April 2002

Hello everyone,

Another busy month has gone :
Leaving Banana Split in the new marina Flamenco , under construction at the exit of the Panama Canal, on the Pacific side, I have flown to Europe, to record 4 new shows for Italian television Rai Due ; It's been , as always, a pleasure to work with anchorman Osvaldo Bevilacqua.

Then I have spent one week in Paris, working on a new edition of my films 'Once Upon an Island", for DVD : they will include extraordinary aerial views of each area visted, and will be soon available in NTSC format (the standard of television in the US and Japan).

Then I returned to Banana Split; first I hauled out to paint the underwater part of the hulls ; and who came to my help, if not La Fayette himself ! It's the name of the guy who worked with me for a few days ; I really wanted to start across the Pacific, this time, with a new underwater paint job : I still remember the first time I crossed this ocean, 25 years ago; I had not taken proper care of the problem, and after a few weeks, my boat's hull was covered with two inches of fouling, shells, oysters and mussels ! The boat would not sail faster than 2 or 3 knots, even with a good wind !

In Panama, I finished to store on board all the food needed for several months; in Panama you can find a good variety of fresh and canned goods ; in particular, there is a huge bulk market for produce, you're sure there to buy fruit that has not been under refrigeration, so it keeps much longer : 11 days after leaving Panama, I still have fresh papaya, melon and pineapple .

Then on the 18th or march, I sailed away again; oh I did not expect to meet a lot of favorable winds in this area at this time of the year ; yet I managed to reach my destination, the Galapagos, with one stop at Cocos Island ; You can follow my route (albeit in French only so far) daily on the French part of our web site; I will try to keep you informed of my crossing towards Polynesia, of my meetings with birds, porpoises, and the like... But remember, it is not a race, do not expect to hear about record-breaking crossing times or daily speeds !