Last email from land!
Date: 4/5/01 8:42:55 PM Pacific Daylight Time

     We are preparing to leave Isla Isabela, probably on Saturday. Ann is mending a chafed area where the mainsail attaches to the boom & mast. I checked all of our thru hull fittings and strainers where we take sea water into the boat for things like cooling the engine or generator. Good thing, too, because I found a plastic bag in one strainer. We have topped off our fuel, 230 gallons, which is enough to get us about one third of the way to the Marquesas. Actually, we are closer to Phoenix (2380 miles) and Minneapolis (2760 miles) and than we are to Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia which is 2975 miles away. We are in a betting pool with four other boats about how long it will take. The range of betting runs from 20 days to 26 days. The pool winner gets a quart of rum from each of the other three boats in the Marquesas.
     Sunday Mike, Ann and I went diving with two guides near a small uninhabited island. One (an Israeli woman) had been diving the area 2 weeks without seeing hammerhead sharks. We saw hammerheads on both dives and the last one was big (12 feet) and close. We also saw the smaller white tip reef sharks, a big sea turtle, two schools of small species manta rays, played with sea lions, saw lots of eels and unnamed fish. The abundance of sea life is amazing - the whole food chain starts with cold sea currents that uplift from the deep rich with nutrients so there is plenty of food for everything up the chain. They say that's why the hammerheads here aren't aggressive and don't eat tourists, very often.
     Yesterday when I dove to the clean the bottom of the boat, a sea lion came right up to me. When I wouldn't play, he poked his head right at the area where I was cleaning like Igor our Siberian husky used to. Then, bored, he swam off, disgusted.
     Mike and Stacy were in charge of getting our last 20 gallons of diesel fuel in 4 five gallon cans. They talked a truck driver into taking them to the gas station, as there are no taxis on Isabela. The station ran out of diesel yesterday. None expected until April 25. They then tried a construction site and then the national park, all to no avail. Then they tried the 65 foot fishing boat moored right behind us. Come back "ala cinco" the crew said. At 5:00 pm sharp Mike positioned Stacy on the bow of the dinghy holding up a bottle of rum where the fishing boat captain would be sure to see it. When they returned to High Drama they reported that they had negotiated the following terms: 20 gallons of diesel for 1 bottle of rum, $20, and permission to anchor closer to High Drama to get a better view of Ann taking a shower in the aft cockpit. Does Mike negotiate loans like that? Seven boats left the anchorage for the Marquesas today. They all leave with great fan fare, horn tooting, and smart talk. We are anxiously awaiting our turn Saturday.

Jeff & Ann
Mike & Stacy
S/V High Drama
Isla Isabela Galapagos, Ecuador