The flywheel is connected to the... NUTHIN!

As suspected, transmission input shaft splines are fubar.

Arrived Honokohau Harbor

We sailed slowly through another night to reduce our towing expense, and the towboat met us 1.5 miles from the harbor entrance.
We're safely moored at the dock and waiting for the customs and border control staff to clear us in.
2100 miles, 17 days. Back in the USA almost two years to the day after we left Beaufort, NC
Nap time.

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Land Ho!

[pos]19 13n 156 00w
[sp]1.2 kts
[h]000*T
[w]E 4 kts
[s]Safely in the lee of Hawaii awaiting for sea breeze to build for the final push to Kona. 26 miles to go. Rowdy night last night with sustained 30+ knots while rounding south point. Dolphins came out for inspection at sunrise.

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1920 miles behind us

150 miles to go to Kailua-Kona and the Honokohau Harbor. In about 90 miles we'll sail into the lee of the big island and the swell will be much reduced. We will also be away from the steady power of the NE tradewinds that have brought us so far. We'll ride "wind wrap" as far north as we can and then hug the coast to use the sea breeze generated by the warming air over the land.
The Kona Vessel Assist operator is aware of our approach and is standing by to help bring us into the marina.
Early this morning we sailed near what I believe to be an ODAS bouy. These weather data collectors are huge and made of steel and certainly tougher than Pau Hana. There will be many buoys along the coast called FADs, whose sole purpose is to provide structure as a Fish Aggregating Device. We will have to stay alert and perhaps troll a lure.
17*57' N
154*28' W
course 310*
speed 6 knots

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Friday

Clear bright sunrise as the wind blows on. 300 miles to go. We should be able to see Mauna Loa before too long if it stays clear.
The Hydrovane has steered continuously for more than 10 days straight. It is truly one of the most impressive inventions I've ever seen.

16 25 N
152 25 W
Course 310 T
Speed 6.5 kts
Wind NE 20 kts
Waves NE 2.5 m

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Day 14

After many days of hard effort, the ocean catches her breath during a relaxing morning. Most of my coffee made it into my mouth.
Many kamikaze flying fish on deck this morning.
A few mild-looking rain squalls ahead. I'll don't seem to mind being wet from rainwater.
Another sailboat has joined the Pacific Seafarer's Net. Jan on Narida has departed Victoria, BC and is bound for Victoria, BC in a non-stop solo circumnavigation. We are the only two boats currently on the roll call. Two other boats we know are waiting in the Line Islands for a favorable wind shift for their crossing to Hawaii.
1627 nm down, 457 to go. We hope to see some marine mammals as we sail up the lee side of the big island towards Kona

[pos]14 50n 150 18w
[sp]6.0 kts
[h]310*T
[w]NE 18 kts

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only 600 miles left!

Steep seas, but good progress through day 12. Mainsail is double reefed and storm jib on my new inner forestay that we added while in New Zealand. We had many hours of 30 knots in the last bit. It's backed off a bit now. Last night's full moon was above the clouds but created an ambient light that made for unique visibility through the night.

[pos]13 18n 148 23w
[sp]6.0 kts
[h]310*T
[w]NE 20 kts

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beginning day 12

1350 down, 750 nm to go. Good sailing. Periodic showers.
90% cloud cover provides welcome relief from the hot sun.
We saw a ship that was about 15 miles from us on the AIS transceiver, but no visual sightings of any traffic in 11 days.

[pos]11 50n 146 22w
[sp]6.0 kts
[h]310*T
[w]NE 15 kts

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Catch up with the sun...

After 10 days of sailing north, we've made our long awaited course change and are now headed NW towards the southern end of big island.
There are still a few squalls about but we're mostly sailing a fast reach with the wind just aft of the beam.
We've almost caught up with our original projected pace regardless of our two slow days and the time spend adrift in the ITCZ.
I'd like to open the hatches and get some fresh air in here, but there's still quite a bit of spray coming on deck.
I'm very thankful that the va'a has not been on the deck the past few days.
10 13 N
144 20 W
Course 310 T
Speed 7.0 kts
Wind NE 18 kts
Waves NE 2 m

Day 10

We sailed up through the squalls of the ITCZ until we were becalmed for several hours. We packed extra diesel fuel just for this situation, but our transmission is dead, so purists we must be. After several hours of wondering how long the calm would last (some sailors report being stuck in the ITCZ for weeks) we could hear the wind coming before it arrived and blasted us north on 25-30 knot easterlies! Midnight rodeo aboard Pau Hana! We charged full speed through the swell in total darkness and pouring rain with the clouds obscuring the moon. This morning our wind prediction model and synoptic charts from NOAA agree that we are clear of the ITCZ and should have steady conditions all the way to the big island, 1000 miles ahead of us.
08 20 N
143 11 W
course 345
speed 6.8 knots

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Inter Tropical Convergence Zone

In between the northern and southern hemisphere trade wind belts lies the intertropical convergence zone. Home to variable winds and lots of convection, there are many rain squalls about. We're getting pushed along and rolling through the waves that don't seem too organized. Today's task will be to adjust the gear shift mechanism on Pau Hana's transmission. The Lil' Swede is having a senior moment. It seem we have about 130 miles of this ITCZ to reach the NE trade winds on the north side. Not too bad.
[pos]06 21n 142 52w
[sp]4.0 kts
[h]355*T
[w]SE 10 kts

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Magic Carpet Ride

[pos]04 15n 142 57w
[sp]7.2 kts
[h]006*T
[w]E 12 kts
[s]Strange progress. We're going much faster than it feels and also being set to the east by the equatorial counter current.
Sadly my water speed sender is clogged, so I only have speed over the ground data. Approaching ITCZ.
We hooked a giant fish yesterday that just about stripped almost 500 m of 20 kg line of my reel. As I tightened up the drag, the #5/0 hook straightened out and it was gone. I wonder what it was. Big yellowfin tuna? Marlin?

