April 27th at S05 50 and W114 17. Well this is day eight and we are just
half way there, were ever there is. Oh that would be the Marquesas
islands. It is good to have half the journey complete and hope the second
is as good as the first. For the first six days we averaged around 200
miles as day and now have less winds and are doing about 175 a day. The
moon is going to be full tomorrow and it sure is bright. Even at night the
sky is still blue and you could read a book by the moonlight. Our days
seem to be broken into three parts. Sleep, eat, and read up on all the
places we plan to visit. We have four books on the south pacific
anchorages and countries so are trying to get them organized in our heads
of which ones are where. You would think that we would be bored out here
but time seems to just fly by and we are not. Mind you sleeping on a bed
that is not moving all over the place would be nice. Right now we are over
1500 miles to the nearest land so feel rather isolated. Sure is a lot of
water in this world.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hello all it Saturday the 24th of April and we are in the big Blue at
position S03 48 W104 07. The weather is great with clear skys and winds
from the SE at 15 to 20 knots. Great sailing for our boat as we are
averaging over 8.5k for the first four days and have sailed over 800 miles
so far. 200 miles a day is very good for any sail boat. We left with Sea
Mist and are pulling away from them at about 15 miles a day. In the
morning there are lots of squid and flying fish on board. They seem to hit
the boat when the moon is down. Right now the moon is rising so we have
terrific visibility at night but when it is down there is great
phosphorescence in the water with our wake trailing off in the distance. We
are into our watch system now and feeling rested and relaxed. Marian is
knitting away for the new grand baby due in August. All is well.
position S03 48 W104 07. The weather is great with clear skys and winds
from the SE at 15 to 20 knots. Great sailing for our boat as we are
averaging over 8.5k for the first four days and have sailed over 800 miles
so far. 200 miles a day is very good for any sail boat. We left with Sea
Mist and are pulling away from them at about 15 miles a day. In the
morning there are lots of squid and flying fish on board. They seem to hit
the boat when the moon is down. Right now the moon is rising so we have
terrific visibility at night but when it is down there is great
phosphorescence in the water with our wake trailing off in the distance. We
are into our watch system now and feeling rested and relaxed. Marian is
knitting away for the new grand baby due in August. All is well.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Hello from Puerto Villamil, Isabela Island Galapagos,
We have been having a blast. We spent just three days in Santa Cruise
island as the anchorage was very rolly! Just like a rough day on the high
seas. We did have a good time seeing Lonesome George at the Darwin center
along with lots of other Tortoises some of which were just huge. George is
the last of his line and they are trying to get him to mate but so far
with no luck. They think he is 150 years or older and he is the last of
one of his species left. The day we were at the center it was really hot
so I guess that is why we were the only people there. Actually there are
few tourists here at least in large groups so are not noticeable. We ran
into other friends here and had drinks and dinners out which was nice.
Marian and I did a wonderful walk through one of the parks to a beach with
talcum powder sand. Lots of surf and at the other end a calmer beach where
one could swim. Again lots of Iguanas, seals and blue footed boobies which
are Marian's favorites.
We then set off for Isabela and Puerto Villamil where we have been
anchored since Monday evening. You would not believe from the sea that
there is an anchorage here as all you can see is surf breaking on the
shore and rock everywhere. Thank heavens there is GPS and coordinates from
blogs of other cruisers who have been here before and published them.
Anyway the anchorage although small is very calm and relaxing. We have
been up to the conservation center here where again they are doing a great
job of saving the tortoises and rebuilding the population. The authorities
have done a good job which is ongoing to rid the islands of introduced
species which have caused so much trouble for the indigenous animals. The
likes of rats, goats, cats etc have caused much trouble for the indigenous
animals. Even ants are a problem for the turtle and tortoise eggs.
On Friday the 16th our oldest grandson, Eamon, had his fifth birthday and
we did a tour by boat to some old lave tunnels that are reached by surfing
our charter boat with two hundred horse power engines through some pretty
big breaking waves into an area of calm clear waters of little bays that
are all arches that you go under and around. Hard to explain but full of
fishes and big turtles and amazing colours. Then it was out through the
surf and into another area through the surf again to an area where we
could go snorkeling. This place is like living in a national geographic
travel log. There are fishes and octopus with giant turtles cruising all
around as well as many six foot or so size white tip sharks. The sharks
seem to be resting under the rocks and in the caves which are everywhere.
I don't know how many we saw but we saw a lot and after the first nervous
moments it was actually a lot of fun to swim with them. They are very
stream lined and quick with their movements but seem to care little of our
presence. We had a great day of it and took a video of the sharks which
turned out very well.
