Panama to the Galapagos:

We pulled anchor in Panama February 25th at 9:45 a.m., weaving our way through what can only be described as organized chaos! A conga line of boats, ships and other various vessels queued up for the Canal.

And just like that we pointed Kaikoa west.

Cue all the feelings - - -

Excited? YES.

Slightly terrified? Also yes. Sleep the night before was difficult.

Our longest passage yet? Definitely yes.

The “Let’s Try Every Sail We Own” Departure 😂

We came out hot! Motored for about the first hour plus, once through the conga line of ships, Adam’s sail plan included a full main, screecher up, feeling like offshore legends. For about five minutes…

The screecher immediately chose violence. The swivel seized, it started unfurling was not happening the way it should. Adam realized it didn’t look right, it was twisted and saggy part way up and we couldn’t get it fully extended. The next thing you know Adam and Loïc are wrestling it down onto the deck like a rogue octopus. Adam unshackled the sail, where we also had some major chafe from the lack of rotation, due to the sized swivel on the screecher. So, he removed the chafe, thankfully just at the end of the line (cut it off). From there, he worked on the swivel…banged on it, used WD40, and who knows what else. It was a problem to solve later. We still had wind and wanted to sail.

So, out comes the Genoa. Then the wind dies.

Cue the spinnaker! Up she goes, beautiful, flying like a dream…until the wind gets weird (as it does/because why NOT!), and we bring her down. Slightly less beautifully. She snagged and came down with a small 90-degree tear near the top (square inch in size), likely due to the seizing wire 😬.

We saw the tear, time to bring her down again. Did we have a little fight and she decided to act a little naughty, yes…but she did eventually get socked successfully and I did NOT cuss her out. I’ve learned she doesn’t like that.

Quick patch job by Adam, back up she goes, flying again like nothing happened. And then because why not, the wind shifts again and we switch sails again!

By nightfall, I think we were at 8 sail changes. Adam headed dead downwind to put a reef in the main and we finally settled into a wing-on-wing plan and called it good. Adam was exhausted.

Screecher up for one night (furled) but with a seized swivel - caused the line to chafe badly! Thankfully It was just this section and could be easily removed and re-attached.

Welcome to the Doldrums (aka “Sad Sailing”)

By Night 2, we accepted our fate.

No wind.

We officially entered what Adam likes to call: “sad sailing” or better known as, motoring.

But as we don’t have endless fuel, we had to be strategic on how we motored. Adam had done many calculations and so we ran one engine at low RPM, stretching fuel like it was liquid gold. Speeds hovered around 4–5 knots, which for Kaikoa feels like crawling but hey, we were moving. It was silky smooth out and it was the first time I have slept soundly on passage and felt well rested!

Sun shining through the clouds - it was so bright it was hard to see in the distance

Glassy Seas & 9,000 Feet of Nope

The water turned into straight-up glass.

Like no horizon, sky melting into sea, are-we-floating-or-flying kind of glass. So comfortable and gorgeous. We just spent hours staring out at the endless horizon.

At one point we drifted over 9,000 feet of water.

Naturally, everyone decided this was the perfect time for a swim. You also couldn’t have paid me to jump in. That is one of my worst nightmares (endless blue depths). Even with the stillness of the water, all I can imagine is Jaws coming in for a little taste! But Harbor Reef, whelp that guy was STOKED! Aria, Harbor, Loïc & Adam just jumped in without hesitation. I stood watch!

Adam swears there was a yellowfin tuna taunting him. Also reports of the wildest jellyfish he’s ever seen. While he was in the water, he also cleaned the hulls in preparation of the strict rules for the Galápagos.

Meanwhile I’m like:
“Cool cool cool, I’ll just stay here and keep watch from the boat and make sure you don’t get EATEN BY A SHARK!” 😅

Everyone made it back on board and enjoyed the cool-off.

Life at Sea: We Nailed the Rhythm

This passage? Surprisingly chill.

We found our groove fast:

Aria crushing her watches
Harbor refusing to be outdone and jumping in whenever possible
Adam and Loïc on standby in case wind decided to grace our presence
Me floating between watch, audiobooks, and snacks

We even managed FULL meals (which tells you everything about the sea state):

Eggs & toast
Pizza
Chicken, quinoa & zucchini
Apple crisp

When I’m baking dessert offshore, you know it’s calm. Because my natural state is lying on the settee silently begging for the trip to be over.

Days were filled with schoolwork (huge win), knot practice, bracelet making, card games, and Harbor building what can only be described as a “wind fort” in the salon. It was so fun.

Boobies. So Many Boobies. 🐦

Somewhere mid-passage, we picked up a crew of boobies.

They’re chatty. They’re hilarious. Like like to hunt at night.

They are also disgusting.

