a farm and a watermaker on the boat is limited, so we had to eventually end our trip in Boca Chica.
Kimmy strikes again with a bad ass video. We finally reveal the new sails to the rest of the world. Did You think this day would ever come?
🙂 We take our loved and abused old sails down and receive our new Sails. Don’t miss the festivities. Grab a glass of Champagne and join the party! 🙂
The girls take the catamaran through the Panama Canal! We get some new linehandlers, struggle to get diesel, and finally get through the canal to the Pacific! What an adventure it has been so far.
As we say goodbye to the Caribbean ocean, we reflect on the memories we’ve made, the troubles, trials, and friendships. It’s hard to say goodbye, but exiting to start a new adventure in the biggest ocean on the Planet: Season 2 – PACIFIC.
Making this episode and looking back on the TWO YEARS we have spent cruising has touched us deeply.
In this episode we cover cost of the panama canal, how to pay, where to go, with maps to show you the way! This is the absolute cheapest way to do it!
We put this together as a help to future cruisers on exactly what needs to be done to get through the canal. We wished there was something like this when we went through, so we made it. Thanks for making it possible, and supporting us through this adventure.
After a lot of work we decided to go back to what we do best: Sailing! In the last few days we found a bunch of great spots on the Ecuadorian coast. We’re very much in love with this part of the world!
Sailing Zingaro | Kim is hoisting the Ecuadorian flag
Currently we’re in BahĂa de Caráquez (Ecuador), taking Zingaro apart! All of a sudden we’ve got quite a bit of space here. We removed the fridge and gave it to the local dockhand. He didn’t have one.
Now we’re going to design a chart table / editing table that fits in right where the fridge was. We have to find a very space-economic design for a desk with an integrated chair. We only have about a meter of space. Any ideas?
Sailing Zingaro | We’re taking our boat apart! All of a sudden we’ve got quite a bit of space here!
What we found 130 miles out to sea will shock you. While sailing to the most remote island in Central America, these sailors come across a turtle caught up in a fisherman’s long line. We jump in to help the little guy out.
Join us on our longest journey ever! 1,000nm from Costa Rica to Ecuador via Isla Del Coco …
When trying to find a place to HAUL OUT on the pacific coast of Central America.
Why? Because I want to copper-epoxy the bottom of the boat. It’s greener (no ablative paint to fall all over the coral), it’s easier to clean (no ablative paint in our skin), it’s stronger (no ablative… you get the picture).
Marina Pez Vela, Costa Rica | (c) Sailing Zingaro
BUT it’s been the biggest PITA! Listen to this BS:
