Dockside

Just got a call from John and they are dockside.  Yeah, a good dinner and a good night sleep for them.

It appears that the channel they were approaching in the last message from John threw out all that the Hawaiian channels are known for.  Big wind, big seas - at least they got some speed out of it.  I'm just glad they've made it safely

So Close Yet So Far

July 22

Noon to noon run: 166NM

Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 19 45.38.'N deg 156 deg 40.33'W
Course: 320 deg Mag
Current Speed: slow

Next and final Waypoint: 21 deg 17.98'N; 158 deg 08.70'W

                   Near barber's Point, Oahu Is.
                    124 NM distance

The island that was not: We arrived at our waypoint off of the SE tip of the big island of Hawaii at 03:00 seeing only the lights from one small town through the haze. By 06:00 we were at the southwest corner of that 20NM coast, and only saw a small part of a slowly sloping shoulder of the island. That's it. Nothing more. So much for being excited at our first sighting of land in about 2200NM of open and remote ocean.

We are now slogging our way up the leeward side of the island chain at 4Kt. We went from 18 knots of wind on the beam to nothing in a few short miles. And now, believe it or not, the wind is directly on our bow. It is most likely coming from the channel between the islands of Hawaii and Maui. Even though progress is slow, we are coming up on the west end of the Big Island and will soon be approaching the channel between the two. The seas were relatively flat only a short while ago, but now in addition to the head wind, we also have big ocean swell running under our keel even though we are 53NM south of the narrowest part of the channel. Hopefully we will soon be getting a lift from the wind and be able to start making better time and speed toward our destination on Oahu.

Oahu bound

Imagine my surprise yesterday when my phone started ringing and the caller ID said it was from John.  He was within cell phone range off the big island of Hawaii so we had a chance to talk.  The wind had dropped so they were starting the engine and it looks like they will be motoring most of the way to Oahu.  They should be arriving at the Ko Olina Marina late today, Monday.  Our boys will be glad to have a quiet night's sleep at the dock.

Almost There

Date: 07/21      
Noon to noon run: 160NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 17 deg 44.88'N 155 deg 12.72'W
Course: 312 deg Mag
Current Speed: 7+ Kt.
Next and final Waypoint: 21 deg 17.98'N; 158 deg 08.70'W
                   Near barber's Point, Oahu Is.
                    268NM distance
Synopsis: Anticipation of seeing the island of Hawaii is growing even though we are still over 100Nm out from it. Having tucked the second reef into the main last night, just before sunset, we have been beam reaching with it and a partially furled genoa ever since. According to our chart plotter's ETA calculator we should be passing our waypoint off the SE point of the Big Island about 3AM. After that we still have 200Nm to go to our final destination near Barber's Point, Oahu, which is now the waypoint we are aiming for. We have been close reaching to beam reaching for 2 weeks now, since leaving Tikihau atoll in the Tuamotus and we are all looking forward to lighter winds and flatter conditions. Even so, we still have 90NM of open ocean to traverse (67 to the above mentioned point and another 20 miles of parallel coast line) before passing into the lee of the Hawaiian Islands. We are close, but not yet there.

Of stars, constellations, and the Heavenly Night Sky When Music was at Tahiti and Moorea, about 16 degrees south,  we could not see Polaris, or North Star. In fact we could not even see most of the Big Dipper which points to Polaris. But, what we could see, big, and bold, and beautiful, and filled with majesty was The Southern Cross.

It is now 23:00 on July 20 and we are crossing 16 degrees North on our way to the Hawaiian Islands which start at 18 degrees North. I have not been able to see The Southern Cross for several nights now. It appears that at this time of year at this latitude it is too low on the horizon to be seen. I miss it already. But in its place is the complete Big Dipper, Polaris, Cassiopeia and a host of other constellations which I haven't seen for months. Seeing the heavenly bodies of the northern hemisphere summer sky is like seeing an old friend. The acquaintance picks up where you last left it.

Gazing back to the Southern Hemisphere one constellation I can still see, and will be able to enjoy for several more weeks while on our way north, is Scorpio. And like The Southern Cross it too is big, and bold, and beautiful, and filled with majesty. When I lose sight of Scorpio I have no idea When I shall see the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere again. Or even if I will ever see them again. But I have at least enjoyed them for a while. I will miss them more than I can say. Silly isn't it! Or maybe not.

