March 29th- Day 12 to the Marquesas and under 1400 nm left to go

The past few days has been less eventful than the beginning of the trip weather wise, as we’re finally down in the trade winds. We have had pretty consistent winds from the east-
southeast and today is our first day without any squalls. From noon yesterday to noon today we covered 195 nm, our best day yet. The 200 nm day has still been out of reach but hopefully we
can achieve that milestone before our arrival in Nuku Hivu.

The fishing the past few days has been great. We got a keeper Mahi yesterday as well as the day before. Filleting fish on the stern of a rocking sailboat isn’t exactly easy, but I
made it work and managed to keep the mess to a minimum.
       
It’s been over 10 days since we have seen ANYTHING in the ocean besides fish or the occasional bird. No other ships, dolphins, or turtles…. NOTHING. It’s an eerie feeling, like
being the last person on the earth. If it weren’t for the SSB (single side band radio, range can be thousands of miles) chat with the other Oysters every day, we would feel even more
alone.
       
So far there have been a few mishaps with the other boats. Legend IV had their boom break off their mast and have been sailing with nothing but a Jib for the past few days. Pearl
of Persia had to send someone up the mast to untangle some lines caused by a messy spinnaker douse. Wolfhound had a problem furling their mainsail. We weren’t excluded from issues, as we
have had a few of our own problems along the way as well. We snapped the topping lift cable that supports the aft end of the boom while Jan was on watch. We almost lost the outhaul shackle
on the boom, which would have sent our mainsail flying free. It was only by chance that I happened to spot that the pin had come lose.
       
However, the worst problem was at about 4 am two nights ago, when our anemometer (the wind instrument) went crazy and made Debbie, who was on watch solo, believe the wind had
veered around 90 degrees. After scrambling on deck, Mike and I were able to get the boat straightened out and back on course. That was when we discovered what caused the whole mess.

After a day of tinkering with the wires, we were able to (we think) fix the problem. Just as a backup we have left the good ol’ US of A flag flying on the stern as a backup to figure out the
wind direction in the event of another failure.
       
So long as the winds hold somewhat steady, we should be arriving around the 8th in Fatu Hivu (the names of the islands in the Marquesas are all Polynesian).

Ill send at least one more update before then to Jenny, who has been a wonderful help by posting the blogs for me. Thanks again!

The Sail to The Marquesas: Day 7

 

      So I’m currently sitting in my bunk at about 11pm on Wednesday
March 27. Well, I say sitting, but I really mean holding on for dear life.
This passage has kept us pretty busy between the light-wind sailing and big
pacific swells.

        All the weather reports we read informed us that the trade winds
wouldn’t kick in until we got about 350 miles south of the Equator, so
after saying good bye to the Sea Lions and Boobies (it’s a type of bird
Bobby don’t get too excited), we left Santa Cruz, pointed the boat towards
Antarctica and put up the sails, only to immediately take down the sails
and begin the long process of motoring to find some wind.
        We hit a few patches of wind here and there, and made our way south
to the trade winds. Well, we thought they were the trade winds. Turns out
we were fooled a few times with what turned out to be just a nice local
breeze. But now, here we are, 400 miles south of the equator, and 1000
miles west of the Galapagos, and finally cruising along heading west-
southwest towards the Marquesas Islands. Only 1900 miles to go.
        I’ve had the fishing rod out a few times, but after my last battle
with a Pacific Striped Marlin, I’ve decided to fish some smaller lures. I
know, I’m a wimp. I got two small tuna and two similar sized Mahi, none of
which were big enough to bother filleting. Speaking of fish, I was also
brutally assaulted by a flying fish while reading in the cockpit two days
ago. I was minding my own business when suddenly a kamikaze fish came
flying through the front of the cockpit and into my shoulder, just missing
my head.
        The ocean swells have been pretty big, and rolling under the boat
from the port stern making for a pretty wild and bumpy ride. Sleeping
hasn’t been too easy, but we’re getting by. I’m hanging on to my laptop
with one hand right now to make sure it doesn’t end up on the floor.
        There have only been two constants during this passage besides the
waves, and that is incredibly inconsistent wind, and plenty of squalls. So
much for nice easy trade wind sailing. Good news is we have plenty of
snacks, and no less than half a dozen boxes of Oreos, a case of microwave
popcorn and some Fruit Loops, (thanks to Jan for getting me something
unhealthy) so we’ll survive.
        Some of you may be wondering how I’m sending this from the middle
of the ocean. Quester has a satellite Internet connection, however, it
costs almost $15 per megabyte, so for the next two weeks, updates are text
only. Hope everyone is doing well at home. Big shout out to Murph and his
boys over in the Middle East, stay strong guys. Thanks for protecting our
country.



Ill send another update in a few days, thanks everybody!

Jenny & Joe in the Galapagos!

Turns out getting here was half the adventure. So when planning
Jenny’s flight to the Galapagos, we ran into a problem: all the flights to
the Galapagos have to connect in Ecuador first (the Ecuadorians really have
this whole tourist thing figured out, to make you spend as much money as
possible), and all the flights from Ecuador to the Galapagos leave in the
morning. The only flight Jenny could find to get to Ecuador arrived in the
afternoon, so spending a night on mainland Ecuador was the only option. 
Since Barbie goes traveling solo in a 3rd world country didn’t seem
like a good idea, I flew from the Galapagos to Ecuador to meet her and
spend the night before flying back together.

