The sun is slipping softly behind the tree lined silhouette of Baltra and it’s seem an appropriate time to provide a short update of the last few days here in Galapagos. Our beautiful new propeller sped across the world in two days to arrive in Ecuador mainland last Saturday, it then took an entire week to make the few hours flight from Quito to Santa Cruz through a myriad of paper work, customs clearance and additional costs. In this week we had more time to enjoy Puerto Ayora, some beautiful snorkelling and a generally relaxing period whilst we waited patiently.
On Friday evening, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the prop on Saturday midday, we were aboard LAD watching our neighbours taking up anchor around 22h00. M/V Gaudelaupe River is a roughly 100ft / 85 tonne patrol vessel belonging to the Galapagos National Park that monitors the area for illegal fishing and other activities. We were all but waving them happily on their way, their anchor up and their motors started when they started drifting towards us. Firmly set with our bridal and anchor in place, we were sitting ducks as the large vessel crashed into our bow with their stern and ripped off our bowstricker with a heart thuddening crunch. They weren’t able to get the boat in gear and it wasn’t until one of the small boats onboard was launched that they were able to push her off our bow. Chaos is an understatement, with a diver in the water clearing our anchor chain off their rudder, our bridal snapped, bow mangled and this vessel being pushed away by a 6ft dingie in the dark of night.
In boat speak – “The vessel hit our bowsprit support, forced the bowsprit down which was tied to the bowstricker (the a-frame structure on the forward cross beam), pulling the bowstricker forward and ripping the fibreglass that held it in place off as well as crushing the nav lights. The vessel struck the cross beam in three places, though the damage is relatively minor. The only repair work is to resecure with fibreglass the bass of the bowsprit onto the forward cross beam to prevent it moving laterally.”
(For non-yachties, it’s a part of the boat that is crucial for keeping the big bar in the front down, supporting the sail in the front and ultimately the mast as well, and without which we cannot sail).
Chaos dissolved into the comical as our communications back and forth over VHF (with my limited Espanol) followed between ourselves, Gaudelaupe River, the Port Captain (Ecuadorian Navy), National Park Authorities and our agent, Peter Scheiss. All credit to everyone involved, they have been incredibly helpful and honest through the entire situation and the reason we have (hopefully) managed to come to such a speedy resolution!
Saturday morning passed quickly with Park officials and Port authorities back on forth on the boat and it was over a leisurely lunch that we celebrated the arrival of the prop! In the afternoon we relocated to a quiet (and very shallow anchorage) to fit the prop underwater, with a small motor boat accompanying us there incase our last hope of self propulsion (our starboard engine) gave in on us as well! Thankfully all went well, and Mark and Theo kitted up to begin the carefully planned and excellently executed fitment of the prop in poor visibility and cold waters! Piece by piece (of which there are 27!) and about two hours later, we were a fully propped boat again. Mark came out a lighter shade of blue, but all of us ecstatic.
No sailing to Hawaii just yet, we moved back to the bay of Puerto Ayora as the sun was setting. A very short mention of a retrospectively comical situation as we picked up another boats anchor chain as we tried to set out own, which had Mark down with scuba gear at night in rough waters and bugger all viz loosening us as we were being pulled onto the other yacht. Oh, and me shouting like a crazy lady for the water taxi coming to see what was going on to “vamos! por favor!”, trying to explain we had a diver down beneath his engine. Fun fun.
This morning we met up with our Park authority friends for breakfast, finalised the issues over what type of resin (epoxy vs. polyester) could be used (sourcing the right materials has been really difficult, especially over the weekend – but luckily everyone knows everyone’s uncle who owns a hardware store or 110V portable generator!) Thanks to John Shuttleworth, our designer, who has given invaluable input with regard to materials and repair methods via text messages and calls over the past two days. The other issue has been the frequent mists that roll in over Puerto Ayora and the dampness that won’t allow the glassing repair work to be done. We motored 25 miles north from Puerto Ayora to the dry, sunny and calm Itabaca Channel, between northern Santa Cruz and Baltra, this afternoon and are now enjoying a beautiful anchorage, good music and great company with plans for the repair work to be done first thing tomorrow morning and us to be on our merry way soon. We are hoping the repair will not take more than two days, but as we have experienced, things can change in the time it takes for a boat to rip off your bowstriker.
