_________________Sailing LandFall

Wednesday 4/3/13    15:00
18 10.931 S
95 10.116 W
http://maps.google.com/?z=4&t=k&q=loc:18 10.931S 95 10.116W

Finally after two weeks of rolling in eight to ten foot following seas it has let up a little.  I am sure that if it goes totally dead I will long for the high winds again.  We are sailing along on course at about five knots with only seven to eight knots of apparent wind.  It is surprising that a person can sleep when your body is rolling side to side and the boat is creaking and moaning.  Just imagine taking your kitchen and tipping it thirty degrees one way and then slamming it thirty degrees the other. Stuff is always banging and clanging around.  There is always that one can or jar that clinks up against a cabinet.  Then when you climb out of your bed it quits then just as you fall asleep it starts again, it can drive you totally nuts.
We have developed a way to hang the generator from the boom so it is gimbaled and does not tip over, which it did when we were hit by a particularly large wave.  The thing kept running lying on its side as I scrambled up to shut it down.  The only thing that happened is oil ran into the air cleaner and chocked of the motor.  When I got it started again it started smoking like crazy until it burned the oil out of it.  Because the auto pilot has to work so hard to keep us on course in the rolling seas we seem to have to run the generator at least twice a day to charge the battery. Without the generator we would have to take turns steering the boat and that would have been a challenging sail for the next 2 weeks. Every day there is something to fix.
Yesterday we saw a pod of False killer whales (that’s their real name according to our Nature book). They are about 12 feet long. They hung around the boat for quite a while swimming alongside and then diving under the boat. It is always amazing to see them up close in the wild. There are also schools of flying fish that seem to all take off in unison and fly about 5 feet. Every morning we find a few on deck.
I am surprised just how much easier it is with another person on the boat.  I actually get a chance to sleep five or six hours at a time.  And having someone to talk to makes a big difference and Barb does not let me forget to eat.

Tuesday 4/2/13    12:00
18 26.344 S
92 16.954 W
http://maps.google.com/?z=4&t=k&q=loc:18 26.344S 92 16.954W

Well our latest dilemma seems to be bed bugs.  They must have come aboard when we were stocking the boat in Puerto Montt.  It is a little hard to do much about them when you are in eight to ten foot seas.  We have bagged up most of our bedding and are boiling the last remaining sheets and vacuuming the cushions.  We will keep this up for a while.  So if anyone was wondering if Barb was getting lonely out here for so long, it is not a problem she has lots of new friends that really love to sleep with her. I tell her that those are just little love nibbles from her new friends but she does not see the humor in that.
The sailing here is really different than sailing against the wind in the Atlantic.  It is all down wind.  Most of the time we are using just the big jib poled out.  We are faster with that then using the main and the big jib because the main shelters the jib too much.  The last few days we have been doing over 150 miles a day which is really great for this old boat.  It is quite the ride though, in these eight to ten foot seas.  The worst part is the frequency of the waves is very short, so the boat is really fishtailing around as the waves shove the stern this way and that.  The autopilot is constantly fighting to keep up. The feeling of speed is almost scary at night when you are surfing down the waves at over eight knots with the glowing phosphorescent foam all around the boat. Yesterday I was on the bow moving the pole from one tack to the other and Barb was in the cockpit pulling sheets when a wave hit the rear starboard quarter dumping six inches of water into the cockpit and throwing me against the life lines.  So staying in the cockpit isn’t always the driest place to be.  The lack of sleep is very wearing, it makes doing anything at all a chore.  Just moving around the boat is a lot of work.  Doing dishes is a two person job, because you can’t set anything down or it ends up flying across the cabin.  So one person washes the other has to dry and stow them away.
20 days done at least 20 to go, half way, if the wind holds.

Friday 3/29/13 23:00
20 28.568 S
83 32.059 W
http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:20 28.568S 83 32.059W

Heading West

We finally made the turn and are now heading West versus North and so we are getting further and further away from the South American coastline. The weather is getting warmer although for the last few days it has been mainly cloudy. I am already in shorts and it will probably take Dennis another week or so before he is in shorts. The last couple of days the wind has settled into a pattern. In the mornings there is a nice breeze but the waves are fairly large so the boat rolls quite a bit. By the afternoon the waves and the wind settles and we can have a nice afternoon in the cockpit. By evening the wind start to pick up and we start experiencing a nice fast sail. From 20:00 to midnight the wind gusts and can go from 10 to 25 knots in a matter of seconds. I am starting to get used to this and not get the feeling of terror as the boat heels 30 degrees. Yesterday our keyboard went flying during one of the wind gusts but it still works!!
Based on our average boat speed for the last couple of days we should be arriving in the Marquesa Islands in about 4 weeks or 28 days.
We are now trolling a new lure and fishing line but still no fish. I was hoping to have fresh fish for Good Friday. Oh well, I do have some chocolate for Easter Sunday!!

Wednesday 3/27/13 05:00
24 01.260 S
79 49.436 W
http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:24 01.260S 79 49.436W

A day of Sailing

Yesterday we had a day of sailing. We had the Spinnaker up and it was a quiet sail. I was sitting in the cockpit enjoying my morning cup of coffee when suddenly the wind gusted from 10 knots to 20 in a matter of seconds. I did not see it coming. Dennis was trying to get some sleep and it’s the fastest time I saw him scramble to the cockpit. He was there within 2 seconds (in his underwear). We decided to bring down the spinnaker and put up the main with the 160. From there the weather starting to turn and there were grey clouds all around and before long it was misty rain. The wind gusts became more frequent so we changed the 160 to the Yankee and before long we had a reef put in the main. I have to say that sailing with the spinnaker is an easy sail but 20 to 25 knot winds and sailing with the main is much more exhilarating.
We still have no fish but now we have quite a few birds diving for our bait. One bird actually caught it and he released it pretty quick. Within 5 minutes he was back ready to do another dive. We pulled the line in as a sea bird is not on the menu, for now anyway.
We are doing great with our food supply. We figured we have another 2 weeks with fresh vegetables and bread and after that it’s homemade bread and canned goods plus rice and beans, although we do have plenty of cabbage, onion and potatoes. We just have to be creative with the one pot meals!!

