Isla Isabela 2-27-10; some early morning excitement....

First off...we're fine. We felt the effects of the Chilean earthquake off Santiago, Chile which resulted in a tsunami traveling to many places, including the Galapagos Islands. At about 0715 hours, we watched a torrent of water recede around us. Reefs and small volcanic islets usually not seen were visible as the tide dropped 4-5' in 20 minutes. There was white water and silt stirred up and we were very close to raising anchor and heading for open ocean. I estimated tidal flow at about 10 knots and knew we'd have a hard time if caught up in any of that, so we started the engine and were on high alert. Fortunately, conditions rapidly improved and we didn't have to move. Of interest is that boats in some areas of Panama City as well as vessels here at Isla Santa Cruz and Isla San Cristobal in the Galapagos were told by the respective Port Captains to leave and go to sea, but we received no such warnings here at Isla Isabela. We're still waiting to get our zarpe for Easter Island, but typical of bureaucratic foul-ups, officials can't seem to locate our paperwork in the system, so they'll have to sort that out. So, another day begins...hopefully to end calmer later. Cheers!

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Feb. 26 Los Tunelles

I took a half day tour to the Tunelles (an area of collapsed lava tubes)....with two other couples. Michael stayed aboard to tackle our list of boat projects. It was a rough one hour ride up the coast and when we arrived at our destination, I thought "there's no way we can navigate the breakers". We couldn't see the low calm area we were headed for. Fabrizio, our guide, was amazing, timing the waves and zig zagging around the lava heads that would be perilous if we hit. There were sea turtles, boobies, and crabs. He then brought us to an area were we snorkeled. I've never seen such a big lobster! We saw a 4' white tip shark on its way back to his cave, sea horses (which I never would have spotted without Fabrizio showing us where to look on the branches on the bottom), and big sea turtles that you could swim very close to. There's no coral here, just volcanic rock, which has a mossy growth in some of these pools. There were colorful fish, some very large ones, which were not skittish. It was another wet bouncy ride back...our camera's safely stowed in the hold, or I'd have some different pictures!

Sun. 2-21-10 Isla Isabela, Galapagos

We had a delightful sail from Isla Santa Cruz to Isla Isabela. We anchored next to our friends Dave & Sherry of Soggy Paws, and next to them was the 62' Paine design Visions of Johanna. Not many cruising boats come here, and those that do usually zarpe to the Marquesas, or like the three of us, to Easter Island. Isla Isabela is the largest island in the Galapagos, and comprises six volcanoes, one of which erupted in 2005. Puerto Villamil, where we are anchored, sits nearby the Sierra Negra volcano, which we hope won't erupt during the week we're here! We've got lots of small projects to keep us busy, and, of course, want to see a bit of the island as well.

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Fri. 2-19-10 Isla Santa Cruz, Galapagos

We spent the first few hours of our day going into most every ferreteria on the island hunting spare belts for our engine. Believe it, we had very good luck finding everything we needed, including Gates Green Stripe and Goodyear Gatorback belts! The only belt we forgot about, and couldn't find here, is the one for our Village Marine water maker, so we might have to improvise a bit. On a more interesting note, we then went to the Darwin Center, known as the Centro de Crianza de Tortugas e Iguanas Terrestres (The Breeding Center for Giant Tortoises and Land Iguanas). This is where the tortoises and iguanas from different islands are bred in captivity, and released into the wild when mature. It's a very large reserve, and we saw a number of iguanas and giant tortoises, including their most famous namesake, Lonesome George. This poor guy is about 70 years old, and a mate from the same species is yet to be found for him. So...it's reproduce or go extinct. Again, another byproduct of man's avaricious slaughter of species during the last 100 years; not all that long ago when you think about it. We've walked only a small portion of this large island, and we're tuckered out. You have to set a stern anchor here, as the harbor faces directly into the swell coming in to rock your life. The water taxi drivers will set and retrieve these stern anchors for $2/per. Btw, a water taxi ride into town is $.60/pp one way, and is the only game in town. The malecon, or waterfront, is lined with shops and restaurants and languages from many countries can be heard from the many tourists. In this crowded harbor there are three really large three-masted schooners, and we've yet to see another place with these grand relics of a bygone maritime past so close by. The tour and dive boats are numerous also, so water traffic is heavy.

