20.20 N
137.08 W
Distance travelled: 124 NM - 1183 left to go!
When I came on watch this morning, the sun was just breaking over the horizon. The sky was completely cloudless and white-blue. We were sailing along at 5 knots on a beam reach over relatively flat seas. Ka'sala was stable in the water. Perfect! I spent several hours in the cockpit while Doug slept, just meditating on the scene. Two snow-white birds flew around us, craaaaking to each other - I was glad to see them together, no doubt having a morning tiff. A little later on, a sole grey-brown bird, larger than the previous pair and with a wide wingspan, soared lonely by, then vanishing into the rising sun. Are they as amazed to see us out here as we are to see them?
It was a perfect night as well. We started off wing on wing then, when the winds lightened, I gybed the main and we headed slightly off our track to fill the sails. Both of us had great sleeps in the gentle night. The winds did not really pick up today, so we are coasting along just under 5 comfortable knots. We won't make the mileage we are accustomed to, but we are enjoying every minute of this beautiful day.
We passed through a time zone last night. I don't think too many people actually live in this one between 135 and 150 degrees west. Maybe way up north in the Alutians? Way south in Antarctica? It's a strange thought.
Doug has begun downloading weather faxes of the Pacific Ocean to prepare for our arrival in Hawaii sometime next week, and to begin tracking the weather patterns we need to see before heading north to Alaska in June. He has noticed that we are likely to have these calmer conditions for the next couple days, then more wind toward the end of the week to take us into the Islands.
I'm starting to tire of meal-in-a-bowl dinners and will take advantage of the lighter conditions to try to make the onboard version of pot roast (which I have been craving since Las Vegas - another story!). It consists of a tin of Costco roast beef, in packet mushroom gravy, with oven roasted potatoes and carrots. Do not turn up your nose! This dinner will be culinary heaven! We may even splurge and have a glass of red wine while feasting in the cockpit! Paradise on the pea green boat!
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Monday, May 7, 2018
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Sunday, May 6 - Day 13
20.23 N
134. 56 W
Distance made good to Honolulu: 104 NM 1367 NM left to go
The winds lightened considerably over night, and so did the seas, but not enough to allow us to gently sail wing on wing, as the waves rocked us enough to cause the sails to bang and slat. We ended up reconfiguring our sails and heading 50 degrees south of our course on a beam reach. This change allowed enough wind to stabilize us and get us through the night. In the morning, when the wind filled in again, we resumed our course wing on wing and have since been happily moving along under full sails at 6 knots. It would be ideal if these conditions could persist the rest of the way - ha!
The winds are predicted to increase again tonight and we should see similar conditions over the next few days as we saw last week. In the meantime, we are enjoying the slight break, catching up on sleep and doing lots of reading. This afternoon we will pass through another time zone when we reach 135 degrees.
Last night, just before sunset, a large cargo ship, bound for Oakland, passed our bow at 16 knots, about 1.5 NM away. It was enormous against the setting sun. I still can't get over how many large ships we have seen on this voyage when the last time we saw none. I also am amazed that in this vast body of water with not much traffic we would pass so close. Thank goodness for AIS!
We have been getting volcano updates on the Seafarer's Net and are sorry for the people who have lost their homes on the Big Island. We will not be effected as we will be far north of that island and the prevailing winds are westerly.
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134. 56 W
Distance made good to Honolulu: 104 NM 1367 NM left to go
The winds lightened considerably over night, and so did the seas, but not enough to allow us to gently sail wing on wing, as the waves rocked us enough to cause the sails to bang and slat. We ended up reconfiguring our sails and heading 50 degrees south of our course on a beam reach. This change allowed enough wind to stabilize us and get us through the night. In the morning, when the wind filled in again, we resumed our course wing on wing and have since been happily moving along under full sails at 6 knots. It would be ideal if these conditions could persist the rest of the way - ha!
