It seems that this email I sent yesterday was not received, so I am trying to send again to see if I can get it to go through. As of this morning we are officially cleared into the country with the agriculture inspection. All officials were absolutely friendly and welcoming. We have already visited a giant shopping mall...definitely back in the land of plenty! Crew are all happy to be here and to get a bit of a rest before setting off again. Likely will be here for a couple of weeks because the parts we need just shipped today out of South Africa. We now have internet so you are welcome to return to WhatsApp or our gmail to stay in touch with us!
----- Original Message -----
Subject: We have arrived!
Date: 15 Jun 2021 02:25:52 -0000
From: VE7SVM
We are at the dock, surrounded by giant skyscrapers!!! We arrived just shy of exactly 27 days since we left Tahiti. On one hand that feels like forever ago but at the same time it really doesn't feel like that many days have lapsed since May 18. We were welcomed by the beautiful faces of Isabel, Johanna and Steve who helped get Maple in her spot. This is likely a temporary spot as it is situated at the yacht club's working dock, but hopefully now that we are here we can find somewhere we are not in the way for a couple of weeks to get repairs completed.
We have been checked in by a CBP officer who was super friendly, but we are still not allowed to leave the boat until we have seen someone from the Agriculture department who will want to see what food we have on board and remove our garbage. So we can't leave Maple until tomorrow morning, at which time we will be free to wander and explore what Honolulu has to offer. Thrilled to be here and in hindsight perhaps we should have just planned to come here all along.
Thank you for following along with us on this passage. Stay tuned for our next leg to Alaska...
----- End of Original Message -----
Tuesday 15 June 2021
Sunday 13 June 2021
LAND-HO!!!!
Okay, I said I would not write again until tomorrow evening, but this is just too exciting not to share!! We have officially spotted Oahu on the horizon at 56nm out just as the sun is about to set. So exciting!! Suddenly these monster waves are not irritating me as much. Based on current speed, we might manage to get to the dock before nightfall tomorrow...stay tuned.
Still here
TIME: 2021/06/14 02:34
LATITUDE: 20-33.79N
LONGITUDE: 158-37.58W
COURSE: 011T
WIND: NE 18
SPEED: 3.5
Distance to Oahu: 61NM
We are still out here. After a lovely 12 hour reprieve yesterday from the wind and waves, they started to return around dinner time last night and have only continued to build since then. We are motor sailing directly into the wind with both engines and averaging 3 to 3.5kn, not great, but at this stage we'll take what we can get. We are very, very tired of slamming into the seas and very, very ready to be sitting still at a dock. Arriving tomorrow is still not totally out of the question, but time will tell.
The only entertainment we have had are four birds sitting on the bow of Maple for hours!! Two of them insisted on sitting perched on the lifelines. I have no clue how they stayed balanced for so long on a tiny wire in bouncy seas with webbed feet. Now that we are back to upwards of 2m seas, they have disappeared. Clearly that is their limit for when they are better off flying.
I really hope that when I write next we are tied to a dock. If it is not obvious, we are done with this passage. You may recall a couple of weeks ago when D suggested we just plan to settle in Hawaii, that is sounding very good right now!!!
LATITUDE: 20-33.79N
LONGITUDE: 158-37.58W
COURSE: 011T
WIND: NE 18
SPEED: 3.5
Distance to Oahu: 61NM
We are still out here. After a lovely 12 hour reprieve yesterday from the wind and waves, they started to return around dinner time last night and have only continued to build since then. We are motor sailing directly into the wind with both engines and averaging 3 to 3.5kn, not great, but at this stage we'll take what we can get. We are very, very tired of slamming into the seas and very, very ready to be sitting still at a dock. Arriving tomorrow is still not totally out of the question, but time will tell.
The only entertainment we have had are four birds sitting on the bow of Maple for hours!! Two of them insisted on sitting perched on the lifelines. I have no clue how they stayed balanced for so long on a tiny wire in bouncy seas with webbed feet. Now that we are back to upwards of 2m seas, they have disappeared. Clearly that is their limit for when they are better off flying.
I really hope that when I write next we are tied to a dock. If it is not obvious, we are done with this passage. You may recall a couple of weeks ago when D suggested we just plan to settle in Hawaii, that is sounding very good right now!!!
Fun never ends....
So funny story...just after I sent the last group message "Two More Sleeps...hopefully" our primary boat computer died. This is the computer that we normally connect to the radio to send these emails. This computer is the only piece of technology that was still original to when we moved onto the boat. So it really had a good run because lets face it, electronics on boats don't last long. And yes, for those who are paying attention it is that computer that crashed to the floor and cracked its screen on basically day one of this passage. So the fact that it kept on trucking for an additional three weeks I suppose is miraculous. However, I am grumpy about it because I am tired of broken s*&t during this passage!!
Anyway, there is some good news. We were smart enough to put the program needed to connect to the radio onto a different computer so we have a backup...because if the lesson has not been learned on this passage for everyone...you should have a backup and probably should have a backup to the backup. I laughed once when I learned of a boat that had a spare rudder on board...who carries a spare rudder?! Well in light of this passage for us, I was very much wrong to laugh, yup, we should have a spare rudder...why not two while we are at it! Anyway, I am off track. Back to the computer issue. So yes, we have the ability to still connect to the radio, whew! What I don't have are any email addresses that were added more recently than when the program was placed on this backup computer. Confused?! It is okay, basically if you have received this email then you are the lucky ones (well perhaps that can be debated depending on whether you have thoroughly lost interest in receiving these emails and have been muttering to yourselves for days "Aren't they there yet?"). And if you have not received it, well, you have no clue and will blissfully no longer be receiving emails from us. However, if for some reason you realize that you have been dumped from this group email, feel free to email me a message as it will still come through to me and I will get you back on here.
