3/20/2000 Out of Punta Mita at 13:39 local time. Last bus ride from PV was a fitting Mexican adventure, complete with buses passing on blind hills. Birds are fishing hard but my line dragged right through doesn't hit. A radio call confirms that ThirtySomething left yesterday. I motor seven hours in calm, must alter course for one big tanker. I stop and sleep all night with the radar alarm on.
3/21/2000 ThirtySomething calls on the VHF, they are five miles behind me. We sail in view all day, then I stop in the afternoon, nap and read waiting for them. I pass them half a dorado by putting it in the water in a bag. Morrison likes dorado.
3/22/2000 175 miles first 48 hours. Now doing 6kn 222deg directly on course, slightly rolled genoa. This is fast. Once I got 50 miles offshore by motoring the wind got better. 2 flying fish. I sit in a sailbag on the bow in a harness eating chips. I am sleeping often in half hour naps with the radar alarm covering six miles around me. Turning up the sea clutter took care of the near wave false alarms. Today I napped in the cockpit. I turned off the fridge. I was having to run the generator six hours a day to keep up. Wind NW10-20. Lost 150lb fishing rig after just one fish! I heard it get ripped out of the boat by some fish over 200lbs.
3/23/2000 Nice wind from N10-20. I either fly all whites or drop the main, especially at night. In the day I put up the main if the wind is far enough forward and the main doesn't block the genoa. 315mi 72hrs, 140mi day. Current goal is to average 5kn, 22.5 days. Guessing she could do 180 in 24 hours, might try in the south. Swell is messy, its more comfortable to fly lots of sail and be held over, otherwise its very rolly. I keep telling Mo how far offshore we are. He's not fazed other than he would like to make a request that I stop the boat rolling. The water tank with 90gal in a 100gal tank shakes the whole boat when the water slams from rolling. It needs baffles. The seawater is an incredible azure blue, crystal clear. I am sliding through one of nature's beautiful places. Only wildlife so far are some birds and flying fish, one dying on my deck. Autopilot drives all day.
3/24/2000 430mi/4days, 115 last 24. Spinnaker sock I made doesn't work too well, but it's strong. Maybe hoops and a line to pull it up...must inspect someone elses in Marquesas.
3/25/2000 540mi/5days (110). Becalmed to 2 knots last night for 4 hours, then flying spinnaker all day 5-6 knots in 10-12kn of wind, so I still got 110 miles for the day. This is a great start. If I cross the equator in wind I'll get my goal. I rigged "The Ripper", 50 feet of 300lb cord, 150lb leader, and a plastic squid with a monster hook. It runs around a winch and to a bungee cord. I also have the rod out with an orange rapala. The 30lb line is risky with the boat moving at 6 knots, the 7lb tuna yesterday was a strong swimmer, I had to give out some line. Lead head and gummy fish are the best lure yet.
3/26/2000 665/6(125). Sea birds come and go, usually a few birds fishing in front of the boat and circling. I catch and release an 8" dorado. Come back in a few years! Several flying fish on deck, saved one 8", big wing fins.
3/27/2000 760/7(95). N12d10' W115d41'. Sailing nicely 230d to clear Rock Ville Toullouise, under spinnaker and mizzen. Finally, a gust catches the AP, overpowers it, Nalu heads up 40d before I get the AP off and take the wheel. A shot rings out and I am immediately steering to luff up and looking to see if I broke a mast shroud. THe spinnaker is thrashing. The rig is still there, so I let the AP steer hove to and pop the spinnaker halyard. I get half on deck and I get the other half out of the water as the boat drifts down upon it. A new spinnaker retrieval move invented. Inspecting the gear afterwards, the windward spinnaker sheet is disconnected from the spinnaker pole, as is the topping lift. I had them both hooked on the topping lift loop. The shot was the spinnaker pole (powered by the spinnaker) hitting the forestay with the rolled genoa on it. No sign of damage there. I can flip the pole endwise, and I'll have to attach the sheet block better on the pole. Why do I bother with the spinnaker? When its flying right it corrects the boats movement left, right, and up and down. When the boat turns left, the left side of the spinnaker starts to collapse. The right side pulls the boat back right. In light wind its the only way to quiet the boat's movement.
3/28/2000 870/8(110) Becalmed close to the Rock, which is one foot under the surface, 870 miles out. I pass the rock 20 miles to the north and start motoring south to find the trades. I have made an error in turning too far south with it in mind that I was past the Rock. I realize later that I passed 7 miles from the rock, when my intended buffer was 20 miles, and the Rock position may be off on the chart by two miles.
3/29/2000 980/9(110) I have found the trades at 10N 118W, NE 15kn. Coast Guard weather radio shows Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone at 8N 121W, meaning I could pass into Southern Hemisphere weather up here and have a fast passage. The ITCZ is at 3N everywhere else. Numerous gales to 50 knots and 30 foot seas march across the northern Pacific, thousands of miles away. I have seen no other boats since I left ThirtySomething. I went ahead one night 15 miles and decided it would better to do a faster passage. Flying the genoa poled out and the mizzen, going 5.5-6kn.