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Going Bananas

The wind came up for us last night, so we put a reef in the mainsail and charged along a 7 knots through the night.
This morning the wind eased back down to the previous conditions and we're back under full sail at 6 knots.
Comfortable sailing. We're one third of the way, and our water and fuel supplies are good.
We're going bananas today. Banana bread and Choco-banana loaf. This may be the end of the fresh bananas. We have lots of dried bananas as well.
I've branded the dried bananas as "shrunken monkey fingers"
The bananas in the Marquesas are the best I've ever had anywhere. Papaya too.
current position:
01 37 N
142 51 W
Course 350
Speed 6.1 knots

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Crossing the equator today

My RSS news feed reported that the immigration websites of Canada and New Zealand were overloaded after the election results.
Special times. How embarrassing. Hopefully the "Millennial" demographic will organize to create something better in the future.
We're making improved progress today in comfortable conditions.
It was actually cool enough last night to generate dew on the deck. I had to put a shirt on for the first time in 5 days.
Many boats that are underway to New Zealand are getting pummeled by fronts spinning off of a high latitude low pressure system. We got knocked around a bit getting in to New Zealand last year. I remember it well. Good luck to our friends.
Pau Hana is at:
S 00*37'
W 142*21'
Course 000*
Speed 5.0 knots

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The wind is DEAD!

After slowly diminishing last night, the wind just gave up this morning. It evidently didn't get the forecast.
Even our spinnaker couldn't stay full enough to support it's own weight.
We have too far to go to burn fuel thoughtlessly, but we're motoring none the less. If the current forecast holds true, we chould get back into some wind in about 18 hours.
Today will be devoted to banana pancakes and fishing.
22% complete
Current Position:
01 53 S
141 45
C W 350 T
S 5.0 knots

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got that swing...

We're almost done with day three, and it feels like we're settling into the routine. All donuts and brownies are long gone.
The first two days usually feel uncomfortable as we're getting used to the sleep schedule and living at 15* of heel.
Conditions are good. We're running parallel with an American couple aboard the sailboat "Serenity," although they're about 1000 miles to the west of us.
They also check in to the Pacific Seafarer's Net on 14.300 MHz. The HF radio is really a nice widget for these conditions. We get all of our weather info, send position reports, and chat with the neighbors too!
At midday the sun feels like it is about five miles away and set on "high." We're staying in the shade as much as we can. It's quite pleasant to be up in the cockpit at night, however. We will get to watch the moon wax to full while on this passage. We will cross the equator in about 36 hours an get a glimpse of Polaris peeking up over the horizon. We've been in the southern hemisphere since March 12, 2015.
[pos]03 17s 141 27w
[sp]6.0 kts
[h]000*T
[w]12 kts NE

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Free Loadin' Frigate Bird

Last night at dusk a frigate bird maneuvered for several minutes trying to land on our solar panels, where it sat quietly through the night. Just as the dawn brought some vislble light, it gave a croak and set off for another day in the life without land.
We had a clear night with the moon setting early, so the stars were very bright and felt quite close.
Today brings more bright sunshine and mostly easy wind and waves. The wind should shift more easterly in another day which will allow a more comfortable angle for us.

[pos]05 10s 141 23w
[sp]6.0 kts
[h]000*T
[w]12 kts NE

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Deep Blue Sea

We had to motor a bit to get clear of Marquesas but we are now sailing well more or less along our intended route.
There are no more charted hazards between us and Hawaii.
We've traveled 130 nautical miles in our first 24 hours. Good enough for me.
Today is bright, sunny and about 85 degrees. It's fairly hot in the cabin
We are currently at:
S 07*18'
W 140*58'
Heading 336*T
Speed 6.2 knots

Underway

After almost 6 months in French Polynesia, Pau Hana is headed north to Hawaii, USA!
We will be in daily radio contact with the Pacific Seafarer's Net and posting our position reports here.
Any comments on the blog get forwarded to our radio email, so feel free. We'll be right here for the next 16-18 days.
The outrigger is sold so the foredeck is clear. We've got 100 gallons of water, 50 gallons of diesel, a pan of brownies and a fresh bag of donuts.
Here we go!
S 08*55'
W 140*15'
C 320*T

Nuku Hiva

We've been in Nuku Hiva for 10 days. We're getting Pau Hana ready for the crossing to Hilo, Hawaii. There we'll clear back into the USA, rest, and then sail to Honolulu, where we'll keep the boat in a marina adjacent to Waikiki Beach for the winter. It's 2000 nm from here, we're estimating about a 16 day passage. Today we're provisioning, checking the rigging, and starting to get packed up. I'm guessing we'll leave on Thursday or Friday. The hardest part always seems to be getting away from the house (or the island, in this case).

I was psyched to get to dive here in Nuku Hiva. We had a fantastic sighting of about 8 hammerhead sharks. They were curious and swam right over to see who was checking them out.

There are lots of stone tiki here. The anchorage is in the background.

Local singletrack.