Chapter 35

I’m not willing to say that the sail from Isabella in the Galapagos was boring ... Yes I am. Day after day of a constant 15 knot breeze that had us doing 12 knots over the ground. 331 miles in 24 hours. Forty one hundred, sixty-three miles took 12 and a half days of sailing.

First landfall was the Marquesas.

The Marquesas Islands are one of the most remote in the world, lying about 852 miles northeast of Tahiti and about 3,000 miles away from the Panama.

With a combined land area of 405 square miles, the Marquesas are among the largest island groups of French Polynesia Nuku Hiva being the second largest island in the entire territory, after Tahiti. With the exception of Motu One, all the islands of the Marquesas are of volcanic origin.

In contrast to the tendency to associate Polynesia with lush tropical vegetation, the Marquesas are remarkably dry islands. Though the islands lie within the tropics, they are the first major break in the prevailing easterly winds that spawn from the extraordinarily dry (from an atmospheric perspective) Humboldt Current.

Because of this, the islands are subject to frequent drought conditions, and only those that reach highest into the clouds (generally, above about 2,500 ft above sea level) have reliable precipitation. This has led to historical fluctuations in water supply, which have played a crucial role in the sustainability of human populations in certain sections of the various islands throughout the archipelago. (Wiki)

The islands are green and lush and semi tropical. The scenery is spectacular ... especially welcome after four thousand miles of ocean.

At sea we had the constant sound of water splashing, gurgling, hissing; the rigging sang, the lines knocked against the masts, the flapping of disarranged canvas, and the constant cries and chirping of our accompanying pod of dolphins.

Mid ocean is a desert ... but there seem to be swarms of fish swimming constantly about the Vellamo II Our dolphins were likely making an ocean crossing and using us as a guide.

“Yeah, right, ” Wendy said, when I posited the idea. But later in the ocean she said, “Old Bill is coming right along.”

“Old Bill?”

“Yes, the dolphin ... Old Bill. Surely you’ve been watching our pod, ” Wendy said.

“Our pod?”

“You haven’t noticed?” She waved at the dolphins surfing our wake.

“You mean, they’re the same ones?” I was amazed.

“Yes, Daddy, ” said the Triplets ... with one voice.

They started chirping and chuckling in a high pitched, nearly inaudible way. This caused our pod to leap high in the air and look for the girls.

When the dolphins found the girls, they chirped and chuckled back. Some of it I couldn’t hear ... but it made my ears hurt.

“Daddy, we need to change our direction.”

They got a little confused and asked, “What is our direction called?”

“Our course.”

“We need to change our course.”