Category: 2015 March Blog

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/04/26 18:41
LATITUDE: 01-00.10S
LONGITUDE: 091-00.10W
COURSE: 226T
SPEED: 6.0
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 4
WIND_DIR: S
WAVE_HT: 0.0M
WAVE_PER: 0
SWELL_DIR: S
SWELL_HT: 2.0M
SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 25%
VISIBILITY: 20
BARO: 1010.9
AIR_TEMP: 30.6C
COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Marquesas Islands (Departure time 12:30 p.m. April 26th)

Motoring on starboard engine only. We\’re nursing the port engine which does work however.
We\’re hoping for wind later today. We\’ve got to get about 150 miles south of here to really get \”in some wind of any use\”.
KIT,
We\’re off on the longest sail we\’ll ever make.
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/04/17 23:09
LATITUDE: 00-57.85S
LONGITUDE: 090-57.79W
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 10
WIND_DIR: ESE
CLOUDS: 10%
VISIBILITY: 20
BARO: 1008.9
AIR_TEMP: 30.6C
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Isla Isabela – Engine Seal out again!

We arrived in Isla Santa Cruz 10 days ago having lost our port engine due to an engine seal going out. The oil pressure dropped to zero half way between San Cristobal and Santa Cruz (off Isla Santa Fe).

We\’ll blog more on this, but for now, know we had it fixed after actually having removed the engine from the boat while anchored! Put it back and now after three hours of load it is failing again. We can use the motor to anchor and maneuver, but we\’ll have to wait till Tahiti (4000+ miles) to get it fixed. There is debate about what the issue really is? The Crankshaft may be cutting the seal or perhaps too much crankcase pressure for reasons unknown? We did just have all the rings replaced and our compression is way up (where it\’s supposed to be – we think?).

We did do some touring of North Seymour Island Boobie Birds and Frigate Bird Sanctuary yesterday and saw some huge tortoises at a private reserve as well as went through a 500 meter long lava tube. We\’ll blog more on that later.

There was also a TSUNAMI scare last night from the big earthquake off Ecuador, fortunately, the wave was only 0.5 feet!

We were on the 45 mile trip here too Isabela when the seal started to leak again. We sailed much of the way and did use the engine to anchor, so far, so good.

KIT,
We will be here at least a few days and then off for the really long jump (3100 miles) to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands.
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/04/17 23:09
LATITUDE: 00-57.85S
LONGITUDE: 090-57.79W
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 10
WIND_DIR: ESE
CLOUDS: 10%
VISIBILITY: 20
BARO: 1008.9
AIR_TEMP: 30.6C
COMMENT: Beach House – ANCHORED – Isla Isabela – Engine Seal out again!

We arrived in Isla Santa Cruz 10 days ago having lost our port engine due to an engine seal going out. The oil pressure dropped to zero half way between San Cristobal and Santa Cruz (off Isla Santa Fe).

We\’ll blog more on this, but for now, know we had it fixed after actually having removed the engine from the boat while anchored! Put it back and now after three hours of load it is failing again. We can use the motor to anchor and maneuver, but we\’ll have to wait till Tahiti (4000+ miles) to get it fixed. There is debate about what the issue really is? The Crankshaft may be cutting the seal or perhaps too much crankcase pressure for reasons unknown? We did just have all the rings replaced and our compression is way up (where it\’s supposed to be – we think?).

We did do some touring of North Seymour Island Boobie Birds and Frigate Bird Sanctuary yesterday and saw some huge tortoises at a private reserve as well as went through a 500 meter long lava tube. We\’ll blog more on that later.

There was also a TSUNAMI scare last night from the big earthquake off Ecuador, fortunately, the wave was only 0.5 feet!

We were on the 45 mile trip here too Isabela when the seal started to leak again. We sailed much of the way and did use the engine to anchor, so far, so good.

KIT,
We will be here at least a few days and then off for the really long jump (3100 miles) to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands.
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/04/07 22:10
LATITUDE: 00-44.89S
LONGITUDE: 090-18.60W
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 10
WIND_DIR: ESE
CLOUDS: 10%
VISIBILITY: 20
BARO: 1006.9
AIR_TEMP: 33.3C
COMMENT: Beach House ANCHORED – Isla Santa Cruz; We\’ll be here awhile…..

