The Voyage: Hawaii to Polynesia

The Voyage: Hawaii to Polynesia
                                                     After the stopover in the US with Don and Kathy, and the preparation of the boat in Hawaii, reported in the 2 previous posts, it was about time to get on with the event which had brought me half way around the world. This post records our adventures, highs and lows on the passage from Hawii to Tahiti.

5 December 2011 Kona and departure
                                                             After an unhurried pack-up we booked out of the resort. We are all anxious to get started, but I feel that Genady and I are still unfamiliar with the boat and could have done with some time spent in instruction and practice. Kosta says not to worry we will pick it up easily enough! On contacting immigration Kosta was told to report to the airport at 1130hrs which gives us a few hours of waiting so we put anti chafe on the spreaders and did last,last, last minute shopping.
 When Kosta got back there was a mini panic about the state of charge in the batteries, but the engine startyed and it was considered to be just that the boat had sat unused for 3months. Serge fitted his new gear change to the outboard and it is a great improvement on the original broken bit that it came with.
 We left at 1345hrs and picked up a NNW wind of 8-9 knots which took us easily down the W coast of Big Island under full main and the large jib.

Leaving Hawaii

We lost the wind about 15-20 miles N of the most Southerly point and proceeded under engine, but not for long. In the area of the Point we moved into an accelleration zone and got East winds of 25-30 knots. Frantic reefing, 1 reef, 2 reefs as the wind built and the light began to fade. We were still over-canvassed so changed the jib for a small one in challenging conditions. the large jib was left secured to the stancions on the foredeck. The boat was still going like a train, or perhaps a submarine would be a better analogy, and it was not easy to handle, so we decide to take in the 3rd reef. We/I then found that although the sail had 3 reef points there were only 2 reef lines and no stoppers on the reef lines so No1 reef line had to be undone and re used as No3. In failing light with high wind and sea conditions it was not the easiest of tasks, but it was done eventually and the boat finally came under control just as it got properly dark. We decided to hand steer through the night, not sure why, but we did. The boat was swept continually by seas, many of them heavy, and everyone was wet. The boat leaked badly under these conditionswhich shocked Kosta who had never experienced anything like this before and had assured me that the inside would be dry.
 Around midnight on Kosta's watch there was a major panic as the large jib had broken loose. Kosta and Genady did some fancy footwork on the fore deck and managed to bundle it and the accompanying waves in through the forehatch.
What a baptism of wind and water!
The boat sails like a witch but is probably the most uncomfortable boat I have ever sailed on. This morning the cabin floor is nearly awash and most of the water that lands on the deck returns to the ocean via the cockpit!

6 December 2011 On Passage
                                                With the morning we took stock. The wind abated slightly to around 15kts and the boat was wallowing as she was undercanvassed. With some trepidation we shook out a reef and she began to fly again. we also set up the Hydrovane which is a wonderful piece of equipment. It is so simple but steers better than any of us can. this means that we can watchkeep from the little companionway shelter instead of being on the windward side of the cockpit which is regularly swept with waves and spray.
 There was another alarm about 1500hrs when we noticed that the Hydrovane had slipped in it's mountings and twisted. Sergiy and Kosta spent a couple of hours hanging over the back and managed to straighten it and tighten the bracket bolts. Lifting will have to wait for calmer conditions. In the attempts to provide easier for Kosta and Sergiy I learnt 2 rather disturbing facts:
1. My crew had no knowledge of heaving-to, with all the implications that that has for MOB drills.
and
2. Nitidus will not heave-to easily anyway as the foresail sheet lead is too far inboard to properly back the sail and stop the boat.
Best not to fall off I guess!!!!!!!!!

Sergiy on watch in relatively easy conditions, note the water running into the cockpit

 The boat continues to sail beautifully at 50 degrees off the wind and 10-15kts gives us 5-7kts in a direction which will allow us to make the Marquesas. What will happen in the Doldrums and then more worryingly, the SE Trades remains to be seen.  'Sufficiant unto the day' and for now we are making 130-140mls/day in the right direction.
  At about midday the choppiness on the top of the swells eased and the boat began, with our help, to dry out. I have 2 sets of clothes that I use, 1 wet, the other damp, and I switch beween them. Goodness knows what my good clotheswillbe like in the bag I stored in the forepeak. The boat is heeled at about 20 degrees and every job is of necessity a one handed job. Unless you are wedged somewhere you have to hang on. Interesting!
 The winds got up again towards evening and I made a chicken curry whilst restrained in a cats cradle of ropes at the stove. There is no bum strap and nothing to wedge against, Sergiy and to a lesser extent Genady manage to work the stove in a chaotic ballet dance but it is beyond me.

Genady cooks. Masterchef eat your heart out!

