by Judy Handley | Feb 11, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 110, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 7-Bye-Bye Ascension
Date: Friday, February 11, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Sunny, Blue Sky/Puffy White Clouds; SE 15-20
Air Temperature: 82 (early am) – 85 (mid-day) degrees F
Latitude: 07 45.209 S
Longitude: 016 56.358 W
Miles Traveled: 851.44
Miles to Go: 2972
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
Sometime during the night we passed Ascension Island. We were nearly a hundred miles off, but I could hear those turtles calling me. A stop at Ascension would have given us another opportunity to see green turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Ascension is renowned for the number of green turtles that nest there, but other than the turtles there’s not much else of interest. Ascension, like St. Helena, and Tristan de Cuna (much further south), are islands that all sit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. They were literally pushed up out of the sea by the volcanic action in the ridge and are all isolated and have “other-worldly” physical qualities. St. Helena is the greenest of the three, with Tristan de Cuna and Ascension being the most barren. Ascension does have one high peak that is usually in the clouds, and it is dripping green. But other than that it is a stark land. Some say that when you arrive in Clarence Bay you feel like you have just landed on another planet. The island is British and on Traveller’s Hill there is a Royal Air Force garrison with about 150 people and on Cat Hill there is a US Base with 50 US citizens. The other 700 people living on the island are most Saints from St. Helena who come there to work for the bases. The military presence is there to watch over the mass of communication antennas and man the air strip built by the US during World War II. We aren’t going to get to see all of those high antennas of all sorts that litter the island and we won’t see the turtles, but we do get another chance at seeing the turtles on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico. And by continuing on, we are gaining days and actually are now under 3,000 miles to go. That still seems like a long distance, but we can feel the progress and it feels good..
The winds continue to be favorable and the sun is shining once again today. With all those puffy white clouds around the horizon, the Atlantic looks much bluer. It has mostly been gray since we left South Africa, so we like the change. We continue to have two meter seas and we roll from side to side, but with the sunshine it is now a most pleasant ride. The winds are down a bit from yesterday. We are moving ahead at a steady 5.5 to 6 knots with 15-20 knots of wind. We haven’t made a sail change since 3:20 pm on Monday and it appears that there is no one in the neighborhood but us, so watches are relaxed. The time I wrote in yesterday’s log for the moon rise last night was incorrect. I looked at the wrong chart on the GPS. The moon actually rises around noon right now and last night it set at about 1:30 in the early morning. But each day that time will move forward and soon we will have light through the night.
by Judy Handley | Feb 10, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 109, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 6
Date: Thursday, February 10, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Sunny, Blue Sky/Puffy White Clouds; SE 18-22
Air Temperature (afternoon): 81 degrees F
Latitude: 09 28.248 S
Longitude: 015 07.560 W
Miles Traveled: 702.04
Miles to Go: 3113
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
We got our sunshine today and with it we got increased winds. We now have 18 to 22 knots, consistently from the SE with no squalls, just bigger, lumpier seas. We feel like we are flying even though we have a bit of a negative current against us. We don’t know where the negative current is coming from (maybe some eddies?) but we get them periodically, nor do we know why we are having these big seas. The weather is just not what we expected, but for now, we’ll take what we’re getting and be happy with it even if we do feel like we are in a Mixmaster. At least I don’t feel like a turkey any longer. When the skies were totally overcast, I felt like a tiny turkey on a huge platter (the sea) covered with one of those big silver dome-shaped covers that are sometimes put over a turkey. From my perspective, the sky when it is overcast looks like a big dome stretching from horizon to horizon. But thankfully, one day of sunshine has erased that vision from memory. If these clear skies maintain through the night, we might get some light from the new moon. It rises tonight about an hour after sunset. The nights have been so terribly dark with the overcast skies and both of us are looking forward to the increased light as the moon becomes fuller.
On the negative side, we lost two things today. I have been using an aquarium thermometer that I have had for years to measure sea water temperature. When I brought it out of the water this morning, the casing was there but the glass thermometer was missing. I guess the rough seas were too much for it. I can’t think of a replacement for it, so I guess I’m not going to know water temperature. We are using one of our refrig/freezer thermometers to gauge outside temps. It reads the inside temp accurately, so I see no reason why it won’t work outside. What we do know is that I am hot just wearing a bathing suit all day and Mark hasn’t had a shirt on for the last three days. So things must be warming up.
