https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxeQKwA-notCc1gxOUVpNjFRTEk/edit?usp=docslist_api
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Small boat, big ocean
I think this passage qualifies for an
official “uffda” categorie. Not so much uphill as an hors
categorie climb in the Tour de France but pretty close. Definitely a
long haul. We had some great sailing for the first 2,000 miles and
then the wind died for about 4 days. For 2 days of that we motored,
shutting off the engine when we calculated we were close to our
minimum fuel reserves. Luckily, our spinnaker helped us make some
decent progress in very light winds for the next 2 days. After that we
had plenty of wind from astern, making for some rolly, but productive
sailing into the Marquesas. Overall, the passage took 23 days, a bit longer than we hoped, but we arrived safely, happy and just a bit hungry (for cookies).
In total, we saw 4 fishing boats during the entire 3,100 mile passage. That's it. No other sailboats. One was way too close. On day 11, we had seen no other boats and were feeling pretty solitary. After lunch, Martin went below deck to take a nap. I was sitting in cockpit, just looking around and enjoying the scene. All of a sudden, a huge fishing trawler emerged from behind the jib, about 200 yards from us, headed straight for us. I jumped up and grabbed the wheel, yelled for Mart, and started to turn the boat. I think the fishermen had just noticed us as well, as they started to jerk their steering to a fro a couple times to figure out which way to go. It was a good lesson and an unexpected close call. In such a lonely place, it was amazing to think that we could have collided with another boat. What are the chances of that?
On day 8, we had some bad news. We heard on our radio net that a sailboat about 4 days ahead of us on the same route had run into trouble. Apparently, they experienced some combined waves that resulted in big, steep, breaking waves that their boat wasn't able to handle. Their rudder broke, creating a hole in the hull. Ultimately, the boat sank. Luckily, the crew was able to get onto another sailboat that happened to be close by. This was tough news for us to hear, and reminded us of our own vulnerability out here. We reviewed our safety plans and carried on. We never did see any large, breaking swell during the rest of our voyage. The sailboat that rescued the crew is in our anchorage now, we're hoping to be able to meet them and hear their story.
The Marquesas were an amazing landfall. No land for 23 days, and then sailing into this lush, green, mountainous bay was just fantastic. We could smell the flowering trees from the water. After a long haul of limited groceries (1 onion, some potatoes, a couple bruised apples and ½ head of garlic were all the fresh food left on board) it was really fun to go to the vegetable market and get some fresh limes (for the Tahitian rum), peppers, tomatoes, and all the French goodies. We found baguettes and brie and plenty of imported French wine (for a price).
We'll be here for about a week, and then head out to some of the other anchorages in the Marquesas. Some friends that we met back in North Carolina are suggesting that we meet up in the Tuamotus so we'll start planning the next leg in the coming days. Thanks for all the support and comments along the way. We think of all you guys often and hope everyone is having a great spring-
Lexi
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| we saw many gorgeous sunsets across the Pacific |
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| I was psyched to catch this little dorado. Had a couple great dinners aboard. |
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| Here is my homemade lure: bag o' chips, zip tie and a sharpie! |
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| At 1/2 way across we had our last beer to celebrate, a Sam Smith's nut brown ale |
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| And when the wind died... |
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| we motored. |
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| The last night of a long trip |
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| Final sunset |
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| flying the chute |
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| A land ho! at sunrise, day 23 |
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| Just finished the final night watch after 22 nights of 3 hours on, 3 hours off |
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| pulling into Nuku Hiva, Marquesas |
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| This is what our hull looks like after the trip, these are gooseneck barnacles, they are nasty and are all over the waterline of Pau Hana. Many hours of scrubbing to come.... |
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| Mapping progress, a daily highlight. |
Friday, April 24, 2015
Drop Anchor!
Pau Hana is anchored at Taiohae, Nuku Hiva, Marquesas.
23 days at sea! 3100 miles.
The terrain is steep lush volcanic peaks.
The longest leg of our current itinerary is behind us.
