-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, April 12, 2004 12:42 PM
Subject: On to the Galapagos!
0900 EST Monday, April 12, 2004; N 08 deg
56' / W 079 deg 33'.
We are anchored this morning in a lovely little cove
on the north side of Taboga, a hilly, lush and very
fragrant island eight miles from Balboa. We departed Balboa at 1345 on
Saturday, April 10. We have spent two nights here, anchored beside our
new sailboat friends, the Cummings, on Island Spirit, a spacious 50' former
charter boat the family purchased in the Caribbean to begin their two + year
sail to the South Pacific. We met the crew of this "kid boat"
(cruiser lingo for a boat with kids aboard) by chance at the Balboa Yacht
Club. They are from Wenatchee, Washington State, and include a couple
about our ages -- Mike and Jean (Mike is even a lawyer!), Mike's father Bob
who's about 70 and is a small plane pilot and former part time commercial
fisherman and very handy mechanically, son Ian -- almost 7 and daughter Mara --
just 9. They are headed more or less the same route we are and we hope
we'll see more of them, possibly as early as tonight. We plan to leave in
a few minutes to sail (or more likely motor, considering the general absence of
wind) to Isla de San Jose, in the Las Perlas Islands, which are about 45 nm south of here in the
Gulf of Panama. We may spend two nights there before we depart, finally,
for the Galapagos.
Our delay in beginning this next big passage has
stemmed from a few factors, in addition to our genuinely having fallen in love
with Panama. We have been working
hard to provision and prepare the boat, buying and stowing fresh and dry or
canned food as well as charts; doing additional caulking; installing a new
fitting enabling us to stow the whisker pole vertically on the mast; adding
additional 5 gallon jugs of diesel (2), gasoline (1) and water (1); and
performing various minor repairs. We still have to install more bungies below to keep drawers, books, etc. from becoming
missiles in rough seas; I'll work on that while underway today.
We have also dragged our feet a bit so as to have
more time with Island Spirit. We have already enjoyed two dinners aboard
her plus their daughter Mara's 9th birthday party (Eliza and Abigail were the
only kid guests). The Cummings are very generous folks. Our girls
have had a ball and we have thoroughly enjoyed their parents' and granddad's
company.
The weather has also made us reluctant to hurry our
departure from Panama. An atypical few days
of moderately strong SW winds that finally ended two days ago would have been
right on our nose. And the general forecasts for the area -- very light
to no winds between Panama and the Galapagos -- have
meant we'd just be motoring for days. There are hopeful indications now
that the Eastern Pacific high may be building up, which would invigorate the SE
trade winds and move them further to the north. In planning our route to
the Galapagos, we are considering taking a longer but, we hope, faster path by
heading more south at first to reach the SE trades sooner, and, as soon as we
find them, turning west toward the Galapagos. We'll see how it
goes.
It is very exciting to be underway again!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday,
April 14, 2004 11:39 AM
Subject: 785 miles to the
Galapagos
0850 EST Wednesday,
April 14, 2004, N 06 deg 56', W 79 deg 47'
We just passed Punta Mala to our west and have exited the Gulf of Panama. Our rhumb line
(most direct route) to San Cristobal, Galapagos Islands is now 753 nautical miles
at 231 deg True. We have plotted a
slightly longer route, however (785 nautical miles), that takes us east and
south of Isla de Malpelo, a
Colombian Island, in search of more
consistent winds. We are monitoring
something called the Panama Pacific Net, on 8.143 Mhz at 0900 EST daily to learn what the other
sailboats ahead of us en route to the Galapagos are experiencing for wind
direction and speed. Also, at about 0915
to 0920 on this SSB net an amateur weather forecaster named Don, who is cruising
on his own sailboat not far from here and checks various weather faxes and
other weather info sources every day, gives a run down on the weather along the
Central American coast as far south as Ecuador and as far west as the
Galapagos. His promising news this
morning is that the SE Pacific high appears to be building up, which should
charge up the SE tradewinds. We anticipate these tradewinds
carrying us across the South Pacific all the way to Fiji; we just don't know where
we'll first find them. It's like a
treasure hunt. Because the Galapagos lie
just about on the equator, however, we will have to get lucky to enjoy any
sustained benefit from the SE trades during this passage to the Galapagos. Some boats have reported finding the SE
trades between Panama and the Galapagos, and
we'll be looking and keeping our fingers crossed. More likely, though, we will experience
generally light winds from variable directions and also periods of intense
convection marked by powerful rain squalls with and without significant
wind. Last night was our first at sea in
nearly a month. What a contrast it was
to our bumpy, wet nights in the central and western Caribbean sailing from the Bahamas to Colon, Panama. We mostly motored in light to no wind after
departing Isla de San Jose in Las Perlas
Islands, from 2:30 PM until about 9
PM. Then wind filled in from behind us at 15 to
20 kts and we've been sailing ever since. We are now on a starboard tack with a single
reefed main and the genoa yankee jib held out to starboard with the whisker
pole. There is a lot of swell and the
ride is rolly, causing the jib to collapse and
"pop" full again every minute or so.
