Galapagos to Marquises the long Pacific leg.

Galapagos to Marquises the long Pacific leg.

This is the leg I have been looking forward to. The start of our pacific cruise. 3000 miles away lie the Marquises Islands, part of French Polynesia and our next landfall

I had looked at the weather and the trade winds seemed to be steady but light, some 300 miles south of the Galapagos. Between them and us lay the ITCZ, a band of squally weather with little wind. My opening plan was to motor to where the wind was and pick up the trade winds as early as possible. This meant a course with plenty of south and not so much west. The only issue was that Jimmy Cornell's "World Cruising Routes, a sort of bible for ocean passage making, stated that the course out of the Galapagos should avoid an area where we wanted to go to pick up the wind. This was due to unsettled seas having been reported in the area., I guess from some sort of current/wind convergence. However, we were going nowhere fast without wind so we headed out SSW in search of the wind.

Pegasus can be a fast boat, but motoring is not fast for us as we only have two blade folding props and generally run only one engine when motoring. The first 48 hours we had little wind some 2-6kts SSW, so on the nose, not good for our daily run. We found the wind at 1900 on day 3 at 4.36 south…quite a long way as we had thought that we should find it at 2 degrees south. We were off and could start making west.

The marque from Galapagos to Marquises is 20 days. Within that your doing pretty well, another week your still doing well. I thought we should be able to do it in 18 days if we had wind and we were lucky. Day 3 and we were off, lets go.

We were sailing well and clocking off some mileage. The wind generally had been around 10-15 kts with some patches of lighter airs. As the wind came round to a more steady easterly we have been using the spinnaker all day and most nights. This is a great light wind sail and I can get her rigged so that she stays up without constant attention, which is a relief. We have been doing some god daily mileage, nothing spectacular for lack of wind, but constant.

One thing that strikes you about this place is just how big it is. We saw a purse sein Tuna boat on day one some 100 miles south of the Galapagos. Since then, 18 days, we have seen no other sign of man. No boats, no planes, no vapor trails in the sky. Just Orion on the forestay and the southern cross aft the port shrouds.

The stars are just brilliant, in the true sense of the word, and you feel you can just reach out and touch them, its remarkable just how many there are. I guess this is one of the places in the world with the least atmospheric and light pollution. We have also seen no rubbish, nets or buoys in the water which is a pleasant change from the garbage floating around the Atlantic. Saying that, on day 2 we did pick up a long line with our fishing gear but that was soon cleared and I suspect it was from a coastal fishing boat as we were only 5-600 miles off the Ecuadorian coast..

These longer passages are sometimes easier for family life than the 1000 mile / week passages. The boys get into a rhythm after a few days and life continues. They get up at dawn, go to bed at dusk, and eat and drink there way through the middle bit. They watch DVD's, do jigsaws, paint, play with their toys and play doe, and chase each other from one part of the boat to another making a mess. When Amanda is in the starboard hull cleaning up after them, they are in the port hull messing it up. I hope someday they will learn to put their stuff away. I'm sure I was never like that!!! No really they just get on with life and accept each day as it happens, and mess is just part of it. Ok there's a certain amount of destruction…this week, the light fitting in our bunk has been twisted off the wall, and one of the table hinges has been bent. (I couldn't have done that if I had tried!) But I can fix most things so its not too bad. I guess were asking a lot of them and so allowances have to be made.

We spice it up a bit with the occasional party, where they make party food with Amanda and we all wear hats and eat cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks,... which they seem to love. The boys really enjoy cooking and always help Amanda making bread, cakes and biscuits. Poor Amanda really has her work cut out, as they are pretty demanding…banana pancakes in the morning, Louis' shaped like dinosaurs, or Mickey Mouse (which is a bit easier) Jean-Jaque's like batman!? We've had a lot of banana everything. The stem we bought in the Galapagos all came good at the same time so anything you can make with Bananas we've had. It's a bit like that offshore; we've had our fill of Tuna as well.

At the end of the first week it was my birthday. Amanda decorated the pilothouse so when I woke there were balloons and a big Happy Birthday Daddy on the wall. The boys really enjoyed it, as did I. Amanda had bought presents and we opened those in the morning and had a party at lunch time. I'm looking forward to using the hammock Amanda bought in Cartagena, but somehow I don't think I'm going to be top of the list using that present. It was great fun and a special day. My last birthday was in Nassau, Bahamas, 17000 miles ago. Its amazing to think we have been on board more than a year now…ok we did have 3 months in England in the middle, but even so time seems to be ripping on. If it keeps going like this I'm going to get old very quickly.

Fishing has been interesting. We have lost some big fish, some seen, others not. I had a good stainless hook straightened and Amanda had hers broken…I guess a large bill fish. We caught a beautiful Dorado, but it just slipped off the hook as I was bringing lifting it aboard, great shame, but have landed 4 good Tuna which has put 30kg of fish in the freezer. Not much other wildlife seen, which is a surprise as were back in the warm water at 28 degrees centigrade. A few dolphins, but only once. Just thousands of flying fish,. Squadrons of them. Occasionally a squadron of Kamikaze will fly straight into the boat…just a wrong turn, ding ding ding ding, and a load of scales in the morning as evidence of their suicide pact. One day we saw 20 fish flying right over the boat, through the rigging, quite remarkable. They really are incredible. We seem to attract them and can have 20 odd fish on the nets and around the boat in a morning. I know of some cruisers who eat their road kill, but not us. On occasion I will throw them to passing bird, but generally they go straight over the side as a free breakfast for something. We went through a patch where we were getting a lot of squid on the boat. I really never knew that they could fly, but they must be able to as we have had them hitting us in the cockpit…makes you jump!

For the first time we have been really using the HF radio for some social and information. There is a radio net established and we check in every day giving our position and weather data. Like wise we get other boat positions and their weather data. We met quite a few Aussies in the Galapagos and so know most of the boats checking in. I guess we are spread over a 1000 miles or so, and our closest boat is now some 400 miles behind us. Quite satisfying as they left before us and were 100 miles ahead. (55ft monohull). I enjoy talking on the radio and think I may try and get my Ham radio licence in due course, which will open up new channels and enhance the experience. It's a bit of black magic really, bouncing radio waves off the ionosphere and talking with people 100's or 1000's of miles away. We also use it for E mail and weather data (Grib files, Weather faxes, forecasts etc.)

