I am ready to be home, so am going full speed ahead. I imagine something will happen to slow us down, and I don't want to miss the tide.
Apple cider sounds good to me, and Dave would like a Guiness.
Towels to take a shower would be great as well...
I hope I can figure out how to run my phone...
See you soon,
Bob
A chronicle of Spellbound's epic voyage: San Francisco to Kaneohe. Including updates and running commentary from shore side during the 2010 Pacific Cup.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
August 12, 2010 Arrival Estimations
Well I guess it depends how fast we go. One GPS is saying 25 hours (it is 2:30 PM now).
We made good time last night with the speed around 8 knots. For the time being, the wind has died down and we are motoring at 5 knots. (Maybe we should go faster...? 6 knots it is with 127 miles to go.
The Spot device was showing different light patterns, and I have gotten a report that it is not working. We are changing the batteries now. Let us know if it starts working.
We made good time last night with the speed around 8 knots. For the time being, the wind has died down and we are motoring at 5 knots. (Maybe we should go faster...? 6 knots it is with 127 miles to go.
The Spot device was showing different light patterns, and I have gotten a report that it is not working. We are changing the batteries now. Let us know if it starts working.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
August 11, 2010 When Will We Get There?
This question is a cause of much speculation, and the answer is very variable at this time.
This morning at the end of my shift at 6 AM the GPS said 350 miles to go, and were were doing 7 knots. This would have us at the Golden Gate Bridge at 8 AM.
But then I woke up around 1 PM and the GPS said 610 miles to go, and we were doing 5 knots. That would have been 5 PM Friday afternoon.
We are now doing 6 knots and have 305 miles to go at 1:30 PM.
The GPS says we will get there in 53 hours. (So like 6:30 PM.)
Hopefully we will get in earlier than that. Noon at the bridge. 2:30 at Fortman?
It would be nice to have some daylight as we go by the Farallons. Should we pass above or below them?
It is my understanding that the wind will be lessening as we get closer to SF, so some engine work may be involved.
This morning at the end of my shift at 6 AM the GPS said 350 miles to go, and were were doing 7 knots. This would have us at the Golden Gate Bridge at 8 AM.
But then I woke up around 1 PM and the GPS said 610 miles to go, and we were doing 5 knots. That would have been 5 PM Friday afternoon.
We are now doing 6 knots and have 305 miles to go at 1:30 PM.
The GPS says we will get there in 53 hours. (So like 6:30 PM.)
Hopefully we will get in earlier than that. Noon at the bridge. 2:30 at Fortman?
It would be nice to have some daylight as we go by the Farallons. Should we pass above or below them?
It is my understanding that the wind will be lessening as we get closer to SF, so some engine work may be involved.
August 10, 2010 Are We There Yet?
Yesterday we were back on the wind and not feeling to well due to seasickness again.
The wind came forward and we reefed the main and swapped out the jibtop for the 110. We are still doing between 6 and seven knots. And the load is light on the tiller, so we can use the autopilot again.
In a calmer moment, I was able to add 5 gallons of fuel.
We had pasta for dinner again. The wind is picking up after dinner and it looks like 15 knots out of 350 for the next day or so.
We keep doing the arrival math, and it looks like we may arrive Friday morning to afternoon.
See you all soon.
Bob
The wind came forward and we reefed the main and swapped out the jibtop for the 110. We are still doing between 6 and seven knots. And the load is light on the tiller, so we can use the autopilot again.
In a calmer moment, I was able to add 5 gallons of fuel.
We had pasta for dinner again. The wind is picking up after dinner and it looks like 15 knots out of 350 for the next day or so.
We keep doing the arrival math, and it looks like we may arrive Friday morning to afternoon.
See you all soon.
Bob
Monday, August 9, 2010
August 9, 2010 And Then They Were Sailing...
We ran out of fuel last night just before my shift started. Of course it took a while to figure out that that was the problem. We have been having trouble getting fuel in the tanks. They always appear to be full when we try to add. I am glad that ordeal is over and hope we don't need much more motor.
It is surprising how close we are on resources. Just missing 2 hours of sleep last night was hard. And of course both of us were affected.
Dave woke me up around Noon and said if we get the sail up, we should be able to go faster. So we put the jibtop up and sure enough, we did go faster. It also happened to be just as a squall was coming. (I am proud of Dave for wanting to put up more sail as the wind was building.) We have been going pretty well all afternoon at 5 to 9 knots. Mostly around 6.5 to 7.
We are currently at:
38.00 x 138.09 with 743 mils to go to the Golden Gate bridge.
Wind is 12 knots out of 320 and looks to be holding this way for the next several hundred miles.
The boat is moving along at 7.3 knots with the wind at 85 apparent.
Barometric pressure is at 1024.
Hope to be home Friday or Saturday.
It is surprising how close we are on resources. Just missing 2 hours of sleep last night was hard. And of course both of us were affected.
