Ship’s Log Week Fifteen
Location: Isla Isabela, Galapagos - 0°57'37.04"S, 90°58'6.91"W
Journey to the Galápagos Islands - Las Perlas to San Cristobal
Adventures of Walrus’ dinghy - lost and found
We celebrated Walrus winning the ‘best social media’ award (thank you, Roland) at a fun WARC prize-giving evening of drinks and BBQ around a pool above a gorgeous beach at Contadora, Las Perlas, before heading back to Walrus slightly worse for wear. We piled on board leaving our most recent crew member, Jay, to secure Walrus dinghy to the swim ladder, and slept soundly.
Between Panama and Australia, some 7500 miles away, a harbour side mooring was most unlikely and getting ashore would be reliant on Walrus’ dinghy. Walrus dinghy is relatively small with an awkward, at times difficult to start, 2 stroke engine - nevertheless this somewhat undersized tender is an essential piece of our equipment.
In the morning we woke with thoughts of the day’s sail foremost in our minds, all was going swimmingly….. when one of us noticed Walrus’ dinghy was missing. Jay explained he had headed on deck to check the dinghy during the night and….. to re-tie the knot he had tied earlier. The penny-dropped… Walrus’ dinghy had, most likely drifted away overnight and we were now without the means of getting ashore on the travels ahead in the Pacific.
It seems there is no limit to the problems that need to be solved and the problem-solving capacity of the WARC team and fleet. We posted a note on the crew chat, requesting fellow crew members keep a lookout for Walrus’ dinghy. Within minutes Martha appeared on the horizon in Salinity’s dinghy, offering me a ride to circuit the neighbouring island, in the hope that Walrus’ dinghy had been washed up on the not insignificant tide. Dicky, Gerald and Jay set off to scour the coastline of the nearest island in the vain hope that the dinghy had been ‘borrowed’ and abandoned. It didn’t take long to establish Walrus’ dinghy was nowhere to be seen.
No joy… we were debating how we might manage in the coming months, when we had a call from two other fleet members offering their ‘spare dinghies’. Colin and Diane had already arranged for their dinghy to be delivered to Walrus and Watersprite provided a jerry can of fuel. We were heartened and cheered by the kindness and generosity of our fellow fleet members.
If you were a betting person, would you have risked placing a bet that a small dinghy bobbing along in the Pacific Ocean would be found by one of 30 yachts spread out over miles and travelling through day and night?
Some days later…. A picture of Walrus’ dinghy appeared on the crew chat… the improbable had been proved possible. The crew of One Distraction had spotted Walrus dinghy bobbing along 2.5 miles out from Contadora and rescued her, taking time out to haul the dinghy on board before continuing on their way.
Walrus dinghy had been lost and found. This wasn’t the end of the story… it seems Walrus dinghy had a mind to make a bid for freedom and make that bid she did in the anchorage off San Cristobal, when returning Fruition’s dinghy, twice more much to the fleet’s amusement, before being deflated and firmly secured to the deck. All’s well that ends well… beers all round.
Weather - Whether or not… mainly not…
Many weather forecasts prove inaccurate - sadly, this was not one of those.
Dicky has amongst his store of salty tales and sailing maxims a much repeated saying… ‘yachts have destinations, not deadlines’. The World ARC provides a route that takes in scenic hotspots, follows the trade wind route travelled by sailors over the centuries and importantly maximises favourable (mainly) weather patterns. It is by its nature a schedule, geared to the yachts taking part, which range in size from 40 - 80 ft - Walrus is the smallest, as such she and we are somewhat challenged to keep up with our faster, fellow fleet members.
On this occasion, there was a deadline of sorts - the World ARC tour, taking in a Galapagos giant tortoise sanctuary and other wildlife - one of the highlights of the much anticipated and once-in-lifetime visit to Galapagos.
As Walrus set out on the 851 mile journey from Contadora, Las Perlas to San Cristobal, one of three Galápagos Islands that we planned to visit, she had 450 litres of diesel on board, sufficient, just about, more-or-less, to get us within 100 miles of our destination. Running out of fuel, mid-Pacific was not a palatable option.
Leg 4 started with the usual build up and excitement. A countdown from 10 minutes to 10 seconds, then the starter gun, and we were off on the journey to San Cristobal with 30 other yachts (two or three of the fleet remained behind with maintenance or crew issues). A light wind directly on the bow, determined that Walrus cross the starting line under motor. Given the need to get at least 100 miles sailing under our belt it wasn’t long before Walrus’ main and foresail had been raised in an effort to catch even the tiniest breath of wind.
