Galapagos to Marquesas –12 May 2024 – Day 11

Charles and I had the 11.00pm to 2.00am watch and this was a quiet one with the wind being constant and we were making good progress. We had decided to continue to a point where the models suggested we gybed and went north. We were just about able to maintain the course required for this waypoint.

We were also on again at 8.00am and it was another lovely sunny day with few clouds. There was a little roll but that is the ocean for you. It is never still and flat. There were schools of flying fish which would regularly take to the skies as it were and fly for some 20-30 feet and then crash into the water with a splash. Keith cooked a tomato omelette which was good and Charles and I set about the daily checks.  I put on the generator to charge the batteries and also began to make water. This went well and there were no electrical issues. I hope that the problem was just a quirk that day but time will tell.

During this time Mark had another problem with his heads (toilet) and this time the bowl would not empty completely and it looked like the macerator pump in which he found the plastic bag the other day was no longer working. We tested the wiring first and there was no issue with the current getting to the pump. Luckily I had a spare under Keith’s bunk which I got out. The problem became worse when Mark could not get the macerator pump out of the base of the toilet as it seemed to be jammed. He therefore had to remove the whole of the toilet and it still would not come out. The base was cracked so luckily I had a spare base as well so we had to throw away the old base. Mark- poor chap had to spend a few hours sorting this out but once it was all reassembled it worked. It just shows how important it is to take spares as you never know when you need them. Hopefully there will be no more problems with this head.

I also greased the outboard motor fixings and Charles replaced the bungee cord on the Danbuoy (inflatable rescue device) and life ring which deteriorates in the sun. We were now in Longitude 115 degrees, so we went back another hour on the ships clocks and so Charles and I did an extra hour on watch.  We got out the sextant and Charles showed Ian how to take a sun sighting. (see picture). It is odd to think  that this is how sailors navigated the globe until about the 1970’s and 1980’s.

The afternoon passed quietly as the wind started to decline so that the wind strength was 9-12 kts and so we were only sailing about 5-6 kts which is slow by our usual standards. It was gentle sailing and the sun on the water was beautiful particularly as the day began to close. We had done another 182 nm to 12.00noon which was not bad and we are still heading for the Marquesas which is gradually getting larger on our chart plotter.  The challenge for us is keeping in the right wind as most models show it quite low in the next few days with wind holes which we need to avoid. Each time I look at the weather things have changed and I do this twice a day. I am therefore having to consistently review the models and work out what is the best route for us bearing in mind the sailing angles etc. I regularly discuss this with Mark and any of the crew if interested and we work together to agree the next 24-48 hours We are heading today to a waypoint which I hope we will arrive at about 8.00am tomorrow and the plan is to gybe and hoist the Blue Baron and to keep on that gybe for the rest of the day.

We are all having to manage our watches, cook, eat and relax each day and the watches change each day for us all. It is therefore important that we all take rest when we can to be able to manage this routine. In addition, we have to manage our washing which is done by hand otherwise we will run out of clothes to war. If we did not have the watermaker this would be tricky.

Why are the crew doing this trip?

I obviously have to do (want to do) this trip as I am sailing all the way to New Zealand. However, in planning this circumnavigation I was always looking forward to the Galapagos and French Polynesia in particular as it is so remote and apparently very beautiful and I think will feel very different.

Mark wanted to join me on this trip and he enjoys ocean sailing and life on board and he said there are not many people he would sail the world with.

Joyce has already sailed this leg but the Skipper on that boat was on such a tight schedule that she did not have time to see a lot and so wanted to do it again at more leisurely pace and on a larger boat.

Charles was in the process of a circumnavigation but for various reasons could not continue. He is ex-navy and has taken a boat across the Atlantic and wanted to do the same across the Pacific.  

Keith always liked the idea of sailing the Pacific and when the opportunity arose he jumped in.  He has also been on Stormbird a few times now and enjoys life on board. His wife Fiona is flying out to join Stormbird in the Marquesas for a number of weeks.

Ian (Keith’s older brother) was not due on this trip. He sailed with Stormbird across the Atlantic and through the Caribbean until Grenada. When this spot came available he was keen to experience and sail more oceans and no doubt to spend time with his brother !!!

This is quite a brave passage to join bearing in mind its length and the fact that you end up in a very remote part of the world.  

We finished off the day with an enjoyable beef stew with broccoli and sweet potato mash followed by papaya. We are finishing off the meals we had in the freezer and we have about 3 to go. Then we will have to start catching some fish.

Crewing Opportunity

We will arrive in the Marquesas in French Polynesia about 20-23 May 2024 and we will then move through to the Tuamotu’s before getting to Tahiti about the end of July 2024. There may be some space on Stormbird during this period should any sailor/reader be interested in joining for this period or part of it in what must be one of the most distant and beautiful places in the world.

Year Two

In addition, in year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and probably across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town and I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we head off to the Marquesas and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk