Downwind Run For The Barn!

Caprice - Blog update: Sept 20

The Richmond Yacht Club charter in the San Juans was just great…seeing friends that we have missed for months, sunny days and enough wind to sail…couldn’t ask for more. We thoroughly enjoyed our guests for the week, Dan and Gerrie Peterson and Susan Hubbard. They proved to be perfect companions on this relaxing portion of our journey. We loved the ice cream, nice walks and shopping in Roche. Friday Harbor was a lot nicer than I remember, probably because it is not the middle of the summer tourist season. Provisioning in Friday Harbor is very easy because the shops are so close. We daudled around and the time quickly flew by and before we knew it, it was time to go back to Anacortes to drop our friends off and pick up our next guests from Brickyard Cove, Roy and Dione Henrickson. While in Anacortes, we saw the new Oracle trimaran…what a machine! We hope that the attorneys and judges settle so that she can compete in the America‘s Cup.

After stopping briefly at Roche Harbor again for one last ice cream, we shoved off for the last leg of our trip home. We fueled up at Port Angeles, then skirted past Neah Bay and decided to keep going because the seas and winds were so favorable. Rounding Cape Flattery was so smooth, a wonderful treat compared to our past experiences. With light winds, we headed south to Gray’s Harbor - an overnighter motoring all the way.

Westport, in Gray’s Harbor, is a charming fishing town, and summer destination for tourists. Located at the northern tip of the Cranberry Coast, Westport is proud of its 18 miles of clean sandy beaches, quiet coves, picturesque marinas and stunning rivers. The Cranberry Coast is named for its thousands of acres of cranberry bogs, stretching down to South Bend. More than 230 cranberry farms dot the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Oregon, but more than 30 percent of those are along the shores of the Cranberry Coast alone. At this time of year, people are catching salmon right in the harbor. The berthing fees at Westport Marina were lower than we have seen anywhere in years…$13, including electricity! After eating a ton of fish during the past ten months, the prime rib dinner at the local café was a nice a treat.

So now we are headed for Newport, Oregon - another overnighter. We will meet our friends from Oregon again (remember Bill and Jill Case, who visited us in New Zealand?), then head off to Brookings, Eureka, Noyo, Bodega Bay, then the Golden Gate. Our ETA is Saturday, September 27, or Sunday, September 28. This will be our last update for the blog until we get home. Then we will write a synopsis for the final blog, culminating over 12,000 miles in 10 months. This will include our last week at sea and the good (mostly), bad and ugly (yes, there were a few) experiences, equipment comments and the boat pros and cons, culminating over 12,000 miles in 10 months.

Caprice needs a bit of TLC, so she will keep us busy for a while.

Cheers,
Dan & Carol

Captain's Log Stardate September 7, 2008

I am getting soooo lax at updating this blog. I guess I have been having too much fun. Since we arrived in Alaska, we have been cruising down the inner passage to Anacortes. Some of the most memorable events have been :
- Fishing: In Alaska and B.C., we caught salmon and crab, until Carol said, "No more fish. There isn't any room in the fridge or freezers".
- Mountains: Awesome! Still lots of snow on the peaks and the trees grow right down to the water. Everything is green.
-Rain: That's why everything is green. Our rain gage registered at least 2 inches almost every day for three weeks! It is so nice to now be soaking up the sun in the San Juan Islands.
-Spinnaker runs: Most memorable, down Peril Straights and Johnstone Straights and down the Swinomish Channel from Anacortes to La Conner.
Numerous people have taken pictures, a couple of boats radioed us to say that we were really brightening the day. One man called down from his beautiful home perched on large rocks above the Swinomish Channel to tell us that our spinnaker was the first one they had seen in five years! The spinnaker is great fun to fly from a catamaran since it does not need a spinnaker pole. We typically can do ½ the wind speed.
-Porpoises: Their visits to the bows of Caprice are so exciting. They play like happy children and make our day.
-Whales: We saw whales almost every day. One of the most exciting sights was when a mother whale surfaced, rolled over on her back so that the baby whale could lay on top of her stomach to feed, then after about 10 minutes, she gently rolled over and dived.
-Customs officers: In British Columbia, they were professional but friendly. In the US, they were not.
-Food: Same as always, great!
-Quiet anchorages: Every night we had a separate experience. The quite anchorages are numerous, very scenic and almost sacred. The bald eagles are numerous and wonderful to watch.
-Cool weather: Our forced air heater is worth its weight in gold. We have used it almost every morning since we arrived in Alaska..
-Electronic charts and navigation: Invaluable. We had some back up paper ones , just in case, but using the Raymarine/Navionics charts relieve a lot of worry. We had to wait 3 days in Prince Rupert for the British Columbia chip, but the Raymarine system worked flawlessly, except for the constant alarm for the AIS. I understand that the software update will correct this irritant.
We reluctantly said Goodbye to our friends, Ernie and Lynne Landes at Anacortes. The next day, we met the Richmond Yacht Club Cruisers, and greeted our new crew members Dan & Gerrie Peterson and Sue Hubbard.
This crew will be with us for ten days and then we will welcome Roy and Dione Henrickson for the last leg of our journey down the West coast to home.
We have just gone through Deception Pass on our way to Port Ludlow.
Tomorrow we go to Port Townsend before heading North to the San Juans.
We are getting anxious to get home, but in the interim, life couldn't be better.
Cheers,
Caprice and Crew

