Tahiti, French Polynesia to Rarotonga - July 2016

Josie Maria in Tahiti, French Polynesia (Marina Taina) 24^th June 2016 to 15^th July 2016

From June 24^th to July the 14^th July, Gordon and Charlie worked tirelessly to ensure that Josie Maria was ready for the voyage to Australia and the remainder of her South Pacific crossing.  James departed on the 26^th June – Thank-you James for your help in moving Josie Maria from Galapagos to Tahiti.  If there is an opportunity for you to join us again we will be in touch!! Gordon and Charlie were assisted by Bud Gilroy, our Yacht Agent (Tahiti Yacht Agent, who made the of completion a tight deadline of repairs possible and went above and beyond what was required by assisting with shopping for favourite wines and O-rings for our dive tanks at the last minute! Thank-you Bud your help – it was much appreciated!!

On Wednesday 13^th July, John and Vicki, farewell David, Emily and Matthew (the last of their family to depart Tahiti!).  After the quick trip to the airport they head back to their hotel to pack, check-out and re-join Gordon and Charlie on-board Josie Maria for the final part of a three-year epic journey to bring Josie Maria back to her home port in Sydney. Upon John and Vicki’s arrival at Marina Taina, Gordon, Charlie, John and Vicki had a working lunch, discussing and planning the completion of all the necessary jobs, to ensure that Josie Maria and her crew were ready for a 15 July departure.  In the afternoon we all participated in a major a provisioning shopping expedition – 6 trolleys of goodies!! The food should last us to Sydney!!  The entire evening was spent packing away food, John prepared a delicious steak and veges for dinner and John and Vicki found time to unpack and make their bed!! Unfortunately, their custom-made mattress protectors didn’t make it back from the laundrymat in San Cristobal – fortunately some generic ones were bought – so all good!! It’s quite easy to loose linen/towels/clothing when you are on the move – and not easy to pick it up when you’ve moved on!!

By nightfall there is still a lot of stuff everywhere…..so will need a marathon effort tomorrow to ensure Josie Maria is in ship-shape!!  Thursday 14^th July was the first full day John and Vicki had on board for a couple of months. The day was incredibly busy with washing and lots of packing stuff away.  When you pack things away on a yacht there is literally stuff everywhere(!!).  You need to lift floorboards to store things away (in every nook and cranny!) so at some stages there is nowhere to sit! During this time John and Vicki had a few work phone calls to deal with – I hope that we were able to contribute!!

John cooked for most of the day, using the fresh ingredients bought, and prepared some easy-to-prepare at sea meals such as Bolognese Sauce, Chicken Cacciatore, and a couple of Lasagnes - one refrigerated while the other was frozen!  It’s a real blessing having a good chef on-board!! The evening was spent with all of us working with Charlie and Gordon to ensure that they had submitted all the requirements for their Australian Visa applications – the process was quite time consuming and there was the need to create/find and print, sign and scan lots of documentation for uploading onto the immi website.  It took a lot of time!!

On the 15^th of July we prepare for our departure to Rarotonga. Gordon and Charlie, found out in their morning emails that they had to front for biometric identification within 15 days, as part of their Australian Visa application…. John and Vicki also tried to do last minute work emails, as well as updating the Raymarine software in the hope that this would cure some of its 13 problems we had in Panama, while we still had a reasonably good internet connection!  Bud came over in the morning and we waited for the immigration official to come on-board and sign us out of French Polynesia.  As South African’s, Gordon and Charlie had already been given a 2-week Visa extension in French Polynesia - this was only allowed because of all the problems that Josie Maria experienced on her passage from Galapagos to Tahiti, and the necessity to repair her so she was seaworthy for the next passage! John, Vicki and Charlie spent the rest of the morning with our agent Bud who very kindly assisted us with some last minute shopping, after the completion of the boats paperwork!

We all ensure that Josie Maria is ship-shape for her voyage, John and Vicki head off for a late lunch, while Gordon and Charlie move Josie Maria to the fuel dock for fuelling. The last chore before we leave! Unfortunately, Gordon can’t get the bow-thruster to work – Vicki remembers that there is a red mushroom button in the forward cabin – and if this has been pressed the bow thruster won’t work! It was just as thought!  Unfortunately the Visa requirements and bow-thruster malfunction added to the stress of a departure that felt all too soon!! However, we had to leave!!

The Journey to Rarotonga - Friday 15^th July at 1530hrs Josie Maria departs Marina Taina, Papeete for Avatiu Harbour, Rarotonga arriving at 1630 on Wednesday 19^th July!

Josie Maria motor sailed to Rarotonga, with winds mainly 8-18 knots from the E to SE (on our stern – behind us!) and swells of 1-2m for the first few days.  The wind moved around to the E –NE at 2100hrs on the 17^th July at 10-18 knots.  Josie Maria was a rolling bit at times, in the bumpy sea conditions -  but all in all this part of the journey was very enjoyable! We did experience a few Raymarine issues – with the unit resetting itself several times (be great if we could fix this!!), which keeps everyone vigilant when on watch! When Vicki was on watch the SSB alarmed– Vicki turned on the BGAN to see what the DTSTRESS ACK 00503001 message meant –it was an emergence relay message from Australia – and we are definitely too far away!!
 In the early morning of the 19^th (0100) the wind turned E – NE and we experience a trough/squall with winds 24-30 knots from midnight until 2pm on the 19^th July these winds came from the S-SE. There was a lot of rain with the squall and visibility was poor at times.  The radar was full of colour from the passing troughs! We were very happy to get into Avatiu Harbour and can’t wait to go ashore!! We tried to contact the harbour master on VHF channel 16, but got no answer so we med moored with our stern to the Harbour wall.For more info on Raratonga see our next post!

