Pacific Passage: Week 2-5 summary

We’ll try this differently this time. I suspect there was too much boring info in the last post.

We’ve included excerpts from the log further down in this post for anyone that want’s to read it. Otherwise, this is a summary of the trip.

If one word could describe the passage across the Pacific, it would have to be “LONG”. 28 days at sea is a lot – and man were we glad when we arrived.

The trip was uneventful with the exception of a few days (see Day 16 below). Kailani handled herself extremely well. As some of you know, we were still getting to know how to sail her when we left, so we learned a lot along the way. For example, at some points of sail the boat can be quite loud when the wind drops and she rolls around in heavy swells which can be quite disconcerting. Although, on most points of sail or when the sails are quite full she powers through the ocean steady and smooth.

Being new to sailing her, we decided to sail very conservatively for the duration of the passage and keep a close eye on the rig etc. to avoid calamities. 

This was prudent as we discovered some shackle pins had worked their way loose on the mainsheet. We also found one of the pins holding the boom to the mast had worked loose among other things.

 

Other issues with the sails – we hoisted the large 110% genoa upon leaving as the smaller yankee is quiet worn and probably on its last legs. I was always reluctant to use the big headsail and these concerns proved to be well founded. The problem with the large genoa being it unbalances the boat over powering the self-steering, this happens even when the genoa is furled to 25% and I think its aspect is just too high when furled. Not only that C and I cannot furl the genoa in winds over 15 knots. There is no dedicated winch for the furling line.

 

We also found the boat loves wind and even more so loves to be reefed down. We sailed almost the whole trip with a reefed main and even when we reefed down the boat speed remained the same. She is very capable with a reefed main and a staysail. When the squalls come through she remains upright and just goes faster. I think the boat is particularly well designed to handle high winds and heavy seas.

The Westerbeke 42 motor behaved admirably during the passage. We monitored the temperature using an infrared thermometer (well that’s when C wasn’t using it for her yogurt making J). As for the fuel consumption the manual says 0.42 gallons per hour and in the end this was pretty close to what we used. We motored (some of the time it was just battery charging at 1200 revs) for about 83 hours in total consuming 37.5 gallons of our 150 gallons (0.45 gallons per hour). That said we never ran the engine at more than 1500 rpm giving us a boat speed of 3 to 4 knots depending on the sea state and wind direction. Means we have a range of over 1000 miles.

The food provisioning went well too. We had very little wastage along the way. We had to sacrifice a few tomatoes and capsicums but not many, and the center of the watermelon was a bit mealy when we finally opened it 3 weeks into the passage but the outer flesh was delicious. Other than that, things went surprisingly well. One of the best foods was oranges – not only were they satisfying, refreshing and delicious, but they stored extremely well in the bilge. We’re still eating them today – 5 weeks after purchasing them. Also, the potatoes, onions and garlic are holding up well, we still have some firm beets & jicama, and about two dozen little limes. We also have a dozen eggs purchased on 14 March that are still good. They haven’t seen the inside of a refrigerator, but they’re coated in a thin layer of Vaseline and have been turned every few days. We ate really well crossing the pacific – I’m sure we haven’t suffered from any vitamin deficiency… only an alcohol deficiency!

Ensenada Marquesas sum up

The trip taught both of us a lot about expectations. Our last crossing (Panama to Tahiti via the Galapagos) consisted of sunny days, long ocean swells, 12-15 knot winds from the stern quarter. All in all comfortable with beautiful star filled nights, no squalls or rain.

We were in for a rude shock – this trip had few sunny days many squalls and no starry nights. We had sloppy seas with very short periods between swells. Wind was just forward of the beam or just aft of the beam, very uncomfortable as we rolled like crazy. Talking to the other cruisers after our arrival in the Marquesas, nobody enjoyed the trip and some are so disillusioned they are talking about selling their boats and going home.

For us though the trip was hard for a few reasons.

1.       We had to get to know the boats characteristics.

2.       The sea state was uncomfortable with the rolling.

3.       The squalls were frequent – you could never relax.

4.       No sun is psychologically depressing and no sun means no charge for the batteries.

 

I hear from the locals the sea state is affected by the southern oceans roaring 40’s swells. When you get the southerly swells plus the south east trade wind swells plus the local swells kicked up by the squalls it’s messy and uncomfortable.

But we are really very grateful even if it sounds like we are complaining. We had no heavy weather and the wind was almost always in the right direction – can’t complain.

