When we dropped anchor at isla isabela we thought it would be for only a day. The protection here is limited and we have had northwest winds in the teens and twenties our whole stay with accompanying waves and swell.

But here we sit, three days later, all alone but for the occasional panga and what appears to be a small research outpost on this end of the island. No other cruising boats have come in nor have any park rangers come to shoo us away.

It is bouncy but the water is warm and we can swim and snorkel off the boat, enjoying the sealife here. Melissa and I followed a small school of eagle rays yesterday, their long, stingerless tails flowing behind them. And we found a cleaning station where trevally come to be cleaned by wrasses, angel fish and moorish idols. Melissa found a large sea turtle getting the same cleaning treatment by wrasses at a reef a little deeper out.

And the birds. The frigate birds in particular dominate the sky just now and they seem to wheel endlessly over the island like a cloud of prehistoric gnats. We can also see them nesting improbably in the shrubby trees on the island. With their six foot wingspan and split tail, they are elegant creatures once aloft but they look ridiculous sitting in their messy nests, a gangly chick peeking out from beneath them.

We have been relatively comfortable here because of the monas, two pinnacle islets just off the eastern side of the island. They give us a break from the waves and wind and there are good reefs for snorkeling nearby. It only gets uncomfortable in the wee hours when the wind dies back and then the boat turns to the waves. Then we roll most distressingly and discover all of the items that we forgot to secure before retiring for the evening.

We will stay for a few more days and then head to Mantanchen bay, about 42 miles southeast of here. The northwest winds should still be blowing to give us an easy ride there.

We have learned that the last two posts from the satellite hotspot were not readable, probably because I attempted to include a photo in the post. I’ll fix those when we get to within cell range. In the meantime here is an update.

We generally had a good passage from los Frailes to Isla Isabela, with a Northwest wind on the beam or just aft the whole way. About 35 miles from the island the winds died to the point that the headsail was slatting and popping most annoyingly and so we motored the rest of the way to Isla Isabela.

We are the only cruising boat here and so have the premiere anchoring spot with lots of chain out. On shore we can see a small camp nestled into the shrubby trees where researchers spend part of their time. I watched them moving along the shrubby edge of the island, clipboards in hand, presumably counting the nests and their inhabitants.

Shortly after dropping anchor we jumped in the water. Finally! The water is warm enough to snorkel comfortably with just a swimsuit. I think the water temp is about 78 degrees. Not exactly bathwater but I’ll take it.

Melissa and I snorkeled over to the monas and checked out the underwater scene there. We both noticed a healthy crop of moorish idols this year. Good for them! We also followed a large eagle ray flying below us.

Ryan swam to shore and took a short walk on the small sandy stretch nearby. Most of the shoreline here is rocky, with breaking waves, so landing in surf either by dinghy or swimming requires care.

We will spend one more night here at isabela and then should have wind enough to sail the 42 miles to mantanchen bay.

Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.

About twenty minutes after I sent yesterday’s post into the ether I realized that whining about not being able to snorkel because of the virus was pretty tone deaf. In light of the suffering and death brought about by this pandemic, our petty problems don’t amount to a hill of beans. So even though we are impacted by this disruption in many ways, most problems are still of the First World sort. Let’s hope they stay that way.

We had good wind and a fast, bumpy ride most of yesterday until about midnight when the wind started easing, leaving sloppy waves that threw us about and made sleep impossible. The first night of a passage is always pretty rough; we kept three hour watches and having Ryan, our crew/guest aboard definitely made the watches more pleasant. We are about 80 miles from Isla Isabela and hope to stop there in the morning if the weather allows. It isn’t a great anchorage unless the winds are light, so we are prepared to press on to Mantachen Bay if it doesn’t look safe.

This morning I was at the bow, mentally adding more tasks to my refit list when I was buzzed by a brown footed Boobie. He made several passes and was attempting to land on the boat. Or so I thought. The attached photo tells the story and now the Boobie is my new Spirit Animal (replacing the three toed sloth).

Sent from Iridium Mail & Web.