Cruisers' Logs
These are logs from different members' cruising experiences from around the world. We hope you enjoy their stories.
Cruising Reports
From S/V Julia Max
The crossing from Suva, Fiji to Opua, New Zealand took nine days. We had enlisted Commander's Weather to give us a go/no-go recommendation plus an eight day forecast. Their weather report includes a general interpretation of the weather that discusses the fronts and ridges crossing our rhumb line, the resulting wind directions and strength, the expected sea states, and recommendations in our case of 'westing' to a given waypoint off our rhumb line in expectation of coming weather. This general information is followed by a detailed forecast every 6 hours along our expected course at our expected boat speed, including the utc time, the lat/lon, the wind direction and speed, and the sea state. The detailed forecast would extend out for five days. We then communicated our actual position once (sometimes twice) a day and the conditions experienced. As the trip went along, we asked for updated forecasts three times, marveling at the accuracy of the forecast, but keeping a vigil on any unexpected changing weather pattern particularly coming from the Tasman Sea.
The first two days were SE22 on the beam in 6-8' seas, double reefed, and going a comfortable 7+ knots. We have found that when we push 'Julia Max' towards her hull speed of 8.3 knots that the forces are too great to move around the boat. Days 3 and 4 were lighter winds requiring motor sailing at night. But all to the good. We could tell we were moving away from the Tropics, as we were starting to put 'foulies' on at night. Our steering wind vane was ably handling the helm work for us. We were in radio contact with a buddy boat every few hours. They were a 42' Catalina, and were getting tossed around more than we were, and were having water leaks through hatches. We checked in to the Pacific Seafarer's Net on 14.300 USB at 0330 utc so that our whereabouts were being watched and our local weather recorded.
The weather shifted to the SW for the balance of the trip. Winds were on the nose. Gratefully they were only SW 15-20 knots, and seas were no more than 9-12'. But it was hard going. It seemed that New Zealand didn't want us and was blowing us back. What a way to finish the Pacific Crossing, scratching and crawling our way forward. 'Julia Max' was not pointing well, so we focused on going south as much as possible, but were going more SE, away from our rhumb line to the east. At night when the winds would lighten to SW 10-15, we would motor sail directly towards our destination.
At 200 miles out, we were buzzed by a New Zealand Air Force plane that subsequently called us by name on Channel 16 VHF, asking us for our destination Port of Entry and ETA. We had faxed our Incoming Boat Information to New Zealand Customs before leaving Fiji, so they knew we were coming. At 12 miles out on the final morning we called Russell Radio on Channel 16 to let them know that we had arrived. A pre-dawn rain squall washed the boat, and then the dawn sunshine bathed the fresh New Zealand coast line as we approached.
Opua is one of many Ports of Entry. Checking through Customs was quick and efficient. The Agriculture Inspection is beyond thorough, and we have been happily assisted in ridding 'Julia Max' of tiny ghost ants -- not an easy task! We arrived October 23rd, and tied up to a finger dock for the first time since leaving Mexico. We took on fresh water, gave the boat a bath, tried hooking up to the 220V system finding that the transformer we had purchased was having difficulty with some resistance/corrosion in our AC house wiring and was tripping the service. Ugh! But we had made it to New Zealand -- read this as...with a toothy smile!!
Cheers,
George and Sue
s/v Julia Max
From S/V Kailani
We left Oregon aboard Kailani one and a half years ago, bound for our adventure of our dream which we made come true: “Becoming voyagers”.
After traveling approx. 5,000 miles in the Pacific Ocean we are still enjoying this life style immensely even though it is a lot of work at times, augmented by those terrifying adrenaline rushes from situations that unexpectedly occur, some of which we have already shared with you.
One of our stories is not ours, but made a significant impact on our life. Our dear friends from s/v Ultimate, were sailing back to their home town in the Netherlands after cruising the world for 10 years. They had been reported missing in the Atlantic after being hit by an unexpected metrological bomb, never to be seen or heard from again.
