Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos

We leave today for Nuku Hiva, Marquesas.
You can communicate with the boat using email at callisto@uuplus.net please do not sent attachments, photos, headers and footers etc..
You can also send a free SMS to the boat limited to 160 characters by going to http://messaging.iridium.com and follow the directions .Sat phone number is 8816 32514252
Jessica will place a post regarding our progress at least every other day.
Do keep in touch and we will be thinking about you all.

We have again had an eventful time in the "Islas Encantada" aka the Galapagos. I wish that we could spend a month here as there is so much to see but French Polynesia beckons and the season is short so we will depart on March 31st as planned.

We had an intruder the other night. A seal decided to come aboard and make the aft cabin top his new home and the transom into his bathroom. Filthy beast made a terrible mess and woke everybody up at 0200H. Much yelling and screaming and an hour's work with a bucket and brush to clear away the large gift that the seal left behind.

Yesterday we went to Floreana, another Galapagos Island with an interesting history and much wild life endemic to the Galapagos. We saw more giant tortoises and marine iguanas. We also got to snorkelling with sharks (small ones) eagle rays and lots of tropical fish on a reef in Floreana. The wild life is incredbly tame and you can swim with the seals and sea lions inches away from you.

We also saw many marine birds found only on Galapagos, Marine penguins, frigate birds and Nazca and blue footed boobies (gotta love those boobies) The only ones absent were the red footed variety probably because the guy who spray-paints their legs was out sick that day.

We have dozens of excellent photos but the internet is so slow, they won't upload. The Admiral leaves tomorrow for the UK and the photos will be uploaded in due course from there.

All the paperwork has been done and we are getting some more fuel today, doing some provisioning for fresh produce and should be off early in the morning tomorrow. Destination Nuku Hiva, Marquesas islands approx. 3000 NM or 20 days.

Crew is myself, Ron, Van and Marcia Hughes and Larry Hoppe.

Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos

the galapagos islands



We have had an eventful past few days. We did a tour of the island and saw more giant tortoises in their natural habitat, lava tunnels and the twin craters of the extinct volcano that formed this island. Then off to a beatuiful cove and beach which had flamingos and various other flora.
We met our other crew member, Larry Hoppe and yesterday went to another beach and saw marine iguanas and all sorts of bird life.
Ongoing hassles with fuel as we have had reports that the diesel delivered to other cruisers was contaminated and of poor quality so I will have to go to the local gas station by taxi with jerrycans to top off the tank before we leave.
Tomorrow we go to another island, Floreana to see sea lions, blue footed boobies and galapagos penguins and also do some snorkelling.
Planned departure is Wednesday, 3000 NM to the Marquesas. Jessica will post our position daily or every other day and will forward any comments

Puerto Aroyo, Santa Cruz, Galapagos

We finally got to do some exploring of Santa Cruz island yesterday after some more minor mishaps. We set a brand new 37 pound Fortress stern anchor on the day we arrived as there was a great deal of swell, which was very uncomfortable when the boat turned beam on to it with the tide.
The next morning we again swung at anchor and found the entire anchor, chain and shackles missing with the eye in the rope rode intact. All shackles were super tight when we set the anchor so we were most surprised. Ron dove on the area for 2 hours and I even hired a diver to look for it and he was unable to find it either. We suspect that it was stolen and we think we know who did it but there isn't much I can do about it without proof. Anyway, the day was about wasted and yesterday, I bought an 18 pound Danforth knock off and some chain in a local hardware store. A poor substitute but will have to do for now. We then moved our position further into the anchorage as the rally boats have mostly left and there is more room.
It's much better in here with almost no surge.
Mishaps are all relative. This unfortunate ship got hung up on the reef outside Puerto Ayora. Definitely a bad hair day.

We went to the Charles Darwin Researth Center and saw the famous Giant Tortoises, Land iguanas and various other flora and fauna.
Today's activities will include repairing a seal on the sea water pump which has decided to spring a leak, trying to find some diesel fuel at a reasonable price and taking a hike to see some more creatures in their natural habitat.
Land Iguana

Giant opuntia cactus

Giant Tortoise

Giant tortoises attempting to produce small Giant Tortoises or maybe he's just protecting her from the sun

unidentified lizard. Anybody know what it is?

Puerto Ayora, SantaCruz, Galapagos

leaving Golfito, Costa Rica

We got into Puerto Ayoro on Santa Cruz island yesterday at about 1000H after an interesting trip down. We certainly did not have the calms that are predicted in the doldrums and saw up to 20 knots of wind and we spent the entire time beating or motorsailing. Not very comfortable but over now.

equatorial sunset

We celebrated Ron's birthday with a rum soaked bundt cake and the crossing of the equator was a little anti-climactic as it occurred at about 0200H and most were asleep. We had planned to appease King Neptune by dunking the Admiral overboard as she is the youngest member of this crew of ancient mariners. Timing was in her favor and there didn't seem much point the following day as we were all shellbacks together.
Ron, the birthday boy and his cake

We find the small anchorage jam packed with boats from a blue water rally and we are at the outer end of the bay where there is a lot of swell action and we had quite a bit of rain and roll overnight. The rally boats are due to leave tomorrow and we will try to re-anchor further inside with a stern anchor set in addition to the main one.