Cheers,

John

Closing In

Date: 07/20      
Noon to noon run: 152NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 15 30.87'N deg 153 deg 33.43'W
Course: 320 deg Mag
Current Speed: 6.5kt
Next Waypoint:  18 deg 50.39'N; 155 deg 36.08'W
            SE point of Hawaii Is.
              231NM distance         

Synopsis: The wind and seas moderated for a time today and we shook out the second reef in the main and unfurled the genoa to it's first reef position (about a 110% genoa). In an hour so, however, we will tuck the second reef back in for the night, primarily because conditions have been so changable.  We passed the 250NM mile mark from our waypoint off the the Big Island about 3:15 this afternoon. Basically that means we could be passing the Big island the morning after tomorrow.

Cheers,

John

Date: 07/18      
Noon to noon run: 173NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 11 00.050'N deg 150 deg 52.60'W
Course: 322 deg Mag
Current Speed: 6.2-7.0Kt     
Next Waypoint:    18 deg 50.39'N; 155 deg 36.08'W
                  SE point of Hawaii Is.
                  543NM distance

Synopsis: We had steady 15-18kt winds again today just forward of the beam giving us a real strong push and letting us really put the miles behind us. This evening, however, we put in a second reef in the main sail to reduce our motion more than slow us down as the seas are building rather than the wind getting stronger. Just at 6PM tonight we passed 11 degrees North and with that we only have just over 10 degrees of north to make to reach our destination on Oahu. Along with our heading north, we have gained a lot of light. It now starts getting light a little before 5AM and the sun set tonight at 6:30 still giving us light as I write this. While this is not much for those living in the northern states it is a lot here in the tropics. Especially when you are used to it being totally dark by 6PM.

Date: 07/16      

Noon to noon run: 135NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 06 02.31'N deg 148 deg 17.02'W
Course: 310 deg Mag
Current Speed: 4.6 kt
Next Waypoint:    18 deg 50.39'N; 155 deg 36.08'W
            SE point of Hawaii Is.
             881 NM distance approximate

Synopsis: Yesterday, even as we turned the corner from our previous heading of due north and pointed straight for Hawaii, the wind clocked as well. A lot of it is the effect of Emilia. Even though Emilia has been totally downgraded from a hurricane to not even being mentioned as a post tropical depression any more, and even though it is 400 NM north of us it is still impacting the winds and weather in this area. And, according to the grib files should do so for the next couple of days which means even more close reaching, and probably at times close hauled sailing. To this point this crossing has been a totally different ride from our down wind sleigh ride from Mexico to the Marquesas.

The latest surface analysis indicates that the ITCZ lies between about 5 and 7 degrees north and we have seen an increasing proliferation of squall lines and grey skies as the day progressed. As such,we expect tonight to be quite black and filled with squalls. With no moon until about an hour or so before sunrise (and even then it will only be a sliver) it will be a black night indeed. But, hey, maybe we will get lucky and it will be a whole lot nicer. Last night even though we had a few squalls we enjoyed long periods of clear skies and a heaven filled with stars, not to mention our own milky way galaxy!

Cheers,

John

Date: 07/15      

Noon to noon run:  NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 04 00.26'N deg 147 deg 05.85'W
Course: 342 deg Mag
Current Speed: 6.0kt, approximately
Next Waypoint: 18 deg 50.39'N; 155 deg 36.08'W
               1020 NM distance
Synopsis: Yesterday evening the light air dissolved into zero wind for the night resulting in us firing up the iron genoa (our diesel engine) to make any speed at all. We finally reached our turning mark this morning just after 9AM. And with that, our next mark is located off the SE corner of the big island at the coordinates above. While this is about 200NM short of our destination, it represents our earliest possible landfall which seems a good thing to aim for. After all to get to Oahu we would have to sail by it anyway. As our destination gets closer, we may well decide not to pass by the big island so close, but that is a choice for the future.

Our latest surface analysis weather faxes show the ITCZ running through this longitude at about 5 deg N. So we may well get to deal with that too. Let's hope the wind gods are favorable and supply us with adequate, but not to much wind to safely speed us on our way. This morning we made about 5kt boat speed with 7Kt apparent wind. Over the day the wind built to about 10Kt while the seas remained flat with long rolling swells. Even though we are close reaching again we have had no spray on deck and that has allowed us to open hatches and port lights, and air the boat out - Ahh! for appetizers tonight we had a variety of cheeses, crackers, and our last apple. Even though we are half way, we are going to hold off celebrating because it was so close to our equator crossing celebration of last night that it just seemed to soon to have another celebration. Maybe instead we will have a "less then 750 mile mile" celebration -or- a "past the doldrums" celebration.

