A Good Run

No, not the jogging kind with a sweaty t-shirt and expensive shoes, running down the cement sidewalk in Suburbia somewhere. This was the run from an arbitrary point on yesterday's trail to the point on today's trail, 24 hours later. It was right around 160 nautical miles, which for Rutea is pretty good. The best we've ever done is 180 on our crossing from Cabo San Lucas to Hawaii but the documentation for that record is missing so it probably can't be validated.

We're preparing for our Big Jibe, where we'll change course and make a mad dash (such as it is at 6 knots) across the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), hopefully at it's narrowest part. The ITCZ is known for it's lack of wind and it's convection activity - thunderstorms that can be very intense. We could theoretically do that tomorrow.

This morning as we were having breakfast, Ruthie noticed a ship on the horizon. What was really odd about that is not 10 minutes earlier I had taken a report for all ships in the area and the report showed none. All ships are required to be equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) which transmits the ship's name, course, speed, destination, etc. Recreational vessels aren't required to have them but Rutea does. This ship clearly did not. Upon inspection with the binoculars, it appears to be a 'tramp steamer' like might have been seen in an old black and white movie with Humphrey Bogart in it. There was little paint left as rust was the predominant color. No fishing equipment could be seen. Also, it didn't appear to have a direction. It would float in one position for a while and then move a few miles and sit there for a while. Unusual and a little spooky, too.

It's quite warm and humid here. It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw many years ago that read: "I know Hell is hot but is it humid?"
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At 3/31/2011 5:15 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 09°16.61'N 122°40.09'W

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Be Careful What You Wish For . . .

I had just finished emailing another boat making the Jump, say, "I'm reluctant to hope for more wind but our progress is pretty slow . . . " and not long after that the wind increased to a solid 17 knots with gusts to 23. We had our full mainsail up and the genoa poled out to windward. Corie sat with the camera in her hand, focused on the Speed-Over-Ground gauge, waiting to capture the highest speed. She took several shots, even got one that said 10.2 but when she wasn't looking, I saw 11.1. Which is pretty fast for Rutea, charging ahead into the darkness, her bow rising high as the swell passes under and then plunging almost straight down as she enters a trough. We were rolling pretty badly but grateful to be covering the distance between us and the Marquesas so much more quickly. The pressures on the rigging were very high so at about 0100, we furled the genoa and sailed under main alone for the rest of the night. Our speed dropped substantially but we were still making almost 6 knots. This morning Corie scowled when she saw the genoa still furled so we poled it out once again, even though the wind hasn't changed much. It feels like we're 'Charging the Gnar'.

This morning we past the First 1,000 Miles Covered mark. Everything and everyone is holding up exceedingly well. I feel quite smug that we haven't had to motor at all so far but I should be careful of what I say . .
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At 3/30/2011 6:55 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 10°43.73'N 120°30.21'W

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Salad Nicoise for dinner and fresh-baked scones for breakfast

If you think our lives on board revolve around food, you'd be partly right. But there are so many other things going on simultaneously that food, delicious though it is, often loses priority. At times, email seems to be the most important aspect because not only is it how we hear from friends and relatives (when they write) but also how we get important weather information. Although email is often upstaged by navigation problems; trying to figure out the quickest way to get from here to there with the weather conditions that we have. But, sailing and sail tending will often occupy all our concentration as it's our sole method of propulsion (we carry very little fuel for the distance we're covering). Regardless, the Salad Nicoise was delicious as were the scones.

The winds are much lighter than we'd like. It takes a fair amount of wind pressure to move a 40,000-pound boat through the water at any decent speed. It's a good thing that we've got all the time in the world! Other than the light winds, the temperatures are warm (the water is over 80 degrees but we haven't been swimming yet) and the skies are partly cloudy. The ocean water is a dark blue with about a six-foot swell that can sometimes roll Rutea pretty well.

I've finally got our new autopilot figured out and it's working great, even if it does consume a lot of power. It's a lot more complex than our old one but it has some great features. All the rest of Rutea's systems are working as they should. After spending so many years of coastal cruising, I'm finding this a real treat to be really sailing - without an engine - for over a week now. This is a dream-come-true for me.

I hope you are all doing great.
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At 3/29/2011 5:13 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 12°20.05'N 118°13.92'W

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Imagine a World....

