The Mariner’s Mariner dreams of faraway horizons.

My Yacht log from 06-10 to 06-17-2007-Galapagos.

Getting ready to Marquises

"In the beginning they could not understand my insistence on getting away from the compass, that god of the West. But in exchange, they began to hear the why and sea talking with the boat. And when blue-tinted land appeared on the horizon, looking as it did to the mariners of old, all nimbed with mystery, a few of them felt that our rigorous techniques should leave a door open to those gods which the modern world tries so hard to exclude." -Bernard Moitessier, 'The Long Way'

06-10-2007 (Day 260)

Yesterday evening I took a tour and visited all the nightspots. My dive master friend (Erico) showed me around earlier. For example: Bongo. There was one nightspot where the tourists were missing, but most of these places are full of tourists, mostly Americans and English people. Since tomorrow I will be up for a dive I went back to my boat after 11 PM.

The dive boat came for me at 7:20 AM. Around 10 AM I made the first dive at the Golden Rock and about one and a half hours later we dived again in a different location. This was a very interesting dive. I swam with seals and I have seen whales and turtles. Sometimes a school of fish rounded the whole group. Here even the fish are very peculiar: for example their legs or other bizarrely developed parts. We did not see any iguana under water.

Got back at 3 in the afternoon.

I went back to the boat immediately and finally I was able to straighten out the messy cabin. I stored the gas bottle and installed the batteries in their final places. Since I changed the mast hold-down screw for a bigger and better hold-down screw the screw hole had to be enlarged in the mast and in the mast footing. This work was going on for a number of days. Géza and Cameron came over around 5 to help. They fitted the mast brace into its mounting plate. Since this mounting was not welded back perfectly to the original place an extra hole had to be drilled.

I went to bed at 8 PM. I was tired and my outlook was not too positive.

06.11. 2007 (Day 261)

I woke up at 6 am. I was still tired and in a bad mood. Somehow I should look for positive thoughts, but no matter how I tried I could not find any.

7:00 – 9:00 Mast repair. Since the boat could not be steadied we did not set the mast in its place. As a matter of fact I did not really had time for it. I had to meet with the motor mechanic by 9:00. It was 9:30 by the time I got there and by that time he left. I had to wait 30 minutes for him. We inspected the dock and made our plan.

What are the causes of my bad mood?

1. Problem with the engine. I have to have the boat towed to the Iguana Diver Base at high tide, and then when the water level is the lowest the engine will have to be removed and its place stuffed with stuff. Then comes the fixing part with the help of the mechanic. Money and wasting time. (Géza and Cameron suggested a small outboard. Maybe later I might get one of those…)

2. I could not even put back the mast and on top of that two rings broke off from the mast also.

3. I also should change the mountings (the four aluminum mounting should be acid resistant). There are many things to repair, but I do not have the time and energy. I don’t even know how to solve these problems myself. Maybe it is the tiredness and a certain amount of lethargy is the cause and meanwhile the time goes tick tack, tick tack

I had banana for breakfast. The part of a healthy voyage is vitamin rich nourishment. For lunch I had the 2-dollar menu and that consisted of a soup that had “everything” in it: rice, potato and fish. I also had fruit juice. And all this in a local place. The tourist places are too expensive. Such delicious and plentiful lunch can last the whole day. Pastry was 10 cents and some of those could be substituted for lunch too.

I got on the Internet and talked to my family, but even this did not improve my mood

In the afternoon I came back to the boat where I continued with the necessary repairs and got ready for tomorrow’s BIG DAY. I never did a thing like this, and it is not really customary among sailors. What disturbed me the most was the hole!!

6.12.2007 (day 262)

This morning, after 7, Cameron and Géza came over for a couple of hours to help me with the repairs. We put up 2 rings and helped me strip the engine.

My breakfast and lunch consisted of the usual french roll. You can buy 10 of them for $1.20 and those are enough for about 3 meals. Around 11 o’clock Mark from the German boat visited me and then as usual Géza came over too.

The first delicate maneuver we had to do was to take the boat in tow and pull it in to the Iguana Diving Base. The narrow, three meter wide, entrance was a problem. There were rocks on both sides and because of the low tide and high tide action the backwash was strong and to all these was added the unfavorable wind and wave action. When we started the dinghy was in front of me and it was pulling me, but at the entrance Mark came near me and my maneuverability was practically gone but with just enough go I slid through that 3 to 5 meter long break. If it would not have been successful then Géza with his grappling iron would have kept those rocks at bay. It was not too encouraging a plan. We have arrived at 12 noon and luckily slid through that narrow entrance. We used 3 pieces of rope to tie the boat to the dock and an extra piece of rope to tie the other side to a tree. The next problem was to keep the boat upright while the water slowly recedes. I had to solve this problem. Of course I had no previous experience in this. The motor mechanic put a log at the bow so that the front part of Carina could rest on it. This was done after some trial and error. The keel dug itself into the sand. I dug a hole by hand under the rudder. Around here there are a bunch of different and very peculiar mosquitoes and flies that can sting like the devil. I also saw a scorpion fish, which is definitely not fun. If I step on it then its barbs can sting (poisonous). I used two logs strongly lashed together to chock up the rear of the boat. Cameron helped me to push these logs under water.

