Updates from the Captain’s Log
So we are on our way! We set off 3 hours ago and are super excited. We are headed across the Pacific from Panama to the Marquesas. We imagine it’ll take us between 4 and 6 weeks.
Day 1
We started with something that has never happened to us before. When we are underway we keep a line out for fish. Today, somehow the line got wrapped around the wind generator. So I had to stand on top of the davits and get the line free. Not sure how it happened, but luckily got it all sorted.
Day 2
We’re getting our sea legs. Just been having a lazy day on board with lots of sleeping. There were a bit of thunder and lightening last night and through the morning, but all were far off and we got no squalls. We motor sailed the first 24 hours to get away from the thunderous weather in the Bay of Panama.
This afternoon we got good wind and put up all three sails and we’re making good progress going 5.5 kts. Now the wind has dropped to under 8 it’s and we are going under 3 knots. Spacegrazer weighs in at 28 tonnes and likes at least 15 knots to push her along.
I emptied some Jerry cans of diesel into the boat today, we carried 400 extra litres on board. It’s tempting to through the motor on, bit we’ve got a long way to go.
Haven’t even bothered to through the fishing line out after yesterday’s fun of untangling it out of the wind generator.
Tomorrow is another day…
3692M to go…
Day 3
Last night we had a beautiful clear sky with no moon. Our water maker has a couple of small problems. The booster pump isn’t working as it should be, we found this out the day before we left. We can still make water with it, will just have to get a new booster pump. The manufacturer said he’ll send it to me as it’s under warrenty. Last night one of the plactic plugs in the watermaker got a hairline crack and started spraying a fine spray. Today I took it off and filled it with epoxy. Tomorrow I will put it back in and hopefully that will stop the spray. In any case we have plenty of water to get us through should the watermaker stop working.
Today was another lazy day of reading books and watching films.
We had very little wind for about 24 hours, then this morning the wind picked up to 15kts from the west and we were close hauled doing a lovely 6.5 kts.
As I write we just dropped sail and are motoring around a squall. We are extra careful now after an experience on our way to Charleston where the wind went from <5 to >55kts in minutes.
Everyone is well on board.
3627M to go…
Day 4
Yesterday we caught our first fish, a big eye tuna, about 5kg. Technically it was our 2nd fish. But as we were pulling the first fish in, also a tuna something massive bit it clean off the line, leaving only the head attached. A very clean bite.
The reality of leaving Panama late in the season is hitting home. If we had left in March as per the plan, we would have had lovely northerlies taking us down to the Galapagos. Instead now we have wind coming from the direction that we want to go, SW.
Last night the wind dropped to below 4kts and we motored sailed for about 6 hours. The wind picked up this morning from the forecasted SW and we are now beating into it again. For a while it’s been 12-15 knots and we were doing between 4.5 – 6 knots.
We will have to decide on a route. A the moment our route planner is showing the fast route is north of the Galapagos headed due West. Unfortunately we don’t head I to the wind to well, we point at about 40 degrees off the wind and have a bit of leeway. We seem to be faster on a starboard tack, but that’s probably the current. Yesterday the lower batten on the mainsail flopped off into the water. I saw it just before it went. I was about to lower the main before it jumped ship. So I am looking forward to having wind from abaft the beam. The forecast says we’ve got another week of beating into the wind. We’ll see.
I’ll try the epoxyed plugs on the watermaker tonight. Hopefully it won’t be spraying anymore.
Today B and I have been married for 13 years!
Day 5
Yesterday was a day of cross crossing I to the wind and not getting anywhere. The boat leant over and it was not comfortable. Today is gentle bobbing along. The wind is SSW and lets us point West. With some current and leeway we are making between 270-280, will I’ll definitely take.
More good news is that filling the watermaker plugs with epoxy has made them stop spraying water. The bad news is that with the booster pump not performing properly, the watermaker isn’t making as much as it should be. We are also being carefully with our water just in case it packs in. Before leaving I filled both tanks completely and locked one of them off to have as a back up. I’ll try by passing the booster pump and see if that changes anything. The high pressure pump is under sea level so it should still work. Also I discovered the wrong way that we cant use the watermaker when heeling right over to port side. I plumber the watermaker so that the reject water taps into the galley sink discharge which drains on the port side. Turns out that when we are heeling hard to port the watermaker discharge can’t drain. The result is salt water all over the galley floor. Oops.
Also, needed to fill the generator with oil in the middle of the night. Not the easiest of tasks on a lean.
So today we’ve been enjoying the comfort factor. The kids enjoyed the novelty of a sponge shower.
We are coming to the realization of comfort over speed. A couple of time I’ve been tempted to throw the engine on. Then the wind would either change or pick up so there was no need. However, looking at today’s stats, yesterday we covered 130M but are only 46M closer to our destination.
Maybe we are going slowly. But at least today we are sort of going in the right direction.
Shit loads of miles to go…
Day 6
Last night the wind picked up as forecast and we had to feed down. I envy those with the ability to do this from the cockpit. It a long uncomfortable night. The kids sleep through all of this and get great sleep every night. They go to bed just before sundown and get up at dawn.
In the morning, sick of not making any southerly progress we decided to switch the engine on and motor sail south. We only had the motor on and for 30 minutes and then the wind backed round to the south, meaning we could sail on a COG of 265. We did this for a good 8 hours and made nearly 1 mile southerly progress.
We will hold this for now, but if the opportunity arises it make pay off to motor sail south for a day to get out of this easterly setting current.
We are SO looking forward to passing the Galapagos. The plan is then to motor through the doldrums and into the glorious trade winds – wind and current both going or way.
