Episode 12: The Pacific Passage - Galapagos to Marqueas

Hi Everyone!

It feels kind of strange now, to be in our "home paddock" so to speak; the South Pacific Ocean. New Zealand seems only a few million stars away on a magical journey, we never really, ever want to end...

As reported in our last couple of Facebook posts, we ended up staying a few days extra in Galapagos. Glenys and Bruce had a sensational adventure revisiting Santa Cruz and Isabela, then headed back to rejoin Marmax in San Cristobal. We stuck around for some final jogs around the fabulous coastal volcanic walks, the sheer cliffs dropping off into crystal clear ocean lagoons; play grounds for our favourite sea lions. 

Final swims with our gentle, whiskered friends, final farewells to the store keepers who had helped us out. Farewell to the cafe owners who persevered with us spending hours on their wifi's trying to get business done, blogs out, etc. Farewells to our ever-smiling water taxi drivers and, most heart wrenching, the goodbyes to the frolicking sea lions of San Cristobal! How we will forever miss their hilarious, watery antics around Marmax!

We will sure miss these guys!

Clearing Customs to leave Galapagos was actually quite fun. We had to meet up with our Customs agent, Carmel, at her dubious office, 3 streets up from the waterfront. Her younger brother had bounded up the jetty to greet us the night before, to ensure we made our 10 am appointment the next morning with her. We seemed to be watched constantly, but I guess, if we were the keepers of these Galapagos jewels, we would do the same; bio-security, in particular, was paramount.

The illustrious Department of Migration - Galapgos

Up we fronted, boat registration, clearance paperwork, passports, etc. in hand, bundled into two taxi ute's with escorts. At the time, we suspected these may have been other relatives of Carmels. You can never forget the fact that you cannot pay for Customs, Migration or yacht services in Galapagos without fresh US dollars in your hand; there was much to ponder in regards to the economic consequences of this loosely governed cash society.
That taxi ride from the office was an interesting jaunt; up and out of town, into the bush...were we heading to the firing squad? It felt like it! Suddenly we zoomed left, up a rough, volcanic  scoria driveway. Here, we were emptied out at the steps of the Department Of Migration, a building strangely out of character with everything else Galapagos. A one man show whom studied all of our papers again, eyeballed us, the usual secretive, soundless photo taken of us by the Customs lady, Carmel. Passports stamped, we were once again bundled and escorted back into the taxi utes, dropped off at the Customs office, shook hands and we were free. We fully expected to be escorted again to the jetty and told to leave, as in the Panama. This was an unexpected surprise and a much nicer way to leave a country; mind you, what should we have expected from the lovely Galapagoians, who, besides Customs, had only offered their smiles at every twist and turn we had made across the islands.

A cracking 80 nautical mile sail, against massive ocean currents and surf breakers miles out to sea, found me on my usual midnight watch. Glenys was on changeover with me and suddenly this enormous blast of water whooshed out from our starboard side. Talk about give us a fright! We never saw the whale, but I spent the next hour expecting to slam into one! It was the dawn of Glenys' birthday on board. 

Twenty nautical miles off Santa Maria, heading out of Galapagos waters, we knew we had developed serious engine battery problems. Despite their ability to charge up with no problems, they were not holding their charge at all. This situation could seriously jeopardise the safety of the boat as we headed to the land of hidden coral atolls, to say nothing of our ability to make water, have power, refridgeration, navigation, etc. The inevitable decision was made, to turn around and head to the major commercial port of Santa Cruz. 

Happy Birthday to Glenys!

Mixed emotions as we sailed in, lots of frivolous fun for Glenys' birthday celebrations, pressie giving time, the blowing out of candles in a rolling ocean, all of us anxious that, given we had already cleared Customs in San Cristobal, the powers-to-be would, more than likely, charge us another US $3000 to clear us back in. The cash economy is a little scarey when it comes to dealing with some of the foreign officials; they really do seem to have the power to do what they like. Glenys phoned our Galapagos agent, Javier, from YachtGala again, so he could hopefully smooth the process for us...and a translator needed please. Under the authority of an emergency stop, we entered Academy Bay. No surprise to hear that one of the two lovely young guys from YachtGala, was a nephew of Carmel, the official in San Cristobal, where we had just left. As suspected, it was all in the family:)  

Santa Cruz dock - you can get an idea of the harsh terrain of Galapagos in the background

Bruce and Les snuck ashore that night to go raid the islands ATM's for cash as we can only take US $200 out at a time, 3 times, every 24 hours per card. We do not carry thousands of dollars while travelling through oceans. We had not re-cleared Customs or Immigration either so it was a swift, fugitive-like visit!

