The booby is very interested in what I am doing

Panama --> Galapagos

Twelve years ago today DHARMA BUM II arrived in Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands.  It truly is one of the most marvelous places on this planet and we had a most excellent time there.  Now we are back on our way to Polynesia, although we might go to slightly different places this time.  Also, today is Valentines Day, but flowers are a bit hard to come by out here.  Right now we are at N 1°30', W 84°58'  --  on our way to the Galapagos Archipelago. 

 

We left Panama eight days ago with 8 Beaufort blowing from the North.  The very first night the $2000 linear drive of our autopilot broke and we tried to head back under both engines.  No go against all that wind and the waves.  So we turned around again, although I didn't relish the prospect of hand-steering all the way and more than a little bit apprehensive, whether we will be able to obtain another drive in San Cristobal.  Hand-steering all the way to Papeete on Tahiti is something I'd rather not try for myself.  Too bad also, that we probably won't be able to visit Isla Isabela this way, which is supposedly the most interesting.  But a functioning autopilot is more important than all other considerations. 

 

Another piece of hardware, which is going the way of all systems on a boat, is the solenoid for the port engine.  I can still get the engine started by banging with a rubber hammer onto the solenoid, but sooner or later that won't help any more.  Probably sooner. 

 

Apart from these technical issues, the trip is a delight.  At around N 5° the wind died completely and the swell disappeared as well.  We really enjoyed watching four turtles floating on the surface, got visits from seagulls, boobies and other birds, saw numerous schools of dolphins jumping and hunting in the distance and were amazed by the microscopic life in the sea, which isn't visible when there is any kind of wind at all. 

 

There were a kind of blue fluorescent shining little balls in the water, perhaps a meter or more down, which I had never seen before.  They are very distinct from the usual phosphorescence, which reminds one somehow of fireworks.  These steel-blue Neon-balls were floating very quietly, not pulsing,but simply emitting this amazing blue light. 

 

Apparently my little experiment with the Styrofoam in the freezer was successful, because we now have to run the engine only once every 18 hours to keep everything inside deep-frozen.  Before I had to run it every 12 hours and barely managed to keep the ice from melting.  So, our food situation is once more up to DHARMA BUM standards.  The cuisine is mostly Chinese, accompanied by delicious wine from Chile, but at the moment my favorite meal is lunch.  This consists mostly of black bread from Germany served with an ice-cold beer from the 12 volt fridge.  It constantly amazes me, how the four big solar panels have changed our energy situation which impinges directly on the quality of life on board. 

 

Our dozen solar lights are also amongst those items which I wouldn't want to miss on a future trip.  They are so versatile, that we use them almost exclusively. 

 

~~~~~

 

After two weeks of hand-steering we arrived in the Galapagos yesterday.  Now we better hurry up and get the boat fixed.  Autopilot, starter motors and the wind-direction indicator are at the top of the list.  Sea lion like to climb onto our boat, but they don't much like it when they see me looking at them.  I don't know how they do it, but they even manage to get to the top of some power boats here.  On DHARMA BUM III they seem to be content to rest on the steps at the transom. 

Panama --> Galapagos --> Easter Island --> Pitcairn --> Mangareva (Gambier Islands) --> Tuamotus --> Tahiti

Ho guys,

 

Monday, 5 February 2007,  we will clear out of Panama to begin our longest passage so far.  There have been a few changes in our plans and the itinerary looks now like this:   

 

Panama --> Galapagos --> Easter Island --> Pitcairn --> Mangareva (Gambier Islands) --> Tuamotus --> Tahiti

 

This way we can't go to the Marquesas, which originally was one of our main goals, but as almost everybody else is going there - The Fleet they call it these days - we decided to forgo that route.  Most of the anchorages are tiny and I can't imagine how the Polynesians feel when hundreds of boats suddenly show up at their doorstep. 

 

We took on provisions, so that we are slightly loaded down at the moment.  Still floating above the waterline for some reason.  We had to find space for 200 liters of tonic water, 60 liters of rum, 40 cases of beer, 120 liters of Chilean wine, 15 liters of engine oil, 10 liters of gear lube, 460 liters of diesel as well as 750 liters of water.  Also we got dried mushrooms and fungi of different kinds, thousand-year-old eggs, dried jellyfish, Chinese pickled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, dried shrimp, canned squid & octopi, salteggs, water-chestnuts, bamboo sprouts, dried and pickled mustard greens, dried radish, sha cha sauce, oyster sauce, bean paste, spicy bean paste, black saltbeans, mung beans and other assorted delicacies.  Of course we also bought lots of juice, coffee, tea, tang, syrup, evaporated as well as UHT-milk and milk-powder, flour, sugar, noodles, rice, black bread, 72 packs of instant noodles from Taiwan, potato buds, five pounds of gummy-bears and other staple foods.  I should not forget the 100 cans of fruit, vegetables and meat.  Then there are ten bottles of rice wine and two bottles of Chinese pineapple-spirits for cooking, yeast, butter, margarine, shortening, baking powder, baking soda, spices and nuts.  Finally Liping reminds me that there are plenty of cookies, crackers, granola, potato chips and other tidbits for the night watches. 

 

Nor is this all, as our deep-freeze is completely empty, and we are planning to fill it to the brim just before we pull up the anchor.  It may sound a bit crazy, but as we know the prices down where we are going, we think this may prove to be a worthwhile investment.  Most of the stuff should last us for up to a year or at least all the way across the Pacific. 

 

I don't think we will spend a lot of time on Easter Island or Pitcairn, as the anchorages there are supposed to be atrocious.  Also, we are not particularly interested in making a fast passage and intend to reduce sail at night, in order to lower the chances of sudden stress and improve our sleep.  I'll be taking the first watch until about 1:00 o'clock, while Liping will take the second one until daybreak when I will take over again.  This seems to be the best solution since little Aurora Ulani sails with us. 

 

We'll be completely out of touch until we find an Internet Cafe somewhere, which will probably in Papeete or some such.  Anyway, I don't think we'll lack drink or food <grin> and if all goes well, it should be a most interesting trip. 

 

Until then best from Aurora Ulani, Liping & Holger  --  S/V DHARMA BUM III