Looking back, I think the crossing from the Galapagos to the Marquesas in French Polynesia was the leg that I was least looking forward to.  I tried to prepare myself for our longest ocean passage by first plotting our start and end points on Google Maps and trying to come to terms with the big expanse of blue on the computer screen in front of me.  Having learnt we would be sailing approximately 3000 nautical miles in this period of time, my other strategy was to repeat a mantra: 100 miles a day, 30 days at sea… you can do this!  So it was with much excitement and celebration that we made landfall after three weeks at sea… or to be more exact, 22 days and 8 hours of water, water and more water!

We set sail mid-morning on 7 March when we bid the Galapagos farewell.  We had calm seas with approximately 10 knots of wind to start off with and made some decent progress for the first couple of days, while settling into the routine of night watches.  I suppose experienced sailors like Rob and Captain would say it was an uneventful crossing but in my mind it had many ups and downs.

First was the weather.  We had the satellite phone available to us so weather updates were downloaded every couple of days to see what we were heading into.  All the UGrib reports basically said 5-10 knots of south easterly or easterly wind and that is pretty much what we got.  We went through a few rough patches when squalls came through which made it a bit uncomfortable for me.  It’s not so much fun sitting through a night watch getting drenched with moderate swells making the boat rock and roll, and then spending a miserable few days in our cabin feeling a bit gross.  Not being able to open hatches meant the cabin was hot and stuffy, conditions which don’t really help a queasy-feeling girl!  I hit a bit of a low point but perked up after shedding a few tears and receiving a pep talk from Rob!  It was a bit tough adjusting to the sea conditions because it felt like I was levitating in bed.  Sleeping was difficult because just as I was drifting off, the boat rolls so it felt like my feet were about to come over my head in an impromptu yoga pose.  So I woke with a fright, checked that Rob hadn’t jumped up in alarm, no, okay he’s still sleeping so everything must be fine, close eyes, breathe, try to sleep because I have to be up for night watch in an hour.  Next thing a swell hits the hull with a massive thud and the whole process is repeated; only this time it is 45 minutes until watch starts!

I didn’t enjoy night watches at all.  I found it difficult to stay awake, especially when doing the 22h00-01h00 shift.  For me night watches were both boring and stressful at the same time, boring because nothing really happens, but stressful because you are always on the alert in case something does and you are responsible for the welfare of the boat and the people on board.  Both Rob and I were bad midnight snackers, me more so than him as it was a way to pass the time, albeit an unhealthy way.  Crackers and cheese, or instant noodles, or a peanut butter sandwich and a mug of Milo became the norm, and ended up being a difficult habit to break!

After a rough couple of days, the weather then cleared and we hit a patch of absolute calm.  With the sea as flat as glass we were lucky to even move a few miles each day (we have the current to thank for that!).  Rob and I wiled away the hours by sitting on the back of the boat in our “Jacuzzi”, picking up sea water with a bucket and pouring it over us to cool off!  Or I spent my time sitting on the throne (no, not the toilet, but the helmsman’s chair) gazing out to sea and day dreaming of reaching land and firstly, enjoying a cold glass of celebratory champagne, and then having a blissful full night’s sleep!  Most of the time was pleasant sailing with good daily mileage.  A milestone for Captain was reached on 14 March when he got his first daily run of 200 nautical miles in a 24 hour period (211nm in total) after about 40 odd years of sailing!  So beer ‘o’ clock started early on that day for him!  Luckily he was on last watch and could sleep off his celebration!

We were surprised during the crossing about the lack of marine life that we saw.  For our first few days at sea we were entertained almost daily by pods of dolphins swimming and leaping next to the boat.  It was so wonderful to watch, as they leaped high into the air but not in a graceful arc as you’d come to expect from them, but landing mostly with a belly flop, making a huge splash in the water.  We saw whales once, from a distance it looked like a mother and calf but as we got closer they dived and we didn’t see them again.  Rob caught a sail fish which we let go because the Captain and First Mate thought it was too gamey to eat.  It was a pretty fish though, with silver and blueish hues so Rob was happy to unhook and release it.  About 490nm to go and Captain casually mentions we were in the area renowned for tuna.  The very next instant, the reel goes ballistic, and what do we find once Rob has reeled it in?  A baby tuna (skipjack)!  But again we let it go because we were told it was a very bloody fish and not nice to eat.  And what do we see trailing the line… another shark!  We also had tons of flying fish that landed on the deck at night.  Captain was almost knocked out by one as it came zooming past his head through the cockpit and hit one of the stantions, leaving a very bloody mess.  Rob also had one land in the basin of our bathroom while he was washing his face, and I had one come flying through a galley hatch, flapping amongst the vegetables during one of my night watches.  Rob was promptly woken to remove it as they stank terribly!  It was a pity that they don’t make for good eating as we would have been feasting on flying fish but Rob improvised, making a gourmet breakfast one morning by frying up some squid that had also landed on the deck overnight.  We caught one Dorado towards the end of our journey which gave us about four decent meals; otherwise it looked like the ocean was fished out.

We only had five sightings of other vessels in the 22 days so it was pretty isolated in the middle of this huge ocean.  However it didn’t feel that huge when we were sailing, as we could only see as far as the horizon (about 6 miles).   We ate well though, three of us being competent cooks.  We tried our best to convert Captain into a maize meal (polenta) fan but he wasn’t keen, he even threatened to sin bin us in the dinghy or throw us overboard if we made it for dinner again!  But for Rob and me it was a taste of home each time we made it.

Land was spotted for the first time at 06h30 boat time on 29 March.  I say boat time because we crossed about three time zones while sailing, and although we updated the time as we went along, we were still one hour ahead of local time when we sighted land.  We were about 40 miles out from the Bay of Virgins on the island of Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas.  It was a long day, seeing land and having the impression of it not coming any closer!  We were buzzing with anticipation, waiting to drop anchor and pop the champagne!  A huge celebration followed at 14h40 with many hugs and congratulations all round.  Would you believe that at this point we were already almost halfway across the Pacific, with a total of 4000nm already sailed from Panama City!  Major achievement for me and a dream come true for Rob.  He was in his element, and loving every minute of it!  I was just happy to have made it to French Polynesia unscathed!