Galapagos to Marqueses April 28 – May 23 2013

Hey Y'all,

We arrived in Nuka Hiva, Marqueses Thurs May 23, hook down at 3pm.

Having just completed the longest open water passage between two points of land....we were ready for a break and it was ....well it was almost a perfect passage.  Here's the story...

We departed the Galapagos in nearly perfect conditions and a reasonable weather forecast for the next few days.

Our transmission repairs enabled us to motor south and around the remaining Galapagos and all seemed well in our world.

As dusk approached that first nightfal we noticed a large suspicious boat following in our wake.  We were further alarmed as they came closer and we saw behind them no less than a 8 additional boats.

We were a wee bit spooked and took measures to insure that no uninvited guests would step foot aboard without our express invitation. (please don’t ask what the measures are...they might be illegal, (ya think?)... but suffice to say we took them).

We were flying our big ‘all black’ spinnaker and were making good time but with this large downwind sail full and flying, that’s the good news...the bad news is it ain’t real easy changing direction and made for difficult evasive manoeuvring.

Kaija & I took up our assigned positions and waited.  With engine in gear we were ready to evade or repel as needed.  ‘Otto’ was steering the boat leaving me to man the defenses including the whale stopper (just an expression, I have no idea what it could possible refer to, but I assure you ... it works!).

Fishing Trawler with congo line of fishing boats...WHAT ARE THEY'RE INTENTIONS????

...they closed in on us...and just when we thought boarding was imminent...they bore off...changed course then continued to motor up on the same course with sufficient sea room...and they started waving and cheering....and it appears after receiving all the salutations and happy smiling faced waves, they just wanted a closer look at at our nice boat and the big black sail.  They motored off over the horizon and we shut down the engine and sailed into the sunset.  A perfect end to a first perfect day.

The next few days were quite uneventful, pleasant enough getting used to the motion of the ocean and the ‘new’ concept of actually nonstop sailing which we had not done for a long time.

Everything was great...until...day 7...the tranny stopped working. The transmission repair work we had done in Galapagos failed.  As a practice we would run the engine every second day for a couple of hours to charge things up and also to make slight course adjustments to keep our cross track to a minimum.

It's was on about the 13th hour...once again, the forward gear of our transmission failed to engage.  We were already 850 miles away from the Galapagos and the thought of turning back was only briefly considered...and so we sailed on...

After all, we are a sailboat...duh!

The passage planning taught us that sailing Rumbline (as the crow flies) would be approx 3000 miles, would take 21 - 25 days.  ..but turned out to be 3709.7 miles and 26 days.  Our best travel day was 174 miles...our worst 54 miles...ouch!...but the real ouch happened on day 25...

For 24 days it was so incredibly glorious...hours of Bliss...what we

termed the Magic Carpet Ride...when the person off watch was trying to sleep and motion mattered...where you had no sense of the waves or of the boat moving...it felt like gliding, at night with no lights, just the stars...a true sensation of floating, like flying, incredible!

Strangely we did not experience much in the way of sea life...no birds flying...no fish jumping...3700 miles and no fish???...about the only thing we could count on was that there were be a scattered few dead flying fish...so something must be out there chasing them.

Deck Squid....mmm maybe  not so tasty???

....Then there were the long hours with light winds when you were drifting miles off course and couldn't do anything about it... we would face that problem when it happened.  All in all so far so good in fact it was terrific...we had managed to make safe passage, always finding a little breeze to keep things moving, because, if we stopped and got turned sideways to the large ocean swells, running 8 - 12 ft and then that elusive wave that doesn't fit...it's bigger and badder than the rest and catches you unaware...so keep the boat moving at all costs...and we had managed to do so....

so...on the afternoon of day 25...our second to last day, being at mile 111.1 away from our destination with light winds...but sailing at 5 kts...with our final destination within reach for a next day early morning arrival, good light excellent visibility...I could almost taste my first baguette.

Then the wind DIED!!!

