Day 15 - FInally, we tack!

Friday evening
Only 677 nm to San Francisco 1608 nm from Oahu

So, after a bit over 2 weeks on starboard tack, today we finally switched over to port. Last night and this morning the water was as smooth as glass with no wind at all, but sometime in the morning it filled in from the north and we brought the jib out, and then later on, the spinnaker. Finally we thought we were done with the Pacific High and on our way for a good run directly to the Golden Gate.

But as the day progressed it was not to be. The wind gradually shifter more and more to the northeast. We were pushed further and further south from our course to San Francisco. Eventually we decided it was time to take down the spinnaker so we could sail closer into the wind, and in the process we managed to rip it. So we are most likely done with spinnaker sailing for this trip. Too bad because if the weather forecast is correct it would have been ideal sailing.

Also discovered that out supply of toilet paper got wet. This could have been a catastrophe, but luckily Adrien had a separate stash in his cabin and we will likely make it the rest of the trip without need to resort to other materials.

Lots of ships around today. Sometimes we had 3 on the radar screen at a time. Gladly they all gave us lots of room, never coming closer than 3-4 miles.

Dinner is done, Lance is on watch, Pink Floyd is on the stereo, and I'm going to try to get a bit of sleep before my watch.

More tomorrow.

-steve

Position Report 31-JUL-2010 0637Z
40 deg 52.9 N Lat
136 deg 30.09 W Long
Course 109T speed 6.7 knots
Wind 8.5 knots from NE
Seas about 1-2 feet from N. Sea temp 58.3F
Air 70F 64% humidity 1032 mb pressure

A nautical maneuver (lance)

Today was a huge milestone for the Three Musketeers on L'eau Life. As we motored through the center of the Pacific high the wind went to dead calm and the seas became glassy - and after several hours the wind filled again, but from the port side. Usually tacking involves sails flapping and lurching around a bit, but this time it just sort of happened with no fanfare. We had been 14 days on starboard; the longest single tack I've ever been on. We pointed anywhere from 340 to 110 degrees at different times, following the big high.

The big difference is that when we get rolling the boat will heel to the other side. Everything that's been stacked to the left will fall over, and the hand and foot holds we've gotten used to will be subtly different. I've been sleeping against a lee cloth and Steve has been rolled against a wall, but now the shoe will be on the other foot

Now it's more motor sailing on port until the wind picks up, maybe staying on this tack all the way to the Golden Gate. 782nm to get there.

Today we answered the question, "Can there be too much Tijuana Brass?" The answer seems to be "16 greatest hits in a row is maybe 8 too many." Steve couldn't take the theme songs to both The Dating and Newlywed Games, even if it meant a new washer/dryer after a romantic chaperoned weekend in Mazatlan.

Thursday Report

DAY 14 THU 0729 8PM HAWAII TIME
POSITION: 41-47N, 139-42W, CSE: 110DEG T, SPEED: 6.5 KNOTS...MOTORSAILING!
WELL, THE BAROMETER IS 1032, WHICH MEANS WE ARE DEAD CENTER OF THE HIGH
PRESSURE SYSTEM AND MAYBE A BIT BEYOND IT SINCE THE WIND HAS SHIFTED TO THE
PORT SIDE OF THE BOAT. THE CREW HAS BEEN BUSY GETTING THE DECK AND COCKPIT
READY FOR THE UPCOMING PORT TACK. NOW ALL WE NEED IS WIND. THERE IS A SLIGHT
BREATH OF IT FROM THE NORTH, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO FILL THE SAILS...MAYBE TOMORROW
OR THE NEXT DAY.
ONLY ABOUT 820NM FROM THE GOLDEN GATE NOW. WE'RE LIKE LITTLE KIDS IN
ANTICIPATION OF ARRIVAL. THE CREW'S MIND'S ARE BEGINNING TO DRIFT A LITTLE
THOUGH. STEVE HAS LEFT THE HEAD FLUSH KNOB IN THE WRONG POSITION...TWICE, THUS
ALLOWING THE BOWEL TO FILL TO THE BRIM WITH SEA WATER. LANCE FORGOT TO SHUT THE
WATER VALVE COMPLETELY OFF IN THE SHOWER, THUS LOOSING SOME FRESH WATER. SO
ONE'S LETTIN' SEAWATER IN THE OTHER FRESH WATER OUT...A TERRIBLE COMBO ON A
BOAT. THE PUNISHMENTS HOWEVER MUST BE HARSH BUT WELL THOUGHT OUT. IF I FORBID
STEVE FROM GOING ALTOGETHER, WE RUN THE RISK OF GASEOUS LEAKAGE WHICH WOULD
PUNISH US ALL...SO...I'M GIVING HIM A BUCKET TO GO IN. FOR LANCE, NO MORE
SHOWERS WOULD MEAN US SUFFERING WITH THE RIPE ODOR HE MAY EXUDE...SO...HE WILL
HAVE TO HAND WASH WITH SEA WATER FROM THE HEAD AND SUFFER WITH SALT WATER
SORES. ALL OF ITS A SMELLY AFFAIR INDEED. AS FOR ME, I HAVE DONE NO WRONG AND
AM NOT SUBJECT TO PUNISHMENT ANYWAY. PAULA'S NOT ON BOARD.
BACK TO MY WATCH,
THE SKIPPER