The next two days: four new batteries, more speed dates  with the beautiful scenery of Santa Cruz, some final ice-creams for ice-cream addicted Janelle and Les, last minute cocktails, another couple of hours wasted in the Santa Cruz Immigration office and some great Spanish negotiating on our behalf by our YachtGala boys. We had to give exactly 24 hours notice to gain clearance to leave Galapagos once we were sorted. Glenys had to come in the next morning to get that precious clearance again. Another Customs inspection of Marmax, complete with an armed Anti-Narcotics man, and we were off on our way. Thankfully, besides Bruce's surrender of many hundreds of dollars for batteries, marine electricians and Customs fees, translator, agent fees, etc, we were not required to pay that extra US $3000. Smart thinking to uses an agent in these waters! For anyone who knows Bruce, it is better that he not get frustrated by officials who do not speak our lingo. YachtGala did a marvelous job for us! Thanks boys, much appreciated!

Into the night, the new batteries being installed in Santa Cruz

Clearing Customs second time round in Santa Cruz

It was weird, for most of us, saying a second goodbye. A final wave to the sea turtles, the sea lions, the wonderful energy and colours of Santa Cruz. As the song goes, "We may never pass this way again..." The sight of Isabelas' huge volcano rising above the clouds in a farewell salute to us, kept our eyes wandering for that final glimpse; a bit like saying a long goodbye to a loved one at the airport. Needless to say, Bruce was happy to leave a very expensive place!

See you later Santa Cruz!

Within the first 48 hours of leaving, we encountered a taste of the Doldrums, now modernly referred to as ITCZ (how boring), the "Intertropical Convergence Zone". Feeling in the doldrums today? Fear not, you are not depressed, you are simply in the Intertropical Convergence Zone! 

The slapping of gasping sails on the mast and a sloppy, uneven sea really would drive you nuts if you had to endure it for days on end. The worry of stainless steel bolts and screws working their way loose on mast and boom, the wearing of lines and sails, the preventer tight as a guitar string stopping the jarring of the big boom. It is not fun, actually, it can be plain boring if not for the constant interplay of our aquatic friends keeping us all amused alongside as we sail along.

Calm seas leaving Galapagos with Isabela disappearing astern

The humpback whales seem to be migrating towards the east. A whale submerged right alongside as we gently glided through the water. We must have given it a fright, almost running into it. 100 metres behind the boat, it rose again with another whale alongside. In one 24 hour stint, we have seen 3 pods of travelling humpbacks, 4 enormous pods of those missile-like dolphins who shoot straight up in the air and belly flop down; you can almost hear them shrieking with laughter, mimicking us in equal delight. Two different breeds, there are small, compact dolphins and these big, long barrel-like beauties who turn up-side-down to show their white bellies while racing our bow through the bubbling waters. 

Millions of flying fish firing out like tracer bullets from Marmaxs' water-lines, some gliding over 100 metres, in and out of the crests of the foaming waves, a constant sound of "ssshhhing" as they hit the water, in the background of our cockpit conversations. We have also seen tuna schools bursting through the waves, shiny silver razorblades chasing bait. Tiny black birds darting about. When do they rest? Where do they go? Their constant chatter often sits in the dark skies above the yacht throughout the night. No idea what their name is...no Google out here! The ocean is now changing from that Pacific emerald blue, back to Sapphire Gin bottle blue. Next time you reach for the bottle, imagine a little white yacht sailing along the top of the label. It is that blue. We thought we'd lose that colour in the Mediterranean; we thought we'd lose it after the Caribbean. How can the beauty of this colour be described? We've been told that the best is yet to come in French Polynesia and the Tuamotos; no wonder these 6 month voyages by sailors often turn into 6-10 year life-adventures. It is clearly addictive.

Hard to believe, my champion fisherman on board, Mr. Leslie Marsh, has failed miserably in landing 5 fabulous Mahi Mahi in the past few days. " C'mon Les, don't blame the fact the big gennaker is flying and we are charging along at 8+ knots with a 5 metre swell off the stern, and can't stop!" He has frustration written all over his face, and of course, we never let up teasing him. A medium size Mahi was landed last night; we are having it marinated in coconut milk and lime juice for lunch today. We should have invested in a net as well as the gaff to get them aboard. It is extremely hard to get them safely on deck from such a high stern deck, we feel a bit sorry for Les! 