The winds are predicted to increase again tonight and we should see similar conditions over the next few days as we saw last week. In the meantime, we are enjoying the slight break, catching up on sleep and doing lots of reading. This afternoon we will pass through another time zone when we reach 135 degrees.
Last night, just before sunset, a large cargo ship, bound for Oakland, passed our bow at 16 knots, about 1.5 NM away. It was enormous against the setting sun. I still can't get over how many large ships we have seen on this voyage when the last time we saw none. I also am amazed that in this vast body of water with not much traffic we would pass so close. Thank goodness for AIS!
We have been getting volcano updates on the Seafarer's Net and are sorry for the people who have lost their homes on the Big Island. We will not be effected as we will be far north of that island and the prevailing winds are westerly.
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Saturday, May 5, 2018
Saturday, May 5 - Day 12
20.34 N
132.58 W
Distance Travelled: 129 NM - 1471 to go. We have passed the halfway point. Yippee!
Today is a calmer day. The wind is more moderate and we are cruising along at 5 - 5.5 knots on a starboard reach. We sailed wing on wing all night, but the wind continued to back, so we switched the sails around this morning. It is bright, warm and sunny with 50% cloud cover - the ocean is 22 degrees. The seas are still choppy and confused, and we continue to get smacked by the occasional big wave and bounce around - the new normal. Ha! We also seem to have encountered a .5 knot current against us....?
I was able to wash my hair this morning and it got me thinking about our water use. We left Nuevo Vallarta with 560 litres of fresh water for two adults for, perhaps, 30 days. We have no watermaker - when we are out, we are out. We must use this water for cleaning and drinking. We can supplement with salt water - I have a salt water pump by my sink which I use to rinse the yuck out of the dishes before I wash them - but too much salt water is hard on the inside of a boat and all its metal bits, not to mention hair, skin and clothes. I wondered about the early pioneers, or people who live in places with little fresh water, or the early marine explorers. However did they manage? We have used about 160 litres in the last 12 days and don't feel hard done by. All going well, we should make it to Honolulu with water to spare.
Today is also a special day as I am making pizza for dinner! Earlier, I made a tomato sauce to make use of tired vegetables and we will have it with pasta tomorrow. The journey continues aboard the pea green boat.
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132.58 W
Distance Travelled: 129 NM - 1471 to go. We have passed the halfway point. Yippee!
Today is a calmer day. The wind is more moderate and we are cruising along at 5 - 5.5 knots on a starboard reach. We sailed wing on wing all night, but the wind continued to back, so we switched the sails around this morning. It is bright, warm and sunny with 50% cloud cover - the ocean is 22 degrees. The seas are still choppy and confused, and we continue to get smacked by the occasional big wave and bounce around - the new normal. Ha! We also seem to have encountered a .5 knot current against us....?
I was able to wash my hair this morning and it got me thinking about our water use. We left Nuevo Vallarta with 560 litres of fresh water for two adults for, perhaps, 30 days. We have no watermaker - when we are out, we are out. We must use this water for cleaning and drinking. We can supplement with salt water - I have a salt water pump by my sink which I use to rinse the yuck out of the dishes before I wash them - but too much salt water is hard on the inside of a boat and all its metal bits, not to mention hair, skin and clothes. I wondered about the early pioneers, or people who live in places with little fresh water, or the early marine explorers. However did they manage? We have used about 160 litres in the last 12 days and don't feel hard done by. All going well, we should make it to Honolulu with water to spare.
Today is also a special day as I am making pizza for dinner! Earlier, I made a tomato sauce to make use of tired vegetables and we will have it with pasta tomorrow. The journey continues aboard the pea green boat.
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Friday, May 4, 2018
Friday, May 4 - Day 11
20.51 N
130.49 W
Distance traveled: 137 NM - 1600 NM left to go!
Sometime over the next 12 hours we will pass the half way point to Honolulu near 31 degrees west.