There is the usual run of ongoing maintenance and thing that will need doing when we stop. I've mended the hinges on 4 hatches (they all seem to go at the same time, unsurprisingly), the compass light, heads, children's toys, etc. During the second week I marked our entire anchor rode every 5 meters so that we know how much we have let out. This took forever as I was marking with a cross-stitch whip, 2 colours and 200 meters of line. But its now done and you only need to do it once. The new chain (stainless steel, quite extravagant) purchased in Panama is now fitted so we will test the new rig when we arrive..

We've had a few breakages on board. At one point we thought the fridge compressor had broken as it started making a terrible noise and then stripped the drive belt. Oh dear ( or words to that effect!). I replaced the belt and managed to get it going although its not right. It seems to be that if I hold the DC motor with a firm grip when it starts to cool the plates it doesn't make the worrying clicking noises and then seems to settle so I can leave it to cool the plates down. I don't know why it does, but it seems to work. Using the same logic, I may try talking to it as well to see if that helps. It would have been a disaster if it had broken. All our stores for the next month or two out of the window. I don't mind throwing out the bolognaise, it's the sides of fillet I couldn't bear to see wasted, and you can only eat so much before its no longer appetising. I don't know how many cows they have in French Polynesia, but I bet its not many!.

We have also had a bit of a disaster with our spinnaker. This was an old sail and I guess with it being in the intense sun for days on end and with the strain of wave and wind action it had just had enough. It's totally destroyed. I was just getting ready to take it down, thinking that we had had a good run, when crack, and the kite exploded from the middle out to the taped sides and down each side 4 feet. It's a big job and we will just have to see if it can be fixed. One of the chaps on the radio net is a sail maker and has a sewing machine, so I will take his advice. If its not repairable then were going to have to buy another…where I don't know, as there's nowhere for that sort of thing for at least a thousand miles, Tahiti, we'll just have to see. Whatever happens were going to need a light wind sail as we should have light airs for the next few thousand miles. Got to say we were just lucky it happened on day 16 not day 5, otherwise we would be at least a week behind. As it is, it has cost us a day in lost mileage over the last 2 days. Great shame, but that's what happens. There's a lot of wear and tear on a trip like this. My jobs list is quite extensive

Amazingly Ben the cameraman has got to Hiva Oa to film our arrival. The production company wants some footage of us in the pacific, and so he will be waiting for us when we arrive.. He only left us 5 weeks ago in Panama. It's a tough life!

Its now Saturday night 9/5/09 and we have 50 miles to go. We decided to turn the engine off so were making 3-5 kts and should arrive at first light. We've pretty much made it. There's no real wind, perhaps 6kts from astern and were goosewinged, just rising on the swell and taking a gentle glide forward. I think more pleasant than feeling round a strange anchorage in the dark

It feel odd to be going so slowly. For the past 18 days we have been pushing the boat at speed through the vastness that is the pacific. There's nothing out there, only sun , stars, wind and water….. and us, and our solitary pursuit of that distant point" beyond the west horizon" In a few hours that point will be reached and so the longest of the pacific passages will be over and some of the dreamtime lived. I think we will stay here a week or two and cruise the 7 odd islands. Then well carry on chasing Venus and look for the Tuamotoes

Stats
Daily mileage, 123, 100, 179, 192, 190, 197, 185, 193, 177, 169, 192, 187, 164, 163, 186, 203, 181, 140 and about 110 to go
Should be 18 days plus 14 hours

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Panama, the canal and on to the Galapagos

Panama, the canal and on to the Galapagos

We arrived in Shelter Bay on a Friday (27th March), so expected to spend the weekend finding our feet and get down to business on Monday. We had a lot to organize, not least the canal transit which could take up to a week.. Luckily there was a pool at the marina so the boys were delighted.. Ben the Cameraman arrived on Saturday morning with his "fixer" Eddie who was helping him with permits and permissions, and moved on board. On Monday morning we started the process of buying stores, fuel, spare parts and all those bits we would need for the next 6 months in the Pacific. Finally I could get my anchor that I wanted and some chain.

While in the marina I saw a good looking Catamaran ..a Gunboat 66 .called Sugar Daddy. These are the Ferraris of the cat world. All carbon and Kevlar, ultra fast and uber comfortable. I was keen to take a look. On enquiry I found it was owned by the same couple (Bruce and Nora) we had met in the Bahamas in June 2008 who then had a Gunboat 62 called Looking for Elvis (Bruce always said he wasn't looking too hard) He also had the same skipped and wife team with them, a great combo and they really travel, I mean 20000 miles plus a year. We all had a good laugh together and had a jolly evening on board.

It transpired that Bruce used an anchor called a supermax, he had two and really rated them. Now there's nothing like a personal recommendation and after reading what I could on the internet, I decided this was the anchor for us . After contacting the manufacturer I organized one to be shipped for collection in Balboa on the Pacific side. Great I had finally bought a serious anchor for our pacific leg, something I had been trying to do since the Caribbean

In addition to entry formalities and general organization there was a lot of paperwork to sort for the Canal Transit and exit papers for Panama. I decided the best thing was to use an agent. Often in places such as this, natural pinch points, to get things done without delay you have to throw money at it so that time is not wasted. You can really loose weeks in places like Panama so we just had to get on with it. $2500 on shopping! $1500 on boat bits! $1800 for agent, lines, line handlers and canal transit! $500 for marina fees!…and we hadn't bought any beer yet!

Whilst organising Pegasus and ourselves, the pool proved a godsend as one of us could be there with the boys while the other had Pegasus to themselves. In addition to servicing the engines and preparing Pegasus, I had some business that required internet access and managed to get all my contracts signed and sent, while Amanda had load upon load of shopping to prepare and stow, while reorganize Pegasus below decks.

The agent had told us that Thursday would be our transit day, so we prepared Pegasus and ourselves and were ready.

The morning of 1st April arrived but our agent didn't! The previous day I had phoned him but was told his phone no longer worked…. Oh Dear.