UPDATE – we have switched the motor on and are heading south to approx 3N.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 7
Time: 2015 Thurs 250620 (UTC)
Position: 02 51.5N 084 39.0W
Speed: 5kts
Last 24hr distance: 122M
Total distance: 722M
Distance remaining: 3395M
Average speed to date: 4.9kts
Wx: Wind: 15.0kn 220, waves: rolly (<1.5 SW), cloud: overcast
Remarks:
Well what a day it’s been. There we were and everything was going great. We motored south to get a better angle on the wind. Then partly rolled out the genoa to keep her reefed at the wind was 18kts. Instead of stopping where she should have the whole thing rolled out. It turns out that the roller furler got jammed. The inhaul line had got tangled in the swivel. The cause was a badly led outhaul line to the furler. There is a low friction ring placed at the wrong place which gives the wrong angle into the furler. Normally we by pass this, but somehow I’d run the line through there.
Anyway the upshot was a lot of flavoursome words and spending around four hours to untangle it. In the end I had to cut the line. The good news is that the roller furler seems to be working fine, despite I’ve got a bit of line stuck in it that I just can’t get out. As the sail was fully out whilst we were doing the repairs we drifted north at about 4-6 knots during this time. Meaning that we ended up in about the same place we were 12 hours ago. In retrospect I should have gone close hauled, but was so busy trying to fix it that I forgot.
It’s not too long before the sun goes down so we rolled in the genua and will continue motoring south. I was too knackered to replace the outhaul straight away. Also didn’t want to leave the genua up for the night, as the only way to roll it in completely is turning the drum by hand.
Not something I want to do out on the bowsprit at night if the wind picks up.
Glad we got it fixed. B and I work well together when thing stop south. Kids were amazing, actually I don’t think they even realize anything out of the ordinary happened.
We are safe and all is well on the good ship Spacegrazer.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 8
Time: 2006 Fri 260620 (UTC)
Position: 02 51.5N 084 39.0W
Speed: 5kts
Last 24hr distance: 95M
Total distance: 817M
Distance remaining: 3333M
Average speed to date: 4.8kts
Wx: Wind: 13.0kn 200, waves: comfortable (<1.5 SW), cloud: overcast
Remarks:
It’s been a busy 24 again. There we were motoring south after the genoua incident. Then at about 1 in the morning the engine revs started to keep cutting out. I thought it might have been because of the choppy weather stirring up the tanks and some gink getting in the intake. So as a precaution I changed both the primary and secondary fuel filters. But this didn’t do it. The problem got progressively worse until the engine cut out and refused to restart.
We are a sailboat, so I went and unfurled the main, even though there was no out haul on it, meaning I wouldn’t be able to pull it in. I wasn’t too worried about the weather as the forecast was for max. 15 kts.
So we were sailing again, and for the first time in bloody ages, in the right direction. Down at 2.13 latitude the easterly current is much less. Knackered I went to bed.
This morning I got up and put and took the outhaul off the stay sail and put it on the genoua, as this was the only one long enough. I think I’ve got something I can put on the stay sail later.
Then I got onto the engine. I knew it was a fuel issue because of the sound it was making. I took off the fuel lines to each of the tanks and blew down them. The starboard side was a bit blocked I think. So I thought I’d solved it and went to bleeding the line.
For some reason it wouldn’t bleed. Tiny air bubbles just kept coming. I checked and cleaned the strainer on the lift pump and still it wouldn’t bleed. I checked the hoses for leaks, they were all fine. Finally, I checked the primary filter housing which is mounted on a wall way down in the engine bay. I felt the wall behind it, and felt diesel. So I thought there was a tiny leak somewhere between the glass bowl on the bottom and the housing. Luckily I had a spare on that I’ve had lying around since I bought the boat. So rather than trying to fix this one, I pulled it out and installed the new one.
When I went to bleed it nothing happened. Shit! Then it noticed the in and out plugs where the opposite of the old filter. So I switched them around and it filled up quickly whilst I kept pressing the tiny manual bleed pump. Then as quick as you like the bubbling stopped. I quickly screwed down the bleed valve and B switched the motor on. Bingo, we are back in business.
So as of today we’ve been at sea for a week. It hasn’t been the start we’d imagined. But during pasta lunner, B and I both said that we feel like today is a changing point for us. We have the boat in the right position to keep sailing in the right direction and the seas are comfortable.
Less than 400M and we’ll be passing Darwin Island ok n the NW of the Galapagos.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 9
Time: 2006 Sat 260620 (UTC)
Position: 01 52.8N 087 30.4W
Speed: 5kts
Last 24hr distance: 115M
Total distance: 937M
Distance remaining: 3214M
Average speed to date: 4.8kts
Wx: Wind: 11kn 175, waves: comfortable (<1.0 S), cloud: overcast (still)
Remarks:
Nothing broke in the last 24 hours! The wind is pushing us in the right direction! During the day the wind got up to around 15kts and we were sailing along at between 6-7.5kts (that’s nothing to Thomas the Wolf and his pack of one).
We just sat around reading books, reading bits to the kids, the kids playing games, sleeping and eating. The life on the boat is a bubble and sometimes your just busy doing your thing and you look up and remember where you are and what your doing.
There are a number of boats that are sailing from Panama to FP and we keep each other updated. To date I am proud to say that we have officially the slowest daily average. But we are not last in the fleet. That honour goes to SV Patea who a just less than a day’s sail behind us. The reason for this is that they left 2 departed 2 days after us.
We haven’t seen much wildlife @Lucy. Friends have seen whales and dolphins. Seals were seen near Wolf Island. Birds are still about hundreds of miles offshore. Gannets were in numbers a few days ago, watching them dive live a dagger into the sea. Their amber beaks all aglow. Boobies, we’ve only had one come and perch on our pulpit and only stayed for about 10 minutes. The bird of the day
a beautiful small black swift/swallow like bird with white tail feathers on the top. They are often in pairs and appear to be flying in the direction of the Galapagos, but who knows? They fly With their breasts just centimeters away from the water’s surface. Adroitly rising and falling with the waves. I can’t explain how wonderful it is to watch sea birds at work out on the ocean.
Oh, and we do get a few kamakazi visitors which I find on the deck in the form of flying fish or little calamari squid things. I’ve heard their edible, but by the time I get to them they are dried out and back into the sea they go.
We closing in passing Galapagos. The weather has cooled in the last few days. The waters around Galapagos are colder than you might expect at the equator because of cold currents coming from the south. Reports from those past the Galapagos are that current taking us west picks up. Looking forward to riding that freight train.
The kids have been watching and making videos of themselves and each other. A few cracking ones emerged, like Zoe dancing to Gangnam Style – classic!
Spacegrazer Report: Day 10
Time: 2006 Sun 280620 (UTC)
Position: 01 37.7N 089.41.0W
Speed: 6.5 -8.5kts
Last 24hr distance: 145M
Total distance: 1071M
Distance remaining: 3084M
Average speed to date: 4.9kts
Wx: Wind: 13kn 190, waves: short and sharp (<1.0 S), cloud: open blue sky with fluffy cumulus
Remarks:
Now we’re putting some miles on the clock. It helps having the tide work with you.
We lost the wind in the night and sat bobbing until it came back.
Generator started playing up yesterday and won’t work now. This trip has certainly had a bit of everything. So I’ve changed both the fuel and oil filters and changed the oil. Still can’t get her going. She wants to turn over and she turns but just won’t catch. I’ve been trying to bleed the line with the built in pump. Hard to do to much with the boat leaning on her ear. Will get to it in the doldrums. Suggestions on the generator welcome…
I’ll call it a day and have a rest.
Everyone doing well.
We should pass Darwin Island tomorrow. Will probably have to for a bit and see if there’s any wildlife to admire before heading on.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 11
Time: 2006 Mon 290620 (UTC)
Position: 01 41.0N 092.91.9W
Speed: 6.8ts
Last 24hr distance: 146M
Total distance: 1217M
Distance remaining: 2947M
Average speed to date: 5.0kts
Wx: Wind: 9.4kn 170, waves: short and sharp (<0.5 S), cloud: broken overcast
Remarks:
Shit! We nearly won the Darwin Awards by crashing into Darwin Island! We were up close taking photos. The boat was the lee of the island with full sail up. Then as we got close the proximity of the sheer rock wall in front of us effect the wind dynamic and instead of blowing us off the island was pushing us into it. Quickly, we rushed to start the engine and reversed off the island. B thinks we were less than a boat length from the rock.
We’ll sit down and discuss all the things we did wrong and never put ourselves in that situation again.
On other news. The island was amazing. Thousands of birds and hundreds of dolphins.
Now we are headed further west. We have less that 3,000M to go and mark this as our ¼ way mark.
From now on we we should be picking up speed as we has wind and current in our favour.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 12
Time: 2035 Tue 300620 (UTC)
Position: 01 35.0N 094.55.3W
Speed: 8.5ts
Last 24hr distance: 175M
Total distance: 1393M
Distance remaining: 2777M
Average speed to date: 5.2kts
Wx: Wind: 15kn 170, waves: occasional steep (<2.0), cloud: bovercast
Remarks:
Winds picked up in the night and we made best 24 hour run of 175M, assisted by current. We reefed early this afternoon to get a bit more comfort in the boat.
We had fun playing cards this morning. The kids are amazing, they can cope with any sort of rolling and stay below reading, watching films or playing on their tablets.
I would have expected more open blue skies, but until now we’ve nearly only had overcast skies. At least it’s not too hot.
Amazed that there are still birds flying around, boobies and those small ones I’ve mentioned before that might be Storm Petrols.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 13
Time: 2000 Wed 010720 (UTC)
Position: 01 42.7N 097 44.4W
Speed (SOG): 7.5-9ts
Last 24hr distance: 172M
Total distance: 1565M
Distance remaining: 2615M
Average speed to date: 5.4kts
Wx: Wind: 15kn 180, waves: occasional steep (<1.5, cloud: overcast (7/8)
Remarks:
The wind has backed a little to the west today meaning that we go from a beam to a close reach.
Thanks to Thomas for confirming that those birds are indeed Storm Petrels. I am amazed that I’ve seen them flying out here today, 300M from Galapagos.
We haven’t been pressing the boat hard and keep a reef in both the main and the genoa. Shaking out or putting in a reef for me means going up on deck and doing the work at the mast. It’s not too bad, but we try to avoid it at night. The last few nights we’ve had the wind pick up and we aren’t reefed, and it was during my off watch. So B had to wake me arrggh. So we are prioritising sleep and comfort now over speed.
During the day the wind seems to pick up from the morning till early afternoon.
There are four other boats currently doing the northern route and the discussion is ongoing as to when to turn south. SV Patea is set to overtake us today, so we will be able to benefit from hearing how the others fair turning down to the equator.
We had a glorious big patch of beautiful blue sky earlier today speckled with fluffy cumulus.
The rod had gone out for the first time in a while. B wants fish.
Today we’ve been baking brownies with the kids and making shrinky dinks (remember those?)
We don’t have access to Facebook, these posts are sent to a friend (thanks Callie) who posts them for us. It’s a good break not having internet, no politics, no Corona, just our little bubble and the bits of information we get from email.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 14
Time: 2000 Thurs 020720 (UTC)
Position: 01 41.3N 100 43.5W
Speed (SOG): 8.5-9.5ts
Last 24hr distance: 192M
Total distance: 1747M
Distance remaining: 2441M
Average speed to date: 5.5kts
Wx: Wind: 13kn 170, waves: settled, cloud: cumulus stratus (6/8)
Remarks:
The sea has been relatively flat today and the wind has veered around the the east again so we are on a nice reach. The weather is a bit more settled and the forecast for the next day or so is 12ish knots. So with that we shook out the reef in the main and are happily riding the express train that is the west bound current at a comfortable 8-10 kts in 12-13 knots of wind. A new 24hr record of 192M!
I’ve had another stab at the generator. Cleaned up the filter housing that was on the motor and installed in on the generator. I disconnected the house after the electric fuel pump to see if it’s pumping fuel. Nothing. So I dug out the service manual on my laptop and it gives steps on how to test the fuel pump. Basically I take it off and connect it to the fuel line directly from the tank. Connect it up to the battery and if it’s working diesel should come out of the outlet. Easier said than done as of course the fuel pump is right at the bottom of the generator which is installed deep in the bilges of the engine bay. So it means hanging half upside down. Oh well, I’ll save that for tomorrow.