On a separate note, it was also shortly after that last message I sent, D broke my heart by saying that it might in fact be three more sleeps before we arrive. The wind has picked up and of course is right on the nose for us so it means we are now only averaging 2kt of boat speed. Sigh. Are we there yet?!...
Anyway, there is some good news. We were smart enough to put the program needed to connect to the radio onto a different computer so we have a backup...because if the lesson has not been learned on this passage for everyone...you should have a backup and probably should have a backup to the backup. I laughed once when I learned of a boat that had a spare rudder on board...who carries a spare rudder?! Well in light of this passage for us, I was very much wrong to laugh, yup, we should have a spare rudder...why not two while we are at it! Anyway, I am off track. Back to the computer issue. So yes, we have the ability to still connect to the radio, whew! What I don't have are any email addresses that were added more recently than when the program was placed on this backup computer. Confused?! It is okay, basically if you have received this email then you are the lucky ones (well perhaps that can be debated depending on whether you have thoroughly lost interest in receiving these emails and have been muttering to yourselves for days "Aren't they there yet?"). And if you have not received it, well, you have no clue and will blissfully no longer be receiving emails from us. However, if for some reason you realize that you have been dumped from this group email, feel free to email me a message as it will still come through to me and I will get you back on here.
On a separate note, it was also shortly after that last message I sent, D broke my heart by saying that it might in fact be three more sleeps before we arrive. The wind has picked up and of course is right on the nose for us so it means we are now only averaging 2kt of boat speed. Sigh. Are we there yet?!...
Saturday 12 June 2021
Two More Sleeps...hopefully
TIME: 2021/06/13 03:17 UTC
LATITUDE: 19-42.47N
LONGITUDE: 159-12.54W
COURSE: 040T
SPEED: 2.4
WIND_SPEED (T): NNE 6
Waves: NE 1M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 121NM
What a difference a day makes with no wind, calmer seas and lots of sunshine!! Last night we were struggling with trying to figure out which way to point the boat, at times seeing only a single knot of boat speed and that was with an engine on! But eventually we figured something out that allowed us to not head too far away from our destination and not too bouncy but see a mind blowing 2.5kn of boat speed. We are cooking with fire now, look at us go!! Since mid-morning the winds have died out completely and I will say shamelessly happy to be motoring along towards Oahu. We should be able to arrive in harbour on Monday morning, exact time still to be determined. Thankfully nothing else to report...all is well on Maple!
LATITUDE: 19-42.47N
LONGITUDE: 159-12.54W
COURSE: 040T
SPEED: 2.4
WIND_SPEED (T): NNE 6
Waves: NE 1M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 121NM
What a difference a day makes with no wind, calmer seas and lots of sunshine!! Last night we were struggling with trying to figure out which way to point the boat, at times seeing only a single knot of boat speed and that was with an engine on! But eventually we figured something out that allowed us to not head too far away from our destination and not too bouncy but see a mind blowing 2.5kn of boat speed. We are cooking with fire now, look at us go!! Since mid-morning the winds have died out completely and I will say shamelessly happy to be motoring along towards Oahu. We should be able to arrive in harbour on Monday morning, exact time still to be determined. Thankfully nothing else to report...all is well on Maple!
Friday 11 June 2021
Quick Update
TIME: 2021/06/12 03:12 UTC
LATITUDE: 18-53.09N
LONGITUDE: 159-42.49W
COURSE: 077T
SPEED: 2.7
WIND_SPEED (T): NE 16
Apparent Wind: 50 Deg Port, 20kt
Waves: NE 1-2M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 177NM
COMMENTS: The wind and seas have moderated a bit. The debate we are having is whether to keep sailing but going either too far east or too far west. The decision we have made at the moment is to motor sail as close into the wind and seas as possible with the assistance of one engine to keep fuel consumption lower, hence why our boat speed is currently painfully slow. We will continue to evaluate what course is best for us as we continue our slow progress over the next few days. We could arrive in Oahu as early as Monday morning but we will have to continue to adjust our ETA as the miles pass.
The one amazing piece of news is we have a confirmed marina slip in Waikiki Yacht Club located in Honolulu. This is all thanks to Steve on Chasing Waterfalls, whose family we first briefly met in Galapagos and then had the opportunity to spend a bit more time with in Raiatea after confinement was lifted. Not sure how he pulled it off, but we will just gratefully take this huge win after what has felt like a lot of strikes against us. Oh, and a big thank you to Nat for reaching out to Steve to begin with!! We are just ready to be tied to a dock and endlessly sleep. Then face the long list of repairs and cleanup we have on our hands.
