Pitufa.at

Once again the earth is a blue disk and the sky its blue lid. The perfect deep azure of the Pacific is only dotted with occasional whitecaps today, the wind is lighter and progress slower, but also more comfortable. Looking at the chart it seems incredible how far away and far apart islands are spreads on the gigantic width of the Pacific. We haven’t seen any wildlife since we’ve left the Galapagos (and miss the sealions), but we know we’re not alone out here. Yesterday a fishing boat passed us close by, eager to chat on the radio, later on a freighter came close as well. Like on the trip to the Galapagos we check in on an SSB radio net and so we know that 20 yachts have set out in the seem week as we have, most of them are bound to the Marquesas, 2 want to go to Hawaii and only 3 others are headed for the Gambier as we are. The route to the Marquesas is more common and more convenient, but we prefer–as usually–to stay off the beaten track. We’ve finally had a lazy day with out fishing or fish preparation +++++ Die Erde ist wieder einmal eine blaue Scheibe und der Himmel ihr blauer Deckel. Das perfekte Azur des Pazifik wird nur von einigen Schaumkronen unterbrochen, der Wind ist weniger und wir kommen langsamer, aber auch gemuetlicher voran. Bei einem Blick auf die Karte scheint es unglaublich, wie weit weg und weit auseinander die Inseln auf der gigantischen Weite des Pazifik auseinanderliegen. Wir haben keine Tiere gesehen, seit wir von den Galapagos weg sind (und vermissen die Seeloewen, aber wir wissen, dass wir nicht alleine hier draussen sind. Gestern ist ein Fischerboot ganz nah gekommen und wollte am Funk ratschen, spaeter haben wir auch einen Frachter gesehen. Wie auf der Reise zu den Galapagos checken wir in ein SSB-Funknetz ein und so wissen wir, dass 20 andere Jachten in der gleiche Woche losgesegelt sind, die meisten mit dem Ziel Marquesas, 2 Richtung Hawaii und nur 3 andere wollen zu den Gambier so wie wir. Die Route zu den Marquesas ist ueblicher und einfacher, aber w ir wollen – wie ueblich – abseits von den ausgetretenen Routen bleiben. Wir haben heute endlich einmal einen Faultag ohne Angeln oder Fischzubereitung

We’ve had a fresh breeze and more than 1 knot of current helping us along on the first day and Pitufa’s flying along with 7 to 8 knots and the wind on her beam. After last-minute shopping, clearing up the boat and preparing for the passage we were actually looking forward to some days of lazy reading on the passage but life on passage turned out to be just as stressful as life on land. We caught a blackfin tuna of such dimensions that we decided to put some in jars for later on. After cutting up pieces for more than an hour we finally had 3 jars in the pressure cooker (first time we try this), but just as pressure was building up the flame went out–we had forgotten to fill up the kerosene tank (which we usually always do before a longer passage). Filling up kerosene on a rocking boat was quite a challenge, but it seems we need that, because in the end we spilled less than in calm conditions. After 3 hours the procedure was finally done and we now have our first selfmade cann ed tuna +++++++++++++ Wir haben seit gestern eine frische Brise und mehr als 1 Knoten Stroemung, somit fliegt Pitufa mit 7 bis 8 Knoten mit dem Wind von der Seite dahin. Nach dem last-minute Einkaeufen, Klarieren, Vorbereiten, hatten wir uns ehrlich gesagt auf faule Lesetage auf der Ueberfahrt gefreut, aber das Leben auf See ist bis jetzt genauso stressig wie das Leben an Land. Wir haben einen derart riesigen Schwarzflossenthunfisch gefangen, dass wir beschlossen, einen Teil davon einzurexen. Nachdem ich eine Stunde lang Stueckerl hergeschnitten hatte, packten wir drei Glaeser in den Druckkochtopf (Erstversuch), aber gerade als sich Druck aufbaute, ging die Flamme aus – wir hatten vergessen Kerosin nachzufuellen (machen wir sonst immer vor einem laengeren Toern). Kerosin auf einem bockenden Schaukelboot einzufuellen war eine ziemliche Herausforderung, aber scheinbar brauchen wir genau das, wir haben naemlich weniger gepatzt als unter ruhigen Buchtbedingungen sonst. Nach drei Stunden war die Prozed ur abgeschlossen und wir haben unsere ersten, selbstgemachten Thunfischkonserven

