After what feels like weeks of waiting, we are finally putting some miles under the keel again. We're on our way to Guna Yala (the San Blas islands), sailing upwind along the North coast of Panama. We haven't done a great deal of upwind sailing on this voyage so far, but that's about to change - Antigua is 1000 miles directly upwind, and the Caribbean trade winds are strong, squally, and often bring big seas. Today is good practice for us, beating into a relatively comfortable 15 - 18 knots with moderate seas, 2 reefs in, 5 - 6 kn boat speed, and ironing out all sorts of little issues that come up.

It's official - we are enjoying Mexico! So far we've been waiting in Ensenada for the end of Hurricane season, but we've been able to get a lot of work done on TALLY HO... and we've been having some fun too. Here's a taste of some of what's coming up in the next full video. Music - Inaban / Nabani - Cuatro de Julio

Have you seen my latest full video yet? We met some amazing creatures - Sunflower Sea Stars - that perform a vital job balancing the ocean ecosystem on the Pacific Coast. Sadly, they’ve been almost wiped out by a vicious disease, and as a result, sea urchin populations have spiked (get it?), causing widespread destruction of kelp forests - the precious nurseries of the ocean. The Sunflower Star Laboratory is doing amazing work breeding Sunflower Sea Stars, researching Sea Star Wasting Disease, and working towards reintroduction and restoration. Here is a video of one of their Sunflower Sea Stars doing what it does best - eating a pesky sea urchin! Footage courtesy of SSL / Reuven Bank

www.patreon.com/sampsonboatco

I’ve been invited to try out a new Patreon feature called Quips - all my normal content is still in the same place, but this month there are some special exclusive posts on Patreon, like this brand new mini-tour of Tally Ho! It’s totally free to access - just check the Quips tab in the Patreon mobile app (and make sure you have the latest app version). I'm really interested to hear feedback on the additional new format, so let me know what you think. Meanwhile I'll be working on the next full video. Thanks!

Track Tally Ho; https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:8792627/mmsi:235093681/imo:0/vessel:TALLY_HO