Passage from Honolulu to Port Angeles on Laysan

Last month, I joined our friends John, Kathleen and Sarah on MY Laysan on their passage from Honolulu, HA to Port Angeles, WA. John and I helped deliver their boat to Hawaii from the Marshall Islands in 2012 and now was time for Laysan to explore the Pacific Northwest.

Laysan's crew leaving Honolulu, with Diamond Head in the background.

The trip was "near ideal". Or depending on your perspective, that might be better phrased as "as good as it gets". The motion was rolly and mostly uncomfortable, but always safe and interesting. The highlight was our participation in a research study called the Mega Expedition 2015. It was organized by Boyen Sladt's Ocean Cleanup organization. You may have seen his TED talk sharing how he plans to passively clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Well, step one is determining the density of plastic to be found in the Pacific Gyre. We were happy to be one of 30 boats that would drag a trawl to sample the amount of plastics in the areas that we traveled.

Kathleen, Sarah and I hoist the MEGA back into the water for another hour of sampling.

Here's the tracker that shows each of the boats that was participating in the research expedition. Can you guess which of these tracks belongs to MY Laysan? We sampled 3 times per day, for an hour each, for the entire period that we were inside the research area - the yellow square on the map below.

Most of the fleet were sailboats returning to the mainland after the Transpac race.

Here's our route, showing our daily noon position.

You can read more on Laysan's blog: www.roundtopdr.wordpress.com.

The 2370 nautical mile journey took us 20 days at an average speed of 5.2 knots. We used about 1032 gallons of diesel.

Our first delivery of Laysan in 2012 was recorded on this blog. You can find the posts by searching for the posts labelled "Laysan". 

Laysan Delivery - A Summary and Some Stats

Here it is. The long awaited passage summary.

Our daily positions as we traveled from Majuro, Marshall Islands to Oahu, Hawaii

What a trip. Our first major passage in a power boat. And a huge success. Some stressful days as we wondered if we would make it given our fuel consumption. But after the winds and waves settled down we had a wonderful passage and made it to Honolulu with plenty of fuel to spare. We thought the boat was fabulous and would do it again in a heartbeat!

Here's some of the passage stats, for our fellow boat geeks:
The boat is an extremely capable Seahorse 50' Diesel Duck 462 Motor Yacht. It carries 1400+ gallons of fuel. We added 200 gallons in jugs on the foredeck for a total of 1600+ gallons. Water capacity is 400 gallons. We had very strong headwinds and opposing seas for the first 2 weeks, providing us with a slow speed over ground. Plus opposing current. It is not the ideal time of year for this passage. We'd never consider it in our sailboat. But MY Laysan handled the trip with grace and determination. We were proud to be her crew. We only wish that John and Kathleen could have come along for the ride!

Laysan tied up for a brief visit to Johnston Atoll

Trip: Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Dates: December 30, 2011 to January 21, 2012
Route: Rhumb line (with a short stop at Johnston Atoll)
Passage Days: 22 days total
Time stopped at Johnston: 32 hours
Total time underway: 20.5 days (496 hours)
Total Distance (travelling a straight line): 2020 nautical miles
Distance Travelled over Ground: 2156 nm
Engine Hours: 497 hours
Total Fuel Consumed: 1172 gallons
Average fuel: 1.72 miles per gallon (mpg)
Best 24 hour fuel consumption: 2.78 mpg
Worst 24 hour fuel consumption: 1.16 mpg
Best 24 hour Distance: 143 nm
Worst 24 hour Distance: 70 nm
Average speed: 4.1 knots
Books Read: 10 (me)
Fish Caught: 1 - smallish Mahi Mahi

John sprays rum into this Mahi's gills to ensure a fast, and blood-free death. We highly recommend this technique to keep the cockpit clean - especially if you have someone else's rum aboard. HA!

 Interesting notes:

• The boat arrived in Honolulu exactly 1 year after John (the owner) took the keys in China and began the delivery (in phases) to Honolulu.
• The only mechanical failure on this delivery was autopilot failure. No problem we quickly switched to the second unit, and were underway within minutes.
• Although the vessel has sails, they were hardly used. The majority of the trip was directly into the wind, where the sails were not useful. The remainder of the trip we used the mainsail whenever winds were on our beam!!
• We did not use the paravane stabilizers on the first portion of the trip as we did not want to sacrifice any hard earned speed. Even without the stabilizers her motion was comfortable enough. We did use the stabilizers during the latter part of the trip when the wind shifted astern and abeam and we found they were a welcome addition. 

Laysan is ready to leave Majuro with extra fuel stored on the bow.

To learn more about MY Laysan, her delivery from China and her future cruises, check out their blog: http://roundtopdr.wordpress.com/. Or to learn more about Seahorse Yachts, check out their website: www.seahorseyachts.com .

Since we've returned to land, a common question from fellow (sailing) cruisers has been: "Are we moving to the dark side?" I can say without hesitation that the answer is YES!! We've always loved power boats and love the idea of cruising on a trawler-style boat. Sadly though...the wind continues to be free, while diesel fuel is far from it. Free suits our budget. So, for now, we'll continue to sail.

