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

First Canal Transit!

Greetings from Shelter Bay Marina!

   We have been here for a few days now and enjoying some down time as well as preparing for the Pacific Ocean. In order to transit the Canal, boats are required to have 5 people on board as "line handlers." Ian the captain of Yantina asked me if I would transit with them Saturday into Sunday, so I got my first canal experience this past weekend! Quester is going through tomorrow along a with 12 other Oysters. I have some pictures of the first transit, and as you can see they rafted up 3 Oysters and had them motor in together. A strong cross breeze made for an stressful few hours of motoring through the locks. We went through the Gatun locks into the lake on Saturday afternoon tied up next to a 46 boat named Flower Girl. We spent he night at the anchorage on the other side of the locks. The morning started out with some excitement when the anchor alarm going off at about 5:15 am, due to the fact that the wind had shifted. Normally this isn't a problem, but since the canal is such a high traffic area we had to anchor extremely close to shore, and when the wind shifted we spun dangerously close to a rock bulked. Ian and I were able to pull up the anchor and avoided catastrophe, and just motored around until our canal transit adviser arrived at 6am.
 
  The morning continued with excitement as the yacht Babe! accidentally started playing chicken with a 800ft tanker crusing at 15 kts. After the tanker let out 5 loud blasts from the fog horn they managed to steer clear of any danger with a few hundred feet to spare. We continued along the channel an onto the "cut" which is the narrowest stretch of the canal. We passed two Panamax (Panamax is the largest possible ship the locks can fit measuring 975 ft long and 105 ft wide), tankers heading east along the way through the cut and had to thread the needle between the ships and the shore. Ian let me pilot Yantina the whole day on Sunday as we motored through the canal and up alongside Dreams Come True and tossed over some dock lines to complete the raft. Dreams Come True was the middle boat, and In Flagranti (my favorite Oyster name... http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/in_flagranti ) was the other side.

   We made it through the Milaflores Locks without incident and underneath the Bridge of the Americas and anchored at the La Playita Marina near Panama City. Look for another update of Questers crossing when we get there on Wednesday.

Panamania!

Greetings from mainland Panama!

Today we sailed from Isle Grande to Portobelo, Panama. We originally pulled into port here because we needed a repair on our main sail, and were happy to find a nice little town in the harbor. I was even more excited to find a small bar/restaurant run by Captain Jack from New Jersey. After a successful run with a chemical company, Jack bought, Fantasy, his 45 ft sailboat and cruised the world, finally settling in Panama. He has provided cruisers with everything from food and internet to parts and hotel rooms and is a lifesaver. Our new friend Manuel is repairing the sail tomorrow and will hopefully have it back in the afternoon. We will spend another night here tomorrow and then complete the Caribbean part of our trip in Shelter Bay Marina. This is the last stop before the canal transit. There is a live feed for the locks of the canal which you will be able to see here: http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Right now it looks like the oysters will starting transiting through on the 16th through the 19th. When we know our date for sure I will update so you can watch the chaos as a dozen Oysters are crammed into the locks together. Should make for an interesting few days. We will use our time in Shelter Bay to make some small repairs and get the necessary provisions for the next month or so, since we are not banking on being able to resupply in the Galapagos.
I will update from Shelter Bay as soon as we get a definite on our dates, so check back in a few days.

A big hug to the Rich family for all you guys are going through, my thoughts are with you guys.

San Blas Islands, Panama

            Our sail from Cartagena to the San Blas Islands of Panama started off well with strong winds, but eventually the seas caught up with the wind and made for another wild ride, although at this point, we are getting use to it (sort of). With just me Deb and Mike and 3-5 meter waves, sleep didn’t come too easily, but we survived. It took us 3 days to get to Porvenir, which is the main Island in the San Blas chain, and the only one with a customs office. Although we were initially a bit frustrated that we had to spend the night anchored off of Porvenir because customs was a two day affair, we had a friendly Kuna Indian paddle by in a dugout canoe selling lobsters. We bought two and boiled them up for dinner and they tasted fantastic.

            The next morning we sailed 12 miles east to Elephante Island since we heard it was the only one with a resturant and internet, which is where I am at the moment. While they do have internet, there are only two wires running across the bar to plug into your computer, I am able to post some pictures of the San Blas Islands.

            I went spearfishing today, and was initially planning on swimming around a nearby island, a scary close encounter with a Portuguese Man o War made me change my plans. Instead I dove around the boat, but was unable to find any lobster or big enough fish to shoot. Hopefully tomorrow it will be a little sunnier and I will be able to find some dinner. We are planning on spending a few more days here before leaving for Portabello, and than Shelter Bay Marina next to the Canal. 

I will try to update in Shelter Bay.

Colombia!

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Santa Marta and Cartagena

            We arrived in Santa Marta, Colombia on the 19^th and had quite an exciting end to our Journey. With the Caribbean Sea spraying into the cockpit being driven by 40kt winds, we finally rounded the last point and found ourselves in the protected (sort of) Santa Marta Marina. We later learned that just a few weeks ago, the winds got up to 50+ kts in the marina, and we saw several boats getting bimini tops and covers repaired. Santa Marta is one of the biggest cities in Colombia, but we spend most of our time near the marina on the main road with a few shops and restaurants. We took a taxi ride over to the nearby fishing village called Taganga for lunch and a visit to a dive shop for some needed parts.  The next day we heard about a nearby town on top of a mountain where Coffee beans are grown called Minca and scheduled a ride up. We met up with our guide and piled in his Land Cruiser for a ride up the dirt road and arrived in time for lunch, before heading out on a hike to a beautiful waterfall. We cooled off with a brief swim and a leap from a little cliff into the deep pool at the bottom of the falls.

            After 5 days in Santa Marta we departed for Cartagena, and broke the trip into 2 days by spending the night in an anchorage along the way. We experienced high winds again along the way which made for a rough and rolly ride, and were relieved when we turned into the harbor and out of the big seas. This time of year is incredibly windy in the south western Caribbean Sea, and some of the Oysters have experienced winds well over 50 kts.

            Cartagena had a new marina that is not yet open to the public, but the owners were nice enough to allow the Oysters to tie up for a few nights. Pandemonium beat us there, and a few days after arriving we were joined by Purusa and Aequitas. Cartagena a very old city with a rich and interesting history, however, you have to be fluent in Spanish to learn anything from the museums. Luckily I knew a few keys words in Spanish that have allowed me to get by: Bano, Cerveza and Wifi. I was also fortunate enough to stumble across a Hard Rock Café in the old walled city which, to my relief, had a few English speaking waiters.

            So far we haven’t had the best luck fishing, and are still waiting to get one on the boat, although I had a 45 minute battle with a 75 lb Wahoo, he was able to get off the hook while I was hauling him up onto the swim platform. Hopefully our luck improves soon.