We\’ll the day started off bad and got worse. We first couldn\’t get our anchor off the bottom as it was wrapped around and then pinned between two
boulders in two different locations. Without SCUBA, I\’d still be there. Well, maybe that would have been okay? Half way here, the port engine oil leak went catastrophic on us and the oil pressure went to ZERO. I turned it off within 30 seconds, but who knows what damage has been done?
We limped into Santa Cruz on one engine (good thing we had two or we\’d still be drifting out there!), anchored and were immediately met by Eduardo and his daughter (who spoke perfect English). Eduardo will take the engine apart tomorrow and see what parts we need. They will take 8 days from Miami, the duty is 80%! He\’ll also have to have the CAM shaft sent to Ecuador (4 day turn around) while we\’re waiting for parts to have it inspected and checked for damage by a shop that does it.

As such, thank goodness this anchorage so far is WAY better than it was the last time I was here. Looks like we\’ll get to see all of Santa Cruz and do some day trips as well.
Okay, we\’ll cry in our beers for the moment, but best get this fixed NOW. Depending on what he finds tomorrow, he may have to check the starboard side as well? It had the same issue, but very minor and it may have even stopped?

We\’ll post a normal Ship\’s Blog regarding our time in San Cristobal, arrival and completion of our circumnavigation as soon as we can get internet.

KIT all!
Scott and Nikki
Santa Cruz Island – Academy Bay – The Galapagos Islands

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/04/07 22:10
LATITUDE: 00-44.89S
LONGITUDE: 090-18.60W
MARINE: NO
WIND_SPEED: 10
WIND_DIR: ESE
CLOUDS: 10%
VISIBILITY: 20
BARO: 1006.9
AIR_TEMP: 33.3C
COMMENT: Beach House ANCHORED – Isla Santa Cruz; We\’ll be here awhile…..

We\’ll the day started off bad and got worse. We first couldn\’t get our anchor off the bottom as it was wrapped around and then pinned between two
boulders in two different locations. Without SCUBA, I\’d still be there. Well, maybe that would have been okay? Half way here, the port engine oil leak went catastrophic on us and the oil pressure went to ZERO. I turned it off within 30 seconds, but who knows what damage has been done?
We limped into Santa Cruz on one engine (good thing we had two or we\’d still be drifting out there!), anchored and were immediately met by Eduardo and his daughter (who spoke perfect English). Eduardo will take the engine apart tomorrow and see what parts we need. They will take 8 days from Miami, the duty is 80%! He\’ll also have to have the CAM shaft sent to Ecuador (4 day turn around) while we\’re waiting for parts to have it inspected and checked for damage by a shop that does it.

As such, thank goodness this anchorage so far is WAY better than it was the last time I was here. Looks like we\’ll get to see all of Santa Cruz and do some day trips as well.
Okay, we\’ll cry in our beers for the moment, but best get this fixed NOW. Depending on what he finds tomorrow, he may have to check the starboard side as well? It had the same issue, but very minor and it may have even stopped?

We\’ll post a normal Ship\’s Blog regarding our time in San Cristobal, arrival and completion of our circumnavigation as soon as we can get internet.

KIT all!
Scott and Nikki
Santa Cruz Island – Academy Bay – The Galapagos Islands

YOTREPS: YES
TIME: 2016/04/01 13:07
LATITUDE: 01-14.85N
LONGITUDE: 086-45.25W
COURSE: 233T
SPEED: 8.3
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 11
WIND_DIR: SE
WAVE_HT: 0.0M
WAVE_PER: 0
SWELL_DIR: S
SWELL_HT: 2.5M
SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 50%
VISIBILITY: 12
BARO: 1012.1
AIR_TEMP: 29.
SEA_TEMP: 20.6C
COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Galapagos Islands; Day 4- 176 nm

We sailed most of the last 24 hours but the wind went too south, so we\’re motoring for now. It\’s predicted to go back to the SE where we can sail again
but it may get too light. In any event, we should be at Wreck Bay, San Cristobal Island the Galapagos by tomorrow afternoon and we\’ll do a full report there. The big assist on this trip has been the strong current – up to 2.5 knots pushing in the right direction for the most part.

Last night when we were rolling up our mainsail, the \”down haul\” line cover again came undone from my repair and it\’s jammed so I can\’t fully lower the main till I replace the line which I\’ll do with Nikki\’s help when she\’s up and about. No big worries however. A bit more of a concern is our oil leaks.
I\’m pretty sure it\’s just the oil pan screws which need to be tightened, but we\’ll see when we get into port. We\’ve gone through a gallon of oil on the port engine and less on the starboard engine. There is no gasket and a \”form a gasket\” type material was used. It may be leaking?

Oh the joys of dealing with engine oil!….:-) We keep an eye on it and every several hours turn the engine off, let them cool and check and fill oil as necessary.

