Day 9

… a rainy morning, and as feared, almost no wind.  The race committee decided to push the start out to 8 am rather than 6 am.  Of course this was not mentioned the night before --- a few extra shut-eye hours would have been nice, thank you!

Still, we head out to the starting line and wait … and wait … and wait … and yes, continue to wait

Around 8 we take off to Pto Villamil in 6 knot wind :’-( … great wind for relaxing … but we do not want to be relaxing now … Should have started at 6 am when the wind was blowing at a howling 6.5 knots!

Into the regatta the wind continues to drop and causing us problems.  We also make a tactical error.  We dicide to raise the Asymetric in order to try and gain on speed.  But the angle of the wind is not verry favorable and the fact that we need to head up wind in order to clear one of the leg's way-points means we are forcing the Tabasco to a stall.  So, down comes the Asymetric and up comes the Genoa ... the other way around actually, and we head upwind hoping for more favorable winds ... Nada papi chulo ... no viento. #@$*! ... and we fall several places back on the standings of the general regatta.  Means that on the last leg, Pto Villamil – Pto Baquerizo, we have to work hard to ensure a good finish – let’s hope for better winds!  For now, we are drifting at a super-fast 4 knots towards Pto Villamil ….

Arriving into Pto Villamil … with no wind … makes a mess for all, including us.  We placed by the end of the third stage 22^nd in the general L

Here is the bright side … we get to spend the afternoon and all of tomorrow in Pto Villamil, a “last frontier town” in Galapagos that retains the “colonist” atmosphere.  We also make contact with an old friend of Olaf and I from school, Matias Espinosa, who has become Galapagos’ Premier Tour Guide.  Matias also helps us with getting our hotel reservation... Hotel El Volcano, a five star hotel for Pto Villamil standards.  Don't get me wrong, this was a nice hotel.  Clean, a working shower - not that we needed one :-).  A comfortable bed. 

Before heading into town we are again boat hopping and sharing drinks with our many friends on anchor.  We board the Bravissimo, where we also meet with the team from the Tivoli.  In what looks like an assembly line of Cubas Libres our hands are stocked and the glasses are raised to toast everyone's preformance at the regatta.  Music also plays in the background while a few crew from other ships jump into the aquamarine waters of Pto Villamil.

During our transfer ride to the dock we are escorted by a few curious sea lions; tourists look at us as if they had never seen a group of 300 sailors disembark before … guess they have not! ... makes me wonder who has it better ... us in our yachts hopping from island to island under the power of wind or them hopping from island to island under the power of diesel with a whole bunch of people they met only two days ago at the "Tourists here" spot in the airport in Blatra and no Cubas Libres .... hands down we win ... that is why we do this!

We meet Matias at the hotel … incredible how after not seeing someone for over 25 years it takes but a second to recognize him.  What a joy it is to see him.  We also meet with Rafael Correa’s older sister Pierina Correa.  Rafael Correa, of course, is Ecuador’s Constitutional President; Pierina is actively involved in the promotion of sports, crews for one of the boats, Fanny, and knows Matias from earlier activities while in Galapagos a few months back - Matias was Pierina's guide. -- oh, if I did not mention this before... only certified guieds can take people (i.e. tourists bot national and foreign) through the Galapagos since it is a National Park.

We all agree to meet for dinner before heading to the awards ceremony.  Matias also offers to organize a tour of the area around Pto Villamil for us, particularly an area where a type of shark, the Tintorera, comes to rest.  Afterwards, the plan is to go spot where we can snorkel and observe some of the underwater sea life.

Yes... regardless of what the weather looks like this is shaping up to be a great day tomorrow!

…No awards for us tonight … booh - hooh - hoo :'''-(

but good work for all those who did!  I hang out with Matias a bit longer.  We stroll down main street - looks like it at least.  We head to a nice little pub called “Beto’s” for a few drinks.  Beto's is at the watefron in the "outskirts" of town.  I did hang out here three years ago as well ... great pub, great music, and not to rowdy.