All is still well with us and spirits still surprisingly high, given our recent adventures and a bad dose of flu that has hit both Mark and I over the last week. We will keep the updates coming as we head out into the big Pacific. Hawaii 4300 nautical miles. Here we come!
On Friday evening, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the prop on Saturday midday, we were aboard LAD watching our neighbours taking up anchor around 22h00. M/V Gaudelaupe River is a roughly 100ft / 85 tonne patrol vessel belonging to the Galapagos National Park that monitors the area for illegal fishing and other activities. We were all but waving them happily on their way, their anchor up and their motors started when they started drifting towards us. Firmly set with our bridal and anchor in place, we were sitting ducks as the large vessel crashed into our bow with their stern and ripped off our bowstricker with a heart thuddening crunch. They weren’t able to get the boat in gear and it wasn’t until one of the small boats onboard was launched that they were able to push her off our bow. Chaos is an understatement, with a diver in the water clearing our anchor chain off their rudder, our bridal snapped, bow mangled and this vessel being pushed away by a 6ft dingie in the dark of night.
In boat speak – “The vessel hit our bowsprit support, forced the bowsprit down which was tied to the bowstricker (the a-frame structure on the forward cross beam), pulling the bowstricker forward and ripping the fibreglass that held it in place off as well as crushing the nav lights. The vessel struck the cross beam in three places, though the damage is relatively minor. The only repair work is to resecure with fibreglass the bass of the bowsprit onto the forward cross beam to prevent it moving laterally.”
(For non-yachties, it’s a part of the boat that is crucial for keeping the big bar in the front down, supporting the sail in the front and ultimately the mast as well, and without which we cannot sail).
Chaos dissolved into the comical as our communications back and forth over VHF (with my limited Espanol) followed between ourselves, Gaudelaupe River, the Port Captain (Ecuadorian Navy), National Park Authorities and our agent, Peter Scheiss. All credit to everyone involved, they have been incredibly helpful and honest through the entire situation and the reason we have (hopefully) managed to come to such a speedy resolution!
Saturday morning passed quickly with Park officials and Port authorities back on forth on the boat and it was over a leisurely lunch that we celebrated the arrival of the prop! In the afternoon we relocated to a quiet (and very shallow anchorage) to fit the prop underwater, with a small motor boat accompanying us there incase our last hope of self propulsion (our starboard engine) gave in on us as well! Thankfully all went well, and Mark and Theo kitted up to begin the carefully planned and excellently executed fitment of the prop in poor visibility and cold waters! Piece by piece (of which there are 27!) and about two hours later, we were a fully propped boat again. Mark came out a lighter shade of blue, but all of us ecstatic.
No sailing to Hawaii just yet, we moved back to the bay of Puerto Ayora as the sun was setting. A very short mention of a retrospectively comical situation as we picked up another boats anchor chain as we tried to set out own, which had Mark down with scuba gear at night in rough waters and bugger all viz loosening us as we were being pulled onto the other yacht. Oh, and me shouting like a crazy lady for the water taxi coming to see what was going on to “vamos! por favor!”, trying to explain we had a diver down beneath his engine. Fun fun.
This morning we met up with our Park authority friends for breakfast, finalised the issues over what type of resin (epoxy vs. polyester) could be used (sourcing the right materials has been really difficult, especially over the weekend – but luckily everyone knows everyone’s uncle who owns a hardware store or 110V portable generator!) Thanks to John Shuttleworth, our designer, who has given invaluable input with regard to materials and repair methods via text messages and calls over the past two days. The other issue has been the frequent mists that roll in over Puerto Ayora and the dampness that won’t allow the glassing repair work to be done. We motored 25 miles north from Puerto Ayora to the dry, sunny and calm Itabaca Channel, between northern Santa Cruz and Baltra, this afternoon and are now enjoying a beautiful anchorage, good music and great company with plans for the repair work to be done first thing tomorrow morning and us to be on our merry way soon. We are hoping the repair will not take more than two days, but as we have experienced, things can change in the time it takes for a boat to rip off your bowstriker.
All is still well with us and spirits still surprisingly high, given our recent adventures and a bad dose of flu that has hit both Mark and I over the last week. We will keep the updates coming as we head out into the big Pacific. Hawaii 4300 nautical miles. Here we come!
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