by Judy Handley | Apr 25, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 190, Year 1: Flying with the Trade Winds–Day 4
Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Weather: Clear Skies Above with Cumulus Clouds on the Horizon
Water Surface Temperature: 77 degrees F
Latitude: 03 degrees 30 minutes S
Longitude: 095 degrees 21 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 4
Miles to Go: 2499 (~150 miles last 24 hours); 462 miles so far
If you look back at yesterday’s miles to go, it looks like we traveled 228 miles in the past 24 hours. Well, we have been flying, but not that fast. The trade winds kicked in full tilt about 24 hours ago and we adjusted our course. We were originally headed more south in order to get out of the doldrums and into the trade winds. Now that we seem to have entered the trade wind belt, we are running a more direct route to Fatu Hiva (our first landfall in the Marquesas) and that has shaved off some of the miles left to go. We will not have been out a full four days until tomorrow morning, but so far we have traveled 462 miles. We feel very good about this and just hope the wonderful winds and sea conditions stay with us.
We are falling into a routine-sleep, eat, watch and read, do a chore, cook a little, sleep, eat, watch and read. And once in a while we put out the fishing line. That’s about it, but we are really enjoying the time. Tomorrow is a fishing day and right now it is time to cook dinner. Ah, if only life could always be this simple.
by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 189, Year 1: Back to Sailing–Day 3
Date: Monday, April 24, 2006
Weather: Alternates Between Clear and Totally Overcast, Some Squall Activity
Water Surface Temperature: 76 degrees F
Latitude: 03 degrees 30 minutes S
Longitude: 095 degrees 21 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 3
Miles to Go: 2728 (~125 miles last 24 hours)
We’ve had another good day. We motor sailed through the night and into the day, but we are currently sailing with a full main and headsail going 6.6 over ground, 5.8 through the water, which means we are finally getting a boost from a favorable current. Right now we have 12 to 15 knots of wind, rising to 18 to 20 when we go through a “storm patch”-my name for an area of convection activity. The sun is setting and it is raining a bit right now. This is the first rain we have seen on this passage, but the skies look as if we might have squall activity through the night. Windbird could use a good fresh water wash, so we will welcome the rain. We had two days with a drizzle in the Galapagos, but other than that we have not had rain since the Caribbean.
I have started my research reading for the South Pacific and already have learned so much. The Pacific Ocean is twice the size of the Atlantic and it is greater than all of the earth’s land surfaces combined. But on a map, the islands of the Pacific just look like little dots. Most people, myself included, have heard some names like Tahiti, Bora Bora, Fiji, and Tonga, but otherwise are very unaware of the republics, kingdoms, and protectorates in the whole of the South Pacific. If you are reading these logs, you will probably learn more about the South Pacific islands than you ever wanted to know. I am letting go of my attachment to the Galapagos and getting into the journey through the Pacific. And, of course, these logs will reflect that.
As I started reading The Pacific Crossing Guide, one of the first questions addressed was why anyone would cross the Pacific. The text explains that just as there are boats of many different sizes and shapes, there are numerous reasons for crossing the Pacific. Usually people are doing this as part of a circumnavigation or they are just South Pacific explorers who stay in this area for years. We fall in the category of the circumnavigators, although we will not make the final decision to go all the way around until we reach New Zealand. As the Crossing Guide states, “The Pacific is an ocean that needs time-six to eight months for a Pacific crossing from Panama to New Zealand.” We left Panama on the ninth of March and will probably leave Tonga or Fiji for New Zealand around the first of November. That means we will fall in the average of taking eight months for the Pacific passage. Right now, however, we have to concentrate on making the twenty to thirty days it takes to get to the first landfall. So far, so good. (Seems like that has become my mantra!)
by Judy Handley | Apr 23, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 188, Year 1: The Wind is Gone–Day 2
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2006
Weather: Clear Day, Becoming Overcast in Late Afternoon
Water Surface Temperature: 76 degrees F
Latitude: 02 degrees 05 minutes S
Longitude: 093 degrees 19 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 2
Miles to Go: 2861 (126 miles last 24 hours)
We are still motoring. We had a great sail yesterday afternoon which was unexpected, and then it was back to the typical doldrums. We have had 5 to 8 knots out of the east for the past 24 hours. As I am writing this log, the wind is beginning to increase, so maybe we will get to sail tonight. We are prepared to motor for the first four to five days, but any wind that will save the precious fuel is most welcome. Our speed is averaging about 5.3 knots overall, which seems slow for us as we have had some great currents to boost our speed by as much as two knots on some previous passages. The charts show a current going our way just a little south of where we are so we may pick it up tomorrow. Other boats on the net are finding it strange that there has been a counter current where they were expecting a positive current. And the winds have been unusual for trade wind sailing. Some are getting no wind and others experience 25 to 35 knots. We have heard some boats wonder if this is going to be an El Nino year. Let’s hope not.
We checked in with the Pacific Cruisers Net last night and we were able to talk to Doug of Windcastle. He has a torn headsail. He is having to sail with it rolled up 30 per cent, but he is still making about 4.5 knots on average. He and Sylvie are over the halfway point and both are enjoying the passage. This morning we checked into the net that is being run by the few boats that left the Galapagos this past week. Aqua Magic is part of that net. They, along with another British boat named Shine, are three days ahead of us and seem to be doing well. The other boats that are within a day or two of us are Scottie from Scotland, Aventura from England, Islay from Turkey, Shoestring, Minaret, and Gdansk (not sure of home ports). We have met Derek and Glenda on Scotty and Mary and Chris of Aventura, but we don’t know the other cruisers. It will be great fun to meet them when we reach the Marquesas. Today Beam Muir and Quantum Leap left Isabella and joined the net, so they are just one day behind us. We are in good company and it is comforting to know that there are others out here with us.