Some reflections of the South Pacific Journey:

What did we actually do when on a long(ish) voyage?

Fishing: John likes to fish, trawling lines where we are allowed to! Our fishing prowess would not keep us alive.  In 3 years we have caught just 6 eatable fish….They were big.. But still 6 fish !

Planning: Vicki and Gordon plan the itinerary – what are our next ports, we research the next countries customs, entry processes, visa requirements, visa applications – to do this we use pilots (books that show a countries marina’s and discuss entry and exit process – some of these are out of date though or written from the perspective of the author and what is applicable for a US citizen may not be for an Australian or South African one!!  

We found the yachting site Noon-Site very helpful – but you do need internet and even this site is not always 100% accurate… 

Vicki needs internet and relatively calm seas to scan and email documents at sea – and large documents need better internet than we have on-board – so planning for the port may include doing all the necessary paperwork before we leave the current one!  This was necessary when we departed the Cook Islands for Fiji because we had to include a C-2 form with photographs and other attachments (approx. 10 pages) and email to 6 contacts – customs, biosecurity, immigration and Vuda Marina – where we organised the entry process.

Fixing the boat: General repairs and maintenance – of which there is surprisingly a lot – being on the water is like a continual earthquake at 3-4 on the Richter Scale…. escalating to and this 5-6 as the seas build from 3.2m plus.  

John did most of the electrical fixes, and Gordon and Charlie the mechanical ones while Vicki organised external assistance when necessary – which was quite often!!

Navigation: Vicki did the navigation for most of the voyage (James took this mantel for the Galapagos to Tahiti leg, as John and Vicki had family and work commitments in May/June and flew back to Australia for a whirlwind of work and social engagements!!).  

The process of planning a course is not a one-time and it’s done – it’s a continual process of checking where you are and requires tweaking to avoid frontal systems/squalls. It also requires the planning of where to find shelter or to head to if weather conditions or crew welfare requires it.  We used 3^rd party weather routers (Commanders, a US based one for The Atlantic and Caribbean and Panama and Metro Bob, from New Zealand for the South Pacific.  We try and get a forecast by email every 3-4 days and have the option to call if conditions are very different from the forecast, or are causing concern.

Work:  John and Vicki tried to work – however, the only satellite phone operating attached to the navigation table and in the Saloon – so difficult to have private conversations!! 

Emails with BGAN take 3-5 hours to download – so working is quite inefficient! Uploading the Josie Maria Blog was impossible – hence why John and Vicki made a concerted effort in Fiji to update and upload the last 18 months of Blog!!

The VSAT secondary satellite system was largely unreliable (it would have been great if it was as it was possibly 10x faster than the BGAN)

Enjoying the Ambience: Sunsets, sunrises, the clear night sky with glittering stars, shooting stars, dolphin, sea lions (in Galapagos) – we never tired of seeing the beauty in creation!

Fighting the elements: When the wind and sea picked up we would be on heighted alert.  As stuff went flying you would have to fight the movement to put everything away.  When you have had calm for a few days or weeks you can get nonchalant about keeping everything “ship-shape” – not a good idea!!  It was important to reef the sails early – we kept our radar on and removed the rain filter so that we could see the squalls coming – this was particularly useful in the South Pacific Convergence zone.

Eating: Everyone organised their own breakfast and lunch, because of the watch system – everyone’s body clock was a bit out to coordinate these! 

Every evening while at sea there was a cooked a meal.  This was primarily done by Vicki and John – but Charlie’s cooking has greatly improved (his oven chips are delicious!).  When it was rough this may mean that it was pesto pasta – so one pot cooking! Otherwise 4 hours in the galley to create a fish pie to eat the remainder of a Mahi Mahi – with 2 of us working away was not unheard of!! Something that is relatively easy to do on Josie Maria, but on a rough passage you want something quick to cook so we re-heat pre-frozen meals in the microwave.

Celebrating Events:  We had a party crossing the equator, we have a “when we catch a fish” celebration – We take a photo, if it’s not eatable it goes back in the sea – but if we can eat it John and Charlie clean and fillet it and John cooks fish nuggets with flour and butter – very delicious!! 

Entertainment: Josie Maria has a variety of means for entertainment.  Apart from general socialising (which we are very good at!), we read, watched Movies and TV series and John and Vicki played mobile phone computer games!

Activities of Daily living:  These take so much more time and are difficult on a boat because it’s moving! Just walking around can be a work-out when its rough!! J

osie Maria’s water maker and Gordons approach for carrying a lot of fuel has meant that water is available for washing, cooking, showers etc!!.  A shower takes 3 times longer on a boat than on shore – you need to turn the water on and off to conserve resources and have to battle with the shampoo, conditioner and soap – which have a tendency to fly all over the place!! 

Washing clothes can be done by hand – or when the sea is flat we can run our washing machine (which we have done a couple of times) – this cannot be done if there is swell!!

