April 22, 2013
As we area getting ready to make our leap across the Pacific Ocean, for the time being, here is the short story of our past month.
March 4 – 14: After transiting the Panama Canal, we spent 10 days anchored near La Playita on the outskirts of Panama City. The majority of our time was spent with provisioning trips into Panama City. I even ended up at the hospital in order to get a doctor to write a local prescription for my thyroid medicine!
March 14 – 26: The Las Perlas Islands were a time of relaxation and recuperation, if you can count some wound healing. Our first island was Isla Contadora where we found some wifi access and toured the island. Right nearby is Isla Mogo Mogo where the TV series “Survivor: Las Perlas” was filmed. Now, it is a franchise, and other countries take their turns filming their version of “Survivor”. Turkey was setting up to film while we were there, so there was a lot of hustle and bustle on the island.
Wil's heel a few days after the initial injury
While in Isla Contadora, Wil went for a brief surf session. He returned to the boat with his heel sliced open after wiping out on the rocky reef. We attempted butterfly bandages, but they weren’t going to hold. I was speaking to s/v Saliander on the VHF, telling them I was going to have to give Wil a bunch of whiskey, put a broomstick in his mouth, and stitch him myself. s/v Always Saturday broke in to say, “Please, don’t do that.” As it turned out, Ron (s/v Always Saturday) is an orthopedic surgeon from Cary, NC, and he was on his way to Isla Contadora. He arrived 3 hours later, and with our supplies, and his xylocaine and expertise, Wil was sutured in no time. I wish I’d taken a photo of the sterile field we had onboard! This was a new meaning to “house call”!
Isla Bayoneta was one of our best anchorages yet. It was extremely protected and peaceful. Fish and wild life were plentiful. While we waited on some wind to carry us to the Galapagos, we spent time fishing, working on the boat, getting school done, and prepping for the passage. As time grew closer to departure, we got acquainted with a few more boats heading in the same direction.
Pete & Colin kept coming home with fish!
March 26 – April 2, 2013: We sailed on passage from the Las Perlas to the The Galapagos Islands. We had an awesome weather window, and it was by far one of our best passages. We were in constant radio contact with about 15 other boats making the same passage, so it was a lot of fun. This was also our first time attempting a 6 hour watch schedule, and we absolutely fell in love with it. The result was a longer nighttime sleep, and a more rested feeling throughout the day. Oh, yes! And we can’t forget the fact that we crossed the equator at approximately 2130 hours on Sunday, March 31st. It was an extremely busy day. The Easter Bunny found us, we removed Wil’s stitches, and we crossed the equator. Not a day to be forgotten!
navigational hazard: a row of sleeping sperm whales ~ they were even snoring!
our AIS screen at the equator crossing
celebrating our equator crossing
April 2 – April 22, 2013: The Galápagos Islands have been an experience of a lifetime. We had a 3 port Autografo, so we were permitted to visit San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, and Isabela. Among the wide variety of wild life, we have seen marine iguanas, land iguanas, tortoises, sea lions, blue-footed boobies, various frigate birds, Darwin’s finches, various rays, sea turtles, pelicans, and penguins. On land, we have toured a lagoon-filled volcano crater, lava tubes, and lava fissures.
sea lions absolutely loved our transoms ~ one even tried to leave with us!
April 22, 2013: Tomorrow, we bid farewell to The Galapagos Islands, and we begin our passage across the Pacific. Strangely, we are all calm and looking forward to getting underway. While it’s difficult to get our heads around the fact that our bodies will be in constant motion on the ocean for roughly 21 days, we have pushed those thoughts aside. We have focused on what needs to be done, and we are embracing our ideas of what we’ll find in French Polynesia.
While we will not have internet during our month at sea, I will continue to send SPOT messages to Twitter (@svFullMonty), and post position reports with SPOT and Winlink. Position reports are linked to our website. For Twitter messages, you will have to go to Twitter and look for us @svFullMonty.
See you on the other side!!
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