Tag Archives: Sanuk

Apataki – Skylark on the Hard

November 18, 2016 stewart135 Leave a comment

We chose to leave Skylark at Apataki on the suggestion of our friends John and Trish on Lumiel who had heard that the yard was friendly and well run, if a little basic. They lifted out in August and Lumiel will be parked there until their return next year. Being well to the N of the Society Islands, Apataki is out of the Cyclone belt, a massively important consideration if you are intending to leave your boat in storage over the summer period. Our options in this part of the world are limited as many yards don’t store catamarans leaving Hiva Oa, Apataki and Tahiti the only places you can haul out and store in French Polynesia. Our preferred site of Raiatea don’t do cats, Hiva Oa is way too East for us to think about and Tahiti is way too expensive and it can get hit by weather. Whilst I trust John of Mary Ann II’s analysis of the very small likelihood of a cyclone within the Societies the year after an El Nino event (see article written by him and published on Noonsite), the added advantage of Apataki being cheaper by half than the big Tahiti yards was another key factor.

The SW pass at Apataki has a little dog leg at its end which turns straight in to the prevailing E-SE wind. The good books say only go in at slack and expect falls on an incoming tide on the inside of the bay. We arrived just before slack and punched through about two knots outgoing current with no drama at all. It got bit bouncy on the inside of the pass as a 9 mile fetch with the Trades blowing had set up a nasty Solent like chop, typically coming from exactly the bearing we wanted to go. We pulled the jib back out and motor sailed, tacking back and forth with just enough angle to avoid slamming.

We arrived at the yard late afternoon and anchored in 25’. We were pleased to see Sanuk, who we first met at Isabella in the Galapagos, then again in Hiva Oa and Cheeky Monkey, last seen in the Marquesas. It was good to catch up and talk shutting down techniques. Whilst we did that, the girls played and petted the “tame” 6ft Nurse Shark that lives by the yard. The yard also has three dogs. H says her favourite is a small puppy called Viron.

We started to clean and strip Skylark of the external deck paraphernalia and sails. The mainsail and foresail are to be sent to Tahiti for some TLC but we are also looking at renewing them for our last year and we are waiting a quote from Lee Sails. However, the rest of Skylark is in good condition with just a few bits and pieces needed before we start again next year. We do have a few knocks that could do with the touch of an expert in gelcoat repair but I don’t think we will find anyone like that until we hit the Societies next year. Our shopping list, considering how far we have come, is a surprisingly short list. Most we will get in NZ; some in Tahiti to be sent up by ship.

The watermaker got one last blast to provide us with a big fresh water load to clean the boat with and then was pickled, an easy process when clutching the instruction manual in one hand. We have noticed a little bio contamination in the water quality of late and we will return with an acid and alkali wash which we will do on recommissioning next Spring. It may damage the membrane with the quality of water not to be quite as it was before but it will kill anything left after pickling. We will do a little bleaching of the tanks on our arrival back as well.

Engines and generator had their oil and filters changed as did the fuel lines. Fuel tanks (diesel and petrol) got biocide treatment. I’ll need to remember to change out the impellors on all engines before we kick off next Spring.

The day of lifting out arrived. It was a near calm with an offshore breeze. We couldn’t have wished for better weather.

The lift went well and Skylark came out looking pretty clean but primer shining through in several places. The jet clean was excellent. The worker who did it was a dedicated soul who ripped in and saved me a huge amount of effort by stripping away a lot of paint that was left on the bottom. We will probably stick with ABC3, the paint we got last year and Lou and I have already decided to paint her ourselves. It is a bit more expensive than the paint the yard sells but Tony, the youngest member of the family that runs the yard, likes it better than the stuff they are contracted to use.

Dinghy – scrubbed, cleaned and dropped to sit under Skylark on tyres to protect her from the sun. Tied off at four points to ensure she doesn’t try to take off if there is any wind. Engine – 18HP – washed, oil changed, greased and internals wiped down.

Skylark has been scrubbed within an inch of her life with vinegar to minimise mould and bleached. All the external holes have been plugged up as we have heard that infestations of ants are common here. The water line was well scrubbed by the girls (a very wet affair) and is now gleaming. All the scuff marks have all been polished out, using the excellent 3M marine restorer and wax product I have. We wrapped anything delicate (EPIRB, hand mikes etc) in towels and placed them down in the hulls, out of the cabin area. Our last action was to put tin foil over all the windows to minimise the sun getting into the boat. Neil, an Aussie who has left his boat in the yard three years running recommended this as the yard in summer can get to roasting point and this reflects away a lot of heat.

It unexpectedly rained the night before we left which left us with a clean boat but with wet canvas that we didn’t want to put away. We have to give a huge thank you to Sanuk and Mary Ann II who put away our bimini and screens once they had dried off and covered off a couple of items that we forgot about before we left. Mary Ann II also very kindly finished off a few tasks that we had not managed to complete and that only occured to us once we were sat on the plane to Tahiti! It was massively appreciated.

After a presentation of flower necklaces, we had a dry but bouncy ride across the lagoon to the airport for our flight to Tahiti. As we were a little early, we were taken to Tony’s family house in the village for coffee and a shower. They really have looked after us very well. Our plane was a small one with 12 seats and it was great to be able to see into the cockpit as there wasn’t room for a separating door. Belts were worn throughout the flight and just as well. We hit one bit of turbulence that Eleanor likened to the Tower of Terror she remembers from Euro Disney. A big lurch!

One note on your luggage allowance if you are leaving your boat in FP. If you are joining an international flight out of French Polynesia (and you will need to show them proof you are – a copy of your e-ticket is fine), your allowance is 23kg hold and 5kg carry on. Interestingly enough they measured the total weight of all our bags to ensure our family weight was less than the 92kg allowed. If you don’t show proof, then your allowance is limited to 10kg and 5kg respectively.

Our 2016 itinerary has seen us visit visited Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands) and in French Polynesia, the Marquesas and Tuamotus island groups. We have added just over 6600 miles to the log, had to say our goodbyes to some old friends but have met and made some great new ones too. It has been a wonderful year and even taking in a few lonesome moments when we have felt very far from friends and family, we have all loved it.

We now look forward to life on dry land for a little while. New Zealand is exciting us and our list of to dos is growing every day. The one thing we are wary about is the temperature that we will have to deal with. I haven’t been in less than 75F since I left the UK over two years ago. I haven’t been in less than 80F since we left the Marquesas. The last few weeks have been 90+F!

Auckland today was 65F.

Bugger….

The girls have the advantage of woolly hats, sent to us oh so long ago by the lovely Elspeth Logan. Hannah’s hat was the first thing on her packing list. Expect to see it in a few photos over the coming months as we get used to the temperature down in the 40S latitudes.

Skylark will be back in the water at the end of February. In the meantime, watch out for posts on our New Zealand travels.

Next year’s agenda – The Society Island, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Australia. Oh yes!

