Sea Monsters & Our First Sailboat Scuba Dive
A few months ago, we were really itching to get to Panama. We were knee deep in boat projects, covered in sika, yet dreaming of jungles. We traveled North America full time for almost seven years and no doubt discovered a deep love for our home country. But we’re long overdue for a culture shock.
The Bahamas are some of the dreamiest waters in the world and will be tough to top but the culture felt very close to home.
Enter Panama…it’s a whole new world! Wandering around Bocas Del Toro we discovered plants and trees we had never seen before, fruits we’ve never tasted and a style of living we haven’t experienced. And we haven’t even scratched the surface of this country yet.
Now, we’re on our way to Isla Bastimentos which we’re told is wildly different from Bocas Town. A more relaxed atmosphere with dramatic rain forest landscapes and filled with the native tribes.
We’ve got two big items on the agenda. One is to break in our new scuba gear and two is to celebrate a birthday.
That little glimpse of the native Ngabe village of Quebrada Sal (Salt Creek) at the end was just that…a glimpse. Stay tuned because we can’t wait to show you more of the island and what we find on our jungle adventure!
Aquatic Life
It’s the rainy season here so the water visibility isn’t going to be great and it takes some getting used to after the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas. The green murky waters don’t hold us back though because the aquatic life is drastically different and filled with intricate details. For our first dive from the boat, it was a great success. It was just the soft start we needed to get back in the groove of being able to breathe underwater. Now we can start to stretch our aquatic fins and explore a little further.
Snorkel/Dive Gear
- Aqua Lung Dive Computer/Regulator Set: http://amzn.to/2uxDyDn
- Nikki
- Hammerhead Free-Dive Mask With Camera Mount http://amzn.to/2d5C6SB
- Hammerhead Free-Dive J Snorkel: http://amzn.to/2cjh3dV
- Nikki’s Sporasub Freediving Fins: http://amzn.to/2kIYmlf
- Jason
- Atomic Mask: http://amzn.to/2uuqsZf
- Omer Snorkel: http://amzn.to/2uxCjEb
- Omer Freediving Fins: http://amzn.to/2kIhljK
- Spearfishing:
- Hawaiian Sling Spear: http://amzn.to/2hIBfHb
- Cut Resistant Gloves: http://amzn.to/2uxZWfM
Sailing Report
To see our full map with interactive pins, click here: gonewiththewynns.com/map
- Dates: August 7-9, 2017
- Nautical Miles Sailed: 16.8
- Anchorage: Playa Azul, a calm and quiet place to drop the hook. The anchorage can be found easily on Active Captain.
- Cell & WiFi: We had no cell phone service here. We used our Iridium Go to stay connected and check weather.
With our WiFi Ranger we were able to tap into the resorts signal, but it was barely fast enough to check email and social media.
Gear Used In This Video
- Deck Folding Lounge Chairs – Our new Sport-a-Seat chairs are far superior to anything else we’ve had in the past. These guys don’t mess around. They’ve offered up a $10 discount and free shipping if you use discount code “WYNNS”: http://bit.ly/2wRGo90
- Hiking/Water Adventure Shoes: http://bit.ly/2uZs620
- Quatix 5 Watches: Garmin Wearables
- Chartplotter: Garmin 7612xsv Multi-touch
- iPad Mount at Helm: http://amzn.to/2fT84PG
- iPad Pro http://amzn.to/2d9Oopf
- Sailing Apps Used:
- iNavx: http://bit.ly/2vGgC51
- Garmin Bluecharts with Active Captain: http://bit.ly/2tgnRmA
- Iridium Go and Predict Wind for weather and communications: bit.ly/PredictWindIridium
- Waterproof & floating phone case/handbag: gonewiththewynns.com/product/productugo-waterproof-pack
- Mantus Anchor: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/product/mantus-anchor
Cameras Used to Capture This Video
- Main Camera – Sony A7ii: http://bit.ly/a7rii-sony
- Sony Zoom Mic: https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/product/sony-gun-zoom-microphone-black
- Sony 24 – 70mm f4 lens: http://bit.ly/2470-zeiss
- Sony rx100 with underwater housing: http://amzn.to/2xG43rn
- Iphone using OlloClip filmers kit: http://bit.ly/2xYErGv
- All of our up to date photo and editing gear: gonewiththewynns.com/best-travel-camera-video-photography
The Crew
Dale and Justin are our first Patreon’s aboard from our recent Crew Call. If you want to wish Justin a belated happy birthday, you can find him here:
- YouTube (their video submission) – youtube.com/channel/UC5JTLYjTrJC5TJl9_KJPD4g
- Instagram – instagram.com/djsdives/
- Twitter – twitter.com/DjsDives
Do you like our videos and posts? Find them helpful, entertaining or useful? If so, check out our Say Thanks page to learn about different ways you can help keep videos and posts like this one coming. You’ll notice most ways don’t cost you a penny but make a big difference to us. Thank You!