It was truly outstanding. I dare say epic.
Again at dawn a pod of dolphins escorted us along our path.
S 08*54.9'
W 140*05.9'
Nap time.
Martin
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23 days at sea! 3100 miles.
The terrain is steep lush volcanic peaks.
The longest leg of our current itinerary is behind us.
It was truly outstanding. I dare say epic.
Again at dawn a pod of dolphins escorted us along our path.
S 08*54.9'
W 140*05.9'
Nap time.
Martin
----------
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Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Almost there...
Today was steady progress. Nothing exciting to report.
If the wind holds we'll make it by Friday
If not, Saturday it is. We won't approach the anchorage in the dark.
April 22, 2015
1745 local 0245 utc
8*48.6' S
136*14' W
Course 270*
Speed 5.3
All's well
Martin
----------
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If the wind holds we'll make it by Friday
If not, Saturday it is. We won't approach the anchorage in the dark.
April 22, 2015
1745 local 0245 utc
8*48.6' S
136*14' W
Course 270*
Speed 5.3
All's well
Martin
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Tuesday, April 21, 2015
So close, yet so far...
430 miles left.
ETA noon on Friday.
Hopefully we can pick up the pace a bit. If we don't get there before dark, we'll have to wait offshore until Saturday AM
Total mileage for this passage will be about 3100 nautical miles!
Pau Hana:
1430 UTC
21.04.2015
08 38 S
132 44 W
Course 275
Speed 5.2
winds E 10-12 kts, waves 3-5'
All is well. Lexi made chocolate chip bars and I ate 'em.
It was the highlight of the day.
Martin
----------
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ETA noon on Friday.
Hopefully we can pick up the pace a bit. If we don't get there before dark, we'll have to wait offshore until Saturday AM
Total mileage for this passage will be about 3100 nautical miles!
Pau Hana:
1430 UTC
21.04.2015
08 38 S
132 44 W
Course 275
Speed 5.2
winds E 10-12 kts, waves 3-5'
All is well. Lexi made chocolate chip bars and I ate 'em.
It was the highlight of the day.
Martin
----------
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Monday, April 20, 2015
Lumpy Rolly
Unforcasted NE wind set against prevailing SW swell have churned it up a bit.
We changed our sail plan several times before we figured it out.
It was a lumpy rolly night with poor sleeping and tired sailors.
Now our speed is back up after a slow few days and we're making time to the west.
The faster boats in our radio group have arrived at Marquesas and have their anchors down.
Before long it will be time for us to drop the anchor!
0700 local, 1600 UTC
S 08* 32'
W 130* 45'
Course 275* M
Speed 5.5 kts
Martin
----------
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We changed our sail plan several times before we figured it out.
It was a lumpy rolly night with poor sleeping and tired sailors.
Now our speed is back up after a slow few days and we're making time to the west.
The faster boats in our radio group have arrived at Marquesas and have their anchors down.
Before long it will be time for us to drop the anchor!
0700 local, 1600 UTC
S 08* 32'
W 130* 45'
Course 275* M
Speed 5.5 kts
Martin
----------
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Sunday, April 19, 2015
Sunday 19th
S 08*26'
W 129*03'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.5
Flew the spinnaker though the night last night with no problems.
Wind is picking back up and the engine is off.
Wind predictions indicate that we should be able to sail the rest of the way to Nuka Hiva.
More that 30 gallons of diesel remain.
More than 50 gallons of water remain.
Cookies running low.
Martin
----------
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W 129*03'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.5
Flew the spinnaker though the night last night with no problems.
Wind is picking back up and the engine is off.
Wind predictions indicate that we should be able to sail the rest of the way to Nuka Hiva.
More that 30 gallons of diesel remain.
More than 50 gallons of water remain.
Cookies running low.
Martin
----------
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Saturday, April 18, 2015
blowtorch sun
Yet again I'm amazed.
When the wind is down the tropical sun feels like a blowtorch.
The breeze is rebuilding and we'll be shutting down the lil' swede later this morning.
