Greetings Bahatian Comrades!

We appoligize for the lack of photos and fancy design elements in this update, but we are greatly limited by slow internet connections in the remote islands of the Galapagos. We promise to share the incredible collection of photos we’ve gathered at the next available high-speed internet connection (sorry, it is going to be a while).

WHERE IS BAHATI?

We are currently anchored on the island of Isabela in the outer Western islands of the Galapagos archeligo, preparing for our longest passage ever, from here to the Marquesas islands in the South Pacific. For years we have been staring at this enormous body of water on the maps… with both fear and excitement (probably more fear). We anticipate this next passage, (3,055 nautical miles), will take us between 20-30 days, with favorable winds. But with unfavorable winds it could take as long as two months. The winds are looking good, but keep your fingers crossed for us! The authorities on Isabela, under pressure from the National Park Service are demanding that we leave by tomorrow (having only granted us a 48 hour rest), so we are outa here!

Here’s the story up until now… nine days after departing Panama - full of evading the doldrums, desperately searching for favorable winds so as to be able to sail towards our destination and conserve our fuel reserves, and a characteristically bizarre equator crossing ceremony - we arrived at the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos.

Josh’s words as we approached the islands… “Today, at just past noon, we, the intrepid (if I do say so myself) voyagers aboard Bahati crossed the equator at 00.00 north, 89.30 west. It is an incredibly exciting moment (with champaign and dip into the sea). Not only are we now in the southern hemisphere (officially, the much fabled “south pacific”), but we are also a mere 61.71 miles from the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos (at our current speed, approximately 10 hours).

“What a moment!! We’ve now been at sea for over a week, having left the island of Taboga in panama last Saturday. The voyage has had moments of great joy and beauty and some real demoralizing moments as well. Its intense, ones swings of moods at sea on a difficult passage. One moment the sun can be shining and the seas are gentle, the winds are in your favor, and its just beautiful and everything seems right. Then a few hours later you can be hundreds of miles from land in all directions, in violent squalls, dripping wet and cold, taking waves over the deck, and fighting head winds that don’t allow you to sail anywhere near where you’re trying to go, and you just feel like, what the fuck are we doing out here??! There have been lots of those moments this passage… persistently unfavorable winds and currents, making it completely impossible at times to make any progress towards the Galapagos. There were many times at the beginning of the passage that I thought there was a good chance we weren’t going to make it, and we were going to be forced back to Ecuador, which would likely mean no pacific crossing until next March (given how late we are in the favorable season). But with a lot of strategic studying of weather charts, and very careful usage of our fuel reserves, we have placed ourselves in an excellent position to finish off this passage where we want to be.

“For the last few days its been absolutely beautiful. The sun has been out and the air has been crisp (the coldest we’ve seen since Maine, given to the Peru current bringing cold water up from Antarctica). We’ve been close to 1000 miles since Panama. AND the winds and currents are allowing us to sail on a course directly for Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos.

“Three days ago we caught two mahi-mahi. Its was great. They change color… its just incredible… from yellow to green to blue… wow. its heartbreaking to kill them… that is until you taste how good they are. The first night I made baked ginger fish, and the second night Mikey made an incredible mango curry fish. Damn.

“We’ve had white birds fly with us all night, every night, for the last five days. They just ghost along next to us, escorting us to the enchanted isles.

“We haven’t seen another ship in days and days. I think our last one was a visit from the US coast guard off the coast of Colombia wanting to know our identity and our next port of call.

“I’ve been reading a lot about the Galapagos, and am thrilled to get there and see all of these critters. Its sounds just magical. Blue footed boobies, white tipped reef sharks, leopard spotted manta rays, marine iguanas that can stay underwater for over an hour, giant 200 year old tortoises. Bring it on! 61.71 miles to go!”

THE GALAPGOS ISLANDS

The Galapagos archepeligo, 900 miles from Panama, and 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, is a group of islands that have captured people’s imaginations for centuries. The islands are a biologists dream, and protect a bubble of life like nowhere else on earth. As you initially approach the islands, they are aren’t exactly beautiful. It is a bleak, barren landscape - but as you begin to look closer you can not help but be in awe. The animal life is just amazing - tortoises the size of armchairs, iguanas that swim, birds with huge blue feet… and none of them are at all scared of people… more curious then anything.

