Crossing the equator- las Perlas to Galapagos

PACIFIC DOLDRUMS-flat calm but sharks, dolphins or Neptune disturbing the peace.

 

I was somewhat dreading our trip to Galapagos from Las Perlas. The reason for the apprehension was the fact that the same trip in February 1988 took us 16 days to cover a mere 800 miles.

 I remember bobbing up and down in the Pacific doldrums on Legend I for days on end in sweltering heat, praying for wind. On one particularly  soul destroying day we even went backwards when a current caught us and pushed us in the wrong direction. I seem to remember drifting past vegetable peelings we had thrown overboard the day before!

On this trip, we did no bobbing or drifting and, thanks to Chris's accurate weather routing, we made it to the Galapagos in just 4 and a half days- A 400% improvement if my calculations are accurate.?

Chris accurately predicted where and when we would run out of wind and with a little more cash in the kitty for diesel this time, we  fired up the motor and proceeded to cross the doldrums at a sensible 6.5 knots which kept our morals in fine shape.

Equator Celebration

On our 4th day and final day at sea on this voyage, we crossed the equator and headed into the Southern Hemisphere.  Alan and Chris and I had all crossed the equator by boat before. (Useless fact; Naval tradition refers to those who have had this distinction as 'Trusty shellbacks'. )

We had no need to be singled out for a drubbing by  Neptune therefore and  the three of us chose to take a swim in on the equator to mark the crossing. According to the charts, the water was more than 3 kilometres deep... a long way down and plenty of big creatures besides Neptune himself, potentially lurking in the depths.

Nervous smiles from the Trusty Shellbacks...shark bait?

 
 We survived to blog again and Nellie , a Southern ocean virgin, or a Polly wog (another vital Naval term ) appeased the sea Gods by pouring a good dose of rum overboard -the cheap stuff we keep for anesthetizing fish or for emergency rations-and cooking us a delicious dinner…pistachio encrusted tuna..freshly caught a few hours earlier..with fruit salsa and chocolate cake. Another fine dining experience on the good ship Legend.

Sunrise off Kicker Rock Galapagos .

Las Perlas -enroute to Galapagos

After our rushed whirl of shopping, stacking and packing in Panama , we were relieved to see the city skyscrapers  receding into the distance as we headed for Las Perlas, a small group of island about 30 miles off the coast of Panama.

Volcanic Beach at San Jose

The Las Perlas group is largely uninhabited apart from a few holiday homes for wealthy Panamanians and scattered fishing villages. Their claim to fame has been the fact that the islands were used for several series of the reality television program, Survivor.

 The original Indian inhabitants were not the greatest survivors apparently. They were slaughtered by the Spanish Conquistadors in their greed for the pearls that the Islands produced. One particularly brutal Spaniard rounded up the island chiefs and fed them to his dogs! That would have given  reality television a new dimension!

There were  no vicious dogs in sight as we meandered down the chain for a week, but we did see whales and rays and dolphins and huge colonies of frigates and boobies and pelicans. The only nasty critters around were jelly fish who curtailed our swimming activity somewhat. They would give you a nasty little sting when you encountered them..just unpleasant enough to spoilt your day but thankfully not lethal. 

Apart from these inhospitable natives, we enjoyed wonderful anchorages in calm, quiet lagoons with few other boats in sight. We took a dinghy ride up a freshwater river, collected cowrie shells on a never ending beach and somehow managed to survive.

 

Alan and Dylan..fishing strategy circa 2013.

Alan and Dylan on right..fishing strategy 1987. Dave and Nicholas, Dylan's Dad and brother on left.

Alan tried out his new, deadly spear gun and caught a small snapper but Dylan proved to be the king fisherman and speared a large snapper which comfortably fed 6 of us at a beach barbecue. Apparently  justifying the undisclosed but reportedly hefty price tag .

Piscatorial death on hand - reportedly.

Hopefully the spear guns on Orion and Legend will continue to keep the freezer stocked on our journeys  across the Pacific. Food prices in Tahiti are reported to be astronomical and the spear gun will pay for itself over and over again…etc, etc... man talk for the equivalent of shoes and handbags.

Shell collecting..thirsty work.

Survivor Oyster Style

We lingered in the Las Perlas waiting for a weather window to open for our trip to the Galapagos Islands. With Chris, the highly regarded sailing meteorologist on board, we were fully informed as to when to leave and which course to steer.

Our intrepid Weatherman...out on a limb!

As Legend sailed out of Las Perlas and headed for the doldrums, I noticed a few members of the Oyster fleet hurriedly dropping everything to up anchor and follow in our footsteps knowing that we had inside information at hand...