I spent the first half of the week preparing for our passage to the Galapagos. The preparations focused on provisioning and preparing the boat for several long passages. Due to concerns about the availability of food and boat parts in the Galapagos and Marquesas, we attempted to obtain everything that we will need over the next two months. By Wednesday, the boat was fully loaded with fuel, water, and food, lowering the waterline and providing a convenient excuse for our expected slow speed. We woke Thursday morning to find the anchorage as calm as a mill pond. The weather forecast showed little to no wind and the outlook for departing for the Galapagos was bleak.
Still, after our prolonged goodbye’s and because of our strong desire to get under way, we visited some neighboring boats to seek reassurance. The two boats planning to depart with us, Invictus and Geodesic, commiserated about the undesirable conditions but reaffirmed their plans to leave in the afternoon. The decision to stay or go was made even more difficult by the sailing superstition that it is bad luck to depart on a Friday. Not wanting to anger the sailing Gods, we did some last-minute shopping in the morning and were thrilled to be greeted by a fresh breeze in the anchorage upon on our return. After securing everything on the boat, we hauled anchor and set off for the Galapagos at roughly 3:00 PM.