Landfall at last….after 20 long days

For years we’d looked forward to the Pacific crossing.  Everything we’d read or been told about it was favourable.  Sailors we met who’d done it talked about calm seas and gentle trade winds.  For us however, the passage was marked with boisterous winds and confused seas.  It made for an uncomfortable ride and the only place to sleep was on the saloon floor.  Preparing meals became an exercise in endurance and showering was an athletic endeavour.  Finally, 20 days after setting sail from San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands, we arrived at Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas.  The rough passage was soon forgotten as we absorbed the beauty of the spectacular anchorage of Hanavave with its mist shrouded jagged peaks and lush vegetation.

Calculations early in the passage had us arriving in Fatu Hiva for Easter but, as luck would have it, after blowing hard and fast for weeks the breeze lightened four days out.  Our speed dropped from consistent 7-8knots down to 3-4 and our daily runs plummeted from a high of 193nm to 130.  We debated motoring to get there but having sailed the entire way across the Atlantic we weren’t about to let a delay of a day or so spoil our record, so sail we did.  It was agonisingly slow and very frustrating.  The island of Fatu Hiva appeared on the horizon late on Easter Sunday and we had a lovely moonlit drift up the coast reaching the anchorage at first light on Easter Monday.

We dropped the anchor at 6am after receiving a warm welcome from  Peter and Catherine on Southern Cross who we left Cristobal with.  Yes…they beat us (damn these fast catamarans) but it was lovely to have a welcoming committee!  First up…sleep…then on to the arduous task of removing the gooseneck barnacles and brown beard that Bandit had developed during the crossing.  We left Panama with a freshly polished shiny boat and it was depressing to see the mess but everyone had the same problem.   No willing Haitian workers here so we attacked it ourselves - it took plenty of elbow grease!

Once Bandit was sparkling we headed ashore to check things out, perhaps grab an espresso and check internet at a waterfront cafe.  Hmmm…this island is beautifully and wonderfully remote and even though we were keen to make calls home it was refreshingly delightful to find nothing much ashore.   As we had no local currency we had to trade with locals for fresh supplies.  They are pretty specific about what they want – rum, wine and perfume and they drive a hard bargain.   We traded a length of rope, lipstick and nail polish for a stick of green bananas, one breadfruit and three grapefruit.  Later we struck a good deal with another local who spied our waterproof bag.  These people aren’t shy and he asked us to give it to him.  Wild gesticulations (our French is non existent and their English is equally bad) revealed he needed a bag for his rifle so we shot back to Bandit and within an hour we’d whipped up a custom made waterproof rifle bag with velcro closure on our sewing machine.  He was thrilled and we walked away with yet more bananas and a backpack full of citrus.

It would have been easy to linger but we weren’t officially checked into French Polynesia and while the local mayor looks favourably upon cruisers stopping for a day or so, we didn’t want to push our luck.   We’d wandered around the town snorkelled the shoreline and explored the lush valley so were happy to move on.   With brisk trade winds running we had a fast sail to beautiful Hane Moa Noe Bay on Tahuata.   Unlike Fatu Hiva with its black volcanic rock and sand, Tahuata has gorgeous white coral sand beaches.  Highlights were having manta rays feeding around the boat, snorkelling along the rocks with spotted leopard rays and buying fresh baguettes from the nearby village!   The bay was a good chance to have a catch up with boats we’d crossed the Atlantic with – Remi De, Outsider, Ooroo, Shakti, Antares and Merritulli.  What else to do on a beautiful Marquesan beach than have drinks at sundown?

   

It would have been easy to linger but we need to clear in with authorities so it’s off to Niku Hiva.   We have enjoyed our first taste of land after our longest ever passage and can’t wait to explore more of these gorgeous Marquesan islands.   It’s wonderful to be at anchor at night again.  While it wasn’t very memorable our Pacific crossing is behind us – well the biggest chunk of it anyway!

Gobsmacked in the Galapagos

Wow – the Galapagos Islands are every bit as awesome as we expected.  Red tape and entry  difficulties  aside (see www.blog.mailasail.com/yachtbandit for details) that is.  After being forced to go to Isla San Cristobal rather than our first choice of Isabella, we were finally granted a 20 day stay at a cost of US$715.  Thank goodness or we would’ve missed some great sights, like this- a regular morning visitor.

Our seven day passage from the Las Perlas islands off Panama to the Galapagos archipelago was, as David remarked, “as good as it gets”.  The winds were a little light, which was frustrating at times, but with flat seas we managed to keep Bandit sailing.  Highlight was crossing the equator.  As we were sailing along quite nicely at that stage we opted not to stop for a mid ocean dip but did toast Neptune.

Our final day at sea featured a lovely spinnaker run down the north west coast of San Cristobal island accompanied by schools of sea lions and playful dolphins.  We also had an inquisitive hammerhead shark come alongside.   At dusk were surrounded by black fins we initially thought were sharks but after seeing a few leap out of the water we soon realised they were massive manta rays.

