DAY 11 EXCELLENT PROGRESS

DAY 11 EXCELLENT PROGRESS only 1350 nautical miles to go

 

We understand that SPOT has been naughty- failing to update.  In future we will attach our position so you can Google Earth us.

 

POSITION     06D32.727s 115D 56.545w

 

We have made excellent progress over the past 24 hours.  The wind picked up during the night and we regularly saw 8 knots.  Yesterday the sea was nice but today it has a very large and confused swell causing Faraway to veer left and right. 

 

So far all equipment is working well.  The generator has not played up again so  hopefully it will hold out until we get to Marquesas-Ian will then do a service including change all oil/coolant and filters.  It is too rolly to work on it at present.

 

We started the engine yesterday for the 1st time since leaving Galapagos-only 1 hour on the engine in 1650 nautical miles.  We ran it for 1 hour just to give it a work out.  We have  Balmar 100 amp/hour alternator attached.  It charged the batteries to the same level that it takes the generator/charger 5 hours.   The generator/charger is a 60 amp/hour system.  Explain that-I think we need a new more powerful charger.  Hopefully we will not use the engine again until we need to motor into Hiva Oa.

 

We sat on the back deck for half an hour this morning.  It was a beautiful sunny morning.  We watched the huge swell build behind us-towering over us menacingly waiting to crash down and wet us.  Just as you thought this was it, Faraway would rise and the threat dissapeared under the stern leaving us peering down into a deep trough of water.  Unfortunately the storm clouds are looming so we have retreated to the cockpit.

 

Everything else is going well-sleep deprivation is the only thing that we really notice now.  The food supplies are doing well and we are particularly pleased that the fresh fruit and veg is lasting.  We will break into the last watermelon in 2 days.

 

 

2 fish

DAY 10 HALF WAY

DAY 10 HALF WAY only 1500 nautical miles to go

 

You can see from the title that today is a big day.  We have reached the half way point of our journey ONLY a quick 1500 nautical miles to go.  We have achieved this in 10 days to the hour.  If we can maintain this pace then theoretically it will take 20 days.  We will celebrate today by making popcorn!!!

 

Considering that we are supposed to be in a more predictable weather zone-things are far from this, we have had squalls, frontal weather with drizzle, some wind, no wind and extreme wind in tha past 24 hours.  We have managed to make good progress during this time.  The swell is still quite large but tends to run with us more.

 

A quick deck check confirmed that there is no chafe on the sails and luckily no equipment failures so far.

 

Our most exciting event was a bump in the night.  At around 11pm Ian had gone to bed and there was a a loud thud on the port side of the boat.  Then followed by many more banging sounds over a short period.  My heart sank as I thought something had come loose on deck-this would require Ian to leave the cockpit at night.  The noise continued-suddenly Ian appeared through the hatch.  He said it was probably a fish trying frantically to get off the boat.   We shone the torch along the port side deck-sure enough there was a very big flying fish attempting to clear the toe rail and return to the sea.  It was sad to see.  Ian never goes out of the cockpit at night but we felt so sorry for it that I made him strap on a lifeline to a cockpit safety hook and go out on deck.  The fish struggled frantically at first but was happy when Ian launched it overboard.  Ian and I make terrible fishermen.

 

Apart from that all else is good the sun is shining with a few light fluffy cumulus clouds.  The dry weather gave us an opportunity to wash our tea towels this morning and hang them out on the deck.  The air is now a little sticky-perhaps a thunderstorm is on its way.

 

0 fish

DAY 9 SQUALLS

DAY 9 SQUALLS 1670 nautical miles to go

 

We had dissapointing speeds yesterday morning but as the day progressed the wind and current improved and we averaged 7 knots.  The wing on wing provides a better speed combination but no matter how we adjust things, the blustery weather and large swell cause excessive roll.  It is really uncomfortbale and makes it very difficult to do simple tasks.

 

We continued into the night at a good speed.  I handed the watch to Ian at midnight.  The swell was increasing and there were numerous squalls apearing on the radar.  Most of the squalls were running alongside Faraway and helped with the speed.  At around 1 am Ian was lying in the cockpit and the boat started to try and veer hard left.  It got worse and the wind suddenly went from 15 to 30 knots.  Faraway accelerated up through 8 1/2 knots and the auto pilot tripped out.  It was really disorientating.  The wind was now in front of the genoa bashing it against the whisker pole violently.  Faraway was heeled over almost to the point the boom was entering the water and the hull echoed as the waves crashed down the side.   Ian called me to the cockpit-I rushed half awake grabbing my lifejacket as I went.  We needed to get the genoa in quickly.  Unfortunately in this set up the sheet to release the genao is on the port side and the sheet to wind the goenoa in, is on the starboard so it is not a 1 man job.  In the middle of this Ian had to manually steer Faraway in the dark. 1 of us also needs to use the torch to see the genoa.  You need 5 hands!!!!  Eventually Faraway ended veering right and we had the wind on the staboard beam.  It reduced a lot of the sail flapping, slowed us down and gave us time to gather our thoughts.  In the ensuing chaos the genoa ended up in a baggy mess of cloth and sheets wrapped around the furling system.  We discussed leaving it in,  Ian going out and fixing it(going out of the cockpit at night is an absolute last resort-especially with only 2 on board) or attempting to pull it all out and fix the problem correctly.  We let the wind die down and then opted for the last option.  Despite the mess it all came out nicely.  We then reefed the genao to 50% in anticipation of another surprise squall attack.  On inspection this morning there was no obvious damage-luckily.

