San Cristobal, Galapagos Isla,

7 - 14 April 2015

Two repairs made which required a machine shop and welding, the kicker attachment on the mast had cracked. Probably due to corrosion, stainless steel on aluminium. Also the main sheet attachment to the boom, again corrosion. We we had a stainless steel collar bolted to the boom. An old plastic shampoo bottle was used as a gasket to keep it off the aluminium boom. Fingers crossed, that is sorted now.

We have explored the island, amazing snorkeling with turtles, iguanas and sea lions. The animals are so fearless and are happy for humans to come up close. Not always such a great idea....when the sea lions climb up the sugar scoop and sleep in the cockpit. One poor catamaran even had them on the saloon bench and when you find them there they wail at you showing fearsome teeth. When you consider that they defecate and urinate where ever they are, they suddenly are not so cute. The bird life is equally enthralling, with many varieties of finches, all three types of boobies, mocking birds, frigate birds etc. Sadly I am never quite quick enough not get good photos of them as they hop or swoop close. The giant tortoises I am quick enough to capture on camera. They are an amazing success story, their numbers having dropped to 24 on San Cristobal due to man killing and eating, together with rats, cats and birds taking the young. Luckily there are now more than three thousand which have been or are about to released back into the wild. There is a twelve acre breeding sanctuary on the island, where you can see the full life cycle, together with a guided tour. Each island has a slightly different species that has evolved in a different way to take advantage of tall or short vegetation and dry or wet conditions. Charles Darwin noted that too.

We have restocked the food lockers, bought moor fruit and veg for the hammock. Refuelled topped up the water. Now we need a Zarpe / clearance papers to present in Marquesas. Then once our last lot of laundry is done we are ready to go. Approx 3000 miles, hopefully less than 25 days.