Position: May 29, 2012 at noon (HST), 34 degrees 11 minutes North, 139 degrees 52 minutes West.
First of all, we're definitely past the halfway mark now, both by distance covered, and by time elapsed (we hope WAY more than half the time!). Hard to measure when we hit *halfway* given that we haven't exactly sailed a straight line to our destination. Which by the way, we have decided will be Ensenada, Mexico, just south of San Diego. Given that a hurricane was headed at Puerto Vallarta this past weekend, we decided it is just too risky to sail further south until next fall. Unless of course, the winds push us that way and make it too difficult to get to Ensenada!
We've had some good wind and then a bunch of no wind. Right now we're back to motoring, trying to get out of the center of the high and back into some light winds at least. We've got a bunch of diesel still, but want to conserve as much as possible, not knowing what the remainder of the trip will bring. Last night was the first night I had a moon to light up the ocean around me for the better part of my watch. The night before was super cloudy and squally with cold winds and rain. But at least we had wind. Twice now, while sitting in the cockpit on night watch, I've been hit by flying fish! It's crazy. First time I thought it was a bird, until I got the flashlight shining on this flopping fish with wings. Next time I still yelled and woke up Tim (who thought I'd gone overboard), but I quickly realized what it was and got the fish back overboard. They have such beautiful big blue *wings*. Poor things - if I was panicked, I can't imagine how they must've felt!
So, still the decisions about whether to motor and use our diesel or sit becalmed and wait for wind. The forecast for the next 72 hours is mixed, we're really hoping for more wind! The other day, after seeing the forecast for light winds we decided to switch to our big huge 150+ jib (the forward sail), taking down the smaller 110 jib we had on the roller furling. Normally, this is not a maneuver that we would do at sea, but since there was no wind, we did it. And at it paid off that day - we were able to sail at nearly 5 knots in very light winds. Then as night fell, we were regretting the big jib - squalls, choppy seas and gusty winds made us remember why we had chosen the small jib for the passage. Too much sail can be scary in heavier conditions. Luckily we got the jib rolled up and managed through the night with the staysail, and now that it's light again, we're glad for the big jib.
Suffice it to say, there are always difficult decisions to make, and this trip had had it's share despite the mostly fair weather conditions. Depending on the wind, we're looking at about 10-12 more days at sea. Our GPS shows 1,100 more miles to Ensenada…. At least we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. But we're running out of good books!
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Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Day 12
Position: May 23, 9am Hawaii time, 31 degrees 01 minutes North, 147 degrees 55 minutes West
We've got wind in our sails now! For the past two days we've been sailing along to the north quite well. Our next challenge will be to get east - but the easterly winds aren't making this an easy task. We're hoping for a switch to more northerly winds that will help us get east. In any case, sure feels good to be moving and making tracks after the first ten days where we never got further than 500 miles from Hawaii - it felt like the islands didn't want to let us go! And now that we're under complete cloud cover and wearing our long underwear, we sure miss Hawaii!
Next on our agenda as we get to the point where we start heading east is to pick our destination. Will it be Ensenada (a port in Mexico just south of San Diego) or will we risk hurricane season and head south - trying to make landfall at Cabo San Lucas (tip of the Baja peninsula) before heading to Puerto Vallarta? We've studied the history of hurricanes (with help from our weatherdude Jamie on S/v Totem) and while it seems highly unlikely that a named storm would get that far north this early in the season, we know that you can never say never when it comes to hurricanes. And this seems to be an active early season for Mexico with two named storms already since we've been out here. Right now, we're leaning towards a track to Ensenada, although that would mean not going south to Vallarta until the fall after hurricane season. Ensenada would also be much closer, which makes it an attractive choice!
I have to say, we are so indebted to our friend Jamie for giving us invaluable guidance and support daily this trip!!! We knew that understanding the weather out here would be key, and we have the ability to download our own weather charts, but having internet access provides additional info. Knowing that someone onshore is looking out for our route with us gives us so much more confidence and lowers our stress levels immensely. Muchos gracias to Jamie and the Totem crew - who we know because Jamie's wife went to the UW MBA program with me, and we got to hang out in Mexico, although they've sailed far away to Australia now!
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We've got wind in our sails now! For the past two days we've been sailing along to the north quite well. Our next challenge will be to get east - but the easterly winds aren't making this an easy task. We're hoping for a switch to more northerly winds that will help us get east. In any case, sure feels good to be moving and making tracks after the first ten days where we never got further than 500 miles from Hawaii - it felt like the islands didn't want to let us go! And now that we're under complete cloud cover and wearing our long underwear, we sure miss Hawaii!
Next on our agenda as we get to the point where we start heading east is to pick our destination. Will it be Ensenada (a port in Mexico just south of San Diego) or will we risk hurricane season and head south - trying to make landfall at Cabo San Lucas (tip of the Baja peninsula) before heading to Puerto Vallarta? We've studied the history of hurricanes (with help from our weatherdude Jamie on S/v Totem) and while it seems highly unlikely that a named storm would get that far north this early in the season, we know that you can never say never when it comes to hurricanes. And this seems to be an active early season for Mexico with two named storms already since we've been out here. Right now, we're leaning towards a track to Ensenada, although that would mean not going south to Vallarta until the fall after hurricane season. Ensenada would also be much closer, which makes it an attractive choice!