We are in strong easterly flow winds now and are coasting along, wing on wing (meaning our jib is poled out to starboard and our main prevented out to port). Although we rock on this point of sail, the movement isn't too difficult to bear. It feels a bit like Ka'sala is wagging her tail as she powers through the ocean. Right now we are making 6.5 knots and heading 270 True in 20 - 25 knots of wind. The sky is sapphire blue with puffy white clouds. The air is warm and dry.
We had a bit of a rough go last night. I guess it could have been the transition from having the wind on the quarter to the wind directly aft, but we seemed to have a lot of difficulty getting Ka'sala to sail smoothly. The seas were high, rough and confused and the wind flukey. When I came on watch I continued to twiddle with the sails when we were overcome by a series of rain squalls. The second one packed 30 knot winds that came up rather suddenly and all three dumped enough fresh water to wipe the boat clean of salt. We knew we would probably be more comfortable wing on wing, but decided to wait until morning when it made more sense to make the change. We reefed down until the wind and seas eventually moderated. By 10am this morning we were sipping our coffee in the newly cleansed cockpit, enjoying our breakfast, and agreeing that a 34 foot sailboat might be a "pleasure" craft, after all! If these conditions continue for the rest of the journey we will, indeed, be happy sailors!
Last night on the Seafarer's Net, one of the operators who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, mentioned that the enormous volcano there is due to erupt sometime over the next month. Good thing we decided to skip Hilo and head directly for Honolulu!
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130.49 W
Distance traveled: 137 NM - 1600 NM left to go!
Sometime over the next 12 hours we will pass the half way point to Honolulu near 31 degrees west.
We are in strong easterly flow winds now and are coasting along, wing on wing (meaning our jib is poled out to starboard and our main prevented out to port). Although we rock on this point of sail, the movement isn't too difficult to bear. It feels a bit like Ka'sala is wagging her tail as she powers through the ocean. Right now we are making 6.5 knots and heading 270 True in 20 - 25 knots of wind. The sky is sapphire blue with puffy white clouds. The air is warm and dry.
We had a bit of a rough go last night. I guess it could have been the transition from having the wind on the quarter to the wind directly aft, but we seemed to have a lot of difficulty getting Ka'sala to sail smoothly. The seas were high, rough and confused and the wind flukey. When I came on watch I continued to twiddle with the sails when we were overcome by a series of rain squalls. The second one packed 30 knot winds that came up rather suddenly and all three dumped enough fresh water to wipe the boat clean of salt. We knew we would probably be more comfortable wing on wing, but decided to wait until morning when it made more sense to make the change. We reefed down until the wind and seas eventually moderated. By 10am this morning we were sipping our coffee in the newly cleansed cockpit, enjoying our breakfast, and agreeing that a 34 foot sailboat might be a "pleasure" craft, after all! If these conditions continue for the rest of the journey we will, indeed, be happy sailors!
Last night on the Seafarer's Net, one of the operators who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, mentioned that the enormous volcano there is due to erupt sometime over the next month. Good thing we decided to skip Hilo and head directly for Honolulu!
----------
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Thursday, May 3, 2018
Thursday, May 3 - Day 10
20.24.936 N
128.24.614 W
Distance Travelled: 142 NM - 1737 more to Honolulu
As you can tell by the distance we covered in Day 10, we had good wind and snappy conditions. Winds on the aft quarter were in the 20 - 25 knot range with gusts to 28. Seas were running high as we followed a track averaging 275W. We sailed most of it on a double reefed main and jib. Skies were overcast and we could see rain showers in the distance, but no precipitation fell on us. We didn't sleep particularly well as the boat moved around quite a bit on the seas and the winds were not steady - requiring lots of tweaking. We are sticking to our 4 hour watch patterns which seem to be working splendidly.
