Grazy Galapagos

Today we will be sailing past this most crazy of island groups. Darwin
was so taken in by it that he formed his theory of evolution here,
although on his deathbed he denounced it saying it he made a mistake.
The animals here are rather odd, the way they adapted to this
enviroment. But then there are other islands that also have animals and
plants like none other. Probably my favourite island in many regards
with unique species is Madagascar. Also strange that both Madagascar and
Galapagos lies on the equator, have very odd currents at times and are
probably right opposite each other on the globe.

Yesterday we were sitting outside when a group of small dolphins came
around, jumping high out of the water as they came past us,seemingly in
a great hurry. It was an amazing experience to say the least. Not a lot
of distractions on the ocean, and when things like this happen it
really makes a deep impression. I was toying with the idea of stopping
at Galapagos but for various reasons decided against it. Our long delay
in Panama, all the requirements you need to stop here and our base in
Tahiti waiting for us are few of the factors I had to consider. But
should I come this way again, hopefully we will be able to stop. I have
read a lot about yachties who have stopped here,have seen quite a few
documentaries on the group of islands, but it is not the same as
experiencing it in person.

The wind is gradually getting stronger and stronger and we are sailing
more and more. Fortunately we have a lot of diesel to motor when we have
to, but I prefer to safe as much as possible. It will be disastrous if
we burn all our diesel before we arrive in Tahiti so we try and pace
ourselfs. Running out of diesel means we will be adrift should there be
no wind, and our batteries will gradually run flat.When that happens we
won't have any instruments or VHF, no satphone, no email, won't be able
to cook our food and many other problems, like causing damage to the
batteries. In short, we will be in big trouble.

There is one more place we may stop before we get to Tahiti, Fatu Hiva.
The last small island in the Marquesas group of islands. No officials
here, just jawdroppingly beautiful. We would prefer to arrive at Tahiti
just after sunrise and will probably spend a few hours at Fatu Hiva to
time our arrival as such. At this stage our ETA for Tahiti is the 8th of
April, a Sunday. It will be better then for us to arrive on Monday
morning, or should we really get good winds further down the line, we
may just get in on Friday the 6th or earlier. As usual with these type
of things, only time will tell.

The vibe on the boat is very good, and yesterday we probaly swam about
three times in the Pacific, to cool down, to have fun and just to be
crazy. At night the watches are beautiful for many reeasons, and we
spend day and night just in our shorts. It is not unbearably hot during
the day but the nights are balmy beyound belief. The night skies are
changing all the time, the moon is waning, and it should be neap tides
in a day or so. Perfect for going past Galapagos as the currents are not
so strong then.

Unusual nautical term today is 'By Guess and By God'. From a method of
navigation whereby the skipper relies on experience, intuitiveness,
memory and implicit faith. Fishing boats in particular were said to find
their way around by guess and by God. Which reminds me of a flyer I got
in Panama. Two elderly gents missing at sea on a small skiboat. Last
time they reported their position was October 11 and they were about 5nm
offshore.

Our position now at 08:30 is 01*09'N/090*31'W. We will turn our clocks
on the boat an hour back again today which will place us 8 hours behind
SA time and UTC -6. Galapagos is just south of us and perhaps we will
spot some land before the sun sets.

Take good care

Captain Paul