Other than that we are ticking along nicely. Getting plenty of sleep. B baked a loaf of bread today in the bread machine and I’m making a curry for tomorrow as the stir fried rice that I made a couple of days ago is nearly gone.
The kids have been playing with their pokemon all morning. They don’t seemed to be fussed as to how long the journey is taking at all. They have arranged a birthday party for one of their toys that will coincide with the day after we arrive.
Oh, and when we zoom the chart plotter out to 500M we can see Nuku Hiva on the same screen as our boat. It’s the little things…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 15
Time: 2121 Fri 030720 (UTC)
Position: 01 36.1N 103 52.1W
Speed (SOG): 5-6kts
Last 24hr distance: 191M
Total distance: 1938M
Distance remaining: 2258M
Average speed to date: 5.7kts
Wx: Wind: 12kn 110, waves (<0.5: settled, cloud: cumulus (2/8)
Remarks:
Early this morning the current dropped of and the wind backed around to the east which dropped our speed down from a glorious 9-10kts over the ground to 5-6. Still the sun has been shining all day and Spacegrazer has been Bobbing merrily along.
We got busted off the fishing line twice. The first time was a big eye tuna that we got in right to the tracer. But I lifted it instead of gaffing and it ripped off. The second one didn’t even give me a chance and ripped the whole life off from the crimp as soon as I out it in strike. The fish on the Pacific side are certainly a lot bigger.
So lunch today was sans fish. Curry with garlic naan bread.
We are on a broad reach. It’s times like this when it would be good to have a gennaker or a code zero. The weather is forecast to be like this for a least tomorrow as well. So despite going much slower, we are still going west.
Today we’ve been at sea for a full two weeks. This last few days seems a doodle compared to the first week. I haven’t done anything on the generator today. Maybe tomorrow…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 16
Time: 2000 Sat 040720 (UTC)
Position: 01 50.5N 105 39.8W
Speed (SOG): 6.5 – 7.5kts
Last 24hr distance: 112M
Total distance: 2050M
Distance remaining: 2160M
Average speed to date: 5.6kts
Wx: Wind: 12kn 170, waves <0.5: settled, cloud: blue sky with patches of fluffy little clouds (cue The Orb)
Remarks:
A year ago today we were anchored up behind the Statue of Liberty in NY, NY with our buddy boat Mrs Chippy. We watched the 4th of July celebrations from the deck of Spacegrazer with friends from the city. It was fab. The world is a different place today since Corona. And today we are in a different place, about as far away from people as you can get. Dave from SV Grace mentioned that the astronauts on the ISS are closer to us than anyone on land, something I’ve read before also.
Yesterday evening we heard somebody speaking Spanish on the VHF. We couldn’t see any ships and there was no sign of anything on the AIS. It was the first thing we’ve heard on the radio since we left. And we’ve only seen one ship, presumably a fishing boat, and that was several days ago now.
Last night I had another go at the generator and am pretty sure the problem is either the fuel pump, but more probable still the fuel selenoid. Something that will have to wait until FP before fixing. Unless I bypass it, which means I need to scrounge a long enough fuel hose from somewhere…
As we can’t use the watermaker without the generator, we’ve switched over to using seawater to doing the dishes and things like washing hands and brushing teeth. I don’t have a separate seacock for seawater, so it means collecting it by the bucket from over board. Not too difficult. We have plenty of water left. One of the two 500 litre tanks that we have is yet unopened. Additionally we turn the water pressure off as the kids (and adults) have been known to accidentally leave a tap running before.
Lines are out but as yet no bites.
Yesterday and last night was very slow, with sails flopping and the wind down to 5-6 kts from about 100 degrees (nearly due east). Spacegrazer with no light wind sails crept along between 3-4 knots. It felt like such a comedown after the great runs we were getting.
On the plus side the skies are clear and the weather is warming up, B has even taken her socks off. I’m over-dressed, in my boxers as always.
Today we were expecting the same wind as yesterday, when suddenly this morning the wind filled in to about 13 knots and has swung back around to the south. We have made a bit of ground to the north to catch some stronger wind and current and are humming along nicely again at between 6.5 – 7.5 knots with AWA (apparent wind angle for the landlubbers) of 70.
If this weather holds we will be celebrating our half way mark tomorrow afternoon. Touch wood, now we have the wind in our favour, the second half will be quicker than the first…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 17
Time: 2000 Sun 050720 (UTC)
Position: 01 45.9N 108 19.8W
Speed (SOG): 6.5 – 7.5kts
Last 24hr distance: 158M
Total distance: 2208M
Distance remaining: 2006M
Average speed to date: 5.6kts
Wx: Wind: 10.5kn 175 waves <0.5: settled, cloud: thin alto stratus 8/8
Remarks:
We had a nice gentle day. The full moon last night was awesome until a blanket of clouds came and covered it. Yesterday, believe it or not we had our first proper sunset.
This morning we caught a yellow fin tuna that was fairly small compared to the one that got away. It will feed us for 2 days. Today with curry left over from the other day.
We have some current now as we are trucking along at around 7 kts in about 9-10 kts of winds.
Last night I did something (else) stupid. I was looking at the trip stats on the chartplotter and accidentally pushed the reset button. So with no warning of ‘are you sure?’, all our lovely trip figures started from zero. I’ve worked out the missing numbers.
One number that is undisputed is that we will be going under the 2,000M to go mark in about and hour (deja vu @Patea) and have baked a cake to celebrate what we’ve deemed our halfway mark!
