Pitufa.at

Puerto Villamil on Isabela is a picture-book anchorage: sparkling turquoise waters, black volcanic rocks surround the bay almost entirely and give good protection. Behind that light-green hills rise to volcano craters. The seas around the Galapagos are incredibly lively: rays jump, dolphins play around the bow, birds splash into swarms of fish and on the way into the bay we were accompanied by playful sea-lions, who are also sunbathing on the sterns of the fishing boats and on the jetty. This morning a little penguin was hunting fish right next to Pitufa and boobies make quite a spectacle swooping straight down from about 50 meters, splashing into the sea loudly and popping up again like corks. The drawback is that the Ecuadorian government makes visiting the islands almost impossible because of the exorbitant prices: 500 dollars for 20 days, next years prices will rise even higher. This payment only allows you to anchor in one bay, exploring without a guide is forbidden and guided tours are incredibly pricy.
Since we got here we’ve been really busy, but in a positive way. Right after our arrival we invited our friends from Iolea over to help us eating the 10 kilo tuna we caught on the way in (we still had enough for another 3 days…). On the day after about 20 cruisers organised a trip to a restaurant further inland and we also had to deal with paperwork. Now we’ve finally found the time to fix the kerosene stove and to clean Pitufa’s overgrown waterline.

Yesterday afternoon, after some slow tacking towards the first island of the archipelago, Isla Cristobal, we motored through the islands in the night. We are now south of our destination, Isla Isabela, and will make landfall soon.

Yesterday at 9 in the evening we sailed for the first time over the equator. According to our clever book about ceremonies and traditions that would require several rituals to turn the bollywogs (people who’ve never sailed over the equator) into shellbacks. The book said that would include dressing up in strange garb, crawling through garbage, being sloshed with something black and smelly and shaved with a wooden panel… The rest of the ritual consists of a splash of saltwater, a splash of alcohol, giving some of the booze to Neptune and drinking the rest. We skipped the first part and just did the second , poor Leeloo’s still a bollywog, because she’s not fond of being splashed with anything, so she just watched us doing the baptism

The winds are still very light, but the waves have calmed down and sailing almost feels like being in a calm anchorage. Under deck we don’t even feel the huge swell that comes up from the south, only in the cockpit you suddenly realize that the boat is gently lifted up to the first floor and then set down on the groundfloor again Last night we were dawdling along with 2 knots, but while most of the other boats in the fleet motored ahead, we didn’t bother turning the noisy engine on. As long as the sails aren’t flapping it’s really not necessary. This morning we then unpacked the gennacker (huge, light sail) that we hadn’t used since the Med. It was quite a hazzle sorting everything out, but then we were rewarded with 5 knots of boat speed in 6 knots of wind–not bad for our overloaded smurfette. This afternoon we caught another mackerel, so it’s going to be mackerel fillet with caramelised carrot, horseradish sauce and potatoes. Yes, life is good Even more as dinner will be accompanied by a glass of sparkling wine (usually alcohol is taboo on passage) to celebrate that we’ll cross the equator in the evening!

We still have light winds from the southeast, but with a countercurrent of almost 1 knot Pitufa’s slowed down to 3 to 4 knots over ground. We don’t complain though, as long as there’s enough wind to keep the sails filled and from slapping. It’s getting cooler now, maybe we can already feel the effects of the cold Humboldt current. The water temperature has dropped from 27 to 24 degrees and at night it gets chilly. On nightwatch I’ve worn leggins underneath softshell trousers, T-shirt, a sweater and a jacket on top… Our watch system works fine and we get enough sleep. I go to bed at 7, sleep for 2 hours, get up at 9, stay on watch for 4 hours, go back to bed at 1, sleep for 4 hours and get up again at 5. In this way I get 6 hours of sleep during the night, but then I catch up with 2 hours of sleep during the day (I can fall asleep no matter the conditions). Christian can’t sleep during the day, so on my last watch I let him sleep in. We changed to this 2 4 4 3+ system already on the way to Colombia and it works better than the rigid 3 hour watch system we used before.

