SV Yohelah – Pacific Loop

Miles traveled day 3: 109
Miles traveled total: 251
Miles to Majuro: 1,552

After setting the jib in the spinnaker pole yesterday we had a really nice ride. The rolling settled down and we chugged right along. When I reported in to the evening ham net we had 18 knots of wind and were averaging 6.1 knots in the direction we wanted to go. Nothing to complain about there at all. When Rob woke me for my 11:00 watch the wind had all but died. The sails were just filling and dropping as the swells rolled under us. With the jib out on a pole it wasn’t too noisy, and we were managing about 3 knots. I think Rob reported 11 miles made good on his 2-5 am watch. The forecast is for the winds to continue light through today and nearly die tomorrow.

When I got up at 10:30 we decided to drop the jib and put out the spinnaker and try to squeak another knot out of it. The new Navionics electronic charts we bought for our trip north tell us ETA based on current speed, and we weren’t getting to Majuro until long after Turkey Day. We pulled the spinnaker out of the aft cabin and hauled it up on deck. Once we furl the jib the boat is really at the mercy of the rollers, so we got the spinnaker sheets all run and ready to go and pulled in the jib. Rob dropped the spinnaker pole and I switched from the jib sheet to the spinnaker sheet and redeployed the pole. As we were tying the spin sheets onto the chute the wind started to build. Suddenly I couldn’t see anything because spinnaker was blowing in my face too hard. Totally a sign that we shouldn’t hoist the chute and go back to the jib.

So down comes the pole, back in goes the jib sheet, back up goes the pole, out goes the jib and the wind dies again. Who knew? I thought getting out the spinnaker was an exercise in getting wind. Rob thinks it was an exercise in getting exercise. We rolled in the jib, dropped the pole, put in the spin sheet, hoisted the spinnaker and with the light winds were making the exact same speed as we were with the jib when I woke up in the first place.

Now the wind has mercifully piped up a few knots and with 13-14 knots behind us and the chute up we’re making 5 knots northwest. Maybe I’ll be home for fresh roasted turkey afterall.

Teresa
The boat is here

Miles traveled day 4: 97
Miles traveled day 5: 124
Miles traveled total: 472
Miles to Majuro: 1,351

With the forecast for the winds to continue our third night we chose not to hoist the chute and kept sailing with the jib out on the spin pole. It finally died completely, and when our boat speed was less than two knots I turned on the motor for about 5 hours and we motored slowly. Right after I came on watch at 5 am it filled back in and we’ve been sailing ever since. We’ve had a really nice breeze when the forecast keeps saying we shouldn’t. Well, it keeps saying we shouldn’t tomorrow. It’s like – “ok you can have wind today, but definitely not tomorrow”. Then the next morning comes and the wind is still with us and I request another forecast and it says “well ok, still some wind today, but positively not tomorrow”. We’re still sailing, and definitely not complaining. I’ve requested another forecast for tomorrow and we’ll see if it’s changed and we’ll have wind tomorrow or not.

Besides that, life is pretty routine on this passage. We had a couple of spectacular nights of clear starry skies, complete with a big moon and a nice breeze pushing us along. The sunsets and sunrises have been absolutely legendary this week. Today the clouds filled in and we had a light sprinkle, but absolutely no squalls or thunderheads or convection yet. Just 13 knots of wind right behind us, giving us about 5.5 knots of boatspeed just in the direction we want to go.

I’ll request another forecast and see what we’re going to get tomorrow….

Teresa
The boat is here

Miles traveled day 6: 115
Miles traveled total: 587
Miles to Majuro: 1,242

A friend from home emailed yesterday and asked what life was like on passage. He wondered if it was routine, boring, or busy. My answer is yes to all three. We definitely have a routine, which does get boring at times, but are also busy much of the time. Here’s a day in the life on passage. I’ll start at what you might think is the end, but actually getting sleep is the most important part, so that’s where it begins.

Rob hits the rack first at 5:00 pm and sleeps until 7:00. I sleep 7:00 to 11:00, then back on watch from 11:00 until 2:00, then back in the rack from 2:00 until 5:00. When I get up at 5:00 I feed the cat and make some toast. Then when Rob goes in at 5:00 am I let him sleep as long as he can; usually he’s back up around 9:00. He gets some toast or a snack and I sleep as long as I can, usually until 11:00. Then we’re both up for the rest of the day. I cook a light meal at 11:00 – porridge or eggs or cup o’ soup – and make a pot of coffee.

At noon we log our position and miles, then I sit down at the computer. It’s time to update the position on the website, request weather forecasts, write a blog posting and exchange emails with friends. We get quite a few emails while we’re on passage, which we’re always happy to have, many exchanging communications with our other friends who are also on passage or cruising. After I’m done on the computer Rob comes down and takes a break and I stand watch outside and read for a bit while Rob naps or putters downstairs. We shower in the afternoon. About 3:00 I start making dinner. Then at 4:00 we turn the Pacific Seafarer’s Net on the SSB, listen to the other boats check in, and get ready to call in with our position report. We eat at 4:30, then Rob washes the dishes and hits the rack at 5:00.

Pretty exciting, eh? Not so much. The variables, of course, are the weather. If we need to make a sail change we usually do that first thing in the morning before I go to bed for the last time, and/or in the late afternoon before Rob goes down for the first time. Do we like passages? As a rule yes we do – occasionally they can be stinky, but that’s just a result of the weather. Are we bored? Sometimes. Is Maya bored? Totally.

Teresa