Pacific crossing decisions

[txg]

Thanks for your replies. We're quite sure about skipping the Galapagos, it's just the decision about how to sail to the Marquesas that we have to sort out.

Here is a detailed and quite recent blog post about Galapagos:
https://svtheredthread.com/2016/07/0...lities-primer/

Reading this makes me feel absolutely sure that the Galapagos are not the right place for us. We like to do stuff on our own and we like to sail and anchor where we want to, and we like to use our own dinghy. We never take guided tours because we like do to stuff in our own speed. This is not meant as a rant about how these islands do their stuff, that's their own thing and probably there are good reasons for it. Anyways, we will simply not go there and find places that fit our lifestyle better.

Btw, of all the young couples we've met underway and are following now that already crossed the pacific (i'm talking about normal people and not youtube "stars"), not a single boat stopped on the Galapagos. They all sailed directly to the Marquesas from Panama.

So apart from the discussion about Galapagos, what i got until now is:

-Puerto vallarta is much cheaper than Cabo San Lucas, so we will provision there if we decide to go to Mexico

-Main problem is light winds, no matter if sailing from Panama to Marquesas or from Mexico to Marquesas. We don't carry that much fuel (120l tank), but i don't know how much of a problem this is for us, because our boat does quite well in light winds as long as there is not too much swell. We can set 123m² downwind and averaged 5,5kts when crossing the atlantic in light winds that were around 10kts nearly all of the time. Anyways, if there is no wind at all large sails don't help

-The leg to Mexico is mostly upwind or motoring and that's something we would like to avoid. I would like to hear more opinions and experiences about that, anyone else did that leg?

Right now i'm tending to skip this whole idea and simply do the long leg from Panama to Marquesas as most other people do. Maybe we will think about taking one or two persons as crew on board for this long leg to make life easier. Or maybe we won't, as we don't have a water maker on board and are only carrying 200l of water in tanks and 200l more in jerrycans. Maybe we should invest the savings of skipping the Galapagos in a small hand-powered watermaker...

[Paul L]

If you are gonna take on crew, be real sure you guys are compatible. It is a long, easy passage. We did it with just two and arrived rested. Gear failure is the biggest concern on this downwind passage. Standing rigging, rudder and chafe issues seem to lead the list. We pretty much destroyed the innards of our whisker pole.

[boatman61]

In spite of the howls of outrage that will ensue I reckon youve made a good decision.. the Galapagos are not worth the hassle..
I sailed past them myself.. around 3nm offshore and have not regretted it in the 5yrs since..
Figure out a good rain catching system using main and any other means like a scoop you can sling along one side hanging from handholds on cabin and guardwire..
You'll do a lot of motoring the first 500nm but then light breezes start rippling the surface and sailing is possible if not a heavy boat.. so work out your consumption and carry enough for at least 1000nm.
I stopped at Nuku Hiva where the water was green and unpotable.. there was an alledged fw spot a couple off inlets up the coast where it was rumoured good water was available but I just bought bottled for drinking and relied on rain catching for everything else.
Regarding fuel there.. you will need jerry cans to fuel up as the swell will smash you about on the concrete dock.. so dinghy in to fill then decant on board.
PS.. If any boobies visit kick em of quick.. they are flying **** factories and the acidic excretion stains fast.. and you will literally have to kick them off they have no fear.

[seandepagnier]

What is with all the diesel junkies? You forgot how to sail? You don't need fuel, ever.

I made the passage from cabo to the cook islands (more than 4000 miles) and was only becalmed for a tiny fraction of the total passage time (3 days out of 40). Using a motor would be pointless.

As for kicking the seabirds off.. why? They are just tired and need to rest. I make friends with them, and it's cool to pet them. I let them inside the boat as well. I don't worry if they crap on the boat a little, it's worth the experience.

[arsenelupiga]

l gather from above best way to see galapagos is fly there, join tourist boat for day or 2 , fly out. Pretty expensive and tiring exercise best left for chinese tourists.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

As for kicking the seabirds off.. why? They are just tired and need to rest. I make friends with them, and it's cool to pet them. I let them inside the boat as well. I don't worry if they crap on the boat a little, it's worth the experience.

There is a point here.
To have a fellow creature visit offshore can bring a smile from within.
Does anyone else feel a bit of connection at that point?
(ok call me a hippie)

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

What is with all the diesel junkies? You forgot how to sail? You don't need fuel, ever.

I made the passage from cabo to the cook islands (more than 4000 miles) and was only becalmed for a tiny fraction of the total passage time (3 days out of 40). Using a motor would be pointless.

As for kicking the seabirds off.. why? They are just tired and need to rest. I make friends with them, and it's cool to pet them. I let them inside the boat as well. I don't worry if they crap on the boat a little, it's worth the experience.

I suppose it depends on what state your boat is in.. this was a delivery of a steel 54ft teak decked boat the owner had paid 275K for and expected delivered in as good a state as when I had taken command.. not a $1000 piece of plastic and elastic bands.. you may be into booby crap but it gets old real quick as far as I am concerned.