Maple continues to be a rockstar and sail/motor under less than optimal conditions. The crew are tired, but doing well! Trying desperately to eat all meat, eggs, produce and cheese on board, but I have a feeling some will have to be tossed overboard before arrival. Meat lovers pizza with extra cheese is on the menu tonight. :)
LATITUDE: 18-53.09N
LONGITUDE: 159-42.49W
COURSE: 077T
SPEED: 2.7
WIND_SPEED (T): NE 16
Apparent Wind: 50 Deg Port, 20kt
Waves: NE 1-2M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 177NM
COMMENTS: The wind and seas have moderated a bit. The debate we are having is whether to keep sailing but going either too far east or too far west. The decision we have made at the moment is to motor sail as close into the wind and seas as possible with the assistance of one engine to keep fuel consumption lower, hence why our boat speed is currently painfully slow. We will continue to evaluate what course is best for us as we continue our slow progress over the next few days. We could arrive in Oahu as early as Monday morning but we will have to continue to adjust our ETA as the miles pass.
The one amazing piece of news is we have a confirmed marina slip in Waikiki Yacht Club located in Honolulu. This is all thanks to Steve on Chasing Waterfalls, whose family we first briefly met in Galapagos and then had the opportunity to spend a bit more time with in Raiatea after confinement was lifted. Not sure how he pulled it off, but we will just gratefully take this huge win after what has felt like a lot of strikes against us. Oh, and a big thank you to Nat for reaching out to Steve to begin with!! We are just ready to be tied to a dock and endlessly sleep. Then face the long list of repairs and cleanup we have on our hands.
Maple continues to be a rockstar and sail/motor under less than optimal conditions. The crew are tired, but doing well! Trying desperately to eat all meat, eggs, produce and cheese on board, but I have a feeling some will have to be tossed overboard before arrival. Meat lovers pizza with extra cheese is on the menu tonight. :)
Thursday 10 June 2021
Yet More Gratitude
TIME: 2021/06/11 02:02 UTC
LATITUDE: 17-32.91N
LONGITUDE: 159-45.33W
COURSE: 342T
SPEED: 4.0
WIND_SPEED (T): ENE 20
Apparent Wind: 70 Deg, 20kt
Waves: NE 2-3M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 270NM
Oh no, here comes another sappy email about gratitude!! But how could I not be, less than 48 hours after we lost use of our starboard rudder, we have new parts ordered, the possibility of a marina slip being investigated, and paperwork being completed for permission to arrive in Hawaii. All of this done by the incredible cruising community we have met since we started on this journey with Maple.
First, a huge thank you to Shaun. We first met Shaun and Sherrie and their two girls in Turkey back in 2015. What are the chances of two Vancouver area families spending part of their first year on their respective boats in the same marina in Turkey!?! It was an instant connection that has continued since. Our paths have intersected from time to time, include with Sherrie back in Vancouver a couple of times. They are currently in Vancouver after they were forced to leave their boat behind in Malaysia when they could no longer renew their visas during Covid. Shaun has been sending us daily weather forecasts and routing suggestions since we left Tahiti. Now he is a HUGE lifesaver by ordering for us two new tiller arms from South Africa to be delivered to Hawaii. And he is throwing in a new alternator for us at the same time! Maple will be as good as new with two functioning rudders and two engines capable of charging once all is installed!! Thank you so much, Shaun!!!
Next on the list to thank are Mary Beth and Bill. We first met them in Shelter Bay Marina in Panama in early 2019. (As an aside, that is the last time we have been in a marina!) How could we not meet as we were just two boats down from each other with the exact same boat. Clearly people with good taste!! We also had a chance to meet a couple of times in French Polynesia before they then sailed to Hawaii. I think they managed this trip with breaking a lot less stuff than we have on ours. Anyway, all it took was for me to email them with a few questions since they are currently in Oahu, and they immediately took action. They have inquired with their marina, Ko' Olina, to see if there is any chance of squeezing us in. The jury is still out, but we are still so grateful for their willingness to jump to action when needed. They have generously allowed us to use their address at the marina to ship our parts!!
Last, but certainly not least, we have to thank Mark and Isabel. We first met in Fakarava in French Polynesia back in 2019 and have been fortunate to share many an anchorage with them throughout the country. They are currently on a stopover in Oahu after having a fantastic, smooth trip from the Marquesas. See it is possible to do this trip without breaking stuff!!! It must be because they are on an awesome Aussie built Seawind! :) They have inquired with CBP that we are able to check in to the US in Oahu and are helping us by getting the necessary paperwork started on our behalf!!
Plus we have received countless offers of help and quick answers to questions from other cruisers over the last two days. This community of sailors is truly remarkable. We never cease to be amazed by the generosity that this community will give without any expectation of anything in return. From saving people's drifting dinghies to sharing spare parts when possible to jumping to action when things are not going very smoothly on an ocean crossing.
Thank you so much for everyone's support and good vibes as we try to reach Oahu. The seas and winds continue to be very strong for us so we continue to just make our way north towards Kauai. Hoping the forecast for lighter winds and seas becomes a reality soon. All continues to be well for Maple and her crew!
LATITUDE: 17-32.91N
LONGITUDE: 159-45.33W
COURSE: 342T
SPEED: 4.0
WIND_SPEED (T): ENE 20
Apparent Wind: 70 Deg, 20kt
Waves: NE 2-3M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 270NM
Oh no, here comes another sappy email about gratitude!! But how could I not be, less than 48 hours after we lost use of our starboard rudder, we have new parts ordered, the possibility of a marina slip being investigated, and paperwork being completed for permission to arrive in Hawaii. All of this done by the incredible cruising community we have met since we started on this journey with Maple.
First, a huge thank you to Shaun. We first met Shaun and Sherrie and their two girls in Turkey back in 2015. What are the chances of two Vancouver area families spending part of their first year on their respective boats in the same marina in Turkey!?! It was an instant connection that has continued since. Our paths have intersected from time to time, include with Sherrie back in Vancouver a couple of times. They are currently in Vancouver after they were forced to leave their boat behind in Malaysia when they could no longer renew their visas during Covid. Shaun has been sending us daily weather forecasts and routing suggestions since we left Tahiti. Now he is a HUGE lifesaver by ordering for us two new tiller arms from South Africa to be delivered to Hawaii. And he is throwing in a new alternator for us at the same time! Maple will be as good as new with two functioning rudders and two engines capable of charging once all is installed!! Thank you so much, Shaun!!!
Next on the list to thank are Mary Beth and Bill. We first met them in Shelter Bay Marina in Panama in early 2019. (As an aside, that is the last time we have been in a marina!) How could we not meet as we were just two boats down from each other with the exact same boat. Clearly people with good taste!! We also had a chance to meet a couple of times in French Polynesia before they then sailed to Hawaii. I think they managed this trip with breaking a lot less stuff than we have on ours. Anyway, all it took was for me to email them with a few questions since they are currently in Oahu, and they immediately took action. They have inquired with their marina, Ko' Olina, to see if there is any chance of squeezing us in. The jury is still out, but we are still so grateful for their willingness to jump to action when needed. They have generously allowed us to use their address at the marina to ship our parts!!
Last, but certainly not least, we have to thank Mark and Isabel. We first met in Fakarava in French Polynesia back in 2019 and have been fortunate to share many an anchorage with them throughout the country. They are currently on a stopover in Oahu after having a fantastic, smooth trip from the Marquesas. See it is possible to do this trip without breaking stuff!!! It must be because they are on an awesome Aussie built Seawind! :) They have inquired with CBP that we are able to check in to the US in Oahu and are helping us by getting the necessary paperwork started on our behalf!!
Plus we have received countless offers of help and quick answers to questions from other cruisers over the last two days. This community of sailors is truly remarkable. We never cease to be amazed by the generosity that this community will give without any expectation of anything in return. From saving people's drifting dinghies to sharing spare parts when possible to jumping to action when things are not going very smoothly on an ocean crossing.
Thank you so much for everyone's support and good vibes as we try to reach Oahu. The seas and winds continue to be very strong for us so we continue to just make our way north towards Kauai. Hoping the forecast for lighter winds and seas becomes a reality soon. All continues to be well for Maple and her crew!
Wednesday 9 June 2021
Change of plans
TIME: 2021/06/10 02:32 UTC
LATITUDE: 15-51.41N
LONGITUDE: 159-23.27W
COURSE: 345T
SPEED: 4.8
WIND_SPEED (T): NE 21
WIND_DIR: 060T
Apparent Wind: 60 Deg, 22kt
Waves: NE 2-3M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 350NM
COMMENT: Very boisterous sailing shall we say. I think Maple is currently two parts salt and one part fiberglass. Everyone has had more than their share of unintentional saltwater showers. Honestly, we would really like a break from these winds and seas...so if anyone could put in a good word for us, we would appreciate it!
Back in 2018 in the Bahamas we encountered an interesting failure on Maple. The issue was that a critical part that moves the rudders had sheered off completely on the starboard side. This meant that the starboard rudder was just flopping back and forth with no ability to control it and in turn offering no assistance in steering the boat. In addition, our autopilot relies on a sensor attached to the starboard rudder to be able to steer the rudders. At that time, we were very close to an island and just hand steered to a safe anchorage where we were able to find a welder to fix the part. We also took the opportunity to reinforce the same part on the port side as it was showing signs of fatigue.
Why do I share this story with you?! Any guesses?! Yes, the exact same thing has happened again. But this time of course we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no nearby safe anchorage to pop into to visit a welder. So it appears that a slight course change is necessary and a stop in Hawaii will, after all, be in our near future.
We are very fortunate to have cruising friends who are available to help out and we know a handful of cruisers who are either currently in Hawaii or have been there who are great resources for us. I know the community will help us where they can. Shaun has already reached out to the the boat's manufacturer to look into arranging new parts to be delivered from South Africa. I have reached out to another cruiser currently in Oahu with the exact same boat as ours to learn about possible aluminum or stainless fabricators who could build us what we need or worst case repair what we already have if shipping from South Africa is not a viable option. Plus friends are reaching out to the authorities in Hawaii to let them know we need to make an unscheduled stop for repairs. We are very fortunate as Canadians that we do not require any prior visas to enter, and are even welcome to stop in Covid times, but prior notice of our arrival is necessary. The only downside is we are not really in a great position to reach Hawaii. Remember all these days with us being pushed west by this persistent NE wind?! Well, we are going to have to undo all that with a lot of upwind bashing to get there. Currently we are sailing as north as we can and as we get closer to the Hawaiian chain we will likely drop the sails and turn into this mess of wind and waves to motor the rest of the way. We have plenty of fuel on board so one way or another we will make it there in hopefully 5 to 7 days.