Tomorrow we are going up to the volcano to do a walk around the rim. It
will push us a bit as it is 26 kilometers so I'm sure the beer will taste
especially good tomorrow evening when we get back to the boat.
Well our walk was actually 36 kilometers so the beer tasted really good. It was a great day with spectacular views of the second largest crater in the world. We walked right along the rim for a long way then had lunch. Then it was a walk on the north side of the crater onto the lava flows. It was so hot underfoot that my old running shoes soles fell off!! They were old anyway and my sandals were ok. The last eruption was in 2005 so the area is still very active with
hot steam vents and all. The colours of the different eruptions are amazing with all shades or red, yellow, purple etc. Then it was back the way we had come. The last hour it rained and the path was very muddy and slippery and I managed to slip and fall a couple of times. Just like a little kid I was covered in mud when we got back to the parking lot.
On Monday we spent six hours trying to get our exit papers sorted out!! It should have taken about five minutes but this is Ecuador. Fifteen men to do one mans work. We got back to the boat around 4pm. We put the dinghy onboard and had everything ready to go in the morning.
Tuesday April 20th we pulled up the anchor at 0630 and headed off for the Marguesas. We have had a couple of good days so far having had a 191 mile day and a 205 mile day. Sea Mist is close by so we are in communication with them which makes it less lonely out here. Right now it is 0700 local on April 22nd and all is well.
Monday if we can get all the paper work done we will be off to the
Marquesas islands 3000 miles away so will try to update the blog via the
sat phone.
We have been having a blast. We spent just three days in Santa Cruise
island as the anchorage was very rolly! Just like a rough day on the high
seas. We did have a good time seeing Lonesome George at the Darwin center
along with lots of other Tortoises some of which were just huge. George is
the last of his line and they are trying to get him to mate but so far
with no luck. They think he is 150 years or older and he is the last of
one of his species left. The day we were at the center it was really hot
so I guess that is why we were the only people there. Actually there are
few tourists here at least in large groups so are not noticeable. We ran
into other friends here and had drinks and dinners out which was nice.
Marian and I did a wonderful walk through one of the parks to a beach with
talcum powder sand. Lots of surf and at the other end a calmer beach where
one could swim. Again lots of Iguanas, seals and blue footed boobies which
are Marian's favorites.
We then set off for Isabela and Puerto Villamil where we have been
anchored since Monday evening. You would not believe from the sea that
there is an anchorage here as all you can see is surf breaking on the
shore and rock everywhere. Thank heavens there is GPS and coordinates from
blogs of other cruisers who have been here before and published them.
Anyway the anchorage although small is very calm and relaxing. We have
been up to the conservation center here where again they are doing a great
job of saving the tortoises and rebuilding the population. The authorities
have done a good job which is ongoing to rid the islands of introduced
species which have caused so much trouble for the indigenous animals. The
likes of rats, goats, cats etc have caused much trouble for the indigenous
animals. Even ants are a problem for the turtle and tortoise eggs.
On Friday the 16th our oldest grandson, Eamon, had his fifth birthday and
we did a tour by boat to some old lave tunnels that are reached by surfing
our charter boat with two hundred horse power engines through some pretty
big breaking waves into an area of calm clear waters of little bays that
are all arches that you go under and around. Hard to explain but full of
fishes and big turtles and amazing colours. Then it was out through the
surf and into another area through the surf again to an area where we
could go snorkeling. This place is like living in a national geographic
travel log. There are fishes and octopus with giant turtles cruising all
around as well as many six foot or so size white tip sharks. The sharks
seem to be resting under the rocks and in the caves which are everywhere.
I don't know how many we saw but we saw a lot and after the first nervous
moments it was actually a lot of fun to swim with them. They are very
stream lined and quick with their movements but seem to care little of our
presence. We had a great day of it and took a video of the sharks which
turned out very well.
Tomorrow we are going up to the volcano to do a walk around the rim. It
will push us a bit as it is 26 kilometers so I'm sure the beer will taste
especially good tomorrow evening when we get back to the boat.
Well our walk was actually 36 kilometers so the beer tasted really good. It was a great day with spectacular views of the second largest crater in the world. We walked right along the rim for a long way then had lunch. Then it was a walk on the north side of the crater onto the lava flows. It was so hot underfoot that my old running shoes soles fell off!! They were old anyway and my sandals were ok. The last eruption was in 2005 so the area is still very active with
hot steam vents and all. The colours of the different eruptions are amazing with all shades or red, yellow, purple etc. Then it was back the way we had come. The last hour it rained and the path was very muddy and slippery and I managed to slip and fall a couple of times. Just like a little kid I was covered in mud when we got back to the parking lot.