Gordon, Charlie, James and Benoit – Galapagos to Tahiti

San Cristobal, Galapagos Archipelago to Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia 22^nd May to 24^th June 2016

Week 1: 22 May -29^th May 2016

Josie Maria departed San Cristobal at 0800 on the 22^nd May 2016 with Gordon, Charlie, James and Benoit on-board.  She was laden with provisions, spare parts and fuel!!

Charlie celebrates his birthday on-board Josie Maria for the second time!

The conditions were very calm – and Josie Maria motor-sailed or motored for much of the first week.  The wind was 3-17 knots from the  S to SE, seas slight initially, with increasing swell height and chop at times.

Week 2: 30^th May - 5^th June 2016

The winds picked up a bit at 10-22knots from the S-SE or E-SE with a swell of 1m for much of this week.

Unfortunately….this week things started to go wrong…. Initially with the freezer packing up on the 5^th June!  In order to save what food could be saved the frozen goods were moved to the stored in the cockpit fridge.

 Week 3: 6-11^th June

The 3rd week of the journey had even more drama with much rougher conditions - winds from 10-22knots from the E-SE, going E-NE on the 11^th June.  There were several instances of wind gusts of 25knots plus and with a sea state of 1-3m, Josie Maria was being shaken about in the choppy and rough seas.  This may have contributed to the engine issues as this shaking mixed the fuel which was dirty and caused the main engine to fail.

At 1744 hrs on 7^th June 2016 the main fuel tank gauge failed.  The engine was turned off to undertake a precautionary stop to check oil and filters. A small amount water/debri was in the Racor filters, so the bowls were drained, filters changed, the system bled and the engine restarted. Josie Maria’s fuel tanks need to be cleaned and water and slime removed.

At 0115 on  8^th June 2016 – with main engine at  max revs of 1120rpm – an error display occurred requiring immediate attention.  There was some dirt and water in the primary filter – but the Racor alarm did not go off.  The filter was changed and water drained out.  However following this, the main engine refused to start.  The display fault was cleared – but still the engine wouldn’t start. The system was bled at least 6 times –but still no engine. 

Even with the assistance of Volvo engineers over the satellite phone, there was no way to start the main engine. The diagnoses was as a possible faulty fuel pump/lift pump…parts of which were ordered and flown to Nula Hiva with a Volvo technician to meet Josie Maria there in her arrival.

Josie Maria sailed for most of this week, as there was no engine.   The generator was used to recharge the batteries to keep the rest of the ships systems going!

Week 4:  11-14^th June – Finally arriving in Nuka Hiva – and to assistance with the engine!

The last few days were slow going…

Baking of bread – made it into the log book! Winds were 9-16 knots from the E –NE, seas 1-2m. 

With no engine the tender had to be in the water to act as a tug  uponn arrival at Taiohae Bay!

Captain Gordon’s brief summary of the trip – at 1700 local time on the 14^th July 2016 -

“……. anchor down in Taiohae Bay, Nuka Hiva, Marquesas.

2700nM approx. 900 with a dead engine!

Josie Maria very fickle and despairing at times! Not enough wind, forecasts all wrong! Charles, James and Ben – all different, all contributed their own style of doing things! Well done guys!

Now to work to repair everything…..”

Gordon was not happy that a fail-safe mechanism was not available – with the engine cutting out with dirty fuel.  Thinks Volvo should introduce one….

Remarks in the log book indicate that at times the sailing was great/very pleasant, the moon was beautiful and the Sunsets amazing.  Shooting stars were seen, as were dolphins – and there were clear skies at night where the stars gleamed!!

The guys did have a lot of problems with the most serious being the engine, the freezer and the raymarine/autopilot.  The Raymarine would freeze and veer off course when it reset itself randomly….

Our Yacht Agent, Bud Gilroy, from Tahiti Yacht Agents was very supportive in organising an engineer to meet Josie Maria in Nuka Hiva and preparing assistance with entering the bay and anchoring if necessary.  I would highly recommend Tahiti Yacht Agents, Bud was exceptional in meeting all our needs in a timely manner – Thanks!!

Taiohae Bay,  Nuka Hiva, Marquesas (French Polynesia) to Marina Taina, Papeete, Tahiti (French Polynesia)  18-24^th June 2016

Josie Maria departed Nuka Hiva at 0900 on the 18^th of June 2016 with Gordon, Charlie and James on-board.

Winds were 8-21 knots from the E- NE for the first 3 days with a swell of 1-2m. On the 20^th June, Josie Maria experienced a heavy storm, with rain and lightning.

From the 21^st the winds dropped to 2-14 knots – mostly around 6, so very light winds with 1m seas.  The winds changed from N-NE on the 21st and 22^nd to S-SE for the remainder of the voyage.

Gordon , Charlie and James still  had issues with the Raymarine… which kept resetting itself!

The Engine also had more issues - at 1815 on the 19^th of June the faults with the main engine meant that it could only run at low revs – so was very slow going with the light winds!

Josie Maria and crew arrive in Papeete at 1000hrs on the 24^th June!  Finally able to tie up in Marina Taina at 1030hrs.  There is a lot of maintenance and repairs to be completed before Josie Maria will be ready to leave.  Gordon met with the agent to start this process and an early dinner was had with John and Vicki and their family in the evening!!

