Quick Update. Passage from Panama to Galapagos. Friday 28 March 2014

Tashi Delek
Mike & Carol Kefford
Fri 28 Mar 2014 17:16
01:01.285N 087:48.929W

175 miles to run

60 miles north of the Equator

Sea Temperature 23.9 (Dropping, presumably one of the cold currents)

With 8 - 10 knots wind we have been sailing comfortably for 36 hours which
is good going in this part of the world where lack of wind can be a real
problem. We have seen dolphins three times and a variety of seabirds, some
attempting to land on the boat for a ride, but, but, but, still no fish.

The nights are very dark because the tiny sliver of a moon that there is at
the moment is only rising just before dawn so not doing very much to help.
There is some ambient light from the fantastic stars which, of course, are
all the brighter for lack of moon so we can't have it all ways.

Tashi Delek is looking more fabulous by the minute as our resident engineer,
sail trimmer, fibreglass and gelcoat consultant, Brad, has worked his magic
with various 3M polishing compounds. The real revelation was that we can
use 600 grade sandpaper and lots of water over the surface to bring the
shine back. She got a real hammering over the nine months she was in the
boatyard in Trinidad when she was pretty much sandblasted by all the grit
travelling at speed on the winds. The result was a rougher, chalky looking
surface that traps every stain going and refuses to polish. Just a few
minutes sanding with the fine paper and she is back to a shiny surface which
polishes a treat and then stays stain resistant and easy to clean. These
are the things that get us very excited while on passage.

We aim to arrive on Sunday morning and have just slowed the boat down in
order to do that. Annoyingly, if we keep our speed up we would arrive late
on Saturday, either in the dark or with only an hour or so of daylight left.
Either is not good; it is best to arrive with plenty of daylight left in
order to anchor and sort out any difficulties while we can still see
properly. It is extremely painful to get close to your destination and then
have to drift about for 12 hours until dawn and therefore better to slow
down a day or so out in order to use up the time.

All for now, all is well and we are enjoying the trip.