We have an opportunity to catch up on 25 years in less then 60 minuts skipping a lot but highlighting the important ... health, family, "life after Colegio Aleman," and friends.  It is an opportunity to let him know that our good friend Robi Baue, aslo from the colegio, is faced with skin melanoma, has had surgery to remove some malignant spots, and we all hope that hes follow-up treatement will be sucessful…

Matias decided to move to Pto Villamil with his wife and two young children to give them the opportunity to experience life in the Galapagos; In a few years they will likely move to Pto Ayora and then settle in Cuenca, one of the larger cities in Ecuador.  Matias has also started working more and more in music that explains the importance of the Galapagos Islands, and Beto, Beto’s owner, puts his CD for background music.  Vey nice music.

[I will try and upload some of his music to this blog once I have the opportunity to connect to a stronger signal]

Day 8

Here is a little trivia for you ... why am I amble to update this blog?  -- yes!  We are in Pto Baquerizo today and the internet works at double hamster speed here!  but more on Pto Baquerizo in Day 10.

So, Day 8...

Today we had the luxury of sleeping in.  This is our R&R day now that all the boats have arrived.  Our outing for today is to an area called “Las Grietas” or the cliffs.  It is a lava cliff formation and at the bottom is a pool of sea water that is fed through underground tunnels. 

The attraction is that it is deep and taking dives from the edge is a thrill.  We all take turns first swimming to the wall, climbing 10 – 12 meters up, and then plunging back into the water.

On our way back we stopped at a friend’s house, Furio Valvonese, a long time resident in Puerto Ayora and honorary Italian Consul for the Galapagos.  We enjoyed a few beers, played with Tornado, his pet pit-bull, and had a few laughs.  We all then jumped on the water taxis back to town for lunch. 

After lunch we strolled up and down the malecon greeting people and joining them for a beer or some ice-cream.

It was an early night for all… rooster call is at 4 am because the start is scheduled for 6 am … Puerto Ayora – Puerto Villamil.  This will be our Achilles leg because the forecast calls for low wind – Tabasco does not do well on wind less than 8 knots coming in at an angle of less than 90 degrees…

Day 7

Today is a day of rest ... on the 7th day ... how biblical! except in our case it is realy a day to recover after a night out in town bar hopping, inviting and being invited to drinks ... how can you say no! Look out for a spike in the stock price for Bayer :-) good thing there is plenty of ceviche and beer left ... dog's hair, is it?

After we recover the Tabasco team will do a bit of sightseeing ... we plan to go to "tortuga bay" maybe the charles darwin station, i will also stop by the open fish market ... matter of fact, i better head there before all the fish is gone.


again, bummer the link to the satelite is not the best .... means the pix will not be uploaded until L8r ...


today is also the award ceremony ... still waitng for the last ship to sail in ... so official results will not yet be posted.  though I am sure ya'll know how the standings are ...

I arrived a little late to the fish market this morning L but there were still plenty of lobsters. 

The pelicans and resident sea lion waited around in the event some additional fish scraps became available (in addition to selling you the fish the fishermen also process the fish)

Main Street (known as the malecon here) is a busy street with shops, restaurants, and private residences.  It is also the street where all the tourists that come to the tours go and walk around on buying souvenirs. 

Along the water edge running sideways one sees colorful crabs.

We met for lunch at a great restaurant overlooking the harbor.  We lucked out by getting the top platform so our view was spectacular. 

After ceviche and a mug of cold beer we had our main course which was fish (Wahoo – a sort of mini-version of the swordfish) with steamed vegetables and rice. 

Desert was cappuccino or espresso and a glass of sambuca.  Nacho, Gus and Junior had desert – seems they are not as concerned about their waistline as some of us are J

The afternoon we hung around a bit buy the square.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at Tortuga Bay, a beautiful beach with super fine white sand and clear turquoise water.  Along the 30 minute walk on is greeted by birds or lizards of different colors and shapes.  Finches – them iddy biddy birds Charles Darwin studied and based his Theory of Evolution on – I think – also abound … beaks of all shapes.  I think he was on to something and wonder only what he would have come up with if he had a chance to come here today!