Caprice travels: Polynesia to Alaska

Majestic snow capped mountains, glaciers, cascading waterfalls, extreme tides, massive currents, whales galore, bald eagles, salmon, halibut, crab, shore birds, trees, trees and more trees. YES, we’ve arrived in Alaska! This is my idea of paradise!
What a perfect crossing, 18 days almost to the minute, from Hanalei Bay, Kauai to Sitka. Everything was relatively uneventful…catching Mahi Mahi and tuna, days of great sailing in 20 to 28 knot winds and motoring for the last three. Our only problem, which could have been a big one, was loss of communications. The radio had been giving us problems since day one, probably because of a poor ground. Around the half way point, we no longer had contact with “Last Mango”, a 38 foot monohull that left Kauai for Seattle, at the same time we did. (“Last Mango” arrived in Seattle four days after we arrived in Sitka). A few days after losing contact with Last Mango, we were unable to contact the Great Northern Boaters‘ Network. Around the same time, we lost our SailMail privilege due to “excessive use”. Sailmail doesn’t allow one to delete individual messages before they are downloaded. Therefore lengthy messages, particularly weather charts, take a long time. Other than EPIRB, this was our last life line. Obviously we have much to learn about this system. After arriving at Sitka, we got a call from the Coast Guard asking about our location. The network controllers were wondering where we were since we couldn’t check in. Another example of the dedicated volunteer service that the HAM network provides.
Since our last message, a lot of water has passed between our hulls.
After a lovely stay in Bora Bora, which included several visits to Bloody Mary’s and the pearl farms, we departed for Rangiroa atoll (an island surrounded by a reef). Rangiroa is part of the Tuamotos and is often used as a departure point for Hawaii.
While at Rangiroa, we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary. Crewmen Tom and Ted wanted to take us to dinner at the lovely Kia Ora Resort . They tried to make reservations three nights in a row. Since the dining room was only half full each night, I can only surmise that the snooty maitre’ d didn’t like hairy faced sailors. So, we went to a very small, but excellent, outdoor restaurant called “Kia Kia” which could have not have been better!
We did a little provisioning (very challenging), refueling and made a last tour of a pearl farm. The Rangiroa pearl farm was by far the most interesting, an up close look at how the pearls are cultured. It is quite a long process (3-6 years), involving many steps in the process. Until we visited this farm, we didn’t know anything about black pearls so it was quite an education.
While we were anchored the “Maltese Falcon” glided in and anchored close by. She is such an amazing sight. It is a good thing I no longer use a film camera as I could not get enough of her different angles and the play of the sun on her gleaming hull, spars and rigging. The Maltese Falcon, owned by Tom Perkins, was also at dock in Bora Bora while we were there. New sailing acquaintances happened to have Perkin’s book “Mine is Bigger” with them and lucked out on getting the captain’s autograph and a tour of the magnificent craft.
We departed Rangirora and headed for Hawaii. It took us 7 days and 4 hours to sail the 900 miles to the equator. On June 25th, sailing with spinnaker alone, Caprice and crew crossed the line into the Northern Hemisphere, going from winter to summer. Tom and Ted had a special ceremony changing our status from tadpoles to shellbacks. Both Tom and Ted are shellbacks having crossed the equator previously. Tom did his in a submarine and Ted did his on a sailboat.
After going through the “initiation” we then celebrated the event with a fine feast of French pate’s, New Zealand honey and pickled asparagus, American roasted cashews, Canadian sardines, French brie, Tahitian baguettes and French wine. We made sure that Neptune got his share,too. In addition to sharing the good stuff we donated our bread maker which failed to recuperate from the damage it received during its flight to Aukland. Hopefully, Neptune can find a use for it, maybe a vase for kelp and seaweed. We also put a message in a bottle of wine (empty) with our names and e-mail addresses and threw it overboard. Where will it make landfall?
On the third day after crossing the equator, we entered the dreaded Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which is the area separating the Southeast trade winds in the Southern Hemisphere from the Northeast trade winds of the Northern Hemisphere. This zone can have weather ranging from dead calm (doldrums) to severe squalls and thunderstorms. The distance across can be as much as 600 miles to as little than 60. In our case we had no wind and only two small squalls during the 39 hours it took us to motor through 120 miles of the Zone.
During our time in the doldrums Dan did manage to land a funny looking squid and a long skinny barracuda in a sea of garbage that probably had been recently dumped by a passing ship. Both the fish were released back in the dump. We did manage to land a tuna later in much cleaner waters. This beauty made six meals!
Our cruise from the Tuamotos was one for the books. We headed straight North from Rangiroa to the equator, and then straight for Hawaii. We flew the spinnaker for three days straight and made the 2240 mile crossing in less than 18 days, all on a starboard tack. Arriving at daybreak at Ko Olina and were welcomed by Bob & Renee Miller and Gordon & Patricia Wood, all living aboard in the marina.
During the week at Ko Olina, Tom and Ted helped with maintenance items and then jumped ship to spend much needed time with their wives. Having Tom and Ted with us for three months was a pleasure. We thank them and their wives Merrie and Pat, for their tremendous support.
Also, during the Hawaii week I got my COSTCO fix. Being a self proclaimed COSTCO junkie, you can imagine how frustrating some of the provisioning has been during this voyage. In Hawaii, I thought I was in heaven as I walked through COSTCO’s pearly gates. I managed to leave an entire “boat buck” behind. It was lovely having fresh fruit and vegetables (especially California artichokes), stocking the freezer with steak, ribs, shrimp, etc., loading up with desserts, cheeses, wines and a few spirits.
From Oahu, we sailed to Hanalei Bay, Kauai. This location lives up to its reputation of being one of the most beautiful places in the world. We had a surprise shortly after leaving Kauai, when a huge military plane buzzed us and then contacted us on channel 16 to ask about our intentions. After giving them our course, they advised us that we were close to a military exercise (international war game) and to hold our course so that we wouldn’t become part of the game.
 
 
 