En route to Santa Cruz Feb.18,2010

We enjoyed our brief stay in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, San Cristobal, the 'capitol' of the Galapagos, whose population is about 7000 people, and who knows how many sea lions! They're everywhere along the new promenade, steps, and if you have a dinghy or scoop stern, they'll make themselves at home. They are very entertaining to watch swim around the boat, but we didn't enjoy the aroma of the waterfront...yuck. We visited the Interpretation Center on our first day, after dropping our laundry off to be done ($1/kg wash, dry and fold). The Center was open, but there were no personnel or other visitors while we were there. It had various exhibits on natural history, human history and, present conservation efforts. We then hired a taxi (they're all white 4 door pickup trucks) for $10/hr. to drive us around the island. Felipe was 22yrs. old and born on the island. We visited La Loberia first, where we saw sea lions and large (2-3 feet) marine iguana's sunning themselves on the black lava. Next we visited Laguana El Junco, which is the largest fresh water lake in the Galapagos, that has formed inside an inactive crater. It is usually shrouded in clouds and mist, so we were lucky the skies cleared while we were up there (elevation is 650m). We then went to La Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, one of the two places to see giant tortoises on the island. Their focus is a turtle repopulation program...where they take the eggs and raise them in captivity for the first 5 yrs. of life. We again were the only ones there...and came across two groups of turtles munching down their leaf/stem meal. They didn't mind us, but 'hiss' if we got too close (only happened once). We passed 'La Casa del Ceibo', where a precarious rope bridge brings you to the most unusual hotel on the island. It's in the tallest ceiba tree, 300 yrs. old; and below is a restaurant, but we didn't go in. We've been trying to get a feel for the ecological systems and issues facing the human and animal population of the islands here. It's tough to do in just a few days, but The Enchanted Islands is all about sustainability, as up to now we humans have done our worst in an attempt to destroy the natural resources of this unique place and efforts are being made to set things right and reverse the spiral of destruction that has, up to now, been the history of these islands.

San Cristobal, Galapagos Feb. 15, 2010

In the light winds, we ended up motoring the last 15 hours to get here, and jigged around outside the entrance for daybreak before coming in and dropping anchor in 26ft. of clear water. A playful seal was traveling with us, seeming to welcome us...one of many we'll be encountering I'm sure. Stray Kitty, a PDQ 42' Catamaran with a family of five, arrived before us; we had briefly met them in Panama, and had radio contact with them on the way. We had arranged our 'autografo' ahead of time with an agent, Bolivar Pesantes. This allows us to visit three (or four, depending on your choice of agent) islands here...and stay 30 days, with extensions if desired, as well as buy diesel fuel if needed. If one sails in without that, you cannot move your boat to another anchorage but have to take one of the tour boats there, and only get a stay of 20 days overall. After the formalities of having our agent as well as representatives of the Dept. of Agriculture as well as the Port Captain aboard for the layers of paperwork and required copies needed, we went ashore for further visits to Immigration and the National Park Service. Our agent then completes further paperwork to submit back to the Port Captain and other officials, and any movement to another island requires official permission as well as a separate check in with that island's Port Captain. Quite the bureaucracy here. As a bonus, it's also carnival time...there were soccer and volleyball games in the town square, and revelers and very loud music at what we thought was a beach resort, but is actually a college. Getting ashore and back is by a $.50 water taxi ride. There isn't room for many dinghys at the dock, and should you beach yours, you're taking the chance it will be taken over by sea lions!

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Feb. 14th WE'RE SHELLBACKS!