I've always enjoyed engines and our three cylinder 28hp Volvo diesel is really cool.
It has responded well to the maintenance we've given it and just chugs right along.
Lexi pointed out that we're actually only about 3 miles from land, not 700 like I thought.
She's right, but I'm not going that way.
Happy Birthday from the middle of the Pacific to my niece, Alice!
What does a pirate pay for piercings?
A buccaneer!
As of 0815 local, 1615 UTC
8*20' S
127*20' W
course 265*M
Speed 6 knots
motoring
All is well aboard.
Martin
----------
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When the wind is down the tropical sun feels like a blowtorch.
The breeze is rebuilding and we'll be shutting down the lil' swede later this morning.
I've always enjoyed engines and our three cylinder 28hp Volvo diesel is really cool.
It has responded well to the maintenance we've given it and just chugs right along.
Lexi pointed out that we're actually only about 3 miles from land, not 700 like I thought.
She's right, but I'm not going that way.
Happy Birthday from the middle of the Pacific to my niece, Alice!
What does a pirate pay for piercings?
A buccaneer!
As of 0815 local, 1615 UTC
8*20' S
127*20' W
course 265*M
Speed 6 knots
motoring
All is well aboard.
Martin
----------
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Friday, April 17, 2015
Friday April 17
We're motoring with very light wind from the north.
The tradewinds should reorganize in 24-48 hours.
We have plenty of fuel for this, as we didn't motor as much as we planned getting away from the Galapagos.
Plenty or not, using the engine feels strange as we don't have enough fuel to make it all the way to Marquesas. Eventually we'll have to shut the engine off. Less than 900 nm to go.
The fastest boat in our radio group will make landfall today.
Check out passageweather.com if you want to see the dead spot we're in
0322 local 1122 UTC
S 08*20'
W 124*55'
Speed 5 kts
Course 270* M
----------
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The tradewinds should reorganize in 24-48 hours.
We have plenty of fuel for this, as we didn't motor as much as we planned getting away from the Galapagos.
Plenty or not, using the engine feels strange as we don't have enough fuel to make it all the way to Marquesas. Eventually we'll have to shut the engine off. Less than 900 nm to go.
The fastest boat in our radio group will make landfall today.
Check out passageweather.com if you want to see the dead spot we're in
0322 local 1122 UTC
S 08*20'
W 124*55'
Speed 5 kts
Course 270* M
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Thursday, April 16, 2015
Early thursday am
So it's 4AM and raining.
Lexi is sleeping and we're headed straight down wind under poled-out jib only.
Wind has slowed a bit, so the waves have more of an effect on our motion that the wind, making for uncomfortable rolling. We're still heading in the right direction at 5.4 knots.
We've sailed 2000 miles since we left the Galapagos.
996 remaining to Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
A boat in our area (folks from Green Bay, WI) had their mainsail halyard chafe through. This is the rope that hoists the sail up the mast. So the sail came down in an unplanned event, and the rest of the halyard fell down inside the mast. Bummer, Dude.
Two other boats in our group have had their electric autopilots fail, so they have to hand steer constantly until they can fix it. No problem if you have a crew of five, but the other boat has a crew of three.
Yet another boat caught a 40 lb. yellowfin tuna.
The daily radio net allows us to keep up on all this gossip.
There is a predicted period of light wind in our future. A nearby low pressure system will affect the tradewinds for a few days. We hope all this takes place several hundred miles ahead of us and sorts out before we get into that area. Otherwise we may have go swimming and bob around waiting for wind. We have enough fuel to motor about 600 miles but we have 990 to go!
otherwise, we're still sailing towards Polynesia.
Martin
As of 0400 local time, 1200 UTC
S 08*03.5'
W 123* 15.7'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.4
----------
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Lexi is sleeping and we're headed straight down wind under poled-out jib only.
Wind has slowed a bit, so the waves have more of an effect on our motion that the wind, making for uncomfortable rolling. We're still heading in the right direction at 5.4 knots.
