Galapogos here we come- 6 April 2024
I woke early and it was a very still morning in our anchorage but very beautiful as it was so quiet and gentle. Angus was up as well and we had a cup of tea on the aft deck as the day warmed up. We had decided to head to the Galapagos today which is some 870 nm to San Cristobel, the Island where we are to anchor. I had applied through an agent and had obtained permission to visit with Stormbird. The plan was to get there about the 11/12 April 2024 with Charles and Joyce going on a tour on the 16th-24 April 2024. Mark, Keith and I had arranged a boat tour on a motor yacht for 8 days and Mark and Keith’s wives were coming out to join them. Unfortunately, Jules was due to come bit now cannot. Angus will fly home from the Galapagos and so will Charles after his tour.
I had been looking at the weather and the winds were looking very light for our trip and we may have to do quite a bit of motoring. However, we are not in a rush and will take our time and will sail when we can or that is the plan. The issue is that we are near the equator and will pass through an area called the Doldrums. The doldrums is a belt near the equator which is renown for little or no winds. We will also pass through the equator on this trip passing from the northern hemisphere into the southern hemisphere. It is a longstanding maritime tradition to initiate sailors who are crossing the equator for the first time. Those who have not yet crossed are known as “pollywogs.” After crossing the equator, they become “shellbacks,” or trusted subjects of Neptune, the Roman god of water. The Pollywogs (also referred to as landlubbers) must be dipped in water for the initiation and passing into the realm of the seas. This part is the beginning of the ritual wherein they are stripped down to their underwear and normally, dipped in the water gathered in the save-all tray! Following the dip, raw eggs are broken onto the heads of the first timers and then they are made to drink a deadly concoction of beer, chilli sauce, raw eggs etc. The reason behind this is to give the beginners a truth serum in order that they speak the absolute truth when they swear their allegiance to King Neptune and the sea! It is therefore going to quite a trip and to such a special place.
The rest of the crew got up and we had a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs to start us off. We cleared up and prepared the rest of the boat having put the dinghy up on the davits the night before. We then did some final communication reminders and safety reminders and we upped anchor and we were off. Although this was 9.00am we had agreed to put the clocks back I hour to sync with Galapagos time, so we were leaving at 8.00am.
Charles and I were on first shift 8.00am- 12.00noon and so we motored out of the bay and then south out past the end of the Isla de Rey being the most southerly of all the Las Perlas islands. En route we could see fish jumping out of the water and little tiny fish disturbing the millpond water with their activity. We were now back on to 24 hour running and shifts which means we do a log in the logbook every hour and we plot on the chart at 12.00noon each day. Charles was shown the log ritual and then we started the daily checks again which is part of the 8-12 shift. This is a long checklist of items with the aim of identifying any issues or concerns so we can deal with them early and they do not get worse or lead to breakages etc. We found a little wheel in the genoa car had broken so this was replaced. We also tied back the halyards each side of the mast, so they do not rub (chafe) on the spreaders. After a few hours there was some wind – 5-6 kts so we decided to sail even though our speed was only about 4-5 kts. This did not matter as we were not in a rush and we needed to make water and I do not like to have the engine and generator on at the same time if I can avoid it.
I started the generator and began to fill the water tanks which were almost on empty. Mark also put the fishing rod out as our speed was reasonable. It took a number of hours to fill the tanks and we were sailing along slowly but nicely. It was very hot and humid but good to be on the way. Our watch went quite fast and Mark and Joyce took over the 12.00noon to 4.00pm watch. Charles and I prepared lunch which we all enjoyed sailing peacefully. Mark announced that some dolphins had greeted us on the bow and they also saw a couple what they believe were a couple of turtles.
After lunch we were chilling when the rod made a sound and we had caught a fish – quite a reasonable size fish it seemed and it took Mark some time to get it in. It was a nice sized Tuna – we had caught our supper!. This was gutted and prepared and it felt like we were on passage again. The wind died toward the end of Mark and Joyce’s watch and so the sails came in and we were under motor again. This did not matter too much as when we were sailing we were a bit off our course for the planned waypoints we had put in so we could now easily get back on course.
Keith and Angus took over at 4.00pm and it was a lovely end of the day as due to the time change it was getting dark by 5.30pm our time. As we were sitting in the cockpit we saw a whole load of rays jumping out of the water and splashing in again. Some of them were actually doing somersaults!! and what a treat to witness this. It feels like we are heading for some great wildlife and we are beginning to witness some on the way. The light began to fade and the navigation lights went on and we began to dim the instruments so that we could begin to move into the night phase.
Mark cooked the tuna within a few hours of it being caught. We had some sashimi but also delicious tuna steaks which were meaty and so fresh. This was supported by butternut squash mash and aubergines in ginger and soy sauce. No drink but just water as we are on passage It was a great supper and nice to catch such a good fish on our first day.
We are on our way and it is good to be getting back into the routine of running the boat and shifts where we all work as a team and support each other. (See picture). Hopefully we will have some more wind to sail again but let’s see how we get on overnight.
Opportunity for any Readers/Sailors.
In late May 2024 we shall be in the Marquesas in French Polynesia, 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.
In addition, in year two I will be going 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 Galapagos 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