Our position as at 17.00 GMT, Sunday 12th April:
02 degrees 2 minutes south, 91 degrees 10 minutes west
We left, as planned, yesterday lunchtime after a quick run around the veg market. We've really enjoyed being in based in Baquerizo Moreno and have been fortunate that the anchorage has been pretty calm the whole time (a wind from the north would make it very rolly). Tourism is obviously a key activity on the island but it's very strictly controlled by the National Park authorities so there seems to be a reasonable balance at work. That's not to say there isn't a row of souvenir shops selling mementos of varying taste and quality; the t-shirts featuring the Blue Footed Booby and the phrase 'I love boobies' seem popular but we laughed out loud in one shop when we saw a pile of cloth badges with the phrase misspelled as 'I love bobbies' - one for fans of the British police there!
We set off, with Stormvogel, in a steady Force 4 SE so were on a close reach heading south west in the hunt for stronger winds to the south, a group of large dolphins under our bow. The forecast for the first few days is for light breezes and sure enough the wind died in the night and we had to motor for 4 hours but we're making reasonable progress now, helped by the Equatorial Current which is pushing us along at almost a knot. The sun is shining and the sea's calm so we both slept ok on our off-watches, particularly for a first night at sea. This morning we joined a new SSB radio net and it sounds as though there'll be a group of about 10 yachts in our vicinity (most leaving Galapagos in a couple of days' time) so it'll be good to compare notes on weather and sea conditions.
We'll keep you informed of our progress! Do email any questions or comments but we can't open attachments at sea.
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