 

It was a really good reminder that we must be prepared for sudden weather changes-things always happen at night!!!

 

After this event the wind died right down to around 8 knots and we have made poor progress over the last few hours.  If we can average 6 knots over the next 36 hours we will reach midway by day 10 1/2.  We palnned on 21 total so we are just achieving our objective-this is still dissapointing though as we started really well and Faraway should be capable of better.  Perhaps we will get better, steadier conditions on the next 1500 nautical miles.

 

We continue reading books, watching DVD's and enjoying the sunsets, stars etc....

 

Ian made another Caesar salad for dinner-the last one as our lettuce's are finished.,  We should be able to squeeze another 2 days out of the tomatoes, cucumbers, avacados green peppers and carrots.  We have a dodgy looking cabbage (will make wasabi coleslaw today) The pears are finished and I think the apples will go another 4 days.  We have 1 watermelon that will last until next week.  The 4 large bunches of green bananas are just going yellow-they will all happen at once so it will be bananas bananas banana pancakes banana bread banana.....  We have potatoes, beetroot, onions and garlic that will last until the Marquesas.  So overall despite our earlier losses things are ok.

 

4 fish

 

SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING,TYPO'S GRAMMAR ETC....TRY DOING THIS ROLLING AROUND IN A 3 METRE SWELL 1500 MILES FROM LAND, WITH LIGHT REFLECTING ON THE SCREEN IN TIRED CLOTHES AND EXHAUSTED-It is a real experience cruising the South Pacific-different from the movies.  I am sure we will look back on the experience with fond memories.

DAY 8 OUT OF THE UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER ZONE

DAY 8 EXITED THE UNPREDICTABLE WEATHER ZONE 1810 nautical miles to go

Overall we made good progress during the day. We ran on a beam reach and often saw speeds near 8 knots. Unfortunately at around 3am the sails started flapping and the speed dropped to under 3 knots as the wind died. The wind moved around to the stern so we have set the sails wing on wing using the whisker pole and the boom. The swell is still slightly side on and the wind is quite variable in regular drizzly squalls. I THINK MAYBE WE ENTERED NOT EXITED THE UNPREDICTABLE ZONE As a combination it is making for exteremely uncomfortable sailing. The boat is wobbling and rolling in a random manner-it is making the auto pilot work overtime. Our auto pilot is rock solid but all mechanical things have a limit. It has been worked hard for many months so we worry that it will give up-the result of this would be a very difficult 12 days of manual steering-here's hoping it lives upto its reputation. When the roll stops and the weather is stable we are making 7 knots in around 12 knots of wind

At our current rate we will just make 21 days. We hoped to do better maybe we can regain some time further down track. For now we will just focus on the mid point which will be sometime late on Wednesday.

There is hardly any moon now. At night it is an amazing feeling to sit at the edge of the cockpit and watch the surf whizz by. There is a lot phosphorescence (something like that) and the stars are truly beautiful. I think you can only get a view like this when you are 1000 miles from land.

At the end of the day after the deck check-it is an amazing feeling to stand on the back deck breath in the fresh air and look around at 360 degrees of nothing. I have heard people say they are sad when they make landfall. With 1810 miles to go I do not yet share the view but standing on the back deck and absorbing lonely isolation I can see that eventually we may succumb to the desire for solitude.

Ian went out on the deck to check all the rigging and sails this morning; after checking that there was no risk of being hit by flying fish.

Unfortunately our golden egg of fresh fruit and veg let us down today. We have tried to eat fresh food before it goes off and save the longer life fresh food until the last week. Our prize food would have been 2 watermelons. When I did a check this morning I discovered that 1 watermelon was completely soft and oozing fluid. We quickly disposed of it overboard. The remaining watermelon is still ok but on the verge of going over to the other side. I think tinned fruit and veg are looking likely for the last week.