As for the autopilot, we thankfully now have a backup autopilot on board which we bought back in Florida (after our time in the Bahamas). It is a completely separate system that does not rely on the sensor being attached to the rudder. With me hand steering for just 10 to 15 minutes, D had the backup installed and running. It is working amazingly well and so very grateful we do not need to hand steer to reach Hawaii. All is well on board with all of us. Maple is still sailing beautifully despite all her obstacles of being down a rudder, with a new autohelm in charge, in strong winds of 18-25kn and in large 2-3m seas. We are disappointed to not be able to make it non-stop to Alaska and depending on how long repairs take, we might need to skip Alaska altogether. But this whole adventure for us has been about adapting, staying flexible, and let's face it, perfect passages are not the ones discussed over sundowners. For now the only focus is reaching Hawaii safely and getting Maple patched up.
LATITUDE: 15-51.41N
LONGITUDE: 159-23.27W
COURSE: 345T
SPEED: 4.8
WIND_SPEED (T): NE 21
WIND_DIR: 060T
Apparent Wind: 60 Deg, 22kt
Waves: NE 2-3M
Miles to Oahu, Hawaii: 350NM
COMMENT: Very boisterous sailing shall we say. I think Maple is currently two parts salt and one part fiberglass. Everyone has had more than their share of unintentional saltwater showers. Honestly, we would really like a break from these winds and seas...so if anyone could put in a good word for us, we would appreciate it!
Back in 2018 in the Bahamas we encountered an interesting failure on Maple. The issue was that a critical part that moves the rudders had sheered off completely on the starboard side. This meant that the starboard rudder was just flopping back and forth with no ability to control it and in turn offering no assistance in steering the boat. In addition, our autopilot relies on a sensor attached to the starboard rudder to be able to steer the rudders. At that time, we were very close to an island and just hand steered to a safe anchorage where we were able to find a welder to fix the part. We also took the opportunity to reinforce the same part on the port side as it was showing signs of fatigue.
Why do I share this story with you?! Any guesses?! Yes, the exact same thing has happened again. But this time of course we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no nearby safe anchorage to pop into to visit a welder. So it appears that a slight course change is necessary and a stop in Hawaii will, after all, be in our near future.
We are very fortunate to have cruising friends who are available to help out and we know a handful of cruisers who are either currently in Hawaii or have been there who are great resources for us. I know the community will help us where they can. Shaun has already reached out to the the boat's manufacturer to look into arranging new parts to be delivered from South Africa. I have reached out to another cruiser currently in Oahu with the exact same boat as ours to learn about possible aluminum or stainless fabricators who could build us what we need or worst case repair what we already have if shipping from South Africa is not a viable option. Plus friends are reaching out to the authorities in Hawaii to let them know we need to make an unscheduled stop for repairs. We are very fortunate as Canadians that we do not require any prior visas to enter, and are even welcome to stop in Covid times, but prior notice of our arrival is necessary. The only downside is we are not really in a great position to reach Hawaii. Remember all these days with us being pushed west by this persistent NE wind?! Well, we are going to have to undo all that with a lot of upwind bashing to get there. Currently we are sailing as north as we can and as we get closer to the Hawaiian chain we will likely drop the sails and turn into this mess of wind and waves to motor the rest of the way. We have plenty of fuel on board so one way or another we will make it there in hopefully 5 to 7 days.
As for the autopilot, we thankfully now have a backup autopilot on board which we bought back in Florida (after our time in the Bahamas). It is a completely separate system that does not rely on the sensor being attached to the rudder. With me hand steering for just 10 to 15 minutes, D had the backup installed and running. It is working amazingly well and so very grateful we do not need to hand steer to reach Hawaii. All is well on board with all of us. Maple is still sailing beautifully despite all her obstacles of being down a rudder, with a new autohelm in charge, in strong winds of 18-25kn and in large 2-3m seas. We are disappointed to not be able to make it non-stop to Alaska and depending on how long repairs take, we might need to skip Alaska altogether. But this whole adventure for us has been about adapting, staying flexible, and let's face it, perfect passages are not the ones discussed over sundowners. For now the only focus is reaching Hawaii safely and getting Maple patched up.
Saturday 5 June 2021
Routine
TIME: 2021/06/05 02:26 UTC
LATITUDE: 09-46.52N
LONGITUDE: 155-42.92W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 307T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 4.5 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 19 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 65 deg
SEA STATE: NE 2M Short period, making dinner prep a balancing act
COMMENTS: No rain today, mostly cloudy with sunny periods. The wind is still too much from the NE to make much progress north. When conditions allow we try to pinch as much upwind as possible.
Sleep, eat, watches...in no particular order, this is the basis of our day. A rotation of these three functions day in, day out. The landscape does not change much so it does not take much for something to catch our attention. We enjoy when a seabird or two occupies space near us, swooping and diving around us. In fact the other night we had a second bird crash land into our cockpit. This one was so small, I can't even begin to imagine how it got this far away from land. It rested with us for a long time but eventually took flight again before sunrise. Another seabird took great interest in our tow generator. It quickly determined it was not a flashing fish for him to eat, but he would bob in the water behind us and continually dip his head into the water to investigate this most bizarre phenomenon. He would let us sail ahead of him and then he would catch back up to us and repeat his investigation.
Yesterday evening as final dinner preparations were underway, the girls were both sitting at the helm when one of them shouted "Dolphins"! We have had only a few, very brief dolphin visits since leaving Tahiti. And for some reason it has been in the worst conditions of steep waves and driving rain that we will see them passing by, never staying for a visit to play in our bow waves. However, last night was different. As I came out to check out the dolphins, I noticed as this torpedo shaped body caught the last of the sunlight, the most beautiful colours!! It was a school of HUGE yellow fin tuna jumping and feeding just meters off our starboard side, going in the opposite direction to us. How amazing is it that out of this massive ocean, we were able to briefly witness these tuna jumping so close to us!! And the answer is no...we did not have the lure out. I was quite content just watching these beautiful fish going about catching their supper.