We were scheduled to transit that afternoon and would forfeit our bond if we were not on station at the correct time. Early afternoon the agent arrived with line handlers lines and fenders, much to our relief. The only thing we didn't have was the exit Zarpe and our passports stamped. He assured us that he would get this done and be back by 4, when we intended to leave. It was a close run thing and we met his launch as we headed out of the marina. We now had all our paperwork in order and were set.

It occurred to me that April fools day was not the best day to go through the Panama Canal, but as it transpired all went well, and after a night in Gatum lake we arrived at the Balboa Yacht club in the early afternoon of the 2nd April, and picked up one of their buoys. We had made the jump, and were finally in the Pacific. I had read a lot of things about the actual transit, which always heightens ones levels of apprehension, but all said and done it is just a series of locks and although the sizes and volumes are staggering it was relatively straightforward.

Sitting on deck with the last of the sun, we looked to the North were a mile away we could clearly see the Bridge of the Americas. It's amazing to think that the massive continent of the Americas is divided in two by the Panama canal, and there are only 3 crossing points. A rather rickety swing bridge in front of Gatum lock gates, the 2 lane centenary bridge and the 4 lane bridge of the Americas. I find it hard to imagine that they still have capacity .

Balboa, or Panama proper had a rather different feel than Shelter bay and Colon. Much more cosmopolitan, more business like and certainly wealthier. The Canal authority employs many people and the Canal is a massive earner for the country. They process on average 38 ships a day at an average $250000 US each so $9.5 million a day 365 days a year, with maybe a 5% loss for maintenance…that's…err…a lot. No wonder they think yachts are a bit of a pain at $650us each!

We had more shopping to do and a few last bits. We needed all the fresh food supplies and definitely a new DVD player for the boys. We seem to go through a player every 2 months. Amanda needed some time in the supermarket on her own, so I took the boys swimming at an open-air pool. A sort of Panamanian Tooting Lido.

There were only about 50 people in a 6 lane pool with 5 and 10 meter diving boards. It was the usual scene, the 16 year olds jumping and diving off the 5-meter platform, the 10-meter platform closed. Now Jean-Jaques loves to jump in the water, but Louis is not so keen. After half an hour or so I watched JJ approach, and start to climb up the ladder. Ok,, he won't do it but its good for him to have a look. The local boys helped him off the ladder and off he went. He just stood on the end and jumped. No thoughts, no worried looks, just jumped. He had a huge smile on his face and just went straight back up, time and time again. I was quite amazed. Louis, seeing JJ having a laugh indicated that he wanted to jump. Right, there's no way I thought. I took him up and held him as we looked over the edge. He made a little noise and clearly wanted to go back down. OK, that's sorted then. 5 minutes later and Louis had changed his mind. Up we went again. This time I asked if he was sure. Yes he wanted to jump, so I took off his swim jacket and held him with me. I looked over the edge and not wanting to be shown up by a 2.5 year old knew I had to jump, so off we went. Louis came up with a grin from ear to ear. So that was us for the next hour. JJ jumping alone, and Louis with me. The locals didn't know what to make of it, and neither did I, I mean it was really quite high.

After a week at the Balboa Yacht Club we were ready to go We were glad to be leaving. It wasn't really set up for yachts and we felt ..well tolerated but not really welcome, unlike Cartagena which was very welcoming and friendly. The Columbians were always asking questions, were extremely polite and hospitable, and proud of their city and heritage. We didn't feel that about the Panamanians although all that we met were polite and courteous, it was just different.

In Columbia we had felt safe, but in Colon it was definitely dangerous and although less so, Panama was also threatening. One afternoon we took a taxi to the Old Town with the cameraman and his equipment. To approach the old town you need to pass through some quite run down areas. On our approach, only a mile from our destination, there were suddenly 10 or so 20 year olds around the Taxi where there had been none a moment before. They had run out of a side street and blocked the taxi from going forward, shouting and slamming the bonnet. Sensing the situation the Taxi edged forward pushing the youths round the side of the bonnet. I looked up the side street and saw a woman clutching her stomach. Clearly she had been shot or stabbed, and the youths were trying to stop the taxi by force to help their situation. There was no way he was stopping and on seeing this, one of them tried to break the windows by throwing stones at the glass as he accelerated away. Had he stopped in that neighborhood we would all have been robbed within minutes. Every chancer seeing the scene would have been on the street within minutes. We would have been eaten alive. We were lucky the windows did not break and that the Taxi driver just kept going. It was all very sudden, but you could see it unfolding as it happened. The fact that there were children in the car made no difference to the stone throwers.

We had one last issue to sort before we could leave. Jean-Jaque's passport is due to expire in French Polynesia, so we needed to organise a new one. We contacted the British consulate and made arrangements to sort the paperwork. All seemed to be going well until we heard that the biometric printer in Costa Rica, where the passport was to be issued, was broken, and wouldn't be fixed until after Easter. After much discussion a plan was hatched. The new passport would be delivered to Panama, then forwarded to the New Zealand high Commission (commonwealth) in Tahiti where we would pick it up. I really hope its there when we arrive!!!

Ben the Camera man left on Tuesday, satisfied with the footage he had shot, and on Thursday 8th April we headed off to the Las Perlas islands 40 miles south of Panama for a bit of R+R before the passage to the Galapagos. We motored the whole way and in the early afternoon saw a school of Killer whales rising close to the boat.

The islands on the west side of the Isthmus are remarkably different. Gone are the desert island and coconut palms, replaced by an arid landscape with deciduous trees and only a very few coconut palms. They are mostly rock.

We stayed at Isla Contradora for 2 nights and had some good social with friends on their boat Mikado. A day on the beach, some walking on the island, dinner ashore and we were ready to leave. We all wanted to get going.

Its 850 miles from Panama to the Galapagos islands through the Inter tropical convergence zone or doldrums so we were prepared for windless days and had bought and stored an additional 200 litres of diesel. We expected to motor for a day or two then pick up some wind. We headed south out of the bay of Panama. This proved quite slow as we had at least a knot of current against us.