We’re still making good progress, now with southeasterly winds that have been stronger than predicted (very light). Alas, 10 knots is still not enough to make Pitufa fly along and so some of the boats that have started out on the same weather window have sailed past us during the day. It’s the first time that we’re sailing in a kind of convoy (though one that wasn’t planned but happened due to the weather window) and it’s fun. There’s a radio net each day where all 15 boats report their positions, wind and current conditions and some small talk about fishing luck etc. We were finally lucky yesterday and caught two mackerels, Leeloo got the first bits, then we had Sushi, Tandoori Fillets in the evening and there’s enough left for Fish Curry this evening and Thai Fish Soup tomorrow . Cleaning and filleting fish isn’t fun on a pitching and rolling boat, but it’s worth it adding some fishy to the menu.

After a night of fast sailing with Pitufa storming down the waves and having a good time (if she could sing she’d sing the Ride of the Valkyries at those times), the wind has slowed down and the current left us stumbling along with merely 4 knots. Hopefully we’ll pick up both wind and current again. We don’t have luck with our fishing: three lures lost, no fish caught.+++++++++++++++ Nach einer Nacht schnellen Segelns in der Pitufa in Hochstimmung die Wellen hinunterstuermte (wenn sie singen koennte, wuerde sie in solchen Momenten den Ritt der Walkueren anstimmen) ist jetzt weniger Wind und die Stroemung hat uns auch verlassen. Wir torkeln mit nur mehr 4 Knoten dahin und hoffen, dass wir bald wieder Wind und Stroemung finden. Mit der Angelei haben wir kein Glueck: drei Koeder sind schon weg, aber wir haben noch keinen Fisch gefangen.

We still have a steady northerly wind between 15 and 20 knots, just the sort of stiff breeze our overloaded Smurfette needs. Yesterday noon we were able to go on a downwind course and put out the twin headsails, that’s our favourite kind of sailing. No main up, just the two genoas on poles–one to the left and one two the right Pitufa looks like an angel gliding along. We make about 6 knots through the water this way, but the current adds another 2 to 3 which makes for a speed over ground of 8 to 9 knots–faster than we’ve ever been. The waves are quite high, but the boat’s movements are so steady and calm that Leeloo came out to have a sunbath on deck last evening, holding her belly into the warming sun…++++++++++++++++ Wir haben immer noch stetigen Nordwind zwischen 15 und 20 Knoten, genau die steife Brise, die unsere ueberladene Schlumpfine braucht. Gestern Mittag konnten wir auf einen Vorwindkurs gehen und die Zwillingsvorsegel herauslassen, das ist unsere Lieblingsart zu segeln. Kein Grosssegel, nur die zwei Genuas auf zwei Baeumen – einer links und einer rechts, dann gleitet Pitufa dahin wie ein Engelchen. Wir sind 6 Knoten schnell, aber die Stroemung legt noch 2 bis 3 Knoten drauf und das ergibt ein Tempo ueber Grund von 8 bis 9 Knoten – schneller als je zuvor. Die Wellen sind relativ hoch, aber die Bootsbewegungen sind so stetig und ruhig, dass Leeloo gestern Abend sogar auf Deck ein Sonnenbad genommen hat, ihr Baeuchlein in die waermenden Sonne gestreckt…

Steady winds and a friendly current are carrying us swiftly southwards.++++++++++ Stetige Winde und eine freundliche Stroemung tragen uns geschwind suedwaerts.

