Wednesday 12 03 08, Position @12.00hrs; S04.37’ , W97.38’ Distance in last 24hrs – 138.5miles
Well sure enough, yesterday afternoon the decision was made to put up the spinnaker. Amazingly we managed to do this without the usual debacle, and managed to increase our speed by 1.5 knots. We kept it up until sundown ,then sailed on the headsail for a couple of hours before the wind completely died and we motored from 10.30pm until 8.30am . We didn’t catch any fish yesterday so chicken fajitas for tea and another big pot of soup made! It starts off as a lovely starry night with good light from the waxing moon. The moon is not up for long however, and it becomes hazy and very dark as the night progresses. It’s an overcast morning and we can see squalls to the SE. Surprisingly the wind picks up from the NE, approx 10 knots. It then veers round to the west, and backing from the south, then right on the nose, so engine on again. Ronnie services the watermaker and changes all the filters. He’s on a battery management crusade ( we weren’t allowed to use the toaster yesterday) but we’ve persuaded him we need to use the bread – and toast would be nice this morning! We have the most awful looking sausages you’ve ever seen in your life (Andoullette comes to mind!) - bought during a men only shop of course, but they’re actually not too bad when sliced and fried well done! The sun’s out again , quite a calm, rolly sea- usually good for wildlife spotting but nothing but a few wee Eliot’s petrels and more flying fish. We continue to scan the horizon, nothing else to be seen so far…
GALAPAGOS LOG
We arrive in San Christobal at approx 6pm on Thursday 28th Feb. We see our friends Tramontana and we manage to anchor nearby – it’s a good anchorage. Sea-lions are everywhere parked on all the unoccupied boats, on the jetty, everywhere! Phil and Fay join us for sundowners on Jus’ Do It then we head ashore for an explore. Phil takes us in his dinghy, we have a few beers and head back. It’s a quiet wee town for a Friday night. When we get back to Phil’s dinghy it’s covered in big black beetles – yeugh! We flick them off en route and Phil and Fay get rid of the rest before going back to their boat. There’s lots of water taxi’s so we decide not to launch our own dinghy due to sea-lions jumping in and using them as their public convenience! – and the beetle issue!
The following day (Friday) we rise early - Stewy has a run in with a large sea-lion that’s just about to make himself comfy in our cockpit. They have a wee growl at each other then Stewy chases him off just in time! Phil comes over and helps us with loads of boat jobs, doing them in a fraction of the time they would take us. He’s a truly brilliant boatman. We all go ashore for some lunch ( Stewy frustrated as his chips order never arrives!) then go on a taxi tour round the Island with Phil’s local man, Carlos. He takes us up into the highlands where there are a few wee villages and farms scattered around. It’s very lush at this time of the year. We visit a tortoise sanctuary where they are undertaking a breeding programme to introduce more into the wild and boost the population. We then drive to a local beach where there are lots of sea-lions frolicking about and where we see our first big black iguanas parked up on the rocks like prehistoric monsters – just like in the guide books! It’s very exciting to see them like this in the wild for the first time. They are fascinating to watch with the sea spray and waves crashing behind them. At first we are a bit apprehensive but Carlos assures us we can go up close, which we do – it’s amazing how unfazed they are by our presence. Carlos gives us some interesting chat on local flora and fauna and we enjoy the views while bumping along the roads in the back of his pick-up truck. At night we go ashore for sun-downers then eat some good local fare in a little back street restaurant.
Saturday 1st March, we decide we better leave tonight for Santa Cruz, our next port of call, and make the decision to do an overnight sail in the company of another Arc boat, and our new pals, Tallulah Ruby. We fuel up from by taking all the cannisters ashore, get the laundry done and do a bit of shopping ashore.It’s a kind of sleepy wee town but we manage to get a few vitals and ice. The main town appears to be developing and there are a lot of unfinished buildings scattered around. They grow their own coffee here and we watch them raking out and drying the beans in the hot sun. While sitting in the bay we are constantly amused by the antics of the sea-lions who have claimed residence of numerous unoccupied boats, jumping far higher than you would think they could and getting through net barriers and even onto cockpit tables! We see some settling into the cockpit of another Arc boat whose crew must be away on a trip – they’re going to get a surprise when they come back!
We go ashore for sundowners , then leave at around midnight, Tallulah Ruby close behind. There’s no wind so we motor all the way on double shifts. While Val and Annie on the dawn watch we manage to get a job done that’s been needing doing for a while – we change the Scottish flag to top position above the English one on the forestay – it’s a while before it’s noticed the following day!
Sunday 2nd March, we arrive in Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz at 8am. It’s a large bay and we anchor quite far out as there’s alot of boats. Ian, Stewy and Gordon all go ahore for breakfast while Val and I have a rest. In the afternoon we walk for a few miles through cactus groves and lush vegetation to get to Tortuga Bay, a spectacular golden sandy beach with more iguanas walking around. Unforunately we’ve lugged all the snorkelling gear and the water is nowhere near clear enough. There’s lots of surf so we all jump in and enjoy being battered around for an hour or so watching iguanas in the waves and some local surfers. Great fun and so good to be in the sea again and not just on top of it! There’s also lots of funny looking fish feeding on the surface right beside us . Ashore there’s a Japanese camera man – we ask him what he’s waiting for and he tells us he’s filming “everything” for a Japanese wildlife documentary. We stop for a few beers when we get back to the town then have some pizza and an early night!
TO BE CONTINUED tomorrow!!!!