3/30/2000 1077/10(97) at N9d21' W119d54'. First sun sight with the sextant is 39 miles off, not too bad.
3/31/2000 1205/11(128) Wind finally turned east of me, no longer going dead downwind, going straight for it, well into trades although I'd take more wind (15kn now). Should be faster days now. Genoa and poled out jib flying wing and wing, mizzen. Rolly but fast and easy. ITCZ moved on me, heading for a dip at 5N that just developed. Could be fast across the equator.
4/1/2000 1325/12(120) So much for fast, the wind dies to 10kn and less and backs to the NE. The ITCZ hole is gone. Rolling along 4-5kn dead downwind with the two jibs. I spot a hole in the genoa, possibly caused by one of several bits of hardware that have become missiles so far. Tightening the genoa halyard the furling sleeve starts to pull out of its base. This would be very difficult to fix on the foredeck, so I will try to make the rest of the passage with it loose. I inspect the forestay for chafe frequently, it's ok.
4/2/2000 1452/12+1(127) A rain squall gives a nice shower. It's hot at 6N 125W.
4/3/2000 1566/14(114) At 5N the radar picks up a huge black rain squall at 6 miles, coming from the SE. I am moving slowly and the squall passes over me, lots of rain, not much wind (the good kind). Then I am beam reaching into SE wind. I think I'm in the ITCZ. Morrison and I hang out below. I'm reading "On the Road". Dreaming about a New Zealand boat work list, pull masts, new rigging, remove everything from the deck and recaulk and paint, new interior ceiling, hatches, and windows, stove, and batteries.
4/4/2000 1668/15(104) 1040 to go. Light winds approaching the Equator. A flying fish gets into the forward cabin and is a bit stinky on the guest sleeping bag.
4/5/2000 1769/16(101) Sailing with spinnaker right on course for Nuku Hiva. Should be there by next Friday. The wind is light from the E. I'm definitely below the ITCZ in Southern Hemishere weather. A school of tuna swim with the boat for hours. None of my lures entices them. I think what happens is the boat spooks the baitfish, which dart off, and the tunas grab them.
4/6/2000 1866/17(97) I've been reaching with the spinnaker attached to the furled genoa clew, instead of poled out. Its slow, less than 4 knots in light winds. 109.76 mi/day average, 4.57 knots. Makes a 24.62 day passage. Release a small bonito.
4/7/2000 1920/18(54) Becalmed 45 miles north of the equator. I finally drop all sail but the mizzen and sleep on the sail pile on the deck. The stars are out! Sea is calm. At 9am I'm reaching deep with the spinnaker in a more easterly new breeze. It's a very nice ride, but slow. I check all the oils and tank levels as the boat is not rolling much right now. All good. Have motored 11 hours so far. I run the motor every four days for one hour at least. Any longer and its harder to start. We cross the Equator at 14:56 La Cruz time. Morrison sleeps through it.
4/8/2000 2026/19(106) S1d29' W131d34', 4.44knot average speed, makes a passage of 25.3 days. Going fast under spinnaker all day. The noon sun sight is one mile off. Not much going on. I hope I'm in the Southern trades for the rest of the way. The Weasel sleeps excessively but he was up long enough to steal some of my stew.
4/9/2000 2115/20(89) I motor through several calms for eight hours. After sunset I finally pick up a breeze and sail full whites all night.
4/10/2000 2235/21(120) Finally, I pick up the SE trades at 3S. 20 knots of wind, main is reefed 1 and I reef the mizzen, going 6.5 knots in the afternoon. Eating maple groats, which includes instant oatmeal and grits and regular oatmeal. Will make it by Friday if the wind keeps up.
4/11/2000 2345/22 (110) Wind dies in the night. I motor four hours. Weak squalls continue through. I'm not in the trades. 357 miles to go. Should arrive Friday or Saturday. I'm up before the sun, motor 4 hours, sail 2 slow, motor 2, sail in the afternoon, then the wind is dead for the night. Wind from NE, rain showers. NE wind is strange for this far south. I'm getting all kinds of calms and wind directions that the pilot chart says are highly unlikely for this region.
4/12/2000 2415/23(70) Wind is bad. Up before the sun, I start motoring towards a big squall. Slowly sailing after two hours motoring. I spot a tanker 7 miles in front of me, heading SE, Japan to around Cape Horn? At 6S, 288 miles to go. Catch a nice Yellowfin Tuna, BBQ on back of boat.
4/13/2000 2533/24(118) Good wind since sundown. Morrison has figured out to get up, he puts his feet under him and waits for the boat to roll him onto his feet. Anything to conserve energy.