On Monday we spent six hours trying to get our exit papers sorted out!! It should have taken about five minutes but this is Ecuador. Fifteen men to do one mans work. We got back to the boat around 4pm. We put the dinghy onboard and had everything ready to go in the morning.
Tuesday April 20th we pulled up the anchor at 0630 and headed off for the Marguesas. We have had a couple of good days so far having had a 191 mile day and a 205 mile day. Sea Mist is close by so we are in communication with them which makes it less lonely out here. Right now it is 0700 local on April 22nd and all is well.
Monday if we can get all the paper work done we will be off to the
Marquesas islands 3000 miles away so will try to update the blog via the
sat phone.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
.JPG)
90 Kilo Tortoise.JPG)
Marian getting up close to a Blue Footed Boobie.JPG)
Seals get on every ones boatsHello on Saturday Marian went over to a beach and managed to get within a couple of feet of the Blue footed boobies. He seemed to have little concern of our approach but was well aware we were there. We saw Iguanas that were a couple of feet long and swim in the ocean.
On Sunday we did a day trip. We walked around the rim of an old volcano which is now filled with water and is the supply for the islands use. As you drive up the hillsides you go through five different climate zones from the more dessert shoreline thru forests and jungle to grass lands all in a few miles. We then went to the breeding center for one of the tortoise types (there are 11). We saw some big ones and some babies and it is amazing that these little things can grow that big around 90 kilos. Ones on the other islands we will visit go up to 200 kilos!
After this we went for a walk down by the ocean to a lovely beach for a swim before heading back up the mountains for lunch in a garden setting for a three course meal. Lots of fresh fruit and fresh juice a mixture of mango, papaya, passion fruit, and who know what else. It was delicious. We then walked around a farm where all this fruit is grown and picked up a couple of papaya for ourselves.
We got back to the boat around 1630 and had an early night. Nice way to spend Easter Sunday.
On Monday Marian had a quiet day doing boat stuff and I went ashore and walked out to the lighthouse and watched the kids surfing on 15 foot waves. Wish I was younger and could do that. That evening we were invited over to Sea Mist for and Easter dinner which was great a Cheryl went all out. We take water taxi's here as if you don't the sea lions will be all over them.
Tuesday was a work day for us as we had a problem with the batteries overcharging on the way here. So we found an electrician who came out to the boat and found that our voltage regulator was shot. We then tested the batteries as we heated them up pretty good and found one is no good. This morning Wednesday we are going into town to talk about what we can do. I believe that he already has another battery ordered and hope he can get regulator Fed Ex'd down but am not holding our breath on that one. We can operated just fine without this as we have four ways of charging the batteries on this boat. Cruising is not all fun!!!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Hello from the Galapagos islands. We arrived on April 02 at 1600 hrs. We had a couple of drinks a light dinner then a good nights sleep. We are in Wreck Bay on San Cristobal island and will be here for a week. On the way along side the island we nearly ran over a couple of turtles in a romantic embrace. They were the size of a Volkswagon car! When we anchored we had our agent onboard along with two other officials and on Friday morning we had to go up to Immigration for formalities. We may get the passports back today? For the rest of Friday we walked around the town which is very nice and clean then went to the Interpretive center which is very well set up. Then Marian and John (Sea Mist) and I went for a walk on trails over the laval rock up to lookouts over the bay and ocean. A beautiful walk for three hours or so then it was to a small outdoor cafe where we had a couple of beers (one liter in size) and a great hamburger. An early night last night. Being Easter weekend not much is open so we will not start doing tours until Monday but may take a cab to some of the research places today.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
March 31st 1900hrs position N00 32 0 W087 40 0.
You will find this strange but as we get closer to the equator the
temperature is cooling down!! It is right now about 8C cooler than the
last month or so. It is very nice!! Down to 28C with low humidity. Today
has been great with winds out of the SE at 15k and we are sailing at 7.5k
so making good progress. The plan now is to be in Wreck Bay tomorrow
evening around 1600 hrs. We have just watched a pacific sunset and now
have some birds that are looking for a roost for the night. We have them
most every night somewhere on the boat. All is well.
You will find this strange but as we get closer to the equator the
temperature is cooling down!! It is right now about 8C cooler than the
last month or so. It is very nice!! Down to 28C with low humidity. Today
has been great with winds out of the SE at 15k and we are sailing at 7.5k
so making good progress. The plan now is to be in Wreck Bay tomorrow
evening around 1600 hrs. We have just watched a pacific sunset and now
have some birds that are looking for a roost for the night. We have them
most every night somewhere on the boat. All is well.
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