11 December 2011 On Passage
It was much the same story as yesterday during the morning. we had a slow start and rolled about a lot but eventually we put up the main with 1 reef and the large jib to make variable headway S and E all day. We managed to dry most things and the boat, until 1600hrs when we were hit by another squall which was exciting. We dropped the main and changed to the small jib with considerable difficulty, and then rolled about going nowhere when the wind dropped. After a while with no obvious squalls around we re-reeved the No1 reefing line to the No3 reef position and flew the main. The boat moved and when the next squall did hit it took off like an express train. We were regularly hitting 9 kts going up wind and the boat was awash with spray and more solid chunks of water. In all this we had a visit from a large pod of dolphins who were all high jump specialists and they put on a magnificent display for about 1/2hr. I think that they were as interested to see us as we were to see them because traffic in this part of the ocean is sparse to say the least.
The wind continued to build as darkness fell and the boat surged on, no moon, no stars, no horizon no light at all except for the tiny pools shed by the navigation lights and the boat crashing on into the blackness and the ghostly grey of the ever present spray and breakers. It was a ride like no other I have ever experienced and I will never forget it.
12 December 2011 On Passage
The wind of last night died at about 1100hrs. We then flip flopped about in the residual chop until we dropped the jib and motored. We got the evening meal before the wind arrived again 15-20kts from SE so we ploughed Southish all night. It is very difficult to determine whether or not we are out of the doldrums and last night's steady winds are the SE Trades. It would be nice to think so but I remain to be convinced.
13 December 2011 On Passage
The wind held steady 15-20kts SE and we made reasonable progress South. After the blow the sea was very confused and often stopped us dead but it wasn't bad progress. I would have flown more sail, but Kosta prefers slower progress but less alarms and excursions, and after the experience of the last few days he has a point. We have currently sailed about 1000mls. we have 900 to the Marquesas, 1100 to Rangiroa and 1400 to Tahiti. More to the point Marquesas are SE, Rangiroa SSE and Tahiti almost due South. We have the SE Trades to experience and my viewing of last years wind maps leads me to believe that the wind will back to the East as we go further South. Whether this will happen we shall see but it is this which will eventually determine our destination. It would be nice to make the Marquesas but I am not putting any money on it and every day it gets less likely.
We are now at least 30-40% of the way to Tahiti. that alone gives a vivid idea of the size of this ocean where after 8 days we are 1000mls from anywhere!
At this stage a few thoughts on boat and crew would be apposite.
Boat first.
As a boat to cruise the S Pacific it is largely unsuitable as it is so wet. Without the little doghouse over the companionway it would be a complete disaster. There is limited ventilation apart from the hatches which must be closed in heavy weather, of which we have had lots. The babystay leaks into the forepeak and the cockpit has hardly been dry since we left. The inside of the boat is always hot and humid. The saloon has a large open area of varnished floor at the bottom of a very steep companionway. the saloon is fortunately spannable to grabrails along either side, but at 20 degrees of heel when the floor is wet it needs to be crossed with care, and it needs to be crossed to pass hot drinks from the galley to the cockpit. The 2 quarterberths and the saloon setees and bunks have remained largely dry so although we are wet all day we do have a dry place to sleep.
Topsides the boat is an offshore racer pure and simple. The decks are clear of clutter to the extent that it only has 4 cleats! As an aside my boat had 16 plus 8 to hold the halyard falls and reefing lines and a futher 3 on the mast. So finding places to tie anything off is a challenge and resort must usually be made to quick release thumb knots which are not very satisfactory. it has stoppers and tracks all over the place for sheet and spinnaker controls, but has no stoppers on the reefing lines so they have to stay on the winches which are also used for halyards! And the 3 reef points but 2 reeflines you know about.
However the real difficulties stem from the strange arrangement of controls and rigging. The forestay is foiled so the foresails have to be guided into the groove by someone on the bow, the jib halyard is led back to the cockpit under the doghouse so it is difficult for both people to communicate and the same is true to a lesser extent about the main and main halyard. Changing any sails is a 3 man job if it is to be carried out with ease. The solid kicker is not strong enough to lift the boom when the main is dropped so as there is no topping lift the main halyard always has to be used. The halyards are wire so they are uncomfortable to handle. The engine can only be started from inside the saloon, and at night from the 'proper' helming position it is difficult to read the compass. and so it goes on, Nitidus is probably the most difficult boat to work that I have ever encountered.
That said she has some excellent points. SHE SAILS LIKE A WITCH and points higher than any boat I have ever been on. It has a strong hull and a wonderful towering mast which is well secured and it doesn't need a a lot of wind/sail to make her go so she is inherently safe. She has wonderful emergency and navigation equipment and wind instruments. the Hydrovane is wonderful but going to windward she balances so easily that it is not necessary. She is a joy to handle under sail and I can understand why Kosta loves her so. So she is a good boat to SAIL the S Pacific but a dreadfulone to CRUISE the same!
