position S00 57.930 W90 57.719
Ocean Rival Journey Log
Adam Power Diana Power
Mon 21 Aug 2017 04:54
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Sun 20th August An unusually warm and sunny day. I rowed the dinghy ashore this morning and dragged it up above high water onto the sandy beach. Care is required to negotiate the rocks but withhelp from the sun the water is clear enough to see them under the surface ahead so my worries about dinghy use are behind me. Using the slow wifi in town I tried to extend my electronic chart to include Easter Island as we are tempted to make the divertion. The wind direction and strength may well counter the extra journey distance and if we can stop and look at the statues that would be a big bonus. It seems that Navionics doesnt even have a chart extending to Easter Island but Esme sent me some google earth sceen shots and the chart software does integrate the satellite image so that the course overlays onto the image. The resolution isnt fantastic but sufficent to get close enough for eyeball approach. My Pacific cruising guide gives basic instructions about anchoring and we had decided that the extra miles was too risky as the guide states that anchoring may not be feasibe if swell is too high, but an American yacht in Santa Cruz was confident of visiting and studying the wind strength and directions I am tempted to go for it. We had a very pleasant afternoon exploring the bay with the dinghy, snorkling with turtles, spotted eagle rays and a good variety of fish. There is a nice walk that has been created around a rocky island (Tostereros) and after picking your way through the Iguanas you come to low cliff edge overlooking a narrow, shallow gully in which 4 white tipped 6ft long reef sharks appear to be dozing motionless on the floor. The shark viewing walk is mentioned in the guide book and in the sales blurb for the tours so they must use the gully as their regular bedroom. The sharks aren't supposed to be dangerous and while it is not advisable to swim in the gully one can happily snorkle in open water when the sharks are patrolling. The day was crowned with a beautiful sunset and a magnificent starry night sky. Tomorrow we hope to pick up our Zarpe for departure into the wide blue yonder. Perhaps an early departure tuesday morning. It would be nice to have a quick look at the west coast and Fernadina before finally saying goodbye to land for the next few weeks. |