I woke early as I felt I had had enough sleep. I sat on the aft deck and watched the birdlife begin their fishing – especially the Pelicans diving into the water with quite a loud splash. It was slightly cloudy but virtually no wind. As the day progressed it was very hot and humid.

We all had breakfast and decided to go ashore to explore. Keith was really into his book and decided to stay behind to look after the boat and read. We took the dinghy to Isla Espirito Santo and pulled it ashore. We saw some crabs in the water, but they had blue feet which was unusual and we saw a few of these unusual creatures. Charles had explored the day before and suggested we go across the island via a path to another beach. The current beach we landed on was nice but the sand was quite stony and rough. Unfortunately, lots of plastic and rubbish had been washed up with old shoes and plastic containers etc.

Charles led the way through the jungle and there was a sort of cut path and within about 50 yards we were on the other side in a cove with large bamboo and tree trunks at the back. Mark decided to fish off the rocks and Charles, Joyce and I swam out and went round to another beach which had lovely sand. I snorkelled there and saw a few fish but like most of the Las Perlas it was cloudy and full of algae. Charles had seen quite a bit of coral debris in the cove and concluded that quite recently there had been coral here but due to the increase in algae it had probably died and been washed up. Mark caught no fish unfortunately.

After our swim etc we returned to Stormbird for lunch. It was so still and hot. After our lunch of chicken bits, coleslaw, salad we rested and read books etc bit it was so still. Mark mended the fan on the galley which had been faulty and then Mark and I mended the top rubber bit of the Blue Baron which had been torn on the last time we raised it. Angus scrubbed a bit of the hull when he went for a swim.

We decided we will leave in the morning for the Galapagos. There appears to be little wind, but we have to set off some time and even if there are light winds, we will ty and sail as we have plenty of time to get there. We therefore took things in and prepared the boat. We pulled up the dinghy and put it on the davits.

Angus cooked one of his special suppers Penne Baconi – which is essentially bacon with pesto and bacon which went down well and which he brought his children on. We discussed the passage and went through a number of our safety procedures etc and talked through any issues and concerns.

We reflected on the Las Perlas islands and felt that thesee were a remote and beautiful set of islands which has some wonderful wildlife. There are no marinas or water or fuel stations. However, these are a great set of islands to explore if you do not mind this. We have hardly seen any boats since the first island we stopped at Contadora. The birdlife and natural sounds have been memorable. We had explored a river and had a beach barbecue and feel we have a great sense of the islands. Who knows whether we will ever return but we are grateful for having had the opportunity as we suspect that few yachts have explored as we have.  We look forward to moving on to the Galapagos. How often do you ever get the opportunity to say and do this?

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