Bruce Bowers
Greetings! There are a number of Sailing Youtube channels that I follow. Not that it means anything, but yours has recently moved from number two to number one on my list, passing SLV. (though I still watch Riley and Elena’s every episode) I find your organizational skills, videography, relatability, etc. to be very endearing and I look forward to every episode.
Jason, a quick note: “Un mas tiempo” doesn’t translate to what you mean to say. Try “Uno vez mas”. Tiempo means time in a clock sense. Vez means time in an occurrence sense.
Your attention to detail is awesome and I love the way you always do the right thing, i.e. no shortcuts. Keep doing what you are doing guys. FWFS!
Deborah Kerr
You’re not in Kansas anymore Dorothy!! Wow, a lot of cool-looking creatures in the sea and river. A very different culture, not your typical tourist trap for sure!! So cool that Jason can communicate en espanol!~! You all are just having so much fun. Looking forward to more adventures 🙂
Kay Tennant
It’s so wonderful to see you guys having such cool adventures ! It’s like you’re discovering the new world. All with fresh eyes ! It’s a pleasure sharing it with you. I have many thoughts / comments about SCUBA diving. I don’t want to be negative, just PLEASE be careful!! I do like how you’ve started so slow. Keep it up. And I’ll only say one thing. Always have a small spear and bag/ container with you, for the lion fish. Each one killed is one less left to breed and make more ?. It’s also a good excuse to wear gloves ! ? gloves themselves aren’t bad , you just don’t won’t to use them to grab the coral.
Keep having fun and sharing your adventures.
Rhonda Brazell
Nikki, you look great! I want the red one-piece…where did you get it?? Also, your music in all the vids is so good! Who is the artist? I wish we could do this! Love watching y’all❤️
Love, Rhonda
Curious Minion
Hey Rhonda. I don’t know about the suit, but the artist is always listed at the end of the video. Look at the bottom center of the video, usually just before the end “credits”.
Nikki Wynn
Hey Rhonda, I have had this red suit for several years now and it is one I picked up at Target. As for the music, Curious Minion is correct, we always put the music credits at the end of the video. Thanks for watching!
Anne
Love Niki’s black and white shorts! What is the maker and where did she purchase them from?
Nikki Wynn
Those are a pair of board shorts from billabong. Good board shorts are priceless and so universal!
Bradley
Great to see you diving, but may I kindly ask you to research a no gloves policy? You don’t really need them. Stewardship of the reefs. Safe travels!
Nikki Wynn
As someone who is very allergic to lots of beautiful things in nature, I do protect myself. Not to mention the jellyfish are extremely bad here right now. Which is why I am fully covered in 83 degree water. Gloves are not the issue, irresponsible humans are and education is the key. We are learning more all the time and try very hard to preserve, not destroy. http://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-gear/3-reasons-dive-gloves/
Ron L
Just curious – why not spear the lionfish in the video?
Nikki Wynn
Because we didn’t have a spear with us or we would have. We only had a snare, which is only used for lobsters/crabs, it won’t work on fish.
Sandy Ellingson
While you are in Panama, make sure to check out Taboga Island. It was my favorite place when I lived their at Fort Clayton in Panama. Also make sure to eat some authentic Ceviche while there. I can’t believe the conditions of the water. When I was there and doing alot of diving the water was so clear that you could count the grains of sand from inside the boat 20 foot down. Wishing you better conditions so you can really see all the beauty. Thanks for sharing. I am reliving my past through you guys and so jeaous!
Nikki Wynn
I will add Taboga to our list! Thanks for the recommendation. It is the rainy season which is known for poor visibility. It will get better but we are happy to be exploring either way!