The Marquesas. The islands are beautiful with steep peeks and lush bush. They create their own climate so no trade winds, just balmy local breezes, very pleasant conditions. But (and isn’t there always)….the anchorages are very rolley as there are no harbors or breakwaters. It means after the long passage from the West coast of the USA you get no respite. We heard there is a better anchorage not far from where we are and may head there sometime next week. At the moment we need to stay in the main port with the internet access as we have business to attend to in NZ.

So that’s about it for now. Today we will begin repairing all the things that broke during the passage. Good news is the water maker is working. The membrane we purchased was slightly shorter than the original. I made a spacing washer up from a plastic breadboard in order to ensure the membrane was in the correct position. We found another problem though in that the water maker would shut off after a few minutes. Removing the terminal cover revealed more shoddy electrical workmanship whereby the main 12 volt feed wires were completely loose in their terminals. This has been repaired and all is well in the fresh water department!

Boat/human - things that failed during the Ensenada – Marquesas passage

1.       Some main sail battens came loose – required re feeding and tying.

 

2.       Autopilot fluxgate compass not calibrated to ships GPS. This problem only manifested itself once we arrived at the Marquesas. It meant the icon in the shape of a boat was pointing the wrong direction on the chart. I guess it would be like the car symbol on your navigation system pointing sideways rather than the direction you were heading. This made it very difficult making landfall as it was dark. We used our eyes and not the chart plotter to ensure we navigated safely around the island. Since we have calibrated the fluxgate compass as per the manual and it is aligned perfectly.

 

3.       Water maker main power supply loose in the DIN 35 terminals. Caused intermittent operation, and absolute failure in the end.

4.       Various shackles (some in essential places) worked their way loose potentially creating very dangerous scenarios. Fortunately we checked regularly and were able to tighten them before they caused a problem. One exception was the self-steering whereby one shackle pin worked loose, bent and rendered the unit inoperable

5.       Failure to remove the vent cowling from the starboard aft teak dorade box. It was ripped off the deck by a flogging genoa sheet. Fortunately we were able to retrieve it complete with the stainless steel cowling before it went over the side. Since then we repaired it and is back in place. There are two such unprotected cowlings on the boat and both need to be removed before making passage.

6.       Engine blower – During a routine engine check we discovered the engine blower had come adrift from the bulkhead held on only by the very important fluxgate compass cable. The blower was poorly mounted with self-tapping screws which worked loose. Have not replaced as yet.

7.       Winch handle lost over the side.

8.       Sailing tricolor LED light at the top of the mast

9.       Anchor LED light failed at the top of the mast. OK this was too much, we spend big money on a new tricolor and LED lights, new cables, junction boxes. Meant someone had to go up the mast but there are no calm anchorages in the Marquesas

10.   Stinky smell from the head sink faucet. Every time we pumped water into the basin it smelled like sulfur. So removed the line from the tank and sucked the complete line full of bleach, seems to have solved the problem.

11.   Mast wiring junction box. By chance we noticed there was blue water leaking from it. I say by chance because it was discovered accidently while sucking bleach into the head faucet. Removing the lid we discovered the junction box was full – and I mean full - of blue green colored water. The terminals feeding the mast LEDs had all corroded off – good news as we now don’t need to climb the mast. Repaired the termination and drained the box etc. All mast LEDs working again. The most interesting thing about this box is how in hell the water got in. You won’t believe me when I tell you how as I would not believe anyone who told me this story – here goes. The junction box is located about 3 feet above the bottom of the compression post. The compression post runs from the top of the keel to the cabin top. The mast sits on cabin top but is fully supported by the compression post down through the keel. The wiring comes down the mast and exist the compression post at the very bottom. From there the wires run UP 3 feet to the junction box. There is no way water can get into the box it’s in a dry spot and high up. There is however one possibility and the only one though unbelievable. Now we had the heaviest rain I have ever seen, and I am from New Zealand where it rains. But nothing like the equatorial convergence zone rain. The rain found its way into the junction box by forcing its way INSIDE the outer sheaths of the 2  x 3 core cables. In all about 300 ml of water found its way into the box. In the repair I have left the sheath part of the cables OUTSIDE the box so if it were ever to happen again the water will drain harmlessly away.

Excerpts from the Log:

Day 8: 22⁰ 54’ N : 123⁰ 58’ W

Winds 10 knots from the NE. Hit the trade winds at 22⁰ 54’N  123⁰ 58’W. Meant we could hold a course of 180⁰ T – pretty close to our 209⁰ T bearing!