John and Vicki would like to thank Gordon, Charlie and James for taking Josie Maria from Galapagos to Tahiti! We had a few frantic phone calls while back in Australia for work – and did what we could from our end – but ultimately when things fail at sea there is not a lot that can be done and Gordon, Charlie and James managed a difficult passage with aplomb!!

Litany of faults!!

VHF external spar faulty

Salon mood light dimmer faulty

Shaft or propeller rattle at low(700-790) rpm

Renew Engine blower

Deck light not working

Raymarine autopilot

Dishwasher not working

Oven pathetic!

Fusion upstairs control not working

Gas solenoid- replace

Cock-pit cooler thermostat not working

Auto-pilot disconnect and “soft reset”is either caused by, or is connected to the vessels charging system

Raymarine pedestal toggle

Engine driven alternator can only increase battery voltages with all inverters on “off” or “on standby” – possibly why inverter was turned off

Mastervolt charger 2 not responding to the panel switch.  Mastervolt chargers are in an area that is not ventilated, may need to provide ventilation to this area in the future as per Mastervolts product advice

Freezer stopped cooling

Change Gas solenoid

Fusion Hi-Fi system turns itself on and off at random

timing belt of engine needs to be replaced

Charlie and James after arriving in Tahiti

Vicki is happy to have rejoined Josie Maria, with James and Charlie recounting their stories of the journey

Charlie, David and Daniel

Matthew and Gordon

The Galapagos Archipelago - April - May 2016

Cruising the Galapagos on Josie Maria – 20^th April 2016 to 22^nd May 2016 (Our 15 day Island Cruise was from the 26^th April to the 10^th May)

Preamable….

Not for the faint hearted…. you need to be prepared to pay out the mullah and do lots of paperwork - you also need to abide by all the rules!!  But do they say, “no pain no gain”…. and the experience was incredible and not to be missed!!  Cruising the Galapagos Archipelago on our own yacht has been a highlight of our voyage to Australia! This is not something that most yachts can do as it is a very expensive exercise, and without an agent that specialises in this kind of trip and have the right government contacts to make it happen is hard to find.  The paper work will fill a full folder.  

A quick note for people like us who dream of visiting the Galapagos, your options are ; book a holiday with an agent - typically around US$4-5k per person plus your airfares for about a week. You get to live on a motor yacht and you visit most of the islands we have seen. This is by far the best option if you are coming here for a specific holiday by plane. An even cheaper version is to arrive either by plane or your yacht (and have it moored outside San Cristobal) then take day tours on a fast speedboat. You will spend around USD$1900 per person for about a week but you will only be able to visit nearby islands. The option we took is considerably more expensive than the others above (we did not know this prior) as you need to have a naturalist guide on board and pay for crew regardless if they stay on the boat or not. We don't regret doing it the way we did as we had considerable freedom within the timeframes we were given by the Navy.

The experience was enriching, the environment so unique and the natural flora and fauna, numerous, diverse and so different to that anywhere else!  It felt like we had gone back to what the oceans would have been like before man fished the seas and polluted the water.  The snorkelling we undertook was the best we have ever done – with massive schools of fish, lots of turtles, marine iguanas, sea-lions, sea birds (penguins and flightless cormorants) and sharks!! 

 First Impressions…

We arrive at San Cristobal at 1000 hours on the 20^th April 2016, and drop anchor in the anchorage in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.  The Juvenile Red Footed Booby happy to be home has left us and we are joined by sea-lions! The weather is calm and the mist lifting with the suns heat.  Just after midday we welcome an entourage of officials on-board, 10 officials in total (by far the largest group we have entertained on-board) and are glad we stocked up on Coke!  

Well, that went well.. I guess we can stay...

We needed to have the boat fumigated (for the second time) as the fumigation we had done in Panama was not adequate for the new rules…. After we received all the necessary permissions and paperwork from immigration, customs, biosecurity and so on….we went ashore in a water taxi.  


The officials were all very pleasant and courteous and apart from being a bit daunting to have so many at once it was a positive experience!!  The actual check-in process was quite speedy – it helps having an agent!

The water taxis were fantastic – for 1$ per person you had a ride from your anchorage to the dock, which saved your tender from being sunk (and soiled) by the local sea-lions.  

Cheap $1 water taxis avoided us to having to use our own tender

Josie Maria’s transom became home for a family of sea-lions almost immediately and we had to put up a lattice of rope to stop them from jumping in our cock-pit.  They are not the cleanest of marine life – so we didn’t want them to actually come on board!  They are also not that friendly when you get up close and personal!!

Don't let the cute look fool you. You can't take them home, and they really really smell !

We were greeted by more "locals" later that night, as the streets filled with sea-lions wanting to keep warm of the hot street tiles





The following day John and I had a lunch at “Rositas” and met our agent, Fernando Espinosa, from Galapagos Yacht Agency, for a briefing as to how the whole cruise thing was going to work….

At this time, we received the approved itinerary (attached) which was made for a boat that averaged at 11 knots.  Josie Maria averages at about 6 knots, so right from the start we knew that sticking to the itinerary was going to be difficult (with several overnight runs and activities planned in the morning and afternoon).  

