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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We dropped anchor at the stroke of midnight under the watchful presence of Volcano Barceno. Sailing under a full moon the sky was bright enough for us to feel comfortable anchoring at night, considering the cove is wide open with no hazards. Still we crept carefully forward, the island pale as a ghost, all colors of grey and white in the moonlight. It was like approaching a lunar mountain and I turned to Mike and said, “This place is giving me the spook! It’s like a ghost island. ” Gliding to a stop in 30 feet of water we dropped anchor and felt it set, finally here at this place we had been dreaming of visiting since last year.

This morning we awoke to water crisp and clear as blue crystal against the grey monolith of the volcano and a beach with sand the rich brown color of mink. From the boat the sand looks silky soft but that may just be wishful thinking. It’s stunning here. Stark and wild, the land raw with its newness. This is a young island. A great crowd of elegant and serious Masked Boobies has taken residence just above the lava flow. Frigate birds and Tropic birds share space with both Brown and the occasional Blue Footed Booby. But the Masked Boobies steal the show here, fine black and white plumage surrounding a yellow beak and piercing eyes. Among Boobies, the Masked Boobie is the most refined.

Mike snorkeled around the boat today and barely missed swimming with a giant manta ray making way through the anchorage. I saw it from my shark lookout on deck and pointed it out but it disappeared before long. (I generally keep an eye out for sharks in a new place. None here yet. ) Tomorrow is another day and we plan to snorkel the point where the rocks look terribly inviting and interesting. We are sure to see some wonderful animals.

There is another boat here and we chatted with them this evening. They are also on their way to Hawaii but are on a fast catamaran so we may leave together but they will quickly outpace us. Still it’s nice to have people in this wild anchorage. Both of us will be here until the winds fill in for Hawaii. No hurry on my end. I could spend some time here.

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