 
Our new crew member is Dan’s brother, Doug. Doug started his sailing “career” in the early ’80’s right in our backyard at Brickyard Cove. He sailed an El Toro from our dock to the marina where he promptly turned it over, losing his glasses and soaking everything in his wallet. Doug didn’t set foot on another sailboat until 1990 when he “helped” deliver a 40’ monohull from Spain to St. Thomas. The outcome of this sail was much better as he purchased his own boat in 1992. Doug was living in Spain at this time and purchased a 40’ Spanish built Northwind center cockpit sloop named “Red Hunter”. He and Sheila spent the next two years living aboard sailing the Balearic Islands. While visiting us at Christmastime 1993, Doug asked if we would like to crew for him during the 1994 ARC Rally. Dan said “you bet” and I said “Yikes, I’ve never been out of sight of land before”. Of course, this really wasn’t true as we had sailed the California coast many times in fog so thick that we could barely see the bow. I finally told Dan that I would go too…I didn’t want him to die alone!
The ARC Rally starts at the Grand Canary Island and crosses to St. Lucia. Dan and I joined Doug and Sheila three weeks prior to the start to ready “Red Hunter” . There was much that needed to be done which was challenging, as the local chandlery was not exactly a West Marine. The passage was relatively uneventful except for a few good squalls and getting the spinnaker stuck under the boat. It took us 21 days since Doug and Dan would not turn on the engine during ultra light winds. After arriving in St. Lucia, we spent another three weeks fixing things on the “Red Hunter”, reprovisioning and doing some leisurely cruising.
For the next ten years, Doug and Sheila spent six months of the year living on the boat sailing the Caribbean Islands and the remainder of the year at their home in England. Doug has come a long way since his El Toro experience and is a knowledgeable, fun crew member.
From the time we left Sydney, Australia, we have sailed over 10,000 miles, visited 9 islands in 3 countries, gained a day sailing across the international date line, went from the bottom half of the world to the top and from winter to summer when we crossed the equator, saw fabulous places, met many interesting people, had great food and wine both on the boat and on shore. We experienced some of our best days of sailing ever, especially downwind with spinnaker only. Caprice did a great job in carrying us throughout this tropical paradise.
The Caprice crew changed again in Ketchikan. Doug left and headed back to England. Ernie and Lynne Landes, long time friends living in Port Ludlow, WA, joined us for the three plus weeks it will take to cruise to Anacortes.
Caprice at Warm Springs, Alaska
 
We are now settled at the Prince Rupert Yacht Club awaiting the passing of a storm. We are thoroughly enjoying the magnificent scenery of the Alaskan peninsula. It is everything we had wished for. We still have quite a distance to travel, but we decided to wait here for a Navionics chart “chip” that is being flown in from Campbell River. British Columbia charts are not part of the Western Coast charts that are on our Raymarine chart plotter and we have become so spoiled with the detail and GPS location overlay that we feel uncomfortable with the “paper charts”.
Next, heading south to San Francisco Bay.
 
Carol 8/19/08

Ted's Log Stardate July 6th, 2008

MESSAGE 15 6 JULY KO OLINA MARINA, HAWAII


ALOHA ALL


WE MADE IT!! AT 0625 HOURS, 6 JULY WE TIED UP AT THE GAS DOCK IN THE KO OLINA MARINA WHICH IS LOCATED ON THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF OAHU ABOUT 25 MILES WEST OF HONOLULU. IT TOOK US 17 DAYS 20 HOURS AND 25 MINUTES TO SAIL THE APPROXIMATELY 2250 MILES FROM RANGIROA TO HERE, AN AVERAGE OF 125 MILES A DAY MADE GOOD. WE SAILED THE WHOLE WAY ENTIRELY ON A STARBOARD TACK.


FROM THE TIME WE LEFT AUCKLAND ON APRIL 19th, WE SAILED APPROXIMATELY 5500 MILES, VISITED 9 ISLANDS IN 3 COUNTRIES, GAINED A DAY SAILING AROSS THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE, WENT FROM THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE WORLD TO THE TOP AND FROM WINTER TO SUMMER WHEN WE CROSSED THE EQUATOR, SAW SOME FABULOUS PLACES, MET MANY INTERESTING PEOPLE, HAD MANY OUTSTANDING DAYS OF SAILING AND MANY GREAT MEALS BOTH ON AND OFF THE BOAT. I EXPERIENCED SOME OF MY BEST DAYS OF SAILING EVER ESPECIALLY DOWNWIND WITH SPINNAKER ONLY. CAPRICE DID A GREAT JOB IN CARRYING US THROUGHOUT THIS TOPICAL PARADISE.