This is disconcerting and is hard on the jib's sailcloth, but we need to
fly the jib to keep our speed up. As it
is, the wind seems to be gradually diminishing, now 8 to 10 kts,
and our boat speed has dropped to about 4 kts. It's time to shake out the reef in the
main. It might even be a good time to
try our cruising spinnaker. We don't
have a lot of experience with this sail, though, and I think I'll wait until
Kyle is on watch again before hauling this on deck and looking at it. Here is the new and improved watch schedule
we have just adopted: 7AM
to 11AM
-- Doug, 11AM to 3PM -- Kyle, 3PM
to 6PM
-- Doug, 6PM to 9PM -- Kyle, 9PM to 2AM -- Doug, 2AM
to 7AM
-- Kyle. Kyle saw a whale surface and
blow noisily about 20' from the side of us at dawn this morning. What a wonderful way to start the day -- our
second whale sighting in as many days.
We have found the Pacific to be full of sea life since leaving
Balboa. Two days ago, en route from Taboga to Isla de San Jose we caught two small tunas
("little tunnys") trolling. One we steaked
and barbecued that night and the other is marinating as ceviche
for lunch today. The girls are
not yet fish eaters, to their parents dismay. But we figure two girls sailing across the
So. Pacific will eventually learn to enjoy eating fish. That's it for now. -- Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday,
April 16, 2004 12:09 PM
Subject: Fwd: Message for
Doug Hopkins from Environmental Defense
(e.d.
The following is a segment from Estrela’s email to Liz and Paula at EDF)
…Our current position is N 3
deg 20', W 81 deg 25'. We are about 550
miles from our intended landfall at Wreck Bay, San Cristobal island,
Galapagos. Amazingly, we have been
sailing steadily for more than 24 hours with NE winds of 12 to 22 kts through an area that typically has light to no winds
this time of year. It'll be several
days, however, before we can expect to encounter the SE tradewind.
Doug
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Sunday,
April 18, 2004 11:50 AM
Subject: log entry en route
to Galapagos
1000 EST Sunday, April 18, 2004; N 01 deg
27' / W 085 deg 06'.
300
nautical miles from our intended landfall at Wreck Bay, San Cristobal,
Galapagos. 555 NM from Panama
City, where this passage began. And 300 miles from Ecuador. The last four days we have had 24 hr runs of
116, 112, 130 and 123 miles. We are now
sailing a course of 244 degrees True at about 5 kts. Wind is out of south at 17 to 21 kts. We are making
good 5 kts over the ground flying the main with a
single reef, the full staysail and the genoa/yankee
furled about half way in. We had been
sailing in just about the same wind but with no reefs from 9
PM
last night until about 3 AM. But Estrela was heeling way over and really
working hard -- lots of creaks and groans.
Since we are in this for the long haul and cannot run over to West
Marine easily to buy spare parts if we break something we decided to slow down
a little and take some of the strain off the boat. Surprisingly we only gave up about 3/4 of a
knot in speed after putting in the reefs.
This wind should gradually move more to the SE. Abruptly early yesterday evening we reached
the tradewinds; they just aren't quite SE yet. But these are definitely the trades, the
winds that have blown hundreds and hundreds of merchant ships, explorers,
whalers, pirates and cruising sailboats across the South Pacific.
Homeschool is underway this
morning. The girls are coping with the
heat and finding comfortable corners to brace themselves against the heeling
and lurching, while reading and writing.
We are reading aloud C. S. Lewis' "Prince Caspian," Book 4 of
7 in the Chronicles of Narnia, during breaks and in
the afternoon, including on the foredeck late yesterday. The girls also finished yesterday listening
to the unabridged "Little Princess" on tape. Eliza is knitting like a mad child, making a
long blanket for one of her dolls, and has just started reading Jules Verne's
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."
Abigail has been working on her needle point. The last couple days Abigail and Eliza made two
doll skirts and a vest for Abigail's rag doll, Clara, and Eliza's Cassandra,
out of some old blue jean material rescued from the rag box. Thank goodness the girls like reading,
listening, their dolls and working with their hands.
Kyle is thankful for her new
Sturgeron seasickness pills and battery powered
Relief Band, both acquired while in Panama. She has become a true master of the care and
feeding of the offshore sailing crew. We
have been eating very well aboard Estrela. She too has caught the knitting bug
-- ancient hands rekindling youthful pleasures.
I found a large flying fish
on deck about 2 AM, dead, unfortunately, but a reminder that the sea
is very much alive, despite its monotonous surface. We fished all afternoon yesterday -- trolling
a couple different lures -- but no action.
Since leaving the Gulf of Panama we have seen the occasional
seabird but not many, and no more whales or dolphins. The water is still warm
(80 to 82 degrees) and very clear and blue -- some but not a lot of plankton
evident near the surface. Once we reach
the colder water of the Humboldt Current, a big reason the Galapagos have such
rich and varied sea life -- we are likely to see more fish, mammals, birds,
etc.
All the
best from Estrela. -- Doug
PS -- Happy Birthday Pop
(Tony Holt)!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Wednesday,
April 21, 2004 3:09 AM
Subject: Estrela log entry
-- Crossed Equator!
