Tag Archives: costa rica

Another beautiful Sunset

Traversing the Pacific to Galapagos

Leave a reply

Now…catch up on previous events.  We hope you have enjoyed our live blogs.  This blog is from November 2018.

Matt and I so desperately wanted to leave Costa Rica.  Not because it was a bad place to visit, but because we wanted to get out of the rainy / lightning zone and because we had been there 5.5 months longer than originally planned.  Once we ensured all of our new equipment was in working order, we set our goal for traversing the pacific.

First, we had to clear out of Costa Rica and that entailed a 160-mile sail from Quepos to Golfito.  We considered doing the journey in one trip, overnight, but considering we did not have our “sea legs” just yet, we broke it up into 2.5 days.  After a 2 day stop in Golfito, we did a light provision and began our journey across the pacific.

The plan was to head for the Galapagos and if the wind took us toward Isla Cocos, we would make a “random” stop.  The schedule was estimated at a 6-7 day sail to Galapagos, with an additional 2-3 days added if we stopped at Isla Cocos.  Matt and I took 3 hour shifts (meaning 3 hours on and 3 hours off) the entire way.  We motor sailed most of the trip because the winds were very light.

Matt was able to live blog during the first 3 days so I will not duplicate his efforts.  However, below, I did add some details that were left off the blog and I added updates on the last part of the trip.  Matt could not update the blog after the 3rd day as the SSB failed for some reason.

Overall map of our track:

Crossing: Costa Rica to Galapagos

Crossing: Costa Rica to Galapagos

TOTAL TRIP STATS:

  • 809nm – Miles Traveled
  • 11.0kt – Max Speed
  • 6.kt – Average Speed
  • 6-1kt – Wind Speed

Each 24 hour period breakdown is below along with some additional highlights that missed the “live blogs.”

24 HOURS

  • 147nm – Miles Traveled
  • 9.5kt – Max Speed
  • 6.1kt – Average Speed
  • 6-8kt – Wind Speed
  • 562.27 – Distance to Destination

We had a beautiful brown footed boobie land our boat and traverse the pacific (or at least part of it) with us.  Not sure why they call this a “brown” foot boobie when his feet were clearly yellow, but they do.

Brown Foot Boobie

Brown Foot Boobie

We also had a gorgeous sunset to start the night voyage.

Sunset Traversing the Pacific

Sunset Traversing the Pacific

48 HOURS

  • 296nm – Miles Traveled
  • 9.9kt – Max Speed
  • 6.2kt – Average Speed
  • 6-2kt – Wind Speed
  • 465.95 – Distance to Destination

A couple of hitchhikers made their way onto Sugar Shack.  At first it was entertaining as we watched them prune and play with each other.  But then, we watched them barf and poop all over the boat which was disgusting.  So we did our best to keep them away,

Quepos Strand, Daily Walk

2 Replies

So, what do we do on our down time in Quepos, Costa Rica?  We walk a lot, well we walk everywhere as we don’t have a car, it’s good exercise, and we get to know the town better.  More often than not, we cruise up and down the Quepos strand.

There is a beautiful strand along the coast of the town that has over a half dozen statues.  They are beautifully carved and stand proudly overlooking the strand.  Unfortunately, the plaques explaining their names and history are all too worn to see.

Statues along the strand in Quepos

Statues along the strand in Quepos

The Quepos strand often has walkers, joggers, and kids playing along the way.  There is a little skate park, lots of benches under shady trees, and on weekends vendors selling their wares.

Strand along the coast in Quepos.

Strand along the coast in Quepos.

One day on the Quepos strand, we spotted three beautiful scarlet macaws in the tree.  They are so amazingly beautiful.  We often hear them before we see them as they usually squawk as they fly high above us.

Scarlet Macaw

Scarlet Macaw

There are several bars and eateries on the Quepos strand – I think we have visited most of them.  Me tossing back a cold one – passion fruit daiquiri with green sugar rim.  So deserved this after our long Reto Mae Extreme Hike.  Calories in and Calories Out.

Yummm - bet you wish you could have a sip.

Yummm – bet you wish you could have a sip.

I normally don’t drink frothy drinks, but most of the bars have 2 for 1 specials during happy hour and this is one of my favorites.  I think it is just the green sugar that I like the most.

Back to the Quepos Strand…we usually walk back and forth along the strand as it is breezy and full of locals.  It is on our way to the marina and the center of town, so we truly are on it daily.

Blue Marlin Caught FAD Fishing

Yacht Delivery and FAD Fishing

Leave a reply

Our friend Patrick, is the Captain of a beautiful 64′ fishing yacht.  He invited us on a short delivery from Quepos to Golfito for a little FAD fishing.  We met him at Manuel Antonio Estates and had the pleasure of hanging out with him while he was doing repairs on his boat.

64' Fishing Boat Delivery

64′ Fishing Boat Delivery

This trip would take Sugar Shack 2 full days to make, whereas Patrick’s boat would only take 3-4 hours.  But why rush when you can swing by the FADs?