ALL BOAT OWNERS KNOW THAT THINGS BREAK ON BOATS AND THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE ON LONG VOYAGES. ALTHOUGH CAPRICE DID NOT HAVE ANY MAJOR THINGS GO WRONG, WE DID HAVE SOME FAILURES, MANY OF WHICH WERE FIXED. THESE INCLUDED: (1) STEERING CABLE (FIXED), (2) WATERMAKER (FIXED), (3) BLOCKS (REPLACED), (4) CHAFED LINES (REPLACED OR REPOSITIONED), (5) PORT HEAD MACERATOR (T0 BE REPLACED IN HAWAII), (6) NAV STATION SEAT (TO BE FIXED IN HAWAI), (7) BIMINI BRACKET (FIXED), (8)THE SAIL DRIVE MEMBRANE (TO BE REPLACED DURING THE NEXT HAULOUT) AND (9) THE TRACK SLIDE FOR THE OUTHAUL (TO BE REPLACED IN HAWAII). ALL IN ALL THIS IS A VERY GOOD RECORD. CAPRICE SHOULD BE PROUD.


ONE OF THE THINGS I WANTED TO DO DURING THIS TRIP WAS TO COMPARE PASSAGE MAKING ON MONOHULLS TO MAKING THEM IN MULTIHULLS. THIS IS MY ANALYSIS.


THE ADVANTAGES OF MULTIHULLS ARE: THEY GO FAST, PARTICULARY IN RELATIVELY LIGHT WINDS ( WE WOULD DO 7-8 KNOTS IN LESS THEN 15 KNOTS OF WIND), THEY DON’T HEAL, ARE EXTREMELY COMFORTABLE GOING DOWNWIND AND IN SMOOTH SEAS, FOR THE SAME LENGTH OF A MONOHULL, THEY HAVE ABOUT 50 PERCENT MORE ROOM, MOST OF THE NEW CATS HAVE TWO ENGINES, AND HAVE A SHALLOWER DRAFT ALLOWING CLOSER-TO-SHORE ANCHORING.


THE MINUSES INCUDE: THEY DON’T POINT INTO THE WIND A WELL AS MOST MONOHULLS, THEY HAVE A MORE LEEWAY (AS MUCH AS 25 DEGREES FOR CAPRICE), THERE ARE LESS SPACES IN MARINAS TO BERTH MULTIHULLS, CATS TEND TO “HOBBY HORSE” AND ROLL SIDE TO SIDE, SOME TIMES BOTH AT THE SAME TIME, IN ROUGH SEAS MOST CATS EXPERIENCE “BOMBS” WHICH ARE WAVES SMACKING THE BOTTOM OF THE BRIDGE WITH A LOUD BOOM AND STRONG SHOCK WAVES, AND IN ROUGH AND CONFUSED SEAS, WAVES HITTING THE HULLS IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND DIFFERENT MAGNITUDES CAUSE THE BOAT TO MAKE SUDDEN AND ROUGH TWISTS AND TURNS WHICH ARE EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE.


MONOHULL ADVANTAGES ARE: LESS LEEWAY, WILL CUT TROUGH WAVES INSTEAD OF BOUNCING OVER THEM, POINT BETTER TO THE WIND, RIDE A LITTLE BETTER IN CONFUSED SEAS, AND EASIER TO FIND MARINA SLIPS.


MINUSES INCLUDE: THEY HEAL WHICH ON LONG VOYAGES IS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE, THEY ARE SLOWER, HAVE DEEPER DRAFTS, LESS ROOM AND ONLY ONE ENGINE.


THERE ARE PROBABLY MORE ADVANTAGES AND DISAVANTAGES THAT CAN BE MADE, BUT THESE ARE THE ONES THAT CONCERNED ME.


SO THE QUESTION IS WHICH DO I PREFER. IF I WAS GOING TO BUY A BOAT FOR EXTENSIVE CRUSING, I WOULD VERY STRONGLY CONSISDER A MULTIHULL. THEY GO FAST, MORE ROOM AND OVERALL MORE COMFORTABLE RIDE ON LONG PASSAGES, HOWEVER FOR DAY SAILING IN THE BAY I WOULD STICK WITH MONOHULLS. I STILL LIKE SAILING FOR SHORT PERIODS HEALED OVER WITH A RAIL IN THE WATER AND SPRAY IN MY FACE. THAT’S WHAT I GREW UP WITH.