Some of the activities were actually impossible to fit in because of the time it took us to move from one location to the next! The problem was – how to stick to the itinerary…. Vicki organised a gruelling schedule for moving Josie Maria from spot to spot and this was then revised with Galo (our naturalist Guide when he came on-board).  In effect we followed the itinerary but missed out some of the stops because of time limitations.  

In one case (Punta Suarez) we couldn’t anchor because there was such a huge swell running that waves were breaking in our designated anchorage area and it was too dangerous for us to anchor - let alone to do a wet landing in our tender!!  

We also had a complete generator failure in Caleta Targus – and needed to stay put while maintenance was done.  Ironically a puffer fish had got stuck in the through-holes of our saltwater cooling system, causing the generator to overheat and shut down.  Gordon and Charlie managed to release the fish back into the sea (alive after it’s ordeal) and get the generator started again!  

The Galapagos is on the equator, and has no marinas - so in May/June while we were cruising around the islands the generator was essential to recharge the boat batteries as well as for running our air-conditioning and making water!!

The following was our approved itinerary,

------------------------------------

ITINERARIO DEL VELERO JOSIE MARIA

26 DE ABRIL AL 10 DE MAYO DEL 2016

26-abril-2016   A.M.  CENTRO DE INTERPRETACION 

                         P.M.   EL JUNCO 

27-Abril-2016   A.M.   ISLAS LOBOS 

                          P.M.   LA GALAPAGUERA ESTADO NATURAL 

28-Abril-2016   A.M.   PUNTA PITT-ISLOTE PUNTA PITT 

                          P.M.   CERRO BRUJO

29-Abril-2016   A.M.   PUNTA SUAREZ

                          P.M.  BAHIA GARDNER 

30-Abril-2016   A.M.   PUNTA CORMORANT

                          P.M.   POST OFFICE 

01-Mayo-2016  A.M.   ESTACION CHARLES DARWIN

                          P.M.    RANCHO PRIMICIAS. TUNELES Y LOS GEMELOS 

02-Mayo-2016  A.M.   TINTORERA, HUMEDALES. POZA DE LOS FLAMINGOS

                           P.M.   VOLCAN SIERRA NEGRA

03-Mayo-2016   A.M.   PUNTA MORENO

                            P.M.   PUNTA MANGLE

04-Mayo-2016    A.M.   PUNTA VICENTE ROCA

                             P.M.   PUNTA ESPINOZA-FERNANDINA

05-Mayo-2016    A.M.   CALETA TAGUS

                            P.M.    PUNTA ALBERMALE

06-Mayo-2016   A.M.   BAHIA ESPUMILLA

                            P.M.   PUERTO EGAS

07-Mayo-2016   A.M.   RABIDA

                            P.M.   SOMBRERO CHINO

08-Mayo-2016   A.M.   BAHIA SULLIVAN

                           P.M.   BARTOLOME

09-Mayo-2016   A.M.  DAPHNE MAYOR

                            P.M.   SEYMOUR NORTE

10-Mayo-2016   A.M.   SANTA FE

                            P.M.  ISLA PLAZAS 

GUIA :             GALO HERRERA GONZALES

-----------------------------

Provisioning for the cruise was an adventure in itself, with our poor hold on Spanish (the language), and no giant supermarket!  Vicki took one look at the butchers and let John do the ordering – there were pigs trotters, chicken feet and other delicacies on display amongst other more unusual cuts!   

The locals were so friendly and helpful and we managed to get everything we needed and more and had so much help getting the provisions on-board it was very humbling!  We arrived at the ferry dock with boxes of food and drinks and the local children playing there helped load everything into a water taxi and then helped pass it to us on Josie Maria.  It would have been quite a challenge without their assistance!

Our resupply run

David joined us for the 15 cruise, arriving on the 25^th of April, so on-board were Gordon, Charlie, John, Vicki, David and our guide Galo. Initially it was very stressful as Gordon dislikes strict itineraries – ultimately the safety of the crew and boat come first!   Fortunately, the weather conditions were not adverse and, although the data we had access to on the anchorages and some passages were not as detailed as we were used to, Galo’s local knowledge was invaluable. A big thanks to David for joining us! His presence made the journey all the richer!

The 15 day Galapagos Cruise

Day 1

On the first day of our cruise Josie Maria stayed put in Puerto Baquerizo Moreno (Wreck Bay).  Galo, David, Charlie, John and Vicki visited the information Center in San Cristobal, followed by a tree house and then El Junco (the islands natural water supply in the afternoon).  

Galo explaining that the Galapagos is an archipelago  and it can take a full day sailing to reach each of the islands.

This is one serious tree house. You can rent the single bedroom !

In one day we saw sea-lions (hard to miss because there are so many of them!), Larva lizards, Darwin’s finches, frigate birds diving into the water at El Junco to wash the salt off themselves, Pelicans and Ibises (unfortunately these birds are becoming a nuisance for endemic species). Gordon stayed onboard Josie Maria and saw to the paperwork required to leave port with our Agents help. 

Day 2

Day 2 we motored to our anchorage by Isla Lobos, which took less than 2 hours, and went for a short walk where we saw Red Footed and Blue Footed Boobies (including their mating dance which was very entertaining), nesting and hunting frigate birds (whose hunting technique is to steal food from other seabirds!). 

Blue Footed Booby with two eggs. Its name comes from the spanish word "bobo" which means stupid, as they are fearless of man and easy to catch for food by hand by the early settlers. 

