Blog 17. Galapagos. 00.53.74S 89.36.75W
Alcedo
David Batten
Mon 22 Feb 2016 12:49
Tuesday, 16/02/16. 09.00am and we crossed the equator. Celebrated with Buck's Fizz, which went down really well and is truly excellent when made with freshly squeezed oranges and consumed on a small boat in a large ocean on a beautiful morning. With very little wind all day, we motor sailed with only the temporary company of some large fishing vessels, one with a helicopter on board, that were just on the edge of the waters that form part of the Galapagos National Park. We were offered a lovely looking tuna by one of the tenders, but as tuna was on the long of things you are not permitted to bring into the Galapagos, we had to regretfully decline it. Land was sighted at 14.40, by which time we were just motoring in less than 5 knots of wind, but we had a wonderful time as we went down the coast of San Cristobal, with a great view of Kicker's Rock and the first (of hundreds) of seals, Boobies, Frigates, Petrals and other sea birds, plus countless Rays, some of which were jumping out several feet of the sea, twisting and then slamming back into the sea with a huge splash. We eventually motored into Puerto Baquerizo in the dark, a bit of a navigational nightmare as the Garmin chart was way out, the buoys were not as marked on the paper charts and we ended up using the iSailor chart on the iPad. The reef was breaking noisily on the port side as we felt our way towards the boats at anchor in the harbour. Once in the harbour, we could make out Spirit and Paradise Found who we knew were already there, so we anchored close to them and had a very strong anchor nip to restore our nerves.
Alcedo
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