If you are interested in a good article on what the experts wrote about their situation with and the story of the tragedy please e-mail us: kailaniatsea@yahoo.com and we will email you a copy of the article in English. Tom and Thecla were so experienced with good equipment, knowledge and a sound steel vessel. This should not have happened and how could this have happened to them? What about us? We were not as experienced as them, we only have our VHF and can only receive weather faxes via our SSB receiver only, and that only works when the conditions are good. Plus, we were beginners at reading the weather faxes. What were we thinking? We can’t possibly go on cruising now. We almost gave up our dream.
After a few weeks sitting at anchor apprehensive to continue on, we realized that the price of a life lived on the edge is sometimes harsh. Everyone who makes this choice goes into the lifestyle with their eyes wide open and must be willing to accept the consequences, which might mean paying the ultimate price. Tough words to hear, but ones we must remind ourselves of from time to time. Is it all worth it? A question only you can answer.
We did continue as you can see most the time enjoying it all. We started out with a need to always have a plan, soon discovering that all our plans have been written in the sand at low tide and washed away when the tide comes in, only to reveal yet another plan. Because of this our plans always begin with “safety first” and trying to stay out of the big weather systems -- which is not always possible as all sailors know.
We did not see many boats once we left Mexico, as we were heading into the beginning of the rainy / hurricane season and choose to seek safety in Panama until the hurricane season ends. We did enjoy being either the only boat or one of 2-3 in the many anchorages we stopped and explored. We formed a bond with the handful of fellow cruisers which we met along the way. We all seemed to be heading to Panama for the exact same reason.
Here is a recap of our voyage so far
07-22-08 to 09-18-09 Oregon to San Diego California
September 08 to January 09 At anchor in San Diego (David working to replenish the cruising kitty)
01-07-09 to 05-05-09 Cruising Mexico
05-07-09 to 05-20-09 Guatemala to El Salvador
05-20-09 to 08-02-09 El Salvador to Costa Rica
08-02-09 to Present Cruising Panama on the Pacific side
So far our very favorite country has been Costa Rica. Many cruisers have their personal opinions on the places you should and should not go to, and you can’t possibly go cruising unless you have this and that. So you must decide to weigh your own personal pros and cons. We are living proof that you can throw off those dock lines and go without all the bells and whistles. Had we listened to those that said don’t visit that anchorage or that village we would have missed out on some very wonderful things. Knowledge is good, but pick and choose what is good for you.
We are looking forward to being in the Caribbean, leaving behind the 20 foot tide swings and the big city of Panama for yet more new adventures.
“The world is not at a loss for people who dream.
It is at a loss for people who act on their dreams.
Take a leap of Faith!”
Best wishes to all up north!
David and Christy S/V Kailani
From S/V Wild Rover
We're back on the boat in South Carolina after a busy summer of buying a condo in Vancouver. In the 3 weeks we've been back, we've hauled out, and now we're fixing the things which broke in our absence. We've also just completed our stint as dockmasters here, to pay for our dockage. Just in time for the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida to pass through. The marina has become very busy as boats decide not to stay at anchor with 20-30 knots of wind with rain and thunderstorms. That doesn't seem all that bad to us, but we're jaded. We will just keep working... The projects to be done before we can leave to head south include: installing a new water heater (the old one rusted/corroded out after 12 years), switching out alternators again, and figuring out why the condenser on the air conditioner has stopped working. We're also going to take a road trip to Indiana for Thanksgiving to visit the grandkids. So we probably won't leave here until December, like we did last year, but that's okay. It's the journey, not the destination. Aside from tropical storms, it's warm enough to work in shorts and sandals, so we're pretty happy.
One of the problems with being a part-year cruiser is leaving the boat for months at a time in who-knows-what weather conditions. Our boat, S/V Wild Rover, is spending the season in Beaufort, SC. We are not. The best we can do is strip the boat for potential windage, hire a caretaker, and hope for the best. We've got stripping the boat down to about a 4 day job. The sails come off, the dodger and bimini come down, the solar panels and wind generator blades come down, and extra lines get added. Not too much fun those last days without a dodger--that's usually when it rains. Inside, we remove all food from the cupboards that could attract bugs, and of course clean out the refrigerator of all that could spoil. In South Carolina's summers, we leave the air conditioning on (set high) to discourage mildew. Our caretaker this year is a long time cruiser from California, who lives full time at our marina and works at West Marina. We feel confident in his ability to catch anything that could potentially go wrong. He will also run the engine under load every two weeks, and clean the A/C filters. (Last year, we picked wrong on our caretaker. Another long time cruiser, but he cruised right out of the area about a month before we got back...) Now we're a continent away from the boat, so all we can do is hope for a quiet hurricane and severe weather season. The first summer we left the boat, I watched an abnormal amount of the Weather Channel's Tropical Updates. Each year it's gotten to be a little less. September is the worst month for the SE U.S. coast. I might watch a little more then... But what's done is done, and our summer mantra is "that's why we carry insurance."
