Here are my last ramblings from this passage, landfall is soon and I promise the next blog entry will be at least slightly more finished.
6/25 Fairly consistent winds allows us to sail more comfortably today. I got a little nap in the morning then worked and did a blog post in the afternoon. It was actually warm in the sun! It’s been days of clouds and breeze keeping us dressed in jackets and pants. It feels so strange to be wearing so many clothes again. Fluky then gusty winds on my evening watch drove me crazy but I attempted to be calmed by the gorgeous sunset.
6/26 6am. Grey and misty morning with wind that comes and goes. Feels cool due to the moisture though the temp is well into the 70s. Wind dies, then sneaks back in 20 degrees different at a few knots. I gently chase it, trying not to ruin any momentum that was so carefully built. Ned takes over at 8 and the wind alludes him as well, then fills in 30 minutes later, hopefully to stay for a while.
We tack! During Greg’s 10-12 watch in the morning we point our bow west for something new. The sun came out. We saw contrails and even a few planes. Griffin is astounded that he hasn’t seen an airliner in a year, and wonders if anyone up there can see us down here. My 12-2 watch is lovely sunny sailing and I’m not even cold. There’s a chafe spot on the jib from a stanchion on the other tack. I slid up to the bow, cleaned the area, and then stuck on some patch material. These sails are toast.
We tack back with the changing direction of the wind. Greg thinks we’ll head west again later next week. Trying to stay as high/northward pointing as possible while keeping the boat rolling.
6/27 Sea temperature hasn’t been dropping and even went back up to 72. Haven’t unfurled the jib at all today with the sloppy seas and wind 18-24. Storm jib and reefed main keep us rolling but painfully slowly for this spoiled crew.
I’m entertained by making pancakes for breakfast and focaccia dough is rising in the warm engine compartment for dinner. Cooked up a cake mix that was never used on a birthday. A few carrots are our only fresh vegetables left, growing bean sprouts sounds dangerous in this wave state. I’ll dig around in our canned goods for something green to eat.
6/28 Super windy overnight with very confused seas, I had waves coming from 3 directions. Each wave wants to steer the boat and it’s a challenge to not let them take over. This morning it’s less windy but still too much for our delicate jib. Ned and Griffin are having cake for breakfast and Greg and I are trying catch a little more sleep.
6p, the seas are back to being confused. It’s like the difference between riding a bike on a speed track and serious mountain biking, we’re bucking the wild bronco instead of “smooth sailing”… where did that phrase come from?
For dinner we had previously prepped ground beef in fresh corn tortillas and some salsa with lime, cabbage, onion, and some roasted red peppers from a jar. Pretty good for the third week at sea.
6/29, 12am. The moonlight switches on and off erratically as clouds pass above. A wind shift for the better lets me point the bow nearly far enough west to make Neah bay. The water temperature is below 70 for the first time, familiar waters are closer and closer though we still have at least a thousand miles to cover. At normal Rocket speed that would take 5 days but at the moment we’re only going 5 knots over ground so it’s going to be a lot longer.
6am Heavenly coffee made, I enter the cockpit and Greg is ready to unfurl the jib, thank goodness! The pitifully tiring work cranking it out is worth it and we accelerate to over 6 knots. How ridiculous that it feels fast. Sipping coffee, grateful and enjoying what we’ve got.
Each morning when I get up for my 6am shift, both cats are eagerly waiting for their breakfast. They are such good little fuzzy crew members! It’s nice that as the temperature decreases their snuggling needs increase, it’s been a while without cozy cats.
6/30 Midnight shift is eerily light out. A layer of low, thin clouds is backlit by the bright moon and there’s a cool blue glow cast over the steel grey sea. It’s relatively smooth and the 9-15 knot breeze pushes us along at 6-9 knots with the full jib. I’m re-listening to Malcolm Gladwell’s audio book with Paul Simon’s about his career and musical inspiration, so good.
We’re almost to 40 degrees North but all the way over at 148 degrees West… a ways to go.
We caught another fish! We assumed it was a skip jack tuna but turns out it was an albacore with such white flesh. Nice to have something else for dinner.
7/1 We caught a second albacore tuna! Last nights was tasty, so glad to have more as these are fairly small tuna, about 7 pounds.
