We are scheduled to go through the Panama Canal tomorrow morning, so we’re embarking on our last sail on the Atlantic side of the world for the last time in what may be years. It’s the end of a chapter and the beginning of a grand adventure.

Today we’re starting the first page of a new chapter, of a grand adventure we’ve dreamed of for years, sailing across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia.

Seeing men with guns and hearing shots fired from what you thought was a safe anchorage is never what you want but that’s what we experienced in Rio Chagres.

Today we’re sailing 90nm east to Rio Chagres, a tropical river meandering through pristine jungle. The weather is not in our favor and the entrance to Rio Chagres is shallow and flanked by reef on both sides. We’ve been warned not to enter unless the conditions are ideal and with daylight.