Day 14 - Less than 1000 miles to go

Thursday 12:13pm Hawaii time
878 nm to San Francisco 1519 nm from Oahu

Wednesday was another lazy day headed across the really wide part of the Pacific High. Wind was mixed. Light much of the time, sometimes we motored, sometimes we had a good breeze pushing us along at 7 knots. Some of everything. Still warm weather during the days and cool enough for a jacket at night.

Hamburgers for dinner. Yum.

Thursday is more of the same. Right now we are motoring along at about 6 knots with almost no wind. Weather forecast maps from yesterday says we should find the northerly winds that will blow us to San Francisco in about 18 more hours. Have to still get another update today to see if that still holds. Forecasts are pretty flaky.

Ramen noodles for lunch. Very salty, but good. Surprised this is the first time we are having them.

-steve

Position report 29-JUL-2010 2221Z
41 deg 59.591 N
140 deg 43.801 W
speed 6 knots course 102 deg true
wind SSW at 5 knots seas 2 feet from N water temp 63.5F
Air 80F 52% humidity 1032 mb pressure

Wed, 7/28 Report

DAY 13 WED 0728 7:30PM HAWAII TIME
POSITION: 41-56'N, 142-56'W, CSE:082, SPD: 6.4KNOTS MOTOR SAILING.
MAJOR MILESTONE: LESS THAN 1000 MILES TO GO. YUP WE JUST DROPPED A WHOLE DIGIT
OFF THE DISTANCE TO GO. THINKING OF GOLF AND TENNIS NOW...WHICH IS PROBABLY A
LITTLE PREMATURE.
WE ARE HEADING STRAIGHT FOR THE CENTER OF THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM. WE ARE
SURROUNDED BY CLOUDS, THE NIGHTS ARE GETTING COOLER, AND WE HAVE A SEVERE LACK
OF WIND. WE TURN THE MOTOR OFF AND ON AS THE WIND PICKS UP THEN DROPS OFF. IT
WILL BE THIS WAY FOR THE NEXT 2-3 DAYS, THEN WE WILL HAVE TO TACK, WHICH WILL
BE THE FIRST TIME IN THE ENTIRE PASSAGE SO FAR. YUP, AMAZINGLY, THE SAILS HAVE
BEEN OUT TO PORT [WHICH MEANS A STARBOARD TACK] THE WHOLE TIME. THIS MEANS
L'EAU LIFE HAS BEEN TILTING TO THE LEFT THAT WHOLE TIME AS WELL. OUR BEDS ARE
SETUP WITH LEE CLOTHES TO KEEP US FROM FALLING OUT AND WE STORE THINGS IN SUCH
A MANNER AS THEY WILL STAY PUT, SUCH AS COMPUTERS BOOKS, DRYING DISHES. WELL,
WHEN WE TACK, LOOK OUT. THERE WILL BE STUFF WE FORGOT TO RELOCATE THAT WILL GO
FLYING, WE WILL RISK FALLING OUT OF BED, ETC. CAN'T WAIT!!!