1 Fish

DAY 7 MILESTONE

DAY 7 MILESTONE 1955 nautical miles to go

 

Last night we had a favourable wind and  current change leading to good progress towards our destination of the Marquesa Islands. Only 1,955nautical miles left to sail (about 2 more weeks at our current speed).   Ian spent most of the night on watch avoiding squalls as our radar decided to stop working again when we most needed it. He had to scan the darkness to try and estimate where the next squall would hit and reef the sails accordingly.   Luckily our generator started without objection this morning so we have kept it running.  We also put the watermaker on for a few hours to top up our tanks so we could at least have a daily freshwater shower.  We soon went back to our routine of making meals and reading books.  In the afternoon we had a welcome visit from a pod of huge dolphins that were hunting alongside Faraway.  We could see the flying fish desperately trying to leap out of their way in all directions.  One thing that really amazed us being so far away from land was how the small birds that appeared next to us every day managed to complete such a long migration journey.  We had no idea where they came from or where they were headed. Our next milestone is tomorrow morning when we are due to leave the area of uncertain weather conditions at 108 degrees west.  The next big event will be mid week when we reach the half way point.  It will be quite amazing to know we are on the final stretch (all be it really long).  This journey will make trips between Bora Bora and the Cook Islands etc... seem like a short walk.

 

We check around the deck 2 times a day looking for damage/ chafe/ wear and tear.  So far we have none which is good -lets hope it continues.  We try not to leave things in the same position too long.  The wind is becoming more easterly so we will leave the beam reach today and put the sail on the whisker pole and attempt to run down wind.

 

There were no fish or squid on deck today.  As Ian was leaving the deck a large flying fish launched itself into the air-narrowly missed Ian and crashed onto the deck in front of him.  It was gasping for breath and its eyes were bulging out of its haed.  Ian gently picked it up and launched back to sea.  It brought a new meaning to beware of the dangers on deck.

 

Hope you all had a nice weekenfd on land!!!

DAY 6 WE ARE NOT ALONE

DAY 6 WE ARE NOT ALONE 2260 nautical miles to go

 

Another routine day.  The batteries were getting really low so we decided to run the generator all day.  It started and ran perfectly.  We switched it off at sunset.  This morning tried to start generator-no luck.  It took 1 hour and a lot of diesel on Ian before it worked.  We do not have a great deal of confidence in it starting again.  We will run it all day and maximise its use.

 

Overall yesterday the weather was really nice-a gentle swell with 10-15knot winds.  The wind angle seemed more on the beam so we put the sails out and ran on a beam reach.  We have left the whisker pole up so that we can switch configurations quickly when required with minimum time out of the cockpit.  By the end of the day we were under full sail at 7 knots.  During the night a squall came through.  We had to reef the sails but it required Ian getting out of the cockpit in the dark-he always attachs a lifeline to avoid going overboar.  He said it was a little uncomfortable outside the cockpit at night and so we have adjusted the lines to prevent this situation happening again 

 

The big event today happened just before sunset.  We were lying in the cockpit reading a book in the gentle breeze.  Suddenly the radio crackled into life.  It was another yacht calling us.  They had seen our sails.  The were Australians.  Sailed all the way from Slovenia headed to Tasmania.  They were going to cross our track as they were skipping Marquesas and headed to Tuamatos.  We searched for a long time and then spotted them on the horizon as the sun went down.  We did not see them in the dark as they crossed our path and headed away(ships passing in the night).  It was a great morale boost for all and a reminder that we still need to keep a good watch.

 

Sheryl made a great vegetarian pasta for dinner out of the vegetables reaching there end date,

 

4 squid 2 fish  The other boat had 30 squid land on their deck-they made a great meal from them.

DAY 5 FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

DAY 5 FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLES  2390 nautical miles to go.

 

Well all the days are starting to blend into 1 now.  Lost track of the day/date etc...  The routine is really becoming a routine.  We used to feel aprehensive going into the night now we look forward to it as time goes quicker when you are sleeping.

 

Unfortunately our morale was damaged today.  We started to rotate our fresh fruit and vegetables only to find most of the carrot's, capsicum's and nearly all the pineapples had gone rortten.  The sea is a harsh environment-just the slightest salt air content accelerates the deterioration of food.  This all came as a huge blow as we hoped to have fresh food for 2 weeks.  Now we will be lucky to last 1 week.  Good thing we are not vegetarian. 

 

The wind has also dropped right off.  We were lucky to get 5 knots during the night.  The swell has reduced but it is still very rolly.  We do not notice the roll now it is all part of the routine.  We are continuing west until we regain the direct track from Galapagos to Marquesas in aproximately 4-5 days.  Then we will come slightly left.  We hope the swell will run with us in the last 1/3rd of the journey. 

 

We have seen no other boats or humans for 5 days, a very strange feeling.

 

Those of you who follow us on spot-do not be surprised if it stops updating.  Other cruisers have informed us that in this remote area there are gaps in coverage-we will still update the blog though.  If spot does stop we will put lat/long's on the blog each day.

 

4 Squid, 1 fish on todays deck count.

DAY 4 WHISKER POLE

DAY 4 WHISKER POLE 2520 nautical miles to go.