All is well, it\’s just normal stuff for a long distance boat.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

YOTREPS: YES
TIME: 2016/04/01 13:07
LATITUDE: 01-14.85N
LONGITUDE: 086-45.25W
COURSE: 233T
SPEED: 8.3
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 11
WIND_DIR: SE
WAVE_HT: 0.0M
WAVE_PER: 0
SWELL_DIR: S
SWELL_HT: 2.5M
SWELL_PER: 8
CLOUDS: 50%
VISIBILITY: 12
BARO: 1012.1
AIR_TEMP: 29.
SEA_TEMP: 20.6C
COMMENT: Beach House – En Route – Galapagos Islands; Day 4- 176 nm

We sailed most of the last 24 hours but the wind went too south, so we\’re motoring for now. It\’s predicted to go back to the SE where we can sail again
but it may get too light. In any event, we should be at Wreck Bay, San Cristobal Island the Galapagos by tomorrow afternoon and we\’ll do a full report there. The big assist on this trip has been the strong current – up to 2.5 knots pushing in the right direction for the most part.

Last night when we were rolling up our mainsail, the \”down haul\” line cover again came undone from my repair and it\’s jammed so I can\’t fully lower the main till I replace the line which I\’ll do with Nikki\’s help when she\’s up and about. No big worries however. A bit more of a concern is our oil leaks.
I\’m pretty sure it\’s just the oil pan screws which need to be tightened, but we\’ll see when we get into port. We\’ve gone through a gallon of oil on the port engine and less on the starboard engine. There is no gasket and a \”form a gasket\” type material was used. It may be leaking?

Oh the joys of dealing with engine oil!….:-) We keep an eye on it and every several hours turn the engine off, let them cool and check and fill oil as necessary.

All is well, it\’s just normal stuff for a long distance boat.
KIT,
Scott and Nikki

AIRMAIL YOTREPS
IDENT: N6ABC
TIME: 2016/03/30 13:28
LATITUDE: 03-58.24N
LONGITUDE: 081-41.16W
COURSE: 239T
SPEED: 6.6
MARINE: YES
WIND_SPEED: 5
WIND_DIR: NE
WAVE_HT: 0.0M
WAVE_PER: 0
SWELL_DIR: NNW
SWELL_HT: 1.0M
SWELL_PER: 6
CLOUDS: 50%
VISIBILITY: 12
COMMENT: Beach House – ABEAM – Malpelo Island; Day 2 – 126 nm

A note to our Facebook followers….So you know, we cannot receive Facebook \”at sea\”, but know lots of comments are being left our notification system – thanks. We now have over 450 email subscribers and over 250 Facebook followers.

The best way to contact us directly is:
Nikki is at: nicolaw(AT)sailmail.com
Scott is at: WDB5638(AT)sailmail.com
We have satellite email, but NO internet. We remote post via satellite. Our \”on board\” emails cannot take any attachments.

We arrived at 0630 local time and the first thing I thought is that King Kong must live here. No jungle, just a stark barren (but beautiful in it\’s own way) rock. It\’s about 3000 (1Km) feet long and just under 1000 feet high (300 meters). The top looks like (but I don\’t think is) a volcano like looking dome. There are roughly 10 nearby pinnacles sticking out of the water like needles to a height of about 40-80 feet.

We hailed and received three different radio voices. One female and they were merely acknowledging our presence and intended route. Eventually, they told us we could not stop without a permit, but we suspect the real reason was that their supply vessel was here on the one and only mooring on the east side of the island. Going ashore would be most daunting! There is a gantry about 40 feet above the water that extends out about 80 feet and I suspect either a gangway is temporarily lowered or a bucket seat is deployed or maybe even a rope ladder! The cliffs are absolutely sheer.

As such, we said hello and thanks and did a circumnavigation of the island which took about 45 minutes. You could easily see the appeal here for the dive crowd as they would use the mooring and do large dinghy diving off the pinnacles. Apparently, the shark action here is world class.

This was a lark anyway and only added a total of 30 miles to the entire trip. I\’ve just topped up the fuel tanks and we\’ve plenty left. If the wind doesn\’t appear, we can motor the entire way with fuel left over. We\’ve 535 miles to go which should take at this speed about 3 days. We should arrive at San Cristobal Island, Galapagos on Saturday morning. For those who have followed us a long time, that will be where \”Beach House\” crosses her own wake and completes her world circumnavigation. Bitter sweet and I\’ll have a blog on it soon after our arrival.

Motoring along,
KIT,
Scott and Nikki