World ARC Pacific 2023: Leg 4 - Galapagos to Marquesas

Our journey started with variable winds. Between Force 2 to Force 3 (4-10 knots). The engine was on and off as we regularly switched between sailing and motor sailing to maintain a speed of 5-6 knots.

One down side to our livesboard is that we are quite isolated and this can impact on our immune system. Most of the fleet left Galapagos with either a stomach bug or flu type symptoms. We were hit by the latter. Aches, sore throats and a lack of energy. It was a struggle to do anything other than sleep. This is bad enough when land based, but when there are just two of you and you are on a boat 24/7, the issues are compounded. Boat life was restricted to the basics – watches, eat and sleep. Oh and take plenty of tablets.

Fortunately, within a couple of days we were on the mend and life settled into our offshore routines. We could then contemplate the enormity of our passage – 3000nm at 5 miles an hour is a very long way!! We were very thankful for our daily SSB chats with the other rally boats and also our Audible books. We took the time to catch up on some photo sorting, reading about French Polynesia and Martin even managed to watch a few movies.

By Sunday 16^th April we were four days into the passage and the winds had picked up to a steady Force 4 (11 -16 knots). Escapade was in her element and we were eating through the miles at 7-8 knots.

The good winds continued for a few more days, but on, Thursday 20^th April,  they were accompanied by rolly seas and numerous squalls. This made life more tricky on board and a lot less comfortable.

Saturday 22^nd April saw the half way stage – yippee, all downhill now. Unfortunately, as is the way when we think we are making great progress, on Tuesday 25^th April, the wind dropped to Force 2 (4 – 6 knots). We were back to sailing and motor sailing at 3-5 knots. That added a few days onto our planned arrival time!!

Whilst sailing, especially long distances, the boat endures many stresses and strains. This obviously causes damage. Our sails have worked hard having travelled over 13,000 miles with us. We knew that they were becoming worn in the UV and we had already had a tear in the genoa when leaving St Lucia. We had hoped that they would last until Australia, where we could easily source new ones. We were not that fortunate. On Thursday 27^th April, a couple of squalls resulted in a 2m tear in the genoa. The rest of our trip was done with our staysail, furled genoa and main sail. Then on Thursday 4^th, one day from land, another squall led to a 2m tear down the leech line on the main. The sails would definitely not last until Australia!

Whilst on this passage, we were reminded of the importance of having the support of the sailing community and the emergency services. We heard via the ARC network and our other email links that a nearby boat had suffered a medical incident; a crew member had suffered a suspected seizure. This was not an ARC boat, but there were several ARC boats (including us) close enough to help. We contacted the boat by email and radio. All was under control. A cargo ship had diverted to collect the casualty and one of the ARC boats had gone to support. Two ARC crew went on board to help sail the boat to the Marquesas. The community had pulled together and all ended well.

Finally, on Friday 5th May, with damaged sails, we limped into Atuona, Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands. An epic journey of 3181nm in 3 weeks, 1 day and 22 hours!!