Sailing around the world on the traditional gaff rigged schooner Windjammer

Left Robinson Crusoe Island this morning at 11.00am. Michael was hoping to leave us there and fly out to Santiago but the flight was canceled due to weather so he is still with us. Had a nice wind when we left for about 12 hrs but has now dropped out and under motor. Yesterday we did a 6km round trip hike up to Alexander Selkirk lookout. Alexander Selkirk was the stranded mariner on whom the book Robinson Crusoe was based. The lookout was where he went to scan the horizon for ships. He was on the island for 4 years and 4 months before being rescued by a privateer vessel. In the bay where we anchored there are the remains of the German warship " Dresden" which was sunk by two British ships in the first World War. There is major construction happening on the island as it was struck by a Tsunami 2 1/2 years ago. The wave demolished the entire foreshore of the main bay where the village is situated. They had no warning and 16 people died. The community consists of about 1000 people and the effects of the Tsunami, both visual and psychological are very apparent. The major industry is lobster fishing but the season hadn't as yet started. 3 weeks to early. Enjoyed our stay though. Very friendly and accommodating people.

Link to Photo Album
It was pitch dark as we rounded the northern tip of Alejandro Selkirk Island, the weather was good so decided to chance it and anchor off the little fishing village half way (3 miles) down the eastern side of the Island. We slowly approached the anchorage navigating by radar as the chart was 2 miles out, but there were a few lights ashore when the breeze started howling in. I had just decided to abort and continue on to Robinson Crusoe when a voice came over the radio welcoming us to the Island. What to do! Well we finally got the anchor to bite close in shore with some help from the locals, this is a volcanic Island with depths of 2000 meters only 1/2 mile off the shore. The wind kept blowing but it was quite comfortable so stood an anchor watch.

This morning Cathie, Bex and I were picked up by the local whale boat and taken ashore which was quite an adventure as the only landing is a small cut with a slipway of logs, the helmsman times the waves then makes a run with about 6 men standing by to guide and clip a cable onto the bow and haul you up the slip with a diesel donkey. We were welcomed ashore with a breakfast of coffee, wild goat and fresh bread and introduced to a party of 12 men. It turned out that they were fisherman and friends here to repair the slip and service machinery in preparation for the lobster season. About 20 fisherman spend eight months a year with their families fishing and living ashore in wooden houses. They catch around 1000 lobsters each per month and sell them for $20 each to the Chinese market. Not bad!

We were taken on a tour/hike by one of the men who spoke English quite well, as it turned out he was the Mayor of the Fernandez Islands, a fabulous guy with a wonderful knowledge of the customs and history of the Islands.

We are now on our way to Robinson Crusoe again with two extra persons on board from the Island as its currently too rough for them to make the 100 mile passage with the whale boat driven by a 70hp outboard engine, hand bearing compass and hand held GPS - and we thought we were adventuress! Funny enough though they were both seasick for the entire passage!

Tough day on the water with light variable winds, hardly enough to keep the sails filled. At one stage we were sailing direct for Valdivia having accepted that Juan Fernandez Island was just not going to happen. The wind has now backed again and a little stronger at 8/10 knots so heading for Juan Fernandez again after a bit of a detour! We are very close to a high pressure cell which is causing all this.

Our menagerie of sea birds following us is growing each day with the latest a Wandering Albatross and a pair of Black - Browed Albatrosses. Some have accompanied us for 800 miles, coming and going.

Excitement of the day was catching two large Wahoos at the same time, Becky and Gary did their filleting apprenticeship.

Culinary delight of the day was an apple and blackberry crumble made with some of the frozen hand picked blackberries we still had from British Columbia. YUM

Wind finally dropped out at 1600 yesterday, lowered sails and motored for 24hrs until this afternoon when a light breeze sprang up. Its now almost midnight and its dropping out again. Trying to keep sailing but the slapping of the sails as the swells rolls through is driving me crazy. Its still almost 900 miles to Valdivia so need to conserve our fuel stocks.

Movies and popcorn on the big screen this afternoon, watching a good old Aussie flick "The DIsh" bit of a laugh, what a moment that was when Armstrong walked on the moon, where were you when that happened?

The galley is certainly the hotspot on Windjammer on this passage, you virtually have to pre book, Garry baked a loaf of bread before sunrise. Bex made a Nicoise salad for lunch to go with it and Michael made a Shepherds Pie for dinner. I managed to squeeze in Flap Jacks for afternoon tea, not to mention Bex's popcorn!