At the time it was my watch both Kosta and Sergiy were on deck so I went to bed in a quarterberth, first time warm and dry for 2 days. Slept for 12 hours!
Afternote: That last comment shows why soldiering is a young mans' occupation, 50 years ago, 2 days on the go and soaking wet were a fairly unremarkable occurrence.

8 December 2011 On Passage
                                                Somewhere in the chaos of the last few days I have lost.
Woke in time for my watch and things were much quieter. The wind was down below 15kts and the boat was down to 4.5 kts. We really needed more sail to drive the boat as the hydrovane needs speed to recover the course from bumpy waves. However we stayed with small jib and 2 reefs all day to give us a chance to tidy up and clean out the bilges. Everything is much more civilised now with a dry cabin floor.
Yesterday Genady tried his hand at fishing and lost 2 lures in quick succession. The fish must have been big as there was no delay, just bang and gone. Today however was different and after about a hour he hooked a Mahi-Mahi. After about 10 mins we landed this beautiful 15lb fish.

 On the way in it was silver and green and blue by turns and on landing it turned yellow. Kosta played itGenady gaffed and butchered it, and we all had sushi for supper! Delicious.
  Just when you think everything is under control........... the wind got up, and the Hydrovane shifted again and had to be dismantled. by this time it was night with 20+kts of wind. We managed to heave to eventually by dropping the main, but then the boom had to be secured against the roll of the boat and there is very little to tie anything to on this boat. For a while it was a melee of noise and flying ropes and the crashing back and forth of the boom, but eventually everything was tamed and after about 30mins the hydrovane was recovered. Another night of hand steering. it was my watch and the others disappeared below. The watch was a real joy,Nitidus handles like a big dinghy and with the wind below 20 kts the splashing was minimal, there was a beautiful moon to steer by, flying fishes skittering about in the ocean and on deck. It was a lovely 3 hrs.

9 December 2011 On Passage

This is more like it!

                                                I woke to find that Kosta had lashed the tiller and the boat was sailing herself close-hauled. I wasn't sure she would do this, but she does and balances like a dream. the weather looks fair and settled so we mopped upthe bilges again, eased the angle on the wind, flattened the jib, eased the boom out and got the boat sailing flat in roughly the right direction with the cockpit and decks dry for the 1st time since we left.
  The wind dropped to under 10kts so we changed to the larger headsail. We had our 1st uneventful night since leaving but were visited twice by dophins.
  Since leaving we have seen no shipping, no planes and limited birdlife, just a few boobies and albatrosses and a scattering of petrels.
Sergiy found a corroded connection in the charging circuit so now the charging works all the time!

10 December 2011 On Passage
                                                 The wind was again light so after breakfast we put up the full main and had a lovely time sailing gently to windward until 1100hrs when Kosta discovered that about 1/3rd of our fresh water was missing from the Starboard tank. The water in the bilges had disguised its' loss over the last 5 days. We drained what was left into the main tank and took stock. We have about 200litres of water left. The Marquesas are1300mls away and we have sailed 650mls in 5days. We have the doldrums and the SE Trades to contend with but allowing 3 weeks to complete, which we reckon is well within probability, will give us 9 litres a day between the 4 of us. We were frugal on water before, now we must be miserly.
    What caused the leak we have not established. there is no obvious damage to the container so I can only think that one of the inlet/outlet caps was not properly secured. (In Tahiti we found a small slit on the top of the tank which we repaired with sail tape. But what caused the slit is still unknown.) We checked the port tank very carefully and all is well there.
 The wind picked up and the boat took off at a steady 6kts for the Marquesas. At last light we took in a reef and the speed was largely unaffected. At 0300hrs during Genady's watch we were hit by a sustained squall in excess of 25kts from the SSE. We paid off and dropped the main in driving rain and spray. Spent the night going SSW! At about 1100hrs the wind backed 30 degrees and we were able to hold a Southerly course. With the loss of easting, and the S aspect of the winds, plus the SE Trades; the Marquesas becomes problematic. Tahiti is 300 mls furthar at 1000 mls and almost due South, so we are keeping our options open by heading as mujch SE as we can and will reassess in 2-3 days.
Today was a very frustrating day, sails up - too much wind; sails down -wind drops; just one of those days , 0-20 kts and everything in between from most points of the compass!
Engine On,
Engine off again PDQ as we took off on a beat to the SE and the Marquesas; and another midnight main drop in 25+kts.

Kosta at the helm

11 December 2011 On Passage
                                                  For the early morning it was much yesterday so it was a slow uncertain start. Eventually we put up the large jib and the main with 1 reef and we made variable headway S and E throughout the rest of the day. We managed to dry most things and the boat until 1600hrs when we were hit by another squall which was pretty exciting. We dropped the main and exchanged the jibs with some difficulty, only to roll about in the swells when the wind dropped. As there were no other squalls on the way we re-reeved the