Spacegrazer Report: Day 18
Time: 2000 Mon 060720 (UTC)
Position: 01 41.6N 111 47.7W
Speed (SOG): 8-10kts
Last 24hr distance: 210M*
Total distance: 2418M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1809M
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 15kn 175 waves <2.0: about 10sec intervals, cloud: blue sky with cumulus 2/8
Remarks:
The wind and the current have both joined forces to help us with our best 24 hour run of the passage so far, and got us into the 200M club. The waves are from the side and we feel like true rock n rollers today. It’s nice to be able to say that we’ve knocked almost 10% of our DTG in one day. Also noteworthy is that the second half of any journey seems shorter than the first. Here’s hoping the conditions stay the same for the next few days so we can knock some more miles off the tally.
Life on board is pretty settled. Beau has nearly finished reading the first of the Harry Potter books. Kai and Zoe have been playing, colouring, reading, and watching films. B and I have changed our normal 3 on 3 off watch system that we usually use. I tend to do the night shift, which means I set the alarm for every 30 minutes, wake up, have a look around, go back to sleep, repeat. It works really well. Generally I don’t need to sleep during the day.
Others in the fleet ahead of us are now making their descent to the equator and south. We’ll be following in the days ahead.
The sun is shining and it’s not quite so cold now. B even has shorts on.
I don’t think I mentioned it earlier, on the second day of the trip I got a bad ear and tooth infection that really affected me, so I took a round of antibiotics which have cleared it right up now. The weird thing was halfway through, my other ear got infected, so it felt like it went on forever.
Then about a week ago we think that Zoe picked up a minor UTI. We gave it a couple of days of lots of water and some herbal medicine that’s supposed to flush it out. Initially it seemed to work, then Zoë came back and said that it hurt more than before. So we out her on a course of antibiotics as well and I’m happy to say she hasn’t had any pain in about 5 days.
Luckily we stocked up well on medicine and have lots of supplies.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 19
Time: 2000 Tues 070720 (UTC)
Position: 01 30.0N 115 07.4W
Speed (SOG): 6-8kts
Last 24hr distance: 202M
Total distance: 2620M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1620M
Average speed to date: 5.9kts
Wx: Wind: 15kn 160 waves: <1.0, cloud: blue sky
Remarks:
The sun is shining here today. We’ve lost a bit of momentum since this morning as the wind was swung east and the current dropped. Still we are going a comfortable 7kts. We snuck in over 200M for the second day in a row.
We have music cranked up and every now and then someone will get up and sing and dance, well not Beau and Kai, they just look on like we are going slightly mad.
B has made tuna kibbling with potato salad. Our fresh fruit, except for limes is all gone, so we are into the tinned stuff.
Books, music, movies, and card games…
Now that the moon is waning, I’m looking forward to some star filled nights during night watch.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 20
Time: 2000 Weds 080720 (UTC)
Position: 00 06.0N 117 14.5W
Speed (SOG): 7.5kts
Last 24hr distance: 158M
Total distance: 2778M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1470M
Average speed to date: 6.0kts
Wx: Wind: 5kn 160 waves <0.5:, cloud: overcast 7/8
Remarks:
So we’ve got the iron sail on. We got into a wind hole with 5kts. The forecast is for light winds for the next 48 hours. Through in with that a northerly current, meaning we weren’t going anywhere fast. So instead of floppy around for 2 days we changed course and headed for SW with favourable current. Then the wind died completely and we have turned the engine on and are motirsailing headed SW. We’ve had the engine on for 6 hours now. Then we worked out we wanted to be on the equator before sunset so we’ve changed direction. And are headed 200.
On the sailing side, I replaced a genoa sheet that chaffed through after I had the lazy sheet too tight and it must have chaffed on the windlass.
As I write this we are less than 2 hours from crossing the equator. The kids have been busy making offerings for Neptune and we’ve even got a trident.
We are super excited. Hopefully Neptune will accept our transition from Polliwogs to Shellbacks.
Unless the wind picks up we will continue motoring SW. That is after our party on the equator!!!!
Equator crossing. Neptune we salute you!
Spacegrazer Report: Day 21
Time: 2000 Thurs 090720 (UTC)
Position: 01 35.6S 119 07.5W
Speed (SOG): 6kts
Last 24hr distance: 155M
Total distance: 2933M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1328M
Average speed to date: 6.0kts
Wx: Wind: 15kn 160 waves <1:, cloud: blue sky 1/8
Remarks:
Yesterday we crossed the Equator. We gave Neptune some of our finest rum. The kids made drawings for him and B cut off a lock of her hair and I of my beard.
It was so much fun that we did it a couple of times crossing over from north to south to north and back again.The sun came out and we played music and drank. I’m not sure if it lived up to the kids’ expectation of what we’d been hyping them up for in the last days and weeks. And I’m guessing they had never really believed the bit where I said that Neptune would come out of the sea riding a dolphin surrounded by mermaids. At any rate, it’s one that’s been on my bucket list.
We motor sailed for the rest of the afternoon as the wind was absent. Then shortly after nightfall, as forecast the wind filled in and we switched the engine off.
The night was glorious sailing, the stars were out.
Today we passed our ⅔ mark with less than 1333M to go.
Just as we were eating lunch a fish took the line. As I was pulling it in I lifted the rod and got the line stuck in the wind generator (again). This time I couldn’t get all the line out. Not wanting to spend too much time standing on the davits trying to untangle line, I just tied it off and will clear it once we have either flatter seas, or most probably in FP. In over four years, this has never happened, and now twice in one passage. And the bad news is that the fish got off the line.
Beau is onto Harry Potter 2. B is reading a dystopian novek about a tsunami that takes out most of Europe. During the day I read paper books, the one I’m reading now is set in Washington DC and it’s nice to visualize the places after being there last year. At night I read on the kindle, at the moment, something silly about strange things about the body, called ‘why do men have nipples?’ It purports to answer questions that you’d normally be to shy to ask your doctor about. Like, ‘why is poo brown?’
Yes, that is the level of reading that I enjoy on a night shift.
In 18 hours time we will have been on the boat for 3 weeks.
