U-Turn

Perkins is running well as we slowly make our way back to Villamil [town in the Galapagos] against a very strong current which helped us comfortably leave the anchorage with emotional elation yesterday around noon. The winds were favorable, and David and I were full of mixed feelings....excitement and tension.

We spent yesterday morning with Jodie and Mike, doing the last of the shopping and interneting, had breakfast, and enjoyed the colorful, bright sunny day. We left alone at 12:30, with the comforting assurance that many boats are out there, and we can touch base each morning and evening by way of SSB radio on our own net. Once we left the lee of the island, the wind picked up to 12 knots, along with the waves and strong current behind us, perfect for heading across the wild blue yonder, but it was directly aft of us, and we really do not have much down wind experience. Using the pole to make best use of the headsail is not fun at night, so we opted to head away from the rhumb line and go farther south, which, at this stage, is quite fine.

The freezer had been running for about an hour, and I decided it was cold enough to turn it off in order to save battery energy. Lo and behold, a fog-like mist was floating out of the R/A/D Assembly refrigerant cannister, which appears to have rusted through on the top, and when we looked for signs of freon in the window, there were none. Even after turning the system down, gases were escaping from the top of the cannister for a while. I think we are lucky to have found this problem while still in sight of Isla Isabella; can you imagine no refrigeration system for the 3,000 mile trip, discovered a few hundred miles into the trip? YOW! Our problem getting back is the strong current and wind on our nose, so we are still motoring, at 8:30 in the morning after trying to sail all night long. This venture of cruising certainly is differnet than we had imagined.

The huge dolphins just visited us and gave us a positive lift. We will email when we arrive in town tomorrow. Love to all, S&D