One of the best features of the beach is that the iguanas will swim over to this beach and walk up to the dunes to nest.  It is therefore not unusual to be strolling down the beach when along comes and iguana, stopped only by one’s curiosity in admiring it and photographing it….

Around the bend Turtuga bay continues to what is a pool of wave-less water

We caught a ride back to town in the back of a pick-up truck …

The evening was the award ceremonies.  Even though we arrived first in our group, after the adjustments for handicap our official place is 3^rd for the race and 2^nd overall. 

Celebration followed … from the reception to the bars in town … Bayer stock continues to rise … at least for the next few days.

missing the family :-( but surrounded by great friends.


ok... off i go.... greetings from galapagos

Day 6

My last night shift starts at 1 am on the 4^th day.  Winds continue fair and we are making good progress. The first seagull shows up for a visit at 3 am … with a companion.  Makes me think of John Sebastian Livingston, and how these two are probably out scouting to determine if we are a fishing vessel or not.  They leave after 30 minutes … no food for them here J

Sunrise greets us …

and we spot a few boats north and south from us.  At about 7:30 am we believe we identify one of the ships as Fanfarron, a 1993 Volker 45…

she does not worry us as she is in another category and her handicap means if we see her she cannot finish before us … slowly we are checking off names that do not present a threat anymore.

Though we spotted land early one by 9 am we clearly see San Cirstobal. 

I hope you have been able to check the websites and tell how we are doing against all other boats and how our standings are.  We will not know for sure until we reach the finish line. 

For our final approach we hoist the spinnaker.

Spirits are high, but anxiety also sets in … enough on the boat; we want some land, and we want to see how many boats arrived before us and who is still to come.  And then the waiting starts.

After 74 hours we arrive!

Although we arrive first in our division this is not a guarantee that we are first in the race because of the handicaps …. I will not know until later how it ends. 
For now we will spend time in town meeting up with all the teams and celebrate four great days and three spectacular nights past…

Tivoli arrives 1 1/2 hours later and they join us for Cubas Libres .... and we all compare notes.

Off to tonight's events ... stay tuned!

Day 5

The morning greets us again … the weather is warmer, and the winds remain favorable.  “Vina del Mar”  is far behind by a few miles … so we hope; she is too far to tell if it is her or some other boat.

It is a great day, great wind, great sailing, and great progress. 

We have no idea where all the boats are, but know they are spread miles and miles apart …. Tomorrow will be the day we all converge back into one narrow track as we try and finish this part of the race.

here a peak of our cruising speed ...

For now… time for some snack,

And some more gourmet cuisine ... this time a delish beef stew over rice.

The day says bye with a beautiful sunset…

And the moon high above will provide some light.

In addition the clouds have given way, and opened up to show us what hides behind them … a galaxy of stars so large in numbers that counting them becomes fruitless.  The Milky Way, as seen from the Equator, and while listening to the wind grace our sails and the water splash against the hull is truly an incredible show I hope will never end; sounds and sights no man will ever be able to record or reproduce and best imagined and remembered.

Day 4

sory for no photos ... internet connection ouot of galapagos is slow making transfer of digital photos almost impossible...

The morning greets us with overcast weather and a favorable wind shift.  We are therefore readying the “Asymetric” a modified Spinnaker that allows us to sail higher up-wind at a greater speed.  Some of us from the late shift are beat and go to sleep…

The day is spent raising and lowering the Asymetric because of the variable wind directions, and this impacts our progress somehow.  By now most of the fleet of yachts has spread out, some opting to ail downwind in search of favorable currents and stronger winds; few opt to stay in the 270 course because it requires more up-wind sailing … in other words, a more uncomfortable route

Yet there is some time for gourmet cooking … here a delicious chicken stew served over rice … yummm for lunch.