[dwedeking2]

Originally Posted by cyan

There is a point here.
To have a fellow creature visit offshore can bring a smile from within.
Does anyone else feel a bit of connection at that point?
(ok call me a hippie)

Yes totally. But then as Boatman said "bird poop". Not as much connection.

[txg]

As we are only some weeks away from flying back to Grenada and continue our sail west my passage planning fever has come up again

Another idea i just got was to:
- sail south from Panama with visiting Colombia, Ecuador and the northern tip of Peru. Yes, there will be some motoring and upwind sailing but it will mostly be shorter coastal hops. Also i'm guessing doing a big provisioning in Peru should be quite cheap.

-sail from northern Peru to Easter Islands. Only 2000nm instead of the nearly 4000 for a crossing from Panama to Marquesas, and and extremely interesting place to visit. This will also be a very nice passage as it is deeper in the southern tradewinds belt, so no problem with running out of fuel like on the Panama-Marquesas passage. Looks like Rapa Nui has no harbour that fits our 2m draft, but i found a guide from 2008 that says there are enough anchorages around the island to find shelter in most kinds of weather.

-sail from Easter Islands to the Marquesas in another 2000nm "hop".

Does this make any sense or am i missing something?

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by cyan

There is a point here.
To have a fellow creature visit offshore can bring a smile from within.
Does anyone else feel a bit of connection at that point?
(ok call me a hippie)

I once thought that when a small bird landed on my boat 100nm off shore. I even put out some fresh water and a few crumbs.

As the weather was nice and calm I had my forward hatch open, and was rewarded with the bird shitting on my bed and leaving a mess of feathers everywhere. Then it disappeared. I was concerned that it had died somewhere in the boat. That would not have been fun.

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

I once thought that when a small bird landed on my boat 100nm off shore. I even put out some fresh water and a few crumbs.

As the weather was nice and calm I had my forward hatch open, and was rewarded with the bird shitting on my bed and leaving a mess of feathers everywhere. Then it disappeared. I was concerned that it had died somewhere in the boat. That would not have been fun.

Wasn't a snowgoose looking for a mate was it??

[El Pinguino]

Originally Posted by snort

I was curious enough to look at google earth to see what alternatives there are to a stop in the Galápagos. Not a whole lot, but I found this article interesting and maybe it will be of some help:
https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruisin...peruvian-coast

On second thought, the Ecuadorian coast seems to make more sense, as there isn't a whole lot going on in the far north of Peru on the coast:
ECUADOR - Cruising Guide | YachtPals.com

One word for Peru...AVOID!

I looked at going there in 2013/14 as a jumping off point when coming up from the south prior to going west.

Costs for Callao were off the scale... all big ship stuff... abandoned that plan....


No point coming further south than Ecuador weatherwise...

[El Pinguino]

Northern Peru? .. some interesting stuff here... http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sequitur/132313 also stuff re Galapagos... fairly fresh ie 8 year old

Rapa Nui? Latam has a daily 787 service that may be of interest... meanwhile..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBe8Is3H69Y

[double u]

Originally Posted by boatman61

In spite of the howls of outrage that will ensue I reckon youve made a good decision.. the Galapagos are not worth the hassle..
I sailed past them myself.. around 3nm offshore and have not regretted it in the 5yrs since..
Figure out a good rain catching system using main and any other means like a scoop you can sling along one side hanging from handholds on cabin and guardwire..
You'll do a lot of motoring the first 500nm but then light breezes start rippling the surface and sailing is possible if not a heavy boat.. so work out your consumption and carry enough for at least 1000nm.
I stopped at Nuku Hiva where the water was green and unpotable.. there was an alledged fw spot a couple off inlets up the coast where it was rumoured good water was available but I just bought bottled for drinking and relied on rain catching for everything else.
Regarding fuel there.. you will need jerry cans to fuel up as the swell will smash you about on the concrete dock.. so dinghy in to fill then decant on board.
PS.. If any boobies visit kick em of quick.. they are flying **** factories and the acidic excretion stains fast.. and you will literally have to kick them off they have no fear.

no howls of outrage from me! last time around we stopped 'cause the tank of the kero-cooker was developing a leak & we sure didn't want to be without a stove. with regards to the unique wildlife stopping is much worse than sailing past: sailing past you know there are phantastic things to be seen, but the knowledge is sort of vague. stopping you won't see any more of the wildlife or the islands, but now the knowledge is much more concrete & the regret at not being able to see anything is much more intense & everything is tantalizingly out of reach.
(our-then 7year old little fella - saw them the way to really see them: 17 years later in the course of his biology studies he spent 2 x 3 months at the Darwin station doing research

[double u]

& btw I'll never understand the urge to "break up a long ocean passage": after 10 days or 2 weeks we were really "in the groove" & in harmony with boat, ocean & the weather. why interrupt this? also here we are talking relatively undemanding passages at least partially in the tradewinds where there are days where apart from eating, sleeping, fishing & watching the windvane reading was the most "demanding" pastime.