 

We are now way south.  4 degrees and 20 minutes exactly.  We did not want to be this far south but during the night the current changed and pushed us further.  We have now lost the current and our speed has slowed by 1.5 knots.  We finally turned west and put up the whisker pole. It was a struggle as it is much rollier than yesterday.  After 1 hour and 2 seperate attempts-Ian finally completed the job.  At 1 point a wave came crashing over the bow and covered Ian from top to toe-he was not impressed.  We were then down to 6 knots although Faraway was more upright.  By late afternoon the swell was bigger and had changed direction.  Faraway was  now seesawing along-very uncomfortable.  By sunset our speed was under 5 knots. Just before sunrise the wind picked up and we have being travelling at over 6 knots.  21 days still looks like an accurate estimate.  We have also moved further north-perhaps we will catch the current again.  We are in a box known for unsettled weather 500 nautical miles until we exit the box-roll on.

 

When the odd wave crashes over the side it brings some sea life.  This morning the Ian collected 4 fish and 4 squid.

 

We spent most of the day trying to stay in the seat and reading.

 

It was another great sunset and  beautiful stars to follow.  Ian made a beef salad .  We tried 2 hour watches.  It worked well so we will continue this routine.

DAY 3-WHEN TO SAIL DOWNWIND

WHEN TO SAIL DOWNWIND-2650 nautical miles to go

 

Overall a very quiet day.  We read books, changed filters on the watermaker and attempted to do some e-mails.

 

Our course was still around 230 degrees.  Speeds around 7 knots. We were quickly approaching the area that we wanted to avoid.  The wind was moving onto a more south easterly direction.  We would soon have to turn and run downwind.  To do this Ian would have to get out on the deck and set the whisker pole.  It was quite rolly in large seas-setting the pole on his own is difficult at the best of times-it was getting near sunset so we decided to track more southerly and set it in the morning.  

 

We ate special fried rice and watched another beautiful sunset.  It became really dark and we lay in the back of the cockpit watching the stars-so many.  Lots of shooting stars tonight.  We also sat in the cockpit and watched our first dvd.  I think we will watch many over the next 3 weeks.

 

The night was quite difficult changing winds/changing sail shape and size.  We are both tired so will have to catch up on sleep during the day. 

DAY 2-TO GO OR NOT TO GO

DAY 2 TO GO OR NOT TO GO 2810 nautical miles to go

Overall although there are only 2 of us we manage to keep good night watch. We back everything up using the radar and place a warning zone on the screen. We have played with the gain to find a setting that disregards wave returns and only shows other vessels, large objects and heavy weather. If any of these enter the guard zone a loud warning alerts us. We have it set far enough around us that there is time to take avoiding action around (20 minutes). If it is another ship we will adhere to the rules but if there is a risk of collision we start the engine and take avoidance as required (assuming we cannot sail around them). If it is an object we sail up current/swell around it and for weather we look where it is running and try and go around the back-occasionally we go in front and try to outrun it. So far apart from an extremely near experience 4 weeks ago(Ian ended calling a mayday to get the attention of the watch keeper who tried to run us down in a huge fishing trawler at midnight) we are having real success with the radar. Unfortunately last night the radar stopped working and we had to turn the power off and on to get it going again. Lets hope this is not a regular occurence.

Todays big drama involved the generator. We have 9 batteries on Faraway 6 are for general services-lights, pumps, fridge, freezer, autopilot, radar etc. We do not have solar or wind generators(unfortunately). We only have the engine driven alternator and a seperate generator connected to the charger. If 1 system is broken we can use the other to provide battery charging. The generator uses less fuel, is quieter etc so that is the preferred method. Last night we used a lot of battery power and so they were close to minimum. (Ian prefers not to charge during the night as it is easy to identify changes to the wind , swell, weather, sail problems etc...when there is no background noise). This morning at sunrise Ian tried to start the generator but it just cranked over without fully lighting. We always check the sea strainer (the strainer is where sea water enters the boat and goes to the generator or engine to provide cooling before being dumped back in the sea) as if it is blocked the generator will not start as it may overheat. To Ian's surprise there looking up at him was a 10cm by 3 cm fish-dead fully blocking the inlet. Ian cleaned it out and tried again. No start. After much studying of manuals and checking parts Ian had no answer. The fuel prefilter was clean-no water in the fuel etc. When he tried to bleed air and fuel from the bleed valve there was no fuel After checking the fuel pump etc... Ian reluctantly changed the primary fuel filter. After much cranking and opening of 1 injector valve the generator started. We ran it for 6 hours-allowing us to fully replenish our fresh water supplies via the watermaker.

THE BIG QUESTION. WHEN THE GENERATOR DID NOT WORK WE THOUGHT IT WOULD REQUIRE A SPECIALIST. DO WE GO WITH ONLY 1 FORM OF POWER OR MOTOR BACK AGAINST THE SWELL AND WIND TO GALAPAGOS-TOUGH CALL. Lucky Ian fixed it. We look forward to being midway to the Marquisasa then we will not have to make decisions like that.

We saw many large fishing boats-they were towing a caravan of smaller brightly painted boats behind them-very pretty, Difficult to see on radar so we think they are old wooden boats.

The remainder of the day went well although after spending hours in the engine bay covered in diesel in a rolly swell Ian felt nausea for the next 12 hours.