Still no fish....

Good daily runs have continued with 192 and 198.5 miles, should have made the 200 but we lost too much time doing a granny jibe when the wind shifted 150 degrees. Spent time undoing preventers and reeling in the two fishing lines while heading back to Easter Is!. The wind has just dropped out completely as we were about to have dinner so dropped all sails and now motoring grrrrr!

A pair of Stejnegers Petrels and a Black-Browed Albatross have joined our morning and afternoon assembly of birds, this and a squid found on the deck got us all excited about the prospect of landing a fish. Lines were deployed and so we wait.

Excitement of the day was a 48 meter Spanish fishing boat steaming across our bow at a distance of some 5 miles, according to the look out, me, and confirmed by the AIS. This is the first boat we have encountered at sea since leaving Costa Rica (3500 miles).

So it's under motor now waiting for the wind to kick back in.

Just hit the midway mark between Rapa Nui and Juan Fernando Isl. Managed 195 miles in 24 hours so getting closer to the "big coconut", (200 miles plus). A frontal system is coming up behind us which will move the wind to the NW and I expect slow our passage down a bit as we will have to jibe off to the south of the rhumb line and then back to the west.

Just reading Katherine Routledge's book - The Mystery of Easter Island, and their voyage on the schooner Mana from England around the Horn, Patagonia to E.I. in 1911 and its amazing how little has changed in terms of life at sea on a small ship. They had 5 paid hands, we have electronics and a freezer, that's about the difference.

Good to have Bex up and running again, we were missing her energy around the boat, not that much was required other than helming as the wind has been so steady. Cathie's shoulder is a lot better today, its been a bit painful the past few days so she is taking over galley duties again.

Temperature down to 18 degrees now!

Had another good run with 192 miles in 24 hours, wind between 15 and 18 knots from the NNE.

The pair of, now identified, Cape Petrels, joined us again at sunrise and spent most of the day with us, they have this funny way of walking on the water whilst in flight, similar to the Storm-Petrels in the Galapagos. The White - Chinned Petrels joined us in the afternoon. This is the only sign of life out here at the moment, no fish, flying or otherwise or even dolphins.

Garry took over he galley this morning, made some dough and turned out an exceptionally good pizza for lunch. We had found some "Mae Ploy" yellow curry in a small little shop run by a young German lady on Easter Island that was stocked with all sorts of German and continental goods. So, to add to a culinary day, made a yellow chicken curry in coconut sauce for dinner - all happy campers!t except Bex who is still sick.

Weather getting cooler now that we are on the wrong side of 30 (degrees), had to get the beanie out for my night watch but holding off on the Ugg boots.

Wind still steady from the NNE at 15 to 18 knots and we are making good progress towards the east. Managed 177 miles in the past 24 hours. We must to be in the doldrums as far as fish are concerned, two lines out and nothing not even a flying fish in sight. We do have a large pair of what appears to be White- Chinned Petrels visiting us through out the day with a variety of Shearwaters yet to be identified.

Managing to get some good weather data from the Chilean Armada, currently showing a high pressure cell 700 miles to the south east of us and a low pressure cell coming up behind to the SW by 1000 miles so expect to get some weather later in the week as it moves past us.

Becky feeling a bit poorly with a sinus infection after her deep dive at Easter Island, and as it was my turn to cook this evening, I made good old sausages and mash with Greek "fasolia" (beans). A bit starchy but every one tucked in, some for thirds so couldn't have been too bad.

The wind has now settled in from the NNE at 15kn and we are broad reaching under full sail with the jib and staysail doing a comfortable 7.5kn. We were up and down all last night hoisting and lowering sail as the wind backed and veered dropped to 4kn then bouncing up to 18kn. Spent most of the day catching up on lost sleep.

Easter Island was absolutely fabulous despite the fact that there are no sheltered anchorages, requiring someone to be onboard at all times and ready to move at short notice. The open anchorages were all subject to heavy swells so its nice to get out to sea again if only to get a decent nights sleep.

Expecting the passage to be about 12 days and if the weather holds up we will stop over at Robinson Crusoe Island on the way to Valdivia for some diving and lobster!

Easter Island now only 35 miles away but dead downwind so have to jibe our way down. Light winds allowing us to fly the fisherman but expecting the wind to drop out again at sunset. ETA at Hanga Roa is around 1.00 am.