Update posts

French Polynesia–Hiva Oa and Tahuata

June 14, 2016 stewart135 4 Comments

We arrived at Hiva Oa to the anchorage of Atuona on the S side of the island after our long trip from the Galapagos. Our thanks to Ivan and An from Vaguebond for the photo of us coming in. We soon had our first visitors on board as well. Kathi and Wolfgang from Plastik Plankton came to welcome us, carrying a wonderful batch of banana cakes and two baguettes, which were hugely appreciated.

The bay is a well sheltered spot with a large wall and a concrete jetty for the island supply boat that comes in every Thursday. It is the primary port for the island group. It can get pretty rolly, says our long term resident neighbour Chris. If there has been heavy weather in the S and a swell develops from there, it can get reflected waves bouncing in. We have anchored with a bow and stern anchor out as there isn’t a huge amount of space and there is a strange current circling the bay leading to yachts on one anchor all clocking in different directions. The holding is good with a thick mud on the bottom.

The water in the bay is not clear but this is because of lots of stream runoffs bringing soil down into the lagoon every time it rains, which is frequently. There are huge numbers of fish and small sharks and the dock has locals line fishing every day from dawn to dusk. We are loving the large numbers of baby Manta rays, about 6 feet across, that dodder along at the surface beside the boat. And the view? Just wow. Waking up surrounded by palm trees, the smell of green and the steep sided hills around you is fantastic.

Every morning from first light, there are adults and kids doing race training on the outrigger boats they have here. There are one, two, four and six man boats. They all go fast

Booking in to another country can be problematic and we had been told horror stories of booking in here, with customs getting upset, huge fines, alcohol being confiscated and all the rest. For us it has been a pleasant experience. It is the same paperwork that we had to do in Martinique and Guadalupe but handwritten rather than on the computer and done at the Gendarmerie, who carry out immigration responsibilities, rather than at a cafe. There is no Customs inspection, simply a declaration by you on the Entry paper.

It is all the normal stuff. Passport numbers, registration details, owners address, boat type and then a declaration of what you have on board. Then the nice policeman, takes a copy, gives you one for your record and to show at the other islands, staples the paperwork together and asks you to post it to the address on the back of the sheet. Took 10 minutes and all done with a smile. You get a sheet back that you need to take with you and show to the Gendarmerie at any further island you go to, to prove you have booked in. One thing – all the crew need to be seen by the policeman to check off the passports.

A note on your Custom’s declaration. Customs here own one boat. That’s it. And that covers the whole of French Polynesia so your chance of meeting them is slight. Their main concern is people loading up, under declaring and then selling stock to the locals. Duty within the island for alcohol is steep and seems to be a major tax money spinner for the local coffers. As examples, a bottle of Famous Grouse whisky is US$60, Bombay Sapphire gin – $80, crap rum – $50 – bottle are 70cl, not litre. Beer? A small bottle of Heineken – $2. The cheapest 1l box of wine was $10 and bottled wine is a lot more than that. Not cheap.

If they find you in their travels, Customs can come aboard you to inspect your stores. Just make sure that you have properly declared the alcohol you have on board on arrival. The Gendarmerie don’t even bother looking at the form beyond ensuring it is correctly filled out. If you declare less than you have, then if they find you, Customs will cut up rough with you. If you have declared correctly, there seems to be no question of being charged additional duty.

For all you non-European “foreigners”, there is a little more paperwork and of course your bond paperwork but again, no one here in the bay has had an unpleasant experience. The Gendarmerie are pleasant and professional.

The anchorage is home to the petrol station where fuel is around $1.30 a litre for diesel. It is possible to get it tax free with a certificate via an agent. The cost is $120 for the certificate then half price for our fuel. The annoying thing is that the certificate is free for foreigners but you must go to the Port Authorities to get it, which is in Tahiti. The agent, Sandra (call on ch09 for certificate, internet and laundry at stupid cost) can facilitate but at her price……. We are hoping Vincent with his new yard can do this work at a more reasonable better price in the future. They are looking at it. Note the certificate lasts 6 months and is cost effective as long as you buy more than 55 US gallons during that period. It covers you for the whole of French Polynesia.

The petrol station shop which carries very basic supplies, has baguettes available from 0700hrs daily Mon-Sat. As always in French run states, bread is at the national price and here it amounts to less than $1 a loaf. Be there early – it has all gone by 0900hrs. There is a food wagon that runs an open air kitchen on the jetty from 1800hrs on a Fri and Sat night. It is excellent value, especially first night in when you don’t want to cook on board, and has a mix of Chow Mein, local fish dishes and steak, all for 1000fr or about $10 a dish. They are big portions. Be there early to order or expect a long wait. It is very popular with the locals.

The other surprise we have had is that there is now a small yard here with haul out equipment able to take yachts up to 25 tons. The equipment is brand new and the yard opened last month. On the basis that we won’t find another haul out facility for 700miles, we have arranged to be pulled to repair the rudders. Cost for a cat is 11.23Euro a ft for a two day haul and clean. Monohulls are 9.43Euro a ft. See our separate blog entry on this.

You will notice that I have used two currencies so far, US dollar and Euros, which are quoted so you don’t need to convert in your head and to give you a feel of the initial costs. However, I’ll add in the main one used here which is the French Polynesian Franc (XPF). This is the everyday currency. As of Jun 16, the conversion rate is near $1 for 100XPF and 1 UK pound for 150XPF. Dollars seem to lose out here. The official rate is a little better than that but the locals are smart enough to round down to a whole number in their favour.

The main village of Atuona is about a 45 minute walk way. It is pleasant walk but if you stick your thumb out, the locals are perfectly willing to stop for you. There is a taxi, rarely seen, and John, the driver, charges a 100FPF a head going in. He is a good person to know as his wife does laundry at $1.50 a kg which is the cheapest around.

The greenery on the walk into the village is staggering. Everything grows here at a tremendous rate. We passed the normal palm and coconut trees then the bushes covered with red chillis, star fruit, pamplemusse (think big grapefruit but sweeter), papaya, bread fruit, bananas, the list goes on. And endless flowers. So rich an environment!

The post office is the centre of all things here. it provides the only ATM, Sim cards, free internet room (the best internet by far on the island), internet scratch cards for the national provider and of course the post office that you send your immigration papers in from too. Look for the yellow building on the left as you enter the town, just opposite the first super market you come to. The Pharmacy is next door to it too.

There are three supermarkets. The first, opposite the Post office is poorly stocked and generally expensive. The second, 100m past the Gendarmerie and opposite the internet cafe, doubles more as a hardware store. The largest supermarket is further W along the street and 200m on the main road beyond the corner with the bank. Have to say, it isn’t badly stocked but you will find items generally expensive. The quality is good, particularly if the boat has just been in which is on a Thursday. I was surprised to find leeks for sale. Watch out for the red label ticket pricing in all the shops which means the item has been subsidised. French butter is cheaper here than in the UK. They also have a great selection of wine. Just be prepared to gasp when you see the prices!

Hiva Oa is the resting place of Paul Gaugin. We visited his grave, high on the hill above the village and then the small museum.

