by Judy Handley | May 3, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 198, Year 1: Gliding Along on Calm Seas–Day 12
Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Weather: Another Blue-Ribbon Beautiful Day
Air Temperature: Daytime 80 degrees F
Latitude: 06 degrees 48 minutes S
Longitude: 116 degrees 48 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 12
Miles to Go: 1324 (~ 117 miles last 24 hours)
Miles to Date: 1626
It has been another beautiful day in the neighborhood. The winds died during the night and we had to motor for about 11 hours, but after our radio net this morning the winds increased a little and we set sail again. One incentive was that we found out on the net this morning that diesel is going to cost us $5.00 a gallon in the Marquesas. Wow! I heard from my sister Patsy that gasoline prices are also high back in the states. We sailed along slowly for part of the day, but right now the winds are back up to about 15 knots and we are going along at about 6 knots. The seas have calmed to almost nothing, so we are just gliding along. Mark wrote another Captain’s Ramblings installment today, so I’ll keep this short and share his thoughts for today.
Captain’s Ramblings 4
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Subject: Galapagos to Marquesas Passage
A few nights ago (well, maybe a couple weeks ago) I was telling the story to some fellow sailors of how Judy and I once ended up hitchhiking to California from the Oregon desert just to get an artichoke. We were gathered for a barbecue under a thatched roof cabana (that calls itself a bar and restaurant!!) on a beach in the Galapagos. Of course, in the course of telling the story I had to tell of Jon Greenberg from New Hampshire Pubic Radio recording us telling this story for my retirement party. I have often thought of all my friends at NHPR and that great send-off. And today I had the time to write them and thought I would share some of that note with you.
We are a little over half way from the Galapagos to the Marquesas – the longest ocean passage with no land in between in the world – 3000 miles. We have 1365 to go and with 11 knots of wind and an easy swell we are sailing along at a leisurely pace of about 5 knots. We have now been out on this passage for a little more than 11 days. It is hard to explain what it is like out here. Until yesterday we had seen no one and no other boats for more than a week, even though we are traveling “with” about 15 other boats – all within about 200 miles of us (which seems close out here!). We talk to them twice daily on Ham radio. Most of the boats are not USA boats. We have made great friends from Germany, France, Switzerland, Australia, Great Britain, Denmark, Arkansas . . . and other foreign ports. Anyway, there is nothing to be seen but the endless rolling swell of the ocean and the enormous blue sky with a few (today very few) puffs of cloud on the horizon. Once in a while we see some birds, a lone turtle swimming by, a few dolphins crossing our path. It feels like you are the only people on earth. And then yesterday as I was getting over the shock of some enormous sea creature having taken my fishing lure and run away with it and all my fishing line as well, I see the mast of another sailboat on the horizon behind us. It turns out to be a much lighter boat than Windbird and it is soon pulling along side. We chat for a bit on the VHF radio and then Felix and Monica aboard Makani gradually pull ahead. By nightfall they disappear over the horizon. This boat was from Germany and had not been part of the group that logs in on the Ham radio net twice each day. We didn’t even know they were out here. Since we can only see to the horizon which is about six miles away, it is amazing that we ever see anyone else in this enormous ocean. They could have passed us ten miles away and we would never have known it.
There is a calming peacefulness to this kind of sailing. There is the soft swishing sound of the boat cutting through the water, and a gentle cooling breeze that makes the warmth of the sun feel welcome. Of course, we spend most of our time in the cockpit under the shade of the bimini. As I write, Judy is reading a Nelson DeMille thriller. We have a couple of books by him onboard and they are great reading when you are on watch in the middle of the night – they will really keep you awake!
Anyway, I find myself at a loss for words to describe this passage. Time takes on a whole new dimension. When we arrive in the Marquesas we will have been at sea 22 to 30 days – depending on how much wind we get from here on. You could wonder at what there is to do on a small boat for that long. Well, we never seem to lack for things that eat up our time. In fact, we have too little time for things like writing to friends and reading. Of course, much time is taken in just living. We spell each other sleeping during the night so neither of us gets a full nights rest. That means we each do some catching up with naps during the day. Then there are meals to fix which can take twice as long as at home because you are working on a moving, tilted surface where everything that is not tied down slides away or tips over. And we do have to spend some time each day on the boat – adjusting sails, cleaning, checking engine oil and changing filters, inspecting everything to see if something is working loose or if chafe is wearing through a line or a sail. The days do pass, and though in one way we are anxious to get to the Marquesas so we have as much time to enjoy them as possible, in another way we are simply enjoying the passage. One day melds into another. We simply take each day as it comes and don’t try to hurry it along. And though we seem to always be busy, I don’t mean to say this is anything like being busy at work. We don’t have deadlines. For the most part no one else depends on the work we do, but the success of this passage depends on the careful inspection and maintenance, resting enough to be really alert, making sure that no matter how rough it gets, we have plenty to eat. Out here, it is just Judy, myself, and Windbird sailing long on this endless and beautiful sea of blue.
by Judy Handley | May 2, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 197, Year 1: Halfway to the Marquesas–Day 11
Date: Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Weather: Blue-Ribbon Beautiful Day
Air Temperature: Daytime 80 degrees F
Latitude: 06 degrees 26 minutes S
Longitude: 114 degrees 54 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 11
Miles to Go: 1440 (~ 139 miles last 24 hours)
Miles to Date: 1509
We are halfway there. Hurray! The winds are down to 10 to 15 knots today, but that still allows us to move along nicely. From talking to folks on the net, however, it appears that the winds are even lighter up ahead, but we can’t complain. We have had days of non-stop sailing without having to use the engine. It has been delightful.