The day soon clears and brings some welcoming warmth. 

But we also spot “Vina del Mar” a boat with a less favorable handicap than ours sail up to us and then drift north past us.  These winds favor her tremendously … clearly!  Now we must not only make sure Tivoli finishes behind us but also “Vina del Mar” needs to finish within sight of us.

The asymmetric is up again and we are gaining good ground

For dinner: Penne Carbonara with fresh Parmesan cheese…

The back to shifts and sleep, when possible, where-ever possible

The night brings some visitors as well … flying fish ... they reach good heights now and then and fly righ into the ship’s cockpit ….

This guy we were able to grab and throw back in the water … not sure if he was running away from a hungry shark or larger fish or just swimming around … either way, he is not good eats so off he goes back in the water.

We were also visited by a school of dolphins. Their sound as they exhale is a great sound out here in the middle of the ocean… it is reassuring and beats being surrounded by sharks (and I don’t mean lawyers) … although come to think of it being surrounded by lawyers can in no way be a good sign J.  What is also remarkable is how clean the water is.  As our boat cuts its way to Galapagos the disturbance of the water leaves a luminescence trail behind that is incredibly bright.  So is the trail left behind by the dolphins, shapes in random “S” forms and they play around our boat.

The night brings also favorable winds, and at 11-12 knots we are able to reach speeds close to 8.5 knots and sail past “Vina del Mar”

Day 3

disclaimer... sorry the internet connection in Galapagos is very, very slow, and I can not download any photos ... :-( but I will once I am back in quito on Sunday night...

The morning was spent loading all the supplies for the race Salinas – Galapagos (Puerto Ayora, Isla Santa Cruz).  The estimated distance is 570 nautical miles (nm).  Based on the wind and weather forecast be expect to take 74 hours to reach the finish line …

All boats are getting ready …

Our supplies include basic stables such as egg, bread, milk, water.  We also load some fruit and vegetables.  Lots of snack-foods, such as Tango cookies, Oreos, potato chips, banana chips, cookies Amor (my personal favorite).  Like all self-respecting sailors – and made popular by Captain Jack Sparrow – we also stock up in rum, coke, and lime to make our now world-renowned Vitamin (aka rum and coke, or Cuba Libre) – fear not, these are not consumed in route but upon arrival as we host crews from other boats in what is not a traditional “boat hopping” where crews from one boat swim or take a dingy to another boat to celebrate the arrival.

We also make sure we load the heaviest weight on one side of the boat as we know we will need the weight during the trip over the ocean.

We all wait while the commission sets the starting line.  For some of us who have done this race before we know what long days and nights are ahead…

We also get a chance to gauge our competitors, like Juan Santos and his team in the Tivoli, a J35.  The Tivoli has the same handicap as the Tivoli, and she won the Barlovento/Sotavento race; we need to beat her on this part of the race to take on the first place …

1 pm sounds the first gun and the first group of yachts takes off; ten minutes later it is our group.  The starting line favors the buoy, so all the boats are grouping by the buoy …. Considering that this is a 60 – 90+ hour race one would imagine the start is not so critical … but we are all competitive; the Tivoli is right next to us on the start line.

Alcance, the Navy’s yacht, has a lower handicap than we do … having her behind us is a good sign – means she will not beat us!

After rounding a marker we turn and head towards Galapagos …. We set course to 275 degrees with winds blowing 10 – 12 knots and the Tabasco cruising at a healthy 7 knots.

As the night starts to set so is the cold, and we all gear up for what will be a long cold first night. 

Listing at 25 – 30% ensures that conditions will to be like when sailing and cruising islands in the Caribe L before it is too dark we spot a few small whales make their way to who knows where.  But the fin is un-mistakable, and the sounds as they exhale magical

We sleep when we can … and wherever we can,

ready to jump into action when required.  We also have shifts to make sure we all get some sleep.