A female frigate bird lands on the prepared nest of the male frigate bird and checks out the size of his red pouch...This could be a date.

When nesting the male puffs up a red pouch to attract their partner – so they look quite spectacular.  We also saw several larva lizards and watched them fight each other – they are territorial and quite brave!!  After lunch we headed to the LA GALAPAGUERA ESTADO NATURAL but arrived about an hour before sun set.  It was just not possible to do a 4 hour walk and get back before the sun set! It was very disappointing, as this was a rare opportunity that we were given permission for because we were such a small group. Essentially seeing the Galapagos Tortoises in the wild – in most areas on San Cristobal – and other islands within the Galapagos Archipelago, they inhabit areas that are remote and not accessible.  Fortunately, we were able to see then on Santa Cruz!  Galo took us ashore for a short while and we saw Green Sea Turtle nests, the prints of turtles coming out of the water to lay their eggs and the tiny footprints of hatchings heading back into the sea.  That was pretty amazing and after this we saw hundreds of red crabs, which were quite a contrast to the black volcanic rocks on the beach.  This beach had beautiful white sand and low sand dunes – so an ideal nesting site for the turtles.  It made us really appreciate that much of the Galapagos was a National Park and the conservation now in place was protecting these fragile sites for generations to come.

Day 3

In the morning of the 28^th April we head to Punta Pitt – where we went for a walk and saw, Boobies nesting, marine Iguana nesting sites, and our first sighting of Nazca Boobies which have yellow beaks.  On the beach that we commenced and completed our walk there were lots of female sea lions just chilling in the sun.  The walk followed a water course up the cliff face – the views were fantastic! In the afternoon we made are way to Cerro Brujo – a beach where we anchored for dinner. After dinner we lifted the anchor at 2300 hours and headed to Punta Suarez on Isla Espanola (also known as Hood island) – our aim was to see the nesting of the albatross.

Day 4

When we arrived in Punta Suarez in the morning it was too dangerous to anchor there was a massive swell from the NE and breaking waves! We got out of there ASAP and headed for the more sheltered anchorage at Bahia Gardiner, unfortunately seeing nesting Albatroses was not to be.  Bahai Gardener was beautiful and we saw lots of sharks feeding on flying fish as the sun set! The snorkeling and beach walk we did where we saw Galapagos Hawks (for the first time) etc. were the highlights!!  We spent the night at Bahai Gardener and recovered somewhat from our overnight transfers!

Every day more and more wonders were revealed, so even though we would have loved to stay at some these anchorages a little longer (apart from not being allowed to…) we were always looking forward to the next spot and what wonders that would bring! 

Day 5

On the 30^th April we headed straight to Punta Cormorant – Corona Del Diablo, on Isla Santa Maria, bypassing the Bahai Post Office, as the distances that we needed to cover were not workable at 6knots! We went for a walk and saw a salt-lake and flamingos – Charlie even had a bird land on his hat when he was trying to get a close-up photo!!

Day 6

Day 6 of the cruise finds us in Santa Cruz (Academy Bay), where we anchor for 1 night.  During the day we visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, where we saw hundreds of Galapagos Tortoises and then went inland, by car, to a local ranch in the hills for lunch and a wander through the Galapagos Tortoise territory where we saw several Galapagos Tortoises as well as some mating of and courting.  The males loudly grunt when ejaculating – so there are not hard to find! 








After lunch we head by car to see the Los Gemelos – twin sink holes – they are massive ones.  You wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere near when they collapsed! 

Los Gemelos

Charlie heads back to Josie Maria after lunch to assist Gordon with refueling Josie Maria – the fuel is necessary as we need to do a lot of motoring and in some places the currents were running at 3 knots against us and we need that generator to keep us cool!!  Gordon also deals with the Port captain and our Agent Fernando re all the paperwork required to check-in and out of the port! That evening we depart Santa Cruz after dinner, we have all hands on deck with torches to ensure that we don’t hit anything on the way out of the bay.  We navigate out of the Port safely and are on our way to Isla Isabella and Peurto Villamil, only 55 nautical miles away! 

Day 7

Day 7 of the cruise sees Josie Maria at anchor in Peurto Villamil.  Gordon and our Agent Fernando see to the change of port paperwork and Charlie, David, John, Vicki and Galo head ashore.   In the morning we wander along a trail in the Humedales – a magical wetlands area close to the beach and Port and we see flamingos! After lunch in the port we head to Sierra Negra –walking uphill for just over an hour we finally reach the end of the trail the look-out at the trails end was really one of those “Wow” moments – how much more does Galapagos have to offer?  



We see the expanse of the Sierra Negra Crater – the beautiful colours and contrasts of the sky,the rocks and the misty clouds pouring like a waterfall over the crater.  We soak up the atmosphere, at what feels like the top of the world (in that particular part of the world anyway!), and only the fact that we must be down before the sun sets motivates us to make a move!!  We have dinner at the Port and then head back to Josie Maria for another overnight transfer – now heading to Punta Moreno.  We decided to miss out on Punta Mangle because we needed to rest.  Unfortunately, overnight transfers mean that, due to being on watch at night, we were tired for the daily activities –  Charlie and David had no problem but John and Vicki found not sleeping at night and walking and snorkeling for hours each day quite exhausting - in a pleasant way!!