The next eight days proved to continue in this vein with squalls and storms thrown in for good measure. We motored, then motor sailed, then motored, then sailed at a slow rate of knots more-or-less but not entirely in the right direction. . The wind temptingly increasing from 5-6 knots (not sailable) to 16-18 knots (definitely sailable, if favourable - 30 degrees or more off the bow).
Mainly the wind was on the margins of sailable or Walrus was dead into wind. Dicky tells me the number of times the foresail was furled, unfurled, furled and unfurled again was at least twenty, I had lost count.
Over the course of the eight day passage, as has been the case for sailors stuck in the doldrums over the centuries, we were alternately drenched head to toe and then scorched by the hot sun. In these conditions, the joy of sailing around the world was, at times in danger of wearing thin.
Finally the Galápagos Islands came into view and the challenges of the previous week faded from memory, as we watched with eager anticipation for the finishing line markers, a rock at one end and lighthouse at the other, transform from mere dots on the horizon to life size and within metres. The approach was made all the more exciting by the sight of a ray, three metres from tip to tip of his wings, leaping high out of the water with long tail following, twist and flip 360 degrees in the air before diving back down into the Pacific sea. A heart-stopping moment and a fore taste of the wonders of nature to come.
Walrus final 24 hrs was under motor, we arrived, within timescale, with some 70 to 80 litres of fuel to spare. Well done, Skipper Dicky.
Crossing the Equator
During the passage Walrus travelled from latitude North 08 degrees 21 minutes to South 00 degrees 53 minutes. She crossed from the northern to the southern hemisphere at 22.56 on the 19th February 2025, less than a day from the Galápagos Islands.
Crossing the equator is a momentous occasion in any sailor’s book. A Naval tradition has the rite of passage for new sailors marked by a trial before the court of Neptune, resulting in the sailor’s full emersion in sea water. Cruise ship crossings, it seems, have introduced more elaborate versions, involving Neptune, mermaids and even bears.
World ARC introduced an air of excitement and a frisson of activity amongst the fleet with a ‘Crossing the Equator’ photo competition. A proliferation of crew photos with varying levels of costume and prop enhancement followed on the WhatsApp crew chat, with many tridents created from boat hooks and silver foil and much toasting.
Walrus crew settled for a team-created picture of the globe with equator clearly marked and Walrus’ decorative wooden sailing vessel (usually velcroed to the saloon wall and only paid any attention when moved to facilitate polishing) bedecked with Blutack models of the crew set in jaunty, crossing-the-equator poses.
We marked The Moment… with team countdown and raising a glass of Bolly champagne (courtesy of friend, Sharon) to Neptune.
Walrus Amongst the Sea-Lions
Walrus has been anchored off three of the largest Galápagos Islands and in each the wildlife has been astounding. In San Cristobal sea-lions swam gracefully around Walrus from the moment she was anchored. Boats that were not protected with fenders or wire became home to sea-lions and we quickly became so used to stepping over and around the somnolent sleek-in-the-water and lumbering on land bodies of sea-lions that we stopped staring in amazement and whipping out our phones to take pictures.
It was tempting to try to stroke the sea-lions, when they bobbed up out of the water they looked to all intents and purposes like black labradors on a fun day out. We resisted… not least, there was a strong fishy aroma arising from groups of sea-lions that might be tricky to budge.
Are sea-lions friendly? Are they aggressive? How do they interact with humans? On Isabella Island, I left Gerald and Dicky sitting on a bench on the beach sheltering from the rain while I went to buy ice creams. On my return five minutes later a large obviously male sea-lion lounged on the bench and Dicky and Gerald were standing several metres away in the rain. Apparently he had made it abundantly clear by his demeanour that the bench was his territory and that his position was not be challenged. Mainly there was a studious ignoring of the human population by the sea-lions.
Turtles and iguanas were much in evidence too. On Santa Cruz the iguanas were slimmer and active swimmers. We met one wild giant tortoise on the slopes of Volcano Chico, Isabella Island and many tortoises cared for in a rescue and breeding centre. We observed sharks and other fish weaving their way around the yachts and stood transfixed by pelicans - and yes, it is true, their beaks can hold more than their bellies can. The most likely cause of death for a pelican is choking on the vast quantities of fish that he has grabbed and held in his beak.
Walrus gave us the opportunity to see some remarkable wildlife - experiences that will remain with us for a long time.