Explore Sailing Voyages in Ecuador 🇪🇨

This passage has been the most mentally challenging so far. Its length and realisation of how vast the Pacific Ocean is all played a part (at half way, we were still closer to the UK than Australia!?). But we’ve done it! We have sailed 3000miles and are now in the tropical paradise of the Marquesas Islands in the French Polynesia! Along the way we had relatively stable conditions with the wind predominantly from the south east / east. This ensured the passage was downwind/ reaching, allowing good speed and comfortable living conditions. We did occasionally, have squalls which were often short lived but very wet! We even had one night where the wind did a rotation of 180degrees and disappeared. We had to use our engine to make way until the wind established again. On another occasion we experienced a prolonged ‘squall’ (front) with 35knts for over 6 hours! The sea state can play a huge part in the speed of the boat and also the comfort. For the most part the waves were on our port quarter and although they were relatively large, the periods between them made it a comfortable ride. Penny loved surfing down the waves reaching speeds as fast as 12knots! As we sailed the 3000miles we were regularly trimming and changing our sails to make the most of the wind. The sail that we used the most was our cruising chute, this is an asymmetrical spinnaker and is used when you are on a broad/beam reach. Having had to repair this sail already in Lisbon we never flew it over 15knots. However one afternoon, the sea state sloppy from the night before, the cruising chute fell into the rigging and ripped a large hole in its middle. Due to the size of the hole we intend to repair this when we are back on land, fingers crossed!🤞🏼 Our sail plan over night would only use the main and the jib. This ensured it was manageable to reef on your solo watch if there was a squall. It also allowed the hydrovane to do the majority of the steering. With only 400mile left to go, our main sail ripped. Thankfully it wasn’t the whole sail or too near the top. The rip occurred just under our second reef so we were able to use the reefing eye to secure the sail and we still had a large portion of it available to keep us moving. Although this was frustrating, it was something we had been expecting as our current sails as 22years old. We were fully aware of this eventuality and have budgeted accordingly. On a positive note, it’s time for a new main sail!! Thank you to the old main that has successfully sailed 10,000+ nautical miles!! A huge positive on the trip was the fishing. With the sea state calmer than the Atlantic, we caught a total of 6 fish! All of which we filleted, cooked and enjoyed. The primitive process of catching and preparing your own dinner is something we both find highly satisfying. We also appreciated the protein kick we gained from the fish, giving us a boost of energy to continue on the journey. For the first time on the RTW trip, we’ve had to use our first aid kit (twice!): - The first issue we had was that I suffered with some toothache. Thankfully this was quickly resolved with ibuprofen and strong mouth wash. We do have antibiotics onboard but luckily the pain was manageable and only lasted 3days. - Another injury we had was when Dave was packing away the water maker and small jelly fish washed onto the deck and wrapped around his ankle. In excruciating pain, he hobbled back to the cockpit where we soaked the infected area with hot water and then vinegar. After some extensive cramping, stabbing pains and burning sensation the pain subsided after about 3 hours. We used hydrocortisone cream, antihistamine, ibuprofen and paracetamol to reduce pain and inflammation. Thankfully the sting wasn’t too large nor did he have an allergic reaction. After 22days at sea we finally had our first glimpse of land via moonlight. Initially Dave, in a sleepy state, came up and suddenly panicked at a shadowy mass which was previously covered in cloud thinking it was a tanker. But alas, it was his first sight of land. Whilst waiting for the sun to rise, we slowly guided our way in closer to the anchorage. As it got brighter it revealed a beautifully green volcanic island, with the highlands masked by rain clouds and numerous beautiful rainbows. We can’t wait to go to shore and explore!

We both loved this passage. Enjoying our new routines, trusting Penny even more and of course the wildlife. Although the start of the trip didn’t go to plan after losing all our fresh water with the hose in the lazerette working loose. We returned to Panama where we were graced by the generosity of our fellow cruisers on Warrior, who helped us to refill our tanks using their hose, with what we can only describe as brita water! We felt confident that Penny was ready to go back to sea. We were pleased to back on the open ocean. With champagne sailing conditions we hoisted our spinnaker “big blue”, most days. During the night, the hydrovane did a great job of holding a course allowing us both to feel well rested. Despite the forecast and the ICZ, we only had to use the engine in the last 24hours. This was to ensure that we arrived at the Galapagos on our expected arrival date. Right from the start, the trip was full of wildlife. We were sent off with a parade of frigate birds, dolphins and even a whale. We had boobie birds who would take refuge on the bow of Penny. They would arrive at sundown and have fledged by morning. We were amazing at the fearless attitude and balance as they hunkered down for the night. One evening as the sun was setting, a majestic pod of pilot whales swam across our bow gracing us with their presence. This was a huge highlight of the trip! Another highlight of the trip was when we caught our first yellow fin tuna! It was delicious! Due to its size we had four huge fillets which fed us for almost half of the trip! We enjoyed it with roasted veg, stir fry, burrito and a Thai curry. Towards the end of the passage, we crossed the equator. We went from the north hemisphere to the southern. It felt like a real achievement to have got Penny to this point. To celebrate we had a small bottle of bubbly which we toasted to Neptune. We also did a short speech, pronouncing us both as officially “Shellbacks”. A challenge of the passage was all the preparation we had to do to ensure our entrance to the Galapagos. As a nature reserve it has very strict regulations when entering via a sailing boat. We had to provide evidence that our hull had been certified clean 72hours before departure, Penny was required to be fumigated, stickers were needed on our waste bins, no eggs, oranges, meat or excessive dairy could remain in the fridge on arrival . The list for this inspection goes on… The part of the inspection that concerned us the must was the hull inspection on arrival. We were informed that a diver will swim down and check the hull of the boat for weed, barnacles and any other marine life. If they decide that the hull is not clean, you will be sent 100mile offshore to clean it and recharged the national park entrance fee. To prevent the risk of this happening, we decided to dive on the boat prior to arrival. We had a very calm day, just before crossing the equator and used this opportunity to dive on the hull. We were 200miles from land and had 3000metres of water below us. With the boat speed at less than a knot, Dave very bravely adorned his dive gear and, attached multiple safety lines jumped in and began cleaning. He said it was the scariest diving experience with the fear of the unknown, not knowing what could come up from the depths below sent shivers down his spine. After a very tense hour, we safely got Dave back onboard and resumed our onwards journey to the Galapagos. Upon arrival in Galapagos we had 8 port officials come onboard to undergo our entrance inspection into the Galapagos. They consisted of; our agent, a doctor (in full scrubs) - to inspect our first aid kit, 2x bio security - to ensure we had no contraband, navy - to inspect the cleanliness of our bilge and engine bay, port officer - to check the checkers, a diver - to inspect the hull and immigration officer. Thankfully the inspection went smoothly and we were cleared into the Galapagos water. Now it’s time to explore these exciting islands.

Departed San José Del Cabo Tuesday 23/1/24 Arrived Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands 4/2/24