Dropped sails last night around 10.00pm as wind dropped out, started engine but had a problem with the water pump, threw a bearing at so lost a few hours while that was repaired.

The day has been a real south pacific sort of a day, hot, sunny with lots of trade wind clouds and gentle swell.. This has allowed us to give Windjammer a huge spring clean below, washing lines strung up on deck, mattresses aired, and Gary took over bakers roll, producing a lovely loaf.

Have been doing our research on Easter Island. Lots to see and do so all looking forward to getting ashore.

Wind has dropped and backed to the north east so we are sailing south of our rumb line with speeds of 5 to 7 knots depending on the clouds that are moving over us from east to west. Helming is a bit trickier with the constant moving in speed and direction of the wind.

We have opened a book with bets on the time of arrival at a point 10 miles north off Easter Island. I was accused of delaying tactics by not setting the fisherman this afternoon, the fact that it was blowing 18 knots held no water only the fact that I had chosen the latest arrival time! - Will now set it at sunrise on my watch, with all hands on deck.

Michael has fallen victim to the baking frenzy and baked two breads this morning and a batch of cookies this afternoon, will post photos from the Island. The crew are madly reading up on Rapa Nui and all the activities particularly diving. The weather is surprisingly warm with day time temperatures around 25 degrees C and nights 21.

Nice to be on an even keel again after 9 days at 20 + degrees of heel and a comfortable sea. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Windjammer came under attack by flying fish last night, on the helm Michael took two direct hits while Gary took one. They were in the scuppers, cockpit and we even found a bunch in the sail pocket of the reefed main! We had them for lunch butterflied and crumbed with hot sauce, brought back memories of Barbados.

Caught another Dorado this afternoon, Leiths green disco squid does it again, so now have a good supply of fish in the freezer. Today has been about sewing, Becky has started making a canvas ditty bag and Gary has decided to close up the holes in his shorts and shirts Michael on the other hand is showing no inclination what so ever, I had to take over the repair of his lea cloth.

The wind instrument has decided to take time out or as we say in Australia "thrown a wobbly" I expect a bird has done some damage to the transducer so will have to wait till we get to Easter Island to go up and investigate.

Getting ready for dinner - Ossa Bucca - yumm, trick is to keep it on the plate! Bon Appetito

902 miles from Easter Island and 1020 from the Galapagos. Celebrated the halfway mark with a few beers and a "Galapagos goat curry", lucky we have a pressure cooker on board!

Still running under staysail, foresail and reefed main and hitting a few coconuts (10+ knots) averaging 190 + miles for the last few days and expecting to break 200 today.

Last night, at midnight, we broke a steering cable while Garry was on the helm. It was blowing 25kn at the time and we were surfing some pretty big waves which loaded up the rudder, this caused him, and us, quite a bit of excitement . Went on to auto pilot and replaced the cable with some 10mm spectra so we are back in shape again. All part of the learning curve.

There's a baking frenzy happening on board at he moment, bananas are over ripe so Cathies banana cake for morning tea and Becky's white and brown chocolate biscuits for afternoon tea. Its 3am and I am on watch and can't find the darn cookies!! - they have hidden them!! - Grrrrr.

Will sign off to continue the search!

Another successful day with fishing. First thing this morning we caught another Mafi Mahi, so had ceviche for lunch, which made room in the fridge for one more. Michael was given permission to put out the "disco lure" again (courtesy of Leith, thanks Leith it really works well) and within 10 minutes we had another one. Curried fish for dinner and a few serves left for the next couple of days. Michael had his first lesson in sewing, his lee cloth gave way and needed to be mended. He has decided that he hates sewing.. wind has been fairly steady at 20-25 knts so making good progress. have had a few wet decks and bodies but all good.

Three days out from the Galapagos and still enjoying steady winds, 15kn from the SE. Landed two fish this morning one a yellow tail tuna the other a common tuna ( don't know its name yet). Served up for dinner with wasabi and soy, Galapagos sweat potatoes and green beans at 25 degrees heal, not bad if I have to say so my self.

Presently sailing with a reefed main, foresail, staysail and balloon jib and doing a comfortable 6kn close hauled directly for Easter Island. Windjammer is sailing herself with the helm lashed down with a bungy cord, sailing within 5 degrees of her course - what a girl.

A lone tropic bird spent a few hours with us this morning and an albatross made a brief visit, expecting him back some time tomorrow hopefully we will get a closer look at him.

