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Sweden to Ireland 1998-06-21 to 1998-07-26 | |
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Ireland to Spain 1998-07-26 to 1998-08-30 | |
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Portugal to Madeira 1998-09-07 to 1998-10-04 | |
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Madeira to Canaries Islands 1998-10-04 to 1998-11-08 | |
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Canary Islands to West Indies1998-11-08 to 1998-12-27 | |
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Bequia to Tobago 1998-12-27 to 1999-01-31 | |
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Tobago and Trinidad | |
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Trinidad to ABC islands | |
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San Blas/Panama to Galapagos | |
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Galapagos to Marquesas | |
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Marquesas to Tuamotu Islands |
S/Y Ariel IV Circumnavigation 1998-2001
In the beginning.
We (Eric and Birgitta) met in the yacht club in Lomma (Sweden), after the annual meeting in 1979. Maybe not so romantic, but a good way to start. We had a strong interest in common, originating in our childhood; the sea, sailing and boats. Our first boat, Ariel I was a beauty, a "skärgårdskryssare" built in wood. With that boat we sailed all the way to Germany. Ariel II was a Danish built Drabant which we raced a lot with, but we also made a longer trip to England, Channel-islands and France. It was an adventurous journey with only a hardly working radio-direction finder as only navigation equipment, except echo sonar and a log. With Ariel III and two small children we spent a happy and exiting year in 1988, in the Mediterranean. That voyage was the base for our future dreams of further sailing, more time and further away.
The route
The sailing starts the 21 of June from RÅÅ. The first stop will probably be Helsingör (Denmark). From there we sail to Skagen and Norway. From Norway we will continue to Shetland and Scotland. Via Caledonian Canal we will come to Ireland. From South of Ireland we continue across the Biscay to Spain and Portugal. We don't want to miss the EXPO 98 in Lisbon. From south of Portugal we sail out to Madeira and down to the Canaries. In November it´s time for crossing the Atlantic together with all the other yachts. Before the crossing some repair and service have to be done to the boat and equipment. The Canaries is also the place for buying a lot of food before the expensive Caribbean.
After some months in the West Indies we go south to Trinidad, Venezuela and on to Panama via San Blas, were some of the last Indian´s in the world lives.Then it´s time to go through the Panama Canal and enter the Pacific Ocean! Galapagos, Marquesas, Samoa, Tonga, are places were only your imagination sets the limits.We will leave the Pacific Ocean when the hurricane season starts, and then sail down to New Zealand and Australia. Then we have made half the way, passed the equator and entered a new millennium!
After Australia our journey continues towards Indonesia, Sir Lanka and India.After India and Oman comes the hard bit (says some) or the fantastic bit (says some others), the Red Sea and the Suez Cannel before we once again enter the Mediterranean. After that we are almost home and can soon truly call ourselves circumnavigators!
See World map with a red line for our journey in the Swedish text under "Rutten".
Ariel IV
Ariel is an old Hebrew name that means worn by the wind, wind-spirit. One of the most famous ships with this name was the tea-clipper Ariel that sailed on the tea-trade between England and China in the 19th century. Ariel competed against well known ships as Cutty Sark and Thermotyle to be the first to dock in England with the new tea for the year.
Ariel IV that will become our home during tree years, were built in Denmark 1982-85.This boat has done one circumnavigation before with Danish owners 1985-88. The boat is 50 feet, steel. Constructed by the Dane Arne Borghegn. Cutter rigged, flush-decked with two separate cockpits. Beam 4.42 meters, depth 2.5 meters, displacement 22 tons, sail area 150 square metres, 4 cabins with 10 bunks, saloon and pantry. 12 / 220 volt electric system. On the whole a boat well equipped for a long and safe sailing.
The family on board
Ariel IV is sailed by Eric and Birgitta, about 45 years old, Christian 16 (when the journey starts), Rasmus 11 and Jens 9. Our surname is Boye but Birgitta has also the name Freudenthal. Eric is a doctor and Birgitta works as a cultural manager in Sweden. Christian will finish secondary school (nine years) and take some years off, before further education. During the spring 98 he has been working hard with his marks in school, but also taken his time for scuba diving. Rasmus was newly born before our last voyage and spent his first years on board Ariel III. For Jens this will be his first long trip, except the sailing we have done every summer around Scandinavia. Both the younger kids will go to school on board. Teachers will be the parents, Christian and the computer. Eric and Birgitta have sailed many nautical miles together before. This voyage will add about 30 000 more!