We've long anticipated this party of crossing into the southern hemisphere...and what a time it was. The powers to be cooperated by giving us sunshine after three days of clouds and rain, and allowed us to 'cross the line' (equator) in the daytime. We readied ourselves with our usual saltwater bucket shower, followed by a fresh water rinse. (I've come to like the garden sprayer M insisted on bringing aboard for that reason...but there's still no place to store it.) Infini was sailing along nicely in 13kts of wind on a port tack, although fighting an adverse current. We took pictures of the 12:56 event, and will add them when we get internet. I had a bottle of champagne stowed for the occasion, but will save that for our arrival in the Galapagos, as we run a dry boat when out. We did a rum toast to Neptune, and of course had to have a snort to celebrate. We were also presented certificates as Qualified Members and were duly initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of Shellbacks. Humus, apple and crackers made a nice picnic for us. Now for another nap! M...it sure is funny seeing an "S" in front of the latitude numbers on the GPS...we really are in the southern hemisphere!

Happy Valentines Day

Couldn't be happier being able to spend the day with my valentine under sail! The nights have been pitch black, with the low cloud cover and 'new moon phase'. Being so close to the equator, the sun rises at 7:04am and sets at 7:03pm. We're sailing smartly, (5.5kts. in 13knts. of wind) but of course the wind is on our nose...so we hope to do one last tack before we're on our course line for Wreck Bay. All's well aboard, and we hope all our valentines out there have a great day!

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changing wind conditions...

N00deg54minW087deg36min. We had to motor all night in very light conditions, but are now flying along at 6.5+ knots with partially reefed yankee, staysail, and single reefed main. We're about 155 nm from Wreck Bay, and will arrive in 1-2 days depending on whether these winds persist or lighten up. Light winds would put us at our destination at night, so we'd have to jig around until daybreak to read the reef and see where to anchor (and therefore make it a two more night passage, rather than just one).

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We're in the ITCZ

N01deg54min;W086deg07min. What a lousy night. The Profurl upper swivel mechanism broke last night as I tried to take in the sail in a 25 knot squall. We can still put out a bit of foresail, but I have to go onto the bowsprit and physically turn the drum and sail while Sue's on the furling line in order to bring in the sail all the way. We've been in the ITCZ, with rain, squalls, no wind and a constant change of sail combinations in response to the variety of winds and directions we've been experiencing. There's not much I can do underway (until we get to Wreck Bay) to further diagnose the Profurl problem, although I did rig the spinnaker halyard to take the load in case the forestay let go. Otherwise, more and more little projects keep getting done, and we're looking forward to the next 280 nm (approx) and arrival at San Cristobal with enthusiasm. Further good news is that we've finally dialed in the Sailomat windvane and its performance is awesome. Since we don't have to use the autopilot we save amps, the boat's quieter and it's just a really pleasant way to get somewhere. The reefer and watermaker are working fine, and we're collecting lots of rainwater.

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Tracking Infini's path

N03deg08min;W084deg;24min. The correct website for YotReps is www.pangolin.co.nz. Again, you'd go to the website, look up YotReps, then plug in M's Ham Call Sign, which is KH4IHF, and you'll find Infini's position, which should be updated daily. This blog, of course, will continue to give our impressions of daily life aboard. Last night's run was a good one. We've had constant SW winds of 12-14 knots, making for 6.5-7.5 knots boat speed on a course of 175-180 degrees. Not exactly our rhumb line to Wreck Bay, but, hey, if we wanted a straight line we could have taken an airplane! We figure another 3-4 days to landfall, but we'll have a better idea in the next day or so as we're expecting a wind shift. For those of you non-sailors, we get our weather sources via the SSB radio, although we've learned thru the years not to take any of them as Gospel. You get what you get, and so often the local weather conditions are different from what the predictions have called for. Infini takes it all in her stride, and we have a variety of sails to respond to light and heavy weather sailing conditions. For example, we flew our new Code Zero light air sail the other day and it was beautiful! We couldn't keep it flying too long as the winds crept up and necessitated us changing to our Yankee jib, but it's a useful sail in our inventory.

