Hanamoenoa Bay
Without a doubt Hanamoenoa Bay is a special place. A "white" sand beach, crystal clear water, I can see the bottom in 30+ feet, also generally sunny and amazing sunsets. Little to no swell or surge and a pretty constant 6 to 15 KT wind so the boat doesn't swing all over. Manta rays, tropical fish, a...
The Ocean
The ocean is confused today, all bluster, big waves and whitecaps! But today it's not as powerful, the ocean, the powerful, the controller of men's destiny, is softer, not as commanding, not as ferocious. The sea still sends its reminders, the periodic crash of water over the bow, the wave that roll...
One Hundred Miles
It's a beautiful morning. Sun shining through the the high clouds. The seas have eased a little, although there's still some big waves to remind me of where I am. I'm roughly a hundred miles from Hiva Oa, a day's sail. The wind that has been blowing a constant 20+ knots is a little lighter today. Od...
An Easy Day
Today is an easy day. The last week and a half have been a combination of opposites. From rain and no wind too more than I desired. Massive waves, sideways rain, constant rolling and pitching. Today was a day to watch and marvel at the beauty and majesty of the sea. Like flames from a fire, the wave...
Cruising: An Enjoyable and Relaxing Activity
It's about 8 in the evening, you're done with dinner, chores and had a chance to read a page or two in the new book you started. Although the boat is rolling a bit, outside it's blowing a pleasant 17 knots and the waves are about 8 feet. You crawl into bed, which is just the settee on the low side o...
There's A Big Wave Dave!
There's two things I miss, okay there's a lot of things I miss but that's gonna have to wait. The wind has been in the high teens all day with a few sustained gusts over 20 knots. With the higher wind the seas have been building all day. Waves are 8 to 12 feet with a few crashing into the boat and s...
Pollywog No More
This evening was a momentous occasion and one worth celebrating. At 10:14 pm Fairtide and I crossed the equator. The day was filled with anticipation along with winds in the high teens to low 20s and seas about 3+ meters. Before dark I put in the second reef in the main and rolled up half the jib wi...
Up Early This Morning
I woke up at 0400! The boat didn't feel right. Wind shift! I was off course, heading south, which is better than being off course and heading east or north. In addition to being off course, the wind had increased into the 15 to 20 knot range. As it was pitch black I got behind the helm, got back on...
The Definition of Cruising
Some would say the definition of cruising is fixing your boat in exotic places. Other define it as long stretches of tedious boredom mixed with moments of panic. Since leaving Seattle almost eleven months ago, I think it's a combo of the two. Everything is mellow, sailing along in a 10 knot gentle b...
Fair Winds and (not so) Following Seas
It's Sunday July 6. These last three days are what sailing is supposed to be. I've been putting a bit over 100 miles per day since my decision to motor out out the ITCZ doldrums. As the wind clocks around to be more from the east, sailing should get faster. I've been hoping for a 150 mile/24 hour da...
July 4 later in the day
It's about 1900. I sailed the entire day yippee! 😊 It's been steady wind 9 to 12 kts all day and the forecast is for the same for the next few days. I'm about 300 miles north of the equator, if the wind holds I should be crossing the equator about this time three days from now. That's going to be a...
July 4 and actually sailing!
Good morning, I motored all day yesterday and through the night. Wind was light but reefed the main in case something changed during the night. I also rolled up the jib as it was flailing around. No sense adding wear to a sail that's not doing any work. It's about 0900, it seems my gamble may have p...
July 3 another day of light wind and rain squalls
Today was a filled with squalls, heavy rain, and little to no sustained wind, or wind at all for that matter. I'm not able to sail for more than a few minutes at a time due to the squalls induced wind shifts that throw me off course and I have to start the motor, get back on course, shut down the mo...
Doldrums, rain, and sometimes too much wind
I've been remis about keeping up with this, so here's a quick recap of the last few days. Completely clouded over and rain, winds fluctuate between no wind and winds in the high teens. Sea state had been confused, I suppose because of the weather. Although hurricane Glossier is no where near she is...
Just another day sailing on the edge.
Last night was a wild ride. Today was just the opposite, virtually no wind. This afternoon I figured I'd motor for a while, charge the batteries and make water. About 5, I had my afternoon beer. About 6 after enjoying the late afternoon and because the wind was so light about 7 to 10 kts and the jib...
The wind that doesn't exist
It's 0830 and I'm sailing in winds ranging from 20 to 25 kts, chugging along broad reaching at 6+kts with a tiny piece of jib and reefed main. I'm happy that Fairtide is staying on her feet in these conditions. It all started about 0400 when the wind picked up and I felt the boat accelerate, by the...
