Leaving Galápagos

Vega
Hugh and Annie
Mon 17 Apr 2017 22:48
We have spent our last week on Isobella, anchored in the beautiful sheltered baby at Puerto Villamil.
I know it is a cliché but there is something very special about the Galápagos. It is bureaucratic and costly to get here but if you are happy to stay in hostels, take day trips, walk, cycle and taxi you can see all the endemic wildlife, even if not in the most remote areas. In fact you have to be prepared to share beaches and benches with sealions and marine iguanas. A live-aboard boat will get you out to David Attenborough territory but the animals are the same and the tour routines extremely regimented.

Here on Isabela we have been up to the second largest caldera in the world - 6 miles across - and into amazing lava coastline where huge turtles, sealions, white tip sharks and blue footed boobies share the calm, clear waters of the inlets, coves and tunnels with snorkelers.

The bureaucracy here for a yacht can be baffling. Our agent arranged for someone from immigration to come over from Santa Cruz to stamp our passports and we are awaiting our Zarpe (formal leaving certificate) to be delivered from the Port Captain’s office. Some yachts use a different agent (actually the uncle of ours) who insists that passports cannot be stamped before a Zarpe is issued and that a Zarpe from the Galapgos to the Marquesas cannot be issued in Isobela. These yachts are having to motor back the 40 miles to Santa Cruz - having gone through the formality of obtaining a Zarpe from Isobela to Santa Cruz! Its bonkers!

We had more outboard motor trouble recently. In the Perlas islands the motor would only run with some choke and then over-revved on idle but seemed to settle down on its last run. Here it wouldn’t start at all - not a flicker. Fortunately we were quickly put in touch with a local engineer who found that the fuel had deposited a thick lacquer like layer throughout the carburettor that was, amongst other things, blocking the fuel jet and preventing the float from working. The fuel (gasoline) out here is awful, poor quality boosted by ethanol. The tour boats all run big (200hp in tandem or threes) Yamaha or Suzuki four stroke engines. Yamaha normally give a three year warranty on new engines but not in Central America. We have been advised to drain the carburettor when not using the engine for extended periods. The big Yamaha outboards have computer plug in diagnostics with service and maintenance requirements given from the factory to the local engineer - I can’t seem to find the plug on ours………….

One of our new 10lb aluminium gas cylinders ran out this morning. It lasted a month despite reading zero pressure when full. We have attached the second which shows over 50psi but we have been advised not to have much faith in the regulator pressure gauge. This one should get us to the Marquesas and we have the full steel one as a backup. I would have filled the empty one but am advised by another yacht that the American attachment on the new cylinders won’t connect for filling here in the Galapagos. I will try and find out more.

On Wednesday we, Zarpe permitting, set off for the Marquesas. There should be enough wind to get us down into the trade winds at about 5 degrees south. One yacht has recently had to motor for six days to find wind, which would be a bit tricky for us as we only have enough fuel for six days. Another yacht only had to motor for 6 hours so we remain optimistic. We will be at sea for four weeks or thereabouts to cover the three thousand miles. We will put a daily position update on the map and for those with the stamina for daily updates there will be blog highlights.