WELL THIS IT FOR ME. DAN AND CAROL WILL BE TAKING CAPRICE TO ALSAKA WITH DAN’S BROTHER DOUG AS CREW, THEN DOWN THROUGH SOUTHEAST ALASKA TO THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS AND FINALLY DOWN THE WEST COAST TO SAN FRANSICO BAY AND HOME.


AS FOR ME, PAT WILL BE JOINING ME IN A FEW DAYS AND WE WILL ENJOY HAWAII FOR A FEW WEEKS BEFORE RETURNING TO REALITY.


I REALLY WANT TO THANK DAN AND CAROL FOR INCLUDING ME IN THIS GREAT ADVENTURE. IT WAS GREAT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, BOTH SO VERY MUCH. MEMORIES TO LAST A LIFE TIME.


SO, THIS IS THE END MY FRIENDS


A BIG ALOHA


TED

Ted's Log Stardate July 2, 2008

MESSAGE 14 2 JULY LATITUDE: 14 DEGREES NORTH LONGITUDE: 153
DEGREES WEST

DAY 15

HOWDY ALL

TWO THINGS IN THE LAST MESSAGE THAT I FAILED TO MENTION WHEN DISCUSSING THE EQUATOR CROSSING. FIRST--IN ADDITION TO GIVING NEPTUNE FOOD (SPAM) AND DRINK (WINE), CAROL DONATED HER BREAD-MAKER WHICH FAILED TO RECUPERATE FROM THE DAMAGE THAT IT RECEIVED DURING IT'S FLIGHT TO AUKLAND. HOPEFULLY NEPTUNE CAN FIX IT AND PUT IT TO GOOD USE.
SECOND--WE PUT A MESSAGE IN A WINE BOTTLE (EMPTY) WITH OUR NAMES AND EMAIL ADDRESSES IN IT AND TOSSED IT OVERBOARD.

AFTER CROSSING THE EQUATOR AND TURNING NORTHWEST TOWARD HAWAII, UNDER THE SPINNAKER ALONE, IN 10 TO 15 KNOTS OF WIND OVER THE STERN AND FOLLOWING SEAS, I EXPERIENCED THE BEST TWO DAYS OF SAILING EVER. IN 48 HOURS WE LOGGED OVER 300 MILES. SMOOTH AND FAST!!

HOWEVER ON THE THIRD DAY WE ENTERED THE DREADED INTER TROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE (ITCZ) WHICH IS THE AREA SEPARATING THE SOUTHEAST TRADE WINDS IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE FROM THE NORTHEAST TRADES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE. THIS ZONE CAN HAVE WEATHER RANGING FROM DEAD CALM (DOLDRUMS) TO SEVERE SQUALLS AND THUNDERSTORMS. ITS DISTANCE ACROSS CAN BE AS MUCH AS 600 MILES TO LESS THAN 60. IN OUR CASE WE HAD NO WIND AND ONLY TWO SMALL SQUALLS DURING THE 39 HOURS IT TOOK US TO MOTOR THROUGH 120 MILES OF THE ZONE.

DURING OUR TIME IN THE DOLDRUMS DAN DID MANAGE TO LAND A FUNNY LOOKING SQUID AND A LONG SKINNY BARRACUDA IN A SEA OF GARBAGE THAT PROBABLY HAD BEEN RECENTLY DUMPED BY A PASSING SHIP. BOTH WERE RELEASED BACK IN TO THE DUMP. DAN DID MANAGE TO LAND A TUNA LATER IN MUCH CLEANER WATERS WHICH CAROL MADE 6 MEALS FROM (4 DINNERS AND TWO LUNCHES). ON THE 27TH WE CELEBRATED DAN AND CAROL'S 45TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY AND CROSSING THE MIDWAY POINT OF THE PASSAGE WITH OUR LAST BOTTLE OF WINE.