The wind did not pick up today as predicted. Right now we are coasting along at 6 knots with full jib and reefed main. Very comfortable. The skies are back to blue and the warm sunshine is delightful! And - we saw a bird! We saw a bird! It looked like a small brown boobie, but it was alone and spent an hour or two circling around us, but did not land. What would he be doing out here - at least a thousand nautical miles from any land? Jonathan Livingston Boobie.
I've been thinking a lot about weather prediction today and have a few observations. In our travels we have been told that Canadians have two cultural distinctions: we are all very nice and very weather-obsessed. Okay, then what does that make a Canadian sailor? A nice, psychotically, weather-obsessed person! Maybe. While Canadians have very good reason to take weather into consideration before they leave their homes each day, on the high seas, is it even more important?
You would not believe how many weather models there are out there and each one seems to have its own set of rules. For example, in Canada, when the maritime forecast calls for 30 knot winds, they really mean that 30 knots is likely as much as you will see. However, we have been on the Canadian seas in these type of forecasts and have not seen those winds. In fact, we have had wonderfully comfortable passages in predicted near gales.
As we make our crossing to Hawaii, we download grib files from sailmail that are posted by NOAA. These are arrow-type graphics that are transposed onto your electronic chart for the area you expect to cover in a 6 - 36 hour outlook. NOAA's philosophy is to "average" the wind speeds. So if we see a graphic for 15 knots of wind - we can expect 15 knots to be the mid range of expected wind speed. Our experience has shown us it is often under forecasted. Case in point - yesterday the prediction was for 15 knots - we had steady 25 knots. I guess my points are these: Why do we bother with marine weather when it is so unreliable? Do potential inaccuracies of this degree have a negative psychological effect?
Yesterday, I was not particularly comfortable in the higher winds and sea state. When I saw that the prediction for today was supposed to be for even higher winds, I was quite apprehensive and my anxiety levels were heightened. Yet today, despite the 20 knot (mid-range) prediction, it is actually calmer than yesterday, and all my worry was for naught. So, perhaps ignorance is bliss and I need to come to terms with the fact that I cannot control the weather. I can only conclude that I would be much better off putting my energies into managing the boat in heavy weather conditions, building my confidence and learning to rationalize my fear. I have literally thousands of nautical miles of sailing experience, coastal and off shore, yet I am still not entirely comfortable in this watery element. Any kind of weather forecast is not gospel - only a piece of information to be used to guide your decision making when you go to sea.
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128.24.614 W
Distance Travelled: 142 NM - 1737 more to Honolulu
As you can tell by the distance we covered in Day 10, we had good wind and snappy conditions. Winds on the aft quarter were in the 20 - 25 knot range with gusts to 28. Seas were running high as we followed a track averaging 275W. We sailed most of it on a double reefed main and jib. Skies were overcast and we could see rain showers in the distance, but no precipitation fell on us. We didn't sleep particularly well as the boat moved around quite a bit on the seas and the winds were not steady - requiring lots of tweaking. We are sticking to our 4 hour watch patterns which seem to be working splendidly.
The wind did not pick up today as predicted. Right now we are coasting along at 6 knots with full jib and reefed main. Very comfortable. The skies are back to blue and the warm sunshine is delightful! And - we saw a bird! We saw a bird! It looked like a small brown boobie, but it was alone and spent an hour or two circling around us, but did not land. What would he be doing out here - at least a thousand nautical miles from any land? Jonathan Livingston Boobie.
I've been thinking a lot about weather prediction today and have a few observations. In our travels we have been told that Canadians have two cultural distinctions: we are all very nice and very weather-obsessed. Okay, then what does that make a Canadian sailor? A nice, psychotically, weather-obsessed person! Maybe. While Canadians have very good reason to take weather into consideration before they leave their homes each day, on the high seas, is it even more important?
You would not believe how many weather models there are out there and each one seems to have its own set of rules. For example, in Canada, when the maritime forecast calls for 30 knot winds, they really mean that 30 knots is likely as much as you will see. However, we have been on the Canadian seas in these type of forecasts and have not seen those winds. In fact, we have had wonderfully comfortable passages in predicted near gales.
