Cruising Blogs from Ecuador

Southern Princess - Approaching Ecuador 00:24S 80:54W: The last time I crossed the equator on a boat was in 1960 somewhere south of Ceylon as it was known in those days. I was 20 years old, dressed as Neptune, with false beard & trident and some kind of a loin cloth attended by a bevy of scantily clad beauties (think itzy bitzy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikinis) all crammed into a rather scruffy aft deck of the Castel Felice a ship which used to bring the ten pound Poms to Australia from the UK. We were travelling 'steerage' and there was also FIRST & SECOND - all too posh for us. We weren't allowed into those classes but those classes were allowed to slum so most of the itzy bitzy bikini birds were from FIRST.

While the ship's crew counted down to the equator using a sextant, they were probably about as close as a 1/2 mile while today the course computer counted it down in metres. I have a picture showing latitude as 00:00.000N and then moments later 00:00.003S. Southern Princess is now in her home waters.

The equator off the coast of Ecuador is not as I imagined it. It is bucketing down, Bruce our weatherman says thunder storms are sweeping down on us from the east and we have 25 knots right on the nose. Motoring again! (Delise - honest we do go sailing often!)

Crossing the equator 15th February 2008 after a rough night. Two hours on and two off with just two of us on board is hard work. The champagne tasted great! That's Storyteller's stern in the background.

Travelling just the two of us, while hard work, is rather gratifying. Irene not only does her 2 hour watch, she makes fantastic meals which are always interesting and varied. I do the odd breakfast but she is the food stalwart. Also her long distance vision is lots better than mine and as a look out she has few peers. Some of you will remember her nickname (Radar) during the South Pacific cruise in 2001 on 'Bushranger'. Radar hasn't lost her touch!

We should arrive in La Libertas tomorrow morning so will continue with the blog site later in the week. Got an interesting picture of a big breasted model for those of you with that 'bent'.

 

 

Cheers
JH

 

 

 

 

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Andante of Mersey - Equator

We crossed the equator at 0650 Friday 15.02.08. It was pouring with rain I (Bob) was on watch on my own all the others asleep. Not what I expected at all it is now 1046 and it is still raining, though now such a deluge as earlier. Ron is making tea though I am led to believe he had a tot of rum at 0900 to mark crossing the equator, Ann is making a cottage pie for our evening meal, Dave is on watch and Keith just come off watch. Last night another WARC boat Graptolite called us to say she had got stuck in a net. Somehow she was managing to sail but couldn't use the engine. All the nearby fishing boats when they saw what had happened turned off their lights!. I called him up at 0800 to find that they had been over the side and cut the net free and were now motoring again. I have had my email to Marjorie returned again even though I am using the correct address... can't understand it. Will phone when I arrive in Salinas. We should be arriving in the early hours of Saturday 16th Feb. Nothing more to report as yet signing off... Bob

 

 

 

 

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Maamalni - Leg 2 - Day 3 Woo hoo Wahoo

Nothing like a break from boredom at sea with a fish on... And what a fish! A 30 pound Mahi Mahi. And it was beauty with an incredible bright yellow, green and blue skin which quickly changes to silver soon after its landed. Steve could barely lift the fish up it was so heavy, but the tail is an excellent handle. These fish have a spine to match any animal its size, huge ball and knob arrangement, unlike any other fish I have seen...thus far. So with a combination of Danish boning knife, fillet knife, scissors, cleaver and hammer, we were able to prepare it for the table and the freezer. Dinner was fabulous... what with a touch of bonita from the previous day and mahi mahi too -who could ask far anything more?... all this was followed with chocolates saved just for Valentine's Day.

We are currently 200 miles from the equator (and our first crossing). The wind is out of the south, 20 knots and 3-4 foot seas. We are sailing again after 2 days of motoring and generally enjoying the rain.
3'07N, 80'06W

 

 

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Whitbread - D.I.Y. autohelms, pizzas and fancy dress!

 

This leg has so far meant many engine hours added to Whitbread's log. Flat seas and with no auto helm have left the helms person with a somewhat tedious job. The challenge to set up an autohelm had to be set. An early version consisted of trying to rest the wheel on Nills' nose after he fell asleep next to the helm. A small sudden wave woke him. Not happy with the resulting red head meant an alternative needed to be found. Lyall's clever idea was to rig up two lines either side of the wheel. Unfortunately this still required a person to operate, however we do now have steerage from the bow.

Lunchtime and with the lack of success in the autohelm department a moral boost was required. I opened my first Pizzeria. It may also be my last. The small ships oven meant only 2 pizzas could be cooked at a time. After making the bases, cooking a sauce, preping the wide variety of tinned toppings and with the oven taking 20 mins a time lunch soon turned to dinner.