The islander people are friendly and helpful, largely tattooed (some great, great ink work – no surprise as the Marquesas are supposed to be the origin of tattoo). We have enjoyed their company and they are rarely without a smile. Although we have been tied up with trying to get the boat repaired we managed to get in to town for the Junior School’s concert which was just a hoot. It opened at 1800hrs with a variety of BBQs open for business before the serious stuff of the kids performing starting at 1900hrs. The locals love their food and cakes and we saw a huge supply of calories being ingested!

The kids had a great time. If you were in the UK, the local PC crew would be up in arms as the dancing here is very definitely boy and girl distinctive. The wee boys doing the Hakka was brilliant and the girls? Well, I’ll let you watch the video once I manage to upload it (small trouble there at the mo – not sure why). The crowd loved it.

VIDEO of dancing to go here.

They are very, very keen on holding on to the traditions here. Note also the necklace decorations some of the boys have on. It is all relevant to them and integral to their family’s standing within the community. The girls had a lot of facial “tattoos” painted on to copy their mother’s art work. Photos are courtesy of E and H who sat down at the front with goggle eyes! Eat your heart out, Grateley!

Having had a week in Hiva Oa, most of the time on the hard fixing the boat, we left to go to Tahuata, a small island about 7 miles S of Atuano. The bay we visited, called Hanamoenoa is described by the Hitchcock’s as one of the three most beautiful anchorages in French Polynesia. I’m not sure about that to be honest. It is pretty and so nice after the muddy waters of Atuona but the barbed wire at the top of the beach and the signs saying private all over the place mean I’d take Shell Beach or the Lagoon (research the Outer Hebrides for all you non Scots) before it in a heartbeat. Endless white dead sand and an inability to land your dinghy due to surf doesn’t do anything for me either. Not quite Paradise, I’d suggest. We caught up with Sanuk, from Belgium who we had last seen in the Galapagos. Stefan and Ilsa came across for sundowners.

A pretty panoramic.

Perhaps I am just a little homesick at the moment. I hope to find better as we continue our travels.

We headed back to Hiva Oa, a short day sail, to pick up the gear cable which has finally arrived from Tahiti and then to head straight on to Ua Poa, 80miles to the NW, tonight.

Update posts

Crossing the Pacific–Part II

June 8, 2016 stewart135 7 Comments

Day 14 – Mon 23 May 05 20.310S 116 37.725W 141miles

We had a good run overnight but the wind diminished in the morning to a frustrating 9kts and went back into the ESE then later, ENE. Think I might just ignore forecasts from now on. We waited for it to settle down then threw the parasail up which has pulled us along nicely all day. We decided on the basis we hadn’t seen the wind go beyond 13kts true, to keep the parasail up for the night. We will sleep in the cockpit in case we need to get it down quickly. A great day’s sail on a wonderfully pacific sea.

We are starting to see some growth on the hull – not that we are stopping to clean it. We made use of a trick that I had heard of which is to drag a line along side the hull and just leave it to rub the hull around the waterline. It seemed to work although the line needs to be in the water for a couple of hours per hull.

It is no surprise when there is little to do on a long passage that meals become hugely important events. It was the same on my Atlantic trip I did where we lucked out with a Navy Lt Comd called Tim who was a brilliant amateur chef. After he took over the galley, life was very pleasant. We aren’t doing badly either with some great food coming out of our galley and, with some good planning by Lou, we still have plenty of fresh fruit and a small supply of veg left.

Eleanor made the dough for our bread this morning. We are making dough every second day and then mixing and matching what we make with it.

Lou has got a great inventory of bread types. Plain loaf, rolls, rosemary, flat, nan, coriander, pita, the list goes on and gives us a great variety to enjoy. There is nothing better than the smell of newly made bread wafting around the cabin. Today was a simple loaf. Added to that, she dug out a frozen pack of bacon so lunch was a magnificent bacon and egg butty. It’s the simple things in life! This evening’s offering was a rather good curry.

We transferred 25 gal of diesel in jerry cans to the tank today. We have been using the generator a couple of hours a day and the tank had just reached half full. Most of that diesel usage was from running the engines during the first couple of days when we needed to motorsail down to the trades – certainly the generator doesn’t take much. In this heat, I prefer to have as much fuel as I can in the tank to prevent any condensation that may occur.

I saw a falling star tonight. Not a shooting star, a proper falling star. I thought it was a flare at first. It burnt out just to the N of us. Quite beautiful.

Day 15 – Tue 24 May 05 52.856S 118 53.656W 127miles

Our first sail with the parasail up overnight went well. The wind ranged from 6 to 10kts from the ENE and it dragged us along beautifully at a 6kt average. It makes such a difference to the daily total if you can press on overnight. The daytime wind was no better. A light wind of 10-13kts from the ENE again. Thank you, Mr Parasail. If we didn’t have you, we would be having a tedious day of rolling. As it is, 5s and 6s is reasonable.

Dawn is getting later and later again. Nearly time for another time zone. I hope tomorrow to move to –8UTC. Then there will be just one more to go before we hit the Marquesas who are on –9.5UTC.

When we are sailing we always have the scale to include the boat and the destination. There is something very satisfying being able to go down a scale and watch your destination get bigger on the screen. Today we were able to go from the 1200miles to the 600mile scale. Still a long, long way to go but it brought a smile to my face.

I had a nice chat with Vaguebond this morning. Ivan was saying that he has been running under twin headsails for the last six days. He hasn’t had to touch them once! Nice way to sail. We have been running on a converging course for some days now and are about 40 miles NNW of him.

The girls did a bit of a clean up this morning. H found her missing sunglasses (what started the whole cleaning thing off), E brushed so much hair off the floor (is it true that girls moult? I have compelling proof…..) and their side of the boat now smells of lemon all purpose cleaner.

Hannah, a touch distracted, found lots of postcards that we hadn’t got around to writing. Sounds like a something to do this afternoon!

Day 16 – Wed 25 May 06 07.748S 120.47.476W 131miles TIME ZONE CHANGE to -8UTC

We had to change down to the jib just after midnight this morning as a huge black lump of nastiness rolled across us. It lasted a while so we decided to wait for first light to throw the parasail back up. As soon as we did the wind came back in beautifully and went back into the SE giving us a fantastic broad reach with full plain sail. A bit bouncy and bangy but fun as well. The wind dropped in the evening to 10kts, enough to make sure we are still moving at a respectable pace.

We should have really changed time zones yesterday but we waited for the 120W line. Only one more to go now.

Activities today? A chocolate cake (slightly over done), a loaf (perfect) and a bag of laundry using the the ammonia technique which seems to work so well.

Boat maintenance? I had to reset the solar controllers. I have three different controllers. Two of them automatically condition the batteries once a month and the Blue Solar controller for the main panels doesn’t like it. I’m sure there is a more elegant solution but at the moment I resort to disconnecting it at the batteries to reboot it. Seems to work. Whilst I was in with the batteries I checked water levels and refilled with a surprising amount of distilled water – over a litre between the four batteries. I’ll need more from Hiva Oa as I have only 500ml left. As I filled the batteries at Santa Cruz just a month ago, I think I’d better keep a closer eye on them. One cell was dangerously close to exposure. I may need to up the regularity of the checks.

We had luck fishing today. We caught a small 3kg Mahi followed 15 minutes later by this beast. Good eating for us for a few days!

Finally, Happy birthday to my best mate John! Hannah sang Happy Birthday, we ate cake and reminisced on a memorable day we had with John and Sharlene a while ago, walking down to the pub via the duck pond and then playing bananagrams in the evening. We need a repeat performance when we get home.

Day 17 – Thu 26 May 06 45.762S 122 52.136W 118 miles

The wind backed at midnight to ENE, leaving us with options of dropping the main or running a lot further S than we wanted. We ended up under jib until first light at which point the wind moved back to the SE, the main went back up and we started moving at more than 4kts again. I wish the wind would just stay in one place. The consequence of this fluking around is a small side swell that forms on the main long swell which then gives you a couple of hours of washing machine before it all calms down again. It is a right pain and meant a slow morning.

The wind was kind enough to come round far enough E to get the parasail back up. The difference in pace is a knot and a half. I think we will try and run it tonight as well, keeping a close eye out for squalls. The moon will be up at about 2200 local so we will have a couple of hours of dark before it gets light enough to see any rubbish coming in at us.

I had to clean the log again. I always find it a little worrying pulling the log and watching, just for that split second before you get the dummy in, the ocean flowing in to the boat through that hole in the hull! There was a little growth on it, quickly cleaned. It is still working flakily so there may be an electrical problem too.

No one was in a particularly good mood today. Little happened other than arguments.

Dinner tonight was some of the Mahi we caught yesterday.

Too much cloud and little wind meant long runs on the generator today.

Day 18 – Fri 27 May 07 12.104S 124 57.522W 129 miles

What a quiet night! The wind dropped and dropped to the point that the parasail was collapsing – a whole 4kts of wind – but came back enough that in the flat sea we had, we made some good mileage. First light saw us with 10kts from the ENE.

Lou and I are tired and we both need to get our mojo back. E and H stood watch for a couple of hours each whilst we tried to catch up on some sleep. They did well.

I repaired one of the fishing rods. After an unfortunate incident involving a winch, a jib sheet, the tip and Eleanor, the last 4” of the rod was broken. It was a simple job to grind down the end of the rod. Not quite so easy was to clean out the old tip but judicious use of the blow torch and brute violence stood me in good stead! I had a go at cleaning up the rarely used kid’s rods and reels. Perhaps we should have paid more than $20 for them as the reels, “precision engineered” (says so on the label so must be true) Chinese rubbish were rusted solid.

We have had the parasail up all day. We have decided to start worrying about the strength of the wind when the wind generator starts turning again. Light air sailing………

Comms seem to have gone for a burton. Manahi is supposed to be the closest and strongest station for Airmail that I can use but it just isn’t working. The only thing I have had from it was a message to email the guy who runs it and use his services whilst I’m there. Not very happy. It means I am trying to hit San Diego to get my email, which is taking time. I reckon I have had a lot more than my 30min a month this month. Think Quatra may have had finger problems. I got their posn email eight times today saying they were under a 1000 to go to Gambier but had no wind. At least we are moving.

Lots of emails from people we know telling us about the Marquesas. We can’t wait! Sadly I think we will miss Quatsino, already looking for a weather window to the “Tomatoes” (Lorna’s description!) and Free Spirit is well on their way to Tahiti already to get David back on a plane to Australia. I hope we catch up with both of them down the road.

Of note, my beard came off today. I had intended to keep it until we reached land but I was bored of the scratching. Although the girls find it funny, the three tone colouring (ginger, grey and white) is an odd look. I don’t think it suits me…….

Day 19 – Sat 28 May 07 30.532S 127 03.225W 118 miles

The wind stayed light for the night and we pushed with 5 and 6s. It strengthened in the morning to the point we really should have brought the parasail down but doing 9 and 10s was too much fun and in the gusts I bore away and ran to lessen the effect. The wind strengthened to 20kts in the afternoon and the parasail had to come down. We had a nasty side slop mixed with the main swell of 10’. We sailed with white sail initially but the angle was terrible and we had to go down to jib only.

I’m pretty sure we are losing at least half a knot with the growth we have on the hull. I have cleaned what I can off with rope and a scrapper lashed on to a pole but we are pretty gungy. Much as we had when we arrived in at the Galapagos, we have a brown scum line at the water – almost a spattering. I have no idea what it is. Whether man made or otherwise, it looks a mess.

We also got the wind generator working again for the first time in three days. Hopefully we can save a bit of time on the genset today.

Vaguebond told us to watch out for Chinese fishing boats, one of which he had had to dodge last night. We saw one of them that was going N. It wouldn’t talk to us which was a little disappointing as it is the first boat we have seen in over a week. It went by a mile behind us.

A quiet day otherwise. The girls watched something called “Glee” and much reading was done. Less than 700miles to go!

Day 20 – Sun 29 May 07 46.753S 128 55.377W 134 miles

There is, we found during the night, something called the wrong kind of wind. A crap mixed sea, lots of side slapping just killing our speed, an apparent of 15-18kts, jib only (just too much for the parasail) and 3 to 4kts of boat speed. Lou and I were near in tears trying to get something to work. Lou’s watch was shocking. 10miles in 3 hours. It has to have been the most frustrating 12hrs we have had.

By 0800L, the wind had calmed enough for H and I to throw up the parasail. It was cheeky sailing with gusts regularly getting up to beyond the theoretical maximum of the sail but we rode it out and the wind steadied as the morning went on. The rest of the day we fired along with 6s and 7s. We had expected to do less than 120 after the dreadful start to the day. 134 was a very pleasant surprise.

By the looks of the weather forecast, we need to keep firing on too. There seems to be a hole developing behind us which will make its way as far W as 132W in about 36hrs. We need to be on the other side of that line to make sure we have wind for the final leg into Hiva Oa. If we keep the wind for the next 24hrs, we should do it.

We finished the eggs today. Lou used them up for one last fahata with a side dish of cabbage and butter. Dinner was interrupted by the arrival of a big pod of dolphin, only the second pod we have seen in the crossing. We enjoyed their aerial display.

One thing that H has reinstigated recently and that we are all loving, is the evening bedtime reading of a story. Although both girls read prolifically, it is great that H wants to roll back the clock and be “little” again for a while. Note the luci lantern, still in our opinion one of the best inventions ever, tied off on the spinnaker sheet.

We ended the day playing dodgems with another three enormous fishing boats. None wished to speak to us.

Day 21 – Mon 30 May 08 08.832S 131 11.131W 138 miles

What a lovely day. Or at least up to 1400hrs. We had been firing along at 6-8s with 15kts true from the ENE. The wind started to drop to sub 10kts true, then we had a squall, a touch of rain (a few spots rather than anything really wet!) and then back to 12kts true. Perhaps the weather gods are being unkind and the hole is forming early. We put the parasail back up and ran along at about 5-6kts. We have our fingers crossed that the wind lasts. To help us along, the sea is now running straight for the islands so is giving us a bit of a shunt too.

Eleanor made dough this morning so we had a cob loaf for lunch.

Minecraft mania has started again on the boat. After a couple of months of never ending discussion which died in Grenada, we seem to be back into the game with a vengeance. The girls are reciting data out of the Minecraft hand books and are building each other huge skyscrapers. It is keeping them occupied. Dad, of course, has joined in. He is in full combat mode rather than creative, has a big sword and is loving the mindless violence!

We had more luck with the rod this evening. A cracking black fin tuna, about 30lbs. We really need to get some scales to measure properly. We cut steaks off it. Once we had bagged it, we had enough meat for 8 meals for 4 people. On the basis we have had a bit more luck than they, we have promised Vaguebond some of the spoil.

The wind has dropped this evening. The sky was initially overcast but thankfully has gone clear. With the moon rising after 0100, it means a dark night which is a little worrisome as we intend to fly the parasail right through. We are hoping for a steady breeze to get us over the 133W line by the morning.

Day 22 – Tue 31 May

The wind died and died as the night went on to the point that the parasail was struggling to stay filled. We moseyed along doing 3-4kts. Frankly I gave up worrying and enjoyed watching the amazing dark sky above us. The Magellan clouds were so clear.

First light saw us joined by a small pod of dolphin. A great way to start the day. Dawn came a few minutes later – 0700hrs today. The sun was just able to peek out under the cloud that was rolling in behind us. This gave us squalls and rubbish for much of the morning.

Lou spoilt us for breakfast today, leaving us out some bacon with instructions to “use it all”. Happily, dear, happily.

Come morning the wind strengthened to 12kts from the E but we sailed into the hole at 1500hrs. The stb engine is on and we will run until the wind appears to be favourable again. It is about 40 miles to the 134W line. I’m hoping that the wind will fill in by then. If not, we will run further W until we do pick up the breeze. We have decided not to wait and allow nature it take its course. We want to be there now.

We had a real bouncing downpour today, our first prolonged rain since Panama. I had a great time cleaning the decks and then there was plenty rain left to allow us to each stand outside, strip off and have a free, warm shower. Lovely!

With the time of arrival down to less than 100hrs, the GPS has started to give us an estimated arrival time. About 70hrs at current speed. Fingers crossed…….

We are missing Ferne’s of Jade birthday. She turns 9 today. Hannah has already made her a present and in way of an apology for not getting to FP in time, she got to send Fern an email wishing her the best of the day.

We had enough light left for a bit of tomfoolery as well. Does everyone know Hannah has very, very tickly feet?

Day 23 – Wed 1 Jun 09 02.640S 143 43.350W 95 miles

I was thinking of doing one more time zone change to ready us for the –9.5 UTC setting on the Marquesas but as it means the morning radio traffic with Vaguebond then falls into the period we are using for the generator (and more importantly, my non-comms using wife’s watch!), we have decided just to stay at –8 UTC until our arrival.

We finally hit wind again at 0830hrs this morning at 134 28W, a bit further W than expected. Only 7kts but enough for us to get the parasail up and the engines off. Blessed peace! We haven’t seen anymore than the occasional sniff of 10kts, the av being 8 all day and we are running at 4kts. Not a fast day but we are moving.

We are now close enough for lots of questions on when we will see land. Unfortunately it looks like another couple of days before we reach land now unless our speed picks up markedly.

Tonight’s fare was a chicken pasta bake. Eleanor did us proud earlier with a no bake chocolate cookie mix which was so good, it didn’t last long.

We heard this morning that the main issue of no email we have been having, that of not being able to hit Mahini, is because Mahani isn’t working. They are waiting for new parts. Apparently there is the intention of putting a new station in on Hiva Oa as well, but this is some months off. Perhaps next time round…… We did talk to Vaguebond and Plastik Plankton (the couple that helped us through the Panama Canal) tonight. PP is waiting for us at Hiva Oa. We are really looking forward to catching up with Wolfgang and Kathi, two really nice people.

It looks like a clear night tonight. There is a little high cloud but the sky is already wonderfully clear. Stargazing is on the agenda tonight.

Day 24 – Thu 2 Jun 09 20.334S 136 11.448W 88 miles

I wish I could adequately describe the night sky here. I fell in love with offshore sailing many years ago when I helped my father take a boat from the N of England up the North Sea, through the Caledonian Canal and back down towards Oban. Being the youngster on board I had a night to myself, motoring 50 miles offshore on a mirrored sea, in what was probably my first proper dark sky, being amazed at the brightness of the heavens. The sky here is equally as awe inspiring with the Milky Way blazing overhead. We have Jupiter, Saturn and Mars up with us too and I can see moons on the first two. No pictures are possible whilst we are at sea as our camera is not up to it but I will try to take some long exposure pictures once we reach the stability of land.

The night’s passage was very slow with a 5-9kt wind blowing us along at 3-4kts. There is no sea to bother us. We had a beautiful sunrise with the E sky ablaze but little wind to go with it.

For our morning’s entertainment, the girls and I played Mah-Jongg. Hannah came out on top by some way. Kirsty will be pleased to know Hannah logged all the hands in her notebook for further analysis.

We trogged along during the day with the mileage slowly falling to less than 150miles. Far too slowly for Lou whose morale is shot. I think she needs gin…..

We gave up with sail at 1455hrs and switched the engine on. With 2kts true, we couldn’t fly the parasail. The wind didn’t make another appearance and we gave up even trying to motor sail. We headed towards Hiva Oa on a bearing of 248.

Vaguebond is 60miles out and should arrive tomorrow morning. We will be a day behind them as we will need to slow and will arrive Saturday morning now.

We had a memorable event tonight. Our log reached 10000 miles which means we have now travelled 8400miles since the start of our journey.

Day 25 – Fri 3 Jun 09 40.532S 137 51.632W 103 miles

The wind failed us again, blowing at 3-5kts overnight. Just tedious. I really hate motoring but with about a 100miles to go, I will be divorced if I suggest taking another a couple of days to drift in.

However, at 0615hrs the wind finally kicked back in with a steady 10kts out of the E. Parasail went back up and the engine went off. Strangely the girls both woke because of the sudden lack of noise so I was joined by them for sunrise.

Hannah has decided that she needs to get her tan back. It has flaked off in a rather amusing piebald way which she is not happy about. Her morning activity included lazing on the foredeck.

Finally – 1455 LAND HO! We could just see the end of the Hiva Oa rising out of the sea. There was a fair amount of excitement and jumping around.

By mid afternoon, we had but 60 miles left to run and plenty of time to get there for first light tomorrow. The parasail came down and up went the jib.

Our last evening meal was a doozy. A corned beef pie with fresh potatoes and beans on the side. If there isn’t any wind tonight, I’m sure the Henderson side of the family can supplement!

We decided that the last of the grapefruit, never our favourites, should be sacrificed to thank Neptune for a safe crossing. Ever hopeful, Hannah took it as an opportunity to model new boobs but we did get some throwing practise in too!

We talked to Kathi from Plastik Plankton and Jean from Out of the Bag this evening. PP will be waiting for us tomorrow morning and gave us an idea of the anchorage we are heading for including a good spot we should be able to take, single anchor only. Seems that the anchorage is quiet at the moment with few boats in.

Day 26 – Sat 4 Jun Time Zone change to –9.5UTC – Marquesas time

By midnight, we had a whole 20 miles left to run as we slowly made our way along the S side of the island, about 5miles off, under jib. There are no lights on shore at all and with no moon left, it is very dark tonight and the only reason I can make out the island is by realising I can’t see stars to the horizon to my N

The girls are sleeping upstairs tonight. Although we could see the islands of Hiva Oa and Mohotani as the sun set behind them last night, they were still a great distance off. They both wanted to make sure they are up to see land “properly” at first light. Which they did!

The weather for our arrival was not auspicious but gave us one last chance to wash the salt off Skylark.

We had one worrying incident as we came in. As we were positioning ourselves to anchor, the Stb engine gear cable ( the one that froze on us just as we left Galapagos – then freed itself) snapped with the engine in forward and I was unable to change it. I had to kill it which left us with limited manoeuvrability. Some very quick dropping of dinghy allowed us to throw a stern anchor out on our rode line, stopping us from piling in to another boat.

The anchorage is everything I dreamed off. A spectacular view with being overlooked by an enormous hill. The island is so lush after the dry, drought ridden Caribbean and Galapagos islands. Can’t wait to start exploring.

Skylark, arriving!

Summary

Departed 00 57.933S 090 57.700W Isabela, Galapagos on 10 May 16

Arrived 09 48.167S 139 01.866W Hiva Oa, Marquesas on 4 Jun 16

Total Distance by log: 2985 miles

Total time: 24days 21hrs

Av speed: 5kts

Update posts

Crossing the Pacific–Part I

June 8, 2016 stewart135 2 Comments

When we first looked at crossing the Pacific, many years ago, it was a romantic dream. Now we are at the point of leaving, it has suddenly becomes a huge and slightly worrying distance.

We think we have got everything ready.

Boat – prepared as much as we can. Sails ok. Rigging checked and we have balanced the boat. Bottom cleaned. Steering gear ok. Through hulls checked. Winches done. Lines checked. Rudders have some play but we can’t replace the bearings accurately until we get pulled out. Opinion of two other skippers I trust is that they should last no problems to the Marquesas. They will need to be watched.

Power – Generator and boat engines both serviced. Solar cleaned and wiring checked. Good output for all. Wind generator doing as it has done the last 3 weeks, sitting idol. Looking forward to getting into some wind

Fuel – diesel full. Gas bottles refilled.

Water – filled up and water maker ok.

Food – Enough tinned and dry for months. Fresh being loaded today. Far too many bananas for my mind but on the positive, I think we even found a couple of cauliflower.

Charts – E and paper checked and ready. We will switch chips to the central Pacific one as we leave Isabela.

Electronic gadgets – EPIRB, HF Radio, computer, Pactor4, spare GPS, even the damn inReach seems to be behaving…..

Grab bag and safety stuff – nearly all checked and packed.

Forecast – There is wind at 02 30S says the forecasts with 10-15knts from the SE. That would be perfect. A bit of slow stuff before we reach there though.

Think we are ready. Tomorrow is our last day in the Galapagos. We are going exploring on bikes and the kids will play with their friends for the last time in a while. On Tuesday, we take a deep breathe and go for it.

Day 1 – Tue 10 May Posn at 1200 local 00 59.231S 090 59.590W Distance travelled in day: 74 miles

We had a busy final morning. Stewart cleaned the hull of weed and lots of tiny crabs. Lou got the boat tidy, hiding away the 60 eggs she got yesterday, doing one last wash and cleaning the shoes of Galapagos dirt. We headed across to Quatra for a farewell coffee. Next time we see them will be Raitea in about a years time. Lovely people and great kids. I think that both girls will miss Arsene hugely. Hannah will also miss having “big brother”, Axel to look up to. And then we did exactly the same with Jane and Alex on Starcharger. We lifted the hook at 1115hrs and were honked out of the bay by Starcharger and Sanuk. The girls answered with the conch horn. Alistair and Gill managed an impressive shout out from the Volcano on the handheld as they watched us leave.

We have had about 5-8kts of SE wind for the rest of the day but have motor sailed throughout @ 230 to try and get down to the trades as quickly as possible. There seems to be a knot of current helping us. Long may it last.

We have seen some spectacular wildlife too. First of all, we nearly ran over a Manta Ray. Eleanor thought it was about 15’ across. Another two wandered past the boat, fins just breaking the flat water we had. We then saw one jumping twice and we could hear the splash at several hundred metres. Within an hour we spotted a huge dorsal fin and tail of a Whale Shark. It meandered away from us as we tried to work out how big it was. We decided sodding huge was an adequate description. We definitely lucked out seeing both of these. It was a great way to leave Isabela.

As the light failed, we had a perfect cloudless sunset (sadly still no green flash) and our last sight of land for the next 3000 miles.

One issue today. The starboard engine control seems to have partly frozen. The engine won’t go into neutral unless clicked into by hand in the engine room. Hopefully just a lubrication issue.

Day 2 – Wed 11 May 02 26.742S 092 44.125W 127 miles

Over night we had a fog and very heavy dew. The free fresh water allowed us to get a lot of dirt off the boat but it felt clammy and cold. The girls did a good job killing the annoying flies left on the boat before, shock, horror, volunteering to do some school “because that’s what Tika does” – without argument. Thank you, Rusty and Greer!

Our first full day at sea and with it came the disappointment of a lack of wind. We have been running one engine for most of the day to try and keep us moving S in to the Trades. We thought we had reached them as the wind jumped beyond the 10 mark for 30 mins but it quickly fell away. Hopefully things will pick up tomorrow.

The only items of interest today are a Red Footed Boobie (to be known as “Breena” says H) that has come to stay awhile and a 150’+ fishing? boat of a design I’ve never seen before, sporting a very high spotting mast and crows nest and what looked like a couple of big chase boats on her back deck at an angle of 45. Strange looking thing. A whaling vessel?l

We managed to talk briefly to Tika and Jade this morning on the HF. Hopefully we will get a better chat with them tomorrow as we plan to move the timing later to get better atmospherics. We heard Free Spirit on the evening Magellan net. Most of the boats this evening seem to be moving along the equator using the current and will head SW to the Marquesas beyond 125W. A different approach to ours but then most are coming straight from Panama.

Dinner tonight is a fantastic smelling Pasta Bake. May as well make best use of the fresh whilst we have it!

Day 3 – Thu 12 May 03 23.571S 094 25.004W 111 miles

We hit the trades at about 0700local. At first light we had put up the parasail and we watched the wind gradually strengthen to a lovely 13-15kts from the ESE. The only disappointment is we seem to have lost the 1kt current that has been helping us up until now so we are making only 6kts @ 245. Eleanor has been working at her Competent Crew book and Hannah stood a proper watch (with Dad not so far away). Message received from Quatra to say their missing delivery boat, Seyla had finally turned up at Santa Cruz. Typically, I sent the message out trying to find her on the last message sent before I received theirs…… Cancel sent.

We caught our first fish – a very small black fin tuna that we threw back. We are hoping for something that would actually feed all of us.

We changed down from parasail to plain sail for the night.

Day 4 – Fri 13 May 03 50.744S 095 32.794W 72 miles

Where has the wind gone? It dropped to near zero through the night. Thankfully the sea went slack too but we had a couple of hours of unpleasant hours in a lazy sea slopping around before it did. We dropped the main at 0200local to prevent damage (and noise) and tied the jib out. The morning finds us with a F1 from the NE. Our saving grace is a 1.25kt current taking us W.

By 0900 local we had the Parasail up. It takes 4kts to set and we struggled to find even this throughout the morning. By early afternoon we had had enough of 1kt an hour so put the motor on to run SW. We continued to run SW to get into the 04S. GRIBs say there is wind there. Fingers crossed.

The light wind stayed with us right through the day. Picked up for a while in the evening but a poor day all told. 72miles only

Looks like our Boobie has finally left us this morning. Time to clean the deck……

Day 5 – Sat 14 May 04 13.097S 097 20.898W 140 miles

We had to drop the main as no wind and mixed seas were causing a lot of banging. Finally a Wave (the Pacific equivalent of a front but not associated with a clearly defined weather system) went through in the small hours, giving us some rain, a few mild squalls and an even more mixed sea.

The wind filled back in about 0630local back to 15kts and we have set course @260 with Main 1 reef (due to the crap seas – less banging and chance of damage) and Jib. We are hoping that the sea settles into something more regular and with a Pacific length. Flying along at 7-8kts. I’m hoping this is us properly into the Trades now.

Brownies were baked by E. Lou did a fine bread.

We lost two lures today. Our line to the excellent cedar plug of previous great success, fizzed out and then the line broke with enough pressure that it pinged the line back on to the bimini roof. The replacement lasted the first bite and disappeared as well. Not very happy. We need to make sure we can slow the boat quicker.

We are starting to see more deep water birds. Storm petrols, fulmar type and lots of large terns.

We heard that Lumiel reached Hiva Oa a couple of days ago. A quick passage!

Day 6 – Sun 15 May 04 27.307S 099 49.184W 130 miles

A good steady day with reasonable wind all day and 130miles over the day. The parasail went up early and we had a good run until early afternoon when the apparent jumped to close to 15kts – the max the sail can take. We took it down and replaced with plain sail and satisfactorily went along at 6+kts. The wind died as the evening progressed but we stayed with plain sail through the night.

INSERT DOLPHIN VIDEO HERE – needs to be done from Youtube account whilst online.

We were joined by a huge pod of dolphin that were a lot more energetic than the norm. They were having a great time!

We caught another Black fin Tuna today. Eleanor did the honours of gutting and filleting it. She is getting pretty good at this already. We are all hoping for a decent sized fish at some point. This one was no more than three kilos.

Lou is now trying to get through the eggs. Two bad eggs stank the boat out today. They were from an earlier buy but we are concerned that we may need to start getting through the remaining 60 a bit quicker than we are! Need to do some turning.

Had to change a gas bottle today. On the basis we had changed it a week before, the last one must have leaked badly. It should have lasted 6 weeks. Need to monitor the next one.

We seem to be averaging just over 5kts as we go along. I had hoped for a bit better. We moved waypoints today and our next, some 500 miles off only takes us another degree S. I’m slightly concerned that we have lost the advantage of the current again. The latitude we are is supposed to be where the best of it is. I’ll ask on the net tomorrow where others found it strongest. I’ve done the same with Taranga by email.

Day 7 – Mon 16 May 04 35.458S 101 48.699W 138 miles

The wind has steadied but the sea remains a mixed pain which is both slapping us and slowing us down. We ended up with the wind a little too S for the parasail so we stayed with plain sail all day. 6s and 7s for the afternoon and evening. Nice to be in the third digit of Longitude finally.

It is amazing how little change there is in the wind, either by bearing or strength, here. A big change is 5 degrees and that lasts normally for no more than an hour before it goes back to a ESE, around 110degrees. Long may the Trades last!

Little to report for on board activities today. Lots of reading done.

We had the tuna tonight seared and served with “special” rice – lovely.

We got mention of squalls at the 104W line by Out of the Bag, a boat in front of us. Something to look out for tomorrow.

Day 8 – Tue 17 May 04 55.570S 104 15.262W 139 miles

A day of squalls indeed. Sails up, down, changed side, washing machine rubbish. Not much fun at all. We had gusts to 30kts but most squalls topped out in the high twenties. We have been running @ 250-255 for most of the day. We really need a bit more W rather than WSW but with the number of squalls coming through we can’t trust the parasail up and as always, our downhill ability is poor, losing the jib if the main is up after the wind app goes more than 135.

I sometimes get jealous of other yachts we are out here with. Out of the Bag, with Bill and Jean, an Aus couple we met in Galapagos did 225miles yesterday. Very envious. Saying that, we have caught and past a monohull, Vanguard, up near the Equator we have been speaking to on the net for the last week. We aren’t doing too badly.

The discussion goes on about what the fastest route. A NZ weather forecaster, the Pacific equivalent to Chris Parker in the Caribbean is suggesting staying around the 5S line until 130W then heading straight for the last few hundred miles. Seems that is where the current ends. The difficult thing is that the angle to travel due W is not a good one with the seas as they are which is why we have been very slowly moving S. We may, however, just have to grin and bear it for the sake of the current. On the basis we are covering just over two degrees a day, that is another 12-13 days before we head S.

On the upside, we got some decent rain with the squalls too. The decks are cleaned of the squid stains and the crusty salt bits that were starting to show on the solar panels have all gone.

I think this is the first day where Lou and I have felt properly tired. There is no reluctance to head straight to bed after a watch. E is being a great help and is standing in for the odd hour here and there. It makes a difference.

Day 9 – Wed 18 May. TIMEWARP to –7UTC. 05 05.643S 106 28.372W 121miles

The hour before dawn is turning into the hour to watch. For the last few days, the wind increases for about 45 mins dramatically, then backs into the S before dropping away to less than 10kts for an hour or so. Today we had a sustained period of 28+ kts(F7). We had run through the night with 2 reefs in, still averaging 6s, which meant all we needed to do was tuck away lots of jib. Still, bursts of 10+kts with the boat as heavy as she is at the moment meant there was some serious force on the sails. For us the weather is a bit cheeky; for Out of the Bag with another 5’ of length and built for speed rather than comfort, they did a 240mile day. Sigh………

It does mean we are getting some beautiful sunsets and dawns. These are our last two. Red sky at night and all that doesn’t seem quite to be accurate!