Our first night it rained heavily with distant lightening. We were filling our water tanks and there was a mighty clap of thunder overhead. Although I'm sure we weren't hit? Our wind indicator, which shows wind speed and direction, just stopped working as did the primary GPS. I suspect they are both fried. I don't think they are repairable and in fact I went up the mast twice and removed the wind indicator.

That was a difficult thing. Although all seemed calm at sea level, 60 ft higher at the top of the mast it was a job in itself just to hold on. I was being thrown around and had a sudden realisation that what I was doing was really dangerous and that I had to finish the job quickly or get down. There's no way I could climb up there at sea on my own, or even be winched up. You need both hands and legs just to hang on.

We motored, sailed and motor sailed for 4 days, and finally got a steady wind on day 5 where we could start to clock some mileage.

While motoring we saw some amazing wildlife. Eagle rays just leaping out of the water all around us. Manta rays on the surface, pilot whales, dolphins and sharks. I'm sure I saw a marlin sunning himself on the surface as well. The sea was alive.

As soon as the wind filled in we sailed hard and on the evening of the seventh day we arrived in Wreck Bay on the island of San Cristobal, Galapagos. We arrived at night and with a little trepidation felt our way into the anchorage and found a tight little spot dropped our new anchor and cracked open an anchor dram. There was movement all around and with a torch we saw at least10 sealions swimming around the boat making quite a racket. Surreal.

We were all up early the following day and the boys were delighted to see two sealions asleep on the engine room hatches. Amanda and I knew that they would be on board. During the night Amanda woke me up saying that she could hear something. She popped her head out of the hatch, to literally be kissed by an inquisitive sealion. I'm not sure who was more shocked, as both parties recoiled with some speed.

The water was much cooler in the Galapagos at 23-24 degrees so quite refreshing, not the 27 degrees we were used to. We all swam as there was a lovely beach just 50 yards from Pegasus and on Sunday and Monday the water was crystal clear We discussed our plans.

It was apparent that to stay any length of time we would need to clear in with an agent. The islands are spread out and to move your boat you need to sign in and out of every island, using a new agent each time. Generally its about $400 for paperwork and permits for a 20 day stay. Its really geared around local employment and tourists. We certainly didn't want to stay that long, as 2 small boys are not going to sit on someone else's boat for hours or listen to a guide, that just wasn't going to work. They need much more interaction. On our wish list were sealions, turtles, tortoises, and penguins. We decided that the penguins on Isla Isabella would have to wait for another day. All the others were available on San Cristobal. Having arrived on Saturday night, we checked in on Monday morning for a 72-hour stay. We were told that a free stay was now limited to 24 hours. A little short but it suited us fine. We saw giant tortoises, swam with turtles and sealions and had a good meal ashore. On Tuesday we bought fuel and supplies and had some Internet time for weather routing.

The Grib files looked good so after picking up my Zarpe or exit clearance and a final swim, we were ready to get going on the next leg, Galapagos to Marquesas some 3000 miles.

I started to pull up the anchor and found I had a problem. Our anchor rode was well wrapped around a boulder in 5 meters of water. I repeatedly free dived but just couldn't clear it was at the limit of my range and the visibility was pretty bad due to a large swell that had been running for the last 12 hours. We were stuck!

I called a friend on the radio. They said they had a friend who had some diving gear on board. 30 minutes later we were clear of the bottom, the only casualty a cut rode / chain splice.

Its amazing the help you can summon when you are part of the cruising community. That's the difference we have found being slightly off the regular cruising routes. There is a real spirit of camaraderie and a pool of knowledge with people keen to help others. Were not in the same boat, but on the same ocean with the same challenges and the same 3000 miles ahead of us.

We motored out of Wreck bay at 1600, 21/4/09, on a glassy sea with some 3000 miles to our next landfall.

Stats
Las Perlas to Galapagos Daily mileage 105,101,117,98,151,184,172 (part)

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Curacao, Cartagena The San Blas and down to Panama

Curacao, Cartagena The San Blas and down to Panama.

"Its 8pm and dark. I cant expect the half moon until after midnight. We have 3 reefs in the main, half staysail and half genoa making 8-10 kts in 15 kts wind. The sea is just aft starboard beam so were taking a bit of green every now and then, but making good way. Not uncomfortable, but a bit rock and roll. We should arrive at Holandes Cay, Kaimou some time after lunch tomorrow. Its about 180 miles from Cartagena. And about as different as you can imagine. Just think of you're A typical desert island with tall coconut palms, crystal clear water and white sand beaches, all protected by a fringing reef, and you've got it. Were all looking forward to a week of downtime, just gentle cruising again, not running west"

We left Cartagena in the afternoon after a week at anchor between Club Nautico and the naval base. Sheltered, with all amenities we needed, but pretty dirty as you would expect in a big city. It was a bit of a shock for us to be in the city with high rise buildings lining the Bocca Grande a mile to the west, the old town a mile to the North and the Isle of Manga 300yards to the East. The smells and sounds of a big city, always in the warm air. A pulse not felt sine…. Nassau I guess.

We had arrived at 3am, and in the still and peace of the inner harbour we had the anchor dram and listened to the city, excited about the new horizon and our first stop in South America. Neither of us quite believing we had sailed from Cowes to Cartagena, the Isle of Wight to Columbia, our dream now reality.

Cartagena is a difficult place to get to. It's a rough passage from Curacao, with a big confused sea, and is renowned as one of the 5 windiest passages in the world. We waited in Curacao until we saw a window where it looked like the wind was peaking at 25 kts. I had been worried about this leg since the Caribbean and knew it would be rough. We sailed up the windward side of Aruba having decided to head offshore for possibly stronger winds, but a less confused sea. We can handle the wind and big seas, but a big confused sea with short wave frequency starts to get worrying and uncomfortable. Our other option was to go the inshore route staying on the 500-1000 meter line, but we found the seas large and very confused off the north coast of Aruba in 500 metres, so headed offshore to the 3000 meter line.