Along with the darkness came the rain. In what other job do you get up at 3 in the morning, sit in the rain for 3 hours and then, after a cup of tea, go back to bed. Not content with the apparant madness of this Jeff spent the early hours constructing a trident. Along with some netting and fishing lures we now have a complete Neptune costume ready for crossing the equator.

Ben

 

 

 

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Storyteller - The Equator

It was a pretty dismal night. First, I was hit on the head by a flying fish as we sat in the cockpit eating our delicious tuna steaks on garlic mash, then we motored through torrential rain as we listened to other boats describe encounters with fishing nets. However, at 8.15 this morning we crossed the Equator and celebrated with champagne, French of course. From my very limited repertoire I did breakfast of fresh mangoes followed by baked bean jaffles with a fried egg on top.

The skies have now cleared and we are motoring south through sparkling blue seas. Given that we are on the Equator, the temperature is surprisingly pleasant. The current which had been against us all night is now helping and we should get to Las Salinas in Ecuador at about 8 am tomorrow morning.

A few minutes ago Tony lost another lure. The strike broke the 200lb line instantly.

John

 

 

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Lady Kay - The times they are a changing

 

Yesterday pm was idyllic, the temperature dropped and the sea was slight and the crew lounged in the cockpit of busied themselves with jobs around the boat. A very pleasant evening meal of mahi mahi was enjoyed in the cockpit whilst under sail. During the night the conditions changed with an circle of misty gloom enveloping the yacht as the night wore on, culminating in a tropical squall with intense rain and winds up to 25 kn from dead ahead. This necessitated activity on deck in the wind and rain for the skipper and crew. It is amazing how quickly one becomes cold despite being near to the equator. Anticipating a lessening of the wind Lady Kay took the direct route out of the squall as indicated by the trusty radar. The wind moderated a bit but it remained stubbornly from ahead. We are now tacking towards our destination of Las Salinas. This inevitably means slower progress and a much bumpier ride into the waves. There is no bad weather forecast but it will be a long last 200 miles. We think that the wind will decease over the next 24 hours, if so we will motor directly towards harbour. Unlike some other boats, who are very short of fuel, our skipper's strategy has left us with a good supply.

Our likely arrival is now partly governed by the fact that we have to wait outside the harbour until daylight to enter due to some obstructions. The best guess now is am on the 18th. Although we are always optimistic for a better slant in the weather. Darned doldrums.

 

 

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Jus'Do It 3 - shark!

 

Up 7ish,tuna and egg salad for breakfast(!),watched the birds diving on shoals of fish all around. Local boys we met yesterday call by with bread and ice (they did understand my Spanish!) so we won’t bother going across to the village now. Ian and I go over to Tramontana so we can go over the specs for the new boat with Phil. Around 10ish we all head for the river in Tramontana’s dinghy. Just at the mouth of the river, I’ve just mentioned how clear the water is for snorkelling when we see a BIG fin and tale cruising out. Phil reckons it’s at least 8-10feet long, and could well be a hammerhead . We cruise towards it cautiously but it dips below the surface and we see the large dark shape making it’s way out to sea. No snorkelling today! We motor upriver about a mile until we can go no further due to the thick undergrowth. It’s a spectacular journey; completely unspoiled and deserted mangrove and jungle. There’s lots of weird animal noises and things stomping about unseen; we see several different birds of prey, parrots and herons. We also see large rays and fish in the clear, shallow water. Superb! We head back to the boat for a few beers and to say our farewells to Phil and Fay until we meet up with them again in the Galapagos. We have lunch, a potter and a brief snooze as it’s too hot to move. . At 2.30pm we head south out of the bay and towards the bottom of the island to get on course for Equador. We put up the mainsail once we’ve rounded the headland but there’s very little wind and it’s right on the nose. This could be a long voyage!

 

 

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Graptolite - Will Arrive at Daybreak

 

01:46.99S 080:56.68W 02:00 16th Feb 25 miles from La Libertad/Salinas, Ecuador

We got some sailing in through the afternoon but the wind dropped and we are back under engine again using up the last few drops of diesel before the finish line. As we have been asked to arrive in daylight we are travelling very slowly about 10 miles off the coast.

We can see many fishing boat lights all around. The locals obviously engaged in the traditional seasonal netting of fresh yacht.

We also picked up a passenger today who just sits around on the deck waiting for food and drink to be brought. It's a weary-looking Storm Petrel. This could be either a very good or very bad omen. The luck seems to be with the bird so far.

M

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Cruising Blogs from Ecuador
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