Discovered a split pin which secures the boom to the mast was threatening to break. This could have been a major disaster – so glad we discovered it!

 

Day 9: 21⁰ 16’ N : 123⁰ 39’ W

Winds 15 kn from the NE, 4’ swell. Phosphorescence begins to appear in our wake! We’re finally getting south! Still cloudy with little to no sun. Clouds just won’t let go.

Day 10: 19⁰ 25’ N : 124⁰ 04’ W

15-20 knots of wind from the NE with 8’ seas. Set the whisker pole for the first time. Wasn’t too hard to sort out and seemed to work beautifully. It was a very comfortable and welcome after all the rolling . Unfortunately, the wind continued to gradually increase forcing us to take it down. Also went over an underwater sea mount ranging from 4,000m to 460 meters of depth. Very sloppy seaway, followed by frequent squalls with heavy rain. Had to cover the instruments with a plastic garbage bag since the rain was so extreme.

 

Day 11: 17⁰ 20’ N : 124⁰ 37’ W

Winds 15-20 then 23+ knots from the NE with 4’ swells. We had some blue sky and calm weather! Decided to clean up the boat – sweep, shake out the bedding, etc. Still finding rice from the rice debacle on the first day out!

Found a loose connection in the water maker. It was working sporadically, this appears to be the cause. Will fix it when we are at anchor.

Power is our biggest issue. We’re not getting enough sun so the solar panels don’t have a chance to compensate. Means we’re having to run the engine and use our precious diesel!

 

Day 12: 15⁰ 13’ N : 125⁰ 16’W

Gorging through the books. Trade winds are strong and 23+ knots from the E NE causing waves to slop into the cockpit. Skies are generally cloudy but the occasional window of sun is gratefully accepted by the solar panels.

Found the first flying fish on the deck! Poor thing was dead but flying fish are another sign of our southerly progress.

But the major highlight – we caught our first glimpse of the Southern Cross! J

Weather is beginning to warm up – don’t have to wear as many layers of clothing.
 

Day 13: 13⁰ 14’ N : 125⁰ 44’W

Salt really beginning to accrue on deck.  A bit of rain would be nice to wash it away!

Still dealing with the 23+ knot winds we’ve had for the past days.

 

Day 14: 10⁰ 55’ N : 126⁰ 10’ W

Things are looking up! Had a sunny calm-ish day with winds decreasing to a manageable 15 knots. We’re hopeful the seas will calm by tomorrow to reflect the reduced winds.

Had a major hit from a school of flying fish. We must have caught 6 of em – all flopping around on the decks and in the cockpit. And man, do they stink!

Today is our first day in swim suits and are getting our first sun burns!

Day 15: 08⁰ 36’ N : 126⁰ 51’ W

Managed to achieve 100% charge on the batteries! Sun, sun, sun!

Bill founds loads of dead flying fish on decks again. Pity they avoided capture in the form of a photo, but never mind. Bill has to handle the smelly carcasses, and C gets to scrape the remaining scales off the gel coat.

Food is getting boring, so Bill decided to cut up 3 large potatoes and fried them in vegetable shortening. Very unhealthy, but incredibly delicious!

Had a deep reef in the main for 5 days – just adjusting the head sail in and out to allow for the 26-30 knot squalls we keep enduring.

 

 

Day 16: 07⁰ 14’ N : 127⁰ 12’ W

This morning, it seems we’ve hit the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence  Zone). Winds have dropped to 5kn variable from the SE. We’re still trying to get as south as possible and plan to head west after the equator. We don’t want to get too west too early to avoid possible headwinds.

Last night, however was a whopper of a night. At about 23:00 PST the winds increased and we were hitting heavy squalls. While attempting to furl the headsail, the genoa sheet caught the dorade and its  teak box and ripped it from its mounts. We watched it sitting on the side decks and fortunately had the foresight not to reach out and grab it. The genoa sheet was banging around like a snake on steroids, so we calmly furled the sail and managed to collect the dorade and box before it plopped into the ocean.  Unfortunately, this exposed the 4” dorade vent hole in the cabin top – a gaping hole leading directly into the cabin - not good. We managed to cover it with two zip lock bags secured with amalgamating tape, then electrical tape, and finally masking tape. With that resolved, we retired to the saloon to change watches.