I have to say, we are so indebted to our friend Jamie for giving us invaluable guidance and support daily this trip!!! We knew that understanding the weather out here would be key, and we have the ability to download our own weather charts, but having internet access provides additional info. Knowing that someone onshore is looking out for our route with us gives us so much more confidence and lowers our stress levels immensely. Muchos gracias to Jamie and the Totem crew - who we know because Jamie's wife went to the UW MBA program with me, and we got to hang out in Mexico, although they've sailed far away to Australia now!
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Friday, May 18, 2012
Day 7
Position: May 18, 6:30 pm Hawaii time, 25 degrees 52 minutes North, 151 degrees 19 minutes West
Just after the last posting, we were becalmed for the better part of the day… We tried to take it in stride and make the most of it. We stripped and jumped in the ocean for a dip - neither of us daring to venture far from the swim ladder, or stay in for more than a few minutes. Too scared of sharks or a sudden gust that might move the boat quickly from us. After doing some weather checks, Tim called me to the stern, where we had been trailing our fishing line listlessly all day. There was a school of beautiful mahi mahi that would get excited every time he tugged on the lure. It was funny to think that as long as we were just drifting along this school of fish would likely stay by the boat. Of course Tim got the next lure out that he could reel and make more action and caught a cute little mahi for our supper (actually several suppers so far).
We've managed to sail for the past two days - first on a NE heading, but then when winds started to get too light, we tacked to the SE this morning. We'll plan to keep tacking staying in the winds for a day or two until the forecast looks good to head further north. So all's well here on Midnight Blue, other than our constant concerns about choosing the best route to get across the ocean!
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Just after the last posting, we were becalmed for the better part of the day… We tried to take it in stride and make the most of it. We stripped and jumped in the ocean for a dip - neither of us daring to venture far from the swim ladder, or stay in for more than a few minutes. Too scared of sharks or a sudden gust that might move the boat quickly from us. After doing some weather checks, Tim called me to the stern, where we had been trailing our fishing line listlessly all day. There was a school of beautiful mahi mahi that would get excited every time he tugged on the lure. It was funny to think that as long as we were just drifting along this school of fish would likely stay by the boat. Of course Tim got the next lure out that he could reel and make more action and caught a cute little mahi for our supper (actually several suppers so far).
We've managed to sail for the past two days - first on a NE heading, but then when winds started to get too light, we tacked to the SE this morning. We'll plan to keep tacking staying in the winds for a day or two until the forecast looks good to head further north. So all's well here on Midnight Blue, other than our constant concerns about choosing the best route to get across the ocean!
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Day 4
Position at 9:30 am Hawaii time, tues may 15: 23 degrees 34 minutes North, 154 degrees 13 minutes West
It's been an eventful first few days at sea. Luckily my seasickness passed after the first day. Probably because there have been no *seas* to speak of. We've had very calm weather - in fact, not even enough wind for sailing at times. Our progress has been slow, but it feels good to break into this trip slowly without getting tossed about. It seems the calmest we've ever seen the Pacific Ocean! The first full night out, we motored a bunch, then second night, after noticing an accumulation of water in the bilge, Tim found a hole in the salt water exhaust pipe cooling the engine. To repair it he used JB weld and epoxy and fiberglass cloth and magic tape - thank goodness we had some JB weld onboard! The first repair held but then he noticed a second hole which required fixing… all in all he was at it from about 5 to 11 pm. Fortunately it was super calm so we were glad to have caught this corrosion now when it was easier to fix than if we were in big seas. We have been motoring on and off since and the repairs have held up nicely. But then last night after shutting down to check the oil, etc, the engine wouldn't start! Panic! Thank goodness we quickly realized the engine stop cord had been left pulled out, so once it was pushed in, the engine started right up.
Well, now our challenge will deciding how much more to use the engine when the winds are light. We will want to conserve fuel to use at the most opportune times. We started with just under 100 gallons, which gives us about 200 hours of motoring time. So far we've already used maybe 13 gallons, deciding to take advantage of the opportunity to motor east as much as possible while winds were too light to move us with just the sails. As Tim puts it, we will have to be sailors as much as possible from here on out. Sailing in light wind is a definite skill, especially in a boat as heavy as ours! We've been playing with the spinnaker and our mizzen staysail, and I'm sure we'll get more practice today. We expect the winds to fill in from the east in a day or so and we'll be heading north then, hoping for a smooth crossing.
