Cattitude Blog 22nd May 2013
Cattitude
Gordon Tourlemain
Thu 23 May 2013 01:14
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Cattitude Position 00:57.8S
90:57.8W
We're almost there! The second half of the trip has been a pleasure. With the rain behind us and nothing but open ocean ahead, we've been experiencing good and at times great upwind sailing conditions. Despite the occasional lull in wind speed Cattitude has kept up a decent daily average, and with the experienced navigational planning of Captain Steve we'll be arriving in good time, leaving the "Doldrums" behind us. The past few days of sailing about 100 miles off the coast of Columbia have had its share of surprises and near misses. None of the research had warned us of the heavy fishing activity so far out at sea, so when we first spotted the small open skiff with 4 passengers racing at full speed towards us you could imagine what we were all thinking. It quickly became apparent however, that the intention of these 4 franticly waving idividuals was to warn us of the confusing obstacle course of long fishing lines that lay ahead of us. The flailing arms failed to communicate a clear path through the maze, which resulted in Cattitude snagging a line her prop. Chris took his first dip in the open Pacific, cleared the line, and we were back on course in no time. The next few watches were spent scouring the water for small bouys, dodging the long lines that they were attached to, and waving back to the many small skiffs bobbing so far from home. After handing over a small offering of fruit and soda to some smiling faces, we said goodbye to our last crew of fisherman in their small open boat (over 370 miles offshore!!!) The only other visitors we've had have been sea fowl of all types, the baby squid and flying fish who have met their untimely end on deck, a tastey tuna, and a small pod of pilot whales. We crossed the equator at 10:45AM on Tuesday, and the Galapagos ghosted into view near midnight that same day. We're all loking forward to stetching our legs and seeing what wildlife we can ashore this famous archipalago. Until next time! |