Sheryl did the cooking. Roast chicken with all the trimmings ate from a huge bowl. It took her 2 hours pinned against the cabinets and counter fighting the roll to prepare the feast.

We ate as the sun went down-lovely sunset on the right quarter but black storm clouds and showers to the left-`could be an intersting night. Overall the night sail was smooth until 3am when the sails started flapping shortly followed by the radar alarm.. A quick look at the radar confirmed a fast moving squall headed our way. We were sailing too close to the wind to turn left and go around it so we reefed the genoa and turned right hoping to outrun it. Despite reducing sail the change in direction and increased wind quickly pushed us from around 6 knots to 9 knots. It worked we out ran the squall and saw it pass behinhd-thereafter we continued back on a similair heading as before with speeds of 7-8 knots.

If we keep this up then we should complete the journey in 20 days.

DAY1-THE JOURNEY

DAY 1 THE JOURNEY 2950 nautical miles to go

 

We have really enjoyed the amazing experience of visiting the Galapagos.  Unfortunately the time is running out before the South Pacific cyclone season.  We must get Faraway to Australia before the season.  We have reluctantly lifted anchor and headed on our 2950 nautical mile journey to the Marquesa Islands.  This is our biggest journey so far.  We are fully supplied with food(resupplied with meat as Ian allowed the freezer to defrost when we went to Isabella for 3 days).  We have only refilled the tanks to 2/3rds as we are not sure how clean the Galapagos fuel is (hand delivered in a heavy swell to the boat -6.07 dollars a gallon-yes 6.07 dollars a gallon thats right!!!!!).  We said goodbye to new friends.  Puffin(Australian) left 1 day before us, Saba(German) will leave 1 day after us.  Luna(Danish) will be few days later then Goody(South African) by the end of the week.  So I guess we are in a long multi national convoy.  WE ESTIMATE 21 DAYS TO GO.

 

We had to get a taxi with a high powered engine to drag our stern anchor (a danforth) out of the sand.  The bow anchor (a CQR) released itself after we reversed and drove Faraway back and forth many times.  It was really rolly as we motored out between the numerous dive boats, tour boats and commercial vessels. We continued under motor for 1 hour due south.  This allowed us to clear all the reefs and give a good charge from the engine driven alternator to our 6 house batteries.  We then put out 2/3 of the Main Sheet and 3/4 Genoa.  We do not normally use the staysail unless really necessary-it is our spare sail if required.  Unlike all previous journey's the wind was perfect 15 knots and south/south easterly direction.  It allowed us to head south west immediately. 

 

Our plan was to make both western (towards destination) and southerly (to where the trade winds and currents are most favourable) progress.  We intend to go to the 3 degree south line then head west until 108 degrees west.  This will keep us clear of an area known for strange weather-thunder and lightning with no rain.  Once clear of that we will point towards Marquesas-we intend to hit landfall in Hiva Oa where we have arranged for an agent to do our clearance for French Polynesia(not using an agent requires us handing thousands of dollars to the local government as a bond, to be returned at the other end when we leave ((aparently the government does not want captains leaving undesireables scattered across their beautiful islands)).

 

The swell was quite large 3-4 metres but the gaps are also large allowing Faraway to effortlessly glide over the top.  We made steady progress at aroung 5.5 kts.  There was a beautiful sunset.  Ian made caesar salad and we ate quietly in the darkness.  Later in the night the nearly full moon rose and the sea shimmered in the brightness.  At around 3am the wind died and we drifted in the current for 30 minutes.  As the sun rose the wind picked up and we continued into the day doing around 6 knots.

Farewell Galapagos - Sunday June 19

Ian and I are setting sail on Faraway tomorrow for our longest journey so far across the South Pacific from the Galapagos Islands to the Marquesas. A voyage of approximately 3000 nautical miles (depending on the winds) across the South Pacific. We have mixed feelings about the trip but have spent a lot of time preparing for this adventure. This morning we visited the big local market in Santa Cruz and brought as much fresh fruit and vegetables as we could carry. We selected hands of green bananas, watermelons, oranges, pears, apples, potatoes, onions, broccoli, lettuce and loads of delicious avocados. In the morning we will secure our dinghy, hire a local guy with a 75 horse power engine to help bring up our stern anchor from the sand and mud, bring up our bow anchor and leave the Galapagos Islands which have enchanted us for nearly 2 weeks. Tonight we will visit one of the local restaurants for our last meal on shore and a few pre-journey drinks. Our 'Spot' may not work in the South Pacific but please keep checking just in case. I will add a few posts to the blog via our satellite phone but no major updates are expected for at least a month now when we arrive in the Marquesas. We have both really enjoyed the Galapagos and have met up again with a lot of the cruisers we became friendly with in Panama. Hopefully we will meet some of them again in French Polynesia. We are slowly but surely inching our way closer to Australia.