We've sailed 2000 miles since we left the Galapagos.
996 remaining to Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
A boat in our area (folks from Green Bay, WI) had their mainsail halyard chafe through. This is the rope that hoists the sail up the mast. So the sail came down in an unplanned event, and the rest of the halyard fell down inside the mast. Bummer, Dude.
Two other boats in our group have had their electric autopilots fail, so they have to hand steer constantly until they can fix it. No problem if you have a crew of five, but the other boat has a crew of three.
Yet another boat caught a 40 lb. yellowfin tuna.
The daily radio net allows us to keep up on all this gossip.
There is a predicted period of light wind in our future. A nearby low pressure system will affect the tradewinds for a few days. We hope all this takes place several hundred miles ahead of us and sorts out before we get into that area. Otherwise we may have go swimming and bob around waiting for wind. We have enough fuel to motor about 600 miles but we have 990 to go!
otherwise, we're still sailing towards Polynesia.
Martin
As of 0400 local time, 1200 UTC
S 08*03.5'
W 123* 15.7'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.4
----------
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Early thursday am
So it's 4AM and raining.
Lexi is sleeping and we're headed straight down wind under poled-out jib only.
Wind has slowed a bit, so the waves have more of an effect on our motion that the wind, making for uncomfortable rolling. We're still heading in the right direction at 5.4 knots.
We've sailed 2000 miles since we left the Galapagos.
996 remaining to Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
A boat in our area (folks from Green Bay, WI) had their mainsail halyard chafe through. This is the rope that hoists the sail up the mast. So the sail came down in an unplanned event, and the rest of the halyard fell down inside the mast. Bummer, Dude.
Two other boats in our group have had their electric autopilots fail, so they have to hand steer constantly until they can fix it. No problem if you have a crew of five, but the other boat has a crew of three.
Yet another boat caught a 40 lb. yellowfin tuna.
The daily radio net allows us to keep up on all this gossip.
There is a predicted period of light wind in our future. A nearby low pressure system will affect the tradewinds for a few days. We hope all this takes place several hundred miles ahead of us and sorts out before we get into that area. Otherwise we may have go swimming and bob around waiting for wind. We have enough fuel to motor about 600 miles but we have 990 to go!
otherwise, we're still sailing towards Polynesia.
Martin
As of 0400 local time, 1200 UTC
S 08*03.5'
W 123* 15.7'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.4
----------
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Lexi is sleeping and we're headed straight down wind under poled-out jib only.
Wind has slowed a bit, so the waves have more of an effect on our motion that the wind, making for uncomfortable rolling. We're still heading in the right direction at 5.4 knots.
We've sailed 2000 miles since we left the Galapagos.
996 remaining to Nuka Hiva, Marquesas
A boat in our area (folks from Green Bay, WI) had their mainsail halyard chafe through. This is the rope that hoists the sail up the mast. So the sail came down in an unplanned event, and the rest of the halyard fell down inside the mast. Bummer, Dude.
Two other boats in our group have had their electric autopilots fail, so they have to hand steer constantly until they can fix it. No problem if you have a crew of five, but the other boat has a crew of three.
Yet another boat caught a 40 lb. yellowfin tuna.
The daily radio net allows us to keep up on all this gossip.
There is a predicted period of light wind in our future. A nearby low pressure system will affect the tradewinds for a few days. We hope all this takes place several hundred miles ahead of us and sorts out before we get into that area. Otherwise we may have go swimming and bob around waiting for wind. We have enough fuel to motor about 600 miles but we have 990 to go!
otherwise, we're still sailing towards Polynesia.
Martin
As of 0400 local time, 1200 UTC
S 08*03.5'
W 123* 15.7'
Course 255* M
Speed 5.4
----------
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Wednesday, April 15, 2015
more!
More wind! More waves!
We are more than 1800 miles into our passage to Polynesia.
Soon we will be 2/3 complete.
1100 miles left!
As of 0350 local, 1150 UTC,
S 07*40'
W 121*16'
Course 255* M
Speed 6 kts
All is well aboard Pau Hana.