Well our 25 kts of wind turned into 45kts and we had pretty large seas. We used the 4th reef in the main (Thanks Jerry, Medina sail care, I knew we were going to need that) for the first time and were making pretty good way. The problem comes when you get lifted up on a 30 footer and get hit by 40 kts at the top. Old Pegasus just accelerates away and your doing 16-18 kts boat speed down the wave…ok during the day but at night it's a bit much. Luckily we had a full moon so we could just about see what was going on. Whenever were in a sea like that I am just amazed at how well Pegasus behaves. Were lucky she's such a great design. We pretty much sailed with either 4 reefs in or no main, and a slip of staysail for the last 50 hours. I was just glad we weren't there the week before. It would have been a cauldron with 60 Kt winds and ferocious waves…extremely dangerous. I always held the feeling we were in a place we shouldn't be and didn't want to hang around long. Rather like crossing a motorway at 3 am. You know you can get away with it if your careful, but it would be death trying it at 9am!

It took us a while to get into Cartagena as we had to take the waves abeam to come inshore. It was pretty rough with strong winds but as we approached the coast the wind backed allowing us to head closer and closer to the harbour entrance. At one stage we thought we may not make the entrance, the city or the country, the wind and waves forcing us further south than we liked, but they eased and we pinched up the last 15 miles with engines running to push us up to wind. It was a bit of a trip, but much the same as everyone else who we met in the club. We were very glad to get in and tucked up after 3 tiring days at sea.

We all enjoyed Cartagena. The old city is really beautiful and vibrant, and the restaurants good even though they all have the same menu…steak basically. Highlights were Simon Bolivar square, mandarin juice from the street vendors and small, sweet coffee readily available every 20 yards or so at 10c a cup. Yep, it was pretty cheap, which made a change from Curacao. Being on the mainland there was also an abundance of fruit, which the boys loved. After our week there we were ready to leave and after our fairwells in the club, set off for the Ssan Blas islands.

Stats
Curacao to Cartagena daily milage, 210, 193, 123 (Part)
Cartagena to san blas daily milage 191

After the big city we were all looking forward to just cruising. A fast 24 hour passage and we arrived in a small anchorage between 4 islands and settled down for a few days. I launched Silver (our new optimist dinghy) for the first time and we all had great fun with the two boats sailing from island to island around the small reefs, protected in the lagoon from the Atlantic swell. The Islands are basically spatially habitated with fewer people the further east you go. There were island we wanted to see, and we had allowed ourselves a week there so we moved every few days. We spent a magical night in Bandaros Cays where we had an island to ourselves with Pegasus anchored just 50 yards from the beach in the lea of the island. That night we had a BBQ on the island making a fire from coconut husks and cooking steak (from Cartagena) and sausages…a favourite with all the boys. It was really beautiful, quite magical. Picking shells off the water line, swimming whenever you felt like it. The boys were in heaven

During that week we stopped at 4 island anchorages and walked many beaches. Being where they are at the far west shore of the Caribbean sea, the shelling was terrific in addition to many varieties of sea beans we found. The Local Kuna Indians were all pretty friendly approaching us in their dugout canoes as soon as we had dropped anchor. We bought Molas…decorative and intricate needlework designs…and gave fresh water, coffee, biscuits etc to those who asked. We allowed ourselves one night of Lobster…very extravagant at $25 for 3 biggies..oh… and 2 beers for the fisherman. They were delicious.

One night we anchored at a place called Dog Island. In the morning a Kuna came alongside in his dugout canoe , "could we charge his mobile phone", well when it rang I thought I would try mine and yes reception was available. Quite remarkable really, and very useful as I had things going on in London and needed to make some calls. I had a surreal phone call to London sitting on the stern of Pegasus watching the Kuna in his dugout ( which was tied to our stern) catching quite large fish with his hand line. My conversation was peppered with "oh he's got another one"….. A long way from the environs of my telemate.

We were heading for Panama some 80 miles west and decided to push on. After speaking with the production company it had been decided that Ben the Camera man was going to meet us in Colon and film the canal transit. So we had a rendezvous, a deadline, a city to make.

After a night in Isla Grande en route, we arrived at Shelter Bay marina on the Atlantic side on Friday the 27th March. It was a great sail under spinnaker down to the breakwater outside Colon harbour. On the way we caught our first Tuna. 3 small (10kg) Black fin, duly dispatched and frozen.

As you approach Colon you know your somewhere special, the crossroads of the world. On the way down there are ships arriving, departing, and anchored, and every stage in between. On the AIS I was getting 165 signals. That's 165 ships within 15 miles. We felt very small and insignificant as we stole quietly through the 300yard entrance in the breakwater and headed 2 miles west to the marina that held our reservation.

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The Caribbean ...and beyond

The Caribbean….and Beyond

Its been 2 months since our last blog entry…..wow, time flies. I'm writing
this from Piscaderabaai in Curacao, the Dutch Antilles, some 400 miles west
of Grenada. Yup, were committed west and any thoughts of going back across
the Atlantic are history as we just cant get back there comfortably from
here. Its west my friends into difficult seas and different cultures.

We've had a pretty busy time. The days have been filled with the usual
domestic necessities and servicing the boys, along with some interesting
sailing and at last some fish.

In brief the Caribbean was not as we expected. It just wasn't settled
weather, rained far more than expected and the sailing just wasn't as good
as I remembered. I suspect that was because Pegasus is just not the boat for
short passages, or close hauled sailing. We can point, but not like a
monohull, and frankly putting up the main is quite an exercise…57Ft of sail
to hoist manually takes some 5 minutes, then you need full sail in the lea
of the islands and reefed main in the passages between, so really quite a
bit of work for one.

Basically if its less than 35 miles I'm not unpacking it, putting it up,
reefing it and stowing it again. My little monohull was perfect for the
Carib, but Pegasus is designed for different sailing, fast ocean passages,
and subsequently we sailed north motor sailing, and south on the Genoa.
After Carriacou we spent some time in Petit St Vincent, Union Island and
then up to Bequia. We left Bequia and in settled weather spent a lovely
night in Baliceaux, a non frequented deserted island….reminded us of the
Bahamas. Then down to Mustique…Beautiful. We found our first play park in
pristine Mustique and the boys loved it.

WE sort of got the Caribbean wrong . Arriving in Grenada, one of the
cheapest places in the Carib was not appreciated, as we were not used to the
currency. 1 Eastern Carib Dollar was worth some 20-25 pence,(depending which
day you exchanged!!) so when offered a pizza for 40 dollars we thought that
was expensive. However, a Pizza in Bequia was 65 dollars!!

