348 miles out of Honolulu, about 700 miles to go to Fanning Island
Wow - what a rough ride it's been… I wanted to post something yesterday, but got soooo seasick I didn't dare stay below. I took seasick medicine the first day, but then stopped cuz I felt better, well, that only lasted so long I started taking it again yesterday.I'd rather be extra tired than throwing up! I seem to do fine as long as the boat was level, but let me tell you, that hasn't been much this trip. The boat has been heeled over and pounding through waves the past two nights. Days seem to lighten up a bit.
On Monday, we didn't pull up anchor until about 6:30pm - we had a great afternoon - pulled out of Kewalo Basin, and went to anchor to clean the bottom before we sailed. When we pulled up to the anchor spot off Waikiki, we heard someone yelling for Tim - turns out our friends Jeff and Sherry on Scotch Power II were anchored out and they and their guests swam over and helped us scrub the bottom. Talk about many hands make light work! Then they had us over for pupus (that's what they call snacks/appetizers in Hawaii). It's always tough to leave a spot you've enjoyed, and say see ya later to new friends...
When we finally pulled anchor, just as we motored out, a squall hit - it felt like we'd come full circle - a squall when entering Hilo, and another one leaving Hawaii. We had good wind for a few hours, then it lightened up - we were in the lee of the Big Island (still 100 miles off of it, and couldn't see it) so we motored sailed. On Tuesday, still about 100 miles off the Big Island, Tim heard a distress call on the VHF radio, just as we had gotten the spinnaker up. So he was on the radio with the Coast Guard a bunch that day. We had already seen planes circling the area, and after his call to the Coast Guard, a helicopter came and circled us and radioed us to get more info. Unfortunately, Tim hadn't heard the whole transmission, just "in distress, need immediate assistance". We hope whoever Tim heard made it to shore safely.
Otherwise not much to report, we're battling fatigue and trying to keep the boat moving on course. Tim thinks this is the worst pounding he's ever done in this boat. Waves have been coming in the cockpit regularly; the only safe spot is huddled under the dodger. We tried to open some hatches for air yesterday, but of course got pooped and seawater got in. So, now hatches are closed again, and the cabin is super stuffy. We are making good mileage though, and we'll be safe out of the hurricane zone soon. Then we'll be having to deal with the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) - lots of squally/thunderstorm weather. It's going to be a wet ride, no matter how you look at it!
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