4/14/2000 Tradewinds continue. Will make Nuku HIva this afternoon. The radar picks up Ua Huka at 25.9 miles, a 2800 foot elevation, at 0746 local time. I am welcomed by hundreds of dolphins swimming with Nalu as I reach the SouthEast corner of Nuku Hiva. My fishing rig locks up solid with a quick noise of the boat winch spinning, and I haul in a huge tuna, 40 lbs or so. I can barely get him aboard, and have to tie him by the tail, and I run down to get the spray bottle of alcohol. This is the first time I've ever seen this work, a few squirts of tequila in his gills kills him quick. I pull into Taiehoe Bay, Nuku Hiva after 25 days at sea.
In the Marquesas, the valleys are green and beautiful. We hike from Daniels Bay up the river to a huge waterfall. I pick up fallen coconuts and work the husk off over twenty minutes or so of walking, then open the milk holes with a corkscrew on the swiss army knife. Then I crack it open on a rock and eat much of the meat. We also find some mangos in the jungle, and a starfruit tree that is the favorite. After our hike the caretaker of the land at the bottom of the valley makes us coffee and fried plantains. He gives us lemons, peppers, bananas, and plantains. He needs a battery terminal for one of his boats, so we return with one and some salsas from Mexico.
I try to go night lobstering, fashion a three prong spear from my mop handle, and in pitch dark without any moon, take the dinghy over to the rocky beach, sit around for a few minutes in the dark and figure out where the waves are breaking, and anchor it right outside. I have to swim into the beach, it's a little spooky. When I get to the shore supposedly I can shine a flashlight on the lobsters and catch them, but the water is murky and I can't see more than a foot in it, so the expedition is a bust.
I depart with the boat Mary Frances, a Passport 40, for Manihi on 4/26. We hit a 30 knot squall, then are sailing nicely under spinnakers.
We are in tradewinds now, so the passage to Manihi is fast. My batteries seem to be in very bad shape, and are not taking much of a charge. The solar panel keeps everything ok during the day, but at night the batteries crash and I have to run the generator a lot. Not too big of a deal at this point.
4/30/2000 We are hove to off Manihi, waiting for a daylight and slack tide entry. My first time hove too, with the mizzen sheeted tight and a little jib rolled out and backed, Nalu lies about 45deg to the wind and slides straight downwind at 1 to 1.5 knots. The turbulence from her keel calms the water upwind and no waves break in the slick. It's quite comfortable but a strange feeling stalled and sliding. I'm hove to well, but she slides quickly for being hove to. I pass Mary Frances, also hove to, and slide another six miles downwind in the night. I hadn't planned to drift so much, so in the morning I have to close reach toward Manihi, slightly upwind, into 20 knots of wind and a 5 foot chop. I forget to close the kitchen window and one of the waves over the bow douses Morrison. I go to start my engine and only get solenoid clicking. I've had a problem for a little while where the second battery bank cuts out for some reason, and the first battery bank is just one battery, so it gets killed. That's what happened. I go to start the generator and can't start that, so I jiggle the second battery bank switch and it comes back, and I start the generator, then the engine. All this while the boat crashed under sail through the chop. Once I get the motor running all is well, except the shaft brake died again. Mary Frances is waiting outside the pass for me, with Dan hauled up in the rigging to look for coral. Crew from Fryar's Goose are scuba diving at the pass and give us some instructions. There is a 2 knot inflow, we're going in. The book says the pass is little more than 2 meters deep at the inside end, and 40 meters wide. As Mary Frances approaches the 1 foot overfalls at the inside of the pass she turns 90 degrees left. I'm 100 feet behind and think we are pulling out, so I turn 90 degrees right and prepare to head back out, but they are just jockeying around, so I pull her back around and follow their path exactly. We pass a pearl farm built on a coral head to our left, and anchor between the reef and the coral heads in 20 meters.
Manihi is a real atoll, with no island left, just reef all around, sand Motus, and coral heads scattered in the lagoon. We meet some of the locals who come by in their outboard skiff. In town we are able to buy bread, eggs, vegetables, but no gasoline. The supply boat had come that morning and all the gas goes quickly. I take four of us in my dinghy to just outside the pass against a 2 knot current, we tie to a dive mooring and go snorkeling. It's incredible, twenty kinds of fish in view at all times, blue mouthed giant clams, huge brain corals, eels, groupers hiding under coral, all color. After an hour outside the pass we ride the tide through the pass and see lots of fish in the local's fish traps (weirs).
Fryar's Goose has trouble getting their anchor out of the coral and sends down scuba divers. I was hoping they'd still be here when we raise our anchors, as we may have the same problem. I disassemble much of the electrical system to get at the battery bank switches and discover a loose post and nuts is the problem. I always love an easy solution, although it takes all morning taking the electrical system apart. I realize there are two breakers for the autopilot, a 5 amp and a 30 amp. I had thought it drew perhaps 5 amps, but it probably draws 15 or more as it runs intermittently at close to 35 amps. That's part of why the batteries die so fast.
