Tuesday 14th Feb:  00 16.7S 88.55W – Getting Close to Galapagos.  

Today’s blog by Linda

When contemplating my first ever long passage in a small boat, two things concerned me.  My previous sailing experience has involved mainly island hopping, and playing dodgems with the myriad of yachts, speed boats, ferries, hovercraft, container ships etc. in the chaos that is the Solent on a Summer weekend!

So how would it feel to be hundreds of miles from land with ‘water water everywhere’?  Twenty seven boats set off at midday last Thursday, all with the same destination, yet within a couple of days there was not another boat to be seen apart from the odd rare tantalising glimpse of a triangular white sail or a brightly coloured spinnaker on the far horizon.  It feels like we really are all alone in this vast Ocean, cocooned in our own little self-contained world that is Serendipity.  I relish the fact that this is a world where man has made no impact (apart from the odd mattress (yes really!) and half a sawn off tree trunk (with resident seabird) floating by).  It is truly wonderful, especially when we are sailing as opposed to motoring, with just the sound of the water swishing by and the slight flapping of sails.  Not so much as a plane overhead has breached this tranquillity.  I do not miss the land at all!

My second concern was…..night watches! I thought it would be just awful to drag myself out of a cosy bunk at 2am to sit on deck for 3 hours…..but this too has been a revelation.  I must at this point say that I am an ‘added extra’ to Bob’s watch, David being not quite ready yet to leave his beautiful boat solely in my less than capable hands!  First of all life is easier when you only have to throw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt….none of this having to be woken 15 minutes before the start of your watch to get yourself into all the layers and gear needed in colder climes.  I have discovered that each watch has its’ own appeal.  The 8pm to 11pm starts in pitch darkness…somewhat disconcerting as we hurtle at 7 to 8 knots into black nothingness!  But then you notice how bright the stars are, how many you can see with no artificial light and pollution around.  Venus is so bright that she lays a faintly shimmering path across the water to the boat.  Then there is the amazing phosphorescence…..as the boat pushes through the water it looks as though someone is casting handfuls of glistening diamonds into the water alongside her.  OK….I know… I’m getting a bit over the top here….but really…..this is how it gets you!  About 10pm the moon rises, on the wane now but still very bright, and suddenly everything around us is revealed….including for the last two nights towering clouds with rain spouts below that we’ve tried our best to dodge.  At least we can see now if we are going to hit anything!!  The 11 til 2 and 2 til 5 watches continue along the same lines giving us time for contemplation and appreciation of the feeling of vastness and peace.  Last night Nature treated us to one of her spectacular light shows.  Happily it was all behind us and mostly within the clouds, so we were able to appreciate the power of nature without having to worry too much.  In the 5am to 8am watch you get to see the sunrise, always a source of wonder anywhere in the World. 

In all this the sea is constantly changing, both in physical state….sometimes mirror calm, sometimes choppy….and in colour…at dusk and dawn it can look like molten metal…silver or mercury….and varying  shades of blue throughout the day.  And then there are the smells….most of the time a fresh salty slightly fishy smell as one would expect….but occasionally warm scents seem to waft across to us from the distant land….spices, vanilla, caramel…who knows……maybe I’m just imagining it, but I do feel that my senses are much keener here.

This vast watery wonderland will soon be behind us as we make landfall in the Galapagos Islands in a day or so.  I’m looking forward to more of natures’ miracles there in the form of the marine, animal and bird life.  That is the one thing that has been missing for the last three days, we have seen few signs of life compared to the first couple of days when we saw rays jumping and somersaulting (Tom Daly would be proud!) out of the water, and had a large school of dolphins come and play with the boat.  Seeing these exuberant and graceful creatures enjoying themselves riding the bow waves and playing ‘dare’ in front of the boat was utterly magical and mesmerising…….no wonder they have a special place in our hearts.

So that’s me…waxing lyrical under a waning moon!  Thank you David for this fabulous trip……I’m enjoying every minute!

  Sunset with a passing seabird.  Heaven!