It is time for me to post this and hit the rack. After all, I'll be back on watch in 5 hours, at midnight.

Date: 07/14     
Noon to noon run: 139NM
Time of position: 17:00
Lat/Lon: 01 deg 59.89'N; 146 deg 40.71'W
Course: 340 deg Mag
Current Speed: 6Kt     
Time of position: 17:00
Next Waypoint:    03 deg 14.085'N; 146 deg 54.48'W
                              74 NM distance

Synopsis: We had nice wind until the early hours in the morning, even if it was close to beam reaching. But this morning it veered a bit southeast allowing us to sail off of the wind - yea!! But then it dropped to about 3kts. So, we are motorsailing this afternoon and probably will be all night. But hay! It was really nice to dry out and get some of the salt out of my shirts and shorts.  It's beginning to look like we are getting into the ITCZ, or Zone as I call it.

 
Tonight we have our celebration dinner for crossing the equator. Steak! And another really good bottle of wine (if it has not gone bad from 2 seasons in Mexico and all the heat of French Polynesia).

Special Report

It is official! S/V Music has re-entered the northern hemisphere! Steve Jacobsen, John Knepper, and I have crossed the equator on board Music at longitude 146 deg 46.53'W Hawaii/Tahiti Time:19:58 July 13, 2012. Immediate destination Oahu. Final destination - Bellingham, Washington. Music's new home and port of call!

Date: 07/13      

Noon to noon run:  164NM
Time of position: 18:00
Lat/Lon: 00 12.55'S deg 146 deg 48.36'W
Course: 355 - 000 deg Mag
Current Speed:6.5 - 7.0 Kt
Time of position: 18:00
Next Waypoint North of Equator: 03 deg 14.08'N; 146 deg 54.48'W
            206 NM distance

Synopsis: Just a few miles to go to reach the equator. - Yeah!! - Again! This time we will be back in the Northern Hemisphere. But even so, we will still have over 1400NM to go to get to Oahu. We are close reaching again and trying to hold our longitude until we get about 3 degrees North. The reason is that with the weather systems moving through the low latitudes north of us (10-20 deg N) the wind directions become very north as they arrive and we'd like to be able to maintain as nearly a beam reach as possible.

Days 4 and 5

Date: 07/11      

Noon to noon run: 159 NM
Time of position: 17:00
Lat/Lon: 05 deg 25.00'S; 146 deg 51.77'W
Course: 000 deg Mag
Current Speed: 6.0-6.5
Time of position: 17:00
Next Waypoint:    05 deg 28.00'N (equator); 146 deg 52.30'W
             328 NM distance

Synopsis: The wind moved from east to northeast at about sunrise today and has stayed that way all day. Consequently, over a period of hours we slid from the right side of our course to the left, giving us a cross track error of about 5NM. Fortunately shortly before sunset we got a lift and can close the cross track error. A low pressure cell is forecast to be moving through our area at about 3 degrees south about the same time we should be crossing that latitude so we will try to move to the right of our course again to give us a little room to sail down when that happens. That's about it. Hope this makes sense to our nonsailing friends.

Date: 07/10

Noon to noon run: 164 NM
Time of position: 17:00
Lat/Lon: 08 deg 07.60'S; 142 deg 48.23'W
Course: 340-350 deg Mag
Current Speed:
Time of position: 18:00
Next Waypoint:    00 deg 00.00'N (equator); 146 deg 53.36'W
            492 NM distance

Synopsis: We have less than 500NM to go to the equator and it certainly is getting more humid. We've moved our waypoint a bit west to be able to take the wind on the beam instead of close reaching and to shave off a small distance not sailing two legs of a triangle. A minor milestone is that in a few short miles we should be past the northern most islands of the Marquesas. We've been watching the hurricanes develop in the eastern Pacific and while disturbing do not appear to be "threatening". It seems Daniel is on the wane, but we'll continue to watch it closely to see if it may rebuild since it is not moving off north. And it looks like Emelia is predicted to peter out well east of us. That said, predictions are one thing reality is another. We had a rainbow just a few minutes ago, and along with it a bit of wind and of course, rain.