Today was way too busy, but as always one thing led to another. I got up at 0600 and did the early morning watch while Mark slept. I checked into the 0800 net out of Panama to get the weather report. Once Mark was up, I started to fix breakfast. I was making an omelet with onions and peppers, but when I went to get a pepper, I found one that had gone bad. That meant cleaning out the whole veggie bin and by that time it was 1000 and time for the radio net of cruisers headed our way. After listening to that, I did manage to get breakfast. We read for a while and then started our daily chores. I got out the cleaner and UV protectorant for the dinghy and was about to head to the front of the boat to do that job when I heard the fishing reel whirring away. We caught a skipjack tuna about 28 inches long. This was great, but it does make a mess of the back deck and the clean up process takes a while. Obviously we are not very good at this yet as we were both a mess as well. After cleaning the fish, we needed to take showers. And when we take showers, I use the shower water to wash clothes. Being on a long passage and not wanting to waste a drop of water, I did the laundry which was not on the agenda for the day and then finally in mid-afternoon got to the dinghy cleaning job. This is how you pass the time out here. It seems that there is always something that needs to be done.
So all is going well. We will have fresh tuna for dinner tonight with mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli. And I’m thinking Bananas Foster would be a great dessert.
Note: I just finished this log and was getting ready to go downstairs to send it when a helicopter started circling the boat. I’m thinking, “What is a helicopter doing out here and why is it circling my boat.” There were two guys in the chopper and it circled three times and on the fourth pass I decided to wave and give the thumbs up sign. It seems that is all they wanted as they returned the thumbs up, smiled (they were very close) and headed east. The ID numbers on the helicopter were HP 1493. Mark got on the VHF and they indicated they were from the Galapagos. We couldn’t understand anything else. The only other signs of human life we have seen in the past 24 hours have been three fishing boats, so I am assuming the helicopter monitors fishing out here. Seems like a long way out for that, but not sure why else they would be here.
by Judy Handley | Apr 22, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 187, Year 1: Off to the Marquesas—Day 1
Date: Saturday, April 22, 2006
Weather: Winds E 15, Calm Seas
Daytime Temperature: 76 degrees F; Overcast, Clearing in the PM
Water Surface Temperature: 76 degrees F
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 1
Miles to Go: 2987
We are underway and I’m not sure how to feel. We are already out of sight of land and will not see land again for about 25 days. That seems like a very long time, but I know that once we get into the passage, the time will go quickly. On this first day, however, I feel a bit apprehensive not knowing what to expect. Right now we are sailing along at 5 knots with about 15 knots of wind from the east, off our port quarter. Our course is 230 degrees which takes us basically southwest and we have about a six foot gentle swell. It would be fantastic if this could continue all the way to the Marquesas, but we know that is asking way too much. Our day did not start this way. We had only 5 knots of wind and had to motor sail until about two hours ago. We will continue on this course to about 7 degrees S, and then we will turn to the west and have the tradewinds behind us. Right now the trades are running ESE 15 to 25 knots in that area. But we won’t be there for a number of days, so we will just take one day at a time. And what we have right now is fantastic.
We had a great evening with friends at the Club Nautico last night. The Club Nautico is just a thatch roof on the beach. There is a bar and some tables and chairs under the covered area. Not fancy, but a great place to get together with fellow sailors. We were with Tom, Bette Lee, and Bob from Quantum Leap, Randy and Sherri of Procyon, Arni and Cam and their daughters Molly and Nancy of Jade out of Hong Kong, and Felix and Monica of Makani from Germany. Quantum Leap will be leaving the Galapagos in the morning and will be about a day behind us. We both plan to arrive in Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas, so we will see them again soon. We will also probably see Jade and Makani again in the Marquesas as well, but we don’t expect to see Randy and Sherri again until Tonga. They are flying home from Tahiti in August for a daughter’s wedding which means that they will be moving much slower than the rest of us through French Polynesia. We have really enjoyed getting to know them and do hope to meet in Tonga and sail to New Zealand at about the same time. We have also enjoyed getting to know Cam and Arni this week. Their daughter Molly is seven and Nancy is five. What a delight to watch these two in action. Molly is a very mature seven year-old and when I asked her she would be in second grade at home, she replied, “Oh no, I’m a first grader.” She speaks both Chinese and English fluently and was showing off her math skills to Tom last night. I asked her if she could multiply and she replied that she could only do that the Chinese way. Her comment was, “Much easier than the American way.”
Right this minute, I am sitting in the cockpit watching the largest fish we have ever seen jump high out of the water. They look like tuna but porpoise through the water like dolphins. And then all a sudden one will jump about five feet out of the water. We should have the fishing line out, but we are not sure what we would do with a fish this large. We have also been bird watching during the day. At first we were seeing groups of Blue-footed Boobies fly by and would see a lone Nazca Booby sitting on the water here and there. Now, later in the day, we are seeing groups of Nazca Boobies fly by, as well as small Galapagos Petrels. We will miss the birds of the Galapagos.
I will try to send my daily logs in the late afternoon on this voyage. Of course, late afternoon for us will change as we sail through the time zones. I think we go through six zones before we reach the Marquesas. I will try to note in the logs each day our time and Eastern Daylight Time. Right now we are still on Galapagos time which is two hours earlier than EDT.
It is time to fix dinner and start the evening watches. And unfortunately the wind is dying. We might be back to motoring for the night, but we did have a wonderful afternoon sail. And just for the record, we are currently sailing through something that looks like Sargasso weed. A first I thought it was Red Tide as the water looked reddish, but on closer observation, I think the red color was just the reflection of the late afternoon sun. Didn’t expect to see Sargasso weed out here, but I am sure there are many things that we will see that I didn’t anticipate.