Happy to say, he did redeem himself...we have the fridge chocka-full again! 

A nice Mahi Mahi...lost over the side a minute later! (check out the video on FaceBook) Nice one Les

A decent Wahoo...

Some of the goodies from the inside of a tuna...All in the name of  biology lessons for Janelle!

Catching fish...a team effort on a pitching deck!

Yesterday, on the 25th June, we were thrilled to receive a text through Iridium from my eldest son, Ben, and his lady, Katie, announcing the birth of their first child, and our first grandchild. A healthy girl called Adalind. We celebrated, on a perfectly sunny, South Pacific day, with a champagne breakfast, then pizzas made by Janelle and a fun sail with the big red and white gennaker billowing off the bow. We can't wait to meet her in October; we will not even see her photo for another few weeks! 

One of our many amusing crew conversations recently has been focused on the distribution of the final 5 precious bags of potato chips. At US $6-8 a bag in Galapagos, we decided against such an investment at the time. Dumb. The options: would we just have a bag of potato chips for special occasions? (They might go mouldy waiting!) Do we have one bag a week each Sunday (Glenys) or do we binge (my personal favourite) and have one bag each to feed out of at our discretion? Big decisions to be made here! The vote? One bag every Sunday at 5.00pm. Marmax Council is at a close. 

Many of you sitting wrapped up in the freezing winter of New Zealand will be surprised to hear it has been quite cool on the equator, in fact, we have had to forage around under bunks to find our jumpers! It is quite chilly! We are certainly not missing winter, but hailing our blessed fortune at being able to sail the glorious South Pacific Ocean at this time. The countdown is on! Only 3 more months before we are back in Auckland. It is a confronting thought, a dream we'll all have to snap out of in a hurry!

I always felt, since my first overseas yacht passage at 16 with my Dad, the greatest exhilaration of being at sea with an endless horizon was, not only the challenge of getting from one country to another safely, but conquering the demanding weather patterns with a set of sails. The electrifying excitement of being on the wheel in filthy weather, flying along with stinging spray and froth busting up around me has always been the ultimate in intoxication to me...maybe it's genetic, maybe it's a touch of madness? I love it.

I have also realised on this trip, that most people are on auto-pilot in their life. We all have the drumming of living life constantly beating in the background; family, friends, work, business,  day-to-day chores, health, relentless mobile phones and emails...just life. Are we not all distracted by "going though the motions" rather than consciously living life? These are the thoughts that run through my uncluttered, over-thinking mind while gazing with eyes wide open at the glorious night galaxies above. The mast head draws invisible lines in the skies, Glory, Glory, Hallelujah stuff. It is amazing, words simply cannot describe the profound beauty we are gliding under...and over.

In previous blogs, we have mentioned, the weird coincidental stuff that has happened to us during our sailing adventure. I was reading an article out aloud in the cockpit one sunny afternoon. It was an incident report Glenys had found in the ships resource and manual library, all about a 47-foot Moody yacht, which collided with a tanker charging along at 27 knots in dense fog. Result: the yacht sank, the tanker kept going despite both being aware of each other. Mistakes were made by both Captains in regards to their lack of understanding for maritime law. Compasses were set wrong and misread; there was a myriad of unfortunate and tragic events leading up to the big crunch. You learn something from anything you read, let's face it...knowledge is power. 

So what do you think the chances are, after two and a half weeks at sea, with not a single boat, aeroplane or human in sight, to look up from reading this article, and spot a large Chinese tuna boat on a collision course with us. Slim chance? Nope, not on Marmax! We could not pick up this boat on radar, though obviously had it within our sights as it came towards us; in no time, they were 200 metres off  our port bow . We were flying the gennaker, so had limited maneuverability without dropping it. Was there anyone on the tuna boat helm? Neither of their two radars were in operation. Janelle enthusiastically blew our foghorn, tuna crew swarmed to the decks. While we were eyeing off the tuna vessel and quickly planning an emergency escape strategy, ie. engine on, calling via VHF, Les yells out, "Fishing bouy to port!" Yikes! The water is over 4 kilometres deep here. No radar reflector on this thing, a tiny bob in the ocean. Did it have a net connected? Not sure. We artfully dodged it as the friendly tuna crew aboard waved their greetings to us. Still not sure if they were deliberately steaming towards Marmax because we were a curious sight  1700nm from anywhere, or were they picking up their bouy and we were coincidentally on a collision course with it, then consequently them...we'll never know. It was simply another "What the?' moment! 