WHISPERED BOAT CONVERSATIONS: MAINSAIL [MS] TO NEW JIB [NJ]
NJ: HEY, WHAT'S HAPPENING OLD TIMER, THINGS FEEL DIFFERENT.
MS: NUMB NUTS JUST TURNED ON THE MOTOR
NJ: NUMB NUTS ???
MS: THE CAPTAIN AKA SKIPPER, OR NUMB NUTS
NJ: WHY'D HE TURN THE MOTOR ON FOR?
MS: WE'RE NOT MOVING THE BOAT FAST ENOUGH
NJ: IS HE IN A RUSH? IF HE FELL OFF COURSE A LITTLE WE COULD GO FASTER.
MS: HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO THAT WAY. HE'S VERY PICKY
NJ: NUMB NUTS
MS: NOW YA KNOW WHAT I PUT UP WITH ALL THESE YEARS!!!

SEE WHAT DIESEL FUMES DO TO YA,
ADRIEN

Day 12

Tuesday evening
1110 nm to San Francisco, 1379 nm from Oahu

Another lazy day. Slept a lot since dinner last night. Good to catch up as for a few nights I was really getting behind in the sleep department. But now I feel all caught up.

It seems we played the game with the Pacific High the best we could and still we are ending up sailing right through the middle of it. It has parked itself firmly, directly between us and the northerly winds we hope to find closer to the coast. We expect to have another few days of light winds before we get there. Today we had to do a few hours of motoring, but most of the day we have been sailing close hauled (as close to sailing into the wind as you can go) at between 5 and 6 knots. Luckily the sea is pretty smooth so we aren't pounding into big waves. A bit more wind would be nice, but we have what we have.

-steve

Tuesday, 7/27 Report

DAY 12 TUESDAY 0727 0504Z [Z STANDS FOR ZULU WHICH IS UNIVERSAL TIME, OR THE
OLD GREENWICH MEAN TIME. ALL OUR RADIO SCHEDULES AND WEATHER INFO IS IN ZULU
TIME. SHIP TIME IS HAWAII TIME, THEN THERE'S PST, ALL OF WHICH WE ATTEMPT TO
KEEP STRAIGHT...SOMETIMES EVEN SUCCESSFULLY]
POSITION:41-54N, 146-08W, CSE:082T, SPD:6.1KNOTS
OK, A LITTLE CLARIFICATION ON OUR "HALF WAY PARTY". FIRST OF ALL, YOU ALWAYS
HAVE TO HAVE A HALFWAY PARTY ON A PASSAGE...IT'S THE LAW. COMPUTING THIS BY
MILES TRAVELED IS IMPOSSIBLE SINCE WE ONLY KNOW HOW MANY MILES WE'VE TRAVELLED,
AND NO IDEA HOW MANY MILES ARE LEFT TO SAIL WITH WIND CHANGES AND ALL. SO,
USING THE GPS METHOD WE CAN DETERMINE THAT WE ARE AS FAR AWAY FROM HAWAII AS WE
ARE FROM SAN FRANCISCO...OR HALF WAY. IF YOU HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING US ON THE MAP,
YOU WILL HAVE NOTICED THAT WE SAILED NORTH AND EVEN A LITTLE BIT WEST AT THE
START...NOT POINTING AT ALL IN THE DIRECTION OF HOME. SO, IT TOOK US 12 DAYS TO
GET WHERE WE ARE, BUT ONLY HAVE 7 OR 8 DAYS TO GO.

RIGHT NOW WE ARE SAILING WITH AN EVENING BREEZE, BUT EARLIER HAD TO HAVE THE
MAIN ENGINE ON FOR ALMOST 22 HOURS. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, THE CREW GETS GOOFY,
SLEEPS A LOT AND WHEN NOT SLEEPING, STUFFING OUR FACES WITH NUTS, CHOCOLATE,
ORANGES AND VARIOUS OTHER SNACKS. IT'S BEEN VERY NICE WEATHER SO WE CAN FIND
OURSELVES ALL IN THE COCKPIT IN VARIOUS LOUNGY POSITIONS SAYING 'WHO'S ON
WATCH?' ME? OK...ZZZZZZZZ! THEN WE GET MORE SNACKS, CHANGE LOUNGY POSITIONS,
AND START OVER AGAIN.
WE WILL DEFINITELY BE MOTORING A LOT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS WE PASS STRAIGHT
THROUGH THE PACIFIC HIGH WHICH HAS NO WIND. ONCE WE PUNCH THROUGH THE OTHER
SIDE, WE ARE EXPECTING A FAST APPROACH TO THE GOLDEN GATE. ZZZOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
OTHERWISE, AN UNEVENTFUL DAY...NOW THE LAST TIME I SAID THAT ALL HELL BROKE
LOOSE...WE'LL SEE!!!
ADRIEN