I mean dead...no a puff...a whisper of air...but we were still in those big lumpy seas...12 to 15 foot swells...no real wave action, just lump and confused seas.  With no way to maneuver the boat we got turned sideways quickly and for three hours we were tossed and thrown every which way but loose...oops...and I mean Kaija and I were just holding on, there was stuff flying everywhere...so just when you think it can't get much worse...and we were praying for some wind to sail by...(I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again...when you pray...BE SPECIFIC)

Ol Man Murphy decided to join the crew and have his way...the skies blackened and we could see the line of squalls coming...and then came the first hint of a breeze...

...did I say breeze...what I mean is it started to blow...and blow...and blow....and within moments it was blowing 30kts...30

KNOTS!!!!!!...YES...LET'S GO SAILING...why isn't ‘OTTO’ holding course????... I had turned the Auto pilot off during this unpleasant tossing and turning with no wind episode as it was just making the drive computer crazy and being the generous Captain I am...said...ok...it's been working flawlessly for 25 days...let's give it a rest....so I shut it off....and now when the wind hits...and we started moving...I turned AUTO on but it wouldn't hold course...after a half dozen attempts it just shut down....

so keeping in mind...we had 24 days of wonderful weather...not always as much wind as we needed or too much wind from the wrong direction...and it was taking longer than we had planned...

but we were safe, the boat was easily managed and nothing was

damaged...all in all a great trip... and then Day 25... it's mid afternoon on May 22...the wind is now howling 30 to 40 knots...for 9 hrs...it blew and blew and blew some more...and it continued throughout the nite till the early light of dawn.  Obscuring what should have been an idyllic sail under a full moon it was the longest period we have ever been in heavy weather in all my years of sailing.  It was a very humbling experience.

Thankfully we prepared early by reducing sail with a double reef in the main...so when the wind hit...I felt comfortable with the

canvas...however, at about hr 7 of this storm...Kaija looks up and

says..."that's a new crease in the main" referring to the mainsail....I

looked up and said "honey, that ain't no crease ..that's a rent sail...

it was blown from luff to leach ...in other words...the sail was RIPPED INTO TWO PIECES...THE TOP HALF AND THE BOTTOM HALF....

sooooo...after having an almost perfect sail of 24 days...avoiding any real storms and damage...with only 111.1 miles to go...

We have no Autopilot...no mainsail...no forward gear on the tranny...it's blowin 30 kts...dark as Toby"s Arse (is that a word) and we are tired and grumpy...oh boy oh joy can you imagine the fun we were havin now?

I am driving in total darkness...no stars, no moon, no external reference to steer the boat, it's blowin steady 30 and gustin a whole lot higher, totally confused seas 15 - 20 ft. I'm driving like like a blind man...it’s pitch black and I’m trying to navigate by instrument like flying IFR (Instrument Flight rules)...diving after the wind gauge...and digital compass trying not to luff up or load up too much pressure and further damage the rig, or worst case...broach in heavy seas.

Oh and did I mention...that at one point during the night, I had been on the helm for a number of hours (as someone doesn't like to steer at night)(but is excellent in soooo many other ways)...so....I am hand steering with no mainsail and reefed headsail...30 kts...and big nasty lumpy seas...and the WHEEL CAME OFF IN MY HANDS...YUP YOU READ THAT RIGHT!...OFF TOTALLY OFF IN MY HANDS (thank you Beneteau?)

...this is a large 40" destroyer wheel on a 1 X 10 inch steel keyed and sprocketted shaft I'm talkin about...I thought I was delirious...at first it didn't make any sense....you talk about SURPRISE SURPISE SURPISE... and I felt just like good ol Gomer Pyle...(am I dating  myself...does anyone remember the Andy Griffin show?)

having the steering wheel come off in your hands while you are blasting along at 8 kts in 30 kts of breeze..is not quite as serious as it happening to you in your car doing  60...but it ain't ideal!...what did you do? you ask??? haha...for those of you who know the boat you know we have 2 steering wheels...a his and hers...a backup plan...redundancy...who knows why it’s there?...but I was sure glad that other wheel was over there looking back at me (thank you Beneteau)

...don't ask...I don't know why it came off...the whole shaft just came out of the pedestal...I turned to Kaija and said...’here take this’...and handed her the steering wheel...(you gotta find humor when you can!)...then hopped over to the other wheel and kept driving.

suffice to say...we landed, well not quite yet...

just as we were approaching the anchorage of Taiohae Bay ...we were blessed with yet another squall and the entrance thru the rocks into the inlet ...

the entrance was a complete white out...no problem..., I've got a good 'GPS fix' to guide me thru the rocks...then the wind shifted on to the nose...

let's see...no forward gear on the tranny...and can't sail into the

wind...mmmmm...PROBLEM!!!...can’t see the entrance...TIME TO CALL KEVIN!

