Pre-Depature for Isla del Cocos
1351 UTC | 10 26.41’N 85 47.30’W
Dockside Costa Rica
The wind has been blowing these last couple of days, a casual 30+ knots, meaning we’ve sadly lost the ability to have our shade up (pity Jake and myself with our ginger tendencies). That is not to say the breeze isn’t welcome! I have been compulsively checking the forecast in the hope that the equatorial trough takes a long-deserved break, which would allow us to sail all the way to Cocos. Shockingly, so far no luck, but at least we’ll have a good sail to start the trip off.
Unusually for 59º North, arguably the real pull of this next trip isn’t the sailing, but the destination — a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Isla del Coco, also known as Island of the Sharks. The 24 km island is a 305-mile trip into the Pacific (requires a fair amount of zooming on a map to spot), was the inspiration for Jurassic Park, and is one of 11 conservation areas in Costa Rica. Jacques Cousteau described it as the most beautiful place on the planet and it is considered one of the top diving destinations in the world. Whilst we will be snorkeling rather than diving, with such an abundance of marine life — particularly pelagic species — I don’t think we’ll be disappointed. On land, as befitting of the place that inspired Jurassic Park, evergreen forests, waterfalls, and lookout points are there to explore. It is one of the few pristine places left on Earth, and it is a very exciting privilege to visit!
Cocos is located only 5 degrees above the equator, so as expected the wind will be fluky and variable, and there’s a good chance of rain as we journey south. We will be going like a bat out of hell when we depart Guanacaste, with the Papagayo winds giving us a good push — even better, for the first time in weeks we’ll be sailing downwind!! We plan on hugging the Nicoya Peninsula because I’m STILL not done talking about the Tehuantepecers. They are absolutely hooning at 50 knots right now, and whilst I’m not planning on popping back north, the NW’ly sea state they generate will be making its way down south and crashing into the NE’ly swells from the Papagayo winds. If we were to follow the most wind and curve down with the Papagayos, then it would be a horrendous confused sea state, and I like my crew to not be green in the face. Instead, we will plan for a more uniform 2–2.5 m swell whilst still able to utilise the stronger breezes, by initially sticking closer to the coast. There are also currents to consider, which I will save for another blog.
The crew have been brilliant, soaking in all the briefings so we are able to set off as soon as possible in order to get the most time at the island and allow for some not-so-speedy light wind sailing. Today is Matt’s birthday, so Adam has donned one of his many hats and baked a chocolate cake, much to everyone’s delight!
// Mary
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