Motivation
Many people ask us why we want to leave the comfortable and secure life at home, friends and work. We sail because we believe in life and all it's possibilities. A sort of love fore life perhaps which also includes consciousness that it doesn't last fore ever and that it's too short to spill on unimportant things. We want to live actively and decide direction of life ourselves. We want to try passing our own borders, when the storm is howling or when we just exist without stress or obligations. We want to experience new situations and get to know people with different values. We don't sail as an escape from the treadmill. We think that the journey can give us new outlooks on ordinary life at home which, when we come back, will help us to find new possibilities and make us happier in life.
We sail for:
-the family, the children and us
-the adventure and the sailing
-the sea, the nature, swimming, diving, the sun
-the health
-the challenge
-new people, new friends, new ways of living
-the dream
-now or never.
RÅÅ / Sweden in March 1998
Birgitta & Eric
Christian, Rasmus & Jens
Boye-Freudenthal
Translated by Christian Boye,
March 1999, Trinidad W.I.
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Swedish letter 1-5
When the 21 of June, the leaving day, finally came, were we very happy, very sad, and very very tired. We had packed our home into banana-boxes and sent some for storage and some to the boat. Some were given to friends, but even more were thrown away. We had been working hard on the boat the last weeks before the leaving day. There was always another job to be done. We still had a lot left. S/y Ariel IV sank quite a bit when we filled her up with new radar, wind generator, instruments and clothes, books, toys, medicines, and all other things that you need in a home. And of course loads of food. Hundreds of tins, sugar, flour, honey, ketchup, soups, and much much more.
Råå, our home harbour was totally crowded with people on our leaving day. Hundreds of friends came from all over Sweden and Denmark to say goodbye. Some we had not met for ten years. There were also hundreds of people we did not know at all. Many other sailors accompanied us out through the port entry. A friend of ours fired his canon for us. The newspapers were there to wish us luck. And at the very end of the pier stood our closest friends and sang for us! We only went a few miles that first day to Helsingör in Denmark. We had to rest after the leaving party. We were finally on our way.
After some days we left our home area to hopefully reach Shetland Islands. But the winds were against us and we ended up in Anholt, Läsö and finally Skagen. In Skagen was a festival going on, lots of music and beer. But the harbour-fee was a bit too much for us, so we decided to have another go for Shetland. Neither this time did we get the right winds, and ended up in Mandal in Norway. We continued to Eigersund and saw killerwhales. The marina in Eigersund gave one free ticket for the local cinema to all guest boats. One ticket is not much good for a family of five. So Christian went around to the other boats and collected four other tickets from boats that were not going to see the film. That evening we saw: The man in the iron mask. Again we headed for Shetland and this time we made it. The crossing was rough. A gale blew from the wrong direction, and huge swells. So when arriving in Shetland we were quite tired.
We spent ten days in Lerwick. We met Rhys Diamond 11 years, and his family. They took us on a tour around the island and invited us to their home. We also met the Norwegian boat Gadden, a beautiful Colin Archer, with Sölve, Randy and their daughter.
After another hard sailing we entered Inverness, and the first lock of the Caledonian Canal. Good friends of ours took us in their car to their home village, over the high mountains of Scotland. We went through the canal in three days. We anchored one night in Loch Ness were we saw Nessi, the monster. Another night by Fort Williams and we were out on the other side. We decided together with Gadden to hurry south to the sun. We were all tired of the rain that we had to stand all the time. So we continued down the coast of Ireland with Gadden and Australian Amaroo and came with rain to Belfast.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 6-10
After some days in Belfast we sailed along the coast of Ireland to Strandford Narrows. We had a barbecue on the beach with Gadden. The current in Strandford Narrows is so strong that we had a really hard time getting back to the boat with the dinghy. Next stop was Dun Laoghaire just outside Dublin. We found the local centre for traditional Irish dancing and folk music. We saw a great show that reminded us of Riverdance, the now world known show. Step dancing with lots of action. It was quite different from Swedish folk music. The next day we went in to Dublin. We really liked the city, and would have liked to spend more time there. We met hundreds of happy Celtic fans from Glasgow in their green-white shirts and scarves. From Dublin we sailed to Cork in one day. Cork was our last harbour in Ireland before Spain.