The ITCZ
It's about 1915 on Saturday evening. I've officially entered the ITCZ, based on my Predict Wind tracking page at, https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV-Fairtide/ The ITCZ aka the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone is a fluid area constantly in flux do to the meeting of the northern east-...
Thursday, the morning after
The wind is down this morning, though it's cloudy which doesn't help my solar gain. It was a long night, with winds in the mid 20s and gusts over 30. Not sure exactly the gust speed but I have a high wind alarm set for 30 kts and it went off a lot during the night. I was trying to sleep on the sette...
The reefiing fiasco
I liked every thing about you, except the way you treated me! 😕 I suppose you think that I'm talking about an ex-girlfriend. I'm talking about the weather, well mostly about the weather 😉. Today was a carbon copy of yesterday with more sun. I was again broad reaching with the big genoa up. The win...
A Rainy Day
I've had decent winds for the last couple of days I'm making decent progress sailing with a reefed main and the jib. My route has me skirting the northern side of the ITCZ, making my way to approximately 10 degrees N x 125 degrees W where I'll cross the ITCZ., and the equator, a major milestone. Fro...
One week out in the Big Blue
It's Monday and a week since I left Puerta Vallarta. There wasn't much rest for the wicked and consequently not much rest for me last night. Fairtide had a difficult time maintaining course. Between banging sails and the speed and heeling that comes from comfortable broad reaching to screaming along...
Day 6 Redux
It's 1900, I've been sailing since about 1230and on a pretty good WSW line of approximately 240 to 260 degrees. The earlier flukey wind has settled into a consistent angle and although I'm not gonna win any races I'm doing an ok 4+ kts. I'm sitting in the cockpit with a cocktail and munching on chip...
Day 6, and I need a better title 😉
There was a beautiful sunrise this morning, until the sun disappeared in the clouds. It's 82 degrees with a slight breeze, anywhere else this would be a perfect summer day. BUT... I'm on a sailboat in the Pacific trying to sail to Hiva Oa in the Marquesas and 3 kts of wind isn't working all that wel...
Day 5
There's a quiet, almost imperceptible bubbling sound when a sailboat starts to move after sitting motionless for hours, in the middle of the ocean. Last night had very light wind, I seem to be in a wind hole. This morning a gentle breeze of 2 kts died completely. With sails slating, and my batteries...
Day 4
It's been a mix of sun and clouds, mostly clouds, today. The relatively benign winds decided, no more mister nice guy, about midnight. I know very little about weather but some kind of localized pattern with gusta in the high teens descended on the boat. At first I furled the jib down to about 50 pe...
Day 3
Sailing conditions are pretty benign. Wind at 10 to 13 kts with 1 to 3 ft combined wave-swell. The Hydrovane self steering is driving the boat nicely and other than a few tweaks to sail trim there's not much to do. I've been sailing with a full main and the jib. I might try flying the genoa again to...
Day 2
Almost a full day since I left Puerta Vallarta. It's been a challenging 20 hours. Light wind out of the West in Banderas Bay. I tacked back and forth making reasonable progress until the wind all but died. I motored until I was out of the Bay and could set a course to the Marquesas about 8 pm. Over...
Leaving Mexico
I checked out and left Marina Vallarta this morning at 11 am. I tried sailing but not enough wind in Banderas Bay. Hopefully when I get around the Cape I'll pickup some wind. Only 2800 miles to go
Sunday in Puerta Vallarta
I've been in PV at Marina Vallarta for a few days waiting for Tropical Storm Dalila to pass by. This afternoon I'm heading to an anchorage about 10 miles west in Banderas Bay for the night and will leave from the anchorage in the morning for the Marquesas Islands, about 3000 NM and an estimated 18 d...
Another day in Puerta Vallarta
I've been in PV at Marina Vallarta for a few days waiting for Tropical Storm Dalila to pass by. My plan was to leave PV this afternoon heading to an anchorage about 10 miles west in Banderas Bay for the night and leaving from the anchorage in the morning for the Marquesas. Unfortunately the weather...
Arrival in Puerta Vallarta
I arrived in Puerta Vallarta on Thursday June 12 after checking out of La Cruz that morning with a brief stop at the legendary La Cruz Mercado de Pescado, the open air fish market to stock up on Yellow Fin tuna, Mahi Mahi, and shrimp. The trip to Puerta Vallarta is a necessary stop in order to check...