Dave woke me up around Noon and said if we get the sail up, we should be able to go faster. So we put the jibtop up and sure enough, we did go faster. It also happened to be just as a squall was coming. (I am proud of Dave for wanting to put up more sail as the wind was building.) We have been going pretty well all afternoon at 5 to 9 knots. Mostly around 6.5 to 7.
We are currently at:
38.00 x 138.09 with 743 mils to go to the Golden Gate bridge.
Wind is 12 knots out of 320 and looks to be holding this way for the next several hundred miles.
The boat is moving along at 7.3 knots with the wind at 85 apparent.
Barometric pressure is at 1024.
Hope to be home Friday or Saturday.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
August 7, 2010 Sailed for a Few Hours...
The days are running into each other.
Today we put up the jibtop and actually sailed for a few hours. Tonight I think we will continue motor sailing until the wind picks up and swings around from the North a little. I think we are above the high, and reaching up will get us stronger wind and more favorable, as well as give us a little room to drive down as we get closer to the windy coast.
No dolphins today.
No turtles today.
No new fishing net floats. (Although I did get the two plastic ones cleaned off.)
We did see a couple of birds.
Hoping to be reaching along by tomorrow.
Bob
Today we put up the jibtop and actually sailed for a few hours. Tonight I think we will continue motor sailing until the wind picks up and swings around from the North a little. I think we are above the high, and reaching up will get us stronger wind and more favorable, as well as give us a little room to drive down as we get closer to the windy coast.
No dolphins today.
No turtles today.
No new fishing net floats. (Although I did get the two plastic ones cleaned off.)
We did see a couple of birds.
Hoping to be reaching along by tomorrow.
Bob
August 6, 2010 Sea Turtle and Dolphins
The last two days have been windless. Every once in a while I get teased into raising the genoa, but it never lasts, and is never enough to turn off the motor.
We saw a turtle yesterday. He was getting rolled in the bow wave. I'm sure he was thinking "WTF, a whole Pacific Ocean, and you have to go blasting by me at 5 knots...?"
During the night watch, I saw the tip of the crescent moon rise, and for a moment it looked like a sail made of moonlight.
In the morning Dave woke me up to look at Dolphins playing with the boat. He was very excited.
After the dolphins left, we found another fishing float (but still not glass).
This evening at 6:30 PM we got enough wind to sail without the motor for about two hours. It was so peaceful and quite.
I tried adding fuel, but it made a mess as there was an air bubble or something. I am not sure where we stand with the fuel as I was only able to add about 7 gallons today. We still have 45 gallons in jerry cans. The wind seems to be picking up after dinner now, so hopefully I won't have to worry about the fuel situation.
The big decision for tonight is whether to leave the genoa up, or take it down. We will decide as it gets darker.
Current position is:
37.10 x 144.04
Baro: 1026
Wind: 6 knots from 075
See you all soon.
We saw a turtle yesterday. He was getting rolled in the bow wave. I'm sure he was thinking "WTF, a whole Pacific Ocean, and you have to go blasting by me at 5 knots...?"
During the night watch, I saw the tip of the crescent moon rise, and for a moment it looked like a sail made of moonlight.
In the morning Dave woke me up to look at Dolphins playing with the boat. He was very excited.
After the dolphins left, we found another fishing float (but still not glass).
This evening at 6:30 PM we got enough wind to sail without the motor for about two hours. It was so peaceful and quite.
I tried adding fuel, but it made a mess as there was an air bubble or something. I am not sure where we stand with the fuel as I was only able to add about 7 gallons today. We still have 45 gallons in jerry cans. The wind seems to be picking up after dinner now, so hopefully I won't have to worry about the fuel situation.
The big decision for tonight is whether to leave the genoa up, or take it down. We will decide as it gets darker.
Current position is:
37.10 x 144.04
Baro: 1026
Wind: 6 knots from 075
See you all soon.
August 4, 2010 The Moon and Clouds
last night was the 3rd night in a row that we were able to see an incredible show of the stars.
The number of stars, and the clarity of the Milky way is fantastic. However the night does not stay this way all night. The clouds from squalls, and the Moon conspire to play games.
The clouds cover the moon, and under the darkness, the waves will then attack and board the boat to wreak whatever havoc they can. They will splash the helmsman, or sometimes send a frontal attack of a whole wave up over bow to come washing down the deck and into the cockpit. And for the comprehensive maneuvers, they will add in some special OPS flying fish, or squid.
Now this all sounds like the moon is the good guys and the clouds are the bad guys, but I am not so sure of the character of the moon. Cause, when the moon does come out and show his face, about half of the stars run and hide. So there must be something not so nice about the moon...
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:
This morning we finally reached the high, or as much of it as we wanted. The whole demeanor of the boat is different now. There are no waves. The wind is light, and it hasn't rained since last night. We pulled all the cushions out to the cabin top to give them a chance to dry out. Clothes were hung out all over the boat. We turned on the motor for a couple hours, but later found that we could still sail. We turned on the stove for the first time since we left Hawaii. Dave made pasta with some marinara sauce we found, and added a can of salmon. Oh yeah, while we were motoring we setup the autopilot. That freed up a lot of time as someone did not have to be at the tiller at all times. Dave came down to listen to the daily radio check in, and I pointed out approximate locations of the boats as they reported location and wind speed.