Now we only had to wait for good weather for the crossing. While waiting for the good weather we were stocking up. Lots of fresh food for the passage. And finally the day came when the weather was supposed to be good. The GPS showed 508 nautical miles. We expected to reach La Coruna in four days. It started with bad weather and we all were very seasick. The second day the weather calmed down and we had to power. That was the only nice day on this passage. The third day the wind came back, now from the right direction but too much. With two reefs in the sails we made up to ten knots! It was when we after only tree days saw Spain in the distance, that we first met the sun. For the first time we could have a swim, in La Coruna.
La Coruna came to be one of our favourite cites, with all the people, and culture. There were old small streets with all sorts of restaurants where all the people enjoyed their evenings. We had a good laugh with Gadden, trying to understand the Spanish menu. After several days in La Coruna just relaxing, we continued west. Passing the Northwest edge of Spain, to the fantastic coast of Galicia and Portugal. First stop was Muros, a small fishing village. We went walking up the hillside by small houses and small corn plantations. The locals were very nice, but none spoke English. Only an old sailor spoke German. He told us about the village and their special way of taking care of corn.
Another town was Porto Novo where we once again felt the Spanish atmosphere. We all tried Gaddens windsurfing board, and we did some snorkelling. One of the other highlights on this part of the trip was Islas Cien. A high, rocky island with white beaches and palm trees. By many cruisers called "the Paradise island". We stayed for four days to explore the island, have a barbecue and relax. Bayona was our next stop. We met many new boats in the marina, English "Street Legal" and the very special "Riverdancer" with two girls onboard, Rasmus and Jens age. Another one was Swedish Stormpippi, also with kids.
But the marina was too expensive and we moved over to some old fishing pontoons. The kids started to play with some old nets that had been left a long time ago. A fisherman that passed by saw them playing and was very upset. He wanted 25 000 pesetas (160 US Dollar) because we had "destroyed" his "nets". We saw no reason to pay for those old rotten nets, so he called the police. Fortunately the police realised that the nets were just rubbish. Next morning the fishermen came back with a huge crane and lifted away the whole dock! Six other boats and ourselves were driven away.
But the visit in Bayona ended well. We had a party on Ariel with all our friends from the other boats. After eating we all went up in town to see local dancing and music. The next stop will be Portugal.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 11-15
The first port in Portugal was Lexioes. We played and bodysurfed in big waves on the enormous beach. The hurricane "Danielle" was on its way against us so we decided to move to a safer harbour. It was in Peniche that we got the edge of the hurricane over us. There was not much wind, but huge waves. The waves went all over the harbour pier and smashed the cars that were parked on the other side. Several cars got filled up with seawater when their windows broke. Some people were hit by the waves and sucked out in the middle of the harbour.
The marinas in Lissabon were very expensive, so we stayed in Lexioes and took the bus down to Lissabon to se the EXPO 98 exhibition. We all thought the EXPO 98 was fantastic. But there were too much people. There were many things we would have liked to see, but we did not have time to stand in the queues. You would need at least a week to see all the main attractions. One of the tings we did see was the Swedish exhibition. It was apparently one of the ten best, and it was good.
So we passed Lissabon with the boat and went down to the south part of the coast, to Sines. Many other boats were anchored in the same bay and we all had a volleyball game together on the beach. Arne from Chiquitita helped us with the SSB radio, which did not work. After taking everything apart and having put it back together, the problem turned out to be in the electric system. As a sailor you must be an electrician, mechanic, carpenter, painter and a bit more. Next after Sines was the Algarve coast. We went into Lagos, a town made for tourists. We had to pay over 30 US dollars a night in the nice marina.