Gail and Mike Cannady
Gail and Mike Cannady
From Dave Williams of S/V Fanuei
ROUND THE COUNTY RACE (San Juan Islands)
November 7 & 8, 2009
Ok, so it’s not exactly a sunny and warm cruise report that follows, but the route and the area are classic cruising for the SYIC and you can pretend it’s July.
I left Bainbridge Island at dawn on November 6 to help deliver a Schock 35 named “Schock Therapy” up to West Sound Marina on Orcas Island for the Round the County Race the next day. My job was to crew on the boat for the race as jib and spinnaker trimmer. The trip conditions up to Orcas were typical for November. It was raining and blowing 30 knots out of the south up to Port Townsend, with the boat hitting 12 knots several times before the sun came out and the motor came on for the trip across the Straits. We got to West Sound just as it was getting dark and rendezvoused with our support boat, a C & C 43 “Carmanah.” After a good dinner on board with the rest of the six person crew and a drink or two and short skippers meeting at the public hall the Orcas Island Yacht Club uses as headquarters, we caught some sleep. We left the dock at 0630 next morning to get to the start on the east side of Orcas Island in Rosario Strait opposite Obstruction Pass.
The weather was cold, wet, gnarly and 20-35 knots SSE around the start with a large rain squall passing through. The start was down wind and down current with three starts of about 20 boats each. My skipper, Steve, somehow scalloped his way along the start line on port tack, turned at the last 5 seconds when we were about to be t-boned by oncoming starboard tackers and/or swept into the committee boat (bad form), whipped the boat to the left and across the line missing the committee boat by an arm’s length just as the horn sounded…..a very dramatic start indeed. As soon as we were across, the big red chute went up and we were off at 12 knots, racing toward the turn to the west at Patos Island. The big boys like “Icon” and “Neptune’s Car” and others soon followed along with a 100 year old schooner out of Orcas Island. For a quick view of some professional shots of a windy downwind start with spinnakers, look at this website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75869001@N00/sets/72157622640983401
It is easy to find some good broadside pictures of Schock Therapy….just look for the pictures with the all red spinnaker. I am the guy in the green hood hiding in the cockpit saying prayers while getting the spinny sheet and pole sorted out while the jib is pulled down.
Of course 40 minutes after the start we went to gybe, accidentally popped the guy shackle in a 30+ knot gust, broached with a crash and spent the rest of the day changing back and forth between the number 1, 2 and 3 jibs as we beat our way around the top of the San Juans in heavy squalls, bright and quiet sunshine or something in between. A few boats blew out their chutes when we did our broach.
Roche Harbor entrance was the finish Saturday night and we tied up next to our support boat with its umbilical of warm food and good drink while we dried out. Total time around was about 5 hours. We recovered enough by dawn on Sunday to motor out Mosquito Pass to the second start in strong counter currents and light winds that soon picked up to 20 knots on the nose. Thus began a day of short tacking along the San Juan shore with the number 3 jib and reefed main trying to stay out of the counter current by tacking within a boat length of the shore kelp and then out a quarter mile and then back more times than I can count (dodging starboard tackers every other tack) until we cleared Cattle Pass with some wild water on the ebb and finally laid a close reach to the S.E. corner of Lopez Island. Some professional photos of boats short tacking on the second day near Lime Kiln Park on the west side of San Juan Island are at:
We turned the corner and went blasting up Rosario Strait on an easy reach doing 15 knots on the surfs and then a bit less with the chute up across the finish line….time, about 6.5 hours. As jib and spinny trimmer, my arms were happy to see the finish. We sorted crew with our support boat that was headed back to Port Townsend in the gloom with a gale forecast and hustled up Guemes Channel to Anacortes in the dark where four of us l exchanged the boat for a Volvo wagon ride back to Bainbridge after first stopping at the local Safeway for the Anacortes version of a “deli” grilled Philly Cheese Steak (to go). A fancy restaurant dinner never tasted as good to cold, tired and wet mariners. (A shot of brandy from a flask also helped warm the innards). The overall corrected winner of the 2009 RTC race with all those (68) hotshot synthetic race boats?????