I went briefly went ashore yesterday to get the check in process started and we have to hire an agent to do this here. Also required is a quarantine certificate, a fumigation certificate and various park fees. All of these procedures seem to be designed to separate you from money but the ability to see these unique surroundings will hopefully be worth the trouble.

The weather is rainy and and cool and once all the formalities are concluded we shall go exploring. Photos to follow.

Polywog Day

We had a good night, still a lot of breeze and we have been beating for days. We are about 80NM from the equator and all of the present polywogs should be converted to shellbacks within the next 24H.

Current position at 0715H is 1 15 .4N, 089 54.4W speed is 6.2 kts and course is 131M as we just put in a tack.

We have 138 NM to go ( a little more with the tacks)and should be in tomorrow.

A fairly rough and squally night last night with wind to 20 Kts. So much for doldrum calms. We have been sailing and motor sailing most of the time.
Crew all well.
Position @0717H local time is 2 54.23 N , 087 34.16W speed 6.2 kts 274 NM to go. 436 NM run course 220M

0300H

All's well, nothing else broke we made some miles today with a favorable breeze.
Now at 5 18.27N, 085 38.90W course 218 M, speed kts 450 NM to go. 24 hr run should be 160+ NM.

We had a slow start with head winds for most of the night but we're doing better now. Only made 129 NM for first 24 hour run. Position now 06 degrees 55.3 minutes North 084 degrees 25.5 minutes West. Speed 6.7 kts. Course 217 degrees M. More electronics problems, probably due to the lightning strike. The speed log just quit and the jib furler relay box is acting up. Crew doing well even the Admiral. ETA on the 21st.

Golfito, Costa Rica

A parting shot as we are out of here this morning following Van and Marcia's breakfast ashore. Weather is looking good and the paperwork is all done.
Jessica will post our position and the fish tally and any other news, mutiny, floggings and the like, probably every other day.
Adios for now.

Golfito, Costa Rica

Leaving Quepos!

A final parting shot of Quepos (Que POS?) One thing that we did see in Quepos was the legendary "green flash" on one very clear sunset. It was witnessed by Ron and the Admiral and was not Margarita induced and so was not likely to have been a Fig Newton of my imagination.
I think that the confusion arises in the word "flash" as I didn't think it was as dramatic as that, merely a subtle shade of deep aquamarine for a fraction of a second as the sun disappears below the horizon.
We did some shopping for provisions again yesterday and the transmission job is complete and motor runs in forward and reverse with no bad vibrations. Test run today when we get fuel.
I have to do the paperwork cha-cha to check out of Costa Rica with Van this morning. It would appear that el dentisto has turned into Marianna la denstista and I have an appointment at 1600H with her for a little bit of drill, fill and bill.
Hopefully, not too much pain will be involved and the problem is due to a broken filling rather than something worse.
All being well, we are off with the tide at dawn tomorrow

schoolyard, Golfito

Golfito at low tide
Main drag, Golfito doesn't really look as bad as this.

view of the bay from Tierra y Mar "clubhouse"

cemetery, Golfito

Battery store on Callisto. This was a lot of work-taking 12 heavy deep cycle batteries from the shore by dinghy, removing the old batteries and replacing them with the new ones and then taking the old ones ashore
Much sweating and cursing but all done now.

Golfito, Costa Rica

We made it to Golfito with no further excitement. We mostly sailed and motorsailed down and even though it was a dark and damp night it was infinitely better than being trapped in Quepos and rolling about all night.

Golfito 08degrees 37minutes North, 083 degrees 09 minutes West

The bay in Golfoto is flat calm with no ocean swell and all slept well last night. We have been madly busy changing out the battery bank and getting the transmission work done today.

We also visited the duty free store and now will have rum until we get to New Zealand. Van and Marsh are here and we will probably leave on Tuesday evening or Wednesday, weather and chores permitting.

I have developed some toothache and will have to see el dentisto in the morning. ouch!

Further bulletin tomorrow and photos if we have the time.

Quepos, Costa Rica

The Volvo dudes did finally show up today and I now have a happy engine. They were nice kids actually and neither of them spoke any English but we managed to get by. The job only took about 45 minutes once they got started and they replaced two small fuel sensors and miracle upon miracles, Mr Volvo started right up. They said that the lightening strike could easily have caused the problem.
One of the guys, after spending half an hour in the hot engine room with the boat rolling as she does in this anchorage went white as a sheet. He was directed to the leeward rail and promptly lost his breakfast. Just as well they sent two of them.
The company charged like the Light Brigade and the bill for the two small parts was outrageous, though not too bad for labour and considering that they came all the way from San Jose (isn't there a song about that?)
We are free to now escape from this Kafkaesque location and it's on to Golfito at 1400H and we should be in at dawn tomorrow.

