May 20 - Today the Pacific is true to its name. The ocean is as flat as a
pancake. Smooth as a baby's bottom. And not a breath of wind.
Oddly, it didn't make us restless, as it has in the past. We used the flat
seas to work on a couple projects that we wouldn't otherwise do while
underway. John fixed the bow nav light, whose connections had corroded. I
cleaned the head. Fun stuff like that. We also enjoyed lounging in the
cockpit without any danger of being doused with spray. It was a good day.
Besides, our friend John has just made landfall in Kodiak, Alaska, and he
tells us that it is 8'C in the boat with the heater on. Brrr. He's advised
us to take it slow, and wait for Alaska to warm up. Sounds like good advice
to me!! :O)
Good news - we caught another Mahi-mahi last night. And this one we kept.
Our freezer is stuffed full, but it made a wonderful dinner tonight! It is
our favourite fish out here, second only to tuna.
Life is good.
PS...for those of you who are interested in the numbers. Well I don't have
them. Handy. I'm writing from my bunk. But...I can tell you that until
today, we've been doing 120 nm per day, making about 110 of those miles in
the right direction - towards Sitka, Alaska. Not bad for us, considering
that we're beating into the wind. Today will be different. After coasting
along at 2 knots for most of the afternoon, I can only imagine what our
daily total will be. Still, we have around 2700 miles to go...or something
like that.
Check our daily position reports here:
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Day 9 - 3000 nm to go!
Thursday, May 17 - Our 9th day at sea, and the GPS tell us we have 3000
miles to go! That's a quarter of the way completed! Hurray.
So, today was a celebration. I baked bread. Which is not a big deal on many
boats out here. But for me, it's a pretty big deal. I never bake bread on a
passage. In fact, I hardly ever bake bread at anchor. Banana bread - yes.
Bread bread - no.
So for lunch, egg salad sandwiches on fresh foccacia bread. Yum.
For dinner, fried pork chops and onions with potato salad. And Reese's
Peanut Butter Cups for dessert. YUM.
And...just as we finished doing the dishes, a fish hit!! We caught a big
Mahi Mahi!! But once again, it was too big. We still have meat in the
freezer, so we let it go. We were hoping for a little tuna for our
celebratory meal, but this fish would have been wasted. But it did give me
some hope. I haven't seen anything out here - not a single ship, only two
birds, and the occasional flying fish.
I can hardly wait for the 2000 nm celebration!!
Our position: 24-45N, 174-41E
Check our daily position reports here:
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN
miles to go! That's a quarter of the way completed! Hurray.
So, today was a celebration. I baked bread. Which is not a big deal on many
boats out here. But for me, it's a pretty big deal. I never bake bread on a
passage. In fact, I hardly ever bake bread at anchor. Banana bread - yes.
Bread bread - no.
So for lunch, egg salad sandwiches on fresh foccacia bread. Yum.
For dinner, fried pork chops and onions with potato salad. And Reese's
Peanut Butter Cups for dessert. YUM.
And...just as we finished doing the dishes, a fish hit!! We caught a big
Mahi Mahi!! But once again, it was too big. We still have meat in the
freezer, so we let it go. We were hoping for a little tuna for our
celebratory meal, but this fish would have been wasted. But it did give me
some hope. I haven't seen anything out here - not a single ship, only two
birds, and the occasional flying fish.
I can hardly wait for the 2000 nm celebration!!
Our position: 24-45N, 174-41E
Check our daily position reports here:
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN
Monday, May 14, 2012
Day 7 - Clean and Happy
It's Tuesday May 15 - one week at sea already. And still over 3200 miles to
go. But who's counting?? We're making great progress. All our days are over
100 miles. Squalls have mellowed out in the last few days. But we still get
the occasional wave that hits us just right, and soaks us in the cockpit.
We're both ploughing through our books. All's well.
Yesterday was wash day. A big event here where we get to pour buckets of
seawater over ourselves, then a rinse with a teeny tiny sprinkle of precious
fresh water. I'm pretty certain our next boat will have a water maker. But
we're clean and happy. For now.
We both felt that the water may have been colder than we're used to. And we
feel the need for a blanket during the night watch. Maybe it is our
imaginations, maybe it is the increasing latitude. Either way, I have a
feeling our saltwater shower days may be limited.
go. But who's counting?? We're making great progress. All our days are over
100 miles. Squalls have mellowed out in the last few days. But we still get
the occasional wave that hits us just right, and soaks us in the cockpit.