The other loss was more fishing gear. After losing the brand new lure a couple of days ago, Mark replaced the monofilament line with a new 30-foot piece of steel line covered in plastic. He bought this in Simon’s Town and the woman in the tackle shop said her husband catches really big fish with this. Mark attached this to the polyester line with a bungee built into it to provide a little spring. He attached it with the same swivel he has used for the past three years. Well, the swivel broke, sending the polyester line flying through the air and ending up on the side deck forward of the mast. This must have been a monster fish to take the line with such great force and we only had out a smallish squid lure. So we think we need to get that new fishing book out and see what new combination we can come up with.
by Judy Handley | Feb 9, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 108, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 5
Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Totally Overcast; Squalls; Winds SSE/SE/ESE 15-20
Temperature: Water 75 degrees F; Air 73-78 degrees F
Latitude: 10 55.142 S
Longitude: 013 16.671 W
Miles Traveled: 558
Miles to Go: 3252
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
It seems that the big event of each day happens just after I finish writing the log for that day. Just as I was closing my computer yesterday afternoon, Mark called up from below telling me to shut the engine off. I had just started it, so I knew something was wrong. We had started the engine to charge the batteries, make some water, and send the emails, but Mark called up saying that he smelled something burning. When there’s a problem like this, he doesn’t talk until the problem is under control, so I just had to wait patiently in the cockpit. Here’s what happened according to Captain Mark:
“The cables from the alternator were very hot so the smell was overheated insulation on the wires which are 00 battery cables. I thought we must have a short and started looking for the culprit. However, it turned out that the retaining nut on the alternator holding the positive cable had worked loose creating a poor connection, therefore high resistance which caused the heat. In addition, the negative cable was very small which should be okay since the alternator should be self-grounding. However, I replaced it as well with 00 battery cable. Tightening the nut and replacing the negative cable seems to have done the trick, but I will continue to watch it this evening to be certain.”
We are starting to have to run the engine a couple of hours each evening to keep the batteries topped up. The lack of sun day after day means the solar panels can’t do their job and sailing downwind we don’t get many amps from the wind generator. So we are forced to use some of that precious diesel to keep things running.
We are starting to get used to this constant state of squalls, one passing right after another. But this afternoon we had a new phenomenon which is probably a precursor of what is to come. Since leaving St. Helena, we have had constant 15-20 knot winds except during squalls when we have 18-22 knots and sometimes 24 or even 28 knots of wind for short periods. But this afternoon when one squall ran its course, the winds died down to 4-6 knots and we got a taste of what it is going to be like sailing downwind when the winds die permanently. Another squall came and we were moving along nicely again, but once again when that squall ended, the winds died. We are in the middle of another squall right now, this one with misty rain, so it will be interesting to see what happens when it passes. I’ve never liked squally weather, but in this case, these little squalls are better than no wind. We expect the squalls to become more intense once we are in the ITCZ and that we won’t like, but for now we have learned to live with the constant changes brought about by the squalls. It is harder learning to live without sunshine, but sunshine would mean no more squalls and that would mean no more wind. So we’ll just have to be happy without that sunshine for now.
by Judy Handley | Feb 8, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 107, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 4
Date: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Totally Overcast; Squalls; Winds SSE/SE 15-20
Temperature: Water 75 degrees F; Air 73-78 degrees F
Latitude: 12 27.288 S
Longitude: 011 51.288 W
Miles Traveled: 427.6
Miles to Go: 3369
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
I just looked at yesterday’s log and realized that I reversed the miles traveled and miles to go. Wishful thinking! Not much to report from out here as nothing has changed. We really don’t know where those sunny blue skies have gone, but they are certainly not here. Once every couple of hours we will see a tiny patch of blue here and there, but then it goes away and the total cloud cover returns. We have had drizzle off and on all day today with the little squalls that pass. But we continue to have wind and that is good. The boats trying to reach St. Helena are still struggling with no wind. Bahati has used a great deal of diesel and will arrive today, being the first of the second wave to arrive. We heard from Larry and Mary Anne of Traversay III saying they left St. Helena yesterday at 11 am, so they are two days behind us
Today was a shower/laundry day. I had hoped for some sunshine to help dry the clothes, but since that didn’t happen we have wet clothes hanging all over the place. As soon as I hang them out on the boom crutch bar behind the cockpit, the drizzle comes and I have to bring them in. I’m spending a good deal of time researching the Caribbean and Mark is now reading Atlantic. So that’s it from the Atlantic today. Maybe the sunshine and the fish will come tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Feb 7, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 106, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 3
Date: Monday, February 7, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; Squalls; Winds SSE/SE 15-20
Temperature: Water 75 degrees F; Air 73-78 degrees F
Latitude: 14 02.019 S
Longitude: 010 08.808 W
Miles Traveled: 3503
Miles to Go: 287.71
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
The good news is that the wind is still with us and if the South African Maritime Mobile Net is correct, we should have more of the same for five more days. The even better news is that the water maker is WORKING!!! Mark checked the poppet valves and valve seats as suggested in an email from the VP of Operations at Pur and sure enough, that was the problem. Mark had kept some old poppet valves from a previous rebuild and he installed those and that did it. What a relief it is to know that it is working We have enough water on board to make it by being most judicious, but now we can shower and do laundry as needed. I have learned to like doing a first rinse of the dishes with the salt water coming from the pump in the galley sink that Mark installed last week and will continue to use that as I know it saves tons of water. But otherwise, we can go back to using fresh water for everything else. We owe a big thank you to Chris Voxland, the VP of Operations at Katadyn, the manufacturer of our watermaker, who responded to our email immediately, and to Paul of Kire, who gave us Chris’ email address. Paul and Lisa have a smaller Pur watermaker on Kire and they have written to Chris before and have always found his advice right on and his response time immediate. Paul is an engineer and after listening to Mark explain the problem, he was just sure that it was a valve of some sort. He encouraged us to email Chris and we are so glad we did. Katadyn certainly get a thumbs-up from us.