One parked itself on the mast overnight and absolutely destroyed the deck.

I have never seen Adam scrub with that level of intensity. Man vs. Booby. It was personal. 😅 We were all a little scared when we awoke to ferocious scrubbing.

Night Watch Magic ✨

Night watch in the Doldrums hits different.

You’ve got:

The hum of the boat (annoying but kind of like white noise)
Stars exploding across the sky
WhatsApp check-ins with friends & fam
Audiobooks to stay awake
Snacks - we tend to snack a lot on watch. I prefer something salty. Adam prefers anything easy to grab and apparently Loïc likes apple crisp

One night the moon set and the stars reflected on the water like diamonds. Another night, full moon lighting the whole ocean like a spotlight. It’s the first time I have really felt at peace on night watch. Not scared of a random squall or motion sickness from an uncomfortable sea-state. It was glorious!

Crossing the Equator: Pollywogs NO MORE 🐚

Somewhere around midnight:

“Hey guys, we’re crossing the equator.”

Cue chaos (Adam woke everyone up)

Aria begrudgingly rang the bell. Harbor and I tossed coins into the sea for Neptune. Thankfully, the ceremony got postponed until daylight (Neptune approved).

Morning came and Neptune made his appearance around lunch, and we did it right.

Entertainment was required, a toast, a song or dance and a confession

And Aria DELIVERED.

A full parody performance (to Baby Got Back) dedicated to King Neptune that had us absolutely entertained. She passed the lyrics along and we all sang about Neptune!

Somehow between the laughter, the songs, eggs cracked upon our heads and the silliness, we officially became Shellbacks.

Aria getting ready to share her toast and song to Neptune (see more on Instagram)

Aria’s ode to Neptune to the tune of Baby Got Back:

I like King Neptune and I can not lie All you other mermaids can't deny, when King Neptune swims in with a hairy bearded face and a trident in your face, you get SPRUNG.

He's got a big castle and you noticed he's really buff, hes got the bejeweled crown he's wearing I'm hooked and I cannot stop starin

Oh baby I wanna praise ya for days-ya,
all the mermaids tried to warn me but king Neptune is really stunning!

Oh king Neptune you control the seas, waves and currents and the dominion of the deep.

I see you ruling, the mermaids are drooling
'Cause your big and salty and you're crown is really sparkly.
And I've never seen a king whose scales have quite that sheen.

Cuz Neptune yeah KING neptune, yeah, King Neptune is really great, hell yeah!

The Final Stretch

By Day 6:

231 nautical miles to go
Still slow rolling
Still weirdly loving it
Adam refined his fuel calculations and we bumped up the speed a little as we were not burning as much as originally estimated

The ocean kept shifting silky swells to mirror-flat calm. Purple sunsets, full moon nights, and eventually a little more texture as we got closer.

We even had an escort of boobies guiding us in like slightly chaotic pilots.

Arrival Day (Because It Can’t Be Too Easy)

About 6 hours out, we spotted something random in the water, a little detour to go check it out and what we saw was three random sea lions just lounging. Half out of the water almost like they were pretending to be sharks. Haha. What we found out is that is how they regulate their body temperatures. But it’s quite funny to see from afar.

As we continued toward Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Adam goes to fire up the engines.

Port engine = dead.

Brand new battery. Dead.

Of course the new battery is dead. I mean, makes total sense.

Adam worked his magic, got it charged just enough, and we rolled into harbor on both engines like nothing ever happened. I cannot stress enough how lucky we are that this guy can put on multiple caps (mechanic, plumber, skipper, etc).

We Made It 🎉

Just over 900 nautical miles.
Our longest passage yet.
Motored for almost six days.

And honestly?

It was PERFECT.

We dropped anchor, cracked a drink on the bow, and just soaked it in. We were even welcomed by a pelican on our solar panels and he was welcome until he decided to drop a present on them. Then we chased him away and used copious amounts of water to clean the solar panel.

Prepping for the Check-in

Next morning = full inspection mode.

Customs, immigration, park officials, paperwork for EVERYTHING.

Garbage logs
Oil logs
Black water
No fresh food
Meat restrictions
Certificates for all the things

Total cost for 30 days to see 4 islands? About $3,900. Next post will include the whole process and how it all went. But we had the evening to prep for their arrival, which was great. Gave us time to get the boat ready and relax for the evening.

Looking Back

We thought this passage would be about sailing.

Turns out it was about something else. Slowing down, finding our groove, watching the kids adjust and feel comfortable at sea.

A year ago, a 3-day passage felt overwhelming. Now? We just did 7 days. It was brilliant. Couldn’t have asked for a better crossing. Well, maybe Adam could but I was happy as a clam!

Panama to Galapagos ~ Doldrum Style