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It's been an eventful first few days at sea. Luckily my seasickness passed after the first day. Probably because there have been no *seas* to speak of. We've had very calm weather - in fact, not even enough wind for sailing at times. Our progress has been slow, but it feels good to break into this trip slowly without getting tossed about. It seems the calmest we've ever seen the Pacific Ocean! The first full night out, we motored a bunch, then second night, after noticing an accumulation of water in the bilge, Tim found a hole in the salt water exhaust pipe cooling the engine. To repair it he used JB weld and epoxy and fiberglass cloth and magic tape - thank goodness we had some JB weld onboard! The first repair held but then he noticed a second hole which required fixing… all in all he was at it from about 5 to 11 pm. Fortunately it was super calm so we were glad to have caught this corrosion now when it was easier to fix than if we were in big seas. We have been motoring on and off since and the repairs have held up nicely. But then last night after shutting down to check the oil, etc, the engine wouldn't start! Panic! Thank goodness we quickly realized the engine stop cord had been left pulled out, so once it was pushed in, the engine started right up.
Well, now our challenge will deciding how much more to use the engine when the winds are light. We will want to conserve fuel to use at the most opportune times. We started with just under 100 gallons, which gives us about 200 hours of motoring time. So far we've already used maybe 13 gallons, deciding to take advantage of the opportunity to motor east as much as possible while winds were too light to move us with just the sails. As Tim puts it, we will have to be sailors as much as possible from here on out. Sailing in light wind is a definite skill, especially in a boat as heavy as ours! We've been playing with the spinnaker and our mizzen staysail, and I'm sure we'll get more practice today. We expect the winds to fill in from the east in a day or so and we'll be heading north then, hoping for a smooth crossing.
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Sunday, May 13, 2012
1 day out
Just wanted to put out the word that we have actually left.... Motored out of the marina about 4pm on Friday, anchored in Waikiki to scrub the bottom of the boat, had dinner and a nap, saw the friday night fireworks show to send us off, and now it's 5AM on Sunday and we're at 22 degrees 51 minutes North, 157 degrees 49 minutes west. Anyone that wants to keep track of our position can always check the Pacific Seafarer's net online (i think it's at www.pacseanet.com), and look at the Current Roll Call. My call sign is KF7OHO; I'm one of the last boats on the list. I check in every night, but I'm not sure they're that current at posting positions every day...
So far all's well, very light winds though. Hoping to get enough wind to keep us moving today, we only were doing 2-3 knots last night, too slow for our liking, so we've turned on the engine to put us along a bit this morning.
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So far all's well, very light winds though. Hoping to get enough wind to keep us moving today, we only were doing 2-3 knots last night, too slow for our liking, so we've turned on the engine to put us along a bit this morning.
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Friday, May 11, 2012
And we're off again!
It’s been nearly a month since we sailed back into
Honolulu. And a very busy month for
sure! Since we had come back and decided
not to head back out until the weather (specifically, the Pacific high pressure system) stabilized later
in May/June, I took the opportunity to book a ticket to the mainland to go to
my niece Katya’s bat mitzvah. I now
think this might have been the real reason why we had to turn around! I had been bummed about not being able to
attend this momentous occasion with my family.
It turned out to be such a lovely experience – a real treat to be able
to share this event with my niece and to have a visit with my family (including
my sister’s mother in-law from Bolivia) – it’d been over a year since I’d seen
my nieces! I also took the opportunity
to stop over in Seattle on my way back to Hawaii to take care of some Doctor
appointments, and the timing happened to coincide with my honorary niece
Maggie’s 10th birthday party.
It was a sleepover with 11 girls – I’ve never heard so much giggling or
screaming! Suffice it to say, I had a
great time on the mainland, catching up with friends and family.
So, if it still loooks good, we may be heading out very soon. We'll be posting blogs underway, and look forward to getting back to Mexico, althought it does feel like we're leaving paradise here in Hawaii.
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| Me with my nieces Katya and Jennifer |
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| Me with my *nieces* (they call me aunty!) Maggie & Kate |
Now, after being back in Hawaii for a bit over a week, we are seeing a good weather
window for our departure. If the
forecast holds, we’ll let you know when we are at sea! While I was on the mainland, Tim spent his
time fixing up the boat further. We
added Radar to our new boat equipment.
Tim was up on the mast for better part of a morning, but he got it up
and running in one day! It’s going to be
a huge relief in case we end up on the foggy California coast. It’ll also be helpful for avoiding other
vessels and even understanding squally weather we may be approaching. We’re pretty psyched to have this new tool!
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| Timmy up on the mizzen mast, installing the radar |
We also made some real lee cloths (tarps for the side of the
cockpit), and a tarp to cover the gap between our dodger and bimini. On our previous passage, Tim had gone to
extraordinary measures to try to keep the sea from invading the cockpit – using
all means of spare canvas, and cushions, and fenders. And Tim has been working tirelessly to re-bed
hatches to fix the leaky leaks, and to generally tighten up ship (screwing down
floorboards, checking over the engine, adding weather stripping to the anchor and propane lockers on deck, etc.) , always good to do when you are
heading offshore.
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| Block that wave! No water allowed in our cockpit! |
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