Our plans had been to go to Gibraltar and Marocco, but we didn't have much time, and the weather was not good. So we decided to go directly to Porto Santo and Madeira, and visit Gibraltar on the way home. The sail to Porto Santo from Lagos was our longest passage so far. It took four days. On the pier of Porto Santo were thousands of small paintings that sailors had done over the years. Both Riverdancer and ourselves made our own picture on one of the few spaces left. We spent one whole afternoon looking at all the names and pictures of other boats. Here was also the place were we first saw cockroaches in great numbers. All food that was brought onboard Ariel had to be washed. Paper was not allowed onboard at all because of the cockroach eggs that could be hidden in it. Almost every sailor has to fight those small animals, sooner or later!
After the small, silent Porto Santo our next destination will be the tourist island, Madeira.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 16-20
Still without cockroaches we arrived in Funchal. The harbour was very badly protected and huge swells came right in. It was very hard to sleep and the ketchup kept falling of the table. Riverdancer dragged ten times! So when a group of ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) boats left some pontoons, all of us on anchor went over to those. After lots of discussions with different harbourmasters we were allowed to stay two days. Most of us took the chance to leave the boat to go and see the island. We got out our camping gear and hired a black Opel.
All over Madeira are old small small canals which are used to bring the rainwater from the north of the island to the south were the farming land are. Those small canals are called Levadas and you can walk fore miles along them high up in the mountains. That's what we decided to do. By car we first got across the island and up in the mountains to a height of thousand metres. Then we walked along the Levadas that were not bigger than half a metre across. Many times the path was not much bigger, and then there was the mountainside so you had to pay attention to were you walked. We had a hard time to find a spot for our tent.
As we were not allowed to stay any more on the pontoons, we sailed on to Islas Selvagem, a tiny island between Madeira and the Canaries. The water was extremely clear. Together with Riverdancer and Street Legal we snorkelled with a visibility up to sixty meters. From Islas Selvagem we headed for the Canaries Island. Port of entry was Las Palmas were we needed some parts for the boat. Las Palmas was a big, dirty city. We whent all over the city to find different parts to the boat, laundry, and sort things out. It was a week of working. So it was nice to finally leave and get down to Puerto Rico on the south side of Grand Canaria to wait for our friends, the Pennegård family which were flying in to visit us.
They came as schedule at midnight, and we waited for them at there hotel. It was fantastic to see our friends after so long time. They had brought many packages and letters from home. The next day the P family went onboard Ariel IV to cruise with us for a week. Unfortunately the sail over to Tenerife from Grand Canary became were rough. And the PennegÂrd family that was not use to sailing was very seasick. On Tenerife we went by car around the Island and up the vulcano Teide. From a height of four thousand meters we got a dramatic view of Hierra, La Palma and Gomera.
Days of relaxing, moving from one anchorage to the other. Snorkelling, swimming, and just relaxing on the beach. The tour with the P family continued to Gomera and back to Puerto Rico where we had a pool-party before they had to fly back to Sweden. It was very sad to finally say goodbye to our friends. When leaving our friends we once again became ordinary sailors, and left Puerto Rico to go out on anchor in Puerto de Mogan. Soon it will be time for us to start preparing the boat for the Atlantic crossing.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 21-25
Now started the preparations for the Atlantic crossing. We spent one whole day in a Cash and Carry shop to fill our supplies with hundreds of tins, fresh food and much more. Jens and Rasmus were building sand sculptures on the beach outside one of the big hotels in Puerto de Mogan. People passing by put some money in Rasmus hat. After two days they had got six thousand two hundred and ten pesetas (45 US Dollar), a fortune for them.
Our friend and webmaster Tom arrived to sail with us for two months, to help us over the Atlantic. It was good to get an extra crewmember on the long sail. After stocking up next step was to get the boat ready. We returned to the nice marina in Gomera where many other sailors were working on their boats. We spent more then a week just working. The new towing generator was put in place. Tom took all the winches to parts and cleaned them. Both boat and rig were full of salt, and sand from the Sahara desert. So they had to be cleaned. All riggings had to be checked. A sun shed was made over the stern cockpit, and a lot of other jobs. Everything were put in place and secured. We took the last few days off to see a local celebration. Everyone in the village was out in the streets singing and dancing.