Kevin & Princess Esmarelda

...lucky for us...along come Kevin of Nuku Hiva Yacht Services. (thx to John & Cathy of Mystic Moon)...we have been communicating him regarding getting parts and service for our transmission...lucky for us...he is also the agent here and we were able to raise him on the vhf radio and he came out and towed us in...and the good news was as we were being towed into the bay...we were surrounded by a pod Melon Headed whales, bottle nose dolphins, and off to the one side were three giant mantas...how great is that.

Seeing the sites of the Galapgos – Wildlife at it’s finest.

We have spent the past few days trying to relax and enjoy the remarkable landscape of these volcanic islands.  Kaija was in hot pursuit of the very cute blue footed boobie bird and now has photographic proof that they exist,

 Kaija and the Elusive Blue Footed Boobie

 and for the real thing!...

 the marine aguanas are singularly exclusive to these islands and of course there are the huge tortoises...no longer LoneSome George, he died last year and was very old...150 or older...but they are still remarkable to get up close to.  The diving can be spectacular...very much dependant on the prevailing weather conditions of the day...and when not optimum, it can be difficult to make out the large schools of hammerhead, the very large manta rays, seals and sealiions, large grouper and snapper, enough to make the hunter drool, but alas no my drooling sailor man...control yourself...these are marine parks....mmmm, I know...leave some for the next guy...I’m all for it!

these cute little guys can grow to 800lbs

Santa Cruz is a large Island with one major town being Puerto Ayora.  It is the main harbour and is quite busy.  It is unfortunately an open roadstead to the prevailing SE swell.  It demands that you ue as stern anchor to keep your boat facing into the waves.  The town is great...with newly laid brick roads, they town feels clean and new and the shops are well laid out and abundant.  There is an excellent farmers fruit and vegetable market on Saturdays, otherwise there is fresh fish on the docks daily for all.

 everybody gets fed at the fish market.

We traveled for the weekend to visit with Jim and Carol in Isabella and spent a day on the water seeing the very dramatic volcanic coast line 

 West coast Isla Isabella, Galapagos

we sawflightless cormorants, 

mini penguins, 

 

more blue footed boobies, sea lions, giant mantas and large sea turtles. 

Unfortunately, because of the large sea swell we were unable to enter the bay and view the dance of the blue footed boobies...this is a mating ritual dance and is said to be very entertaining. We caught three beautiful yellow fin tuna and enjoyed fresh Ceviche for lunch. 

Ceviche anyone??

Isabella has a smaller more protected anchorage but the island itself is not as developed as Santa Cruz.  We enjoyed a hike to the Wall of Tears built by islands prisoners during the Second WW.  We enjoyed seeing more Iguanas than we could count and the occasional tortoise out for a stroll.  We traversed along fine flour like sand beaches as the ocean waves curled and crashed along the shore.   

There are only 20000 residents in all of the Galapagos Islands....which is a radical increase from the 4000 of only 10 years ago...and of course the thousands of indigenous birds, mammals and sea creatures that call this isolated Island grouping home.

We are very excited about our upcoming BIG LEG...3000 miles to the Tuamotu.  

We depart Galapagos at first light and will arrive in The Tuamotos in approx 20 days.

Till then, and till we check in again....thx for being there!

The Galapagos...where do you find a Mechanic???? HELP

Now for the fun part...gettin this stuff fixed...in the Galapagos????

And here’s where the news gets goods, or at least as good as it can get when you are at the mercy of a mechanic...his name is Ronnie...he’s just a kid...quiet, polite, and man is he good.