2330 EST Tuesday, April 20, 2004; S 00 deg
28' / W 089 deg 13'.
Big day -- we crossed the
equator at 7:30 AM local time (which, until we reach the
Galapagos, happens to be Eastern Standard Time)! Estrela marked the event with a bottle of
chilled sparkling cider, non-alcoholic so all four of us could drink it, and
loaves of delicious fresh bread Kyle had just baked. As the only crew member who had previously
crossed the equator at sea I presided over appropriate ceremonial
frivolity. Then Kyle led us in a more
uplifting giving of thanks. We tried to
video the whole experience; it'll be one of those classic home movie segments
that anyone but those in the video will find excruciating to watch. Meanwhile the whole scene was very
eerie. Nearly dead
calm, with patchy fog surrounding us.
And believe it or not it was actually cold; we all had goose bumps. On watch the night before I had worn a fleece
cap and sweater. It's the cool Humboldt
Current -- we check the surface water temperature frequently with a dip
thermometer and it's dropped about 8 to 10 degrees over the last couple days,
reducing the air temperature as well. It
has been in the mid to upper 70's even during the day, a big change from mid to
upper 80's and low 90's. Who would have
figured our most pleasant and coolest weather since the Bahamas would be smack on the
equator?
We are a little more than
thirty nautical miles from Wreck Bay (Puerto Baquerizo
Moreno) on San Cristobal Island, the government center of
the Galapagos and one of two official ports of entry. We've been slowing our speed all day so as to
time our arrival for daylight Wednesday (tomorrow) morning. The tricky currents, intermittent fog, dearth
of navigational aids and incompatibility of paper charts with GPS chart datum
-- all would make a nighttime approach into Wreck Bay nervewracking. So instead, depowering
Estrela by reefing sails, we enjoyed a lazy sail in light SE tradewinds. All in all, a just about perfect day.
In anticipation of arrival
in civilization again, Kyle had foredeck spa today with the girls as
attendants. She took a saltwater bucket
bath with leg shaving and hair washing, followed by a fresh water rinse with the
"sun shower," a clear bladder with a hose and spray nozzle that heats
a gallon or so of water in the sun and is hung from the boom gallows over the
cockpit at shower time. Heroically, Kyle
even had her hair styled; first Eliza wielded the shears, then Kyle with a
mirror. The results are spectacular.
The other port of entry for
the Galapagos is Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island. We may visit Academy Bay, where the Charles Darwin Research Center is, but we chose to stop
first at Wreck Bay because it's less developed
as a tourist and cruise ship center and reportedly has more character. We are about to get a crash course in
organized Galapagos tourism.
Experiencing the natural flora and fauna of these islands, what draws so
many here from around the world, is apparently very expensive and tightly
managed by Ecuador. To visit any of the National Park areas costs
$100 per adult and $50 per child under 12 per day as
the park entrance fee, plus the cost of any tour. We will be researching quickly to learn the
best park tour options, looking for what's geared for families with kids. Unfortunately, it is prohibitively expensive
and complicated to travel to national park areas at other Galapagos Islands in one's own boat. It would cost us $200 per person per day,
plus a daily fee for a licensed private guide.
And we would need two different cruising permits, one from the Navy and
one from the Ministry of Agriculture. Ecuador really wants sailboat
cruisers to utilize the conventional tourism system here. This is a very special and uniquely
vulnerable place. Unregulated visitors
here over the last few centuries, even many well meaning naturalists and
amateur researchers, have done terrible damage to plant and animal life. So I am happy to follow Ecuador's rules if that means the
Galapagos may have a chance of remaining unchanged* for Eliza's and Abigail's
grandchildren to experience someday.
Good night from Estrela --
Doug
* Unchanged subject to
continuing "natural" natural selection and evolution, of course.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday,
April 22, 2004 11:28 PM
Subject: Estrela log entry
-- Galapagos arrival
0730 (1330 GMT) Tuesday,
April 21, 2004; S 00 deg 53.718' / W 089 deg 36.733' Wreck Bay, Isla
de San
Cristobal, Galapagos.
We made it! We're at anchor in flat calm in cooling, low
morning mist that swirls up the sides of the volcanic cone which looms above
the town of Wreck Bay (Puerto Baquerizo Moreno). A
snuffling sea lion seems to be casing our perimeter to force an unwanted
boarding during the breakfast hour and a very exotic long-billed bird just used
our starboard pin rail for a resting spot.
We have already been immersed in Galapagos magic ashore, wading through
sullen but fearless iguanas and sitting quietly by the side of nursing sea
lions on the beach. What a spot. We are so happy we decided to come here. We may go on a grand tour of other islands
with a local guide we met yesterday.
We're having a half day tour today on San Cristobal
with cruisers from other boats that have become our friends: Island Spirit (our "kid-boat"
buddies whose transom platform was just boarded by a pair of sea lions), Aliesha, Tapagia, and another we
haven't met. Then this afternoon we and
Island Spirit meet another guide named Gustafo at his
shop for a "briefing" and discussion about a possible more extended
tour. We're trying to discern what would
work best for kids as well as adults.
The kids are on fire and their parents are not far behind. More soon. -- Doug