June 8th
It’s a sunny and warm morning, especially when the sun breaks through the poofy clouds scattered about. Helm feels too loaded but sail trim and speed are good, I should add some trim tab when I’m done typing. Griffin up being goofy or totally spaced out on the ocean. Passed a very large buoy/marker to starboard not too far away, glad we didn’t see or hit it at night. Moon rose over the high side of the boat last night about 1am. One reef in the main, full jib, full ballast, 14-18knots at 104 true wind angle, trying to get back up to our plotted course. Boat speed right around 11kts. Single large flying fish are about, one flew towards us and just made it in front of the bow.
Lost a lure yesterday when Griffin tried to hold on to the pole but he freaked out and thought it was too big and fast and started running. He could slow it down with tension but didn’t want the rest of the line to go so he yelled for me to cut it. Wish that had happened differently. Gotta get the reel out of the holder. Later on the hand line we got a strike that we didn’t know about until Griffin checked the lure which had been bent and broken.
June 10th, midnight-2am
Searching for the North Star, it’s nearly visible. Finally see the herdsman and his pipe that the big bear is snifffing. Finished listening to “Into the Wild”, what an interesting presentation of the story through another young risk takers eyes. Glad Griffin doesn’t seem to hold that card of boundary pushing. Haven’t showered or changed clothes yet. Last nights dinner was chicken teriyaki on rice with sautéed carrots and green peppers.
June 10th, morning
Sunny and warm, I get up at 5:45 to make a coffee before going out for my 6am shift. I slept on the starboard bunk because Greg fell asleep on my set up, snoring away on my pillow, what a sweetheart. Griffin feeds the cats who are quite vocal about welcoming the sun and breakfast time.
Sipping coffee and looking out over the seascape, Griffin asks if a school of flying fish turn into a flock when they’re skimming the waves.
Thursday, midnight -2am
Clouds low on the dark horizon obscure the North Star. Instead of that searched for beacon were pointed towards the unknown. Our route has us on a course of about 40 degrees right now so the stars from the Big Dipper that haven’t rotated below the horizon yet are off on port, easily seen from the port helm where the autopilot is and where we usually drive from.
The beginning of this shift was exciting. During Greg’s previous shift the wind had built and we were quickly approaching the equator. Ned was up in the cockpit for the crossing and Greg went up to the mast to add the second reef. I woke up Griffin after that and we all sat and watched the numbers counting down our last seconds in the Southern Hemisphere then start to count up in the Northern. Neptune will come visit Ned in the daylight and make him an official Shellback.
Started listening to a book by John Kretchmer, a delivery captain. It’s like listening to an expanded Jimmy Buffet song and it suits the entertainment needed perfectly.
June 12th, Friday
Greg had a tough early morning shift with a squall, our first rain, a period with almost no wind where the sails flapped, and then wind increasing to over 25 knots. When I took over at 6am, things had settled but with more wind than we’ve seen so far. Greg and Ned were both up and they decided to hook up the third reef in the main which we have to re-lead the 1st reef line for. That took a bit of finagling and I drove the boat high and slow but then when we fell off to get back on course it was easier to drive again and we were still making 10-13 knots. The full jib and the main still on the second reef suited the conditions well. Driving is still a bit tough, surfing along the waves which come in so many sizes and a few different angles keeps the driver active. The wind hasn’t clocked around as far as it’s supposed to yet so we’re not pointing quite where we want to go, hopefully it will soon. Tomorrow is Ned’s 30th birthday!
Saturday morning, 12am
Greg was driving, Ned was asleep in the cockpit, and I was coming on watch. It was dark, no moon and lots of cloud cover so no stars were visible. The wind picked up and started changing direction so fast that before we knew it we had spun 180 degrees and were bombing along in a squall, getting drenched and barely able to tell what was happening. We got the rest of the already reefed jib furled in and Ned was able to drive well enough to try to tack back but it didn’t work with only the main. We bombed along southward until the wind came down a bit then were able to tack back and get going the right direction again. The good news was that the wind had finally made the shift we had been waiting for and we were going just about due north. The rest of that night was tough going and in the morning we saw that the main sail had a big area that had chafed on the newly run third reef line. Huge, huge bummer.
Sunday the 14th
Slept a bunch this morning after the second rough night in a row. Wind kept up most of the day despite the forecast for its death. Dolphins played on the bow today. Groups of boobies fished around us, aggressively diving into the sea like a missiles. There’s enough wind to keep us rolling, fingers crossed it stays.
My 6p-8p watch started with a beautiful sunset with high clouds lit up contrasting the lower clouds. The night sky is dotted with satellites, planets setting behind the sun, and clouds around the perimeter. Stars shine above and though the North Star should be visible here past 7 degrees north, it’s too close to the cloudy horizon to be seen. Maybe at my next shift at midnight.
Monday the 15th
North Star spotted! We’d been mostly hand steering which at times can require way more concentration and focus than I have. Either there’d be a slow slip one direction or the other or a wave wouldn’t put us back where it picked us up. Feels like we’re a crawling baby whose parent keeps trying to redirect us by lifting us up a bit and turning us away from our goal. Over the night we decided being as efficient as possible, damn the batteries and how much power we’d use, and we let the autopilot manage our course for the most part. What a relief.
This morning there’s the swell we’ve had the last few days that’s on our port aft quarter and just for fun, another, much larger swell that’s more aligned with the wind. It’s big enough that there’s an amusement park ride quality of going up up up up and then sliding down all the way to the trough. I feel inclined to throw my hands over my head like on a roller coaster.
This morning we ticked over 10k miles on the ships log since we left Seattle.