So finally after nine days of work we started our first leg over the Atlantic. It took us six days to reach Sao Vincente in Kap Verde. We found Kap Verde very different to what we had seen so far. It was an interesting experience. But we could not stay more then three days. We wanted to reach Bequia in W.I. before Christmas. So we started the second leg from Kap Verde to Bequia in the Grenadines. This crossing came to be fast, very fast but hard. Strong winds all the time and huge waves. No one felt too well and it was difficult to sleep when the boat was rocking around. With the windvane still not working we had to hand steer all the way across. After less the twelve days at sea we anchored next to "Street Legal" in Port Elisabeth/Bequia. Everyone onboard was happy to be there. We opened a champagne bottle to celebrate.
We spent the last four days before Christmas preparing. Getting very expensive food, buying presents but also meeting all the other sailors. On Christmas day we walked up the hill together with all the other Scandinavians to Norwegian Mariannes traditional Scandinavian Christmas Party. In the evening came Guy, Annika and her mother over. We had a Swedish Christmas meal and opened the presents. Guy was quite confused with our Swedish singing. Some days after Christmas when everything was back to normal, we all went diving on the Devils Table in Port Elisabeth. Christian, Annika and Jan-Petter from "Nordanvind" took their scuba equipment, while the rest snorkelled in the shallow water.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 26-30
We came to stay longer then expected in Bequia. Celebrated New Year with Street Legal. We entered the last year of this millennium in the water, swimming with the champagne-glasses around the boats. So after several weeks in Bequia we were longing for some beaches and snorkelling. So the next destination became Tobago Cays, with fantastic reefs. Jens had his birthday, the best present was a reel steelpan that he soon managed to play some tunes on. It was time for our friend Tom to fly home to Sweden. A ticket was booked in St Lucia, so we slowly started our way north.
We got two very different experiences of St Lucia, which we believe reflect the situation in the whole Caribbean. The first stop was made in a small anchorage, Wallilabou. When coming in, local boys climbed on our boat trying so sell all sorts of things. It took a long time to get them off the boat. When we wanted to put stern lines to a palmtree, they threatened to cut our ropes during the night if we didn't pay them money. We became very upset, but did not pay. The ropes were never cut. The stay in Marigot Bay was more pleasant. Men came out in their small boats to sell fruit, but they were polite and did not get angry if we didn't buy anything.
We had a barbecue as a goodbye party for Tom. A local singer passed by, and invited us to a bar were he was to play reggae that evening. We all accompanied him, and Tom played some songs with the band. When Tom had left us we had some days of work and stocking up in Rodney Bay, then we headed south again. Back to Bequia for some days and then down to Mayreu were we had a big birthday party, for Eric this time. All the sailors were invited. It began with volleyball games, and then we had some food on the beach.
After a nights stop in Union Island we sailed to Man of War Bay in Tobago. It was nice to leave the touristy Caribbean and all the charter boats behind. We found a small river next to the village Charlottenville, so we could wash all our dirty cloths. After three days we suddenly were surprised by enormous waves from a hurricane. Many boats dragged. We had to leave the stern-anchor and the lines couldn't get them until two days later. The whole beach and coastline was flooded by the waves. But luckily it stopped after only a few days, and the bay was calm again.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 31-35
After a fantastic week in Man of War Bay, we sailed round the north tip of Tobago and down the coast to Scarborough, the capital of Tobago. Together with "Stormpippi" and "Barka" we went to the cinema and saw two films for only one and a half-dollar (US). One day we took the bus down to Pigeon Point where all the tourists were gathered on the beach. With Espen from "Barka" as extra crew, we sailed over to Chaguaramas in Trinidad. Thousands of boats had gathered in the Bay of Chaguaramas. Many had come for the carnival. Some of the European boats were only sailing the Atlantic circuit. This was their turning point when they had to start heading back.
Many crews took the opportunity to use all the facilities in the different marinas to do some work on the boats. On Ariel we installed our new wind vane and also did many other repairs. Many were there because of the carnival of course. We stayed during the whole carnival and enjoyed dancing in the streets, king and queen finals, children's carnival and many other shows. Christian went with some friends to dance in the streets the whole night. They all came back covered in paint, mud and oil. The carnival was one of our most fantastic experiences, something we will never forget. Carnival went on for three weeks. 24 hours a day people were partying, playing music, and having a good time. There were always some activity going on. Trinidad became very quiet after the carnival. All Trinidadiens rested or went back to work.