Galapagos Islands - Overnight Guests

We got back to Faraway on Monday night after a visit to the bar for a few local Pilseners. Ian went to the stern to tie up the dinghy when he was startled by a loud coughing sound. He peered over the stern to see a sea lion lazing on the back of the transom with it's bright eyes staring back at him. We didn't have the heart to chase it away as it obviously needed a rest. We went to bed and could hear it coughing most of the night. In the morning we got up early and to our surprise another sea lion had taken up residence on the back of our yacht. They didn't want to budge so we left them there for the day. When they did leave the mess and smell on the transom was incredible. It looked like the sea lions had brought up half the mud from the sea bed and eaten a few fish as well. It was my job the next day to clean up the mess. Oh the joys of sailing.

Gordon Rocks - Diving

Yesterday I took another dive trip to Gordon Rocks with Daniel from Saba. We had high expectations to see big schools of hammerheads but things went a bit array with the dive plan. On the first dive we saw schools of around 15 hammerheads but the visibility wasn't so good for photos. It was still a thrill to be in amongst them though. There was a lot of current on the dive at times. We also saw eagle rays, galapagos sharks, white tips and golden tail rays. There were a lot of green turtles and the first photos shows the underwater photography paparazzi! Luckily Ian was busy working on the boat while I was off playing with all the underwater creatures. The Galapagos is a special place above and under the water.

Floreana - Diving with Sea Lions

On Wednesday, June 16 I went on a dive trip to Floreana Island with Daniel from the yacht Saba. The photo shows Daniel getting buzzed by a curious sea lion and a pair or sea lions kissing that were obviously in love or practicing for it. We had a 5:30am early start for the trip but it was worth every minute of it. Unfortunately Ian had to get up early too to drop us both off at the dock. The water temperature was surprisingly warm around 24 degrees celsius so still very comfortable. We saw big schools of fish on the dive, green turtles and loads of rays. Unfortunately we didn't spot any red lipped bat fish although this was the place where they usually hang out. I really enjoyed the visits from the curious sea lions as they played with the divers. I also took some video of the sea lions playing with the divers in the group.

Las Tintoreras Isabella Island

In the afternoon we went on a tour to Las Tintoreras with our snorkelling gear. The island was amazing and the water wasn't too cold for snorkelling. On arrival we could see penguins and sea lions on the shore. How incredible to think that penguins can actually live on the equator! We marvelled at them diving into the water and swimming at high speed in front of the tour boats. Ian and I snorkelled over to the penguins and managed to get photos of them out of the water. On the way back to the boat a young sea lion dived into the water and started playing with Ian. By the time I arrived it took off and teased us by diving in and out of the water around us. We all got back in the tour boat thinking it was all over when the driver dropped us off with a group of 3 sea lions. They played with the group and were very curious diving underwater to get a closer look at the humans. At one stage a large marble ray appeared and the sea lions checked that out to play with before thinking better of it and swimming away. After the encounter we were dropped off on Las Tintoreras with Wilmer the guide. We visited the shark channel where white tip sharks rested on the sandy bottom. Huge iquanas sun baked on the island and huddled together to keep warm. As we walked along the trail a curious sea lions came along the sand to inspect the group. We were able to get very close to it and take photos. As the sun set over the island we were sad to get back into the boat. What an incredible day. The next day we got up early and relaxed on the wild beach that ran parallel to the main street. We met some other cruisers who suggested we have a snorkel at Concha Perla. There were 2 big saltwater pools teaming with life including penguins, fish, huge sea stars, rays, turtles and marine iguanas. We were fortunate enough to watch the marine iguanas diving into the water to feed and we had the chance to swim with them as well which was an unforgettable experience. You can see Ian posing with a large marine iguana in the background.

Isabella Island

We decided to do a 3 day tour to Isabella Island. We paid $140 each for an inclusive boat trip, 2 nights in a pension by the beach and 2 tours. The boat trip to Isabella took 2 hours and it was very bumpy. Lucky we had our fair share of bouncing around on Faraway so didn't get sea sick like most of the other passengers. When we arrived on Isabella the customs officer greeted the group and a Labrador dog ran across all our bags looking for illegal substances. This was quite a surprise but nice that the Government are looking after their peoples best interests. It was late afternoon and we dropped our bags at the hotel, grabbed our cameras and headed out to the Flamingo Pond for sunset. Later on dinner was arranged at a nearby restaurant and we walked along the dirt road into town. This was definitely a town that time had forgot but we were so grateful to be on land that we enjoyed every moment of it. Our room was very basic but we liked it so much that we stayed 1 night longer than our original plan. The next day we were up at 7am for a quick breakfast and a 16km trek up to the Sierra Negro volcano. Unfortunately it was cloudy for most of our walk but we still got to see the caldera and lava tunnels. We also had the opportunity to feel the heat coming out of an active vent. It was Ian's birthday and he seemed to enjoy every moment of the trip. We had an excellent guide called Wilmer who did the walk several times a week and was extremely knowledgable and super fit for his age. We got back to town around 2:30pm and prepared for our next adventure to a nearby island where penguins and sea lions frequented the waters. We were both extremely tired from the walk but couldn't miss the opportunity to do another tour.