A short while later, we were blown off course. We were using the Butler, but it wasn’t handling the constant shifting conditions. Then it started to rain. And not just a little. It poured like I’ve never seen rain before.  We went back up on deck to try to reset our course. It was quite difficult to read the compass and set the self-steering in the pitch black with rain, lightning and thunder all around.

Between squalls, we saw an opportunity to drop the already heavily reefed main sail. Despite our wet weather gear, we were soaked.  At least it was warm! I can’t remember what sail configuration we had up at this point, whether it was staysail and/or reefed headsail, but it didn’t matter at that point.

Again, we went below to get out of the weather only to find a good amount of water in the center of the saloon. Closer inspection found the leak was coming from the inside of the mast and pooling at the cableway through the deck. Our indication inside was water dripping around the teak decorative cover around the mast compression post. Carolyn unsecured the cover and in doing so became sea sick. A quick jot outside to chunder, then we discovered the self-steering problems.

Bill found a broken hose clip used to attach the Butler control to the steering wheel. Also, one of the shackles for one of the blocks controlling the steerage had bent and fallen off its mount. We both headed down below trying to find a new hose clip and shackle buried under the settee in obscure boxes. After finding suitable parts and mounting them, we had to locate the manual for the wind vane to resolve how to run the lines again. Of course, they all had come loose during the debacle. Keep in mind, all this time its pouring with rain, thunder and lightning,  and 30 knot gusts of wind. Why do we want to go sailing?

Anyway, we managed to get it all back together and sort ourselves out by 04:30. It was a long night and we were tired.  The bunks were wet from the leak at the mast, but it didn’t matter – sleep took us over!

We did our watches and by dawn, the wind had died right off and what there was was on the nose with following swells. The shocking thing was the teak. The rain was so heavy in the night, it blasted the Teak Guard finish (a type of varnish product) right off the teak. We applied coats and coats before departing Ensenada, and it now looked like peeling skin. And not just in one place, it was all over. So disappointing.

 

Day 17: 06⁰ 00’ N : 127⁰ 26’ W

Aaah – Beer! We had our first beer since the antibiotics we were taking in Ensenada! Man, was it delicious. It’s the first warm calm day in 17 days.

Sailing downwind in 8-12 knots with the whisker pole holding us wing and wing. Temp28C with calm seas. Heaven.

Had showers using the Ensenada water in the solar shower and have enough for 1 remaining. Bill had a haircut on deck and shaved. We managed sunburn the bits of our bodies that don’t usually see the sun!

We hung out all the wet stuff from the everything-went-wrong night and put the cabin to rights.

We had to reset the battens in the mainsail. One got loose so we tended to all 4.

Day 18: 04⁰ 43’ N : 128⁰ 14’ W

Had 13 knots from the SE with 2’ swells. We had the whisker pole out for a while but had to take it down due to looming squalls on the horizon. One particular squall almost knocked us over. We didn’t think it would be too bad based on the two encountered earlier in the day, but this one had 25 knots in it and we had lots of sail up. Bill had to steer us through it since the Butler couldn’t hold the course. The whole think was over in 15 minutes. We really need a winch for the headsail furler – Bill’s going to pop a vein with the strain! The hardest thing about the squalls is that the wind direction changes so much, it’s like they carry their own wind patterns.

 

Day 19: 03⁰ 28’ N : 128⁰ 29’ W

Winds 6-8 knots from the East and calm seas. We’re becalmed and waiting for wind. It’s 32C/88F inside the boat.

Decided to sort out the food situation in the calm conditions. The cabbages stored under the floor were in sore need of attention as they had gotten wet. Bill wanted to throw them overboard but C said “NO WAY!” Not my precious cabbages!!  We peeled off a few layers and cut the stems and they looked like new – well, almost new. Fresh food is such a luxury. The onions needed some attention too as the sweating cabbages had seeped into the onions. 4 were close to walking the plank, but after opening them they appeared to be fine. A few chunks went to the fish, but the rest made it into the pot. Potatoes and oranges are still fine, apples moved to the fridge, pineapple and watermelon ok but not for too much longer. Eggs ok, root vegetables ok.

Bill managed to sort out the sails so there is less noise in the boat. We’ve also stopped rolling as much as the ocean state has calmed.  New problem – the tricolor mast head light not working so we have to use the anchor light instead. Means we’ll have to climb the mast at the Marquesas.

Day 20: 02⁰ 24’ N : 128⁰ 50’ W

Winds 7 knots from the East, sunny skies and some squalls.