Many of the sailors left, and the overfilled Chaguramas suddenly was not crowed any more. The cruisers that stayed went back to work on their boats. We got our new wind vane from the airport and started working on getting it in place. To get power for the tools we went in to Hummingbird's Marina. Many of our friends stayed there too. It was very good for the children to be able to go ashore any time. You meet many people from other boats when you are staying in a marina. With our low budget we usually can't afford it. One day we went out with a local hiking group in the jungle. The hike went through the forest, into the rivers and up the mountains! All the locals were singing and laughing. "The Trinidadiens love to party"
Swedish letter 36-40
With the boat full of tinned chicken, turkey, different sausages, beef, ham, fruit, vegetables, flour, sugar, rice, pasta, oil, potatoes, onion, spices, tea, raisins, jam, a box of Jamaica rum and everything else you need during some months at sea, we finally left Trinidad. Trinidad, a place we always will remember. One dark night with Gandalf, our new wind vane, steering we crossed the boarder for Venezuela and arrived in Los Testigos. Los Testigos are a group of small deserted islands far off the coast. Only about a hundred people live there. Friendly fishermen showed us around. On the islands grew cactuses twice the size of a human being. All along the coast were big, white, endless beaches. Eric and Christian went diving on brain coral, seafans, goat fish, parrot fish, blue head, tube sponge, tuna fish and huge star fishes.
Some other wild islands were Los Roques, which came to be our next stop. Rasmus had his birthday and we had a barbecue for him on the beach. His favourite gift was a water ski rocket that the kids were playing with, towing it after the dinghy all day. Christian made a cake that Rasmus decorated beautifully with sweets. We had a lovely and relaxing time, until everything broke! The diving compressor broke, an oil-hose to the generator exploded, the mainsail ripped, the throttle to the main engine didn't work, some kids made 25 holes in the dinghy and the outboard engine was down.
After several days of hard work the most important things had been fixed. English "Yangshou" with Myles and Craig onboard showed us their list of things that had broken so far, and we laughed together. A main part of a cruiser's life is mending things on the boat. A Venezuelan family, on their Grand Banks boat, invited us over and we had a meal with them. We always find it interesting to meet people from the countries we visit. We would have liked to stay longer in Los Roques, but we had to carry on. This time to Dutch Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Bonaire is known to be one of the worlds best diving places. Eric, Christian, Myles and Craig went diving almost every day on different dive sites.
We celebrated Easter in Bonaire. First egg painting on Ariel and then a Mexican meal on "Yangshou". From Bonaire we passed Curacao and sailed in strong winds to Aruba. Our stay in Aruba was very short. Stocking up for the passage and preparing the boat. "Camille", "Moven" and "Yangshou" were also on their way to Panama. The coast of Colombia is supposed to be unsafe, so it was nice that we had company. Tomorrow we will set sail for San Blas in Panama.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 41 - 45
We arrived in San Blas one late evening. Entered the lagoon and dropped the anchor just before dark. In the morning friendly Indians came out to the boat in their wooden canoes, carved from logs, and painted with the colours of the rainbow. They invited us to their village. When coming to the village it was like being moved thousands of years back in time. The houses were made of wood with palm leaves as roof. The Kuna Indians make traditional textile art called "Molas". They put many fabrics on top of each other and cut out the patterns. Proud women showed us their work and we bought a few "Molas" with patterns of birds, lizards, fish and other animals.
We spent over a week cruising around the small islands of San Blas before heading for Colon and the Panama Canal. Colon was the place for cruisers of waiting and preparing. Preparing and waiting for the transit day of the Panama Canal. Extra fenders were made of tiles. Supplies were taken in. Line-handlers and rope were rented or borrowed. The Canal inspectors came onboard to check the boat. And finally it was just to wait for the Big Day. Every day a few boats leave to go through. Finally the day came for Ariel. The pilot arrived at 5 am, and we entered the first lock at sunrise. We were all very agitated after having heard lots of stories of boats that had mishaps in the canal.