Monday, 7/26 Report

DAY 11 MONDAY 0726 TIME 22:12 PST
POSITION: 41-54N, 149-04W, CSE: 090T, SPEED: 7KNOTS MOTOR SAILING
WELL WE RAN INTO THE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM TODAY...DECREASING WINDS...MOTORING
WITH SAILS UP. WE HAD OUR HALF WAY CELEBRATION PARTY TODAY. THE BOYS HAD A
BEER, I HAD A COKE, TOOK A GROUP PICTURE, HUGGED, CRIED, LAUGHED. IT WAS ALL
OVER IN 5 MINUTES...BACK TO WHATEVER WE WERE DOING. STEVE WAS BUSY DRYING THE
CUSHIONS IN THE COCKPIT [NOT SURE WHY, THEY WEREN'T WET], LANCE WENT BACK TO
WHISPERING TO THE RADAR AND HIMSELF, AND ME BACK TO THE ENGINE ROOM TO DEAL
WITH YESTERDAY'S EXPLOSION. AS YOU MAY REMEMBER FROM YESTERDAY'S REPORT, I WAS
OFF TO CHARGE BATTERIES AND MAKE WATER. I BEGAN THE WATER MAKING PROCESS WHICH
INCLUDES 7 STEPS. 1-DC CONTROL POWER ON. 2-TURN AC BREAKERS ON FOR PRE-FILTER
PUMP AND HIGH PRESSURE PUMP. 3-START PUMPS, 4-INCREASE PRESSURE TO
650PSI...SLOWLY. 5-DIVERT TO TEST VALVE. 6-TEST PRODUCT [THAT WOULD BE THE
WATER AND WE'RE LOOKING FOR SALINITY THAT IS AROUND 400PPM OR LESS] 7-DIVERT TO
TANK...THEN BANG AND I MEAN BANG [AND YES I ALMOST RELIEVED MYSELF ONCE AGAIN],
I THOUGHT IT WAS GUNFIRE [THERE ARE NO GUNS ON BOARD...TO MY KNOWLEDGE] I FELT
BLOOD SPLATTER, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE WATER SPLATTER. UNFORTUNATELY [WRONG
WORD] THE ENTIRE TOP OF THE PRE-FILTER CANISTER BLEW UP...BANG. CRAP. I SHUT
EVERYTHING DOWN, CLOSED THE INTAKE THRU HULL, CUSSED A TAD, THEN WENT TO BED
AND HAD NIGHTMARES ABOUT THIS TIME I WAS IN ...OH NEVER MIND! WHEN I AWOKE I
HAD FIGURED OUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. I HAD ACCIDENTALY THROWN THE HIGH PRESSURE
PUMP BREAKER OFF WHEN DIVERTING TO TANK. [MORE SIMPLY SAID I HALF UN-2'D THE
BITCH WHEN ATTEMPTING TO 7...ARE YA WITH ME HERE???] OF COURSE THE PRE-FILTER
PUMP KEPT PUMPING WITH NOWHERE FOR THE WATER TO GO...KA-FRIGGIN-BOOM. THE FIX
WAS TO COMPLETELY BYPASS THE PRE-FILTER [WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' FILTER...THE
WATER'S RATHER CLEAN IN THE OCEAN HERE],GANG THE 2 BREAKERS TOGETHER SO IF ONE
GOES OFF THEY BOTH GO OFF AND VOILA...WE NOW HAVE A FULL TANK OF WATER AND I
TOOK A SHOWER TO BOOT AND NOW I AM SHINY AND PRETTY...PRETTY TIRED
ACTUALLY...SEE YA TOMORROW..HOPEFULLY!!!
ADRIEN

Just a reminder, here's the link to see L'eau Life & crew's position
http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/tracker.php?ident=KF6YNW. If you hit the minus
sign about 4 times you can see their whole coarse in relation to the coast. It's
very cool.
Also, here's another site you can check out for some of the crew's points of
view about the trip. http://leau-life.blogspot.com/, You can skip through
Adrien's log and check out what Steve & Lance have to say and compare stories.
Have a great day.
Paula

Day 11

8:22pm Hawaii (and L'eau Life) time
1261 nm from San Francisco
1311 nm from Oahu

So we finally passed the half way point. We are now closer to San Francisco than we are to Hawaii. Celebrated by drinking the last 2 beers on the boat.