As we make our crossing to Hawaii, we download grib files from sailmail that are posted by NOAA. These are arrow-type graphics that are transposed onto your electronic chart for the area you expect to cover in a 6 - 36 hour outlook. NOAA's philosophy is to "average" the wind speeds. So if we see a graphic for 15 knots of wind - we can expect 15 knots to be the mid range of expected wind speed. Our experience has shown us it is often under forecasted. Case in point - yesterday the prediction was for 15 knots - we had steady 25 knots. I guess my points are these: Why do we bother with marine weather when it is so unreliable? Do potential inaccuracies of this degree have a negative psychological effect?
Yesterday, I was not particularly comfortable in the higher winds and sea state. When I saw that the prediction for today was supposed to be for even higher winds, I was quite apprehensive and my anxiety levels were heightened. Yet today, despite the 20 knot (mid-range) prediction, it is actually calmer than yesterday, and all my worry was for naught. So, perhaps ignorance is bliss and I need to come to terms with the fact that I cannot control the weather. I can only conclude that I would be much better off putting my energies into managing the boat in heavy weather conditions, building my confidence and learning to rationalize my fear. I have literally thousands of nautical miles of sailing experience, coastal and off shore, yet I am still not entirely comfortable in this watery element. Any kind of weather forecast is not gospel - only a piece of information to be used to guide your decision making when you go to sea.
----------
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Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Wednesday, May 2 - Day 9
20.00.379 N
125.58.711 W
Travelled: 127 NM - 1879 NM to go!
Wind: At the moment 20 - 25 knots with higher gusts. It's been windy all day and we have been averaging 6.5 to 7 knots. These winds are predicted to continue for the next 24 hours anyway.
Seas: 2 - 3 meters with a large wind chop - some cross waves. We are following an average track of 270 degrees true and the wind is slightly veering on our aft quarter. At the moment, we have a double reefed main and jib. If the wind continues to build we may drop the main and raise the staysail. Personally, I could do with a bit less. The boat is relatively stable, but skitters and jerks on the waves - still holding on. Doug has expressed the notion that being inside a small sailboat in these conditions is like flying a fighter airplane. Well, thank goodness the pilots don't have to stand to do their work and land within a few hours! For me, being inside is like riding a surfboard with a blindfold on. You plant your feet firmly, bend your knees, tighten up your core muscles and ride the beast!
We realized that at some point today we were due south of Comox (which is located at 124.56.86 W). According to our calculations, at this point in time we are closer to Comox (as the crow flies) than we are to Hawaii!!
It has been mostly overcast and cooler the whole day with even a spatter of rain in the morning. The seas are cobalt blue. A peacock blue tanker passed us 2 miles to starboard on his way to Panama. Doug hailed him and asked when Ka'sala showed up on his AIS - he told us 8 miles away. We picked him up 15 miles away. In this case, size matters!
We are pleased with how our electricity is working out. The wind generator and the solar panels are helping to keep the batteries charged, though not putting back in all that we use. The main drains on the batteries are the refrigerator and our electronics, such as the SSB, boat computer, pactor, lsptops and tablet. We haven't run the engine in a week and we think we may not have to for another couple days. Not bad!
We are starting to bet on our arrival date and, if we continue with these windy conditions, we think we may arrive in Honolulu around May 14. Wouldn't that be nice!
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125.58.711 W
Travelled: 127 NM - 1879 NM to go!
Wind: At the moment 20 - 25 knots with higher gusts. It's been windy all day and we have been averaging 6.5 to 7 knots. These winds are predicted to continue for the next 24 hours anyway.
