Galapagos to Marquesas - Week 3 (May 14 - May 20, 2006)

Another good day of sailing making about 5 knots in 10 knots of east wind. Today was Mothers Day so I told Kathy that I would catch her a fish for Mothers' Day. I put out the line and within about an hour we had a strike. This was obviously a bigger fish than anything that we had tangled with before. As the reel whined with the fish taking out line, Kyle struggled to get the drag tightened down. Finally just as the line was almost gone, it broke. The fish got our best lure, the only one that had gotten any strikes or fish, and almost all our line leaving us with limited fish catching ability for the duration.

Well if we can't fish, maybe we can charge the batteries. We have three ways to keep the batteries up. Our primary source is a wind generator but with sailing downwind it has been able to generate little or no power. Our primary backup is a small Yamaha generator which runs a battery charger. Kyle got this out and started it up and connected it to the battery charger. An hour into the charge, though, it coughed a couple times and died. Hmmm. This is not good. We can always use the third way using the alternator on the diesel engine to charge the batteries but that is not an efficient way to do it. Also running the engine without a load is not particularly good for it. So it was important to try to get the generator fixed. Kyle tore into it looking for a problem but by the end of the day had not been able to find anything wrong.

Without the generator we are going to have to really watch our power consumption. That means limiting our computer work, and keeping lights and other power draws to a minimum. Maybe tomorrow Kyle can figure out the problem.

While on watch in the night Kyle had an idea of what the generator problem might be so at first light he got it back out and tore it down again. It had to be a fuel issue but yesterday he could not find anything wrong with the fuel system. Today however, tracing the fuel route he found a small orifice in the carborator that appeared to be clogged. Running a pin through it cleared it out and on reassembling the generator it started right up. Actually it ran better than it had for some time. We ran it for about six hours to get the batteries topped up and while it was running made about 8 gallons of water with the watermaker.

Each day it seems like the wind has laid down a bit more and our daily mileage is dropping each day. Today we had only made 120 miles. This is still respectable but we are concerned about what the trend might mean. This afternoon the wind has really died out and we are running wing and wing (the jib poled out on one side and the main tied out on the other) and making only about 4 knots. Boats ahead of us are reporting little to no wind. One guy reported on the radio sked that they were drifting quietly on a "sea of gently undulating glass." While that might be interesting to see, with over 1000 miles to go, it could make a long trip for us. Still one must play the cards that are dealt.

Our daily distance was down to 109 miles today and it looks like probably more of the same lite winds for tomorrow. We are still running wing and wing at 4 knots so that would make for a 100 mile day. Still today we will pass the 2000 point from the Galapagos and a bit later this evening will pass the 1000 mile to go point. That is a real cause of celebration. The light at the end of the tunnel is barely visiable but it is definitely there.

Late this morning we were sailing along when we heard a voice over the radio hailing a sailing boat. We had not seen another boat for over two weeks so were quite surprised to look up and see a large fishing trawler. He was calling out to us. Roberto, the captain, spoke excellent English and he explained that they were based in Ecuador and were four weeks into a six week stint at sea. They had already caught 400 tons of fish and were needing 200 more before they could head for home.

Roberto asked if there was anything that we needed - fish perhaps. Since we had lost our fising line on Mothers' Day we told him yes, a dorado would be nice if he had one. He said that they had a fresh one and that he would send a couple guys over in a dingy to deliver it. Awesome. The trawler came closer and when it was a couple hundred yards off we saw a yellow dingy speed away towards us. The two guys pulled along side and we looked and saw the bottom of the dingy was full of fish. They started off loading more fish than we could use in a month. Two huge dorado, a wahoo, and when I tried to stop them they insisted that we take a tuna. They horsed a 100 pound tuna into Stap Isi along with the other fish and with a wave they were off. About that time the trawler was along side so we waved and snapped pictures while the 26 man crew waved and snapped pictures. then they were off.

After they left we just looked at each other and at the fish filling the cockpit of the boat and just laughed. Well we wanted some fresh fish but what could we possibly do with nearly 150 pounds of it. I think there is something in the Bible about God providing abundantly - this must be an example.