After dinner, we tacked onto port tack and are headed for SF (well maybe a little low, but I expect to get lifted as we head East.
FISHING NET FLOATS:
I have been looking for the glass balls that are used to float fishing nets. I saw a spherical object floating in the distance and redirected to intercept. It took several times to be able to get close enough to pick it from the water. There was a whole colony of crabs and clams living on it. Unfortunately after closer inspection, it was not made of glass, so we turned it free. After a few hours of reflection, I was regretting not picking it up. It may have been the only souvenir I get form the trip this direction. So, behold, another one. I was able to divert to this one and get it on the first try. Dave took it fomr me and I tied a line to it, and it is not trailing behind the boat. I imagine the residents are having meetings to determine what to do with the new circumstances.
Hopefully the wind will hold and we will be able to sail all night.
The number of stars, and the clarity of the Milky way is fantastic. However the night does not stay this way all night. The clouds from squalls, and the Moon conspire to play games.
The clouds cover the moon, and under the darkness, the waves will then attack and board the boat to wreak whatever havoc they can. They will splash the helmsman, or sometimes send a frontal attack of a whole wave up over bow to come washing down the deck and into the cockpit. And for the comprehensive maneuvers, they will add in some special OPS flying fish, or squid.
Now this all sounds like the moon is the good guys and the clouds are the bad guys, but I am not so sure of the character of the moon. Cause, when the moon does come out and show his face, about half of the stars run and hide. So there must be something not so nice about the moon...
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:
This morning we finally reached the high, or as much of it as we wanted. The whole demeanor of the boat is different now. There are no waves. The wind is light, and it hasn't rained since last night. We pulled all the cushions out to the cabin top to give them a chance to dry out. Clothes were hung out all over the boat. We turned on the motor for a couple hours, but later found that we could still sail. We turned on the stove for the first time since we left Hawaii. Dave made pasta with some marinara sauce we found, and added a can of salmon. Oh yeah, while we were motoring we setup the autopilot. That freed up a lot of time as someone did not have to be at the tiller at all times. Dave came down to listen to the daily radio check in, and I pointed out approximate locations of the boats as they reported location and wind speed.
After dinner, we tacked onto port tack and are headed for SF (well maybe a little low, but I expect to get lifted as we head East.
FISHING NET FLOATS:
I have been looking for the glass balls that are used to float fishing nets. I saw a spherical object floating in the distance and redirected to intercept. It took several times to be able to get close enough to pick it from the water. There was a whole colony of crabs and clams living on it. Unfortunately after closer inspection, it was not made of glass, so we turned it free. After a few hours of reflection, I was regretting not picking it up. It may have been the only souvenir I get form the trip this direction. So, behold, another one. I was able to divert to this one and get it on the first try. Dave took it fomr me and I tied a line to it, and it is not trailing behind the boat. I imagine the residents are having meetings to determine what to do with the new circumstances.
Hopefully the wind will hold and we will be able to sail all night.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
August 3, 2010
Interesting...
We are at 34 x151
Press at 1030
We can't make any easterly progress.
I will play around with a tack, and different sail combinations.
We are at 34 x151
Press at 1030
We can't make any easterly progress.
I will play around with a tack, and different sail combinations.
August 2, 2010 Position reports
Hi Jens,
Thanks for the updates, and position reports. I do participate in the net, but it is hard to hear all positions well. I thought Valis was North and east of us, but he is sacrificing East for North. So, i not so much slower than them as I had feared.
We may shake the reef out of the main today, but overall this sail plan has been working pretty well.
Thanks for the updates, and position reports. I do participate in the net, but it is hard to hear all positions well. I thought Valis was North and east of us, but he is sacrificing East for North. So, i not so much slower than them as I had feared.
We may shake the reef out of the main today, but overall this sail plan has been working pretty well.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
August 1, 2010 Keepin' on!
We continue to make progress. We passed 1600 miles to go earlier today. 50 nmore miles and we will have 1500 to go. Wind is mostly steady with changes as squalls roll through.
I think I fixed the leak. The hose was leaking. I cut an inch off one line, and replaced a 5 inch piece with some I just happened to have hanging around. The smell in the boat is not so bad now.
Water continues to leak in as waves wash over the cabin top. The forward hatch still leaks after the duct tape, and the main hatch leaks water right on to the port bench.
What are some deep discussions I can have with myself?
Dave would like to get an email from his mom, if she is watching this.
I think I fixed the leak. The hose was leaking. I cut an inch off one line, and replaced a 5 inch piece with some I just happened to have hanging around. The smell in the boat is not so bad now.
Water continues to leak in as waves wash over the cabin top. The forward hatch still leaks after the duct tape, and the main hatch leaks water right on to the port bench.
What are some deep discussions I can have with myself?
Dave would like to get an email from his mom, if she is watching this.
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