Vancouver - Galapagos - Easter Island - Valparaiso - La Paz - Vancouver

[barnakiel]

;-)))

They are not 'swings' - there is a steady progression of moods - from bliss to piss, then, invariably, back to bliss ;-)))

b.

[YourOldNemesis]

1. The Galapagos islands are massively overrated. We had a much better time in the Marquesas. When you arrive you have to use an agent to clear in to customs, it seems to be down to their discretion as to whether or not you can have a cruising permit (mostly not) which allows you to visit more than one island with your boat. The diving is murky at best, unless you pay for a tour to one of the off-islands, the only place you'll see the giant tortoises is in the tortoise zoo on Santa Cruz and the water and diesel are expensive. The way the locals treat the tourists, the way the tourists treat the locals and the way the locals treat their islands are very depressing.

2. I think I'm right in saying that Easter island doesn't have much space for safely mooring a boat (ie, space for 1) and that there is no all-weather anchorage. So it may be that you get there and can't go ashore - I'm sure there are ways around this, but it's a very long way to go to get provisions if you can't get ashore!

3. If you're bothering to go all the way to Easter Island, you'd be crazy not to visit Pitcairn too

4. Taking the engine out and then planning a voyage crossing the doldrums twice is just insane. In the Galapagos all the cruisers stock up with extra fuel to give them more of a chance of not getting stuck in the doldrums. Sure it can be done, but I have pictures from the last time we crossed the ITCZ that I took off the side of the boat where you can see me and the whole of the boat reflected in the water like a mirror. I can remember night after night of a sea so windless and flat that you couldn't see where the sea ended and the sky began. All the stars were reflected in the sea at midnight with no moon. Also, what will removing the engine do to the balance of your boat? If you end up going to French Polynesia (through decision or necessity) you will have a nightmare navigating through reef passes without an engine.

[OffSeason]

Hahaha... Barnakiel, good to know that it is a progression and not a swing.

YourOldNemesis: Thanks for your comments! At the risk of sounding like a starry-eyed newby purist, I want to sail for the sailing and, accept the weather rather than motoring every time it challenges me.

The small boat account that inspired me to this particular route (My Old Man and the Sea) and many others "old salts" and sailing couples appear to have managed happily without an engine.

I just read an account online of a similar journey through these waters and indeed, diesel and the heads and refrigeration and electronics were in fact continuous problems. That being said, the stars reflected on a flat sea sounds pretty nice!

The Galapagos is a place my Grandma always wanted to go to, so there is a spiritual component to going there. Easter Island is literally in "the middle of no-where" and so has some attraction, although as you pointed out, I have learned that there is not much in the way of anchorage, and so I will have to exercise some serious seamanship. I am concerned that apparently there must always be someone on the boat when at anchor.

I have a friend living in Valparaiso Chile and so wanted to "swing by" as I was in the neighbourhood (haha).

If I take the engine out, it will be replaced with water tanks and perhaps storage for an out-board motor and some sails and I will defintely be watching the waterline and design specs. I am working towards towards simple, safe and unstoppable.

As far as being trapped in the doldrums, that is why I was wondering about mood-swings! Thanks again!
Mike

[YourOldNemesis]

I want to sail for the sailing and, accept the weather rather than motoring every time it challenges me.

27 days without land was quite enough for me - I taught myself to astro-navigate, read my first novel in Spanish, read my first Dickens novel - 'Bleak House' and the Koran (for curiosity's sake). Might I suggest that you take an engine with you, and then you can decide not to use it if you want to.

The small boat account that inspired me to this particular route (My Old Man and the Sea) and many others "old salts" and sailing couples appear to have managed happily without an engine.

If we're thinking about the same sailing couple - they're also the ones who went the 'wrong' way around the world and 'commuted' between NZ and Australia, regularly deploying their parachute anchor as a matter of course. Might I suggest that while this is all very hardy and laudable, it's probably not adviseable for your first long cruise?

I just read an account online of a similar journey through these waters and indeed, diesel and the heads and refrigeration and electronics were in fact continuous problems. That being said, the stars reflected on a flat sea sounds pretty nice!

I'd agree about electronics and refrigeration, although I wouldn't suggest that in this day and age it's a good idea to shun GPS. Diesel engine maintenance is extremely simple and most of the problems that I saw other people encounter on our travels (and helped them fix, in many cases) were down to poor understanding of how it all works and extremely poor or non-existant maintenance - eg. 'Oooh that engine temperature looks a bit high', 'It's always like that, don't worry about it'... 'Is that smoke in the saloon?'.... shortly followed by an engine fire. The boat I sailed on that had the fewest issues with electronics and refrigeration was the one that had been rewired by the owner to use LED lights everywhere, the only sources of power generation were the solar, wind and tow generators and they built their fridge themselves from an icebox and a fridge element.

The Galapagos is a place my Grandma always wanted to go to, so there is a spiritual component to going there.

In no way is this intended to reflect on your Grandma, but if she had visited there by yacht, and then visited the Marqueses, Tuamotus and the rest of the south Pacific milk-run she'd also tell you not to bother

Easter Island is literally in "the middle of no-where" and so has some attraction, although as you pointed out, I have learned that there is not much in the way of anchorage, and so I will have to exercise some serious seamanship. I am concerned that apparently there must always be someone on the boat when at anchor.

If there's another boat there, maybe they might keep an eye on yours for the day while you go ashore, so long as you return the favour...

I have a friend living in Valparaiso Chile and so wanted to "swing by" as I was in the neighbourhood (haha).

If I take the engine out, it will be replaced with water tanks and perhaps storage for an out-board motor and some sails and I will defintely be watching the waterline and design specs. I am working towards towards simple, safe and unstoppable.

As far as being trapped in the doldrums, that is why I was wondering about mood-swings!

Again I think it's probably worth thinking about doing it the 'extreme' way when you've more of an idea of what you're letting yourself in for.