AFTER ESCAPING THE ITCZ WE PICKED UP THE NORTHEAST TRADES AND HAVE BEEN MAKING EXCELLENT TIME IN 10-18 KNOTS OF WIND. AS OF 1000 HRS TODAY WE ARE 514 MILES FROM OUR DESTINATION AND WE SHOULD BE THERE BY SUNDAY.

I HAVE HAD MANY PEOPLE ASK ME WHAT DO YOU DO TO PASS THE TIME ON THAT SMALL MOVING PLASTIC ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA. WELL, THE THREE THINGS THAT TAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF OUR TIME ARE SLEEPING, READING AND STANDING WATCHES (IN CAROL'S CASE, AKA ADMIRAL COOKIE, PREPARING THREE MEALS A DAY FOR 4 PEOPLE). THE WATCH PERSON IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THE BOAT IS GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, THAT THE SAILS ARE TRIMMED, DETERMINING WHEN TO REEF/UN-REEF THE SAILS, CALLING UP HELP IF THE SITUATION SO DICTATES, AND MOST IMPORTANT MAKE SURE THE BOAT DOESN'T RUN IN TO ANYTHING. THE WATCH SCHEDULE THAT WE HAVE ADOPTED GOES LIKE THIS: I COME ON AT 2100 HRS, DAN AT MIDNIGHT AND TOM AT 0300 HOURS, I COME BACK ON AT 0600 HRS AND STAY UNTIL 1100 HRS, DAN NEXT AND TOM IS ON FROM 1600 TO 2100 HRS. THIS SCHEDULE WORKS WELL FOR ALL OF US. OTHER THINGS THAT OCCUPY OUR TIME INCLUDE PLAYING CARDS, TELLING TALL TAILS AND JOKES, EATING, WATCHING MOVIES, WRITING LOGS, FIXING THINGS THAT BREAK, MAINTAINING THINGS THAT NEED ATTENTION AND FINALLY JUST ENJOYING THE SAILING: THE WIND AND THE SEA, BEAUTIFUL SUNRISES AND SUNSETS, AND EXTREMELY CLEAR STARRY SKIES (A COUPLE OF NIGHTS AGO WE SAW BOTH THE SOUTHERN CROSS AND THE BIG DIPPER IN THE SAME SKY). WE ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME!

TILL NEXT TIME, TAKE CARE

TED

Ted's Log Stardate June 26th, 2008

MESSAGE 13 25 JUNE LATITUDE: 00 DEGREES O MINUTES, LONGITUDE: 146
DEGREES 04 MINUTES WEST

HI ALL,

AT 1401 HRS. LOCAL TIME, SAILING WITH SPINNAKER ONLY, CAPRICE AND CREW PASSED OVER THE EQUATOR INTO THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE GOING FROM WINTER TO SUMMER!! WE HAD A SPECIAL CEREMONY CHANGING THE STATUS OF DAN AND CAROL FROM TADPOLE TO SHELLBACK. BOTH TOM AND I ARE SHELLBACKS HAVING CROSSED THE EQUATOR IN A SUBMARINE (TOM) AND A SAILBOAT(ME). WE THEN CELEBRATED THE EVENT WITH A FINE FEAST OF FRENCH PATES, AMERICAN HONEY ROASTED CASHEWS, NEW ZEALAND ASPARAGUS, CANADIAN SARDINES, FRENCH BRIE, TAHITIAN BAGGETTS, AND FRENCH WINE. WE MADE SURE NEPTUNE GOT HIS SHARE.

IT TOOK US 7 DAYS AND 4 HOURS TO SAIL THE 900 MILES NORTH AND SLIGHTLY EAST FROM RANGIROA TO THE EQUATOR. WE RAISED THE ANCHOR AT 1000 HOURS ON JUNE 18. THE DAY BEFORE WE LEFT, THE "MALTEASE FALCON" THAT WE SAW IN PAPEETE, DROPPED ANCHOR RIGHT NEXT TO US. AN AMAZING SIGHT.