Las Grietas

Today we took the water taxi over to Las Grietas and walked to the crystal clear aqua blue pond nestled in between lava rocks. The water is brackish and it is a breeding area for parrot fish that are trapped there until a big tide can carry them out to sea. The water was freezing cold but extremely refreshing. We had time to sit on a rock and eat our picnic lunch consisting of roast beef sandwiches. It was a slow walk out over lava rocks and along a beautiful sandy beach. Wildlife was abundant and we stopped along the way to check our herons and small waders feeding by the shore.

Feeding Time Galapagos Style

We had a stroll along the waterfront and came across an interesting scene of activity. The fisherman had brought in their catch for the day and a variety of creatures were in on the action. The Pelicans were queued for fish on one side of the counter like customers at a store with humans queued on the other side buying fish. An iguana desperately crawled up the ice box trying to get some of the fish as well. You can see him in the bottom right corner of the first photo. A sea lion rolled around on the sidelines trying to relax in the midday sun but kept getting disturbed by pelicans. On the following day I went back to the market and the sea lion was in on the action leaning over the counter to sample some of the days catch. A blue footed booby bird also appeared with the pelicans being favoured by the fisherman for an easy meal.

Santa Cruz Island

Yesterday we explored the Darwin Research Centre on Santa Cruz Island. We walked to the Giant Tortise enclosure and Ian got friendly with a few of the larger male residents. I really liked the pens where the babies were being trained in different environments so they could be released back to islands in a few years time. We think the tortise in the photo with the long neck is Lonesome George. He was one of the remaining survivors from an island where longer necks were required to feed on vegetation that was growing at a higher level than the other islands where tortises had regular necks. A living example of Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The park had a very interesting visitors centre and we spent hours wandering around and enjoying the unusual natural environment of cactus and lava rocks.

Galapagos Islands

We finally arrived in this amazing island chain on the afternoon of Sunday, June 5 after a 7 day horrific passage from Cocos Island. We planned to sail the 440 nautical mile route in 3 days but unlucky for us the seas were rough and we had a current and head swell against us for the first few days. The worst factor was that the winds were against us. We virtually had to sail towards Equador until we could point at the Galapagos Islands. We felt sorry for our passenger Pascal who hadn't really sailed before as this was the hardest crossing that we had encountered so far on our journey. Ian and I had to battle in the kitchen below to try and cook appetising meals that we didn't really feel like eating and wash up afterwards. It was hard just standing up in the galley let alone cooking anything. Having a shower and going to the loo were also challenges and you had to have a good grip on the hand rails. We shared the night watches which were pretty miserable at the start of the trip as it seemed to rain all night and once again our canopy leaked with cool drips of water. We were all exhausted trying to catch sleep when we could during the day and night. Faraway rocked and rolled in the swell and we mainly slept, read, trimmed the sails and counted the miles. We first caught sight of these mysterious islands on Saturday afternoon June 4. In the distance Genovesa Island came into view. This island is famous for the huge bird colonies. We sailed past with just one more night to go before reaching our anchorage in Academy Bay on Santa Cruz Island. On my watch at 2:09am on Sunday morning we finally crossed the equator officially into the South Pacific. We didn't really have time to celebrate but it was a relief to be leaving the seemingly hostile waters of the North Pacific. We motored into Academy Bay not sure what to expect but the anchorage looked amazing and we could see cactus lining the rocky shoreline. The navy came on board and we cleared in with them and a representative from Global Ocean Services (GOS). After that we were free to go ashore and I wasn't disappointed. Pascal, Ian and I took the dinghy over to the jetty and I was met by a huge sea lion that I had to ask to please move out of the way! I then bumped into a marine iguana and a land iguana and a huge pelican all in the time frame of about 5 minutes. I soon realised that we had arrived somewhere really very special. I also knew that my camera wasn't going to have much of a rest while we were in the Galapagos.

ISOLATED

Well we made it to Cocos on Friday, May 27. It was a hard slog -we motored nearly all the way to Cocos Island and burned 550 litres of diesel, changed 2 primary and 2 secondary fuel filters etc...Was it worth it-YES. The Cocos Island is amazing. It was just like stepping into Juarassic Park. We arrived just before sunset. Although we arrived in Chatham Bay at the most sheltered anchorage first, we had to continue to Wafer Bay and clear in. It was a very gloomy sunset and the sea was rolly and uninviting. We motored around the bay but decided it was unsafe to anchor. We quickly motored back to Chatham bay. The water was dark and it was difficult to decide which was sand, rock or coral.There were 3 liveaboard dive boats and a Danish Catemaran all on mooring balls. We called the cat and they advised us to take a spare mooring ball as there were no other dive boats due. Although it was getting dark the thought of becoming shark food did not deter us from jumping into the sea and refreshing after the horrific journey. I swam to the cat to say hello but Sheryl got straight out as the North Pacific does have a murky look and she thought there would be schools of hammerheads underneath her. There was a guy from Switzerland called Pascal visiting the cat-he was from the dive liveaboard and was looking for a lift to Galapagos. He is travelling the Pacific and trying to make articles on diving for publishers. Sheryl and I decided originally not to take on passengers or crew but Pascal seemed very interesting and we realised that an extra person for night watch is useful-so we invited him along.