Not much for current events. Another flying fish was stranded on deck.
We have full jib poled out to starboard and reefed main prevented out to starboard as well.
We are on a broad reach with the wind on our port quarter.
In the dark of the new moon it sounds like we are going 50 miles an hour.
Actually we're going 7 mph
Martin
----------
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We are more than 1800 miles into our passage to Polynesia.
Soon we will be 2/3 complete.
1100 miles left!
As of 0350 local, 1150 UTC,
S 07*40'
W 121*16'
Course 255* M
Speed 6 kts
All is well aboard Pau Hana.
Not much for current events. Another flying fish was stranded on deck.
We have full jib poled out to starboard and reefed main prevented out to starboard as well.
We are on a broad reach with the wind on our port quarter.
In the dark of the new moon it sounds like we are going 50 miles an hour.
Actually we're going 7 mph
Martin
----------
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Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Fish ON
Meat's back on the menu!
Lexi's homemade lure caught us a nice Mahi Mahi for dinner!
Comprised of a bottle cap from cheap box-wine, strips of mylar from a plantain chip bag, and a yellow zip tie, She has no need for commercial lures to provide for her family.
Half of it is in the fridge and the other half is in the freezer.
Today was perfect sailing. Steady winds, partly cloudy, organized waves.
Last night we sailed through the night with full main and full jib. no squalls.
As of 2320 local time, 0720 UTC:
S 7*40'
W 118*38'
Course 260* M
Speed 5.8 kts
All is well aboard
Martin
----------
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Lexi's homemade lure caught us a nice Mahi Mahi for dinner!
Comprised of a bottle cap from cheap box-wine, strips of mylar from a plantain chip bag, and a yellow zip tie, She has no need for commercial lures to provide for her family.
Half of it is in the fridge and the other half is in the freezer.
Today was perfect sailing. Steady winds, partly cloudy, organized waves.
Last night we sailed through the night with full main and full jib. no squalls.
As of 2320 local time, 0720 UTC:
S 7*40'
W 118*38'
Course 260* M
Speed 5.8 kts
All is well aboard
Martin
----------
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Monday, April 13, 2015
sunday night at PAU HANA!
All's well aboard Pau Hana
We passed our halfway point early sunday morning. We're 1500 miles from land.
The SSB is still behaving unpredictably.
We flew the spinnaker for 6 hours straight with the wind vane steering. just perfect.
As of early monday, 0410 local, 1210 UTC
07*40' S
116*53'' W
Speed 5.5 kts
Course 270* M
Regards,
Martin
----------
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We passed our halfway point early sunday morning. We're 1500 miles from land.
The SSB is still behaving unpredictably.
We flew the spinnaker for 6 hours straight with the wind vane steering. just perfect.
As of early monday, 0410 local, 1210 UTC
07*40' S
116*53'' W
Speed 5.5 kts
Course 270* M
Regards,
Martin
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Saturday, April 11, 2015
Message from Guy Evans
All, Martin phoned me via satellite at 1:05 PM Mtn Time on 4/11/2015 to notify me that his HAM radio is temporarily down, he is working on repairing it.
His coordinates are South 07* 26', West 113* 13' Course - 265*
Light winds, all is well. He will be calling me with location updates until the HAM radio is repaired.
Cheers, Guy Evans 801-450-1967
Friday, April 10, 2015
Friday April 10
More sailing!
Early this morning we came within 4 miles of a Japanese fishing boat, but never got to see it due to haze from a nearby squall.
Today I've been struggling with corroded connections at our antenna tuner. Our radio has been performing poorly. Hopefully I can get it going again.
Currently:
S 07*12'
W 111*00'
Speed 5.5 kts
Course 260*
Martin
----------
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Early this morning we came within 4 miles of a Japanese fishing boat, but never got to see it due to haze from a nearby squall.
Today I've been struggling with corroded connections at our antenna tuner. Our radio has been performing poorly. Hopefully I can get it going again.