 Day 8

Day 8 of the cruise, the 3^rd of May, saw us arrive at Punta Moreno, Isla Isabella, at 0800.  In the morning Galo, David John and Vicki head out for a walk on the larva flow.  We see the beginnings of vegetation in the form of cacti and visited some tidal pools – one which was a real shark tank!! It sort-of blew our minds away that we were so close to a school of sharks.  The terrain was heavy going, with lots of sink holes and gas bubbles with black volcanic rock over the top.   Charlie meandered the tender into and out of our wet landing point – it was very challenging to say the least! Thanks Charlie!  In the afternoon we head north to Punta Vincente Roca.   This anchorage was deep (20m) and quite tight – we kept an anchor watch overnight as Gordon was concerned that if the wind shifted we could end up against the rocks – However, all was good!

Day 9

In the morning of the 4^rd May we go for a snorkel in Punta Vincente Roca.  It was an amazing spot, by now I guess you’ve figured that they all are!! There are penguins, flightless cormorants diving in the water, as well as lots of fish! Vicki had a bit of scare with a Galapagos Shark swimming over her shoulder – as Australians we are not so content to be in the water as Ecuadorians! The sharks do have a lot of natural food but they are curious about us and get very close!!  We also went on a tour of the caves and rock walls in our Zodiak, Galo our guide took us on a tour, and pointed out nesting birds, flightless cormorants, penguins, Boobies, and a grey heron catching crabs on the rock!  

After lunch we pick up anchor and motor sail down to Punta Espinosa, on Isla Fernandino.  Isla Fernandino is the youngest of the Galapagos Islands and still experiences volcanic activity on its West coast.  Once at anchor we went for snorkel  - what an experience!! There were numerous green sea turtles and marina Iguanas in the water feeding on the sea grass.  Vicki enjoyed following a marina iguana in full swimming mode – they don’t move their legs they just swoosh their tail like a sea snake with their legs dangling!! The number and size of the Green Sea Turtles we saw was far greater than anywhere else we have swum.  After the snorkel we went on a guided walk to the point – there were marine iguanas everywhere – we had to be very careful where we put our feet! This was a major marine Iguana nesting area – so very sensitive ecologically.   









As soon as we were back onboard Josie Maria we pulled up the anchor and headed across the channel to Targus Cove for our overnight anchorage.  Targus Cove was a really safe anchorage and a beautiful stopover.  It was clear that it had been used as a bay of refuge by many ships as the crew had painted the rock wall with their ships name and the date they were there – there were some from the 1800’s!  For a while we were the only yacht in paradise, and even when we shared an anchorage in this part of the cruise there was never more than 3 small boats!

Day 10

On the 5^th of May we woke in Targus Cove and went for a “Panga ride”- a tour in our tender - with Galo, Charlie, David, John and Vicki after this we were planning to all go for a walk.  The Zodiac tour along the rock walls revealed many nesting sites of birds - there were lots of Galapagos Penguins, flightless Cormorants and Boobies, as well as sea-lions! Upon returning to Josie Maria, we found that Gordon was quite distressed as the generator had just overheated and stopped. Charlie stayed behind to assist Gordon with its repair while Galo, David, John and Vicki went for a walk and saw the Darwin Volcano, and from the look-out could see the latest lava flow on Isla Isabella.

When Galo, John, Vicki and David returned to the Josie Maria the generator problem had been fixed! The cold water in this area mean that there is an abundance of sea life and a puffer fish had decided to sabotage our journey!! Fortunately, Gordon and Charlie not only fixed the generator but also saved this fishes life (after all we were in a National park!). We depart from Targus bay at 1800hrs for Puerto Egas.  Unfortunately, the time lost in dealing with the generator failing meant that we needed to overstay in Targus Bay and bypass Punta Albermarle.

Day 11

Day 11 of our cruise, Friday 6^th May, we arrive at Peurto Egas at 0800 and drop anchor.  After breakfast we go ashore for a quick stroll to see the remnants of a salt mine and then wander to the beach with our guide Galo where we see American Oyster Catchers, Heron. Marina Iguanas, crabs and Sea Lions!

 Day 12

Day 12, on the 7^th May 2016, John, Vicki, David and Galo head to Rabida and go for a walk on the red volcanic rock – the rock had beautiful swirls and twists as the molten Larva cooled – there were also bee-hive like structures of molten rock called ‘hornettos”. It was amazing to see what nature can produce and the natural patterns in the molten rock as it cooled – quite cool one could say!!

Day 13

On the 8^th May, Josie Maria anchors in Sullivan Bay at 0600. In the morning John, David, Vicki and Charlie go for a tender tour with Galo and then for a snorkel.  The water is so calm and so clear – like in a well-kept aquarium.  From our anchorage you can see at least 30 turtles on the surface, coming up for air! We go for a walk along the beach and up to the rocks where we see a sea-lion that had been trapped in a rock pool and died ,either due to some strong seas or perhaps after a fight with a shark – most likely according to Galo.  The snorkeling conditions are that of a swimming pool.  John, David, Charlie and Vicki experience snorkeling with baby sea-lions, sea turtles and numerous fish!!

We visit Bartolome in the afternoon - Gordon drops Galo, Charlie, David, John and Vicki at the landing site and we walk to the top of Bartolome and observe the landscape from the lookout at its peak.  It was similar to a moon-scape with lots of craters and little life – such a contrast from what lay beneath the surface of the water!  