ON OUR FIRST DAY OUT WE HAD VERY LIGHT WINDS RESULTING IN US MOTOR SAILING SLOWLY ALL DAY AND NIGHT. DAN DID MANAGE TO LAND A 30 INCH MACKEREL WHICH CAROL COOKED FOR DINNER THAT NIGHT. JUST AFTER SUNSET, WE GOT HIT WITH A SQUALL. AFTER THE RAIN STOPPED, WITH A FULL MOON RISING IN THE EAST WE SAW A NIGHTTIME 180 DEGREE RAINBOW IN THE WESTERN SKY. WITH THE NAKED EYE IT DID NOT HAVE THE COLORS OF A DAYTIME BOW. HOWEVER WITH BINOCULARS WE COULD SEE SOME COLORS. NONE OF US HAD EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE.

THE SECOND DAY THE WINDS PICKED UP TO 12 - 15 KNOTS FROM THE EAST AND STAYED THAT WAY FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS. DURING THIS TIME WE REMAINED ON THE SAME TACK (STARBOARD) EXCEPT FOR TW0 360 DEGREE MANEUVERS RESULTING IN A TACK AND A JIBE TO GET BACK ON COURSE. THE FIRST WAS CAUSED BY "AUTO" THE AUTOHELM AND THE SECOND OCCURRED WHEN DAN WAS TRYING TO LAND A FISH (HE DIDN'T). OUR POINTS OF SAIL FOR THESE FIVE DAYS RANGED FROM CLOSE REACH (WIND ABOUT 45 DEGREES OFF THE BOW) TO A BEAM REACH (WIND PERPENDICULAR TO THE BOAT). WE MADE EXCELLENT TIME DURING THESE DAYS LOGGING 119, 136, 151, 141 AND 128 MILES FOR EACH 24 HOUR PERIOD.

YESTERDAY THE WIND CLOCKED AROUND TO THE SOUTH AND DROPPED BELOW 7 KNOTS. WE SAILED SLOWLY AND MOTOR SAILED FOR ABOUT 24 HOURS. TODAY THE WINDS PICKED UP TO 10-11 KNOTS AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING 5-6 KNOTS WITH ONLY THE SPINNAKER.

HAVING PASSED OVER THE EQUATOR, WE ARE NOW SAILING IN A NORTHWESTERLY DIRECTION, DIRECTLY TOWARD HAWAII. AS OF THIS MORNING WE WERE 1470 MILES FROM HONOLULU. HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE THERE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, PLUS OR MINUS A FEW DAYS.

WILL WRITE MORE WHILE IN ROUTE.

TILL THEN, TAKE CARE

TED

Ted's Log Stardate June 17th, 2008

MESSAGE 12 RANGIROA JUNE 17




HELLO ALL


WE HAVE BEEN ENJOYING THIS BEAUTIFUL ATOLL FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS. YESTERDAY WE ALL WENT TO THE LOCAL PEARL FARM, THIS TIME CAROL RETURNED TO THE BOAT WITH A BEAUTIFUL PEARL NECKLESS WHILE DAN RETURNED WITH A THINNER WALLET. LAST NIGHT TOM AND I TOOK DAN AND CAROL OUT FOR DINNER TO CELEBRATE THEIR UPCOMING 45th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (JUNE 27). THE “KAI KAI”, IS A TYPICAL POLYNESIAN RESTAURANT WITH A FRENCH FLAVOR. THE FOOD WAS GREAT.


TODAY WE ARE DOING OUR FINAL PROVISIONING AND TOPPING OFF THE DIESEL TANKS IN PREPARATION FOR OUR FINAL PASSAGE TO HONOLULU WHICH IS ABOUT 2250 MILES NORTHWEST OF HERE. BECAUSE OF THE DIRECTION OF THE WINDS AND CURENTS BOTH BELOW AND ABOVE THE EQUATOR, WE WILL SAIL NORTH UNTIL WE GET A FAVORABLE WIND ANGLE FOR A DIRECT RUN TO HAWAII. THIS MEANS OF COURSE THAT WE WILL TRAVEL MORE THAN 2250 MILES. IT SHOULD TAKE US ABOUT 20-25 DAYS TO MAKE THIS RUN. WILL BE SENDING OUT MESSAGES ALONG THE WAY.


TILL THEN TAKE CARE


TED