I continuously monitored the boat’s state. It was 14:30 when she settled on the bottom. And it was 15:30 when the water disappeared from under the engine. This was the moment when I unscrewed8 # 13 screws that held the engine to the body of the boat. Meanwhile the mechanic has arrived and the two of us lifted the engine from its place. Before this though, I had to take off the propeller also. It would not have cleared the hole from above. It took us 30 minutes to fasten a piece of wood over the hole and then we disassembled the engine. The sea life did not cause too much problems in the operation of the cooling system. The plugging was caused by aluminum oxide; that was the culprit that caused the blockage. We cleaned everything and checked out the water pump, which was working perfectly.

The mechanic went to bed. We will put the engine back in its place in the morning.

I went to town where I found a second-rate restaurant and for $2.50 I had soup and fish with rice for supper. The price changes; it is sometimes $2.00 and sometimes $2.50. I bought a few small loafs of bread. Here they do not sell regular loafs but these small ones.

At night I slept on the dock. The tide starts at 24:00 so from 10 to 3 in the morning I have to keep checking the boat. This task is more difficult here than at sea. I have to stabilize the situation, alone with tree-stumps. And all this at night with hardly any light to see by, and I have to solve the problem creatively that normally would require 2 to 3 persons. After I spent eighth and half months at sea, my creativity suffers greatly.

06-13-07 (day 263)

But it did not become too bad after all. At 2 o’clock in the morning I could not find the tree-stump that held the stern of the boat. (It drifted quite a distance away to the other side of the dock; that’s where I found it at dawn). A half an hour later the boat started to list, which scared me a little, but I was able to stabilize this 20-25 ° tilt until the morning. At dawn the rain started and my sleeping bag and I got soaking wet; then after 5 and I don’t know why, they started to load the ship that belonged to the diving base. All and all I did not sleep much.

At 7 o’clock in the morning the motor mechanic arrived and by 8 we have already assembled the engine and by 9 we have lifted it in and secured it in its place. In two hours I connected up the generator (a few wires needed repairs, maybe that was the reason why it was not charging the batteries properly), the 12 V and other cables, the fuel and water pipes and of course the exhaust pipe. I asked the motor mechanic’s help to tighten the v-belt – maybe he’ll show me how to do it better, but he did not. Instead he broke the copper mounting that held the bolt. I used some clamps to repair it, ( I still had some creativity left in me).

Breakfast and lunch: buns with nothing on them.

Both of us checked out the engine and found it OK. The water circulation good and so the cooling system works. The mechanic asked $70.00 US. This was about 6 or 7 hours work. At 12 o’clock I hired a local worker and him and I raised the mast next to the dock then at 1 pm. when the high tide rolled in again I sailed out to the anchorage.

I was packing all afternoon. I swam over to Rotor and helped him to clean the bottom of his boat, after that I swam over to Timella, and bought 10 kg. (approximately 22 lbs.) of onion, 12 kg. (26 lbs) of potato, and 4 kg. (9 lbs.) of lemon. For all these I paid $23 US. This will be my main nutriment for the coming trip. I fear that I will overload the boat again and as a consequence will be slow going. I am also thinking to buy a greater amount of fuel this time so if there won’t be enough wind for a few days, then I could run the motor.

Supper: Canadian apple with bun.

In the evening Gaspar came over with his dinghy. This guy is a very interesting person. He is a Spanish solo sailor who found a sponsor and since then he sails with a 35 footer. This is going on for 4 to 5 years. His sponsor is disgusted because according to the original plan he should have rounded the World in 2 years. The plan kept changing because he realized that he did not want to go back to work. The life is much better this way. He said that this 4 to 5 year was the best in his life. He came from the Easter Islands and after Galapagos he stops at the Coconut Islands. After that come Costa Rica, California, and Hawaii. He’ll time it for the best surfing weather. When I mentioned Hungary and the fact that nobody knows where the country is situated he said that in 1988 he was the Optimist world champion at Balaton. He is modest and maybe the best sailing competitor around.

06-14-2007 (day 264)

I woke early in the morning.

