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 .