October 3, 2013
Bahia de los Naufragios
San Cristobal Island, Galapagos
We made it to the Galapagos… yes, we exited Panama without getting struck by lightning again, almost a miracle when you consider that we’ve met over 2 dozen yachts hit in the last year, some of them twice. But getting here wasn’t as easy as the GRIB files had promised. I tried to post the play-by-play underway via sat-phone and Xgate but I must have copied the directions wrong since the mails, wile delivered to Blogger, never posted. So, here is the play-by-play.
Fri. Sept. 27th - We left Isla San Jose (Las Perlas, Panama) after filling the bait tank with 3 dozen oysters and adding a few parrotfish in the freezer. Warm seas (29c) and mild conditions (12-15kt, slight chop) brought us one last gift at the tip of San Jose: a 26-lb wahoo. But no sooner had we turned southwest towards Punta Mala that the conditions deteriorated. JP maneuvered between violent storm cells and we welcomed the pouring rain and 18-22-knot winds as long as we didn’t get hit by lightning (really, lightning is my only fear on the water.) With the swells from the South, the wind from the West and the current from Godknowswhere, the sea had become a lumpy field and we just stopped trying to walk around the cabin. We stuffed more tea towels into the galley cupboards, wedged ourselves in our corners and waited for this madness to pass. For sure, the ride would improve.
Sat. Sept. 28th– Ha! I lied… the wind may have abated somewhat, 14-17 from the SSW, but the chop has increased. The cross-current is forcing us to a 12-15 degree course correction and has turned the sea into a roiling broth, coming at us from all sides. DOMINO is twisting and her full belly is plunging into the froth: she doesn’t mind at all. We covered 207 NM in the first 24 hours, traveling at 8.6 kts, burning 4gph. The passage is slower than our normal speed of 10 kts, but at 1,000 rpm with a full load of 2,600 gal. of fuel and against wind, current and seas, we do expect to lose 1 to 1.5 knots in performance. Surely, this won’t last. NOAA has no weather warning for this area and the GRIB we downloaded via our XGate Iridium mail on the Global Marine Network predicts 5-10 knots from the South from now on. Tomorrow will be a breeze!
Sun. Sept. 29th– I lied again! The conditions have worsened. It’s a mogul run out-there! All day, the wind keeps climbing. The steady 20-22 kts we’ve had all day and morning reaches a steady 22-26 kts all afternoon. The chop is now full sets of 6-8’ waves with an occasional 12-footer, cross-chop from the current, into which BigD submarines with glee. Green water sloshes up the windshields and over the flybridge, carrying with it flying fish, baitfish and squid that surely wonder what they’re doing on deck. But DOMINO labors hard: at 1050rpm, we’re only going 7.8 knots, burning 5 gph… (in normal conditions, she should be running at 10 knots, burning 4gph). She was built tough and right now is munching through this mogul run as if it were cookie dough. JP is in bed, nursing his sore back; I’m wedged at the pilot seat, wondering when this will end: surely, it can’t last.
Mon. Sept 30th– It’s lasting! All night and all morning, we’ve seen winds in the 20-22kt range, but the current has diminished and is no longer coming across, which is making the sea smoother, the waves more organized and walking around the cabin possible again. Still, the 6 to 8-footers keep coming at us head on. DOMINO’s performance is improving (1,000 rpm, 8.5kts, 4gph.) For a minute, we turn off our audio books (“The Lifeboat” for me) and enjoy a nice meal… yes, it’s possible to cook again something more substantial than hot water-based food (mashed potatoes, couscous, instant soup) or grilled fish and canned beans. Tonight, we’re having grilled wahoo with Chinese stir-fry of snow peas, eggplants and bok choi –celebrating a wind that is finally dropping below 20kts (at least once in a while) and considering the 16-18 range as a possibility.
Tues. Oct. 1st– At 1047 UTC this morning we crossed the Equator and entered the Southern hemisphere. I should say re-entered the South since we had started this journey in the South Atlantic. But crossing the line this morning was not the sunny event we had experienced on the coast of Brazil. Instead, we crossed in the dark of the night, JP blissfully asleep, and I could only thank Neptune for subduing the elements if only for a while. The wind dropped to 10 knots for a few moments. On the (chartless) Navnet MFD12 display, the upper half is light blue, the lower half dark blue, and our route is a red welt that bisects the screen from NE to SW… and there, at the intersection, DOMINO on the Equator. We’re back to the South. 
[ NOTE -- I mention the lack of chart on the Navnet MFD display because I think that C-map needs to address the issue of the Galapagos. We have the electronic charts for Central America and for Oceania. But the Galapagos belong to South America (Ecuador), therefore are not included in the swath of seas between Central America and Oceania. We didn’t purchase the $400 chart of South America just to go to the Galapagos. No cruiser does. Instead, we resorted to the Navionics and iSailor charts for iPad (in the $40-50 range.) We just hope that, for the benefit of cruisers who do the “Puddle Jump” run, Navnet will soon offer the Galapagos as a stand-alone package.]
It’s only by noon, as we are in sight of the Galapagos, that the winds settle around 10-14 kts and that the swells become gentle, to DOMINO’s great relief (950rpm, 9 kts, 3.8 gph). Time for a great meal (Indian masala-coconut veggies: okra, Napa cabbage, zucchini, onions, with rice) while we watch the Galapagos come into focus.
15:10 – Wreck Bay (Bahia de los Naufragios) We made it! This was (barely) our longest passage: 843 NM (after Miami-Deltaville, 830NM) but it was the longest (105 hours) and the most tiring because of the sea state. Perhaps this was not as much of a test for BigD as it was for us. This is the farthest we’ve been from the mainland. It’s a good test before we jump off for the Marquesas, 3,000 NM away… but that’s in a month from now. We are in Wreck Bay, apty named—I should think—since we’re sitting here, watching a boat sink at its mooring just in front of us!
This trip, by the numbers:
From PANAMA city to Wreck Bay, San Cristobal
Distance: 905 NM
Fuel burn: 500 gal
From Isla San Jose to Wreck Bay, San Cristobal
Distance: 843 NM
Time: 105 Hrs
Speed: 8kt
Fuel burn: 4gph
even posting from a public computer is a challenge....
till next time
dominomarie