The history of the islands are fascinating. Their inhospitable nature has helped to save them from development and destruction for much of their history. In the middle of the ocean, with hardly a drop of fresh water, the islands left visitors unimpressed for centuries before permanent settlers managed to scrape a toehold in the volcanic soil. There are no indigenous peoples of these islands. During the 17th century, European pirates turned the Galapagos into a base for attacks on coastal ports and Spanish treasure. They would attack the ports, like Guayaquil in Ecuador, and then retreat to the islands to escape their pursuers. The pirates were the first to realize that giant tortoises on the islands could be stored aboard the ships to provide fresh meat for their long passages - stored upsidedown in the hold alive without food or water for up to a year. This practice continued on through the period of Pacific whaling until most of the population was decimated.

Charles Darwin’s visit aboard the HMS Beagle in 1835 gained the islands renown with the publication of his The Origin of Species in 1859. Although the visit itself didn’t actually give the budding naturalist an instant lightening-strike of inspiration, it did provide important evidence to his later theories. The islands and their creatures were instrumental in changing Darwin from a creationist.

BAHATI IN PUERTO AROYO

Anyhow… we arrived into Puerto Ayoro immediately after catching a massive wahoo (almost 5 feet long, and 40+ lbs). We dropped our anchor in the very crowded and rough harbor, full of eco-tour boats, met our agent (Peter Schiess, of Galapagos Ocean Services), put out a stern anchor to keep ourselves from swinging into the boats all around us, and made our way into shore.

We were all a bit land-sick, stumbling around this quaint tourist town looking for our first meal and drink. We plopped ourselves down at Peter’s family’s restaurant, La Garapata (they have been in the islands for 50+ years), and had some wonderful fish and well deserved beer. Michael was feeling a bit more ill then the rest of us, and after a short walk went back out to the boat to sleep it off. Over the next week, and he became extremely feverish and achy, it would become clear that something was seriously wrong with him. After many visits to many doctors, and every laboratory on this tiny island, just before we were going to send him to the mainland for Malaria tests, it was finally confirmed by the Red Cross that poor Michael had Dengue Fever - also known as “Breakbone Fever”. We had been reading up on Dengue as many people had been getting it in Panama, and Josh had been tested for it just before we left after complaining of fevers and aches. It is not a pretty disease. Needless to say, our range of activities while on the island of Santa Cruz were fairly limited, but, before we knew that Michael had Dengue, they did include a 10 mile hike in the blazing sun of the highlands walking through the hills with ancient land tortoises. Michael had strange out-of-body experiences the whole way.

Michael rested for two weeks, repairing his body, and we used the time to get the boat in shape and see the local sights, including amazing marine iguanas, blue-footed boobies, white tipped reef sharks, and sea lions, and we frequented a beautiful local beach called Tortuga Bay.

Josh took the opportunity to participate in more then his fair-share of the town’s nightlife, and met a wonderful crew of Ecuadorian’s with whom he surfed and partied to his heart’s content. Michael dubbed him the upcoming “Mayor of Puerto Ayoro” after he gained a level of popularity in the small town.

After a week in port, the Farley Mowat (of the Sea Shepard Conservation Society) came in, returning from their anti-whaling campaign in Antarctica, provided us with numerous raucus evenings in the bar, and allowing us to see amazing footage of their actions in the Southern Ocean. The read about their work you can check out this article in a recent issue of National Geographic Adventure magazine:

OFF TO ISABELA

After two weeks on Santa Cruz we did our final provisioning, passage preparations, and re-fueling, and pushed off to the western island of Isabela. After saying all our good-byes, we pulled up the anchor and set sail. To our surprise, and slight fear, we hooked a tuna leaving the harbor directly in front of the Sea Shepard boat, who had just returned from patrolling the marine reserve for illegal fishing. Oh shit! We weren’t spotted, luckily, and were rewarded with delicious grilled fish shared with friends aboard the sailing vessel Friction, also on their way to the Marquesas.

We had been told by the Navy not to go to Isabela, but we really wanted to see this magical island, so we went anyway. Upon arriving we told the port captain that given our recent illnesses we would like a courtesy stay of 72 hours to rest before pushing on to our next port (French Polynesia!). He reluctantly gave us 48 hours, and refused to put it in writing, saying that if the National Parks ask, he didn’t say it was OK.

