It’s been 24 hours since our sudden and shocking dismasting. We are in a daze of six hour watches as we slowly motor back to Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. We’re depressed and disheartened. We had this boat in tiptop condition when we transited the canal and now we look like we’ve been hit by a bomb. As far as we can tell we are structurally sound but we’ll need a surveyor and more time to be sure our bulkheads aren’t compromised and that nothing has been displaced by the force of the mast coming down.
We both agree this is the most uncomfortable ride we’ve ever experienced on a boat. The seas are confused and big, causing rolling and lurching like we’ve never seen before. I had to resort to the dreaded seasickness pills which puts me in a stupor but that’s ok since without sails to monitor our watch duties involve making sure we’re on course, making sure the engines don’t overheat and watching for ships. Fat chance on the ships. We haven’t seen another boat on AIS since the day we left the Galapagos. It’s a good thing we didn’t need to be rescued because there was no one in the vicinity.
We don’t go very fast under motor, so we don’t expect to get back to Santa Cruz until Thursday, one week since we left. One week, and a year of cruising lost. It’s so sad.