We also caught a big hunk of gross fishing net. Greg and Ned were able to hook the floating mass, drag it forward from around the keel, then pick it up onto the deck and carry it to the transom before setting it free. There was a massive community of crabs living on it and some thought that Rocket Science’s deck might be a new home. Sheesh.
7/2 We finally ran out of wind overnight. We were expecting it to happen over the last few days so it was sort of a relief when it finally did. We started the engine which we run every day to keep the battteries topped off. We don’t put it into gear for that though, and when we did there was a clacking noise so we took it right out again. We floated and rocked around until there was enough daylight to see and there was indeed something wrapped around our propellor shaft right where the line cutter is. I suited up, jumped in, and cut a handful of fishing net that was wrapped around it. I got out so we could test it but there was still a knocking noise so I went in again. I found the line cutter had been forced down the shaft so I hammered it back into place.
I’ve never seen such a beautiful clear deep blue as the water this morning. It was absolutely stunning. All sorts of organisms like little jellyfish and ctenophores were floating by, so much beautiful life everywhere! I’m quite used to Rocket Science’s presence and shape underwater, but here in the clear deep she seemed so much smaller.
We motored and napped the rest of the day. I was almost asleep when Griffin yelled “fish on!” and we reeled in another perfect little albacore tuna. This is the third we’ve caught and we’re glad to re-stock protein in the fridge and freezer.
Late dinner of bow tie pasta fagouli style with bonus canned corn and home made canned chicken breast. It’s nice to have a break from cooking while heeled over so I made a double batch for later.
7:30pm, 14 ships on AIS and FINALLY passed through 40 degrees North. Milestones are so helpful.
7/3 It’s my 12am shift and we’re still motoring. The wind will sometimes pick up to 8 or 9 knots before petering out pretty quickly. The shaft seal is behaving itself and we have enough diesel to motor for a while, but not the 800 plus miles left to Victoria. We’re surrounded by ships still, only a few have been close enough to see.
Grey morning with low clouds and the wind is picking up, we’re motoring a bit longer so we get well into the breeze. Nice sailing through the day, managing to keep enough speed to keep everyone happy.
We caught another albacore tuna! One a day for 4 days is crazy. Fresh fish for dinner along with leftover pasta and chopped carrots. A few apples left too, no other fresh foods.
7/4 6am We’ve gone 191nm in the last 24 hours which feels pretty great for our situation. It’s a grey morning, seems very PNW. No fish caught today, out streak is broken! I worked a while on attempting to patch up the main as the traveler was in tight and I could easily reach the sail. My feeble repairs may only last a few hours but might as well try it. Just don’t want the sail to come apart more than it already is. Burritos for dinner with some cabbage and lime salsa.
7/6 Yesterday as I came on for my noon watch we caught the biggest albacore tuna yet, Griffin weighed it at around 18 pounds. It put up a bit more of a fight right after hooking then somehow got off the hook and gaff right as I got it into the cockpit. We tied it up to bleed so I could finish my driving shift before cleaning it. Bigger fish means a much bigger cleaning job, by the time I was finished and cleaned up I felt done with tuna fishing for a while. I think we’re too far north for a mahi anyway.
I’d been off scopolamine for a while but after the fish cleaning and bouncy rocking I wasn’t feeling great. I put on another patch, laid down, and later made simple chicken quesadillas for dinner. No one wants to eat fish after being around that cleaning job and it’ll be fun to share later.
This morning is cool and grey, the cats know what’s up and have both been sleeping on me and often under the down comforter. Such a change from minimal clothing and no sheet or covers of any kind. We’re about 350 miles to the straits entrance. So close and so far… we’re pretty into our routine and adjusting is going to be weird! I’m excited for a full nights sleep and food that didn’t come on this passage.
7/7 Counting down the miles here! Had to motor for a bit in the early hours of today. Happy to turn on some heat and have warm water from it. I don’t get why it’s so cold, isn’t it supposed to be summer? Nice sailing in the afternoon, pointing where we want to go and cruising along. Tonight will be our last night on the ocean as we’ll hit the straits tomorrow afternoon.
7/8 As my midnight to 2am shift ended there was a fluorescent orange streak along the horizon under the clouds. Ships time has been is 2.5 hours behind PST so the 2am but really 4:30am sunrise colors in the sky were real, not a hallucination. We’re cruising along in 9-15knots of breeze, pointed right at the NW tip of Washington State. This is our last 120 or so miles on the ocean, that hits hard. I’m going to miss it out here.