Once cleared in, which involved having fresh produce and rubbish examined, hull dived on and holding tank checked, we were free to explore.  The anchorage at Wreck Bay provided plenty of wildlife activity.  We had blue footed boobies diving all around, playful sea lions, turtles and even the odd shark swimming on by. 

     

The Galapagos archipelago consists of 18 main islands, three smaller and only four are inhabited.  Thanks to Charles Darwin’s brief visit here in the early 1800s and subsequent release of Origin of Species with its theory of evolution, the islands have taken on a mythological status and Darwin himself is a romanticised hero. It is intriguing to see Darwin’s “evolved” animals in their natural state and what we found most startling – Darwin’s theories aside – is the way the animals are totally unafraid of humans.  Whether it’s a marina iguana, seal, shark or bird, they allow humans to get incredibly close and there is no fear shown – in fact they interact freely and even pose for photos.

      

Tourism is strictly controlled in the Galapagos and therefore (we felt) at times a little contrived but San Cristobal is one island where you can indulge in several activities without a guide.  A strenuous hike took us to Los La Loberia where we swam with the giant turtles.   On the way we passed dozens of marine iguanas.  We also had loads of fun snorkelling with the sea lions at the nearby rocks.  They’d swim right up to us at speed giving us a huge fright then blow bubbles in our faces and twist and turn away – performing some amazing aquabatics as they did so before returning at lightning speed from a  different direction.

We took a taxi tour to the 896m Cerra San Joaquin, an extinct volcano with a freshwater crater lake where frigate birds wash the salt off their wings and then to the tortoise breeding centre where giant land tortoises roam in a natural environment.  Eggs are collected and hatched in incubators and the young tortoises cared for until they are released at five years old.  Hard to believe the early settlers, pirates and fishermen (and Darwin himself) ate these defenceless creatures by the tens of thousands.  Because they live for weeks without food they were stacked alive in ships’ holds.

What surprised us most about the Galapagos were the glorious beaches.  We’d expected black volcanic sand and there are lots of those but also dozens of beautiful white coral sand beaches.

In Darwin’s famous footsteps

We quickly realised that travelling independently in the Galapagos was nigh on impossible.  The land area is 97% national park and you need to be accompanied by a guide to enter - with a few exceptions.  Cruising yachts are restricted to three anchorages and you can’t just take the tender and go off snorkelling.  Keen to see the wildlife up close as Darwin had back in 1835 when he visited on the Beagle we took advice from fellow cruisers Tulu and booked a multi island tour.  The whole idea of doing this is to manage the resource and keep tourism at a sustainable level but we’re not so sure about that – at times some of the Galapagos felt as crowded as anywhere else!

We opted for a five day/four night trip that took in four islands – San Cristobal, Floreana, Isabela and Santa Cruz. At nights we stayed ashore which was a novelty for us, but for non cruisers staying on a boat probably gives a better perspective.  You get to wake up in  remote locations and see the animals in their natural habitats before the tourists descend.  Of course we are lucky enough to do this every day and San Cristobal has been magic for that.

Our tour was a great mix of land and sea activities with lots of snorkelling.  Call us spoilt but having done most of our snorkelling on our own having to cope with 10 others was trying at times.  Most of the group were experienced but there was the odd lifejacket wearing “splasher” amongst us.  However we did see all the wildlife we hoped to with the highlight being the white tip reef sharks on Isla Isabela.   They were completely nonchalant about us and only the odd curious one came out of the cave they were sleeping in.

We did a fantastic day trip to Los Tuneles on the south west coast of Isabela to the blue footed boobie breeding colony.  Being breeding season it was intriguing to watch the males do a clownish dance involving flapping their wings, stamping their stunning blue feet and whistling a classic wolf whistle to any females within range.  Afterwards we snorkelled amongst the wonderful lava tunnels formations spotting sea horses, colourful reef fish and the ever playful sea lions and rays.  Best experience was getting incredibly close to the giant turtles – so close we had to consciously avoid them!

We also got to see the amazing frigate birds up close.  We often see them at sea – waiting to scavenge food from other sea birds – but as it was breeding season we got to see the male with his puffed up red chest furiously trying to attract a female.

On Floreana we did our thing for fellow tourists and checked the mail at the historic post-box.  This system harks back to whaling days when ships would leave mail in the post-box for other ships heading home.  Unfortunately there were no postcards with New Zealand in the address…..would have been great to take it the “original” way, by sail!  On Santa Cruz we hiked to Tortuga Bay where baby black tip reef sharks swam around our legs in the shallow water.  On our final day we had a trip into the amazingly lush highlands to the lava tunnels  before being ferried back to San Cristobal.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip which gave us a great insight into this archipelago. Our guide Andreas was knowledgeable and passionate about the Galapagos which made the experience even more special. Having done justice to these stunning islands with their bountiful wildlife we’re now about to head to the Marquesas. You can follow our progress on our at sea blog - www.blog.mailasail.com/yachtbandit