Here is our reality. One of the reasons we have not been fishing is because our freezer/fridge has not been performing well on a starboard tack. Our freezer and fridge are a set of two drawers and on the starboard tack, the freezer drawer is not staying sealed. The result...it is very difficult to keep our meat consistently frozen. Further to this, the compressor for our fridge is by far the largest energy drain on Maple and so we routinely turn it off to try to reduce the constant drain on the batteries. So it means that our meals have been focused on eating through the meat and fish in the freezer as quickly as possible and as such don't need to add to it by catching a monster tuna. Perhaps once we have an empty freezer and after a week or two of vegetarian meals, I will want to try to catch ourselves a sushi dinner, but for now, the fishing rod remains unused.
All is well with the four of us! Sailing under beautiful conditions with plenty of sunshine. Still hoping for that wind direction to change a little bit for us to start heading more north than we are. Currently we are lining ourselves up perfectly for a stopover in Japan just as we planned for back in January. Perhaps we can check out the Olympics after all, assuming they are still scheduled?! ;)
LATITUDE: 09-46.52N
LONGITUDE: 155-42.92W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 307T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 4.5 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 19 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 65 deg
SEA STATE: NE 2M Short period, making dinner prep a balancing act
COMMENTS: No rain today, mostly cloudy with sunny periods. The wind is still too much from the NE to make much progress north. When conditions allow we try to pinch as much upwind as possible.
Sleep, eat, watches...in no particular order, this is the basis of our day. A rotation of these three functions day in, day out. The landscape does not change much so it does not take much for something to catch our attention. We enjoy when a seabird or two occupies space near us, swooping and diving around us. In fact the other night we had a second bird crash land into our cockpit. This one was so small, I can't even begin to imagine how it got this far away from land. It rested with us for a long time but eventually took flight again before sunrise. Another seabird took great interest in our tow generator. It quickly determined it was not a flashing fish for him to eat, but he would bob in the water behind us and continually dip his head into the water to investigate this most bizarre phenomenon. He would let us sail ahead of him and then he would catch back up to us and repeat his investigation.
Yesterday evening as final dinner preparations were underway, the girls were both sitting at the helm when one of them shouted "Dolphins"! We have had only a few, very brief dolphin visits since leaving Tahiti. And for some reason it has been in the worst conditions of steep waves and driving rain that we will see them passing by, never staying for a visit to play in our bow waves. However, last night was different. As I came out to check out the dolphins, I noticed as this torpedo shaped body caught the last of the sunlight, the most beautiful colours!! It was a school of HUGE yellow fin tuna jumping and feeding just meters off our starboard side, going in the opposite direction to us. How amazing is it that out of this massive ocean, we were able to briefly witness these tuna jumping so close to us!! And the answer is no...we did not have the lure out. I was quite content just watching these beautiful fish going about catching their supper.
Here is our reality. One of the reasons we have not been fishing is because our freezer/fridge has not been performing well on a starboard tack. Our freezer and fridge are a set of two drawers and on the starboard tack, the freezer drawer is not staying sealed. The result...it is very difficult to keep our meat consistently frozen. Further to this, the compressor for our fridge is by far the largest energy drain on Maple and so we routinely turn it off to try to reduce the constant drain on the batteries. So it means that our meals have been focused on eating through the meat and fish in the freezer as quickly as possible and as such don't need to add to it by catching a monster tuna. Perhaps once we have an empty freezer and after a week or two of vegetarian meals, I will want to try to catch ourselves a sushi dinner, but for now, the fishing rod remains unused.
All is well with the four of us! Sailing under beautiful conditions with plenty of sunshine. Still hoping for that wind direction to change a little bit for us to start heading more north than we are. Currently we are lining ourselves up perfectly for a stopover in Japan just as we planned for back in January. Perhaps we can check out the Olympics after all, assuming they are still scheduled?! ;)
Thursday 3 June 2021
Profound Gratitude
TIME: 2021/06/03 03:12
LATITUDE: 07-10.93N
LONGITUDE: 153-12.78W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 312T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 4.1 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 15 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 70 deg
SEA STATE: NE 1.5M
COMMENTS: Wind picked up and turned to NE overnight, we are sailing again and left the rain behind this morning. Our course is more W than we would like but the wind will clock around to allow us to turn N in time. Passed 1500NM made good today so all on board got another goodie bag of candy.
We have now covered 1500nm since leaving Tahiti and during that time I have been doing loads of reflection about our time in French Polynesia. This is a country that truly changed the course of our lives. A country that provided us with a safe haven during a global pandemic.
Most people know that our dream to sail with the girls was born while D and I vacationed in FP in 2012. Up until then our plan was to work until the usual retirement age when D would have maxed out his work pension, then set sail. This would have been the more financially prudent option. But during our fateful vacation in FP, we hatched the plan to slightly increase the timeline and include the girls. In less than 3 years, we made it happen. Being in the beauty that is French Polynesia, it truly changed how we saw the rest of our lives. We wanted to live more consciously, more fully than we had up to that point.