We're both ploughing through our books. All's well.
Yesterday was wash day. A big event here where we get to pour buckets of
seawater over ourselves, then a rinse with a teeny tiny sprinkle of precious
fresh water. I'm pretty certain our next boat will have a water maker. But
we're clean and happy. For now.
We both felt that the water may have been colder than we're used to. And we
feel the need for a blanket during the night watch. Maybe it is our
imaginations, maybe it is the increasing latitude. Either way, I have a
feeling our saltwater shower days may be limited.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Day 5 - Heading North
It's day five. Sunday May 13. We're finally getting our sea legs, but we're
certainly not produuctive people. We work to make the boat go forward. We
report our daily position via radio. We expend minimal efforts to get food
and water in us (and out). And we lie horizontally - mostly reading or
sleeping. That is it. Oddly, it isn't boring. It just isn't anything.
We're moving along well. Winds are NE, so we're heading straight north. We
hope that winds will veer to the south, so we'll be able to make some
easting. But we're not anxious yet. We want to be far enough north, that we
can go around the top of the North Pacific High. We don't want to be caught
in the windless middle.
Conditions are fine. We've got gusty wind conditions, so lots of changes
with the headsail - furled out, furled in, repeat. Swell is 2-3 meters, with
an occasional one splashing clear over the boat, turning us into a
submarine, and soaking the less-than-amused person in the cockpit. It would
be funny if we were on the outside looking in.
So that's it from us, for now. Thanks for your emails...we really enjoy
reading them. Maybe we'll be feeling more able to write emails in the coming
days.
If you'd like to follow our daily progress, you can check out our position
(which we submit by radio) at this link:
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN
3600nm to go... Maybe. I can't really be bothered to get up and look.
certainly not produuctive people. We work to make the boat go forward. We
report our daily position via radio. We expend minimal efforts to get food
and water in us (and out). And we lie horizontally - mostly reading or
sleeping. That is it. Oddly, it isn't boring. It just isn't anything.
We're moving along well. Winds are NE, so we're heading straight north. We
hope that winds will veer to the south, so we'll be able to make some
easting. But we're not anxious yet. We want to be far enough north, that we
can go around the top of the North Pacific High. We don't want to be caught
in the windless middle.
Conditions are fine. We've got gusty wind conditions, so lots of changes
with the headsail - furled out, furled in, repeat. Swell is 2-3 meters, with
an occasional one splashing clear over the boat, turning us into a
submarine, and soaking the less-than-amused person in the cockpit. It would
be funny if we were on the outside looking in.
So that's it from us, for now. Thanks for your emails...we really enjoy
reading them. Maybe we'll be feeling more able to write emails in the coming
days.
If you'd like to follow our daily progress, you can check out our position
(which we submit by radio) at this link:
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN
3600nm to go... Maybe. I can't really be bothered to get up and look.
Monday, May 7, 2012
We're Outta Here
We've cleared customs and immigration. One more dinner ashore, and then
we're setting off. First north, then east. Let the fun begin...
we're setting off. First north, then east. Let the fun begin...
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Knock-down Proof
This is one of the projects. Although the chance of a knock-down is low, we
want to be prepared. I've made mesh panels to cover the open shelves on each
side of the cabin. The plan is that if we roll over, all the items on these
shelves will remain contained, and will not become missiles flying around
the cabin. That's the plan.
Getting Ready
It's been over a week since we've been back in Majuro and Mike has flown
back to work. John and I have been working long days to get the boat ready
for the long trip back home. We expect the trip to take 40+ days, and
although we've decided to let the wind determine our landfall, we're hoping
that we land near Sitka, Alaska, allowing us to spend the rest of our summer
travelling south, before we finally reach Campbell River at the beginning of
September. We'll be ready to get back to work...if you have any job leads,
let us know!! :O)
back to work. John and I have been working long days to get the boat ready
for the long trip back home. We expect the trip to take 40+ days, and
although we've decided to let the wind determine our landfall, we're hoping
that we land near Sitka, Alaska, allowing us to spend the rest of our summer
travelling south, before we finally reach Campbell River at the beginning of
September. We'll be ready to get back to work...if you have any job leads,
let us know!! :O)
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Aur Atoll for Liberation Day Celebrations
Celebrations.
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