My advice would be to go to Mustique first (200 dollars for 3 days mooring)
where I took the boys to the Firefly for morning coffee and Guava juice for
a cool 50 dollars. Everywhere seems cheap after that and it's just a
pleasure heading south as it gets cheaper and cheaper.

While in Mustique we heard that some friends, James and Nic on Lost Horizon
were in Bequia, so having missed them in N Spain decided to head the 15
miles back to Bequia to see them. Nic had her sister and Niece on board and
James had assembled a small flotilla of 3 boats all heading to Grenada for
the Sailing Festival. We all sailed to Petit Nevis for the evening and had
James on board for drinks. As he said they were all having dinner with Hans
and Cathy on Summertime, but as we had our "Balls and chains", we weren't
invited. I always liked James for his direct approach. There's something
very honest about it.

We all headed south and met up again after a few nights in Chatham Bay,
Union Island, then headed back to Grenada where James and his crew were
sailing in the Sailing Festival.

Well, Amanda kindly allowed me to sail and we all had a great time. Lost
Horizon won the races, we went to regatta parties and after a week James won
the Regatta. This is basically how he spends his winter…Racing and winning,
and has been doing that for 20 odd years. There were many prizes which were
generously given away to the crew. Lost Horizon kindly gave us a new 2hp
outboard engine which was on our shopping list. Much appreciated and the
boys now have an engine they can learn on….Thanks James.

Lost Horizon and Summertime headed north for the round Martinique race and
Alex and Fran on Chao Lay stayed with us in Grenada. We had a few dinners
together and really enjoyed ourselves. They were both very good with the
boys and we all had a good time.

We were preparing to leave Grenada when we noticed a lump on Louis. Well,
that was a shock. We went to the doctor who referred us to the hospital
where we has some tests done. The prognosis was, to our relief, a hernia and
a week later Louis was on the operating table having it removed. We decided
to stay in Grenada for another week for recovery, which happened smoothly
with no secondary infection.
Whilst travelling to and from Hospital we got to see a different side of
Grenada, which we really quite liked…except for all the rain. We travelled
by bus, which was just great. Private minivans with operator's licences, a
scout and pumping stereo. For 2.50 per person you can travel anywhere and
each operator is so keen for business you rarely wait more than 5 minutes
for a ride. It's a system that works really well and I'm sure there's much
to learn from the success of the Caribbean public transport system.

While were on it…images of Grenada….the incredibly smart Police uniform,
peaked cap, navy with red striped trousers / skirt, crisp light blue shirt,
and highly polished shoes…it just commands respect. The polite and courteous
nature of the locals….everyone says good morning, good afternoon etc and
people reply, good afternoon, good morning etc The lush nature of the
island, wherever you look there's food hanging from the trees bananas, paw
paw, mangoes, nutmeg, sapodilla, star fruit, avocados, tamarind, passion
fruit, oranges, mandarins, grapefruit, sour sop, jackfruit etc,

I took Louis up to the hospital for the last time and his stitches looked
good. It was time to Leave and head West.

We left Grand Anse Grenada at 4pm on 19/2. The forecast was for building
winds with a large 4m northly swell due within 12 hours. We headed NW to
give us room to bear away if the swell became untenable. As it happened I
think we were far enough west to avoid the swell when it came and made a
fast passage headed for Bonaire with a possible stop in Los Roques, a
beautiful group of coral islands on route, but in Venezuelan waters. Having
read the entry procedures it looked like we would have to go down to
mainland Venezuela to clear out, so decided to head straight to Bonaire. We
had great fishing with our new hand lines. A double strike of Wahoo, 15 and
10kg, a small Barracuda , and while we were eating that a massive 50KG
Wahoo….fantastic.

We arrived in Bonaire at close to midnight on 21/2 having made daily runs of
186miles, 178 miles and 51 miles in the last 6 hours.

Bonaire was really beautiful and we arrived at Carnival…which seemed a good
excuse for the population to enjoy a few jars and all were merry. The water
was crystal clear and we all enjoyed swimming off the boat and swimming to
the beach a 100 yards away. We used our new engine and broke it in slowly
with the boys driving. JJ now calls this his engine…I'm not sure about that!

Curacao was just a 35 mile hop so we had a sedate sail with just the Genoa
up heading downwind. As we arrived we were buzzed by the Customs helicopter,
a reminder of the dangerous waters we were now approaching.

While in the Caribbean we had started to read in earnest about the pacific
and the passages to Panama through the western Caribbean sea. It looked like
we would have to modify our initial plans.

The first major concern is Piracy. Although people have a romantic image of
pirates, there's nothing romantic about a poor drugged up fisherman touting
a weapon threatening your families existence. The Piracy in Venezuela is
real and armed robbery happens on a lottery basis. Most travel through the
area with no trouble, but some loose all. For me it is too much of a risk
with the boys on board. We will go there another time. There are plenty of
islands in the Pacific.

Columbia has its own security issues although if you travel well offshore
Piracy should not be an issue. Cartagena is relatively secure and is well
policed. The only obstacle with the offshore passage plan is the weather. It
is known as one of the worlds 5 windiest passages with large confused seas,
and so choosing the right weather window for this is critical, but I think
we will plan on an offshore passage to Cartagena.

It is now apparent, having read about anchoring in the Pacific, that we can
expect the average anchoring depth to be 20 meters…although that was written
by a monohull sailor and hopefully we can reduce that to say 15 meters with
our shallow draft…..and as such our ground tackle is not sufficient.

I have sourced a new anchor, chain and shackles and need to place the order
for delivery in Panama. Our problem is that we have no Windlass, so hauling
up 200 ft chain and a 25kg anchor is going to be tough, but I have a plan.
Just for the technically minded we have elected to run with 5/16th high test
chain with a working load of 3900lbs. That is equivalent to 8mm but is
strong enough. We have selected a technical anchor called a Rochna, which
seems to rate highly in testing and everyone I've met who has one swears by
them. Our plan is 50 ft chain in 5 meters water, 100ft in 10 meters etc. The
point of the chain is just to stop seabed abrasion on the nylon rode. Nylon
will last 5 minutes on a coral head, its got to be chain. We will place our
order while here in Curacao and hope it will be in Panama by the time we get
there towards the end of March.