Where you move constantly, even trying to sit still! While, sitting, standing, or walking you tai-chi from side to side constantly trying to maintain balance. It's nearly impossible to hold something with two hands because you almost always need one hand to hang on to something in order not to topple over! Now imagine being in your kitchen trying to cook and listening to all of your dishes in your cupboard clink back and forth! Or, the cans in your pantry clanging into each other! Or, opening your refrigerator door and having everything spill out! Now imagine cooking on your gimbled stove, but as the stove gimbles, the contents of your pan slide (or slosh) from side to side! Or slide or slosh over the side... (Lesson- always use a pan or pot much larger than you think you need!) Now it's time do do dishes! Of course the water in your sink is also sloshing from side to side but also, as you look out of your window your view is first of all blue water (or in your case perhaps green grass and rose bushes) and a second later your view is all of blue sky and clouds! Then, you tai-chi your way back to your cabin where you are going to take a nap and as soon as you lie down, there is an obnoxious clanking of something rolling around that will just not let you sleep! So off you go on a hunt to find the obstreperous noise and, it could be anywhere within 48 feet- inside or out!

The funny thing is that this is all becoming very normal - albeit still comical- but we are maneuvering around quite well! The really funny thing is that it is now hard to imagine how we are ever going to get our 'land legs' back again and walk perfectly upright without falling about! Or, sleep through an entire night! Or live without the noise of something rolling, clanking or being wind-whipped about!

Now why would anyone in their right mind want to live like this.... you might ask? Well, I have been asking the same question of my self quite a bit lately! Hopefully it is a means to an end- the end being the Paradise of the South Pacific where you anchor in tranquil coves off of white sand beaches and get to sleep in your own bed each night! Or maybe I got caught up in someone else's 37 year old dream of sailing to the South Pacific and am now dreaming the same dream! Or maybe I just decided to get adventurous in my middle age! Well, however I got here- it is an adventure and I can't think of any other way to end this except for saying- it's too late to turn back now!

R of Rutea
13.19.54
116.38.52
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At 3/28/2011 5:13 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 13°36.55'N 116°10.07'W

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Our At-Sea Routine

There are several specific tasks that our days center around. The first and foremost is maintain a watch schedule. I usually take the first watch at 2100 and get off at 0000. Corie comes on then and gets Ruthie up at 0300 and then I come back on at 0600. We don't keep a scheduled watch during the day - it seems that if anything bad is going to happen, it happens at night. Meals are the next specific task but those we're still kind of ad libbing - we don't have a schedule with who does what but our meals have all been good and we have tons of snack food on board. Keeping the batteries charged is very important and it's a little disappointing in how much energy we use. We're having the run the generator longer and longer but there's not much we can do about it. The solar panels just don't put out enough to be a significant source of energy. The final task is emailing - we send a daily email to our weather router, one to our blog and one to request weather information. We're so grateful that we got the Iridium phone as our emails go out and come in (assuming people write us, ahem) very quickly. I'm just afraid that the bill for this speedy convenience is going to be astronomical.

We've been making good time up to now. The winds have gotten lighter and that means we go slower but still, the days pass quickly.

We send our warmest regards to all.
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At 3/27/2011 4:54 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 14°42.27'N 114°09.86'W

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What a difference a day makes!

Finally got my sea legs and can now spend time down below in the cabin or playing Scrabble! The ocean water is a deep azure blue and the moon has been brilliant company each night! The winds have calmed down (as have the seas) so of course, we are not making the great time we did when we started off. However, the ride is very comfortable and we were able to take hot showers this morning! We are having a beautiful wing on wing sail this afternoon and will probably hold this sail plan through the night. Each morning when we come out on deck there are flying fish all over the place! Good thing we have an enclosure as it would be a shock to be hit in the head by one while on night watch! Only 2171 miles to go!

R of Rutea
15.50 North
112.57 West
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At 3/26/2011 9:08 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 15°59.43'N 112°45.12'W

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Lightest Winds So Far

We got overcast conditions and a light breeze from the NNE and our course is almost dead down wind - one of our least favorite points of sail. We've come up on the course about 30 degrees to a broad reach but we're struggling to make 5.5 knots. Earlier in the day we tried polling out the genoa but that was just too slow. It did, though, give us a good opportunity to take showers as the boat was fairly level (this morning Ruthie looked at Corie and me and said, "You guys stink." - we got the subtle hint!).

Things continue to work well though I've just discovered an error in my engineering of the output of the solar panels and the diesel generator. I'll have to give it some thought but, in a worse-case scenario, we just run the genset at night.

There are now 12 boats in the fleet, two having arrived in the Marquesas yesterday. On the other hand, we know of three different boats that were supposed to leave Mexico today. It's going to make for a busy radio Net!

We think of all of you fondly.
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At 3/26/2011 9:00 PM (utc) Rutea's position was 15°59.62'N 112°44.45'W

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