On Their Way

Date: 07/09/2012 
Noon to noon run: 144.8 NM
Time of position: 16:30
Lat/Lon: 10 deg 51.70'S; 146 deg 51.49'W
Course: 005 deg Mag
Current Speed: about 7Kt
Next Waypoint:    00 deg 00.00'N (equator); 145 deg 00.00'W
             661 NM distance

We sailed through two squalls at the end of Steve's watch and the beginning of mine (about 9PM)last night and in between them set a reef in the main. It was a good thing too, because the second squall had winds of about 30Kts. Leaving the second squall behind we sailed into clear skies and about an hour later, I saw a beautiful orange three quarter moon rise as the stars slowly winked out in its presence. Early morning hours we see two planets grow incredibly bright long before sunrise. Which planets they are - I have no clue. But they are impressive.

Today winds continue at about 15Kts, and we expect more squalls tonight. The grib files show us that a series of low pressure cells or fronts are sweeping the are at about 5 degrees south but they should have moved on long before we get there.

John Knepper has gotten into the swing of things and is doing quite well despite his recent years of nonsailing, and he is most knowledgeable and helpful with issues that develop onboard. For those of you who do not know him, John is a superb wood craftsman and has built a Nordic 44 out of wood and sailed it with his wife to the Sea of Cortez back in the mid nineties. Having worked for other boat builders his experience at boat construction and maintenance is invaluable.

It is time for me to go on watch.

Cheers,

John

The Society Islands

My how the time flies.  We had a great time in Anse Amyot.  Gaston and Valentine run a small pearl farm on Toau and are fantastic hosts.  When a new batch of cruisers come in they will prepare a dinner for us and we have a wonderful time getting to know each other better.  The day after the dinner Valentine brought out her pearls for us to look at and explained the process - we didn't get to see the actual process.  She basically spoke French so I just caught bits and pieces.  French Polynesia is known for their black pearls - but that is not for the color.  It is because they use the black lipped oyster to grow the pearls.  The pearls actually come in many different colors from cream to black.  The color is determined by where the 'nucleus' is planted inside the oyster, along the lip or down in the middle.  We were lucky enough to do some trading for our pearls - we traded toilet paper, suntan lotion, chapstick, sunglasses, and hats - things they can't get on their little island.  John surprised me by having some of the pearls made into a beautiful necklace and earrings when we got to Tahiti.

We left for Tahiti the end of May and spent about a week in Marina Taina provisioning, washing the boat, doing laundry, and a bit of maintenance.  It was so nice to have unlimited water for a change.  We went to the Papeete market which reminded us alot of the market in Manzanillo, Mexico.  But after 2 wonderful months in quiet tropical anchorages Papeete seemed too busy.  So we left for Moorea which is only about 20 miles away.  We anchored in Oponou Bay and I was in awe of the majestic scenery.  We really got a sense of the volcanic action that created this island.  Unfortunately the reef around Moorea is basically dead so there wasn't much interesting snorkeling to be done.  There was an infestation of crown-of-thorns sea stars which destroy the reef and then a hurricane in 2010 and the reef was too weak to survive.  There are signs of recovery, but it takes decades for reefs to recover.

But there was something special - sting rays.  Sting rays are common here, especially in sandy areas.  There is a large sandy area where the tour operators have started feeding the sting rays and they've become quite social.  They've learned that when the boats come - they get fed.  So we got in our dingy and went to the site before the tours got there and had an experience.  They come right up to you, actually rub up against you almost begging to be fed.  There were a couple who would come vertically out of the water flapping their wings to bring their mouths up to you.  They look so cute.  There isn't much danger of getting stung since they are acclimated to this and don't feel threatened.  And not to be left out - the black tip reef sharks come in looking for any left over food.  Luckily we had done our shark dives in Fakarava so the sharks didn't freak me out because they are close.

We, well actually I, decided to spend the rest of our time in Moorea and not go to any other of the Society Islands.  So no Bora Bora for us, but I thoroughly enjoyed our time in Moorea.  We participated in the Tahiti Moorea Rendezvous - an event sponsored by the Tahiti Tourism Board.  About 40 boats participated.  We didn't do the sail to Moorea from Tahiti since we were already there, but they had a big polynesian lunch, traditional games, music and dancing.  Great fun and we got to reconnect with alot of folks we haven't seen since Mexico.

 Since we didn't get our extended visas for French Polynesia we were limited to 90 days and our time was growing very short.  John's friends Steve Jacobsen and John Knepper met us back in Tahiti to help bring Music to Hawaii.  They were able to spend a few days relaxing at Moorea and Tikihau back in the Tuamotus before starting the big push north.  They left Tikihau on July 7 and it should take them about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks to get to Hawaii - 900 miles to the equator and then another 1900 miles to Oahu.  I'll be posting the reports as John sends them.