Fun in Honolulu

Our first few days in Honolulu have been fabulous! We're moored at the Waikiki Yacht Club, in central Honolulu. We're beside a wonderful park and beach, the bus routes, and the biggest mall in the state. We've been all over town shopping for alternators, used books, and a new bikini. We also had the great luck of being here at the same time as my aunt and uncle, and it was great to catch up with them. Next up...sightseeing!

The view from Laysan's flybridge

At the park beside the marina, we placed bets on the remote control sailboat racing.

My aunt and uncle, Tosh and Donna, were thrilled to get a tour of Laysan.

Laysan Delivery - Passage Pics

As usual, we didn't take many pictures underway. But, here's a few pics of our passage.

We spent long hours at the helm. We passed the time by reading, watching movies, chatting, and eating!

 

Everyday, I checked in with the Pacific Seafarer's Net to report our position and weather info. They were a great group of people located all over the pacific, and talking with them on the radio each day was a highlight!

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Red-footed Boobies loved to hang out on the boat.

Laysan Delivery - Arrival in Honolulu!

We made it!!

After spending the night circling outside the harbour, we entered Ala Wei
Harbour at 7:00 am this morning. We were thrilled to see John, Kathleen,
Julia, Conner and Stefan greeting us at our slip in the Waikiki Yacht Club.

Entry procedures were quick and painless, and we spent most of the morning
chatting about our voyage. After a fabulous lunch at the Yacht Club, we
washed down the boat. There is enough salt here to open a small mining
operation!

We'll sleep well tonight.

Laysan Delivery - Day 21

Three weeks at sea. Not our longest passage. But long enough. John and I are
dreaming of all the wonderful foods that we'll stuff into ourselves, upon
our arrival in Honolulu. Steaks. French Fries. Ice Cream. Hamburgers. Beer
(well...that's just me).

Less than 200 miles to go. Yee haa!! At our current speed of 5.5/6 knots,
that will put us into harbour in the middle of the night. We'll likely start
to think about slowing down, to ensure a daylight arrival.

Life is good out here. When the winds are on our beam (side), we hoist the
main sail. It gives us a nice push along. Other than that, we have no need
to go outside. And, we have TONS of power, so there is no hesitation about
watching movies, or cranking up the music. A far cry from passage making on
our dear Renova.

Here's a pic for y'all - demonstrating how lovely it is out here. John's
doing his best Titanic pose. And you can see the flat seas in front.

Thanks to everyone who posted comments on our stop at Johnston. It's great
to hear from these guys lived there for so long. And yes, we have more
pictures of the atoll...we'll post some of them when we get to some fast
internet.

Laysan Delivery - Day 19 - The Home Stretch

After a great stop at Johnston Atoll, we are on our way again. We feel very
privileged to be given the opportunity to visit.

All good things must come to an end at some time. And with the unusual lack
of trade winds, that time has come for us. We're now less than 500 miles
from Honolulu, with a tail wind, and Laysan is galloping along nicely.

All is well aboard...we're happily alternating between eating, watching, and
sleeping. The motion of the boat is mellow, and the sun is out. We're not
being terribly productive, but we are cruising through books and movies.
Life is good.

Laysan Delivery - Stop at Johnston Atoll

What a place this is. The number of birds here is astounding - Red-tailed
tropic birds, Red-footed and brown boobies, frigate birds, white terns, and
so on. We've had the pleasure of touring the island, taking a short
snorkelling trip and have been treated to a fabulous dinner with Stefan and
the field crew during our short stay here. Although, we'd love to stay
longer, do a bit of exploring, and perhaps even learning more about the work
that is happening here, we're moving on. There is absolutely no wind here at
the moment. This is the calmest it has been in the two months that this team
has been here. So, we need to get back out there and take advantage of the
lack of headwinds. It's a bit overcast this morning, so as soon as the sun
comes out, so we can see our way out the pass, we'll be continuing on our
way.

Here's a few pics of our tour yesterday...a nesting tropicbird, a green
turtle coming up for a rest on the beach, the runway, the NOAA weather
station that doubles as their 'internet café'.

PS...Happy Birthday Matt!! :O)

Laysan Delivery - Day 16 - Arrival at Johnston

At 8am this morning, we arrived at Johnston Atoll. We are located at 16-44N,
169-31W.

This is a US Wildlife Refuge, with an interesting history. It was used as a
Military Base, and as a chemical weapons disposal location. There have also
been nuclear testing conducted here. Check out wikipedia for a full history.

Yachts don't normally stop here, but we've been granted permission. The
strike team leader, Stefan met us at the dock and helped us to tie up and
gave us a history of the atoll, and a brief description of the activities
that his team are doing here. Their primary objective is to eradicate the
invasive Yellow Crazy Ants, that are invading the nests of the breeding bird
populations.

We've spent the morning doing a few boat chores (transfer fuel, change oil,
repair nav lights, check knotmeter and prop, etc), and are heading out for a
tour of the island with Stefan this afternoon. Tonight, we've been invited
to dine with the rest of the field team here.