More of the same. We’re wet from all the squalls and bored with taking sails up and down… and drying out the cockpit cushions!

Day 21: 01⁰ 20’ N : 129⁰ 20’ W

Wind 10 knots from the SE. Only managing 4 knots of speed.

Day 22: 00⁰ 12’ S : 130⁰ 08’ W

WE CROSSED THE EQUATOR! We celebrated crossing the line with a bit of white wine for us and a splash for Neptune. We had Jack and Mary’s preserved tuna with olives, tomatoes and crackers. The tuna was great! Even after it upended onto the cockpit sole after a particularly nasty swell.

Decided to continue on our heading of 210⁰ T before changing to 228⁰ tomorrow. Nuku Hiva is about 800 miles away and we have a 1 knot current working in our favor.

Last days were in the doldrums with heavy rain ‘dumpings’. We’ve had to keep the hatches closed which has pushed the inside temperature up to 32C! We go on deck during the rain to cool off!

We believe we passed through the ITCZ early between 7⁰ - 1⁰ N. We had trouble making headway in the light winds. So far we’ve motored about 50 hours, most of that over the past 3 days. Trouble is the boat gets so hot with the engine running. But, we’re making the most of it and continuing to sail when we can even if we can only manage 2-3 knots of speed. Then, at about 16:00 PST, the wind picked up to about 15 knots sailing at a tight reach. All within one degree of the equator. Odd.

 

Day 23: 01⁰ 24’ S : 131⁰ 16’ W

Only 3.5 knots of wind caused us to motor.

We’re getting pretty fed up with all the rain, swells and sloppy seas, not enough wind, etc. Good news is we’re only 674 miles out from Nuku Hiva. Hopefully one more week. Trying to keep each other positive is wearing thin.  Who’s idea was it to do this trip?

 

Day 24: 02⁰ 19’ S : 132⁰ 15’ W

Spirits lifted today. We’re joining forces to overcome the rigors of being at sea for 24 days. It’s just so hard being thrown around the boat for so long. We constantly have to hold ourselves up – even when sitting. Leaning back with legs up just isn’t possible. You constantly have to be braced. We are losing weight from all this! And the muscles, wow!!

 

Day 25: 04⁰ 04’ S : 133⁰ 19’ W

Winds 13 knots from the SE with a 4-6’ swell. Large squall this morning with 25 knots of wind in it. Then no wind, or at least not enough to hold up the main. Means a loud banging boom as the boat rolls. Very noisy and uncomfortable. On a positive note, we’ve had lots of sun so the batteries are at 100%.

Our heading is now directly for the Marquesas at 225⁰ T !

Day 26: 05⁰ 41’ S : 135⁰ 16’ W

We’ve really increased our speed and distance covered per day! We’re consistently maintaining 6.5-7 knots of speed all day and night. Winds are 18-20 knots from the SE with 6-8’ swells.

Saw a huge container ship off our stern. Will start looking around every 15 minutes instead of 20 since we are approaching land. Only 330 miles to go!

 

Day 27: 07⁰ 08’ S : 137⁰ 23’ W

Had another good night of wind. We both even managed to sleep well. Woke to a pretty nice day of 12-15 knots from the SE with a 6’ swell and our destination only 180 miles away. Looks like our ETA will be in the dark so we’ll have to slow down.

 

Day 28: 08⁰ 26’ S : 139⁰ 14’ W

The wind has died to 8 knots so slowing down to make landfall during the day isn’t a problem anymore! The cockpit is full of salt. I regret all my complaints about too much rain earlier, I’d love a nice bit of rain right about now to give Kailani a rinse!

 

ARIVAL TO THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS

We arrived at Nuku Hiva on Sunday 14.4.2014 at 08:30 PST.

Total passage time when counting the hours was 27 days, 22 hours.

We arrived on a quiet misty morning and anchored, had an IPA beer, and went to sleep… TOGETHER!

Heads were very heavy. When we awoke, we prepared to go ashore. Began by inflating the dingy, got the trash together (only two small grocery size bags from the whole 28 days!). When we made it ashore, we kissed the ground. What a relief. The beach has chocolate covered sand, I’ve never seen that before. It’s beautiful. Flowers and tropical plants everywhere. We forgot our shoes so we couldn’t go far on our soft sailing feet. We managed to find a small restaurant and had a dinner that someone else prepared and cleaned up! Then we made our way back to the boat, had a glass of wine and went to bed. We slept for 12 hours! Bliss.