Currently:
S 07*12'
W 111*00'
Speed 5.5 kts
Course 260*
Martin
----------
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Thursday, April 9, 2015
April 9th
So we're in to day 9 out of likely 21 days.
My schedule has transformed into this:
Sunrise coffee at about 6:00 am
Breakfast at around 9:30
Nap until 11:00
HF radio meeting at 11
Watch the waves go by, fish, or read until about 3:30
Possible afternoon nap
Dinner around 4:30
In bed at 6pm
Up from 9 until midnight
Sleep from midnight to three
On watch from three to six am.
repeat.
We're using our water well. We'll have plenty. We started with 110 gallons.
S 6*55'
W 108*53'
speed 6.3 kts
course 260*
I can't believe people sailed across any ocean at all in 1500.
amazing.
Martin
----------
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My schedule has transformed into this:
Sunrise coffee at about 6:00 am
Breakfast at around 9:30
Nap until 11:00
HF radio meeting at 11
Watch the waves go by, fish, or read until about 3:30
Possible afternoon nap
Dinner around 4:30
In bed at 6pm
Up from 9 until midnight
Sleep from midnight to three
On watch from three to six am.
repeat.
We're using our water well. We'll have plenty. We started with 110 gallons.
S 6*55'
W 108*53'
speed 6.3 kts
course 260*
I can't believe people sailed across any ocean at all in 1500.
amazing.
Martin
----------
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Wednesday April 8th
No fish today either. Two hits but no fish landed. We're averaging 7 knots which may be a bit fast for fishing.
No squalls. Partly to mostly cloudy. Wind 15-18 knots.
We're one third of the way to Marquesas. Our daily average is up to 140nm, so it's looking like our passage will be 21 days.
One of the boats that we met in Galapagos is 59' long and has already sailed out of radio range on 4 MHz. They cover about 200 miles a day.
There is a Catalina 47' that is catching up to us that we may see before the sun goes down.
We haven't see another boat at all so far on this leg.
As of 4:30 local time, 23:30 UTC
S 6*42'
W 106*48.5'
Speed 6.3 knots
Course 252*
Yahoo!
Martin
----------
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No squalls. Partly to mostly cloudy. Wind 15-18 knots.
We're one third of the way to Marquesas. Our daily average is up to 140nm, so it's looking like our passage will be 21 days.
One of the boats that we met in Galapagos is 59' long and has already sailed out of radio range on 4 MHz. They cover about 200 miles a day.
There is a Catalina 47' that is catching up to us that we may see before the sun goes down.
We haven't see another boat at all so far on this leg.
As of 4:30 local time, 23:30 UTC
S 6*42'
W 106*48.5'
Speed 6.3 knots
Course 252*
Yahoo!
Martin
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Tuesday, April 7, 2015
crowding me out
Yesterday we passed within 20 miles of a Kiwi boat "Firefly"
Today we are about 30 miles NE of an American boat "Moondancer"
It's fun to know that there are other boats out there. We may change course to attempt a sighting of Moondancer.
We've come in to the heart of the tradewinds so we're holding a steady 7+ knots.
The sun is back so our batteries are back up to full strength.
We just took a wave over the stern and I got thoroughly soaked with seawater. this is of course hilarious for Lexi (who didn't get wet.) It's hard to get dry let alone stay dry. It's been 82* F every day and about 101% humidity.
Thankfully the breeze is 15-20 kts. so it feels comfortable.
Our Hydrovane windvane steering has steered the entire time since we left the Galapagos. All day, all night. It never gets tired or eats too many cookies from our rations. Great piece of gear. Uses no electricity.
The radio net with the nearby boats has been entertaining. Every day at noon the group of boats we met in the Galapagos all call in with position report, conditions, and bragging about fishing.
825 miles down, 2160 to go.
Wow. Big Planet.
Martin
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Today we are about 30 miles NE of an American boat "Moondancer"
It's fun to know that there are other boats out there. We may change course to attempt a sighting of Moondancer.