So were sitting here in Piscaderabaai waiting for the weather to clear to
give us a clear 4 day passage to Cartagena and our first visit to South
America. We have to spend a morning clearing customs, immigration and file
our float plan with the harbour authority, then we are clear to leave. On
arriving in Cartagena we will use an agent to clear in as the paperwork
starts to get pretty daunting, but were all looking forward to seeing what
is reputed to be a most beautiful city.

We enjoyed our stay in the Carib and for the first time really started
cruising. We met the same boats in different locations and had many good
evenings with extraordinary people. The Boys met, played and said goodbye to
new friends and we all moved on in different ways. We were lucky enough to
meet a few club members who gave advise and recommendations and we hope to
see some again our travels west. We are in a new zone now, committed to
Panama and the Pacific, and the people we are meeting are in the same zone
with the same level of dedication and the same challenges ahead. We are
entering a difficult phase and I for one will be glad when we are through
the canal and into the Pacific….

We plan to update our blog more regularly from now on, so if there are any
readers out there bear with us, its should get pretty exciting from here on
in.

All aboard Pegasus

The Passage West. "The End Bit"

The Passage West. "The End Bit"

Were Here. Great, just in time for Christmas and New Year!!

The last part of the passage was eventful with changing winds giving fast and slow sailing days, and occasional shipping…. which is always a shock especially when you look up and there's a ship only 2 miles away!!. It always amazes me that the one ship you pass in a week is always on a collision course and avoiding action is usually necessary.

The wind eased for 2 days and we motor sailed for 12 hours before it filled in building to 20kts for the last couple of days. We had decided to head further south to stay with the wind, so as she built we reached up onto course giving us fast sailing conditions.

We actually tried to slow down putting 3 reefs in the main so that we would arrive in daylight, but that didn't really work and we resolved ourselves to arrive early on the morning of the 24th. I had had some concern about crossing onto the plate from the deep Atlantic, but in the event the sea was only a little confused and short lived.

We dropped sails and headed into Prickly bay in a 30Kt squall at 4am local time.
Feeling our way around the crowded anchorage we found a spot and dropped both anchors, relieved to have made land and firmly secured ourselves for a few days…..Time for bed and sleep.

Fishing was great during the last week with 7 Mahi hooked, 4 landed and one Blue Marlin. The Marlin was caught on the rod during one of the quieter days and after landing the 90kg fish, we released her. A truly beautiful animal, but just a baby.

My form continued and I lost fish while Amanda quietly pulled them in on the hand line…oh well, maybe I will do better with the bottom fishing.

The Morning of arrival is always a busy time. There's the dinghy to launch, the engine to put on, rubbish to take ashore, Customs clearance etc, all with the boys clambering to go to the beach. I took the boys to the customs and immigration office while Amanda stayed on board and prepared a lovely lunch of home made bread, clod meats, cheese and pickles, after which we decided to head ashore for a look around and some time on the beach.

We had a great time on the beach sitting under a palm tree, reading, swimming and the boys playing in and out of the water, which they both really appreciated. Its just so much easier when there's a beach for the Boys. They can amuse themselves for hours and need very little service so we can actually spend some time together.

Christmas eve, so we went ashore for happy hour at the local Bar / Restaurant and ended up having a few Carib beers and eating Pizza and spare ribs. We weren't too late and all fell into bed tired, but well fed and watered.

Christmas day and Santa has been!! The boys opened their stockings and we got up slowly and had breakfast of Sausage, eggs and toast. before the present fest.

We all had presents from the grandparents, aunts, uncles and godparents. Amanda and I had decided to buy each other token gifts…..although I think mine to Amanda was slightly more token than the spear gun she bought me….ehum….i will have to find something suitable in the carib…

We spent the best part of a week in Prickly Bay, with the wind at 20kts from the NE, patchy cloud and squalls, but with long sunny spells, and plenty of time on the beach.

On arrival I noticed a boat at the small marina, which had clearly seen some traumatic times and suffered a dismasting. As I looked, I realised I knew this boat "Hornblower" and was owned by a girl called Maiwenn. She had been a friend of some friends in Bequia and we had all hung out together over Easter 2001…happy times.

We spent 3 or 4 evenings with Maiwenn and her friend Graham, catching up on things and hearing about her dismasting on 23rd Dec, as she was sailing single-handed from Trinidad to Bequia.

Things like this just happen, who knows why, mechanical failure of the smallest part can cause catastrophe, but it goes with the territory and what was really lucky was that she was not lost overboard as she cut the rigging away, which nearly happened twice.

Well it looks like its an insurance job for Maiwenn so she has a surveyor in place and has now left "Hornblower" in Grenada and headed up to Antigua to work…..she is a chef on the largest yachts and also an artist (www.marinewatercolours.com).

We all had fun hanging out and early one morning Amanda and Maiwenn went to the local market in St Georges and returned with wonderful and exotic fruit and vegetables after having a laugh with the local traders who all knew Maiwenn.

The wind was changing and decreasing so we planned to head north to Carriacou for a quiet New Year and different beach.

We said our goodbyes and left Prickly bay on 30th motor sailing north.

When in Grenada we bought some really heavy fishing line to make some hand lines. On our way North I made up a new hand line and popped it over the side. I'm not sure what happened but within 2 hours I had wrapped both fishing lines around both propellers and got into a right pickle. We arrived off Sandy Island, Carriacou just before sunset that evening, and I dived the props and cut away the fishing line that was well wrapped around both drives. A welcome quiet night aboard and off to Sandy island in the morning.

A really beautiful day, hot and sunny, just like the brochure……THIS is what I singed up for!!! Desert Island, a few palm trees, warm water and sunshine.

We had the place to ourselves for an hour or so before a few other boats arrived. We headed back to Pegasus for lunch, and after fresh Pumpkin soup, pate and bread we headed off to Paradise beach in Esterre bay, a short dinghy ride.