Sleeping is still the main activity on board at the moment as bodies adjust to the constant movements of the boat, although Garry has managed to read three books since we left!

Left Galapagos yesterday at noon bound for Easter Island. We have two new crew on board. Becky from Wales and Gary from Melbourne. After our injuries in Galapagos, Leith had to fly home for shoulder rehabilitation and Gary was in Ecuador and keen to go sailing. He has never sailed before so big learning curve. Becky has done a number of passages before and is a good hand. Michael is still on board and hoping for some good sailing after our awful passage from Costa Rica. Wind is blowing steady 12-15knts and currently having a great sail. It is fairly cold considering we are so close to the equator. Passage should take around 14 days if we continue to get the SE trades.

After a very long and frustrating trip, we finally arrived at Isabela Island in the Galapagos and dropped anchor at Puerto Villamil. The wind was mostly fluky and always seemed to move 20 degrees as soon as we settled on to a new tack. The majority of yachts tend to do the crossing from Ecuador as the winds can be more favourable. Motoring is done sparingly as diesel, when available in the Galapagos is horrendously expensive as is water.

We dropped anchor in a very narrow but beautiful clear water lagoon, an idyllic setting. We promptly set about launching the dinghy to explore the wildlife for which the Galapagos are so famous. In our first two hours we saw many seals, blue footed boobies in their hundreds, penguins and the native marine iguanas sunning themselves on the rocks. Wildlife overload!

We then set about exploring the mainland and were greeted by fur seals on the dock too lazy to move out of our way, so we weaved our way through them. They were extremely tame and not at all bothered by the human activity around them. The dinghies and fishing boats tied to the dock made for comfortable sunning platforms and they we reluctant to give up the platform when we wanted to leave.
Prior to arrival we were required to purchase a permit at exorbitant cost for the privilege of anchoring in the Galapagos. Given a choice of three anchorages, we chose Isabela as it was more remote and less frequented by tourists. Cruising boats are restricted to their allocated anchorage and need to use commercial operators for inter island transport and tours, even snorkelling needs to be done with an accredited operator. The Ecuadorean government has it all sewn up and it is indeed a very robust money making tourist machine.

Isabela is one of the poorer Galápagos Islands and also one of the least touristy. It had a small population of around 1800 people, all vying for the tourist dollar. We had given away our bikes in Costa Rica, so we decided to hire some bikes to go in search of the giant tortoises and explore the "wall of tears" which, from 1945-1959 was a penal colony where prisoners were forced to build a 25 metre wall, stone by stone, in isolation. Each time it was built the guards would knock it down and force the prisoners to rebuild it. This wall took thousands of lives during its various phases of construction.

The road to the "wall" bordered the coast and had some stunning viewpoints along the way. Clear blue waters, white sandy beaches and of course large numbers of the giant tortoises for which the Galapagos are also famous. We came across them munching on plants and making their way through the scrub at such an amazingly slow pace. On the way we passed the "marine iguana crossing", an area where hundreds of these reptiles crossed the main road in order to get to a particular concrete wall to soak up the morning or afternoon sun. Behind the iguana crossing was a pond filed with pink flamingos. Talk about being in the thick of nature!

On our return from the wall, my hat decided to dislodge itself from my head. Which hand do you use to grab your hat while going full speed down a rocky coral road? Not the one that uses the back brake! The front brake grabbed and over I went, shoulder first with a big cracking noise. The result was a broken collarbone two miles from town. The others had to organise a pickup to come collect myself and the bicycle and promptly headed off to the local hospital. X-rays confirmed the broken bones and so it was off to the Guayaquil on mainland Ecuador for surgery. One is nervous about hospitals in the poorer countries of South America, but with a recommendation from the taxi driver who picked us up at the airport we were off to a private clinic which he described as rapido and economico. Rapido it turned out to be but certainly not economico.


I was extremely impressed with the service I received at this clinic. Better than anything I had previously received in Australia (and in fact anything I was to receive after this for further surgery). Two days later with titanium plate inserted, we headed back to Windjammer in the Galapagos. Michael, Leith, Jonkie and Suzette did a sterling job of taking care of things and were able to do quite a bit of exploring both above and below the water whilst we had been away. It seemed that this was not our lucky time as the following day Leith went surfing and dislocated his shoulder, only to end up in the same local hospital. This was going to take a long time to repair so in the end the decision was taken to head back to Australia. Now we were one crew down, one unable to use an arm and running 5-10 days behind schedule for our next leg to Easter Island. Jonkie and Suzette were off to Ecuador and Becky our replacement crew arrived a day later. We managed to get another crew member Gary, who was an Australian and had applied to travel with us at an earlier stage. He happened to be in Ecuador so made last minute plans to join us. He turned up minus wallet and phone as he had been held up at gunpoint and robbed the night before leaving. He was not too distressed by this as this was the second time he had been held at gunpoint since being in Ecuador.