The Crew
Kosta, owner and captain, knows the boat very well, has long sailing experience and sound judgement. He is careful about checking the boat and sails for faults so they can be corrected before they get serious. If he has a fault it is that he is unwilling to delegate tasks so the learning curve for Genady and myself has been very gentle. He is cautious with sails so the wind we have had has not always been used to best effect but that could also be to minimise the chances of accidental or storm damage. It is only a matter of balance and I have had no serious misgivings about his judgement on this passage.
Sergiy, is Kostas usual sailing partner. He is also a mechanic so he has taken on much of the regular maintenance and projects to uprate the boat for this trip. He would really like to be sailing just with Kosta and finds other people, especially me, quite difficult to work with as he wants to do it all as he does with Kosta. He is very strong, mechanically inventive and a fantastic cook. He has undertaken most of the cooking and produced tasty, sustaining and interesting meals in some dreadful conditions. He is a tower of strength if some times difficult to live with.
Genady is the quietest of the group. He too is an engineer in a company fabricating roof truss joints. He and Kosta have been friends and sailing companions since they were at university together. His experience of both boat and sea is less than anyone else, but he is easy to get on with and keen to co-operate working the boat. I think that the size and violence of some of the seas have shocked him but he has recovered quickly and come back for more.
And then there is me.
They all look after me as they think my age demands and I don't object with any strength!
Life is wonderful: I would not have thought it possible 40-50 years ago when I was sitting in my tank on the N German Plain looking East, that I would one day be sitting on a small sailing boat in the middle of the Pacific with 3 ex-members of the Red Army speaking Russian to each other. Amazing!
For a few hours in the afternoon we shook out a reef and the boat took off at 7-8 kts. Sergiy was pleased as it was his watch. We prudently went down to 3 reefs at last light and ploughed uneventfully through the night.
14 December 2011 On Passage
Yesterday Genady and Sergiy fed fishing lures to the predators of the S Pacific, and today is no different. We get lots of hits but the fish break or cut the line very quickly. One bite took all the line off the reel in less than 3 secs and before anyone could get near the rod. It is frustrating for the fishermen but if these monsters are on the end of the line it is probably better that they are in the ocean rather than the cockpit.
This morning was sunny and blue for only the 2nd time this trip so we went off the wind and dried our clothes and mopped the bilges and emptied the forepeak of water and wet sails. It was a very pleasant few hours. I just hope we don't have to pay for it later with interest. It should be OKif the wind backs East. The general feeling is that we will head for Tahiti directly with an ETA about Christmas. It is not certain but is increasingly likely.
We kept the same 3 reefs and small jib all day and through the night. We were a bit under powered but still made 120 miles in 24 hrs. For 15hrs throughout the night the boat plodded dutifully to windward and none of us needed to touch the tiller. It felt like a holiday.
We have lots of flying fish, silvery shoals skittering across the waves in the day and grey shapes disappearing into the night. Last night we had a small sqid on the deck too.
15 December 2011 On Passage
The weather looks set fair at 10-15 kts SE so we shook out a reef. I think we could carry more sail but it makes for a comfortable ride and we are making 5-6 kts in more or less the right directions. We are losing our hard won easting quite quickly but the promise of East winds for a couple of days and then even 2 days of NE. So if they materialise the eastings will be easy to get back.
It really is an amazing boat to sail. With Spirit of May you felt the power of the boat when she leaned to the wind and shouldered the seas aside. Nitidus doesn't give that impression at all as she seems to slip through the water without effort. Often I think we are hardly moving but when I look at the GPS I see we have a steady 5 kts.
Today was Sergiy's day for a fish. After yesterdays losses he trippled the leaders and upped the line strength and was rewarded with a 5-6 lb Mahi-Mahi. I look forward to sushi and fish and chips! Not much sushi and no chips, but the fried fish was delicious.
17 December 2011 On Passage
Today I checked the diary against the ships log and found that I had lost a complete day! When it was I can only guess but I suspect that it was over a week ago when we were having alarms and frustrations in the doldrums. It shows what a different time capsule is a small boat on passage.
Last night was also the 1st time we had a cloud free sky and no moon. I spent my watch looking for new stars and watching the familiar ones sink low to the North. This morning we crossed the equator. I made a small libation of my morning coffee to King Neptune and asked that the present benign conditions continue. We go at 6-7 kts without effort.
Today we also abandoned formally any thoughts of making the Marquesas and our intention is now Tahiti. The Marquesas are 600 miles away but directly to windward and if we wanted to go there we would have to sail around 1800 mls to account for tacking and leeway and the set of the equatorial current. Even in a boat that sails as well as Nitidus this is not a trivial undertaking and it makes one appreciate the skills and fortitude of the sailors like Cook who made these passages in square rigged ships without charts or GPS. And even more so for the Polynesian navigators who found their way in catamaran canoes.
Sergiy hooked and lost another big fish. Once it saw the boat it dived , bent the rod double and snapped the line.
There was another star filled night and and the 24 hr run was 158 miles! That is better than 6.5 kts average.