Seas: 2 - 3 meters with a large wind chop - some cross waves. We are following an average track of 270 degrees true and the wind is slightly veering on our aft quarter. At the moment, we have a double reefed main and jib. If the wind continues to build we may drop the main and raise the staysail. Personally, I could do with a bit less. The boat is relatively stable, but skitters and jerks on the waves - still holding on. Doug has expressed the notion that being inside a small sailboat in these conditions is like flying a fighter airplane. Well, thank goodness the pilots don't have to stand to do their work and land within a few hours! For me, being inside is like riding a surfboard with a blindfold on. You plant your feet firmly, bend your knees, tighten up your core muscles and ride the beast!
We realized that at some point today we were due south of Comox (which is located at 124.56.86 W). According to our calculations, at this point in time we are closer to Comox (as the crow flies) than we are to Hawaii!!
It has been mostly overcast and cooler the whole day with even a spatter of rain in the morning. The seas are cobalt blue. A peacock blue tanker passed us 2 miles to starboard on his way to Panama. Doug hailed him and asked when Ka'sala showed up on his AIS - he told us 8 miles away. We picked him up 15 miles away. In this case, size matters!
We are pleased with how our electricity is working out. The wind generator and the solar panels are helping to keep the batteries charged, though not putting back in all that we use. The main drains on the batteries are the refrigerator and our electronics, such as the SSB, boat computer, pactor, lsptops and tablet. We haven't run the engine in a week and we think we may not have to for another couple days. Not bad!
We are starting to bet on our arrival date and, if we continue with these windy conditions, we think we may arrive in Honolulu around May 14. Wouldn't that be nice!
----------
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Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Tuesday, May 1: Day 8
19.52.99 N
123.31.30 W
Distance Travelled: 132 NM - only 2006 NM left to go! Almost 1/3 complete, as we already have over 980 NM of water under our keel.
Wind: continues N, NNE 15 - 20 with occasional gusts, so we sail on the beam to just below it. It's not as steady, though. In the early morning hours we dubbed it a "daft" wind as it skittered about. Daffy plays havoc with the stability of the monitor steering - which gaily accelerates up on the gusts and then despondently plunks us down into the rolly swells. Of course, the latter is not a good time to be ladling or pouring anything! This afternoon these ups and downs are so regular it makes us think the earth is breathing. (I know this is hopelessly off topic, but if you ever saw the film "Baraka" and the sequence of New York city taxis stopping and starting at traffic lights in sped-up photography, you would know what I mean. The earth breathes! It lives! We just have to pay attention!)
Seas: same as yesterday - however, as you would expect, when the wind dies down, so do the seas. The water is an amazing light, sapphire blue - a colour I have never seen anywhere else but in the middle of the Pacific - almost worth going weeks without seeing land to see.
Observations: 50% overcast, about 25C air and 22C water temperature. Earlier today we had two small sessions of misty rain. We could use a bit more than that to wash the salt off the boat!
No wildlife spotted - not even on the decks. Squid and flying fish have decided to stick to their own element. Good!
An enormous container ship passed us midday 5 miles to starboard. We could see it clearly as it parallelled our track to Hawaii at 19 knots. I think they will get there before us. Doug said: "Wouldn't it be cool if they used their crane to bring us aboard and drop us off 100 miles short of Honolulu? It would be the fastest small sailboat passage yet!" Ha!
Provisions: The curry turned out very well last night and so did the naan bread. This morning I made a big meaty tomato/veggie sauce which I will use for pasta and other things. Spoilage is under control. Each day, when all the watches are finished, we have a big cup of dark roast coffee (the coffee grinder is our only electrical appliance), and eat a big bowl of yoghurt, granola and fresh fruit. It truly is our staple. The rest of the time we are snacking on nuts, oranges and dried fruit. We allow ourselves one alcoholic drink a day (almost exclusively a beer, though one night I was wild and crazy and had a glass of red wine) - we cleverly have called it the "cocktail" hour - and it goes along with a usual daily rise in the wind which we call the "cocktail" wind. How unique! Some days we drink no alcohol at all and don't miss it a bit.
Yesterday we crossed our second time zone at 120 W - 2 more to go to Hawaii at 135 and 150 degrees W.