Laysan Delivery - Day 15 - Kicking Butt

It feels as though someone has stuck a spur into Laysan's flank. Or maybe she's picked up the scent of the barn.

Whatever it is, she is off and galloping...

We are cruising along at a killer 5 knots!! I know...that may not seem fast to you. But, after two weeks of 3.5kn, it feels like lightning to us. The wind and waves have both dropped considerably. And, we're 60 miles to Johnston Atoll. It is a ex-US Military Base. Nowadays, it serves as a protected fish and wildlife reserve. It has quite an interesting history, and among other things, it was used to disassemble chemical weapons, test
nuc's, etc. We look forward to the stop.

Laysan Delivery - Day 12

We've just realized that we have so much to learn about power boating.
Yesterday on the PacSeaNet, one of the radio operators asked us if we've
been enjoying lots of ice cream in this nice weather. Well, John and I just
looked at each other with a big "DOH" look on our faces. We've never cruised
with the luxuries of a freezer, and we didn't even consider loading up with
ice cream. I bought a bit more frozen meat than usual, but didn't alter our
provisioning from our usual passages. Now we're kicking ourselves. ICE
CREAM!!! We're running a big freezer. With lots of room. And what a treat
ice cream would be. Or frozen pizza. Next time...

We're 45% of the way to Honolulu!!

0300 utc:
14-11N, 174-57W
Crs: 064T at 4.0 kn
Wind: E 16kn
Waves: E 2m
Cloud: 50%
Bar: 1008

24hr: 79nm, 59.2 gal, 3.3 kn

Laysan Delivery - Day 7

We're closing in on one week out here, and we've got our sea legs, and time
is ticking away. I've finished my first book, The Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo, and I've just started the second book in the series. I'm planning to
plough through the three book while we're out here, among others.

We continue to have 3m swells on the nose. Plus a slightly smaller swell
just off to our starboard side. The boat handles the swell without a
problem. It does however, slow us down considerably. I'm also convinced that
we've got some current working against us. We're progressing at about 3.5
knots. We continue to monitor our fuel consumption.

We're checking into the Pac Sea Net with our daily position. It seems our
spot tracking device isn't working out here, but if you'd like to follow our
position, you can check this link:
www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=V73TN

As I write this, the wind has picked up, and it's started to rain. We've got
gusts of 35 knots. We've had very few of these squalls out here. If it
wasn't for the instruments, you'd hardly know. Amazing how insulated we are
in the pilot house.

Laysan Delivery - Day 4

Well after three full days, we've almost made 300 miles. Swell is still big,
but we're comfortable enough.

Our position is: 8-53N and 175-44E. Our average speed is about 3.9 knots.
The sun has come out, which is good for the spirits!

Laysan Delivery - Day 2

Happy New Year!!

Since we're on the west side of the dateline, we get to be among the first to ring in the new year. But, we're at sea, so there hasn't been any celebrating. We'll wait until our arrival in Honolulu to bring in 2012. We certainly hope you and yours enjoy a happy and healthy 2012!

All is well aboard Laysan. We continue to be blessed with moderate winds, although the swell still makes for a lumpy ride. And it has been raining constantly. We're chugging along at a slow pace, rationing our fuel, making around 4.5 knots average. We're also grateful to be in this wonderful pilot house - dry and cozy! We'd be soaking wet if we were in Renova's open cockpit.

I've broken my hard earned record of not feeding the fish. Sadly, I was sick yesterday afternoon. Not sure if it was the increase in swell, the time on the computer, or the potato salad that had just been served up. Whatever it was, it sent me outside to hang over the rails. John was ever supportive by sticking his head out the pilot house window..."Don't fall over"! Oh well, now we've each been sick once since leaving BC two and a half years ago. Not too shabby, I'd say.

Laysan has a SSB radio aboard, so we're checking into the daily Pacific Seafarer's Net. It really is comforting to know that these guys are tracking our position each day, in addition to our friends and family back home.

Laysan Underway - Day 1

We're ready. We've loaded the boat with fuel, baked banana bread, and made
arrangements for Renova to be loved while we're away. So we've dropped the
mooring lines from MY Laysan, and have headed out the pass.

Conditions are as expected. Big swell, 2-3 meters. Wind is only 15-20 knots,
which is good, but not sure we can hope for that to continue.

All is well with us - we're working to get our sea legs under us.

Our position at 1700 dec 31 (ship's time) is 7-22N, 171-44E.

Going to Hawaii...

We're going to Hawaii. We've agreed to deliver MY Laysan, a 50'
motor-sailor, to Hawaii next month. You can find out about the boat here:
http://roundtopdr.wordpress.com/

So, last week we met the owners, John and Kathleen, and had a busy couple of
days getting to know the boat and her systems. Since then, we've been
spending some time every day getting her ready. Getting to know the boat and
her systems, keeping the batteries charged, and making water in preparation
for the trip. She's a great boat, and we're looking forward to the passage.

Labels: Majuro, Marshall Islands, Laysan