(Above: Tony catching a fish)
We left the Balboa Yacht Club anchorage at 8:00 am, March 2, 2014 for the 950 mile sail to Galapagos. Overall we had very calm seas with a 9 foot swell one day, no waves, just a swell. Unfortunately, we did not have much wind, so we sailed half the time and motor sailed the other half. But, we had 1.5-2.0 knots current going with us the whole way, so we were able to make the trip in just under 6 days. There was only a sliver of a moon and the stars and galaxies were beautiful! Venus was so bright, it actually lit up the sea!
With the flat seas, I finally got to clean out all the black soot on the boat. The soot was from the sugar cane burning upwind, and it was so fine, it was everywhere. It actually took 2 days to get all the teak cleaned and the floor washed. And, with the flat seas, Gail cooked several good dinners (which we eat at noon). One day she had all 3 burners on at the same time (a first) cooked seared peppered tuna steaks, rice and baby bok choy for lunch.
(See Photos)
Day 1 we had 10 dolphin riding in our bow wake, putting on quite a show for about 20 minutes. We could even hear their sweet sounds! Right after they left, Tony caught a fish (Stripped Bonito) but it had dark reddish colored meat, which wasn't appetizing enough for us to eat.
Day 2 at 9:15 am, Gail was the Pan Pacific Net Controller, or DJ, so to speak. The PP Net is a Single Side Band radio station for boats offshore between Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, and the Galapagos. I took call ins with their positions and weather information for all the sailboats underway. We had boats calling from 650 miles in front of us and 150 miles behind us on the Galapagos. We also have someone on shore in Panama City that looks up all the current weather information and relays that to us. It is so great to connect with other sailboats and get updated weather info everyday out here in the middle of the sea! Our radio worked well and when I could not hear someone, someone else would relay to me. A new skill to add to my sailing abilities!
We had a sea bird swooping around the back of our boat very intrigued with the water generator we trail behind the boat. I'll have to video that one! We also had a cute little bird, possibly a Blue Hooded Euphonia, which rode with us one whole day and night. It got down below a couple times and then couldn't get out and kept flying into the window. So, I put on gloves and gently got him out, but he continued to stay on the boat.
Day 6, Cetacea crossed the equator, from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere and did the obligatory toast to Neptune. Position: 00 00.000N/S by 088 48.281W. We arrived in Galapagos at 5:00 am, Saturday, March 8, but waited for day break to go into the port.
More Later - G&T