Kyle got out the filleting knife and got to work. There was no finesse here, it was strictly hacking out fish steaks until our small fridge was completely full. That still left about 120 pounds of fish. There was nothing else to do as we had no way to store it so with a certain sadness we consigned the remainder to the deep. And the next few days we ate like kings.

The wind veered around to the NW last night and we are still sailing along at 4 knots. Our mileage for a day total dropped just below 100 for the first time in two weeks. Still the boats ahead of us that are still bobbing along in no wind would probably trade with us.

Ran the generator today again to keep the batteries up and make another 8 gallons of water. That reverse osmosis water maker is a God-send. We could probably have carried enough water for the shorter passages but can see no way to have kept enough on board for this one. Being able to make 15 gallons or so a week means we can do laundry, take an occasional fresh water shower, and enjoy drinking a bit more cold water than we might otherwise have been able to.

We had felt blessed that our wind had held as long as it had. Boats ahead of us were still drifting in almost no wind while we had been scooting along at 4 knots in 6-8 knots of wind. But during the night last night the wind slowly died down until by dawn we were making less than 2 knots in almost zero wind. By 8 AM there was no wind at all and we dropped the sails to allow the boat to drift. There was a bit of current so for most of the morning we were making 0.2 knots - a speed that would put us into the Marquesas some time in September.

Kathy took advantage of the gentle motion of the boat to bake bread and cookies. Kyle dug into the deep storage areas to find charts for the Marquesas and beyond. Part of the morning we sat looking over the side at the sea life we normally would not see. No fish, but what we thought had been bubbles were actually small jelly fish. And then there were worm type things up to 18 inches long drifting along and other unidentified small zippy critters that were not fish but probably helped sustain the fish population. It is incredible how much life the ocean contains.

Finally at 11:30 AM we saw a wind line to the north and soon we were hit by 2 knots of wind gusting to 3. The light air genoa (great big sail of about the weight of a kleenex) went up and within minutes we were skipping across the ocean at 1.5 knots. WHEEEEE! Kyle told Kathy that if he fell over, don't try to rescue him - he would just swim ahead and be there when she arrived in Nuku Hiva.

Still moving west VERY slowly in almost no wind. The sails are rigged wing and wing again but there just aren't enough air molecules moving to push. So we took it easy today, did some laundry, and sailed slowly westward. It could be frustrating if we let it but after three weeks at sea, what is another few days. At least we have nice weather. It is beautiful blue skies and star filled nights with temps in the low 80s.

Kathy put it in perspective. If there had been a nice island right here we would have anchored and taken a day off to rest. The seas are so calm right now that we might as well be at anchor. So this is an anchor day - and if we make a few miles that is a bonus. Kathy said that as soon as the wind appears we can pretend we are off on a new short passage.

The only concern is that we only have enough fuel for about 3 more battery charges. That should take us to the end of next week but shortly thereafter we do need to be making landfall.

It was a peaceful night making about 3 knots in 5-6 knots of wind. The moon is not rising till about midnight so the early hours on watch are spent star gazing. Being so far from outside light sources reveals billions of stars. We enjoy looking through the binoculars and watching for satellites and shooting stars.

We normally see phosphoresence that is produced by small creatures that emit light when they are disturbed by the passing of the boat. Looking behind the boat at night we see a long green trail of this light. Last night, though, something new occured. When Kyle was on the 10 PM to 2 AM watch he noticed large flashes of light all around the boat. Some of these were the size of saucers and some were 2-3 feet in diameter. Some were near the surface and some appeared to be quite deep. Many were far enough from the boat that they could not have been triggered by the passage of Stap Isi.

It was at first a little unnerving to see these tiny depth charges of light all around the boat. Our guess though is that they are caused by the same creatures that produce the normal phosphoresence but that something is triggering them to go off simultaneously - like a symphony of light. It would have been a beautiful thing to have seen from above as it was occurring over a large area.

This morning the wind began to build again and we were soon making over 4 knots in 10 knots of ENE wind. Still running wing and wing and hoping to see the wind veer around to the SE soon so that we can get on a tack and begin making some better progress. Downwind sailing is rolly and slow. But no one is complaining about actually having good wind again. We are just praying that it will take us all the way to the Marquesas. We could be there next weekend if the wind cooperates.