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| Cloud-churning in Espiritu Santo |
June 17, 2013
Isla Saboga
08°37.878N - 079°03.40W
What have we been doing over the last month besides fishing, snorkeling, cleaning fish and eating fish? Dodging weather. Panama is notorious for its violent storms and we’re dealing with that. Why not leave? Because our youngest son is getting married in 3 months and it’s easier to fly from Panama City than anywhere else in Central America. Besides, our step-grandson is also getting married next week and now has the opportunity to start his honeymoon with us! But, on to our weather…
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| DOMINO under gathering clouds at Isla Pedro Gonzalez |
Panama enjoys two seasons: dry from mid-December to mid April, wet from May to December, with this mid-season in May-June when the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) moves over the region. That’s where we are now, in the doldrums, without wind but with almost 100% cloudiness, enormous cloud developments and non-stop lightning shows from all directions.
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| JP enjoys sunset, mid December in Isla San Jose. The start of the dry season. |
DRY SEASON – From December through April, high winds blow from the North, quite often through the gap of the Isthmus, creating high-velocity winds. This is the period that sailors choose to travel south to the Galapagos or Ecuador, then catch the trade winds and cross to the Marquesas. These Northern winds have a secondary effect on the local sea life, cooling the surface and allowing for the deeper water to well up, bringing nutrients to the surface. This means algae, red tide, jellyfish, and no fishing!
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| Grand daughter Zoe checks out the Jellies at Isla Malaga |
The beaches in Las Perlas are littered with unicellular creatures, waves foam with putrescent algae, and we dig deep in the freezer for our daily catch.
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| Algae and jellies roll-up on the beaches |
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| Red tide |
Yet, it’s an awesome spectacle, and we never tire to observe the natural cycle of the ocean. Rain? Not a drop from Dec. 15 till April 19th. The boat was quite dirty!
IN-BETWEENER – I haven’t seen any name for this time of year, April-June, this mid-season when the ITCZ is stationary above Panama. I call it the “in-betweener.” As the ITCZ moves North, it brings moisture and storms for a six-week period, approximately. It happens again in October-November when the ITCZ moves South.
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| Fog at Isla Malaga |
We first noticed the change of weather when we were greeted by fog on the morning of March 16 and clouds started to show up, filling the sky that had be a perfect cerulean blue for the last 4 months. Transitional period: it doesn’t rain every day but the skies are heavy with clouds and we can constantly hear rumbling somewhere around us.
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| Clouds are becoming a permanent fixture with the arrival of the ITCZ - Isla Contadora, Punta Verde |
Once in a while, we get caught in the middle of a 24-hour long lightning show as we were a few days ago at Isla Espiritu Santo. We watched the clouds gather behind us while lightning was attacking Isla del Rey with repeated fury.
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| Massive cloud activity at Espiritu Santo |
As the day progressed, we noticed that a cloud had become stationary behind us and was starting to churn counter-clockwise, sucking up bands of moisture as it was churning and churning. When it finally decided to move away, skimming us, it unleashed winds in the 30-knot range and dumped 200 gallons of water right in our tanks!
RAINY SEASON – The guide says that the heaviest rains are in July-August.
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| Waterspout skims by, 1 mile off the Portobello anchorage |
Our experience certainly was thus on the Caribbean side as we spent August and September in Portobello, suffering rainstorms daily.
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| "Witching Hour" in Panama Bay |
But October and November in Panama Bay were equally wet with sudden storms unleashing winds up to 45-knots and playing havoc with yachts at anchor.
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| Lightning over Isla del Rey, from Isla Espiritu Santo |
LIGHTNING – I can’t talk about weather without a word on lightning. Panama is one of the hottest, most active coastal lightning zones in the world. With a lightning index of 100, it surpasses Florida (80), but not quite as fierce as Paraguay (120) or Madagascar (140.)
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| Lightning over the Asuncion Yacht Club, Paraguay (Photo james Dufour) |
Our first lightning experience was in Paraguay (a “white ball” that had no adverse effect on our boat) and the second in the San Blas(a damaging direct strike.) Thanks to Ewen Thomson's lightning protection system we feel totally safe with regards to our persons and the integrity of our yacht. Our previous lightning encounters have urged us to refine our lightning management system, making sure that no antenna sticks out higher than our lightning rods, and that every piece of electronic or electrical equipment is protected by an arrestor (see “Big Fuses”and “Little Fuses” )
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| Clouds passing by (harmlessly) at Punta Verde, Contadora |
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| Gathering over Isla Chapera |
We are quite aware that we cannot prevent lightning from striking; we can only mitigate the damage a strike can bring on. So far, we feel quite safe in our Faraday cage!
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| Storm descending upon the "Swimming Pool" anchorage, San Blas Islands, June 2012 (Photo James Dufour) |
Today in Saboga, we’re experiencing the usual: no wind, leaded skies, flat seas, 86F in the cabin… quite lovely, waiting for low tide to do what we love: snorkel around! And if it rains by 1600, oh well...
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| There is always something to do, even in the rain! |
Till next time…
dominomarie