The Big One
Miss Molly 4
Bob & Peggy Wilkerson/Geoff & Merel Pettifer
Sun 29 Jun 2008 04:39
For the past two weeks Miss Molly has been sitting at anchor in Puerto
Ayora. Or to be more precise - she's been riding on two anchors. Never have
we seen such a rolly anchorage which is busy at the same time. The local
tour boats anchor on top of each other and us and don't seem to mind
crossing any anchor lines in the process. But it was all for a good cause:
the exploration of Santa Cruz by the Wilkerson family. Both above as below
sea level they discovered the magic of what the Galapagos had to offer. Very
diverse and interesting, mixed in with a lot of fun.
But after the exploration was done came the time for Miss Molly to change
from cosy "boatel" into work horse mode. The longest offshore passage lay
ahead.With the assistance of a water taxi
we picked up the stern anchor and also managed to retrieve the well dug in
bow anchor. Off we went in a pitching sea, where the wind was surprisingly
on a close haul. No problem for Miss Molly, she was eager! She just went
ahead like she needed to stretch her legs and made use of the extra knot of
current we have with us. After 12 hours we had 110 Nm in the pocket! Not a
bad start. But now the winds have eased from 20 - 12 kts and the pace is a
bit slower.
During the first night watch Merel founded the "Squid Squad" - the
throw-back-in-the-sea-service that we provide to squid that have landed in
the cockpit or on deck. So far the Squid Squad Score is 2.
We'll keep you posted! Geoff & Merel