Less than seven years after that vacation, we returned to the shores of French Polynesia with Maple, anticipating a one year stay before moving on west. Obviously those plans all went to pot when Covid hit. However, there is no downside for us. We had the good fortune to spend TWO YEARS in this paradise, beyond anything we could imagine. The gratitude we feel towards this country that gave us so much is beyond measure.
In those two years we met countless fantastic people. People we are so fortunate to now call friends and I do truly hope our paths can cross again one day. As a result of our time in FP alone we now have endless couch surfing opportunities in so many countries: Norway, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the UK, Germany, Italy, Thailand, Australia, South Africa; I know this is not an exhaustive list. We had the opportunity to explore islands and atolls that non-sailing tourists don't get to see. We got to dive in her depths and explore the diversity of the underwater world. We got to attend cultural events of a fiercely proud people who made landfall here thousands of years before we did. We got to be tattooed by remarkable artists, masters of their craft, who carry on the traditions and stories of their people.
This country sheltered us while the world changed as we knew it. Other cruisers around the world were being turned away or kicked out from countries, arrested for trying to make an emergency stop, not allowed to get off their boat for months on end. Meanwhile, for us here in French Polynesia, we had our own oasis. Sure we had four weeks of being confined to the boat, but at least we still had the opportunity to go to shore for shopping and exercise. After those four weeks, truly our lives were not really impacted, certainly not compared to much of the world. It is since Covid that we met so many of these new friends. While so many people have been unable to see the people they love, we have been able to freely travel within the country and meet new people. This privilege is not lost on us. And to top all of this, D and I as mere tourists were even able to get fully vaccinated here at no cost.
To say that I was upset when we pulled out of our anchorage in Tahiti on May 18 is a mild understatement. After waving a final goodbye to one of those amazing people we have been so fortunate to meet here, I was a mess. I was ugly crying, barely able to catch my breath. The girls just hugged me as D took Maple through the lagoon for our final exit. In the 30 countries we have visited with Maple, this is the first time I have had this much emotion. I struggle to find the words of how special this country will forever be to me. I left part of my heart there.
Thank you, French Polynesia!! Merci beaucoup!! Maururu!!
LATITUDE: 07-10.93N
LONGITUDE: 153-12.78W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 312T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 4.1 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 15 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 70 deg
SEA STATE: NE 1.5M
COMMENTS: Wind picked up and turned to NE overnight, we are sailing again and left the rain behind this morning. Our course is more W than we would like but the wind will clock around to allow us to turn N in time. Passed 1500NM made good today so all on board got another goodie bag of candy.
We have now covered 1500nm since leaving Tahiti and during that time I have been doing loads of reflection about our time in French Polynesia. This is a country that truly changed the course of our lives. A country that provided us with a safe haven during a global pandemic.
Most people know that our dream to sail with the girls was born while D and I vacationed in FP in 2012. Up until then our plan was to work until the usual retirement age when D would have maxed out his work pension, then set sail. This would have been the more financially prudent option. But during our fateful vacation in FP, we hatched the plan to slightly increase the timeline and include the girls. In less than 3 years, we made it happen. Being in the beauty that is French Polynesia, it truly changed how we saw the rest of our lives. We wanted to live more consciously, more fully than we had up to that point.
Less than seven years after that vacation, we returned to the shores of French Polynesia with Maple, anticipating a one year stay before moving on west. Obviously those plans all went to pot when Covid hit. However, there is no downside for us. We had the good fortune to spend TWO YEARS in this paradise, beyond anything we could imagine. The gratitude we feel towards this country that gave us so much is beyond measure.
In those two years we met countless fantastic people. People we are so fortunate to now call friends and I do truly hope our paths can cross again one day. As a result of our time in FP alone we now have endless couch surfing opportunities in so many countries: Norway, Switzerland, France, Belgium, the UK, Germany, Italy, Thailand, Australia, South Africa; I know this is not an exhaustive list. We had the opportunity to explore islands and atolls that non-sailing tourists don't get to see. We got to dive in her depths and explore the diversity of the underwater world. We got to attend cultural events of a fiercely proud people who made landfall here thousands of years before we did. We got to be tattooed by remarkable artists, masters of their craft, who carry on the traditions and stories of their people.
This country sheltered us while the world changed as we knew it. Other cruisers around the world were being turned away or kicked out from countries, arrested for trying to make an emergency stop, not allowed to get off their boat for months on end. Meanwhile, for us here in French Polynesia, we had our own oasis. Sure we had four weeks of being confined to the boat, but at least we still had the opportunity to go to shore for shopping and exercise. After those four weeks, truly our lives were not really impacted, certainly not compared to much of the world. It is since Covid that we met so many of these new friends. While so many people have been unable to see the people they love, we have been able to freely travel within the country and meet new people. This privilege is not lost on us. And to top all of this, D and I as mere tourists were even able to get fully vaccinated here at no cost.
To say that I was upset when we pulled out of our anchorage in Tahiti on May 18 is a mild understatement. After waving a final goodbye to one of those amazing people we have been so fortunate to meet here, I was a mess. I was ugly crying, barely able to catch my breath. The girls just hugged me as D took Maple through the lagoon for our final exit. In the 30 countries we have visited with Maple, this is the first time I have had this much emotion. I struggle to find the words of how special this country will forever be to me. I left part of my heart there.
Thank you, French Polynesia!! Merci beaucoup!! Maururu!!
