Pacific
Home Up

 

We knew that sailing this part of the trip would be difficult as the winds are notoriously light to non-existent. We did well to start with, sailing very slowly, sometimes at 1 knot but with a helpful current. During a couple of nights, when the sails were flapping too annoyingly, we motored for a while but we were doing fine. Once over the equator, where we expected to find a good current and possibly wind, we found neither, just a strong counter-current. We therefore decided that drifting fast in the wrong direction was stupid and we'd rather spend more time on the Galapagos.
We motored a lot more after that.
pre_eclipse.jpg (39947 bytes) Malpelo.jpg (64472 bytes)
There was a total lunar eclipse just after we set out but of course only the 'before' pictures came out! Malpelo rock about halfway from anywhere, in the middle of nowhere in particular.
let_sleeping_fosters_lie.jpg (84472 bytes) unless_with_a_cuppa.jpg (66671 bytes)
Let sleeping Fosters lie, even when they are supposed to be on watch! unless you come armed with a cuppa.
Libation.jpg (71672 bytes) Neptune_coming_aboard.jpg (85333 bytes)
Crossing the line and a libation to Neptune And here he comes now, probably to complain about the quality of the wine
Neptunes_due.jpg (90910 bytes)
Ee! the things you do to amuse yourselves when you don't have a telly!
The music room.jpg (77005 bytes) Nav table.jpg (78089 bytes)
We have had a request for some interior pictures of the boat so here is the bow cabin/music room! The navigation table and garlic storage hat.
Erik in the Galley.jpg (88538 bytes) Resting from his labours.jpg (87607 bytes)
Erik busy in the galley... ...and resting from his labours in the main cabin. All the stuff under the table is food for which we couldn't find any other place.
Sax Fix.jpg (83458 bytes)
The only dramatic event so far was the G key spring on Foss' saxophone breaking. As far as Foss was concerned this qualified as an emergency so the satellite phone was used to get advice from the nice people at Hanson on how to remove the stub without damaging the instrument. Here is  the result, temporarily mended with a piece of spring steel.
These are the highlights of a fairly uneventful passage. What happens really is that you see an awful lot of sea. So if you haven't got anything better to do have a look at 

THE SEA
and after 11 days of it

THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS