Category: Captain’s Log

Current Position: 13 04.169’N 126 16.989’W; Course: 180; SOG: 5.1 kt; TWS: 20.6 kt; TWD: 037; TWA: 141; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1569 nm;
Comments: Last night was uneventful. Concerned there might be squalls at night, I left the jib mostly furled and two reefs in the main. Still, I averaged 5 kt to the S. At first light I sat in the cockpit for a while. The seas had calmed down, but I was surrounded by squalls and heavily overcasts skies. I was only doing 4 kt in 14 kt of wind, but I resisted the urge to shake out a reef, because the wind almost always picks up after sunrise. Instead, I let out half the jib (which better balanced the sails anyway) and made 5.5 kt, which I was satisfied with until I could learn what Nature’s plan was for the day. I was as right about the wind, which picked up to 21 and veered more easterly about 8:30, allowing me to point almost directly at the Marquesas (195) and make 5.5-6 kt, which given the sea conditions, was about all I could expect. Sea conditions have made it very difficult to cook, but I managed to cook some curry noodles last night and oatmeal this morning. More importantly, I managed to get most of it in my mouth rather than all over the galley. My 9:00 progress check showed I made good 118 nm to the waypoint, one of my best days, despite using almost no headsail and a double-reefed main. This is due to the fact my heading is now towards the Marquesas. I also lost almost exactly two degrees of latitude, as expected. PredictWind has not come around to my way of thinking and has modeled basically the course I am on. It looks like I will have these 20+ kt winds until Sunday, and then the winds will die down. Starting next week, I’ll have to deal with the ITCZ. Once I know I don’t have to deal with wind gusts over 12 or so, I will break out the asymmetrical spinnaker. I have been following two other boats that left Cabo about the same time. Both chose to go south earlier. While it is unclear whether that strategy will prove to be faster, it is clear they are dealing with more serious storms down there right now. I had some excitement about when I discovered one of the control pins for the wind vane had washed overboard and was being dragged behind the boat. I used a gaff to retrieve it and did some acrobatics off the stern of the boat (while clipped in of course) in big following seas to retread the line through the tubing and pulley system of the wind vane. While doing that, I noticed the part of the line that goes through the tubes was frayed to the point that the wind vane is not reliable if used unattended (for example when I am sleeping). As a friend told me, everything on your boat is broken, you just don’t know it yet. Like yesterday, the sun came out for a bit in the middle of the day, just in time to charge the house battery bank. Up to that point, I had turned off everything that was not necessary to pilot the boat (including the VHF, AIS, refrigerator, etc.). The afternoon was pleasant sailing with 15-22 kt wind. I averaged 5 kt with half the Yankee and a double-reefed main. I could probably gained more, but it was nice for a change not to thrash about. I was able to prepare hot meals.
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Current Position: 15 40.541’N 125 29.557W; Course: 183; SOG: 5.3 kt; TWS: 16.8 kt; TWD: 043; TWA: 142; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1728 nm;
Comments: I could tell last night the weather was changing. At 4:00 the winds shifted and I jibed south. I went back to sleep about 5:30 and woke up about 7:00 and looked outside and although the winds were relatively light, about 11 kt, I could tell there were storms developing. I wanted to furl the jib, but it seemed hung up. I went forward and found a piece of the furler sitting precariously on the bowsprit. I grabbed it before it fell overboard. The “finger ring” clamps around the base of the furler and keeps the furling line from wrapping around the forestay, I have been having a problem with that but couldn’t figure out why. The two halves clamp together with two screws and one a cleaved off, the consequence of crevice corrosion. Unfortunately, I did not have a a replacement for the special screw. Despite the fact the remaining screw was bent, I tightened it and used stainless steel wire in place of the other screw. The piece is not really load-bearing, so it should hold until I can arrange for a more permanent fix. While I was on the bowsprit fixing the furler, it started to rain. A squall was developing. I quickly finished my work, furled the headsail, and put two reefs in the main just as the squall hit with 35 kt winds. The worse of it was over pretty quickly, although it continued to rain for a couple of hours. I could see other squalls around the boat (visually and on radar), so I left the jib mostly furled and the two reefs in the main all day. Nonetheless, I sailed south at about 5-6 kt most of the day. As I write this, I can see more squalls upwind, so I will leave the sailed reduced overnight.

Current Position: 16 04.090’N 124 06.263’W; Course: 245; SOG: 6.0 kt; TWS: 19.1 kt; TWD: 045; TWA: 149; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1788 nm;
Comments: Last night was uneventful. Winds averaged about 15 and did not get experience the wind gusts that were predicted. Waves were high and at times the boat rolled significantly. I woke up to overcast skies … little solar. The weather forecast seems to be changing rapidly/often. My 9:00 progress check was 95 nm (1813 nm to waypoint). I have been traveling on average 260 all day, nearly due W. As I approach the longitude of the Marquesas, my progress towards the waypoint has been lessened, even though my average speed today was over 6 kt. I believe tomorrow by dusk or perhaps Friday morning I will be ready to jib towards the S. At that point, ai expect to make two degrees latitude per day until I reach the ITCZ.
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Current Position: 16 05.916’N 121 22.503’W; Course: 254; SOG: 6.1 kt; TWS: 17.8 kt; TWD: 035; TWA: 142; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1875 nm;
Comments: Nature played an April Fool’s joke on me. Since I had just got cleaned up, I decided to wear something clean to sleep last night. When I went to the hanging locker, I found everything was soaked … my summer and winter clothes, clean bedding, towels, shoes … everything. A quick taste proved it was salt water. One of the latches for a porthole behind the door, one I cannot normally see and don’t use, was loose, and gallons of seawater must have come through it over the past week or so (I wired the dog ears of the hatch down so it cannot happen again). It is lucky I found out, or everything would have mildewed. In any case, the whole boat has been turned into a clothesline. Everything with zippers had to be rinsed in fresh water (so much for the water I made yesterday). It’s hard enough to keep things dry, now the inside of the boat is like a sauna. The clothes I washed this yesterday morning and were hanging all day outside were still not dry, so it is going to take days to get the things dry enough to store. And, I won’t be able to use the hanging locker because it’s going to take even longer to dry it out. Ironically, I also used the locker to store my extra-absorbent paper towels, which were of course a soggy mess. I am going to dry things in batches and store them in on top of the stuff in the V-berth until I get to the Marquesas, where hopefully I can find a laundry. Since I have turned the cockpit into clotheslines, I cannot even see the wind vane, so I set up the TillerPilot for the night. I was passed by no fewer than ten ships during the night, none closer than 10 nm (this must be a shipping lane from Asia to the Panama Canal). I had sustained winds of 25 kt for long periods (30-60m). Since the sails were unreefed, I adjusted my course to be 250 to reduce the speed, but still surfed 8 kt at times. Also, there was a tendency for the boat to want to round up during the particularly strong gusts, sometimes even 280, but the boat never felt overpowered. I can hear if water is coming across the leeward toe rail, and in general it was not. The forecast is for stronger winds at I travel W. I will reef tomorrow before dusk. My average speed overnight (beginning at 22:00) was 7.3 kt. At times, the boat was surfing almost 9 kt. Despite the fact that I had the course set for 255, the actual course was due west due to the boat rounding up in the gusts, which sometimes hit 30 kt. The forecast is for stronger winds as I travel W. I will reef tomorrow before dusk. Right now, it looks like Thursday morning I will gib and start heading S. My 9:00 progress check shows I have made good 96 nm towards the waypoint. Which is remarkable as I traveled almost due W the whole time. I am without doubt clear of the developing dead zone to the SE of me as it is blowing 25 kt steady. I notice that three sailboats that chose to travel S earlier than me are moving slower. One of them Bandit, who left a day and a half before me from Cabo, was 240 nm closer to the Marquesas, and now it is 200 nm, so I gained 40 miles on it despite the fact it is a larger/faster boat. I spent all day doing a preliminary drying of the clothes, bedding, shoes, etc. … developing a system. It was all made more difficult because the boat was rolling severely, anything hung anywhere outside except right under the hard dodger was just going to get more wet, there was no sun today, and I couldn’t open any of the portholes to get air in the cabin because periodic waves were crashing onto the deck. Nonetheless, by the end of the day, most of the stuff was at least partially dried. It was impossible to coke at the stove today. I ate some crackers and cheese, an apple, half a red bell pepper, and a hard boiled egg. In the afternoon the sea had settled down a bit after the blow last night, so I decided to shorten the sails to prepare for what I anticipate will be a bigger blow tonight. I sheeted the boom and the jib and headed downwind to take some of the load off the sails. I tried to partially furl the jib , but it would not budge. I could see the furling line was wrapped around the outside of the drum, something that happens sometimes when I sail downwind donating periods I went forward to clear the line and noticed a weld in one of the stanchions had failed under the load of a preventer line. I temporarily secured the stanchion, rerouted the preventer, cleared the furler line, and put a reef in the main. I’m going to have to find a welder in the Marquesas. It’s been a busy 24h.
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Current Position: 16 21.409’N 118 35.602’W; Course: 255; SOG: 6.2kt; TWS: 17.8 kt; TWD: 037; TWA: 131; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 1984 nm;
Comments: Just after I submitted my check-in yesterday, my dolphin buddies dropped by to say hi. Not as many as yesterday, perhaps a half-dozen, and they didn’t stick around too long. Shortly after that, I noticed the mainsail was misshaped. It was ballooned around the lazy jack lines. Thinking it was because I had the boom out 45 degrees, I went to the mast to loosen the lazy jack. Even when the lines were loosened to the point the sail pack had dropped, the sail was misshapen. Then I noticed the first jiffy reef line was not attached. It had abraded through where it passed through the grommet in the sail. Fortunately, there was enough line to reattach it. Next time I am at anchor, I will sew some dyneema (firehose ) sleeves around the lines where they pass through the sail. And, when it rains it pours. There are two tankers crossing my path tonight, one about 22:00 and the other some hours later. The tankers proved to be less of a problem than the other sailboat near me, Dovka. Nonetheless, I was awake the first half of the night monitoring the vessels. I was also kept awake because I had chosen to leave the sails wing on wing, which had worked great during the day, but at night the wind backed to the N but the swell remained from the NW causing the boat to rock violently. I sheeted the boom and tried to sail more of a broad reach, but the whisker pole was on the wrong side. To add to the problems, winds were gusting to 30 kt. Live and learn. I woke up to clear skies (it has been cloudy the past couple of days, and I cleared seven flying fish off the deck. At 8:00 I furled the jib, removed the whisker and sailed W on a broad reach at 5-6 kt in 17 kt winds. The other reason for heading W is there is a developing dead zone behind me and I don’t want to become becalmed.The 9:00 progress check showed I had made 110 toward Hiva Oa (2004 to go). it was a sunny day, which meant I had energy to make water. I took a shower and washed clothes. I calibrated the paddle wheel speed sensor. I knew it was off, but the app on my phone wouldn’t connect to it. I charged my backup iPad and for some reason it could connect. Now my BSPD and SOG are consistent. When I shook out the first reef in the main, I discovered the jiffy reefing line was not in fact long enough, so I temporarily spliced another one onto it. It’s always something. All the weather programs say I should be heading west to avoid a weakening system, so that is what I did (and will continue to do until Thursday morning or so). It will adversely impact my apparent progress to the Marquesas, but will be faster in the long run. I did over 6 kt the whole day. The control line on the wind vane needs to be replaced. It is original and has become hard and slick, so it slips sometimes in the cam cleats. I don’t think I have the right diameter with me, so I will look for some double braid when I get to FP. As I write this, a large cargo ship is coming up on my stern, about an hour away, but it looks like no action will be needed (it will pass to my starboard quarter by a mile or two).

Current Position: 17 08.323’N 116 45.342’W; Course: 223; SOG: 5.2kt; TWS: 14.8 kt; TWD: 041; TWA: 172; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 2088 nm;
Comments: At 8:00, the wind started shifting to the NE, making it difficult to maintain a heading of 260. I set up the TillerPilot for “Wind” mode and ran wind-on-wing, which points me directly at the Marquesas doing about 4 kt in 15 kt wind. This was about a kt slower than going west, but is actually resulting in more progress. There is also the advantage of following seas. Between my last two 9:00 progress checks, I sailed mostly 260 degrees. The wind was generally steady and I made good progress, 93 nm good to my waypoint. Later in the morning, I rigged my whisker pole for the first time to the jib. Properly shaping the foresail gained me an extra kt of speed. Since I can get 4.5-5.5 kts wing on wing I’m 11-15 kt wind, it may not be necessary to head west anymore, but rather I can head SW until I reach the ITCZ directly N of the Marquesas. I sailed all afternoon just east of Marquesas. Averaging about 5 kt. It was a much more comfortable sail. When heading W, the spray, heeling, and rocking made it uncomfortable to sit in the cockpit for very long, but after I began heading downwind, I spent most of the day in the cockpit reading. I marveled at how many species of seabirds I saw so far from land.

Current Position: 17 34.189’N 114 58.964’W; Course: 260; SOG: 6.6 kt; TWS: 18.9 kt; TWD: 017; TWA: 129; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 2175 nm;
Comments: At dusk last night I changed my course to due W in anticipation of a change in the wind direction. Shortly thereafter, the wind veered to the NE and the wind speed dropped to single digits. The SOG fell to 3.3 kt with a reefed main and most of the Yankee. I was reluctant to shake out the main at night. A pocket of dead air is supposed to develop just south of me, which I am trying to stay north of. That would be easier in the morning when I pass Isla Clarion. I was hailed by the 36’ sailboat Davis on the VHF just after dusk. The boat had been slowly gaining on me all day and was 16 nm off my starboard essentially on the same course. They were aware of my blog and were also on their way to the Marquesas. They were also aware of the developing weather and we both agreed that heading due W would be advisable. I was woken up at 3 by the flagging of the jib. The wind had finally picked up to the double digits (15 kt with 20 kt gusts) and had shifted to the NNW. I trimmed the jib and the boat picked up speed to 7 kt in a close haul. The early morning wind had arrived again. It was a good call to leave the reef in. The preceding calm had quieted the seas, making the ride more enjoyable. The current weather models have my course due W for the next 7-8 days. At 8:30, I struggled for 30m trying to set up the wind vane, but the wind kept shifting from the NNW to the NNE and fluctuation between 11-22 kt, so ai left the TillerPilot engaged and hoped the wind would settle down later. My “9:00 progress check” says I made 98 miles towards the waypoint, about 10 nm less than yesterday. This can be account for by the fact I was sailing W (not SW) and the fact I was becalmed a significant period of time. Much of that time was made up though by the brisk wind since 3:00. I cleared south of Isla Clarion about 30 nm at 13:00. The wind was still blowing so I changed the heading to 255 to reduce the heeling a bit and take advantage of the high winds to drive me closer to my waypoint. The wind was still driving me at hull speed. By 16:00 the wind had died down a bit, 14-18 kt. I went into the cockpit to adjust the wind vane and was surprised by a huge pod of dolphins. There were perhaps 25 around the boat, but I could see many more leaping in the distant on both sides of the boat. There had to be at least 100. I got my leftover dinner and sat in the cockpit. The main pod eventually disappeared, but a dozen of them were polite enough to wait until I had finished my meal.
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Current Position: 17 39.893’N 112 46.422’W; Course: 222; SOG: 6.1 kt; TWS: 19.1 kt; TWD: 005; TWA: 117; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 2268 nm;
Comments: I ran most of the night on the wind vane, but I was woken at 4:00 because the boat had headed up and was heeled over and was being battered by waves on the beam. I tried to reset the wind vane but had trouble trimming the sails, so I engaged the TillerPilot. Up until then, I had been getting up every 90 minutes to check the course and the AIS. No vessels have been within 60 miles since I left San Benedicto. In contrast to the stretch through the shipping lanes, the VHF was also quiet last night, so I got a relatively good night’s rest. I have arbitrarily picked 9:00 each day to measure my progress to the Marquesas. I was 110 nm closer at 9:00 today. The weather patterns have been similar each day. The winds veer to the N during the day a back to the NW at night. The winds blow relatively light in the morning, 11-15 kt, strengthen to 20-22 by late afternoon. The building of the winds and their backing usually causes problems with the wind vane in the early morning hours, often causing the boat to round up. Waves build as the winds do. The swells tend to be from the N and usually large, 7-9’, but the seas become confused at night, which is one of the reasons the wind vane may have problems then. I should clear Isla Clarion tomorrow to the S, then I may try to keep the boat on a westerly path for a while because it looks like lighter wind may be following me in a couple of days. Also, the winds will gradually shift from the NW to the NE over the next five days or so.

Current Position: 19 01.311’N 111 8.882’W; Course: 232; SOG: 4.2 kt; TWS: 13.1 kt; TWD: 359; TWA: 136; Distance to waypoint (Hiva Oa): 2383 nm;
Comments: By dusk yesterday, I had steady 20 kt winds and big seas. I had double-reefed the main and was using only about half the Yankee. I also hauled in the sails to lessen their exposure to the wind. Still, I was doing 6 kt SOG. I tried to slow the boat down so I would reach the anchorage a sunrise. Because the sails were not properly trimmed, the wind vane would not work … the boat wanted to round up), so I used the TillerPilot all night. I spotted San Benedicto just before dawn and reached the anchorage 2h later in 30 kt wind, angry seas, and grey skies, greeted by dolphins and seabirds. The crater bowl where I was supposed to anchor fell off steeply. At 45’ I felt I was too close to shore to anchor safely. Although I was looking forward to a stable platform to make a nice meal or two, I raised the sails and pressed on. I plugged in the coordinate for Hiva Oa. 2413 nm to the waypoint (as the crow flies) … daunting. The nice thing is there are going to be fewer freighters to contend with and the course does not have to be precise, so the windvane is fine. The seas were angry last night and the first half of today. I struggled to cook something hot, a bean burrito. Even though it calmed down in the afternoon with 15 kts of wind, I left two reefs in the main and enjoyed the relative calmness, albeit at a price of moving only 4.5 kt. I took a 3h nap. When I woke about 15:00, I shook out one of the reefs in the main and unfurled most of the Yankee. The SOG did not change much in part because I am running against a 1.5 kt current. I should have dropped the main and just run with the Yankee, but instead I altered my course due west to more of a broad reach than a run. Unfortunately, that put my on the path to Isla Clarion, the only solid object between me and the Marquesas. But, that is nearly 200 miles away … not a problem for tonight.
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Current Position: 20 34.772’N 110 23.470’W; Course: 179; SOG: 4.5; TWS: 17 kt; TWD: 317; TWA: 143; Distance to waypoint (about 20 nm from Isla San Benedicto): 62;
Comments: I had to remain alert last night as I passed through shipping lanes. At one point I had to thread between two 700’ cargo ships that were off my starboard beam. The closest of the two, Federal Infinity, communicated well via VHF and passes a half nm to my stern after adjusting his speed by half a knot. About 2:00 an alarm went off. The wind speed had dropped to 8 and backed to the NNW. The wind vane was struggling to keep the boat on course. I switched to the TillerPilot. I left the reef in the main but relaxed the main sheet and set the preventer. The boat had slowed to 3 kt. I confirmed I had cleared the bow of the tanker STI Brooklyn, which was 10 nm off my port. I turned off the Iridium GO and fridge to conserve power until dawn. It was a good call to leave yet reef in. By 3:00, wind was back up to 17 and the boat was going 6.5 kt in a dead run. In the morning I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise and 13 kt winds from the NNW. Sea state was relatively calm. I cleaned one fish and six squid off the deck. I reached the halfway point about 8:30 (110 nm in 20h, so averaged 5.5 kt). As it did yesterday, the wind and waved kicked it up a notch early afternoon. The forecast is for continued 15-20 kt winds through tomorrow, putting me at San Benedicto before dawn. I put a second reef in the main, shortened the Yankee, and made a new waypoint upwind and on the leeward side of the island. I should make the waypoint about 3:00, with another 4h to the anchorage.
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