One of the highlights of our stay at Isabella was an evening at the Hausers Estancia with hosts Bert and Yvette and there granddaughter turning out a sumptuous 4 course dinner for the Windjammer crew. On the way there we stopped in at Sylvio's organic farm where we loaded up on beautiful fresh produce for our onward journey.

After a couple more days of exploring we finally hoisted sail for Easter Island, stopping briefly at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island for fuel, water and last minute provisions and a good supply of local goat meat.

Sunday morning 5 am and I have just altered course for the final run to the entrance into Puerto Villamil on Isla Isabela, 8 miles ahead. Looking forward to dropping the anchor after what has been a pretty frustrating passage fighting winds and currents the whole way.

We crossed the equator at longitude 090 58.54" W with Isla Isabela to starboard and Isla San Salvadoe to port.. King Neptune (Jonkie) did the initiation and the Pollywogs became Shellbacks at exactly 07.25pm ... what happens on the equator stays on the equator.... but I will post a few photo's on Facebook ; }

On the fishing front we hooked one this afternoon but Leith lost him on the way in so my record is still safe. Better get the anchor ready, signs of excitement happening with crew stumbling out of bunks!

Its 3.30 in the morning and I am on the dog watch. Seas are calm with light winds so making way directly towards the GI under motor. Nice to be on an even keel again even though its noisy.

Days events - Leith lost his new spoon lure this morning, must have been something big as it broke off at the swivel, so still nothing landed. Cathie decided to challenge her self at baking a lasagna while under sail with a 20 degree heel, bechamel sauce and all. Had to prop up one end the baking tray in the oven and it turned out perfect. Suzette decided on a deck shower with all crew restricted to below decks, she insists it was for their own safety!

Adventure of the day was hoisting Leith up the fore mast under sail to clear the jib halyard. Had to do this once before in Hawaii which got a bit exciting with Sam doing a "360" at the top of the mast with some considerable speed. This time though we laid off and ran parallel to the waves which increased the heal and stabilised the pitching. So we learn... all good, finished up with a double shot of rum for all hands.

The line is fast approaching and the Shellbacks are plotting.....

Another gray and overcast day with winds fluctuating up and down. We managed about 70 miles in the past 24 hours but still 140 miles from the northern Galapagos on a straight line, so frustrating. Tomorrow morning we will put in a long tack towards the SW and hopefully pick up the westerly setting current that will take us towards the islands.

The same Boobies joined us at sunset chasing the last flying fish of the day, also starting to see increasing numbers of Galapagos Storm Petrels and Frigate birds.

Moving ever so slowly towards the equator and the crossing of the line of our two green horns so the old shellback's are starting to plot a suitable initiation ceremony......! The last time we crossed the line, between Tahiti and Hawaii, we initiated 3 shellback's Sam Mat and Bruce at about 3 o' clock in the morning so hopefully this time it will be during the day.

200 miles from the Cocos Islands so now midway to the the northern part of the Galapagos Islands. Had 15kn of breeze throughout the day which was quite pleasant other than the persistent short chop.

Found the midships bilges full of water this morning and after bailing several times checked all the through hull fittings. eventually found that the water was entering via the black water overboard valve which was under water due to all the healing. The valve is now blocked off and all bilges dry.

Had a visit from a pair of Red Footed Boobies a Nazca Boobie, Swallow-tailed Gull and a Frigatebird during our happy hour at sunset. The Boobies were chasing flying fish around the boat, showing off some amazing acrobatic skills catching them in midair.

Managed to hook onto some sort of tuna this afternoon but lost him on the way in, at least now we know there are fish around.

Breeze has just died out so out with the iron topsail for a little while.