Breakfast: I got a piece of tuna (1 kg.) from a South African ship. They came in yesterday and anchored next to me. We spoke a little. Two ships sailing together. Their goal is New Zealand and Australia. So my breakfast was roasted tuna.

Tasks: Mast setup (this time it looks better than before; it does not lean backwards that much).

Varnishing the sun panel.

I got 120 liter of water free of charge (the price of this water in the city should have been $6.00 US plus the time spent to bring it.) A captain from a bigger ship gave it to me. He was quite interested in my journey.

I put everything in order – no more chaos.

Rail repair.

Proceeded to charge the batteries (small and big).

Went shopping and bought 2 kg. sugar, chocolate, wine, 1 liter of rum, cans of fruit. Sorry to say, but a can of anything is a little too expensive. But I have to buy them.

In the afternoon Gaspar came over to slack off a bit. He always does it before he starts out. We drank beer, and yakked a bit. He wrote a few lines in my ship’s diary. I got this small book from Bogi while in Panama. Every ship has one and the sailors, who spend a few days together and get to be friends usually write a few lines to mark the occasion. Sometimes though we forget to bring it out. My first note in this diary is from Éva and Géza (Rotor) and this happened in Galapagos Island.

Gaspar’s favorite story is the meeting a bigger ship between Gibraltar and the Canary Islands. That was a 55 foot long luxury sailing boat with two captains in their seventies and a Brazilian girl in her twenties. The captains invited him for lunch. So he locked his boat, took off the sails, put his boat in the backwash of the other and transferred over to the other boat. They ate, drank beer (and they smoked some marijuana too) and in a few hours he went back to his boat. It is customary to invite each other over the VHF radio to have a little talk. When this happen the bigger ship gives the food and the drinks.

At seven in the evening (3 AM in Hungary) I talked with my father, which sometimes is like I was speaking to myself.

They promised me to deliver 15 gallon of gasoline by 8 tonight at a price of 2 USD/gallon, but the guy did not show. Of course this is not a strictly legal deal, but they do things differently here.

By 10 at night I was sound asleep.

The sailing people can be looked at as an interesting subculture. Ordinary people do not easily understand them.

06-15-07 (day 265)

Breakfast: coffee

In the morning I went over to the Iguana Diving Base. I was waiting for a radio call, but it did not materialize. I suggested the time last evening so maybe it was too late for that. It becomes more and more difficult to synchronize these events because of the different time zones.

Tasks I have to do:

To change the connectors on the VHF radio cables, (I do not have a 12 volt soldering iron).

To repair the railing.

To repair the autopilot.

HF radio test with Freddy and with the others.

Shopping (for example 60 pieces of eggs).

To have 4 pieces of acid resistance type mounting made.

 The idea to make the eggs last longer came from Géza: put the eggs into boiling water for 3 seconds after this a thin layer attaches itself to the shell. The result is longer lasting eggs.

It is interesting that my meeting with Rotor was compared by many to the meeting between Kopár István and Fa Nándor in 1991, which happened in the Southern Pacific. I did not dare to do that since Carina belongs to a different class of boats (not a B31 or an open 60). Géza (Rotor) and I are touring sailors, although many are on the opinion that I am mad… no matter, I am still a touring sailor.

In the 80’s and 90’s there was an interesting postal service for the sailing vessels, the letters that they sent to each other was dropped in a barrel. This service is no longer in operation on Santa Cruz.

If I am successful to take care of everything today, then I start tomorrow. There will be 3033 nautical miles in front of me with mild winds until I reach 05S. I hope I can reach Marquesas Islands in 90 to 100 days. The problem is that my boat is overweight and consequently slow. I will not be able to charge up the batteries properly either because of the anticipated weak wind (the wind generator will not be charging either). This will be the longest passage and will last the longest. Right now I can’t even find a proper quotation, which would fit the situation. I am waiting for the start!!!

My morning program:

I try to find a coax plug and for $28 US I found one. I paid with credit card and this took 30 minutes. A Swedish guy helped me. He was a traveler and he really did not want to come to Galapagos, but met a girl here, who became his wife. This all happened three and a half years ago and they also have 2 children.

He’s got a travel agency.

For tomorrow I will have four mounting plates made for the side braces. The aluminum plates are getting weak and start breaking. This will cost $20 US.

I went on the Internet and talked with family and friends. Copied some MP3 music.

Funny things:

I became the part of the bay tour. That means that every tourist boat stops and the people ask questions…I am famous. I’m known as the “loco”.

In the evening I got the 11 gallons of gas ($20 US) and the captain invited me for supper on shore. I got acquainted with some boring tourists. I don’t like tourists. They are unbelievably boring!!!