Yesterday we got the boat into passage-mode–that takes a whole day. We have to take down the mobile solar panel, tidy the deck, declatter all cupboards, tidy up the forecabin, tie down all bits that could go flying through the boat in heavy weather. We decided on rigging the second genoa (in case of downwind), putting the inner foresail on deck (in case of strong winds) and getting the gennacker ready (in case of light winds)–on the way to the Galapagos islands we can encounter all kinds of conditions. In the afternoon we took the dinghy ashore in the hope of trading some veggies with indios, but the hut we had seen from afar was empty and even though the fertile valley with a freshwater stream is a big garden (bananas, platanos, sugarcane, etc.) we couldn’t find a village. While preparing dinner Bertie the Bertschi Kerosene Cooker suddenly went out. Ok, nothing new, in that case we have to let the pressure off the kerosene tank, get funnel and jerry can, refill the tank, p ump 180 times to get the pressure up again, preheat with alcohol and then light the oven, but: nothing. We ate our almost-cooked dinner and instead of setting up this morning, we had to dissamble the cooker to check all kerosene lines. After two hours we found the blockage, removed it with a fine brush (still from our aquarium equipment) and an airpump and voila: Bertie’s back on duty. By noon we had both anchors up and set out towards the Galapagos, prepared to motor for the first few miles (the grib file predicted calm weather along the coast). Instead we got a fresh northerly breeze right from the start and are now sailing 5 knots with wind on the beam. Unfortunately we haven’t caught a fish yet, but it seems that a really big one bit on our brand new lure. Goodbye lure and goodbye fishy.++++++++++++++++ Gestern haben wir das Boot in Segelmodus gebracht – das dauert mittlerweile einen ganzen Tag. Wir muessen das mobile Solarpanel abnehmen und verstauen, das Deck klarieren, alle Kasteln entklempern, die Bugkabine aufraeumen, alle potentiellen Flugobjekte niederzurren… Wir haben uns entschlossen die zweite Genua aufzuziehen (fuer einen Vorwindkurs), das Kuttersegel liegt auf Deck (fuer den Fall von Starkwind), der Gennaker liegt bereit (falls wir Leichtwind bekommen) – auf dem Weg zu den Galapagos muss man auf alles vorbereitet sein. Am Nachmittag fuhren wir mit dem Dinghi zum Strand, aber die aus der Ferne erspaehte Huette war leer und obwohl in dem fruchtbaren Tal mit einem Suesswasserbach viele Gaerten mit Bananen, Platanos, Zuckerrohr, etc. liegen, haben wir kein Dorf gefunden. Beim Abendessen kochen ist der Bertschi Kerosinkocher ploetzlich ausgegangen. Nix neues, das heisst Druck ablassen, Trichter und Kanister suchen, Kerosin nachfuellen, 180 Mal pumpen zum Druckaufbau , vorheizen und dann neu anzuenden, aber: NIX. Wir haben das fast fertige Abendessen trotzdem gegessen und heute morgen, anstatt loszusegeln, den Ofen auseinandergenommen und die Kerosinleitungen geprueft. Nach zwei Stunden war die Blockade mit Hilfe eines kleinen Buerstchens (noch aus Aquarientagen) und einer Luftpumpe behoben und voila: Bertie ist wieder im Dienst. Mittag hatten wir beide Anker oben und konnten Richtung Galapagos los, in Erwartung erst einmal motoren zu muessen (das grib file sagte Windstille entlang der Kueste voraus). Stattdessen bekamen wir eine steife Brise aus Nord und konnten gleich segeln. Jetzt gehts mit 5 Knoten und Wind von der Seite schoen dahin. Leider wir haben wir noch keinen Fisch gefangen, aber scheinbar hat ein Grosser an unserem brandneuen Koeder angebissen. Servus Koeder, servus Fischi.

This morning we motored a few miles down the coast to the southernmost bay of Panama only 14 miles from the Colombian border. Some small, spotted dolphins accompanied us for a while. Even though we trolled two lures and the waters here are famous for the abundance of fish, we weren’t lucky enough to catch dinner. The coast is fringed by high mountains that rise steeply from the sea. No roads lead into this area, but there are indigenous villages along the coast and rivers. Even though there hasn’t been much wind for the past week there’s a mighty southerly swell breaking spectacularly on the black, volcanic rocks and the dark beach at the end of the bay. We’ve found some shelter behind an island and rocks within the huge bay, but the swell still gets bent in, so we’ve brought out a stern anchor to keep Pitufa’s bow into the waves and are quite comfortable.++++++++++++++++++++++++ Heute morgen sind wir ein Stueck die Kueste hinunter motort zur suedlichsten Bucht in Panama, nur 14 Meilen von der kolumbianischen Grenze entfernt. Ein paar kleine, getupfte Delfine begleiteten uns eine Weile. Obwohl die Gewaesser hier fuer ihren Fischreichtum bekannt sind und wir zwei Schleppangeln draussen hatten, biss kein Abendessen an. Gleich hinter der Kueste steigen steile, gruene Berge an. Keine Strasse fuehrt hierher, aber es gibt indigene Doerfer entlang der Kueste und an den Fluessen. Obwohl letzte Woche kaum Wind war, bricht sich eine maechtige Duenung aus Sueden spektakulaer an den schwarzen, vulkanischen Felsen und am Strand im Inneren der Bucht. Wir haben hinter einer kleinen Insel und einigen Felsen innerhalb der riesigen Bucht ganz guten Schutz gefunden, aber der Schwell wird um die Insel gedrueckt und wir haben deshalb einen Heckanker ausgebracht, um Pitufas Bug in die Wellen zu halten. So ist es ganz gemuetlich hier.