I was taking a mid-day nap today when I awoke to the sound of the fishing reel. Some critter was running with our line. By the time I got up into the cockpit, it was too late. Whatever had our line was very large and it actually broke the line. So much for that line and lure and no fish for dinner tonight. At the same time, we saw sails on the horizon just behind us. Were we hallucinating? We had just passed the half-way point and were as far away from land as we can be, and there is sailboat coming up on us. Small world. We got on the VHF radio on Channel 16 and hailed the sailboat. It was Felix and Monica of Makani from Germany. We met them our last night in Puerto Villamil. They left a day after us, but their Bavaria 42 is obviously faster than our Tayana 42. The Bavaria is a lighter boat and they have now passed us and are headed into the sunset. Their HAM radio is not working, so they have no contact with anyone right now other than the close range VHF, thus the reason they have not checked into the net. We alerted the boats in front of us to be on the lookout for them and to contact them on Channel 16 when they can see them. They do have satellite email, but because of the expense they have only given their email address to their son. So, to send them an email we would have to send it to their son and he would forward it to them – complicated. It made me think long and hard about how I would feel without our radio contact. I don’t think I would like that very much.
by Judy Handley | May 1, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 196, Year 1: Another Mahi Mahi–Day 10
Date and Time: Monday, May 1, 2006
Weather: Cloudy Morning Turning Sunny with Scattered Clouds
Air Temperature: Daytime 79 degrees F
Latitude: 06 degrees 05 minutes S
Longitude: 112 degrees 38 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 10
Miles to Go: 1577 (~ 160 miles last 24 hours)
Miles to Date: 1370
The winds are still in the 20 to 25 knots range, the seas are still causing us to rock and roll, but we are doing great. We will be at the half-way point sometime tomorrow, so we will have to plan a celebration. Today we caught another small Mahi Mahi so we are all set for dinner tonight. Life is good.
Today was baking day again, but this time I escaped getting burned. By the way, the burn on my leg is doing fine. Anyway, I needed to use up the multitude of ripening bananas, so I made two loaves of banana bread. It is great as a first breakfast and saves on the use of precious cereal. That is something that is very expensive in French Polynesia, so I welcome the banana bread while it lasts. I also made brownies. That will be our treat during night watch. And it was shower day. When you are on a long passage like this one, you do everything you can to conserve water “just in case”. We have the water maker, but you never know when something could go wrong with it. We have plenty of water to get us to the Marquesas if all goes well, but in case of no wind and a motor failure, you really have to make sure you don’t use up your reserves. So we shower only every third day and on those days, I use the shower water to wash any dirty clothes. I use fresh water to rinse the clothes, but using the shower water really saves water and works fine for the wash. So I am sitting here in the cockpit with clean clothes blowing in my face. With all this wind, they will be dry soon and can be taken below.
The sun is setting. There have been clouds on the horizon most evenings, and we have yet to see the green flash. When you watch the sun set over the ocean, you are supposed to see a flash of green light just as the sun sinks below the horizon, but it keeps escaping us. No green flash again tonight. The new moon is high in the sky right now. It will set before midnight, but in a few days as we get closer to the Marquesas, the moon will be filling and not setting until early morning. We will once again have the light of the moon to guide us.
by Judy Handley | Apr 30, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 195, Year 1: Rockin’ and Rollin’—Day 9
Date: Sunday, April 30, 2006
Weather: Sunny Day with Scattered Clouds
Water Surface Temperature: Didn’t Check Today—Too Rough
Air Temperature: Daytime 79 degrees F
Latitude: 06 degrees 48 minutes S
Longitude: 110 degrees 16 minutes W
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 9
Miles to Go: 1733 (~ 164 miles last 24 hours)
Miles to Date: 1210
Today was sunny with no rain, but other than that nothing has changed since yesterday. We are still being tossed about – with the great winds come the rougher seas. We are making great time and even though it is a bit uncomfortable, the conditions are safe. Our friends on Quantum Leap, a catamaran out of Mobile, Alabama, have passed us. They are making 200 plus miles a day. We are making about 160 to a 170 a day, but that is about as fast as our little monohull will go. There is also a Benateau 45′ that was still close to us this morning, but they should be ahead of us by this evening. Randy and Sherri on Procyon are well behind us, as well as a couple of other boats that we don’t know. We enjoy our contact twice a day with everyone and continue to enjoy the passage.