06-16-07 (day 266)

I got up early and went to town.

I accompanied Cameron to the shop where his deformed wind steering mechanism was being repaired. The rear anchor rope wound around it and a larger wave bent it out of shape. I picked up my new mounting plates, which were not made of acid resistant material after all, but still were better than those broken aluminum plates. Then I started to look for someone who could press my coax connector into the coax cable. I was running around and around and finally at YORARA RADIO, which is the harbor Radio Center (and of course the local GMDSS center), where I was waiting from 10:30 to 14:00 for the Senior Paramora, who was taking care of some business in the bank. He does not work on Saturdays, but for me he came in. This Sr Paramora is the chief service technician for the communication center. Meanwhile I found an other technician, but the Paramora came in first. Today it is father’s day on the island and from 3:00 PM on they organized a little celebration : )))

Sr. Paramora came up to Carina, and that was a thrill for him.

At the VHF radio’s antenna input connector he found a tiny salt deposit, which I cleaned. He did not use the connector just connected the 2 wires. Then he measured the SWR and the output of the transmitter and finally we made a few test calls. He did not want to accept any money for his services. I met a very amiable and kind man here.

Next I boiled 72 eggs for 3 seconds and now, according to that Holland couple, they will last for 3 months. I cut up two cans to make a container for my potatoes and onions. I was waiting for the promised 5 gallons of gas but the guy did not come with it, so after 9 PM I went out to the city to eat and have a little fun.

06-17-07 (day 267)

I was still reading in the morning, when Cameron called from his boat: good morning Aron! How are you? Then after a little chitchat he came over to help me with the mast. Up till now my mast was called the banana mast because it was not quite straight. But now it became a little better looking.

I tried to make all the spreaders to tighten equally and then I changed the broken side brace mounting with the new one.

I skipped breakfast and lunch. I did not have time. Sometimes for lunch I drank a little weak coffee and ate some candy.

If I could finish all my tasks today I could start tomorrow. Sometimes I’m on the verge of trepidation, but try to hold myself back. This kind of behavior could easily ruin things and it would be difficult to put it right.

Afternoon:

I put back the railing, the lifejacket, the lights, the ropes and the buffers.

I greased the engine, checked the spark plugs and started the motor.

Finalized the place for the life boat, the buckets and the different tanks

Tidied the cabin. Everything was put to its final place and tied down.

Tried out the new autopilot. Changed some connectors. Cleaned cables.

I put up the HF radio antenna again and braced it in a number of places.

Nowadays I feel like somebody who lost his profession (I am an electrical engineer) and also lost many things from the past. More and more I find myself in my little world. MY LITTLE WORLD is sailing, ship repair, eating, sleeping and communication with people in different harbors. There is no workplace and boss, no big city and crowds. As if reality was missing.

Then I relaxed. This was a long and tiring day.

I am alone. People help me sometimes, but in the end I have to solve everything. The responsibility (and most of the work) is mine. Sometimes I feel I’m tired of it:

1. Like the constant boat repairs so that Carina can sail on. (As usual people cannot understand that a 19 foot long very old sailboat - that was originally built for lake sailing -, which always have some problem is not easy to repair at the end of the world (in this case on Galapagos Island).

2. The financial side also has to be looked at and handled.

- There are sponsors and hopefully with time their number will multiply, but I have to watch my operating budget.

- I am thinking writing a book but this might take a few years.

Well, I am thinking about these things even when I am resting : ))

It is easier though with good humor and a positive outlook.

For example, tonight a diving boat anchored next to me and gave me a little food and drink. I asked them to take me to shore, which of course they did and for supper the food was: crayfish, chicken, roasted platano, rice, potato, cola and beer. This is also a form of sponsorship.

That 2-dollar restaurant is very good and gives you enough, but after 1 week it becomes a bit tiresome!!!

There were only a few divers. I had a discussion with two diver instructors mostly about boats and seas.

It is a good feeling when the others understand me. It does not matter where – either here or at home in Hungary. Of course there is some truth to that saying that “I am a reckless mad idiot” and

they do not care too much about me or my difficult-to-rank unorthodox style of sailing:)))

I went to town in the evening to buy gasoline and to go on the Internet.

My plan tomorrow is to do some shopping. (10 loaf of bread, 2 packages of hot dog, 3-4 kg green bananas, 1-2 kg of beef, which I will dry out. I got a very good recipe for this).

Then check out at the harbor master office. I would like to start as soon as possible!!!!!

The German sailors, Svenja and Marc’s Internet address: www.tagoona.de

Marc helped to pull Carina to the Iguana Diving Base dock. It was a very interesting trip.

(Translation: Károlyi, wa6ypp)