Many boats got damages when the big ships in front of them started their propellers. Our pilot, Caesar, told us to go up alongside a big motorboat. That way, they handled all the lines, and we did not have to worry about them. We passed the first locks successfully and entered the lake between the locks. As fast as we could we went through the artificial lake to get in time for the days last locking. We were very lucky and made it all in one day, entering the Pacific and leaving the Atlantic Ocean behind. Next day Birgitta and Christian went back to Colon with Myles and Craig who had been our line handlers. Now it was our turn to help them and get Yangshou through.
Yangshou was not as lucky as Ariel. They were supposed to transit on a Friday. Nothing happened. Saturday was not possible. On Sunday was the president election. No transit. Monday, no pilots were available. It was not until Thursday we finally got into the canal. When we all safely were through, we left Panama as soon as possible. We were tired of the big cities and longing for the silent Las Perlas. Christian stayed with Yangshou and sailed with them a couple of days after Ariel IV had left. On a small deserted island in Las Perlas lived Dieter and Gerda from Hamburg. They had been sailors like us many years ago. When their money was finished and they found their paradise they put the boat on the beach and stayed forever. They showed us their tiny house and their garden with avocado, oranges, lemons, grapefruit, nuts, breadfruit, kapok, almond, teakwood, balsa, pineapple, mango and bananas. When setting out for the nine hundred nautical miles from Las Perlas to Galapagos we guessed the passage would take six to eight days. But when we met the light winds and the strong currents against us, we realised that it would take much longer.
One day passed, and another one. The sea was calm, life onboard was easy. Five - six days, not even half way. The current was even stronger, pushing us back and eastwards. Will we ever get to Galapagos?
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 46 - 50
After twelve days sailing from Panama we finally spotted San Cristobal in the Galapagos group. Having sailed almost two weeks in light winds and crossed the equator it was, as always, nice to get into port. Sea lions and turtles welcomed us when we dropped anchor in Wreck Bay. The animals in Galapagos are totally unafraid of humans. Sea lions played around the boat and one of them jumped into our dinghy to get some sleep. When we wanted to use it, he was far away in the dream world and would not move! Together with the crew of Morven and Yangshou we went on a tour around the island. Galapagos was created millions of years ago by volcanic activity. Still today active volcanoes exist. We visited one of the dead ones. The crater had been filled with water and become a huge lake.
Our guide took us to a special lagoon on the north side of the island were one could swim with sea lions. First it was scary, but they never touched us. Just looked curiously at us as they swam by, many times faster then a human ever could.
Later we found black iguanas. Perfectly camouflaged, with their rough black skin against the rock.
To protect this unique wildlife the government has set up many special laws and rules. We were only allowed to stay a certain time and only visit some of the islands.
On Santa Maria is a bay called "Post Office Bay". The name is from the 18th century when sailors used to leave letters in a barrel on the beach. Other sailors that came by picked up the post and took it with them to wherever the post was going. The barrel is still there today and the tradition lives on among sailors. Unfortunately Santa Maria is one of the islands we were not allowed to visit! So we had to sneak in together with "Yangshou" when no one saw us and make a short visit.
Next island was Isla Isabel. This was one of the islands where we could stay longer. We didn't arrive until it was totally dark. The other boats were shining lights at us and trying to direct us to a good spot in the rolley harbour. We slept well after long day of sailing. We woke up next morning from voices outside. With the tide Ariel had swung round and was now pointing her stern against "Discovery's" bow. Before Eric had started the engine it was too late! "Discovery" ran into us and cracked Gandalf, our new windvane, in twoÖ
What could we do now? It was now we needed Gandalf the most for the three thousand miles long passage to Marquesas. Was it possible to mend?
Chris on "Morven" came over in his dinghy with tools and super strong epoxy glue. After several days of gluing, drilling and screwing, Gandalf was once again in one piece. Now full of new screws and epoxy, but working. Hopefully this will take us to Tahiti were we can get a new part sent out.
Isla Isabel was a fantastic place. Close to the boat swam sharks, turtles and many other animals.
Eric, Christian and some of the other cruisers rented a fishing boat to go scuba diving.
The wildlife under water was, if possible, even more exiting. Huge turtles, sea lions, sharks, fishes and many other animals swam by. Not everyone dared to stay in the water when big hammerhead sharks appeared.
