This was the beginning of our Pacific adventure and we left with the feeling that maybe we were not ready. There was no doubt in our minds that we had enough provisions to survive for several months but there was always the last thing to do, to fix or to buy. The main problem of the moment was the windlass. It was working but had started to fail once in a while. We know this was a sign, like most things that go wrong in the boat, there is usually a sign which is better not to ignore. But we decided to leave anyway, after all the crew has two guys on board to manually take care of the anchor if needed.
Z E N I T U D E
Blue Water Dreaming
Las Perlas - Espiritu Santo - 13 April 2010 - (08.25.70N-78.51.30W)
Panama City to Las Perlas - The Start of the Pacific Travels
Las Perlas - Contadora - 12 April 2010 - (08.37.18N-79.02.29W)
We left Playita anchorage very early in the morning for a day sail to Las Perlas
There was not even a breeze and the seas were glassy like a lake, we motored all the way and early in the afternoon arrived to Contadora, one of the islands in Las Perlas. We found the recommended anchorage in the east side quite deep and ended up dropping anchor in the south side which is shallower. There was a strong current and when the wind picked up, Zenitude would not present to the wind. So we decided it was too weird and moved to the east anchorage. Because of the current the anchor had fouled in its own chain, with great effort Murray and Oscar were able to free it and get it up. It was very strange. This wasn’t the first time that anchoring in strong current got us in trouble. We settled well in the east anchorage in about 6 meters but due to the difference in tides the depth raised later on to 10 meters. We didn’t find this place worth the trouble.
Early in the morning we left Contadora and in about 3 hours arrived to Esprirtu Santo. An outstanding place, very calm and secluded. There was just one other boat.
During the afternoon we took a dingy ride to the channel that promised good fishing in the current, Oscar tried to get dinner, but the fish didn't cooperate and we returned to Zenitude for a good night sleep before the crossing to Galapagos.