Doug cleaned and greased the helm bearing and eliminated the squeaking - all will be well there. We are so pleased with Ka'sala's performance.
If you ever get a chance to see "The Lady in the Van" starring Maggie Smith, it is well worth it. That woman can act! Of course, the title attracted me after our Roadtrek adventures, but the film had nothing to do with travelling. I would be curious to know what my British friends think of it. (Look out, Maunds, test coming up!)
Looks like our good sailing weather will continue through the week, but we aren't in the Trades yet. Stay tuned for more updates from the Pea Green boat. (We still haven't figured out which one of us is the owl and which the pussycat!) (And, no, the cocktail hour has not arrived yet today!)
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123.31.30 W
Distance Travelled: 132 NM - only 2006 NM left to go! Almost 1/3 complete, as we already have over 980 NM of water under our keel.
Wind: continues N, NNE 15 - 20 with occasional gusts, so we sail on the beam to just below it. It's not as steady, though. In the early morning hours we dubbed it a "daft" wind as it skittered about. Daffy plays havoc with the stability of the monitor steering - which gaily accelerates up on the gusts and then despondently plunks us down into the rolly swells. Of course, the latter is not a good time to be ladling or pouring anything! This afternoon these ups and downs are so regular it makes us think the earth is breathing. (I know this is hopelessly off topic, but if you ever saw the film "Baraka" and the sequence of New York city taxis stopping and starting at traffic lights in sped-up photography, you would know what I mean. The earth breathes! It lives! We just have to pay attention!)
Seas: same as yesterday - however, as you would expect, when the wind dies down, so do the seas. The water is an amazing light, sapphire blue - a colour I have never seen anywhere else but in the middle of the Pacific - almost worth going weeks without seeing land to see.
Observations: 50% overcast, about 25C air and 22C water temperature. Earlier today we had two small sessions of misty rain. We could use a bit more than that to wash the salt off the boat!
No wildlife spotted - not even on the decks. Squid and flying fish have decided to stick to their own element. Good!
An enormous container ship passed us midday 5 miles to starboard. We could see it clearly as it parallelled our track to Hawaii at 19 knots. I think they will get there before us. Doug said: "Wouldn't it be cool if they used their crane to bring us aboard and drop us off 100 miles short of Honolulu? It would be the fastest small sailboat passage yet!" Ha!
Provisions: The curry turned out very well last night and so did the naan bread. This morning I made a big meaty tomato/veggie sauce which I will use for pasta and other things. Spoilage is under control. Each day, when all the watches are finished, we have a big cup of dark roast coffee (the coffee grinder is our only electrical appliance), and eat a big bowl of yoghurt, granola and fresh fruit. It truly is our staple. The rest of the time we are snacking on nuts, oranges and dried fruit. We allow ourselves one alcoholic drink a day (almost exclusively a beer, though one night I was wild and crazy and had a glass of red wine) - we cleverly have called it the "cocktail" hour - and it goes along with a usual daily rise in the wind which we call the "cocktail" wind. How unique! Some days we drink no alcohol at all and don't miss it a bit.
Yesterday we crossed our second time zone at 120 W - 2 more to go to Hawaii at 135 and 150 degrees W.
Doug cleaned and greased the helm bearing and eliminated the squeaking - all will be well there. We are so pleased with Ka'sala's performance.
If you ever get a chance to see "The Lady in the Van" starring Maggie Smith, it is well worth it. That woman can act! Of course, the title attracted me after our Roadtrek adventures, but the film had nothing to do with travelling. I would be curious to know what my British friends think of it. (Look out, Maunds, test coming up!)
Looks like our good sailing weather will continue through the week, but we aren't in the Trades yet. Stay tuned for more updates from the Pea Green boat. (We still haven't figured out which one of us is the owl and which the pussycat!) (And, no, the cocktail hour has not arrived yet today!)
----------
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