Sunday  3/24/13    07:00
30 04.734 S
79 10.486 W
 http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:30 04.734S 79 10.486W

Fabulous spinnaker run

We set the spinnaker yesterday around 2:00 in the afternoon and ran it until the wind picked up around 1:00 this morning.  It is unbelievable to be sailing under spinnaker at night with the moon making the water sparkle and the spinnaker light up like a bright ball.  I had to wake Barb up to get it down which is kind of a challenge in the dark.  We have been dragging a lure through the water now for a week and have not caught anything at all.  We even tried putting a squid, that had washed on to the deck last night, on a line, what a mess, I got the ink all over and boy does it stink.  Everyone should get to have all this fun.

Saturday  3/23/13    24:00
30 41.461
078 57.307
 http://maps.google.com/?z=7&t=k&q=loc:30 40.421S 78 57.673W

Robinson Crusoe Island

I had wanted to send an update recapping our day on Robinson Crusoe Island but the boat was rolling too much and it was hard to sit and type anything. It was also the first time on our trip that I have felt a little queasy so that meant spending most of the day in the cockpit. Today we rolled out the spinnaker, lowered the main and it has been a beautiful, smooth sail.
The Island’s claim to fame is Scotsman Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years marooned on the island after requesting to be put ashore. He had had a dispute with the captain of the privateer Cinque Ports in 1704 over the seaworthiness
of the vessel (the ship was rotting). Abandonment was tantamount to a death sentence for most castaways, who soon starved
or shot themselves, but Selkirk adapted to his new home and endured, despite his desperate isolation.
One could describe the town as a fishing village, down to the lobster catchers in knitted caps, and dusty stores that run out of supplies before the provisions ship arrives. The supply ship was there while we were there so the town was bustling as the slow unloading process took place and construction for repair of the damage from the tsunami was at a peak.
We decided to do the SALSIPUEDES hike which took us to the top of La P�lvora. The trail zigzagged 45 degrees uphill through eucalyptus groves, ferns as high as 10 feet and thickets of coniferous trees to reach the ridge Salsipuedes, which translates to ‘Leave if you can.’ Dennis of course would not stop until the trail ended. If he had had a machete he would have continued into the thicket to the next crest. We could have become Robinson Crusoe part II. We had our usual Tomato sandwich lunch at the top while we savored the view and took lots of pictures. Our descent was much quicker than the ascent but we felt the pain on our legs. After 5 hours of hiking we were looking forward to a beer and a home cooked meal at a local restaurant. Much to our disappointment all restaurants were closed probably due to the fact that the supply ship had been unloaded and had left port. The little town had gone back to sleep!! We settled on BBQ hot dogs cooked by Chef Dennis and a nice bottle of wine. Oh, and the hot dogs we bought in the local store was sold by the hot dog. When we indicated we wanted the Hot Dog pack sitting in the fridge display case she asked ‘How many did we want?’ I understood the Spanish and much to our surprise she opened the pack and began counting out the hot dogs and weighed them and placed them, individually, in a bag for us.
Robinson Crusoe was a great little 2 day detour before we began our 35 day sail!

The part Barb forgot to mention:
The hike was up the side of a very steep mountain often we were on a 45 degree incline and that was going up the switch backs.  Brenda you can probably relate to how I encouraged Barb to keep going even when her caves were aching only this hike was much steeper and longer.  The views were truly spectacular from the top.  Someday when we have internet again we will put pictures up.  As far as the town goes it was pretty much totally destroyed three years ago in the tsunami.  It is being rebuilt with lots of government money.  A lot of it not making any sense at all, but to get money it has to be built it government standards, what a waste.  Once all the workers leave it will return to a poor little fishing village whit a few tourists coming to visit.

And they’re off! Landfall sailed on March 13, 2013. Destination is the Marquesas Islands via Robinson Crusoe Island. Estimated time enroute is 30-40 days.

Check back here for occasional position updates.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Toronto Canada

Here I sit in the Toronto airport waiting for a flight to take me back to Chile.  The trip back to Chile should not be to bad it will only be two days.  Unlike the trip from Chile to St. John’s which took over four days.  I ended up staying in Toronto for two days because of fog in St John’s.  I went to St. johns to do a few things to Barbs house that the buyer wanted done before closing.  I was able to get all the repairs done to the house so that the buyers could do an inspection on Wednesday.  That gave me Thursday to run around St John’s and do a little shopping for Barb.

Barb just called me and told me that the freezer has stopped working.  Great, now when I get to the boat tomorrow night I will have to get right to work so we don’t lose all the meat that is in the freezer.  Boats are really constant work.  My work is never done.  I never lack things to do that is for sure.  I am still hoping that we will be able to leave on Wednesday, but we will be very busy.  Everything takes way longer here, not just because we are always waiting for the bus.  For example just before I left we were standing in the line to buy some cheese, when we got to the counter the guy waved us off pointing to his lunch that had just been brought to him.  He pushed us out of the way and shut the doors and went inside, leaving a line of three or four customers to wonder when he would open again.  We came back an hour later and he was still not open.  Customer relations are not their strong suite.  This is not an isolated case but is the norm here.  They can have hours posted on the door but that does not really mean much either.  One has to learn to be very patient, but it is very trying.  So I guess we leave when we leave.