Ho guys,
Monday, 5 February 2007, we will clear out of Panama to begin our longest passage so far. There have been a few changes in our plans and the itinerary looks now like this:
Panama --> Galapagos --> Easter Island --> Pitcairn --> Mangareva (Gambier Islands) --> Tuamotus --> Tahiti
This way we can't go to the Marquesas, which originally was one of our main goals, but as almost everybody else is going there - The Fleet they call it these days - we decided to forgo that route. Most of the anchorages are tiny and I can't imagine how the Polynesians feel when hundreds of boats suddenly show up at their doorstep.
We took on provisions, so that we are slightly loaded down at the moment. Still floating above the waterline for some reason. We had to find space for 200 liters of tonic water, 60 liters of rum, 40 cases of beer, 120 liters of Chilean wine, 15 liters of engine oil, 10 liters of gear lube, 460 liters of diesel as well as 750 liters of water. Also we got dried mushrooms and fungi of different kinds, thousand-year-old eggs, dried jellyfish, Chinese pickled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, dried shrimp, canned squid & octopi, salteggs, water-chestnuts, bamboo sprouts, dried and pickled mustard greens, dried radish, sha cha sauce, oyster sauce, bean paste, spicy bean paste, black saltbeans, mung beans and other assorted delicacies. Of course we also bought lots of juice, coffee, tea, tang, syrup, evaporated as well as UHT-milk and milk-powder, flour, sugar, noodles, rice, black bread, 72 packs of instant noodles from Taiwan, potato buds, five pounds of gummy-bears and other staple foods. I should not forget the 100 cans of fruit, vegetables and meat. Then there are ten bottles of rice wine and two bottles of Chinese pineapple-spirits for cooking, yeast, butter, margarine, shortening, baking powder, baking soda, spices and nuts. Finally Liping reminds me that there are plenty of cookies, crackers, granola, potato chips and other tidbits for the night watches.
Nor is this all, as our deep-freeze is completely empty, and we are planning to fill it to the brim just before we pull up the anchor. It may sound a bit crazy, but as we know the prices down where we are going, we think this may prove to be a worthwhile investment. Most of the stuff should last us for up to a year or at least all the way across the Pacific.
I don't think we will spend a lot of time on Easter Island or Pitcairn, as the anchorages there are supposed to be atrocious. Also, we are not particularly interested in making a fast passage and intend to reduce sail at night, in order to lower the chances of sudden stress and improve our sleep. I'll be taking the first watch until about 1:00 o'clock, while Liping will take the second one until daybreak when I will take over again. This seems to be the best solution since little Aurora Ulani sails with us.
We'll be completely out of touch until we find an Internet Cafe somewhere, which will probably in Papeete or some such. Anyway, I don't think we'll lack drink or food <grin> and if all goes well, it should be a most interesting trip.
Until then best from Aurora Ulani, Liping & Holger -- S/V DHARMA BUM III