Hi one and all, 
Hout Bay YC members and good friends of ours have sent news of their arrival,normally a windless trip from the Panama Canal area but not for them ,the boat is a Lavranos 39 named The Road (royal order of achient druids) they set off to go cruising about ten years back,their crew is a grey parrot named Rubbish!
As immediate family will already be aware (we hope) we arrived safely at Santa Cruz Island in the Archipelago of Galapagos Ecuador early Friday afternoon the 23rd April 2010, after 9 days of beating into head on South Westerly winds of strengths up to 25 knots.
Such was our angle of heel at times, that Shirley was torn between the options of leaving the boat and walking the rest of the way; or having one leg shortened by about a metre to even her up a bit (then I suppose her name would have to change to Ilean when we got to land); but in the end she stoically decided to make the best of things, and simply resort to nagging me to “do something about the strength and or the direction of the wind”. So if it is miracles you require, just ask and I will wave my Druid’s crook and there you go.
Despite entering into protracted e-mail correspondence with the obligatory Ecuadorian clearance agent whilst in Panama, (The port authorities in Galapagos refuse to deal directly with individual yacht skippers), and eventually receiving a written quotation for all costs, so far we have paid in excess of 180% of the quoted figure, and we still have the dubious pleasure of having to pay a fee for checking out of the country. Ah well c’est la vie, as they say on the south side of the English Channel . There goes another month’s budget spent in 7 days. Just as well the next leg is a long one, where we have nothing to spend it on.
I am almost afraid to put this in writing, but the only equipment failure experienced during our trip was the bulb lighting up the Binnacle compass, well that was true until we dropped anchor, when the (yes Vetus again) main engine exhaust gas and cooling water mixing box fell to pieces so allowing copious amounts of exhaust fumes into the boat, and vast amounts of cooling water into the bilges. Fortunately the blue exhaust fumes billowing out of the companionway hatch provided a subtle hint that all was not well, so we were able to control the situation before we sank. Who said this life style was dull?
As to Galapagos itself, let it be said that if it were in a more accessible location then there are many places with more to offer nature diversification wise; South Africa for example. But of course if that were the case then Galapagos would not be the unique place it is.
The island of Santa Cruz , and the area surrounding Admiralty Bay , was a pleasant surprise for us, as the literature we had read seemed to indicate that due to it’s isolation, there would be a marked shortage of general goods and foodstuffs available. Such is not the case, as the Saturday morning local market emphasized, where there was an abundance of fruit, vegetables, fish, and meat available, all to a standard sufficient to satisfy the most discerning of palates. To supplement this, there is more than an adequate selection of businesses of all types, hardware, small supermarkets, as well as the tourist trap emporiums and more excellent restaurants than you could shake a stick at. The only control on purchasing is not the availability, but the cost thereof. But I suppose taking the isolation factor into consideration this is to be expected.
The anchorage in Admiralty bay (sea conditions wise) is without doubt the worst we have experienced to date. Due exclusively to the prevailing Pacific Ocean swell rolling straight into the South facing bay. Giving swells and even waves of 2 – 2.5m. Unfortunately due to the Port authority rules, we are forbidden to up anchor and re establish in another more suitable bay or island. So this has had a profound effect upon our deciding to cut short our stay in the Galapagos, and leave this coming Sunday.
So far we have explored (and still are) Santa Cruz itself, including the famous “Charles Darwin Research Centre” A fascinating conglomeration of research facilities established in the main by first world countries, these centres essentially involve breeding facilities for various indigenous fauna ( various sub species of Tortoise, Iguana, birds etc) and flora where the introduction of goats has caused the depletion of flora essential for the nesting of numerous species of birds.
Shirley will attempt to include a few photographs at the end of this epistle, but you will note the arid cactus predominance of the landscape, which of course made it an ideal environment for the giant Tortoise as they can go for prodigious periods without needing to drink. (I would never make a successful Tortoise). However where there is sufficient rainfall, coupled with the nutrient rich nature of the volcanic soil, agriculture can be a more than viable option for human endeavor.
Once again due to the draconian harbour authority laws, we were obliged to hire time on a boat owned and skippered by a local tourist company to visit other islands in the archipelago. The one we chose was due south of Santa Cruz called “Floreana”. Where we were able to climb up and investigate caves created by sea farers of old who used them to corral the Tortoises they had collected for transporting back on to their vessels as a source of fresh meat on the hoof. Also we were of course able to observe Giant Tortoise, Iguanas, a multitude of local sea birds, including the famous “Blue footed Booby” all in their natural environment. But the most memorable of all was when we were allowed to snorkel in an area predominated by breeding “Sea Lion”. So comfortable were these pups with human contact, that immediately they became aware of human swimmers, they would enter the water en masse to frolic and play with their new “friends” and all without the aid of any form of Chumming. Without doubt it was worth the cost of the trip to see the look of sheer delight on Shirley’s face upon returning to the boat.
However as mentioned earlier on, we anticipate weighing anchor on Sunday next the 2nd May, and with in excess of 3000 nautical miles to go before the next stop (with nothing in between) we will be out of touch for approx 25 to 30 days, dependant upon wind strength and direction. For info’n purposes our next stop is intended to be the Marquesas Islands which are part of French Polynesia . More specifically the island of Hiva Oa, which for those interested lies at 09 degrees 48 minutes South; and 139 degrees 02 minutes West with local time Greenwich meant time (or UT or Zulu) minus 9.5 hours.
Will write again when we get there.