Here are some numbers:
boats we’ve seen: 1
boats seen on AIS: 0
voices heard on VHF: 1
flying fish on deck: 43
Squid on deck: 18
fish caught: 2
Lures lost: 2
Islands seen: 2
Islands nearly crashed into: 1
Spacegrazer Report: Day 22
Time: 2000 Fri 100720 (UTC)
Position: 02 46.7S 120 55.2W
Speed (SOG): 4-6kts
Last 24hr distance: 134M
Total distance: 3067M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1203M
Average speed to date: 6kts
Wx: Wind: 8-12kn 160 waves <0.5:, cloud: blue and half cloudy 4/8
Remarks:
So the predicted wind that we changed course for, coming south a bit earlier, has dried up. We have all three sails up right now and wish we had a genikar or a code zero. Sailing with AWA 120. The forecast is that it will be like this for a couple more days before picking up again. So it means a couple of low miles days for us. If it gets really low we’ll through the engine on.
We motored last night as the current had swung around against us. Once we get to 3S there should be a little westerly setting current to help us along.
Other than that, the outhaul line chaffed through and I used a reef line. The Velcro strap had come off (but recovered) which exacerbated the chaffing. I’ve since put the strap back on and we are back in business.
I have managed to balance the sails a bit better today, so there is less flogging, which is good for the nerves and sleep.
Some of the folks in the fleet are gearing up for landing. Others are just setting out. We are bringing up the middle.
Still amazed to see birds out here. The storm Petrels and Boobies. During our Atlantic crossing we didn’t see any this far out. Others have seen whales. Rudy, who is single handing on SV Sea Ya caught a Blue Marlin, he said it was really angry. Yikes!
B made some amazing pita bread and hummus today. And for some reason I’m reading Ozzy Osbourne’s autobiography.
With the kids I joke about playing eye spy. The catch is you are not allowed to name anything in or on the boat. So the game quickly runs out after, sea, sky, water, clouds, sun… Oh, I saw a plane high up in the sky last night. First plane I’ve seen in 3 weeks.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 23
Time: 2000 Sat 110720 (UTC)
Position: 03 33.0S 122 52.7W
Speed (SOG): 4-6kts
Last 24hr distance: 129M
Total distance: 3196M
Distance to Go (DTG): 1077M
Average speed to date: 6kts
Wx: Wind: 10-14kn 90 waves <0.5:, cloud: blue with fluffy cumulus 2/8
Remarks:
Hooked a fish but lost a lure. This Pacific fishing is a tough crowd.
Later today we expect to come under 1,000M to go, also our ¾ mark. So tomorrow for lunch we are going to have pancakes to celebrate.
The wind has dropped slightly today. For the last several hours it has been flipping quickly back and forth between coming from 100 degrees to 60. As we have the sails set to 120AWA, it causes the sails deflate and the boats rocks. Nothing much to do about, except to wait until it settles down and decides from which direction it wants to blow. This evening it’s forecast to increase up to 20kts TWS. So we will be looking to pick up a bit of speed.
The weather is heating up again and it is starting to feel like the tropics once more. Although I haven’t deviated from my ubiquitous boxers, B is a good barometer for the weather, today she is in her bikini – proof that it is indeed warming up. It’s not so much the temperature but the humidity. Anyhow, the numbers;
Air temp: 25.8 C
Water temp: 29.42 C
Kai has been having fun making paper sailboats and dropping them into the sea. The trick is to make the land the right way up. He is convinced that at least one of his fleet will meet us at our arrival. Today the kids are going to make a message in a bottle that we’ll drop overboard with messages from the kids. We’ll also put on the date, our webpage, the date and position where we drop it and our contact info. Who knows?
Beau is nearly finished the second Harry Potter book. And I’ve been going over reading with Zoë. B came up with a dictation game that the kids love. Also we play a mean game of ludo on board and we take no prisoners. We’ve also got this French version of happily families with 6 in each family. The kids love it.
I’ve heard that both the Cooks and Fiji will be open to Kiwis transiting back to Aotearoa. If this holds true, it will make our passage to the land of the long white cloud a lot easier.
Time to crank the music…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 24
Time: 2000 Sun 120720 (UTC)
Position: 04.00.0S 124 23.0W
Speed (SOG): 3-4kts
Last 24hr distance: 107M
Total distance: 3303M
Distance to Go (DTG): 983M
Average speed to date: 5.9kts
Wx: Wind: 8-10kn 100 waves <0.5:, cloud: blue bird sky (0/0)
Remarks:
@Moira – I won’t say congratulations just yet. Very happy for you to be there tomorrow morning.
The last 24 hours has been extremely frustrating sailing. The wind has been shining constantly between 45-110 degrees. The shifts have been amazingly quick too, with no time in-between to do anything. So balancing the sails has been a nightmare, worsened also by the fact we have no whisker pole – though I doubt one would have been much use under these conditions. We gybed for the first time on this trip and went on a starboard tack for the first time in weeks. Then as the wind kept changing we gybed about 6 times, in order to keep the best heading. As the wind is very light the boat is crawling along. I’m amazed we sailed on over 100M. The sound from the sound from the flapping sailings sets your teeth on edge. Last night I took a melatonin to help me snooze during night watch in the cockpit, the rolling and flapping and tiredness nearly made me cry . Today B and I had a screaming match during a gybe maneuver. Both frustrated and then the headsail got stuck. Everything is ok, and luckily B and I can talk it through quite quickly afterwards and we move on.
On the positive side, the wind now appears to be behaving itself and coming from the forecasted direction for the first time in about 3 days. It is supposed to pick up tonight and hold for about a week. Fingers crossed.
We’ve also broken the 1,000M to go barrier and are celebrating with pancakes and beer (well I am.)
Still no fish, no other boats…
Beau is halfway through the Happy Potter 3 book and the kids are now watching the film of the second one.
The sun is shining I’ll eat pancakes, drink beer and take an afternoon nap.