According to U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Bartolome's pockmarked landscape created by countless extinct volcanoes is very much like the surface of the moon than any other place on Earth

From this vantage point we could see the channel where the English outwitted the French in the movie, “Master and Commander”.  It bought us back to the realisation that these islands were of great importance in the years of exploration, providing necessary food (the Galapagos Tortoise, as well as fish) – but not that much water…unless the heavens opened.  No wonder the Islands have been described as formidable and enchanted.

Day 14

On the 9^th May 2016 Josie Maria leaves Bahia Sullivan (and motors past Daphne Major) to an anchorage off Seymour Norte then on to Santa Fe (for and overnight at Sante Fe)

At 0600 Josie Maria departs Bahia Sullivan, via Daphne Major, for Seymour Norte [20 nautical miles – so approximately 3.5 hours]. We arrive in Seymour Norte at 0930 – and after a quick snorkel where we see white tipped reef sharks we head back to Josie Maria and prepare ourselves for a walk on Seymour Norte.   We see hundreds of nesting frigate birds, land iguanas, nesting blue footed boobies and sealions. This was yet another of those amazing places in the world that shoudn’t be missed.  Gordon took us to the wet landing point and then moved Josie Maria, on his own, to a closer anchorage, so his return trip wouldn’t be quite so hairy!

Day 15

As we moved Josie Maria into our designated anchorage at Santa Fe the morning, we thought there was a reef we needed to avoid – as we moved so did it – when snorkeling we realized it was a massive school of Scalina.  We’ve never seen anything like it! (don’t want to be boring – but this is the catch cry for most experiences in the Galapagos!!). Following an amazing snorkel where we were in the water with baby sea-lions we went for a short walk where and saw a new species of land iguana.  Once back on board we set sail (actually motor sail) for Santa Cruz  and Academy Bay. The trip to Academy Bay is approx. 17M and we arrived at 1615 – in time for dinner ashore!.  After we dropped anchor we went ashore for a much deserved dinner!! Gordons log entry after the cruise reads,“Finally finished the dance around the Galapagos!! What a fantastic experience for everyone!! – Thanks so much, John and Vicki!!” … John and Vicki would also like to thank Gordon for dealing with the bureaucracy, sticking to the itinerary (which was pretty relentless and daunting at times!) and looking after Josie Maria (including dealing with that puffer fish!) while the rest of us snorkeled, walked and went for “Panga (tender) rides” with Galo.  On the 11 May 2016 at 0700 John, Charlie and David go for a dive with hammerhead sharks, at Seymour Norte, with a professional dive company, while Vicki and Gordon see that Josie Maria is cleaned, accommodation prepared for James (our incoming crew) and Benoit a guest, as well as a provisioned -for the next few days at least!
 

Heading back to San Cristobal so that John, Vicki and David can fly to Australia (for work and social reasons!) and for James and Benoit to join Josie Maria for the journey to Nuka Hiva (Marquesas, French Polynesia)…and then (with Gordon, Charlie and James) on the way to Tahiti!!

At 0630 on the 12^th May 2016, Josie Maria departs Santa Cruz for San Cristobal [42 nautical miles] – we drop anchor at 1330 and wait for the arrival of James MacFarlane who is joining Gordon and Charlie for the voyage to Tahiti.  James joins Josie Maria and meets the outgoing crew at a dinner in San Cristobal.

John, Vicki and David fly out of Galapagos on the 14^th May (via Chile on route to Sydney and back home for an intense 5 weeks of work and social engagements – in hindsight not as dramatic as the experience aboard Josie Maria!)

It is anticipated that Josie Maria will depart the Galapagos on the 20^th May (this turns out to be the 22^nd May – due to maintenance issues) and Josie Maria departs the Galapagos, fully provisioned and fueled - with Gordon, Charlie, James and Beniot on-board for the passage to Tahiti. Benoit had expressed an interest in joining Josie Maria’s crew for this leg of the journey and Gordon was happy to have the additional hand! James, Benoit and Charlie see to provisions, and Gordon ensures Josie Maria is ship shape for the long voyage to Tahiti.  Unfortunately, Josie Maria has problems with her main engine blower and gas solenoid at the nth hour…but it looks like these will be solved and Josie Maria and crew are ready to depart on the 22^nd June 2016!

This Experience would not have been possible without a team effort…..so:

“Many thanks to Fernando Espinosa, from Galapagos Yacht Agency, Galo Gonzalez, our very patient and knowledgeable naturalist guide, the myriad of officials who ensured this journey was to be, and the trustee crew of Josie Maria!! “

For those who want to know the about the weather conditions over this period, the wind was light 4-17knots (closer to 10 most of the time) from the SW to SE – we really only managed to sail once – which was exciting for Galo because it was a first!  Most of the time we motor sailed – the wind was too light and the time frames too tight!! The seas were fairly calm, apart from the large swell at Punta Suarez, usually less than 1.5m.  The weather was fine except for the mist in the evenings.

Kicker Rock. We never got to dive there as our itinerary did not allow private diving

John with his underwater camera setup

John and Galo

Charlie to the rescue

Our farewell dinner. Like all things the trip had an end. Galo particularly liked John's hottest chilli sauce discovery. 

A very short video of our journey...