One of the last days in Galapagos all the sailors went horseback riding up the volcano. Riding along the crater of one of the world's biggest volcanoes, we got a great view of the volcanic landscape.
The last evening in the Galapagos Islands we all had a meal on "Discovery". Everyone was talking about the longest crossing ever and saying good bye, for now. The next morning all the boats were up early to prepare sailing. After taking the sun tent down, packed the dive gear, deflated the dingy and stored it away, put swimsuits and towels away, secured everything downstairs, and checked Gandalf one last time we finally pulled up the two anchors and left for Marquises islands together with the other boats. With good trade winds from behind we made fair speed in nice weather. More than three weeks at sea is a long time. But everyone soon gets into the routines onboard and the days pass quickly. Eric, Birgitta and Christian take eight hours each of the watches in two hour sets. Then there is food to be cooked, schoolwork to be done. Several times a day we speak to the other boats behind and in front of us on the radio. On the third day "Morven" started a quiz. The next day "Yangshou" took over and then "Discovery". Jens pulled out his fishing lure and soon caught two tunas, over ten kilos each. Days flew by, but after 21 days we are really looking forward to see land.
Christian Boye
Swedish letter 51-55
On the morning of the twenty-first day at sea we spotted the mountains on Fatu Hiva. At mid day we could see almost the whole island, and when we in twilight finally anchored we met the most beautiful bay we had ever seen. Surrounded by steep, high mountains the bay with a small village. Before the missionaries came there lived almost a hundred thousand people on the twelve Marquesas Islands. Today it's only six thousand left. About two hundred people live in the village in "our" bay. The kids met us, playing football as so many other kids in the world. Everywhere grew palms, bananas, coconuts, papaya and breadfruit to pick for the hungry. Behind the village led a small path on a seven-hour amazing walk over the mountains and through the valleys to the island's other village, with the only shop. From there we had to take a boat back. From Fatu Hiva we sailed up to Hiva Oa to clear customs and immigration. A young policeman told us that we had to pay "the Bond". It is money equal to a flight ticket home. We will get the money back three months after leaving the country. But the cost of money transfer fees and lost interest would be almost three hundred US Dollars, money we don't want to spend. So we decided not to tell him that we had not paid, and take the risk. A punishment fee would probably be less anyway!
After have done some shopping, we left for the beautiful bay Hane Moe Noa on Tahuata. Local people were very surprised to see eleven big yachts anchored in their bay. It was Myles thirtieth birthday, and we all celebrated him on the beech. The next day all the boats got out their surfboards, dinghies, canoes, balls and other "toys". The bay looked like a tourist camp. Rasmus bought a sailing dinghy from "Danish twins" for his own money. He named it Albatross II and was very proud.
Christian and Eric went hunting octopus with Myles and Craig of "Yangshou". The octopuses hid under stones and were not easy to catch. We shot one of them with a spear gun and put two stainless hooks in it before we could pull it out. Later in the evening it made a lovely stew in Ariel's cockpit together with Yangshou. We cooked the octopus and they made the rice. Sailors are very social people and we often have a drink or a meal together with the crew of other ships.
The thirteenth of July we sailed on to Vaitahu on Tahuata to see the local fourteenth July celebration. We wondered why the locals celebrate the French national day, and if they would shout for freedom.
But the celebration was very Polynesian. Men danced their war dances to drums and women their gracious dances to guitars.
Eric had always wanted a traditional tattoo from Polynesia, the home culture of tattoos. So one day he went to the village's tattooer Felix and designed a bracelet of his life story. The work took four hours. Sam on American "Rhapsody" were inspired and got a small one on his chest. Afterwards we had a tattoo party on "Rhapsody". Everyone had to be tattooed.
After two days of light winds we arrived in Tuamotu on the island Raroia were the Kon Tiki raft landed 1947. We anchored with "Yangshou" and "Soulmate" on the spot where they landed. Keith got out his harpoon gun and tried to shoot some sharks in shallow water on the reef. Keith told us that most fish in "fish and chips" in New Zealand is shark. The rest of us tried to scare the sharks towards Keith. Very exiting, even though we didn't catch anything. Instead the Italian boat "Tenera Luna" treated us with fried reef fish and Italian pasta!
Christian Boye
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