Al
Hey guys, nice vid, glad to see you’re into SCUBA now, opens up a who ‘nuther world so to speak, I’ve been certified for years, but sadly don’t get a chance to do it nearly enough anymore. Did I miss where you went over your dive gear/compressor in a previous video? And yeah, that viz was cr@p, storm come thru recently, time of year, or just normal for that location?
Also, towards the end, you guys were a little ‘casual’ with the life jackets, you’d mentioned mucho denaro fine if caught without them, is that only applicable in more busy/populated areas? Keep up the great work, looking forward to the next one, and well worth being a Patreon to support this adventure!
Nikki Wynn
Scuba is a whole new dimension for sure! We have not covered our dive gear and compressor yet. We wanted to get in some dives first so we could offer up our pros/cons on everything…so stay tuned.
Yes, the life jackets are only required in town and they are very strict about it. It is uncommon to have to wear a PFD on a dinghy but with how crazy the water traffic is here and the lack of other restrictions I do see why they make such a big deal about it. Thanks for watching and thanks a bazillion for being a part of our Patron crew!!!
Mary
I thought the waters were not going to be clear from Jason’s comment about not getting in the first day. There were several new fish I’ve never seen. I’m glad you were able to capture some video before the battery died! Lots of interesting new things to see!
Happy birthday Justin! Jason’s favorite aunt has a birthday today! ??
Remember John Baptiste from Lolllapalooza? They were so much fun when they got down off the stage and marched through the crowd!! That was s fun day!
I’m sorry for Sue, her family and all of the others who have been affected from the hurricanes.
Be safe.
Curious Minion
Happy birthday Mary!
Laura
A lovely adventure! We are, were, in Glacier National Park and the fires took the Sperry Chalet while we were there. The Going to the Sun Road was closed, and visibility was almost nothing, we had to turn on our headlights to drive. Lots of fires were burning with no end in sight. Alas we left early and are hitting it to the PNW for cleaner air.
Take care.
Nikki Wynn
So sad to hear! Seems the natural disasters are piling up this year and no one is getting a break. Stay safe and enjoy the PNW.
Ken
Another great video guys! I can’t wait for the next one!……mind you I say that every video you guys make!
Nikki Wynn
That is a compliment we will always take! If we keep doing our job, hopefully you will always feel that way. Thanks for watching.
Suzy B
Loved Nikk’s hat. I remember you saying the name of the site. Would you mind sharing again? I am looking for a cool hat!
Nikki Wynn
Yes, San Diego hat company…I like a lot of their hats and they are not crazy expensive which is nice.
Luis Arango
Niki and Jason, I’m a fellow rv’r from Miami. I have navigated the Panamanian waters and the best advice is be carefull, drug traffic between Colombia and Panama is a daily occurance so boats been highjack is a daily occurance specially South of the panama canal. They take the boats to navigate them full of drugs back to the states so please don’t trust and be careful.
Nikki Wynn
Thanks for the warning. We will try to be careful.
Judy Hornbeck
I was so worried about you guys until we saw your post……you have become so professional with sailing!!! Did you feel the earthquake? So happy you got out of dodge before all these storms!!!! Keep up the great posts!!!
Nikki Wynn
Thanks! We did not feel the earthquake but we are on the Caribbean side, not the pacific side so I don’t know if anyone here felt it. I can’t imagine being in Mexico where it hit though, must have been so scary.
Harold George Hofmann Jr
Oh my, such joy and adventure. Keep on keepin’ on.
Love, George
Nikki Wynn
Thanks for watching George! If you have any jungle creature requests, let us know and I will make sure to find them for you when we are hiking through!
Sue Goetzinger
This is helping brighten our day from hurricane hitting our home! Thanks. Still had power to watch
Nikki Wynn
Oh Sue, I hope you guys didn’t get hit hard. Hopefully you didn’t sustain too much damage. Lots of love from us!
JOHN SCHRETLEN
Great update: a birthday, celery for breakfast and diving in the afternoon. Looking forward to more dive videos. I think the difference between snorkeling video vs. SCUBA video is already evident and will only get better.
Mind a small comment? Be careful with your gauges – if you have them dangling and swim near rocks you can crack them.
Jason Wynn
It’s our first dive, we tried to tuck it into our cumberbun for our second dive.