Panama to Galapagos

Tonight, the ocean is the most peaceful place on earth, and I am alone but not lonely. Michael has gone to sleep, and the moon is not yet awake, so it’s just me and the stars. We’re en route to the Galapagos. Writing this down makes it real, but I can hardly believe it. 

Thus far, this passage has been up and down for us. We’ve made it past the threat of the notorious Panamanian lightning storms, and we’re cruising on course at 9.4 knots in 10 knots of wind, AWA 72D, but it wasn’t smooth sailing at first. We fought a strong current for nearly two days, which forced us to go out of our way, beat upwind, and motor sail. Our furled spinnaker spontaneously unraveled at the most inopportune moment when the Captain had taken his breakfast. After sorting the sail, he returned to a bowl of soggy Cheerios.

Then, an enormous pod of feeding dolphins lifted our spirits, and the wind started to cooperate. Since the Galapagos does not permit plants, I turned my precious basil into pesto, and we had a fantastic lunch. So, things were looking up.

Until a section of the jib delaminated. A three-year-old sail should not fall apart! 

If it weren’t for the boobies, we might still be moping around. Four red-footed types sat on Gerty’s lifelines, hitchhiking their way home. No, we couldn’t say “boobie” without giggling, so we had no choice but to smile again.

The birds brought me back to Panama, where multi-colored exotic species fluttered around like they were as common as ho-hum pigeons. Panama was wild and modern all at once, where skyscrapers met the jungle, and sloths napped on telephone wires. John and Stacey fit right in.

Our Casco Viejo and Taboga Island outings with them were superb, but nothing exceeded our noodle rescue mission in greatness. Cheers to the Captain and John for expertly retrieving a piece of foam!

So we did it. We transited the canal, checked Gerty’s rigging, provisioned three times over, got our long-stay visa for French Polynesia, went to the dentist, ate enough pineapples to prevent scurvy for all eternity, crossed the equator and made our peace with Neptune.

We even caught a yellowfin for dinner. So, we’re ready to sail the big ocean, but not before we see a giant tortoise or two.

Last remarks

• Wonderful to meet so many sailors at this crossroads. SV Kairos Dawn and Tom, SV Aphrodite Rayna and James, SV Vlinder Joren and Simone, SV Aphrodite Rayna and James, SV Bethania Wolfgang and Paulina, SV Salini Marie and Mark