Today was a banner day aboard Galapagos. I found a paper bag with 4 onions inside. I had stowed it under the floorboards in the salon. Lately it was looking like we were already down to our last two onions and I couldn’t believe I had let that happen. These onions were as good as treasure. Whenever i discover that I have prepared better than I thought I have , I am dead pleased with myself. It’s like putting an appointment on the calendar for 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled time, then discovering you are actually early and don’t have to rush.

“I am going to make Pico de Gallo so I hope we catch a fish for tacos!”, I told Michael.

“Do we have some chips to go with that?”, he asked, innocently.

I was floored. Did this man just ask me if I had brought totopas on this voyage? I recovered quickly from this open assault on my food procurement skills.

“Do I look to you like the kind of person who would fail to bring corn chips? I have one job, mister. One job. I have found my onions and you can be sure there will be chips. The very idea that I somehow would overlook this staple food is….I HAVE ONE JOB!”

I haven’t yet made the salsa but if we catch a fish then at least I have already chopped an onion. When I pulled my prized bag of onions out from under the floor I checked each one and found one that would be going bad if I didn’t intervene. We cannot afford to waste fresh food aboard. It’s not like we have a market on the corner 800 miles from land. I chopped the onion and put the container in the fridge for later. Then I washed the other onions to get any spores of mold off them and put them out to dry. They also will now go into the fridge because I don’t trust those mold spores.

Food management aboard means paying attention to things like whether there is a moldy onion in a bag or a bad spot on a potato. If you let those things go then the food is wasted. My system involves stages of storage. First fruits and vegetables go in cupboards or under the floor where it is cooler. When they begin to show signs of over ripeness or mold before we have eaten them then I remove the bad parts and they get to live in the refrigerator. I plan our next meal around those items.

Some things, like half of the fresh papaya and half of the last fresh pineapple, mashed avocado, and chopped broccoli, get moved to the freezer where they will give us that fresh taste well into this long passage. I have discovered that storing strips of bell pepper in salted water keeps them crisp for a week or longer. Living this way makes me really appreciate the labors of our foremothers who stored and preserved food without refrigeration. Some people live on boats without refrigeration I am not those people.

I made a lot of jokes about the amount and variety of foodstuff I put on board before we started out. Now that kind of supplying is paying off as we have about 16 days to go or better and we will finish this voyage without relying on beans and rice. Variety keeps morale and health up.

When there is little wind, like today, and the boat motion is easier, I have time to play with recipes. I think we eat more interesting foods when we are aboard than we did on land. Having less storage and a smaller space makes me more creative about combining foods and using up what we have before running to the store to get more stuff like we did back home. I’ve got a great idea for a balsamic fig sauce made with my home made fig preserves from home, Mexican pickled red onions, and balsamic vinegar. I plan to serve that with chicken and couscous. I’ll let you know how that works out.

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Good morning, world. Almost halfway to our second waypoint, Galapagos is sailing under a double reefed main and a reefed genoa in 18-20 knots of wind. Yesterday was a challenging day as winds and wave height increased through the day and into the night to 23 knots. For the first time in years on this boat all hatches and ports are locked down as we take spray from all sides. I did a little happy dance from my place at the helm as Michael put the second reef in the main without even changing course. Our new Strong Track sail system paid for itself as the sail slid down ,like butter, even under a broad reach. Could I have turned the boat into the wind and high seas in order to relieve pressure on the sail? Sure. Did I want to? Absolutely not. I was thrilled. With a smaller sail the boat rode better and our speed remained al,most the same: a cool 6-7 knots.

Speaking of speed, we are staying in touch with two catamarans who are crossing along with us. Both owners are new to their boats and both are previous monohull owners. These people are speed demons with their speeds of 10 knots or better. Holy cow! And their ride is so smooth! They are actually easily cooking underway. I, on the other hand, took my life in my hands making pancakes yesterday. One hand for the pan, knees braced against the fridge, one hand on the boat. Now to spoon batter into the pan. Wait, I need more hands. On the first day we lost half of our dinner on the floor (a great opportunity to take up heavy floor boards in a heaving boat so I could clean under them. ) due to being kicked by a big wave. All I know is that there is a lot of time to think sitting here in the the cockpit and they have us cat-curious. Alas, no Googling out here. That’s probably best.

Looking at some calmer weather ahead in anticipation of a hot meal. Tonight it will be cheese, crackers, salami.

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When Andrew and Jill were aboard Galapagos Jill had her first overnight passage on our boat. She wrote an excellent post called Baby’s First Passage (which maybe she can link to in a comment below?). Now that name has stuck for any and all life changing experiences. We chose to wait to write about this until we were well away from the Revillagedados islands so as not to cause people worry. Here’s my narrative from my journal.

“Now let’s go over the rules. We have to stick together. None of this wandering off hither and yon where I don’t know where you are. Stay together until we know what’s down there. ”

I was talking to Michael as we sat in the Pudgy gearing up for our first snorkel at Isla San Benedicto.

He sputtered into his mask. I’d like to think it was with laughter but possibly it was with derision. We will never know.

“OH RIGHT! I’M THE ONE WHO WON’T SWIM AWAY where you can’t find me. It’s ME who won’t get so engrossed with what I am seeing that I forget where I am. Sure. I’M known for that….blah blah blah blah” (well he is! )

“OK OK. I’M going in so please hold the boat steady. Also I want to be sure I can get back in the dinghy quickly in case I am fleeing danger. ”

He says, “Oh don’t worry. If I am feeling danger I can get in the dinghy mighty quick.”

“Well you aren’t the one I’m worried about. Ok here I go .”
And over I went, gently so as not to create a disturbance, thinking ” oh please don’t let a shark be the first thing I see” . My plea was grossly misunderstood.

Exactly the first thing I see is a silky shark about 30 feet away just hanging in the water looking directly at us with disturbing sentience and curiosity.

I sputtered into my snorkel gesturing wildly at Michael as he glided in next to me. Hanging onto the ladder, snorkel askew, all I could do was point and start taking photos.

We hung onto the boat, wary of his next move. He swam slowly in our direction as the fear based tapes in my brain argued vociferously with my prefrontal cortex. This shark was only curious. He was not exhibiting aggressive behavior. Yet. Wait. Wait. He approached to about 20 feet and then stopped. We watched each other warily. I tried not to act like prey.

Then his friend showed up. How did he even know there was something to see? Silently Michael and I, as one being, both held up two fingers and looked at each other. We agreed that if a third friend came we would remove ourselves. And that thought, while comforting in our agreement, really pissed me off. I had waited a very long time to snorkel here. We had special permission. The idea that two puny 4 foot sharks would ruin it was untoward. We were surrounded by a stunning array of friendly and colorful fish and I would be damned if I was giving that up easily.

We waited. They slowly swam toward us. Then, using the words and attitude that strike fear into the hearts of wildlife and dogs everywhere I shouted the vanishing incantation loudly in their general direction, complete with hand gestures, which may not have been wise but seemed effective at the time. ” Shoo! SHOO! Get along with you! Go on now!” Even sharks understand when they aren’t wanted. They glided by just out of reach and carried on patrolling their area without bothering us again.

The next three hours were the best snorkeling we have ever had. We saw our sharky friends several times but they were minding their own businesses. We also saw a nice white tipped reef shark gliding around. He didn’t give us the time of day.

It was magnificent. We wish there had been more snorkeling but after that day huge swells, measured 12 feet in the Anchorage on our depth meter, made the water very rough and uninviting, even dangerous. But that day is imprinted on us forever and we are grateful. Oh, and we stayed right together in the water for the full three hours.

Me,
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