Much too close for comfort!

We've run into more trouble. The generator is cutting out when the water-maker or jug is put on. The constant chaffing of the sails in the rolling swells has torn out the webbing and ripped the clew at the foot of the main sail out; we will have to complete the voyage under a permanent 1st reef. The gennaker went up, no problems, but the detachable carbon fibre covered bow-sprit it hooks onto, broke in half under the load. Although we have daily checks on the gear for wear and tear, it seems much can go undetected; stuff happens. We'll have to roll with the blows. I shouldn't have said that, the next day, after I wrote those words, we did indeed blow out the gennaker. Shredded you might say! 

The gennaker...now sadly out of action!

On a lighter note, a few trivial happenings that have happened in the last few weeks, I know you love to be entertained!

Trivial Happening #1: Being the night cook, I get to buy "dinner ingredients" when storing Marmax. We have finally got used to bright yellow chicken breasts in the Spanish countries. Apparently the farmers feed the chickens corn thus giving them a distinctive yellow colour. In Spanish, chicken is called "Pollo", so we've got that name sorted. Chicken meat is a major staple food in most of the countries we have visited so far; its right up there with seafood. At this stage of our Pacific Ocean passage, we are getting down to the very last of our fresh meat and veges. We carefully study everything we buy as we do not understand either Spanish or Eduardorian. When in Galapagos, I came across, what I thought were, chicken breasts. Upon opening, no...it's a whole chicken, stuffed full of, not only its own feet, but his buddies as well. Very well disguised for unsuspecting foreign travellers! They were sewn up inside; can't believe their feet are so big! At least in Galapagos, their bodies are a normal pallor!

Just what do we do with the legs??

Trivial Happening #2: Last night, I delved into the freezer to get another bag of "Pollo" out. I was looking forward to cooking chicken for the crew as we have had a nice run of fish for quite some time now, actually...since I bagged out Les in a previous paragraph! The plastic commercial bag said it was "Pollo", looked like cubed chicken, smelt like cubed chicken. You know what? We still don't know what it was. Bruce thought perhaps it was lamb kidneys. The question arose as to whether or not it was chicken kidneys or giblets? Could it have been veal? We are farm girls. This meat did not look like anything I've ever seen! Anyway, it was Apricot Chicken/Lamb or Veal or something on rice last night and I was rewarded with a withering look from Janelle. No one died overnight - tasted pretty good I thought!

Trivial Happening #3: Back in Colon, Panama, we obviously stocked up the boat. One of my purchases was 3 months worth of chewing gum. Great to keep you awake if you are trying to read a book with your eyes open on a rock-a-bye-baby boat, in a swinging bow ocean for seemingly endless days and nights. So I'm into my stash of chewy last night on watch (a dead pan, glossy sea, smooth as a swilling glass of wine) Noddy stuff. Pitch black night, a brilliant Milky Way above, a long watch ahead. Hand into my stash, fumble in darkness with the packaging, popped it into my mouth...Holey Moley! I appear to have 3 months worth of throat lozenges. They nearly blew my head off!

Trivial Happening #4: The coffee saga! Bought a gorgeous big drum of Columbian coffee in Tortola, the BVI's. Thought it was instant; looked instant; wasn't instant! Much to our dismay, and opened after weeks at sea, we discovered it was plunger coffee. No plunger on board so, ever-creative Janelle, sewed us some little reusable cotton tea bags out of an old pillow case. Bless her. Bob's your uncle! Just a right royal pain when the yacht is throwing you about at sea. Thank goodness, the weirdest "got everything" shop in San Cristobel had a red coffee plunger waving at us from the shelf. Now we just have to be careful not to smash it!

Trivial Happening #5: The Argan Oil saga. Most women know that Morroccan Argan Oil is the so-called wonder product for both hair and skin. Thanks to the generosity of our Barcelona superyacht team, we had several bottles of this wonder product delivered to the good ship Marmax at the outset of our big journey. So one morning I'm conducting English lessons with Janelle at Marmax College and she says to me, "Deba (yes, Deba)...what is that on your face?" "Oh, it's that lovely Argan Oil stuff the girls sent over, it's really good for your skin!" So Janelle replies, "Isn't that stuff shampoo?" Hmm...the label, once more, is in Spanish. Glenys has been using it as a body wash, dish detergent and emergency laundry detergent. I've used it as moisturiser, actually, again, it could be anything really. We have a few bottles to get through so, if you are reading this Tash, please enlighten us as our translator app called it a 'bus stop'!!