Tuesday 1 June 2021
The deluge begins...
TIME: 2021/06/01 03:10
LATITUDE: 05-08.33N
LONGITUDE: 152-03.03W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 010T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 2.7 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 6 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 30 degrees
SEA STATE: 0.5m E & 0.5m S Swell, confused, coming from all directions it feels like
COMMENTS: Clearly you can see we are motoring as we can't sail in 6 knots of wind at 30 degrees. Starting around 3:30pm local time today the rain started. It had been quite beautiful up until then. The last rain cloud took all the wind with it. We need to charge the batteries anyway, so have the starboard engine is serving dual purpose. Hopefully we are not motoring all night.
Starboard tack: If the wind is from the starboard, the vessel is on a "starboard tack". (Source: Offline Wiki)
Before we left Tahiti, D received a question from a friend about what tack we will be on for this trip. D and I looked at each other, shrugged and did the only thing one does when stumped by a question...Google. The whole nautical term thing has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Good thing there is not a CYA instructor breathing down my neck every day trying to beat the sailor into me. Believe me, I did that, it was not fun, decided lessons were not for me. As an aside, on those miserable sailing lessons, the positive part of that experience was the other student with us. Shirley made those five days fun!! Speaking of nautical terms, here is another one, lazy jacks. Lazy jacks are the lines which help keep the main sail organized when lowering it. Anyway, Shirley preferred to call them "Idle Johns" so that is what we call them now.
Anyway, back to the starboard tack. That is what we have been on since leaving Tahiti. Non-stop, just a single tack so far. To be clear, we LOVE our Leopard 384. We truly feel we lucked out into buying the perfect boat for us. Now that is not to say the boat is perfect. The people who designed our boat clearly did not anticipate this boat being sailed on a starboard tack with waves being thrown into the cockpit or torrential rain driving into the starboard side of the boat. Why, do you ask?! Oh, because when in such conditions we end up with a swimming pool accumulating under our cockpit table. There is no thru-hull to allow the water to exit. So when waves are crashing over the side like it was the first few days or like today when we are experiencing driving rain, we need to spend a good deal of time mucking out the water out from under table. Because the other key design feature is that our house battery bank is stored under one of the benches around the table. A super convenient spot when needing to access the batteries, but not such a convenient spot when mixed with water. There are a couple of examples where Leopard likes to combine water and electricity in their design. Anyway, every boat no doubt has its questionable design elements and so for the last 14 days we have been able to enjoy the oversight that Leopard put into weather and sea state into their design when on a starboard tack. I have no doubt my instructor, Bob, tried to teach me what a starboard tack is, but now thanks to this trip, I will likely never forget.
LATITUDE: 05-08.33N
LONGITUDE: 152-03.03W
NEXT WAYPOINT: 22N-159W
COURSE (COG): 010T
BOAT SPEED (SOG): 2.7 kn
WIND SPEED (AWS): 6 kn
WIND ANGLE (AWA): 30 degrees
SEA STATE: 0.5m E & 0.5m S Swell, confused, coming from all directions it feels like
COMMENTS: Clearly you can see we are motoring as we can't sail in 6 knots of wind at 30 degrees. Starting around 3:30pm local time today the rain started. It had been quite beautiful up until then. The last rain cloud took all the wind with it. We need to charge the batteries anyway, so have the starboard engine is serving dual purpose. Hopefully we are not motoring all night.
Starboard tack: If the wind is from the starboard, the vessel is on a "starboard tack". (Source: Offline Wiki)
Before we left Tahiti, D received a question from a friend about what tack we will be on for this trip. D and I looked at each other, shrugged and did the only thing one does when stumped by a question...Google. The whole nautical term thing has always been a bit of a mystery to me. Good thing there is not a CYA instructor breathing down my neck every day trying to beat the sailor into me. Believe me, I did that, it was not fun, decided lessons were not for me. As an aside, on those miserable sailing lessons, the positive part of that experience was the other student with us. Shirley made those five days fun!! Speaking of nautical terms, here is another one, lazy jacks. Lazy jacks are the lines which help keep the main sail organized when lowering it. Anyway, Shirley preferred to call them "Idle Johns" so that is what we call them now.
Anyway, back to the starboard tack. That is what we have been on since leaving Tahiti. Non-stop, just a single tack so far. To be clear, we LOVE our Leopard 384. We truly feel we lucked out into buying the perfect boat for us. Now that is not to say the boat is perfect. The people who designed our boat clearly did not anticipate this boat being sailed on a starboard tack with waves being thrown into the cockpit or torrential rain driving into the starboard side of the boat. Why, do you ask?! Oh, because when in such conditions we end up with a swimming pool accumulating under our cockpit table. There is no thru-hull to allow the water to exit. So when waves are crashing over the side like it was the first few days or like today when we are experiencing driving rain, we need to spend a good deal of time mucking out the water out from under table. Because the other key design feature is that our house battery bank is stored under one of the benches around the table. A super convenient spot when needing to access the batteries, but not such a convenient spot when mixed with water. There are a couple of examples where Leopard likes to combine water and electricity in their design. Anyway, every boat no doubt has its questionable design elements and so for the last 14 days we have been able to enjoy the oversight that Leopard put into weather and sea state into their design when on a starboard tack. I have no doubt my instructor, Bob, tried to teach me what a starboard tack is, but now thanks to this trip, I will likely never forget.
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