Peace out.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 25
Time: 2000 Mon 130720 (UTC)
Position: 04.26.9S 126 04.6¹W
Speed (SOG): 4-5kts
Last 24hr distance: 107M
Total distance: 3410M
Distance to Go (DTG): 878M
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 10-12kn 135 waves <2.0:, cloud: Alto stratus/cumulus (6/8)
Remarks:
Today we have a bit of a milestone on Spacegrazer. We’ve done 20,000 miles in her. In 4.5 years we’ve done some amazing things, had a load of adventures, been to some mind blowing places, and maybe the best thing of all, we have met some truly inspirational people and made great friends from all walks of life. We feel both lucky and privileged to be able to do this. Although it’s not always looking at life through rose tinted spectacles, it definitely has its ups and downs, it has taught us a lot and given us many memories.
The sailing hasn’t been great again for the last 24 hours. The good things is that the angle of wind is perfect and points us straight our destination. In fact we are pointing slightly north in case the wind moves to the east. Also on the positive side is that, with the wind from this angle, the sails are not flogging or slamming. The frustrating thing is that despite the predictions of 20knots the winds has stayed around 8-10 knots meaning that we continue to progress very slowly. Still we made to knock 100M off our DTG in the last 24hrs.
Having said that in the last hour the winds seem to have picked up to 14-15kts. Also, the waves are much higher (around 2m) than the current wind strength, indicating stronger winds to come.
The first of our fleet dropped anchor today. Congrats, Thomas great effort. Single handed and the fastest of all of us.
We dropped a bottle in the ocean yesterday with a message inside with boat position and date and our contact details. Maybe we will get contacted in the years to come by someone findingnit washed up on a beach somewhere in Japan.
Today’s lunch menu is hash browns with fried egg.
I will have a beer to celebrate our 20K
Oh and we have what looks to be some kind of tern keeping us company. This is the first time we’ve seen this type of bird on this passage. Maybe it’s a sign that we’re closer to land? Here’s hoping.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 26
Time: 2000 Tues 140720 (UTC)
Position: 04.58.2S 128 06.6W
Speed (SOG): 6kts
Last 24hr distance: 129M
Total distance: 3539M
Distance to Go (DTG): 752M
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 18-20kn 135 waves <2.5:, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (3/8)
Remarks:
The wind did pick up. We’ve been sailing in 20+ knots since the night. The waves have picked up and the boat movement feels like riding a naughty horse. At the moment we are have a single reef in and are sailing on a broad reach. We’ve managed finally to pick up a few knots. But I believe we should pick up some current too shortly as we get lower than 5S (thanks for the info Tim.)
Are we there yet? I think we can safely say that we are ready for this passage to be over. Especially B, who yesterday was having trouble with the motion. It’s tough because you can’t exactly get off, or stop, or go and do something different. So what we try and do is stay positive, make little milestones, think of how far you’ve already come, etc. Also, try and stay busy. Sitting and watching the clock or chart plotter and watching the miles crawl by only makes the go even slower. So reading books is great, watching films, playing games. The kids are truly amazing on this trip and I can’t remember the last time that they’ve asked, ‘are we there yet?’
More of the terns type birds, but I’m pretty sure they’re not terns. I managed to throw a flying fish back in the water while it was still alive. I was on night watch and heard some flapping on deck. Sure enough it was a flying fish. Apparently they’re good eating, but I’d have to be pretty hungry to eat one.
After having another play around with the generator, I think I’ve found the cause of the problem. Namely, a loose connection on the fuel solenoid. If I wiggle the wires a bit during start up, then it will start. But then after running for a bit it will shutdown. The shutdown is very quick, like a switch had been flipped. Leading me to believe that the valve in the solenoid is shutting off, probably due to a poor contact. The seas are too rough to keep on playing with it now.
We’ve been giving the kids little presents along the way. Mostly little things to do, like shrinky-dinkies or artsy stuff to do. We have one more to give them which we’ll do once we’ve got less than 500M to go…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 27
Time: 2000 We’d 150720 (UTC)
Position: 05 33.7S 130 31.5W
Speed (SOG): 6kts
Last 24hr distance: 153M
Total distance: 3692M
Distance to Go (DTG): 7) 603M
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 20kn 120 waves <2.0:, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (4/8)
Remarks:
The sailing has been great over the last 24 hours and we’ve managed 150+M which feels great. We are sailing at AWA 130 which is a little rolly, but going this speed at this stage of the race, we’ll take it.
A Kiwi boat I am in daily contact with, who are about 180M from us, lost their auto pilot yesterday when the steering ram broke. They’ve nursed a repair, but don’t want to risk anything in these lumpy conditions, so they are hand steering. They will be knackered once they arrive in Nuku Hiva. They have boys on board and I understand that the older two are joining the watches with the parents.
Another boat from our small fleet made it in yesterday. Another 3 are due to join them in the next 48 hours. It feels like we are approaching the home straight now.
Lunch today, potato bread with coleslaw, our last cabbage. Those things last forever.
Our minds are now more positive than a day or two ago and we have our sights on the finish line.
Spacegrazer Report: Day 28
Time: 2000 Thurs 160720 (UTC)
Position: 006 27.0S 133 05.7W
Speed (SOG): 8.5kts
Last 24hr distance: 162M
Total distance: 3854M
Distance to Go (DTG): 7) 443M
Average speed to date: 5.9kts
Wx: Wind: 7kn 120 waves <1.0:, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (4/8)
Remarks:
Congrats to SVs Patea, Grace, and Sea Ya who have all made it into Taiohae Bay, Nuku Hiva. Awesome job guys, see you there in a few days. Save some croissants for us.
This morning the wind died. It’s like someone flicked a switch. So instead of the forecasted 15knots, we have between 3-7. So we fired up the engine and are motorsailing.
We’re under the 500M now and have given the kids the last present. It was a set of window decorations that they colour in. It kept them busy for a good couple of hours. We also had a squall come through earlier in the day that bought some rain. Washed our grimy decks.