Sailed with the jib in the morning, the spinnaker in the afternoon, and then finally, the wind died and we had to start the engine and begin to motor across the Pacific High. Should only take a day, maybe 2 before the wind fills in again on the other side. It will be good when the noise of the engine goes away.

Adrien fixed the water maker. Seems a filter exploded, so he needed to do a bit of plumbing to bypass it. But the tanks are full again, so showers are on again!

Finished the last of our fresh lettuce at dinner tonight so no more green salads until we get to SF. Got to think of more interesting things to do with what ingredients we have left. I'm starting to get bored with the food. We will see what we can come up with.

Beautiful sunset and moonrise.

-steve

Position Report 27-JUL-2010 0630Z
41 deg 54.317 N 149 deg 20.708 W
Course 91 deg speed 6.3 knots
Wind 5 knots from the SE
Seas 2 feet sea water temp 64.2F
Air 76F 65% hunmidity 1025 mb

Distance (lance)

7/27 0430Z 41.54N, 149.36W - 90T@6kts (motor sailing). No ships to report. Not sure what beans are in the pot. Adrien thinks he knows where the fire extinguisher pin is - mystery solved.

There's an old puzzler for kids that goes, "How far can a dog run into the woods?" The pat answer is "Halfway, after that it's running out of the woods." Today we met Steve's definition of halfway, where the distance from Hawaii equals the distance to San Francisco - about 1320nm to either. (A piece of the Alaska peninsula is only 900nm distant, but Kodiak isn't on the cruise itinerary according to the director.)

It was a huge celebration for the Three Quarks (for Muster Mark). Party hats, a live band, several kegs, the works. Hula girls did the limbo. The police broke it up about 2am 'cause the neighbors complained about the noise. Then Steve and I finished the two beers we had on board (Adrien shot-gunned a Coca Cola) and went back to the important tasks of the day, like drying the cushions. Steve did a great job and they're really, really dry, especially the ones he put in the sun. Adrien performed additional water maker surgery removing its appendix and bypassing the spleen. He just took a shower (thank god) so it must have been successful. The patient is still producing half a gallon a minute with salt at only 300ppm; very drinkable.

Distance is measured out here in Nautical Miles which are defined more-or-less as follows - at the equator there are 360 degrees around the earth. You start at Greenwich, England (five or six stops on the DLR from Canary Wharf) and can go 180 degrees of "longitude" east or west. Each degree is split up into 60 "minutes", each is a nautical mile. Same thing north and south of the equator, except north and south are "latitude". Lines of latitude are parallel so each degree is always 60nm apart, but longitude gets closer as one approaches the poles, so there's a correction factor depending on how far you are from the equator - here it's about .75. So we're at 150W and need to get to 140W before there's good sailing wind. This is 10 degrees, or .75x600 = 450nm. I'm spending a lot of time multiplying by 60 and .75 in my head right now. Stretching muscles I haven't used since Mitch Kapor came up with VisiCalc (precursor to Excel for you youngsters). (Seventeen years of math and I can still add - boy, they try to beat that out of you once you're in college.) On a related note, time is measured in Zulu, which is also known as Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) which is darn close to Greenwich time (GMT) except for some leap seconds. I have lots of time to think about things like this. And we're only half way.

Steve worked out this analogy: Hawaii to San Francisco is similar in distance and direction to Los Angeles to Chicago. So imagine that trip, but because of construction you go via Portland or Seattle - and never exceed 10mph. Cyclists competing in RAAM make better progress.

The sailing this morning was glorious. Light favorable breeze, calm seas, and wonderful sunshine. Then we got close enough to the center of Pacific High to lose useful wind. In the old days this meant throwing the livestock overboard, but in this modern age of steam (or diesel) you turn the key and just thrum along. The noise should last for three days when we'll pick up favorable northerlies and sail home. We're now following the great circle route, the shortest path to our next beer. That's a GREAT circle worth following.

Good thing we've discussed the weather 'cause it's too loud for anything deep or meaningful unless you like conversations that go mostly, Steve: "Huh? (he's slightly deaf), Adrien: "What?" Steve: "What?", Adrien: "Eh?" I miss most of the scintillating debate because I'm asleep all the time, usually with headphones on. Or so I'm told.

I really miss the spinnaker.