The not so good news of the day is that Mark lost one of his brand new lures. He thought this one was going to be his new lucky lure, but obviously there are fish out here, quite big ones I’d say, as I watched the fishing line jerk with a lot of pull and then go limp. I knew something had taken the lure and when I reeled it in, that was the case. The other not so good news is the continued cloudy weather. We had a break yesterday with some sunshine, but when the sun came up this morning it was amid dark storm clouds overhead and covering the horizon from the northwest to the northeast. All day today we have been going though a line of squalls that just don’t end. The morning started with a good one packing 28 knot winds and lots of rain, but the ones during the day have been what I will call ‘baby’ squalls. The wind increases to 20-22 for about 20 minutes and then it goes back to 15-20. Then a half an hour or so later another dark cloud goes over, the winds increase a bit, and then go back to normal The good side of this is that we are making good time. The aggravating part is that the wind changes direction by ten to twenty degrees during the ‘baby’ squalls and we have to constantly adjust course to keep from back-winding the sails. This is always true when sailing wing ‘n wing, but even more so when there are constant wind direction changes. But we’d best not complain because we seem to be the only boat with wind out here right now. The boats trying to get to St. Helena are still struggling with no wind and Odulphus finally left Simon’s Town yesterday but had not even made it to Hout Bay by this morning. There is absolutely no wind at the Cape, so they were going into Hout Bay and wait. We know we will have our turn with no wind, but we are super grateful that at least we are getting a running start.
We are down to one time of day when we can send and receive emails. We have always checked email in the morning and then again in the evening when we send the log. But Mark tried and tried this morning starting at 3:30 am and I continued until 6:30 am, but had no luck. We have to run the engine when trying to send and we can’t afford to use that much fuel trying in vain to send and receive. So right now we can only get on in the evening. If there is a little lag time in my response to any emails it is because of this. But at least we can still get out once a day.
by Judy Handley | Feb 6, 2011 | Passage to Grenada, Sailing Logs Year 6 |
Day 105, Year 6 Atlantic Passage, Day 2
Date: Sunday, February 6, 2011 (1730 UTC)
Weather: Mostly Sunny; Winds SE 14-18
Temperature: Water 74 degrees F; Air 78 degrees F
Latitude: 14 50.998 S
Longitude: 007 59.183 W
Miles Traveled: 150
Miles to Go: 3637
Location: Passage from St. Helena to Caribbean (Grenada)
The winds piped up a bit after sunset last night and stayed with us all night and through the day today. The winds are directly behind us which causes us to have to make constant adjustments to stay on course, but we have no complaints. At least we have wind. During the first watch last night when I was sleeping, we were on a broad reach and the sailing was smooth. Then when it was time for me to come on watch and Mark to sleep, we made a sail change to wing ‘n wing to get back on course. The seas were up a bit and it was a rolly night. Mark had a hard time sleeping and has been tired all day. I somehow seem to be able to sleep through almost anything, so I have a bit more energy. But it takes a couple of days to settle in to this passage life no matter what kind of weather. By tomorrow we should be more into the rhythm of things and Mark might have a chance to work on the water maker trying the suggestions from the manufacturer.
It is a big ocean out here and we have seen no signs of life since leaving St. Helena, save for a couple of masked boobies doing fly-bys. There were so many birds and so much sea life in James Bay that I thought it might continue as we left the island, but that was not the case. We watched a big pod of dolphins near the boat yesterday morning just before leaving and delighted in watching the long-tailed white tropic birds constantly soaring overhead. We’ve had the fishing line out and haven’t had a nibble. So I guess we really are all alone out here. We did have radio contact this morning with the group of boats that were behind us and are still about 300 miles from St. Helena. And we were also able to hear Graham on the Maritime Mobile Net. As soon as the signal is strong enough, we will switch to a Caribbean or US Net. But for now we will continue to try and check-in with Graham.
Note: I should mention here that if we get into an area so far from any of the HAM radio stations that we don’t have a signal for sending the log for a couple of days, don’t panic. If anything is really wrong, we would set off the EPIRB and our daughter Heather would get a phone call and our son Justin would post a message. That’s the worst case scenario. In the best case, we’ll have no issues with the radio. But if we do, the next best case is that no news is good news. Not hearing anything just means we are having “technical difficulties.” We’ll be back in touch as soon as radio propagation allows. Let’s just hope that this is a non-issue, but thought I should mention it just in case.