This afternoon I mentioned to Mark that I wanted to hear the song “Old Time Rock and Roll” as that is what we are doing-rockin’ and rollin’. That prompted him to get the MP3 player out. We hooked it up to its little but powerful speakers and searched through the music that our daughter Heather and her husband Jed put on the player. No “Old Time Rock and Roll” but we came across songs from the 1950’s and had a blast listening to Fats Domino, Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Little Richard, and on and on. There was plenty of rock and roll music to go with the movement of Windbird. We also found some Bob Marley on the player. I was reading this morning that the chief in Fatu Hiva likes Bob Marley CD’s, so we might have to burn one for him before we arrive.
Some of the first wave of boats have arrived in Fatu Hiva. We don’t have radio contact with most of them, but on the evening Pacific Seafarer’s Net, Mark has been able to keep track of Bud and Kathy on Invictus out of Mountain Home, Arkansas. They are a great couple and they should have arrived in Fatu Hive this afternoon. I keep talking about Fatu Hiva as if anyone reading this knows exactly where that is, but I, as most people, had never heard of this island until well into this trip. There are a number of islands in the Marquesas, the first group of islands you come to when crossing the Pacific on the classic route that we are taking. There are 10 islands and numerous rocks and islets that make-up the group. Fatu Hiva is the southern most island. Although it is not an official port of call, we have heard from other cruisers that the gendarme is currently allowing boats to stop there for a few days before heading north to Hiva Oa, the largest island in the group and the one where we will officially check into the Marquesas. There are a couple of reasons that we want to come into Fatu Hiva. One is that it will be an easier path to sail north-west through the other islands and second, it is the most beautiful island in the Marquesas. As you come into Baie Hanavave (Bay of Virgins), you first see the rocky spires near the head of the bay and on either side of the bay there are dark green steep-sided mountains. The spires are supposed to be even more dramatic in a setting sun. This Baie des Vierges (Bay of Virgins) is said to once have been named the Baie des Verges. This translates as the Bay of Phalli, so named because of the shape of the rocky pillars. Evidently when the first missionaries arrived, they didn’t approve and they inserted an “i” changing Vierges to Verges. Whatever, I look forward to arrival there.
by Judy Handley | Apr 29, 2006 | Passage To French Polynesia - Marquesas, Sailing Logs Year 1 |
Day 194, Year 1: The Grill is Gone–Day 8
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2006
Weather: Cloudy Day, Mid-day Squall with Wind and Rain
Water Surface Temperature: Didn’t Check Today
Air Temperature: Daytime 79 degrees F
Latitude: 05 degrees 48 minutes S
Longitude: 107 degrees 16 minutes W
Miles to Go: 1896 (~167 miles last 24 hours)
Location: Passage from Galapagos to the Marquesas, Day 8
Miles to Date: 1046
“The Grill Is Gone.” Not a title for a new song, but a fact. We lost our grill off the back of the boat today and I am greatly saddened. It is just a grill, but a lot of meals revolve around the use that handy little gadget. Hopefully we can find a replacement in Tahiti. Until then all meat will have to be prepared on the stove top as we have no broiler in our oven. I’ll get over it, but I hate losing any piece of equipment.
Now to the reason we lost the grill. The Coconut Milk Run has turned into a butter churn. We kept the 20 to 25 knot winds all through the night and this morning, but near noon the seas began to build and we hit a squall with 30 plus knot winds. We double reefed the mainsail and the headsail and we are doing fine, still traveling between 6 and 7 knots, but the ride is a lot lumpier. The seas are choppy and the swells are between 6 and 8 seconds. That means that every 6 seconds the boat rises and falls. The swells are hitting us on the port (left) rear quarter which is good, but once in a while one hits us broad-sided which causes a jerk. The 30 plus knot winds were short-lived and we are back to 18 to 22 knots right now. The sky is totally overcast, but once in a while a see a little patch of blue here and there. So back to the grill . . . It probably went over around noon when we were reefing the sails. It was a little rough for a few minutes and we have always known the grill attachment was its weak point. We looked for a better attachment in Panama and didn’t find one, so we probably should have rigged something up to save it if it broke, but we didn’t. Live and learn, and we seem to be learning a lot these days. But rest assured, it is not just us. When we check into the net it seems that someone is always working on something that has broken. About midnight on Thursday night, Quantum Leap lost their spinnaker halyard and had to spend an hour pulling their spinnaker out of the water. Yesterday Jade had to turn back to Puerto Ayoro in the Galapagos because their boom vang broke and their water maker stopped working. We talked to Doug and Sylvia on Windcastle this afternoon and in addition to the ripped headsail, their freezer has stopped working. And Vol (pronounced “yawl”) has lost its alternator. The list goes on. If you took your home and put it on the constantly moving ocean, you would have similar problems. It’s all part of the territory. So in perspective, a lost grill is not such a big deal.
Weather reports indicate that we should continue to have good wind through Tuesday. Wednesday looks a little lighter. Until then we are trying to head due west with the wind behind us. When the wind lightens, we can turn south on a broad reach. That’s the plan, at least.