Quepos, Costa Rica

Well, the saga continues. It would appear that there will be no service from Volvo today. I got an email from a new, new friend called Carlos as Roberto is sick (sick of being pestered by me more like it).
Carlos informed me first of the good news, that the parts they have been waiting for have arrived in Costa Rica but the the bad news is that they were held up in Customs and they will not be able to liberate them until tomorrow. The next appointment they gave me for service was Friday at 1100H with a technician who has no English, which could be amusing but so long as he can speak Volvo that will be fine with me.
So, another 48 hours of rolling around at anchor to look forward to.
Ron arrived last evening to share in the joy but alas, his checked in bags did not. They contain more spare parts and they should catch up with us some time today.
We will spend the days shopping for food, cleaning and polishing and maybe change the oil in the genset.
Van and Marsha will be in Golfito tomorrow and if they get my engine started we will be there on Saturday. We have lots to do there and I think that our departure to Galapagos will be delayed a day or two at least.

Quepos, Costa Rica

In case any of you are wondering where Quepos is. Here is the location

It's a nice clear morning in beautiful,downtown Quepos today and I have had a change in attitude. Not much point in being angry and irritable due to the non-service from Volvo and it's time to enjoy the surroundings and go with the flow. After all, we could be butt deep in snow like the US northeast or freezing in Europe. Also, Medicare didn't cut my fees by 22% because there haven't been any, so no more whining.

Mi amigo Roberto from Volvo will get here when he does, hopefully on Wednesday.

There is plenty to do. Fiberglass and stainless steel always need polishing and even though I'm not too keen on that particular endeavor, now is a good opportunity to get it done. Rust and oxidation never sleep.

I'm also going to get all the books and programs on celestial navigation and the trusty sextant out and attempt to relearn this arcane process. I can feel the headache coming on already but it will be a worthy effort.

No other disasters to report except that the pump that supplies seawater to the refrigeration condensers decided to go tango/uniform yesterday and leak all over the engine room. I doubt that this was related to the lightening strike, just nearly three years of continuous service.

Fortunately, I noticed it wasn't working before the freezer defrosted and ruined the contents therein. I have two spare pumps, so switching it out was quite simple. My batteries are getting worse and worse and I have to run the genset quite frequently to keep them happy.

The sooner I get to replace them the better.

Ron will join us in Quepos on Tuesday and we hope to meet Van and Marsha in Golfito on Thursday. Roberto permitting.

.The new Marina Pez Vela (sailfish) promises to be a first class facility. Unfortunately, it's not open yet. Had it been, it would have made our time here much more comfortable

Town of Quepos from the boat. The domed structure is the Hotel Kamuk, the source of our internet signal

Quepos sunset from the afterdeck. Life could be much, much worse.

Quepos, Costa Rica

I just got off the sat phone with my newest, best friend, one Roberto Gutierrez from Volvo in San Jose who casually informed me that the parts we have been impatiently waiting for will be delayed until next Wedesday. I don't think there will be any chance of any service before then. So it looks like another few days in this very rolly anchorage as I have very little option at this point.
We have been getting supplies in and once we get to Golfito we can do the tranmission work and get going within a few days. One bit of good news is that the new batteries I ordered from the US have arrived in Golfito, so we have to go down there to get them, otherwise, I guess we could have left from here.
My friend Roberto also sent an invoice. The labor and service charges are quite fair but the price of Volvo parts for this job will make a grown man cry.
Ah the joys of cruising, it can only get better, I think.

Quepos, Costa Rica

Well, we are still here! No response from Volvo In San Jose and they say they are waiting for parts, coming from where? Even if it was Sweden, I would have thought they would have been here by now. We've had no new electrical problems, except that I am concerned about the reliability of the watermaker in the future. It is a vital piece of gear.
We have been doing some provisioning over the last few days in order to decrease the amount of stuff to do once we get to Golfito. I had expected to be there by now and I certainly hope we do get there by March 8/9 to pick up Ron and also Van and Marsha Hughes, our crew for the Pacific crossing.
We also have to switch out the battery bank and get some transmission work done prior to departure.
We have a neighbor in the bay in Quepos, a 47' Lagoon hybrid catamaran called Dignity,with an English couple , Steve and Helen Southwood aboard.
Steve, an ex-IT guy, has been very helpful trouble shooting problems with my GPS since the lightening strike. Also, the cruising sun downer ritual has been far more prolonged since their arrival. It's very good to have the company.
We have also had some interesting dinghy drills while going into town to do our chores. The tidal current int he estuary is quite fierce especially at the time of the full moon and my little 5hp outboard at full throttle barely gives us forward progress once we are loaded with supplies.
Much excitement!
We will see what the day brings