Day 58: Galapagos – 04/03/10

I am awake at 5 am after only four hours’ sleep.  I wake in a panic feeling sick and with a headache over last night’s impromptu ducking.  While Mike gets me some water and a tablet, I try my camera again but no, it is well and truly caput!

I cuddle up to Mike in bed feeling frightened and fragile, thinking of all the ‘what ifs’ and pondering about how quickly a situation can change.  Mike points out that it was an unpleasant reminder about complacency on the boat.  It’s all too easy to forget to do things safely.  I go over and over the events leading up to me going overboard, coming to the conclusion that in this situation, there were too many little things added together to set me up for the fall, most importantly being the condition of the sea which we could do nothing about.

Still, that’s two of us that have gone into the sea and broken our cameras in a week.  Mike had better watch out.  At least I was completely physically unharmed, unlike Jim who still has his arm in a sling, although he is milking the situation for all it is worth, requesting that all ladies give him a hug to make it feel better.  Make what feel better, Jim?

The sea is still rough in the morning and we start to get a little concerned about getting both Jim and his luggage off the boat and into a water taxi.  He is booked into a hotel for the night as his flight is in the morning.  In the end, Paul from WCC says he will come over and help in the afternoon.

Mike and I start the laborious and messy job of emptying diesel from jerry cans into the tank on Jeannius.  Re-fuelling is done at sea from a small boat but one of the other WARC yachts got some dirty fuel here so we don’t want their fuel straight into our tank.  By filling with clean stuff we can refill the jerry cans then strain this into the tanks when we need it. 

I make a cheese and onion bread which I have to say is delicious.  I use the normal quick bake programme and just chuck in raw red onion and chunks of cheese.  It’s a bit doughy but yummy.

Jim leaves the boat for the hotel, Mike going with him with his case.  We arrange to meet up at The Rock tonight before going out to dinner.  It will be strange without Jim.  True, I will be able to walk around with no clothes on again and do naughty things with my husband anywhere on the boat but Mike and I will also have to do the washing up and I will have no one to take the piss out of.  True, I can do this to Mike but Jim has been providing me with much more ammunition!!

It takes ages to get a water taxi.  I am cautious today and wear my buoyancy aid, still nervous after yesterday.  The sea is all over the place again.  I have to say I can’t wait to leave this bay on Sunday.

We meet him at The Rock, where he has a couple of beers and says goodbye to people, then we head to El Giardino, where we have a really lovely meal.  Thanks, Jim.

Photo:  The Last Supper

We walk Jim back to his hotel, as by his own admission, he is a little tipsy then run the gauntlet of the water taxi and rough sea.  I am probably a rather incongruous sight (well, more than usual anyway).  Wearing white linen trousers, stringy top, pearls, scruffy deck shoes (having changed out of my pretty sandals) and buoyancy jacket, the water taxi driver does look at me a little curiously.  We arrive at Jeannius and the sea is heaving.  The driver pulls up alongside rather than at the stern steps and Mike pulls himself over the side.  It is about four feet up but moving rapidly, but I am just about able to make my legs stretch and get aboard safely.

And now we are two!