We've come in to the heart of the tradewinds so we're holding a steady 7+ knots.
The sun is back so our batteries are back up to full strength.
We just took a wave over the stern and I got thoroughly soaked with seawater. this is of course hilarious for Lexi (who didn't get wet.) It's hard to get dry let alone stay dry. It's been 82* F every day and about 101% humidity.
Thankfully the breeze is 15-20 kts. so it feels comfortable.
Our Hydrovane windvane steering has steered the entire time since we left the Galapagos. All day, all night. It never gets tired or eats too many cookies from our rations. Great piece of gear. Uses no electricity.
The radio net with the nearby boats has been entertaining. Every day at noon the group of boats we met in the Galapagos all call in with position report, conditions, and bragging about fishing.
825 miles down, 2160 to go.
Wow. Big Planet.
Martin
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Monday, April 6, 2015
Monday
Making great time today.
Lots of sailing above 7 kts.
We just finished our fifth day and are 680 nm into our 3000 mile trip.
Currently trolling a flying fish and a squid, unfortunate stowaways that are now bait.
No rain or squalls just steady tradewinds around 15 kts.
As of 2pm central time, 2100 UTC
S 5*48'
W 101*22'
speed 7.3 kts
course 253*
All is well.
Martin
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Lots of sailing above 7 kts.
We just finished our fifth day and are 680 nm into our 3000 mile trip.
Currently trolling a flying fish and a squid, unfortunate stowaways that are now bait.
No rain or squalls just steady tradewinds around 15 kts.
As of 2pm central time, 2100 UTC
S 5*48'
W 101*22'
speed 7.3 kts
course 253*
All is well.
Martin
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
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Thursday, April 2, 2015
the big one
Howdy Everyone!
Pau Hana has stepped out for the big one!
3000 miles of the deep blue sea!
We had an outstanding three week visit to the Galapagos and are happy to be back on the ocean.
Our diving in the Galapagos afforded us a chance to see some of the really large animals that live out here.
I've already hooked into two fish that stretched and broke my 80lb monofilament like taffy.
One I actually got to hold on to the hand reel for a moment before the line broke. I think they were both large tuna.
I'll keep trying, but I wish I had a large saltwater reel with a drag device on the stern rail.
Perhaps weaker hooks so the hook breaks before I loose my lure. I've been making lures from bottle caps and mylar food packaging.
We left Puerto Villamil, Isla Isabella at 10am on April 1. We should arrive at Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia in 20-25 days.
There are at least 8 boats within 100 miles of us. We have set up a daily radio schedule so we can keep in touch and tell fishing stories.
Conditions are favorable so far. We are working our way south for a bit and not steering directly towards Marquesas. The SE tradewinds are better established to the south of S 05*
Martin
Current position
S 02*07.6'
W 092*33.8'
speed 6 kts
course 225*M
Destination:
S 07*
W 140*
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
Pau Hana has stepped out for the big one!
3000 miles of the deep blue sea!
We had an outstanding three week visit to the Galapagos and are happy to be back on the ocean.
Our diving in the Galapagos afforded us a chance to see some of the really large animals that live out here.
I've already hooked into two fish that stretched and broke my 80lb monofilament like taffy.
One I actually got to hold on to the hand reel for a moment before the line broke. I think they were both large tuna.
I'll keep trying, but I wish I had a large saltwater reel with a drag device on the stern rail.
Perhaps weaker hooks so the hook breaks before I loose my lure. I've been making lures from bottle caps and mylar food packaging.
We left Puerto Villamil, Isla Isabella at 10am on April 1. We should arrive at Nuka Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia in 20-25 days.
There are at least 8 boats within 100 miles of us. We have set up a daily radio schedule so we can keep in touch and tell fishing stories.
Conditions are favorable so far. We are working our way south for a bit and not steering directly towards Marquesas. The SE tradewinds are better established to the south of S 05*
Martin
Current position
S 02*07.6'
W 092*33.8'
speed 6 kts
course 225*M
Destination:
S 07*
W 140*
----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com
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