Joining the Grand Majestic -San Cristobal - Galapagos –22 April 2024.
We were joining the Grand Majestic Yacht for our Galapagos tour over 8 days which will take us round a number of the islands and it is the only way properly to see the Galapagos. When we woke it was a grey day but there was no sign of the Grand Majestic – well I am sure it will come. It did within the next 30 minutes and anchored some 70 yards away.
Mark had bought some pastries the day before and we had these with a good cup of coffee. Mark had to give Roger (the taxi driver who took us to the tortoise sanctuary a number of days ago) the list of fruit and provisions we needed for the Marquesas trip. Other than Keith we all went ashore and I needed to get some new shorts and found some in a good shop. We had a drink and returned to Stormbird. I had arranged for a young man called Miguel through the agent to come aboard to look after Stormbird for a couple of days before Charles and Joyce returned. He came at 11.30 and I reminded him again of the things he needed to do in terms of keeping the batteries charged, putting on the anchor light at night and ensuring that the anchor is not dragging etc.
At about 12.15pm the dinghy from Grand Majestic came to pick us up from Stormbird with our luggage and ferried us across. We were met by the crew with cold towels and a fruit juice drink which we had on the rear deck which was a good start. We then went into the lounge inside which had a nice sofa sitting area with a television, coffee and tea making facilities etc. What I noticed was that with the air conditioning – it was so cold. We were then shown to our cabins. I had cabin 7 which was on the same floor as the lounge and I have a large window on the port side which I can look out of. Mark and Corinne and Keith and Ruth had lower floor cabins which were a bit larger and had smaller windows, but they were all very nice.
We then had lunch which was a buffet with spaghetti with different sauces and an array of salads followed by fruit. Louis – our guide for this trip gave us a briefing about the facilities on board, safety procedures and then relayed what we are doing this afternoon. We have breakfast at 7.00am, lunch at 12.00noon and dinner at 7.00pm.
Grand Majestic was built in 2018 – a Broward design from the USA. She is 127 ft long, 24ft wide and she has a draft of 5 ft. She is capable of 25 kts and takes 16 passengers and 9 crew with one guide. It has a sun deck with lots of outside seating and a jacuzzi. I think we are in for a good trip. See the picture of her.
After lunch we had to get ready for our afternoon trip which was to visit the old volcano on San Cristobal called El Junco which is now a freshwater lagoon. We were taken by dinghy ashore and then we went on a bus to the bottom of the volcano. This was essentially the same road we had taken when we went to the tortoise sanctuary. San Cristobal is one of the oldest islands in the Galapagos and as a result is one of the few islands that has fresh water as soil has developed and it can retain it as with younger islands the water runs away.
We came to the bottom of the cone and we walked up a path to the top. We then looked down on a large lake/lagoon. There were some frigate birds flying around and unusually they were dipping their feet and wings into the water. Louis explained they would not do this in the sea but do it here as they think they are trying to wash off the salt. There was path round the crater which we took and it provided a good view of the island as it is the highest point. You could see farms and grass land and then up to the North point of the island and the sea crashing on to the shore. Louis said that most people stay by the coast and do not venture in land and so you can get a good overview of the island. was a good walk.
We then returned to Wreck Bay and The Grand Majestic where we were met with a drink and a snack. We were then asked to come back at 6.30pm for a welcome drink. We therefore showered etc and at 6.30pm we were given a drink and we were introduced to the crew. We then had a briefing about tomorrow and we will sail overnight to Floreana and we have a full day of activities.
We had a very pleasant supper of prawns, meet and salad and broccoli. We met a nice couple who live in Sydney and they have a house in Christchurch, New Zealand. I started writing this blog before supper and could look out from my cabin to the Playa Mann and with Stormbird nearby. I am finishing this off on the Sundeck in the dark overlooking the lights of the town in anticipation of moving 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