After getting chucked down the stairs (lovely bruise on my backside and hip too), I got bored with the cross sea rubbish and the banging of the main so dumped it and ran under jib only with a far kinder tail sea, pulling in and out as the squalls came through. We have moved a little further N to try and stay in the best of the current. Tony on Tactical Direction, another boat on the morning net, got a full load down from his mate in Aus which says it is running strongest between 03-05S at the moment although there is positive current all the way down to about 09S. Happy days. Next update on Sunday.

The wind for the rest of the day has been around 12kts true. We had a couple of squalls miss us . With us going back in time and the moon waxing, we are starting to get a good moonlight for the night. A lot nicer than the black out we had over the first week.

We reached the 1000mile point today. It means Lou can now claim full membership rights to the Ocean Cruising Club and we are wondering if we should do the same for the kids. Is there a family membership available?

Another fish today. We seem to be doing well with small tuna. Enough for a meal but not enough for the freezer. May have to try another lure.

First cry of “are we nearly there yet?” today.

Day 10 – Thu 19 May 04 51.970S 108 20.767W 121miles

A comfortable night’s sail av 5kts with about 8kts over the deck. The current is definitely helping although another 5kts of wind would be helpful too.

We are having a bit of a set to over when to switch the generator on. We haven’t seen a huge amount of sun the last few days and the autohelm has been working hard. Even though Lou hand steered the last hour of her watch, at first light the batteries were at 12.1V, a lot lower than we want them. Looks like we need to set a cut off point and start up accordingly.

Task for today was to replace the topping lift which I had hoped would last a little longer. I partly replaced the line whilst we crossed from Panama but another part of the line shredded yesterday. We stitched the old and new lines together, pulled it through and up the mast – no problem. Our topping lift is now a pretty blue. Our thanks to Invictus for bringing us the line out from Panama.

Eleanor learnt a new trick this morning – how to do whipping. A marvellous morning was had, whipping everything! Watch out for lots of red at the end of all our ropes. Note for me – buy more No 4 whipping line – we are nearly out.

We have had a tedious day of too much wind, then nil, then just about enough and so around the loop again. And lots of very light showers. The parasail was up and down three times before we had enough and stuck to the jib.

Lou did an excellent tuna and noodles supper – v good.

Day 11 – Fri 20 May 04 49.489S 110 18.088W 115 miles

More showers and squalls overnight. Lots of cloud and few stars. It is safe running under jib only at night but it isn’t the fastest of passages.

Hey ho. I love my pactor4 modem. It really does do what it says on the tin. The email service is excellent – I wish Gmail was as quick and simple – and I am hitting Panama, now about 2000 miles away with ease getting about 3-5000bit per sec connection rate. I’m still needing to minimise what I send out as I only get 30 mins connection a month but it means my weather is always up to date (Airmail 3.5 has a great GRIB request format).

Eleanor did some baking and produced some excellent muffins today. Lou bribed the girls with the promise of M&Ms. It is amazing how spotless a bedroom can get when there is a proper incentive!

For the first time in days, a clear day sky equals good solar output, giving the batteries a good shunt. I’m hoping we have seen the last of the cloud for a while.

I tried to get one of the ends of the main traveller today to check the rod size that my great friend, John McMenamin is getting me from Z-Spar back in the UK. It ended in abject failure with one of the screw heads pinging off, leaving the body of a screw still through the deck and end piece and another screw refusing to turn at all, costing me a screwdriver which, with a bit of swearing was thrown with some feeling into the deep blue Pacific………. There isn’t enough broken screw to fix said end back to the deck. Unable to shift it either by drilling it out (dangerous trying to drill out a steel screw held in an aluminium body as I found out) or a hammer, I’ve had to just put everything back together. Not sure what to do now….. Better drill and a bigger screwdriver I suppose…… It will need to wait to the Marquesas.

It was pretty rocky today. Jib only as I worked on the traveller then whilst we had mainly a 15kt ESE breeze it fluked up past 20 all too regularly for the parasail. We seem to be in a counter current at the moment and it feels as if Skylark is dragging an anchor we are going so slowly. We should be doing 5-6kts; we are seeing 3-4kts. Just tedious. Started to move a little further S with the main back up to see if we can push on a little.

Day 12 – Sat 21 May 04 47.811S 112 03.513W 118miles

We saw our first sign of human life for a while today. A big ship on route to Panama screamed past us at a range of about 5 miles. They will be there in 3 days said the radio op! I wouldn’t mind that kind of pace at the moment.

Moving S, we hit a westbound current again at 04 47S. Skylark suddenly felt as if she was moving properly.

The rest of the day passed very uneventfully. We watched some crap films. I had forgotten how bad David Bowie’s Labyrinth was but the girls seemed to like it. Hot Fuzz was deemed completely inappropriate for the girls but I caught H watching it, nervously giggling like a mad thing, more at the bad language rather than the story line.

Other than that? Not much today……

Day 13 – Sun 22 May 05 01.362S 114 23.476W 142 miles

Way to go! We have made the half way point with a good mileage too. “All downhill from here, dear” says I …… the Taia and So What crews might see the humour of that comment and guess the response I got….. Smile

Again not exactly a busy day other than the daily maintenance check of the rigging and sails. We do need to fix the sail cover and one of the sail cover pole stiffener fittings. We will be looking to borrow a sailrite machine when we get to FP. It is too much for our wee Singer.

The sails haven’t needed to be touched all day with a lovely honest and constant breeze which has set in from the SE. Up to now, we have had ESE wind which fluke around for an hour or so at first light. Says the forecast and in Vaguebond’s opinion as well, we should have this for about four days. I’ve also decided it is time to start heading on the rhumb line rather than try and use the strongest current. After losing a lot of mileage to a duff current prediction, I’m more in favour now of making sure the boat sails at a decent angle to get good boat speed, rather than the run with current we have been using for the last ten days.

With the wind in the SE, we can now sail on a beam reach on the rhomb line, which is perfect for Skylark. All plain sail set.

I have to admit to loving my HF set. We have an Icom 802 and the 140 auto tuner which, paired with a rope antenna and the KISS ground plane, is working beautifully. Saying that, the propagation on the morning net is getting difficult as we move further W and we decided that we would move it back to 0100UTC tomorrow to hopefully get a better signal. We are still managing to talk to Out of the Bag, some 1400miles in front of us but it should be easier from tomorrow. I’m still trying to get Lou to use the set. She isn’t keen. It must be some hangover from R Sig days!

I decided it was time for a haircut again. I like my short hair. Easier to maintain too. The girls took great delight in taking turns in clippering it off and Lou did the tidying up. My beard, which will remain on until we get to the Marquesas, is now longer than my hair.

Lou made a chicken pasty which went down extremely well. Note E’s sneaky hand coming in to nick a carrot!

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skylarkingaround

Tag Archives: Sanuk

Apataki – Skylark on the Hard

French Polynesia–Hiva Oa and Tahuata

Crossing the Pacific–Part II

Crossing the Pacific–Part I

The Hendersons Abroad