I am on the dog watch having just taken over from Michael. We are doing 1 1/2 hour solo watches while the weather is calm which allows 6 hours off. The library is getting lots of attention at the moment with every one into reading. Winds are still light with a north setting 0.4kn current heading us. We have only managed 108 miles in 40hrs. The current should be swinging to the west when we get to around 3 degrees which will speed things up a bit. A lot less rain as we move further south and remarkably cooler. Had our happy hour in full sun shine this afternoon which was a nice change. Leith has been swapping lures on the trolling lines again but still no luck, he is determined to land one despite the chiding from the girls. Better luck tomorrow!

Back to my watch.

Left Cocos Island at 08.30 this morning on a light WSW wind and a short uncomfortable sea with light rain, which seems the norm for these waters. We managed to stay in close to the western side of the island on our way out and had some wonderful views of the steep green cliffs and numerous waterfalls, a bit like the island of Kuwaii.

A flock of about 50 frigate birds followed us for an hour or so trying to get hold of our trolling squid lure which brought back memories of Carolina Atoll and Sam being attacked by these birds whilst up in the rigging!

Managed about 9 hours of sailing through the day close hauled with the fisherman up giving us a bit more power to drive through the short seas. The iron topsail has been set again, hopefully not for too long though. Dinner about to be served, Cathie has cooked up a hearty pot of beef and green bean stew for us. Suzette is down with a little "mal de mer" otherwise all good.

Arrived Cocos Island! Finally,some decent sailing for the last 12 hours or so making our way into Chatham Bay at first light. We sighted the island through constant rain squalls around midday yesterday but took another 14 hours tacking back and forth to get here. At 2.30 am we decided to stand off the island till there was enough light to allow us to make our way in to the anchorage. The island has a real feeling of remoteness about it and the dense rainforest with the ever present mist leaves you with the feeling that you have arrived in a pretty wild place. There are hundreds of frigate birds constantly circling, sea birds everywhere.

Welcomed by the rangers first and later checked out by the seriously kitted out Costa Rica Coastguard, guns, bullet proof vests and balaclavas covering faces. This afternoon's snorkelling delivered some sharks, lots of tropical fish, but it looks like coral even here is bleaching and under stress. There are fabulous waterfalls plummeting from 100m high cliffs right into the water, rainforest trees and rocks carved with ship's names, dating as far back as 1851! The island is believed to have stashes of pirate treasure buried in the jungle and even until recently you could get a permit to hunt for treasure but nothing has been found.

The island is totally uninhabited apart from a dozen or so national park employees and a coast guard contingent who live at the ranger station in Bahia Wafer. An hour and a half hiking trail through thick, wet vegetation finally brought us to the station where we chatted to marine biologists and conservationists. The main challenge for them is to eradicate introduced species of plant and animals such as wild pigs and enforce a no fishing zone around the island. Very few boats visit other than the dive boat that bring tourist divers out from Costa Rica and any supplies to support the station.

Second night at sea and all is well. Winds have been light and fluky, generated by the frequent heavy cloud systems moving across our course as one would expect in the Inter tropical convergent zone or the doldrums as it used to be called. Had a spectacular display of lightning bolts last night and expecting the same tonight so all computers wrapped in alfoil or in the oven. This area has the planets highest rate of lightning strikes.

We managed a total of 10 hours of sailing out of the last 24 albeit very slow but good training for the new crew with frequent hoisting, lowering and tacking. We carry 5 days worth of diesel for motoring so need to squeeze out every mile towards Coco's Island and then Galapagos without resorting to the iron topsail.

Highlights of the day - dolphins around the bow last night with long streaks shrouded in phosphorescence. Having dinner on the foredeck at sunset arguing over who saw the green flash! - Is it myth or fact?

Distance covered in 24hrs - 138 miles.

Left Playa del Coco this afternoon around 3.00pm. Winds are very light and weather is warm. Our first night at sea with Suzette and Jonkie who sailed with us in Alaska and Leith who raced dinghies with our children and his mate Michael. So our entire crew come from our home town of Airlie Beach. The boys are very keen fisherman and managed to catch a nice one this afternoon so had fresh sashimi for an entrée so all in all a good start to our voyage.

Crew have all assembled on board and ready for the passage to the Cococs Islands and Galapagaos. Weather is light and flukey and we expect lots of thunderstorm activity as we cross the ITCZ. Passage should take 4-5 days to Cocos Islands in these light conditions. We have a weather guy from Panama, Karsten, providing regular updated weather advice for us.
Everyone has settled in and looking forward to getting out to sea.
Crew list
Ashley Kerr
Cathie Kerr
Adrian Pelt
Suzette Pelt
Leith Mitchell
Michael Patterson