On our first morning in Cocos the torrential rain finally stopped and we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. The scenery was spectacular with sheer cliffs cloaked in lush green rainforest. A variety of sea birds clung to rocky outcrops and sat in the trees on the shore when they weren't soaring above us. I kayaked over to the 'Agressor' liveaboard to enquire about diving with them. The Captain said 'no' which was disappointing as the rangers had told us it wasn't safe for the 2 of us to dive alone as a few weeks ago a diver had been swept 3 miles out to sea in a strong current and he was with a guided group. Luckily he was eventually found by a search party of 5 boats. Ian and I decided to go snorkelling instead and enjoyed gliding over small white tip reef sharks and checking out the unusual marine life. We pottered around in the dinghy next to the cliffs and checked out several waterfalls that were spilling into the sea. In the afternoon we kayaked to shore and climbed up to a lookout at the top of the hill. We had now mastered the art of surfing our kayaks onto beaches and paddling out into rolling waves. It was very hot and humid on land but we had a lovely view of Chatham Bay and the birds were now soaring at eye level with us. We sat for a long time taking in the view when all of a sudden we heard a rustling noise in the bushes. Expecting some wierd creature to emerge we poised our camera at the bush. To our surprise 2 rats sprang out of the bush and jumped across in front of us. Ian managed to take a photo of the rat at the same time as it poked it's tongue out at us. Nice.

There was another liveaboard dive boat moored in the bay next to us called 'Sea Hunter'. Not to give up easily on the diving we took the dinghy over to enquire about diving with them. The divemaster said he could organize a guide for us the next afternoon to do 2 dives on Melorita Island. I was really looking forward to seeing some hammerheads as they were known to frequent the rock in the strong currents. The guide called Esteban was excellent-from the moment he greeted us when we visited the boat the previous day until the crew picked him up after our dive, he was so enthusiastic.and extremely knowledgeable. He did have bad news for us- there was no chance of seeing a red lipped batfish as he had only seen 1 out of 12 dive trips to the island. Like all good plans we didn't get off to a good start. We had to motor our dinghy around to Sea Hunter to pick up the guide. Once we had him and all his gear on board as well as ours we headed off with our 10 horse power engine to the dive site. We got about half a mile away from the Sea Hunter when our engine died. Luckily the Sea Hunter was still in sight but we couldn't get their attention. We called them on the radio, held up a dive sausage and whistled for help. Ian and the guide called Steban started rowing the dinghy as we were getting swept by the waves into the rocks. Finally the Sea Hunter saw us and sent a boat to the rescue. The mechanic from Sea Hunter fixed our engine and after about half an hour we set off to the dive site. We couldn't dive the rock as the current was too strong so we went to a small bay for the first dive. It was very nice and we saw loads of white tip sharks, 2 marbled stingrays and a variety of reef fish. The guide spotted 2 Harlequin Shrimp which were very beautiful and a rare find. Unfortunately I but spiked my hand on a sea urchin (I pulled around 20 spines out of my hand while underwater, but many broke and remained under the skin-mainly the ones Ian pulled) in the process of taking the photo of the little critters that were wedged under a rock ledge. For the second dive the guide took us to Melorita rock.It was on the open ocean side of the rock-all other boats were gone and it was just us in the little dinghy with the unreliable 10hp engine. The swell was big and the waves thundered onto the rocks and cliffs only 20 metres away. It was late in the afternoon. it was getting darkish and the sky was gloomy when we jumped in the dark water. The guide assured me that once below it would be calm. Ian stayed on the dinghy as safety cover-he motored to 1 end of the rock-switched off the engine and drifted in the strong current before going back again-he was completely surrounded by the wild North Pacific and the many creatures that exist there-he saw a stingray jump out of the water nearby and many schools of fish feeding on the surface. He was always concerned that the engine would fail and he would drift to sea. There was only a little current below and we swam to the cleaning station where the hammerheads come in to be cleaned by small fish. Unfortunately they were out for the day. We didn't see any hammerheads just an eagle ray and more whitetip reef sharks. At the end of the dive Esteban allowed the dive sausage to surface as we drifted in the current below. This allowed Ian to strategically place the dinghy for a pick up.

I was a bit disappointed that I had not been able to really see the underwater world of this wild island as the next day we were leaving. The good news was that our new crewmate Pascal was waiting for us when we got back to Faraway. Pascal helped us to get ready for the next sailing adventure to the even more mysterious Galapagos Islands. After a rolly nights sleep and a quick dip in the ocean we headed south east into the wild blue..........