Trivial Happening #6:  In Colon, Panama, you may remember we shopped at the massive Duty Free city; the 'FreeZone'. I found this lovely mens cologne for Les for an unbelievable US $2 per bottle. He is happy to use it on the boat and give his fancy stuff a rest. "Have a smell of this Glenys! It's gorgeous!", I yelled; as sisters do. So Glenys buys a bottle. Now we are at sea, we've discovered: up forehead we have Les wafting through the yacht with a very sexy scent following him. What did Glenys do with hers? She thought it was a really nice smelling tiolet freshner - Yep, you guessed it. Eau de Toilette; which apparently means toilet to Glenys. Bless Glenys too! 

Trivial Happening #7: So we have Glenys and Bruces' lovely looking 14, nearly 15-year-old daughter, Janelle, obviously travelling with us. Ever since the start of the journey, whenever we are in port, the boys have a beer (or 3) and Glenys and I partake in cocktails. We often order a similar cocktail for Janelle as a treat. No...not with alcohol. Glenys requests a 'virgin' cocktail, usually a Pina Colada. Now, previous to this trip away, Les and I had never heard of this term of 'virgin drinks'. (Glenys insists 'everyone' knows - it means a cocktail without alcohol). When she orders, it leaves me cowering behind the drinks menu. Use your imagination folks. We usually have Spanish, or in Galapagos, Ecuadorian young male waiters, most of whom know very little English. Here is Glenys gesturing her hands towards Janelle, stating her request - "A virgin cocktail please?" You've heard the term "eyes as round as saucers", or "his eyes lit up!" Clearly these boys know a few English words but clearly confused about either what is on offer, or has been asked of them! We must change Glenys' language. We have clearly left, in our wake, a long line of wishful puppies. 

Man alive, the stories we have! From buying weird root vegetables we cannot even pronounce, to buying bags of, what we think was, tapioca instead of pearl rice. Buying peanut butter out of a 20 gallon drums and watching the supermarket butcher, through clear plastic doors, drag a massive skinned cow across the concrete and hack it up with a machete to bag it in massive lumps for the supermarket fridges. This meat was delicious for Jamaican curries and good ol' Kiwi stews; though to anyone but two hardened farmers daughters from New Zealand, the sight would have been enough to send any other women screaming out the front door! Cooking on the Pacific passage brings many a smile to our faces, even before we cook it! Oh the memories!

We are down to the last 3 days before we reach Huka Niva in the Marqueas now; so exciting! The cooking is getting more creative by the minute, we are down to our last white onion! Thank goodness the fridge is cold and this time we have not run out of grog. Janelle is now scoring A's and B's in the majority of her school work, trying to get her to read books is the big challenge. She has handled this voyage, since Day 1, incredibly well. As many of you will know, many 14-year-olds can be pretty damn scarey in closed spaces, then again, imagine being 14 and putting up with us lot in such a confined space. Go Janelle! We are all in good spirits and healthy as buck rabbits. Marmax has slowed a little with a forced slab in the main sail, but hey... Better late than never!

We arrived at 4.30 am into Nuku Hiva, the Marqueas, French Polynesia.

For those who do not know where the Marqueas are, here we are :) Still a long way from home!

So we dropped the pick in darkness, as the morning light came up over the magnificent surrounding mountains. We are actually anchored in the middle of an ancient volcano which blew out to the ocean many, many moons ago. There are 34 other travelling yachts anchored in the bay, many with families; such an inspiration to see so many "Gray Nomads" about too; so happy, so fit and vibrant! We had to move the boat, looked over the side and our jaws dropped...poor Marmax! The filth up the hull was unbelievable! And those alien barnacle things we had met in the British Virgin Islands had struck again. There are giant manta-rays, hammer heads and other precarious looking sharks all around the bay, so none of us have been brave enough to take the plunge yet and clean her up! 

Marmax - her hull in a total mess with weed, slime and weird alien barnacles all over her!

The alien barnacles!

Taioha'e Bay, Nuku Hiva

We have arrived in time for Bastille Day celebrations; this should be fun!

In the mean time, thanks again for all the good wishes and encouragement from you all along the way! Hoping you are all going strong!

Au revoir! 

From Glenys, Bruce, Janelle, Les and Debbie