Kosta was playing with the GPS and found a screen with a maximum speed of 15 kts. Unfortunately he reset the field! Even for allowing for the 2 kt variation caused by GPS plot accuracy it is an awesome speed for a 40ft sail boat.
18 December 2011 On Passage
During the night the wind backed to the East and increased in strength so at 0600 we took in the 3rd reef and paid off to 210 degrees. The motion is much easier and little of our precious Easting is being lost. We are told that as we go further S the wind will back further so it should be easy to lay a course for Papette. However with the reaching the boat will not easily steer herself as she did all day yesterday so we must hand steer. The speed is little if any reduced and I expect a similar daily tally of miles to yesterday. With the firm decision to head for Papette the guide books and pilot books are being studied avidly.
The wind built steadily all day pushing up the swell before it. The boat started surfing across the front of the waves and was increasingly difficult to control. We dropped the main and everything calmed down immediately but the speed stayed at 6-7kts so we decided to stay like this overnight. The days run was 157 mls almost identical to yesterday. The hand steering is tedious after the luxury of the last few days but with 4 fit crew it is not a problem. At this rate we will be in Tahiti in about 6 days. A most attractive proposition.
19 December 2011 On Passage
We hand steered all night and in the morning the wind abated slightly. the boat was sluggish so we put up the main with 3 reefs and away she went again. The steady trade winds are a joy after the variables of the doldrums and the Med, just as long as you don't want to go upwind! We rolled along all day and just before we were due to eat Genady caught a 5lb tuna. In the area there were hundreds of terns wheeling and diving so we suppose that the tuna were corraling flying fish or sprats. But how can hundreds of birds arrive at a bait ball? We seldom see more than 1 or 2 at a time so where do they come from and how do they know?
Anyway the tuna was very welcome. Much darker and more meaty in texture than the Mahi-Mahi, and not as sweet. When it came in it was beautiful, silver streaks with a deep green back and an enormous black and silver eye.
20 December 2011 On Passage
Awoke to find that the wind was backing furthar and we needed to ease the sheets to go south. the boat leveled up and the cockpit was dry for hours at a time! It is a bit rolly in the quartering sea but we are getting on a treat. To celebrate I had a salt water shower at the back of the cockpit, a 1st since Hawaii. The rest of the day was like a holiday, blue sky, blue sea and white caps on the waves and an easy passage towrds our destination. The wind lasted until 2200hrs and then died so everyone else had a frustrating night of calms and wind shifts in a sea left over from the days blow.
21 December 2011 On Passage
I woke early for my watch with crashing and banging of halyards and and the slapping of sails, sheets and blocks. We were making very slow progress SE with thunderstorms and squalls all around. Eventually we put the engine on and pressed on but with a similar racket. About an hour into my watch we were hit by a squall which went from 0 to 38 kts in under a minute . There was just time to kill the engine and slacken the sheets to avoid a serious broach. We were only carrying a triple reefed main and the small jib but the boat surged away and laid over at 45 degrees with us spilling wind as best we could. When it was obvious it was not passing we quickly we dropped the main and regained control. The heavens opened and it poured reducing visibility to about 100m. as usual with heavy rain the sea went oily smooth in spite of 20+kts of wind. Genady and Sergiy took a fresh water shower and I was very little drier in my oilskin jacket . At watch end I made myself breakfast and prepared a vegetable curry for lunch. Kosta and |Genady both had similar blows but we now knew what to look for and we got the main down in good time and so avoided more dramas.
Around sunset there was a discussion as to what to do with the sails as the wind was very light and we were only making about 2kts at best, and then often in the wrong direction. Kosta was unwilling to use the engine but after an hour of severely slatting sails he relented and we went SSW in the right direction at 4-5 kts all night. Most of the time the wind wasn't strong enough to turn the wind generator so moving a boat downwind would have been impossible. I was also happy about the decision because the sails were taking a beating and we do not have a spare main so this one is precious.
22 December 2011 On Passage
During the morning the wind veered East and we slowly increased the sail area and avoided obvious squalls and thunderstorms. It finally settled ESE-SE at a steady 15kts so we went up to 2 reefs and made good progress all day. At night there was an active band of electrical storms all across our front so when the wind shifted quickly and increased we dropped the main completely and continued like that through to the next morning.
23 December 2011 On Passage
Today dawned fair with a steady E-ESE wind of 15kts and fair weather cumulus all around. After some discussion about whether to use more sail and arrive tomorrow night, we decided 'Sod the arrival' and flew the sail. The boat went beautifully and the wind gradually increased in strength so we were surfing across the front of the waves. We ate the last melon sitting in the cockpit with the boat going like a train in a blue and white sunny surround. Just lovely. However all good things come to an end and we shortly afterwards had to reef and then drop the main completely. I had a fairly easy watch but Kosta and Genady had calms and blows and Genady had a 28 kt squall so it was good that the main was down. We are sticking to the jib as we are still making 6-7kts in the right direction with very little effort.
24 December 2011 On Passage and Arrival
No comments:
Post a Comment