Fai Tira Blog Friday 26th March

Fai Tira In the Pacific 02:57.09S 93:41.57W

Much of the time, subsequent to the cruise, was taken up by comparing notes with others of the fleet, both in casual contact and also at our central meeting point the Rock bar. All of the stories coming back, were of people having great trips, both the pre-booked variety and those who took the chance and made last minute reservations. It was also a strange period consisting of a combination of emptiness, now that the big event was over, and one of anticipation over the prospect of the forthcoming sail across the vast Pacific, some 3000 miles, to our destination in the Marquesas Islands. This would be the single longest passage of the whole trip, but strangely the feelings of nervousness and awe that surrounded the prospect of the Atlantic crossing were missing. Gone too was much of the hype and all of the razzmatazz, as most of us seemed to approach this as just one more sail.

No complacency though (the preparation was just as rigorous) I think it’s just that we are now more comfortable with both our own and the boats performance and abilities. And of course now, although still unknown, long passages aren’t new anymore. Also lots of the weak points have been identified, addressed and, in many instances, repaired. Here’s a strange thing. It’s just occurred to me whilst reflecting on those last couple of paragraphs, of the uncanny link that exists, between them and the closest we can come to the meaning of the name Fai Tira “ Just get on with it and don’t make a fuss”.....How appropriate!

There was also a combined birthday party to attend (surprise, surprise).....Seems ages since we had one!!!.

Also there was a significant and somewhat unexpected happening on Fai Tira as the crew numbers on the boat were increased by one with the inclusion of David Bevan.

David is a, semi retired, economist and University Lecturer from the Land Of Our Fathers, working in my home town of Oxford.

We’d got to know David during the legs from Gibraltar down to Antigua when he was crewing on another BWR boat called Briet. A change in plan had left him without a ride to his major goal and destination, The Marquesas Islands. We’d both always enjoyed his company, so it took no time at all to decide to offer him the trip. However this was all very new and although there were obvious advantages, there were also unknown logistical and management issues to consider. How to physically accommodate him and stow his belongings, including his not unsubstantial dowry of red and white wine (no that wasn’t the reason for inviting him!!!) and also the possible problems related to the extra strain on power and water resources, so, I wonder, a test yet to come perhaps?.

However he soon settled in and quickly became embroiled in the final essential preparations for our little trip. Much of this was centred about the task of re-provisioning and for the first time, so far, this didn’t involve the purchase of booze (Good old David). Never the less, it was still a time consuming and, as it turned out, very wet task; good preparation for the early stages of what lay ahead though.

So while Pete busied himself grappling with a chronic electrical problem that prevented the use of the auto pilot and radio at the same time, interspersed with jumping in the water to cool off on the pretext of inspecting the hull, David and I hailed a water taxi and complete with Trago Mills shopping bag, headed for the quay side supermarket.

Shopping is not one of my most favourite or successful past times. I remember, during my last foray that I somehow managed to purchase a toilet freshener that had the effect of making the place smell far worse after its application, so perhaps the presence of an accompanying chaperone would prove beneficial. Anyhow it was good to have his friendly guiding companionship, not to mention his carrying capacity and oh yes,,,,  cash!.

However, before all this, David had also availed us with one of his other skills (probably comes from being an economist) and that was sniffing out a cheap but good laundry. So while he was off on his expedition, I decided that some refreshment was needed and ventured into a fairly basic waterfront cafe. The thought of a decent coffee and bun had now become quite appealing. Without any displays to point at, I thought when the proprietor said si, that I must have done quite a good job of ordering. Wrong!!, what eventually arrived after not too many minutes, was a cup of hot water, spoon, re-used jar full of sugar, jar of Nescafe and,,,, no bun....I think I like this place.

Although not the best stocked shop I’ve been in the supermarket was a venue that had a magnetic attraction for embarking yachtsmen and many of our BWR colleagues had the same idea of provisioning up, and an orderly convoy of heavily laden trolleys carefully picked their way back to the water taxis.

Stowing turned out to be an act of artistic ingenuity, but all was accomplished.

The second days shop for fresh fruit and veg. proved more challenging. We were to combine it with the purchase of engine oil and hydraulic fluid, in its self not such an onerous task, but it was now hissing down with rain and, although there’s a garage at the top of the town near the fruit market, we weren’t really sure where to go.

The garage trip proved fruitless (spose I should have asked if they sold oil !!!!!), and we couldn’t find the market. So two, now very bedraggled and indecisive souls found themselves wandering around trying not to get washed away. However we’re nothing if not resourceful and after many conversations, with locals, using a combination of fingers, hands, bits of paper, pencil and a variety of facial expressions, we located the right places. A parade of shops dedicated to fruit and veg. Where the friendly owners were so pleased with the volume of our purchase, they handed out freebees; and a car accessory shop that were really helpful and had everything we wanted. So brimming with success and after a celebratory choc ice each, we dragged our now overloaded torsos back to the boat where we started the laborious task of cleaning and preserving before stowing.

The boat was now almost ready so we had a chance to relax a little; make a trip into town to retrieve the laundry, use the internet for the last time for a while, return to the boat and then party for the evening.

Bed was a long time coming, but we were surprisingly fresh in the morning and after a minor problem, involving a swim for Pete, the anchors were retrieved and we were off. The sea was calm, the sun hot, the winds light and as Galapagos disappeared into the distance, we hoisted the sails, switched off the engine and settled down to indulge in an, unfortunately short lived, tranquil 4 knots of speed.

The sailing didn’t last long. The wind went round to the South West, the genoa backed, the engine went on and the rain came down.

The first of the new night watch regimes worked well. Six hours of continuous sleep, what luxury. As I went off watch the lights of three boats speckled the horizon. The next day we identified them as BWR yachts’. It was now beginning to feel a bit crowded. So in our normal trail blazing style and in the search for anonymity and isolation, we headed off in a more Southerly direction and before long were alone.

Hello Ocean,,,,, great to be back!!!!!!  

Bye for now Pete, John and David