The 100 year old schooner “Martha” which went wide toward Victoria with only two or three tacks the second day and used her long waterline to good effect on the reaches. I’ve included a picture of her as we barely beat her to Roche Harbor the first day (we owed her 35 minutes of time).
Fair winds and stay warm, Dave Williams “Fanuei” Valiant 40
From S/V Adagio
Hola Everybody,
It took longer for the guards at Hoover Dam to check us out before allowing us to cross the dam than it took to get through all of the Mexican Border check posts.
Just a note to let you all know we made it to San Carlos safe and sound. A little tired and very glad that the driving is over. The Jeep is unpacked and we have pretty well moved into the apartment. Tomorrow we'll start work on getting Adagio ready for another season of cruising.
Going across the border turned out to be pretty anti-climactic. There were three inspection posts. One just inside Mexico, another at km 21, and a third further in from there. At the first, the young lady guard asked if we had anything to declare. We said, "no". She kind of looked at the huge pile of stuff in the back of our Jeep and asked again, "Nothing?". When we replied, "No. Nothing." She said, "Have a nice day and waved us on." At Km 21 they didn't even talk w/ us. They just waved us through. At the third, a male officer walked up to us when we stopped at the barrier. He started speaking Spanish to us and I asked if he spoke English. He said, "No," then broke out into a broad smile with twinkling eyes, and said (in perfect English) if I was going to visit Mexico I needed to practice some Spanish. Then we had a pleasant conversation about how long we were going to be staying and just general banter. When he seemed comfortable that we were not up to no good, he said, "Have a nice day!" and waved us on. That was the last of the check points. By then I suppose we were about 25 miles into Mexico. And we did not see another check point for the rest of the 250 miles we drove. None of the officers asked to see our visas or any ID. We never had to get out of the car. And no one asked to look inside the car.It took longer for the guards at Hoover Dam to check us out before allowing us to cross the dam than it took to get through all of the Mexican Border check posts.
The Mexican roads were OK, but not nearly as smooth as those we drove in the good old US of A. Because the Jeep was so overloaded, we bottomed out pretty regularly, and on a few stretches of the highway we had to slow way down when the Jeep began to sway from side to side. There were several wrecks along the way. The first involved a bus, a Jeep and a couple of pick-ups. Neither Janie nor I got a very good look at what happened. I was too busy watching the various men frantically waving their arms directing traffic, and doing my best to drive through the tangle of vehicles that seemed to be going everywhere at once.
As we got closer to San Carlos we were surprised by how green everything is. We suppose it's from all the water Hurricane Jimena dumped on the place. It looks like she caused a real growth spurt. But maybe it's just the difference between summer and winter. We did see some evidence of the flooding Jimena caused. Piles of earth and rock dug out from under highway overpasses. And a few places where the pavement of the road into town is missing or severely weathered. The poor palm trees in the center divide are looking pretty sad. Lots of fronds missing. They look like they will survive. But they won't be pretty for a few years.
We arrived at Marina Seca in time to check in at the office. They look pretty busy. No spaces open in the work yard. But they are going to float two boats tomorrow morning and so will have room to put us in in the afternoon. The inside of the office looks good. New paint and carpet. The parking lot is getting ready to be repaved. The road into Marina Seca is graded, but is still not paved or even oiled. The guard wears a dust mask as protection from the dust cars kick up driving in and out.
That's about it for now. I think I hear a bottle of tequila calling my name. We hope you all had a Happy Halloween. We'll post pictures and write more later.
Jeff and Janie