We’ve made the most of our time here, renting bikes and riding out to the local lagoons where we’ve seen flamingos, Galapagos hawks (who allow is to get within 2 feet of them), and giant marine iguanas. This afternoon we’ll go snorkeling with manta rays, sea turtles, and white tipped reef sharks. Then first thing in the morning, at the demand of the Navy, its off to the Marquesas. A month a sea, here we come! We’ll be staying in touch with a number of boats, via SSB radio, who are doing the same passage on roughly the same schedule, including: Don Quixote, Friction, Miss Cath, Nordic, Veritas, and Check Mate.

Aside from some potential water contamination issues, the possible cause of a fair amount of bubble-gut and squirting onboard, Captain Nat (aka “Captain Biscuits”) is confident that the boat and crew are ready for their longest passage yet.

Ciao!
The Crew of the Bahati
(Captain “Biscuits” Nat Warren-White, Josh “Saddles” Warren-White, Michael “Dengue” Callahan)

Bahati’s Most Recent Words of Wisdom:

When queried by the crew if we should divert course to keep up a good hull speed: “I think its better to keep the boat moving at a good speed then to get where we’re trying to go.” ??”Captain “Biscuits” Nat Warren-White

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A special note from Captain Biscuits himself:

Although my overall and lingering experience of the last weeks, (since transiting the Big Ditch!), is one of an intense and often emotional “struggle to keep going”, I am grateful that we have a strong boat and a, finally, (please knock wood and keep all fingers and toes crossed) fit crew. (Josh and Mikey’s gourmet meals prepared and dished with gusto and great tastes have been a huge pleasure… I am blessed with good cooks… and they are happy when I prepare my famous Capt Biscuit’s Hash and Eggs!)

This most recent chapter in our voyage has been without doubt our most challenging to date… mechanically, mentally, physically… in every way and seemingly every day something has been thrown at us to make us step-up and “show our stuff”! And I am happy to say the whole crew, BAHATI, and the many wonderful members of our support network of fellow-cruisers, family, and boating pros from near and far have helped us do just that… and we now feel stronger, humbler, and ready to move on!

A few highlighted moments in recent memory for me include: our many encounters with wildlife here in these legendary island… close-up and personal with the Galapagos hawk who kept coming back to visit and give us a “look-see”, cocking his head and whimsically “grinning” at us as if to say “Who ARE YOU and what are YOU up to here?” (Stunning bird….great photos to follow!) Sea lions here in Isabella taunting the dogs on board our neighboring boats and crawling onto fishing boats in Santa Cruz for their afternoon naps! Similar startling experiences with ancient tortoises and sweet people… as well as the antics of boobies, the ethereal specter of white birds in the dark night shadowing us on our approach to Santa Cruz… and our wonderful connections with fellow-cruisers both in-person and virtually thru the wonder of SSB technology. A real highlight of this last experience has been our almost daily contact with “Fletch”, an Australian singlehander aboard MISS CATH who we met the day we left Balboa. His wife, Kerry, and daughter, Catherine, were flying home from Panama (following in Betsy’s footsteps! I have to say I miss Betsy terribly…she has been, and still IS, such a vital part of this crew and our voyage. 2 days ago we celebrated out 30th wedding anniversary with Green Pirate toasts in the sunset….farther apart than we have ever been on this day…and yet, in many ways, closer together….thank you Dear Betsy!).

We agreed to stay in radio contact as often as possible with Fletch setting a daily “sched” and frequency early in the morning. Since Fletch does not have e-mail capability onboard, we promised to keep his family apprised of his lat/long and current news… something we’ve been able to do more days than not! This has felt like a real service and a joy to accomplish and much-appreciated by Family Fletch! We look forward to finding them again in-person either en route (tho he is moving faster and on a straighter course for home than we are!)…or, hopefully, when we get to Perth one day down the line. So, a small taste of the pleasures and challenges of the cruising life! More to come….suffice it to say Capt. Biscuits is still happy to be out here and constantly learning what it takes and how to do it better! Thanks to all who have been in touch….your messages are SO important to us! Peace and love all round! “Have a good watch”.