We had departed Grenada having spent all our money, so we needed an ATM if we were going to have a few beers on New Years Eve. We scouted the beach and found what looked like a bar, although the owner was giving someone a haircut. After establishing that I did not want a haircut and that I was after an ATM, the client in the chair offer me a ride to the ATM in Tyrell bay after his chop.

We had an interesting ride to town…he knew everyone… and after getting some cash and fruit, headed back to the beach, Amanda and the boys.

All day on the beach really does tire the boys out, so we wandered down the beach in the late afternoon and found a restaurant where we all had real Caribbean fried chicken and chips and after a few beers and a little music headed back to Pegasus a hour after sundown.

The boys were straight to bed and Amanda and I enjoyed a drink in the cockpit under a star filled sky reflecting on 2008 and what we had achieved and what we wanted in 2009.

Its amazing how time flies, it was the 18th February 2008 when I picked up Pegasus in the Chesapeake and headed south. Wow, well blink and it'll be a year we've been on board.

We both tried hard to see in the New Year and got to 9pm and had to call it a day. A real Caribbean day, just great.

Today, however, is different. Its windy at 20kts with a swell running, overcast with rain squalls.

Lets hope for more days like yesterday!!!! and soon

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A few Stats for the interested.

A few Stats for the interested.

Our daily mileage from day 11 to day 16.
181nm, 144nm, 141nm, 205nm, 194nm, 200nm

Total crossing time 16 days one hour. 2894 nm Average speed 8.15kts

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The Passage West. "The Middle Bit"

The Passage West. "The Middle Bit"

So this is what a trade wind passage is all about!

For the last 4 days we've had glorious weather.

Steady winds from the East at 20-25 Kts, double headsails no main. Really well balanced so that there is little pressure on the rig, auto helm and crew. Ok so there are always squall clouds at dusk, and the early evening is pretty dark, but after a few hours the moon is out and all seems well.

This is the sort of sailing you dream about. Enough wind to surf at 12-14kts on occasion 16 to keep the excitement, but plenty of hours of steady 8-10 kts in glorious sunshine and not too much swell banging the boat around.

When the swell breaks under her, Pegasus is really quite noisy and the whole boat shakes and moves as the power of the waves traverse through her. It always amazes me that big structures…..bridges , skyscrapers etc have so much movement when made from principally rigid materials. Pegasus is the same and she moves, shudders and creaks as she is pushed around by the breaking swell. This can be quite unnerving at times, but I think were now getting used to it, although it always makes me jump and think the worst for an instant. I think sometimes it scares poor Louis, although JJ seem not to notice

The steady sailing has allowed us more of a family time….the first we've had really since arriving in the UK back in July.

Amanda and the boys have been busy preparing Christmas. The play bunk looks like Santa's grotto, and we have fairy lights and a starry ceiling in the pilot house…now I understand what all those Ikea essentials were!

We have all been making decorations for the tree, and today we moved the tree from the dinghy and set it up in the port side saloon. We all had a fun afternoon decorating the tree, and the boys have started stripping the sweets and decorations from it already. I wonder how long it will last inside. The tree is the top of a small pine tree from the temperate zone in La Palma, so may not like the heat.

So we have the tree, the decorations are up the icing is on the cake and the "Santa Stop Here" sign is up in the window…were all set.

Bananas, yes we have Bananas. The huge stem we picked up in La Palma has, oh so suddenly, ripened off so we have quite a few that are ready to eat. Louis must have eaten a dozen today alone, and it hasn't dented the supply. I'm sure we will have some on our arrival…coals to Newcastle?….. definitely.

The fishing has also improved and we have now landed 2 Mahi Mahi, although I seem to be keeping up my form by loosing them. I must have lost 4 good fish since I last wrote. Oh well, I'm sure my fortune will change and look forward to a good size Tuna, although with the water temp now at 80 degrees it may well be too warm…not fussy, will accept a Wahoooooo!

Its great to be back in warm water. There's nothing more refreshing than a bucket of water over someone's head to raise the spirits. I joke with JJ and he and I throw water around in the afternoons, and Louis usually gets a side swipe which makes him squeal.

Standing on the nets in the sunshine pouring buckets of water over yourself is totally refreshing, and in a funny way there's something very liberating about it…I'm not sure what!.

The boys have settled down well. They play together, JJ winds Louis up, Louis winds JJ up and they both make a lot of noise and mess. Amanda, and to a lesser extent myself spend a lot of time cleaning up after them and servicing their needs…. juice, milk, food, nappies, DVD on, games, more clearing up…etc. Were lucky if in a day we have 10 minutes together away from the demands of the Boys.

In the evening its different, but the domestic machine can only operate if we both have enough sleep and time for reflection,. I have total peace, just Pegasus and myself, from 8pm through 1am, and Amanda has peace from 1am to 5am. Saying that, during the rough weather Louis has been sleeping anywhere Amanda is, so she hasn't been getting the solitude at night, which is an important part of being offshore.

As we head west we are loosing one hour every 15 degrees, so the boys are getting up earlier…but don't seem to be going to bed any earlier!!.

Louis usually appears at about 5am to do his night watch, followed by JJ half an hour later.

A night watch for the boys consists of getting under the blanket on the Banquette in the pilot house and kicking each other. After half an hour or so I can usually break this up with the offer of Breakfast …wheatabix or croissants.

It is now less that a thousand miles to Grenada, and I'm working out our approach.

It looks like the wind will go light and slightly north over the next two days then increase to 20+ kts for a day or two as we approach land. Yesterday I decided to head more south and reached SW at 10 + kts in 15Kts breeze. This means I can now reach north of west in the lighter airs maintaining a good speed, putting us upwind and wave for our approach to the southern end of Grenada.

I have a small concern that the wind and Waves from the NW will be opposed to the North flowing current which could increase the wave action as we approach land and the shelf where the Atlantic seabed rises to form the plate on which Grenada sits. This is potentially a bad sea situation but it shouldn't last more than a few miles and I'm sure if I pick the point where we transit the shelf it shouldn't be too bad…. ETA Prickly bay 24/12….I hope.

A few Stats for the interested.

Our daily mileage from day 7 to day 10.
178nm, 183nm, 177nm, 186nm.

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