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Wed. 2-10-10

N4deg46min;W83deg32min
Well, we're in lumpy seas, but at least we're moving smartly along under double reefed main and full yankee. Boatspeed is in the low 6's, which considering our comfort factor vs sea state is pretty good. Caught a 4' bull dolphin (mahi mahi) yesterday. It weighed 16 pounds, put up quite the struggle, and yielded many happy fillets for our freezer. Less than 500 miles to Wreck Bay, Galapagos! (S - As the pelican flies...we'll have a few miles added I bet). Btw, for those of you interested in following our position, Pangolin.nz (I think that's the correct web address) displays the Yotreps Reporting System of vessels reporting into them, by Ham call sign. My Ham call is KJ4IHF, and we're set up to automatically report our position to Yotreps via SSB radio once every 24 hours. So, if you go onto Pangolin's site, find the Yotreps area, and scroll down to KJ4IHF, our position should be posted. Please, somebody let us know if it all works! Cheers!

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Feb. 9, 2010

N05deg.49'/W082deg.13'
Ah the ups and downs (not just the boat movement either), of getting into the 'routine', as if there could ever be one on a moving, constantly working vessel. We're happy to be out of the shipping traffic around Punta Mala, and have again been thankful we put AIS instrumentation in. Our wind has not been consistent, hence many sail changes along with running the engine if we run out of patience and want to go 'find' the wind. We've not kept to a formal watch schedule; with Michael doing the repairs (one being when the engine FW pump pulley fell off (yikes!), and he had to hunt down the nut and woodruff key in the bilge!) Don't even ask how this stuff happens....I hand steered during that project, while a pod of dolphins entertained me with their antics for two hours...their contrails of luminescence putting on an wonderful underwater show. The water maker is getting recommissioned in stages, as M will have to take apart the March pump to find out why it's acting cranky....We'll try to do daily position updates, and Yotreps will also have us listed under M's Ham call sign of KJ4IHF; please don't worry if you don't see an update; sometimes we get too busy to do entries. All's well aboard the sv Infini.

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Feb. 7, 2010 The sails are full!

N07deg.01'/W079deg.44'
Oh what a nice feeling to be on the water once again. We left yesterday at 11:45 with full water and fuel tanks, and the wind and waves at our backs! Once past Taboga and Los Farralones, we got a nice constant wind and sailed the night under full main. The luminescence of the wave tops from Infini's encounter, along with the trailing stream from hull and wind vane rudder was like a psychedelic show; along with the clear night sky we didn't rest much...just enjoying the ride. The pod of dolphins racing with us looked like a zillion flashing led's...it's neat to see that plankton agitated. We plan on a 7-10 day passage to San Cristobal, Galapogos.

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2-5-10 Departing Balboa, Panama...

We're Galapagos bound tomorrow morning. It's been a long struggle, as we've completely rewired the 12 volt system, designed and installed a customized bracket which supports the reefer compressor as well as the alternator, installed the new Balmar 94-165 alternator, along with the Balmar 612 regulator and Duocharge, custom fabricated new common ground and positive terminals, completely disassembled and rebuilt the Maxwell 3500 windlass, had the bottom cleaned, and completed a bunch of smaller projects as well. We've managed to go to most of the Wed. morning Dim Sam Chinese food breakfasts, as well as the Mon. afternoon book swaps. We've tracked down resources in the most unlikely of places, and have seen parts of Panama City that are definitely off the beaten track. The people we've met at the Balboa Yacht Club have been wonderful, and the launcha drivers have treated us like family. We recently met Eric Forsyth of the Westsail 42 yacht Fiona, and enjoyed chatting with him before he departed on his fourth transit of the Panama Canal. So, we're a bit anxious before departure, but feel that we've been blessed to have had such a wonderful time in Panama. It will take a while to get back in the groove, but we're looking forward to continuing our voyage and will continue to post updates and positions to our blog while underway.