Sorry for all you guys who have always wanted unleash your inner
Darwin and visit the Galapagos (mom), but it looks way cooler on the
Discovery Channel than in real life. For starters, our hotel, the Red
Mangrove, managed by Nat Geo (you think they would have their shit together
right?) was supposed to be one of the top 3 hotels in Santa Cruz. Well
apparently someone at Nat Geo thought it would be a wonderful idea to build
a hotel in a mangrove swamp. Because of this wonderful planning there were
lots of mosquitoes and the smells wafting out of the decaying mangrove was
a bit unappealing to say the least.  However, I must say that the hotel
staff was very helpful in helping us plan activities.

Ok, now on to the good part. Despite what you would think, there is
actually a decent nightlife in the Galapagos (I know right?), and we did
make a few friends with some sea lions along the way. Someone may or may
not have even pet one while it was having a snooze on a park bench. The sea
lions are everywhere. In fact, in San Cristobal, they are so bold that if
you drop your dinghy in the water even for a minute, you can expect to find
a few of them asleep inside it.

I put a video up on Facebook of us swimming in Las Grietas, a
volcanic fissure resembling a mini grand canyon. The seawater seeps in, and
rainwater collects there making for a brackish mix. The funny part is that
fish eggs can seep in from the sea with the salt water, and once the fish
hatch, they are basically trapped for the rest of their lives since they
are too big to find their way out.

We spent a morning on a bay tour with Carlos. The hotel concierge
introduced him to us, and had a nice little panga named Union II. He agreed
to take us on a bay tour for a half a day, and told us we were sure to see
some sharks.  We were really exited. What he didn’t tell us was that the
water we would see them in was 6ft deep and had visibility that rivaled the
Hudson River, so by the time you saw a shark, it was about 3 feet away. We
saw over a dozen white tip reef sharks up close and personal. I think Jenny
liked the sea lions better.

As beautiful as the beaches and the water were, the highlands of
Santa Cruz were equally as spectacular. We had our friend Isidro the taxi
driver take us on a tour. We stopped at Los Gemelos, a pair of sinkholes,
near the peak of the mountain, and then continued on to explore some lava
tubes. These underground tunnels are created when molten lava flows
underground, and the outside cools faster than the inside. Once the lava
stops flowing, a hollow cave is left behind. Well Jenny was sure excited
for her first spelunking trip!

After convincing her it was a good idea to trek through this 1km
long cave I made sure to videotape the process. I will try to upload the
video from the Marquesas if the Internet is fast enough. Trust me, that
video alone is worth sailing the 3000 miles.

We found a beautiful beach named Playa Garrapatero where we spent
two afternoons, but by far Jenny’s favorite place was the pool at Finch Bay
Hotel. For all of you planning on making a trip out here, stay at Finch
Bay. The pool didn’t even smell like sea lions, it was great.
       
We had a wonderful week together and it was so nice to see each
other, especially after the previous two weeks. I’m sending this from the
middle of the ocean, so pictures of our adventures will have to wait. Check
back in 2 weeks. I should be in the Marquesas by then.

In the Galapagos with Jenny!

First off, sorry for the lack of recent blogs, its been a busy and sad last two weeks. We have lost two wonderful people this March, our closest companion Raine, and our wonderful friend Gerry Deverin, so this post is very bittersweet. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had shared my life with both of them.

I arrived in the Galapagos on March 3rd after a long passage from the Las Perlas Islands (Panama). The winds were light to non-existent and we had to motor quite a bit. The only excitement came from the 250lb Striped Marlin I managed to hook while motoring 400 mi outside the Galapagos.

It wasn't the first Marlin I hooked this trip. While in the Caribbean Sea we were trolling using with a big spinning reel and a flying fish that we had found on the deck that morning. The flying fish have a hard time seeing the boat at night, so its not incredibly uncommon to have one hit you while sitting in the cockpit after the sun goes down. When the first one hit the line, it managed to take almost all the line off the reel before snapping it, leaving me incredibly frustrated. So, while I was in Florida, I took the opportunity to purchase some heavier duty tackle. It paid off (see attached picture of the new reel, ironically enough called the Marquesa, our next destination).

Steve was on watch and I was napping down in the Saloon when I heard the strike. Steve yelled my name, but nothing wakes me up from a slumber like line screaming off a reel. However, after a brief hit, the rod went eerily silent. I had a feeling it was a Marlin taking a swing at the trolling lure with its bill, so I picked the rod up out of the holder and released the drag and let the lure lay still in the water as we motored along. Three seconds and a gigantic splash later, I could barely hold on as Steve and I were treated to a fantastic show of a magnificent Striped Marlin jumping clear out of the water 200 yards behind the boat.

We put Quester in neutral and it was all hands on deck as I battled the fish for 45 minutes, as it forced me to scamper around the entire boat as it made a large circle. Luckily the fish managed to wear itself out before I did, and we were able to get it alongside the transom, while Mike got down on the swim platform and snipped the leader just off the hook. Quester now has the largest catch and release of the Oyster World Rally, and I would love to see someone try and break that record. I'll send another post with more pictures of the Galapagos so far, but in the meantime, check out my sister Emily's blog www.whereintheworldisemtorciv.blogspot.com