Puerto Villamil on Isabela is a picture-book anchorage: sparkling turquoise waters, black volcanic rocks surround the bay almost entirely and give good protection. Behind that light-green hills rise to volcano craters. The seas around the Galapagos are incredibly lively: rays jump, dolphins play around the bow, birds splash into swarms of fish and on the way into the bay we were accompanied by playful sea-lions, who are also sunbathing on the sterns of the fishing boats and on the jetty. This morning a little penguin was hunting fish right next to Pitufa and boobies make quite a spectacle swooping straight down from about 50 meters, splashing into the sea loudly and popping up again like corks. The drawback is that the Ecuadorian government makes visiting the islands almost impossible because of the exorbitant prices: 500 dollars for 20 days, next years prices will rise even higher. This payment only allows you to anchor in one bay, exploring without a guide is forbidden and guided tours are incredibly pricy.
Since we got here we’ve been really busy, but in a positive way. Right after our arrival we invited our friends from Iolea over to help us eating the 10 kilo tuna we caught on the way in (we still had enough for another 3 days…). On the day after about 20 cruisers organised a trip to a restaurant further inland and we also had to deal with paperwork. Now we’ve finally found the time to fix the kerosene stove and to clean Pitufa’s overgrown waterline.

Yesterday afternoon, after some slow tacking towards the first island of the archipelago, Isla Cristobal, we motored through the islands in the night. We are now south of our destination, Isla Isabela, and will make landfall soon.

Yesterday at 9 in the evening we sailed for the first time over the equator. According to our clever book about ceremonies and traditions that would require several rituals to turn the bollywogs (people who’ve never sailed over the equator) into shellbacks. The book said that would include dressing up in strange garb, crawling through garbage, being sloshed with something black and smelly and shaved with a wooden panel… The rest of the ritual consists of a splash of saltwater, a splash of alcohol, giving some of the booze to Neptune and drinking the rest. We skipped the first part and just did the second , poor Leeloo’s still a bollywog, because she’s not fond of being splashed with anything, so she just watched us doing the baptism

The winds are still very light, but the waves have calmed down and sailing almost feels like being in a calm anchorage. Under deck we don’t even feel the huge swell that comes up from the south, only in the cockpit you suddenly realize that the boat is gently lifted up to the first floor and then set down on the groundfloor again Last night we were dawdling along with 2 knots, but while most of the other boats in the fleet motored ahead, we didn’t bother turning the noisy engine on. As long as the sails aren’t flapping it’s really not necessary. This morning we then unpacked the gennacker (huge, light sail) that we hadn’t used since the Med. It was quite a hazzle sorting everything out, but then we were rewarded with 5 knots of boat speed in 6 knots of wind–not bad for our overloaded smurfette. This afternoon we caught another mackerel, so it’s going to be mackerel fillet with caramelised carrot, horseradish sauce and potatoes. Yes, life is good Even more as dinner will be accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine (usually alcohol is taboo on passage) to celebrate that we’ll cross the equator in the evening!

We still have light winds from the southeast, but with a countercurrent of almost 1 knot Pitufa’s slowed down to 3 to 4 knots over ground. We don’t complain though, as long as there’s enough wind to keep the sails filled and from slapping. It’s getting cooler now, maybe we can already feel the effects of the cold Humboldt current. The water temperature has dropped from 27 to 24 degrees and at night it gets chilly. On nightwatch I’ve worn leggins underneath softshell trousers, T-shirt, a sweater and a jacket on top… Our watch system works fine and we get enough sleep. I go to bed at 7, sleep for 2 hours, get up at 9, stay on watch for 4 hours, go back to bed at 1, sleep for 4 hours and get up again at 5. In this way I get 6 hours of sleep during the night, but then I catch up with 2 hours of sleep during the day (I can fall asleep no matter the conditions). Christian can’t sleep during the day, so on my last watch I let him sleep in. We changed to this 2 4 4 3+ system already on the way to Colombia and it works better than the rigid 3 hour watch system we used before.

We’re still making good progress, now with southeasterly winds that have been stronger than predicted (very light). Alas, 10 knots is still not enough to make Pitufa fly along and so some of the boats that have started out on the same weather window have sailed past us during the day. It’s the first time that we’re sailing in a kind of convoy (though one that wasn’t planned but happened due to the weather window) and it’s fun. There’s a radio net each day where all 15 boats report their positions, wind and current conditions and some small talk about fishing luck etc. We were finally lucky yesterday and caught two mackerels, Leeloo got the first bits, then we had Sushi, Tandoori Fillets in the evening and there’s enough left for Fish Curry this evening and Thai Fish Soup tomorrow . Cleaning and filleting fish isn’t fun on a pitching and rolling boat, but it’s worth it adding some fishy to the menu.