He had the transmission dismantled, off in his hands in less than a half hour....are you kidding me????

I was still struggling to remove the hi output alternator, which we discovered had seized...when you see your double pulley belts kinda melted to the pulley....good clue the bearings are shot!.

Anyway...got it off...and away Ronnie went...muttering something about my clutch damper plate ‘no bien’.   Turns out the clutch damper plate was broken, Ronnie thought he could fix it...turns out he couldn’t...he’s human...so what...he tried...however, what he was smart enough to do was to call mainland Ecuador and order a new one.  This was on a Friday afternoon....it arrived by air the next day....THE NEXT DAY!!!!...he had the alternator fixed already...and was back on Monday to install the transmission...I said something about could he look at the fuel lift pump...and working without being able to see what he was doing...he removed the pump...took it home and returned the next morning fixed like new.   Ronnie is a genius!  Much thanks to our good friends Jim and Carol on Sv Somerset for that recommendation.

Second Start - Panama to Galapagos

Luckily for us...the seas were quite soft and the winds a gentle breeze.  We weren’t making great time, but we were sailing...keeping vigilant watch for any cloud patterns that might foretell a puff of wind.

Originally when we departed Panama City we had planned for a 6 – 8 day passage.  If we had sailed with our weather window, that is what we would have done.  However, with the light winds come slower speeds and we found ourselves drifting along at 3kts for a period of 18 hrs with the winds dying.  This was on Monday April 8 and so I decided to start the engine and do a little motor sailing.  The engine started as it had each time I asked it too after my early morning vigil with it’s parts.  I put her in gear...and nadda...buttkiss...no joy...WHAT DO YOU MEAN!!!!...no transmission????? You gotta be kidding me...!!! I jest...you have reverse...but no forward :o)

Now your little motor can run just as good as can be, but if you gotta no a transmission...I’m a gonna tella ya what....you a go a no place!.

Well after a hastily called crew meeting to discuss our options...hahahah what options??? We could drive backward 200 miles...we could paint a pointy end on the stern and pretend we were going forward.... No wait a minute...we got options...we’re a sail boat right??? (uhuh....when there’s wind).

So we did what sailors do...we sailed...

We were joined early on by a very attractive little sparrow who took great delight in playing with his friend 'in the mirror'...he spent hours hopping along the front of the mirror trying to figure out how that other bird was so smart.

Panama bird and his buddy in the mirror

And there’s dolphins’.....did i mention the dolphins...everyday...very large pods of small, very playful, flipper tricks et al, and they were very entertaining...as well a terrific lift to the spirit of our passage.

We finally reached that magical mark in every sailors path...the Equator...it is significant...it's a milestone...tatoo or no tatoo...earing or piercing....I think not...we gave to Neptune what was his due...we rejoiced in making this far and bravely sailed over the line into the South Pacific.

 at 6:36pm on April 9 2013 KaijaSong and Crew crossed the Equator.

and we sailed somemore....until the next night when we found ourselves 40 miles from the Galapagos and NO WIND!....SO what do you do?...you turn off Auto( autopilot) put away the sails and go to bed....and hopefully when you wake up...you will have drifted closer to your destination...and that’s exactly what happened...we woke up with 32 miles to go...a little breeze...we raised the spinnaker and with a light breeze gently filling the spinnaker we had ten miles to go by 2pm....and the wind died...

 the X's were rumline waypoints...the somewhat squiggly line is where the wind took us.

Now for those of you who tuned in late...our dinghy motor was stolen...so we bought a new one...and guess who’d been ridin along do nothing for almost 900 miles???? You guessed it...so we dropped the dinghy in the water and tied her along side and started up the little Yamaha 15hp outboard and putted our way into Santa Cruz...

 dinghy tied alongside KS puttin the last 10 miles to Galapagos...hey ya use what ya got!

I will say we were ever so grateful when our new friends Pete and Raewyn Sv Saliandar sailed up alongside and offered assistance as did good friends Karen and Cheryl on Sv Interlude when they came out in a launcha to assist us with anchoring...what a relief...to be in safe..Thank you Lord, and thanks to all the friends along the way who helped.

We made it ....the Galapagos!