Not too much to add today, except hoping that the wind will fill in later…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 29
Time: 2000 Fri 170720 (UTC)
Position: 007 18.1S 135 31.6W
Speed (SOG): 6-8
Last 24hr distance: 159M
Total distance: 4013. M
Distance to Go (DTG): 287M
Average speed to date: 5.9kts
Wx: Wind: 18kn 120 waves <1.5:, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (5/8)
Remarks:
We are edging closer…
Yesterday we got the official paperwork approval to enter French Polynesia. With all of the Covid restrictions, this is great news.
Other exciting news. We have an ETA! We hope to be dropping anchor on Sunday around lunch time local time. We shall give a better estimation in tomorrow’s report. For all of you FP locals, we hope that you save some croissants and beer for us.
The wind picked up again yesterday, so after 10 hours motorsailing we turned the engine off and are now on a comfortable broad reach under full sail in approximately 17 knots of wind.
Yesterday we saw a flock of land birds hunting in a group, squawking and making lots of noise.
The kids are busy making sun catchers and window clings. Beau is onto Harry Potter 4. B has finished her 1000 page dystopian novel about tsunamis taking out Europe.
Pasta for lunch.
Today completes our forth full week at sea. We miss the daily updates from all the other boats in the fleet that have arrived. I’ve deleted their waypoints from the chartplotter. It’s feeling empty.
Only 2 more sleeps…
Spacegrazer Report: Day 30
Time: 2000 Sat 180720 (UTC)
Position: 08 12.0S 137 50.1W
Speed (SOG): 6-7
Last 24hr distance: 150M
Total distance: 4163M
Distance to Go (DTG): 141M
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 15kts 85 waves: <1.5, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (3/8)
Remarks:
This is our final full day. The excitement being B and I is palpable. Discussions are ongoing about, “What is the first thing you’re going to do once we’ve dropped anchor?” On top of everybody’s list is, “Jump overboard and go for a swim!”
We have decided we are going to get there by lunchtime or thereabouts by hook or by crook. We just don’t want to wait any longer. So today the wind is being difficult, if we are pointed directly at our destination then the wind is blowing us directly there. Sounds good you think? Well not for us. We have no whisker pole, so it means no genoa holding this course. And under main alone we drop to 3-4 knots, and we’ve already said we are not delaying our arrival any more. Easy you say, just come off the wind for a broad reach and gybe through it. Well we tried, remember that tricky wind I was talking about. It’s not blowing steady from the same direction. It’s swinging madly in an arc of about 50 degrees. So we’ve chosen the lazy route and flicked the engine on with main out and pointing direct at our target. This way we are making good speed, not following (much). We will leave the iron sail on until the wind figures out what it’s doing. We have diesel enough to take us all the way if needed. Oh, and I’m a little tired, so this also simplifies my rationale. I’m not a sailing tourist, in guess you were in any doubt.
Oh, a weird thing happened in the night. One of the stanchion gates got ripped off, ripped the screws out and fell into the water, hanging on by the lifeline (luckily). Probably caused by a slapping Genoa sheet. So I pulled it out and put it on deck. No damage (haven’t inspected the hull for scratches) other than having to rebed it, but another job for Ron (later Ron – see what I did there?) I don’t want to speak to soon, but so far (touch wood) there have been no major breakages, a couple of lines chaffed, lifeline bottle necks disappeared into the drink, generator that needs tweaking, stay sail needs UV strip resown. Other than that, and down things I’ve no doubt forgot to mention, the boat needs a bloody good scrubbing down as do all the crew. The hull has probably got a garden growing, hopefully I can fill up my scuba tank and give her a good scraping.
Other things we want to do:
- walk (our legs miss walking)
- earth fresh fruit and veggies.
- go onshore (see walking)
- sleep uninterrupted for a whole night
- meet up with friends
- party and celebrate (B has put the white wine in the fridge to cool)
- explore the island
- go shopping (will be the first time since Covid lockdowns that we’ve been to a proper shop.)
The kids are really looking forward to catching up with their friend Izzie, who is already there (despite their boat leaving 2 days after we did). There is also another boat close by us now with 4 boys onboard. So the kids will love it.
I’ve been loving the stars and have through out he months seen the ring of animals that make up the zodiac (which is where the name comes from) slowly turning upside down as we head further south. Other constellations such as Orion are now doing headstands on the horizon.
I clogged the email App on my phone yesterday sending our Zarpe to the FP authorities. We have send all the other via family onshore. Also have the confirmation docs for arrival. Only they asked for the Panama clearance document which we could do when we get there on now via email. I got the impression it was better for us to send by email, e.g. less Q time. So I scanned the doc and tried sending it. Computer says no. App now crashes when trying to send or receive emails and I can’t empty the spool. Oh well, luckily I set up B’s phone to be able to do the same. So t try to upload the file, it can wait to we get there.
On our Iridium plan we have a bunch of telephone minutes every month that are included in the package. We like to keep them for emergency. Now being so close, we used some yesterday to ring our folks and our friend Manon who officially got her PhD yesterday (congrats again!) It awesome to talk to other people. First time in 4 weeks
After that B spotted a ship on the horizon, our 2nd sighting in the whole passage, and first one with AIS. So happy as Larry I called them up and babbled away that this was the first VHF contact in 4 weeks. I got the response, “Sorry my Engrish is not so good, could you repeat?” So instead of a lengthy philosophical discussion on the merits of international shipping, I managed to get out of him that our VHF and AIS are both working.
I digress…
Are we there yet?
Final Report
Time: 2000 Sun 190720 (UTC)
Position: 08 55.0S 140 06.1W
Speed (SOG): –
Last 24hr distance: 148M
Total distance: 4311M
Distance to Go (DTG): 0
Average speed to date: 5.8kts
Wx: Wind: 15kts 85 waves: 0, cloud: fluffy cumulus with blue sky (1/8)
Remarks:
We are there! We dropped the hook around 08:30 local time. What a feeling. Indescribable. The colours and the smells of land, a visual and olfactory overload. Our friends from half a dozen boats who’d arrived before us were all waving us in.
Running on adrenaline, we have been tidying things up and soaking in the atmosphere.
We have to wait until official word that have done quarantine before going on land.
Not much more to write just now.