FAD FISHING:

FAD stands for Fish Aggregating Device. They are man-made objects used to attract ocean going fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks.

HOW FADS WORK:

FADs come in different sizes, and they will be strategically placed in various depths and spots in the ocean. Large predators, including Marlin, will congregate here due to the fact that small bait fish are naturally attracted to these structures. Thus, the larger fish come here to feed.

There is a lot of controversy around FAD fishing just as there is around hunting blinds.  I do not know enough to speak for or against FADs, so I will just tell you that people come from all over the world to do FAD fishing in Costa Rica.  Most charter boats are sport fisherman that do catch and release programs.

THE BOAT AND CREW:

Patrick the Captain; Tony the first mate, and Eliza the second mate joined us on this adventure.  As we are leaving the marina, at just above idle, moving 8 knots we realize his “idle speed” is close to our regular max speed 🙂  Love it.

Just outside the marina, Patrick showed us the benefits of a SeaKeeper.  A SeaKeeper is installed to minimize the movement of the boat.  Works particularly effective on monohulls and fishing boats as it keeps them from rocking side to side.  SeaKeeper video.  I am a huge fan – best 1/4 of a million dollars you could spend!

The crew rigged the boat and prepared the bait the day before.  I have never been on a sport fishing yacht and it was super cool and very fancy.  A really great experience for Matt and I.

Boat Rigged for Fishin

Boat Rigged for Fishin

Of course, this boat is beyond stocked.  They put out the outriggers with huge teasers and readied the poles with bait.  Below, you will see two black poles standing by for a nibble.  The bait is in the cylinders below the poles.  They wait to see the teaser move, then pull in the teaser as they toss out the bait on the poles.  An expert maneuver of bait and switch.  Its all about timing between the captain, first mate, and fisherman.

Outrigger and Fishing Gear

Outrigger and Fishing Gear

Once the throttle went down, we saw a max speed of 40.2 knots which burned 100 gallons per hour, per engine (2 engines).  The “cruising” speed was 32 knots at 1900 rpm and 70 gph.  And it all felt effortless.  A completely thrilling experience.

Dolphin Sighting

Dolphin Sighting

MAHI MAHI:

As we were headed out to the FADs, we passed by a huge fallen tree floating in the water.  Matt and I would normally tack to avoid such a collision, but Patrick actually headed toward it. Imagine my confusion.

Yellow Footed Boobies on a Floating Tree

Yellow Footed Boobies on a Floating Tree

Of course, he has a lot more horse power and could maneuver the boat a lot easier than our sailboat.  There were some yellow footed boobies hanging around the tree, taking a break from flying over the Pacific Ocean.  As we neared the trees, the crew tossed out a couple of lines and within a few minutes, we heard our first zing!  A beautiful Mahi-Mahi took the bait and jumped in one of the 4 freezers on deck.

Mahi Mahi Dinner

Mahi Mahi Dinner

BLUE MARLIN CATCH & RELEASE:

Hammer down, we made it 100 miles offshore to one of the FADs in just a few hours.  Matt was first in the “chair” and reeled in a beautiful blue Marlin.  We caught one on Sugar Shack – the same day we caught a sail fish.  But that experience was a lot more difficult than this one as we could not slow down our sail boat to reel in the fish like we did on Patrick’s boat.

Eliza reeled in the 2nd one which jumped on the line within 15 minutes of releasing the first one.  I was nervous about reeling in one as my arms are super weak.  Frankly, after “the cancer” I never went back to working out and the arms just never recovered.  But, Patrick was relentless and convinced me to hop in the chair.

After great instructions and a lot of help from the Captain, I was able to reel in my first blue marlin!  Word was he weighed about 350-400lbs.  Pretty freakin awesome!  Could not have happened without Patrick’s excellent boating skills, he continually reversed to help me reel in this beast.

Blue Marlin Catch and Release

Blue Marlin Catch and Releas

After catching the Mahi and 3 Blue Marlin, we decided to head to Golfito.  We released all of the marlin by the way.  Hammer down, a few hours later, we arrive at Fish Hook where Patrick effortlessly backs in this 64′ beauty into a slip – 1st try, no shouting, no problems, no worries.  Impressive!  That’s why he’s a paid captain of a multi-million dollar sport fishing yacht – as he says “its what I do.”

We enjoyed lots of fish for dinner, met a new friend Sheddy from Chuffed and celebrated our successful day.

The next day was a little “rough” for everyone, but Tony, Matt and I managed to hop in a taxi to Rio Claro to catch a 4-hour bus back to Quepos.

The Celebration and Bus Ride Home

The Celebration and Bus Ride Home

AMAZING DAY:

Patrick worked closely with the boat owners to design and create this beautiful boat.  It is truly a master piece.  Not only is it beautiful, but it makes incredible use of every nook and cranny.  Extremely efficient, useful, and elegant.  It was a special treat to be among such luxury.

We are truly blessed to have met such wonderful people!  It was a once in a lifetime experience and we will always be grateful to Patrick for this adventure!