We decided to leave for Rangiroa a little early. The winds were lightening up and had changed direction from ENE. Total distance to cover is 94 nm so this would put us at the pass around 0600 the next morning just in time for slack tide.
1020: we released the mooring lines and got underway.
1035: Main is raised with a single reef and the Genoa about 2/3 out. We were averaging about 4 knots - not a bad start to the day.
Then the first squall appeared on the horizon and heading our way. We furled in the Genoa to 1/3 but when squall hit us we had to furl the Genoa all the way in. David was on the sheets and I was on the helm. Boat speed had increased to 7.7 knots and It was taking all my strength with the help of the Monitor ( wind vane) to stay on course. Now it was time to ease the main - more - more! Okay - now I can ease up on the wheel!
Thank you Paul for the Admiral hat as it is the only one of my hats that stays on in conditions like this. Also the brim is wide enough so it keeps the rain off of my glasses!
The second squall came about an hour later but it did not carry as much punch. We were already down to just the single reefed main so the only adjustment needed was to ease up the main. For you non-boaters - this means letting out the main sheet (line) so the sail has a bit more flexibility with the strong winds and helps to keep the boat from being heeled ( tilted) over too far. This also takes a lot of pressure off of the sail as too much pressure can mean bad things (rips, broken lines, hardware coming off). I was at the helm for this one also but it was not as bad wind strength wise but did bring lots of rain.
1200 Things settled down for a while so I put out some cheese and crackers and peanut butter and crackers. Sure glad we had a good breakfast before we left!
Just got the plate cleaned off and another squall was about to hit us. I was very happy when David asked if I wanted a break. Yes! This one had very little wind in it but it sure had a lot of rain. I could barely see past the bow. It was like driving through a car wash.
1800: The sun was beginning to set and the skies were opening up. Time to put on some dry clothes and heat up the left over Coq a Vin. Thank goodness the squalls have backed off.
So it looked like we might have a pleasant night! Wrong! The winds started to back into the WNW - unusual direction for this part of the Pacific - which put it right on our nose. And that means bashing in 25 knot winds with 5 foot seas! Visions of our trip to Puerto Vallarta before Christmas were starting to form in my head! With these winds we were only managing 2 - 2.5 knots with the motor on. Does not look like we are going to be at the pass by 0600 as originally planned.
It was a long night being forced to motor sail with a double reefed main! Thank goodness David had decided to put in that extra reef earlier. But we weren't done yet. We lost our Monitor as all this bashing and strong winds added a lot of stress - just like on my arms! The weld gave way on the tabment - the pin that connects the vane or paddle to the rudder on the Monitor.
This meant hand steering as the autopilot had also crapped out earlier in the day. Hand steering in these conditions can be tiring so we opted for two hour watches - barely managing 15 minute cat naps through the night. But at least the skies stayed cleared through the night and no squalls.
Monday 06-June-2016 By 1200 we still had 10 nm to go to the pass and the engine died on us. What is going on?
All the bucking and rolling caused the primary fuel filter to plug up. We were always warned to filter our fuel in Mexico due to a history of dirty
fuel but we never had to and we never had problems with our fuel. But I guess the fuel we picked up in the Marquesas was a little suspect - does not take much dirt to plug up a filter. But Captain fantastic had the problem diagnosed, filter changed and engine back running in less than half an hour! Just a little tense with the reef in site and the seas pushing us closer and closer to it - though in reality - still several miles off!
This is the reason we run a course line well off the reef.
1530: We are abeam of Tiputa Pass and just in time for the afternoon slack water. So something is working for us. The pass is well marked and we motored through on an inflowing current and into the lagoon of Rangiroa.
1600: we put the anchor down in 35' of water, exhausted but safe.
We both had badly needed showers on deck. Then I made pasta Alfredo with a small salad. Do not ask me where I got the energy to do this. We spent some time putting the boat back in order. I hung all of our wet clothes on the life line.
1900: Bellies are full. Dishes are done. We are in bed! I think we were both sleeping before our heads hit the pillow!
But wait til the next blog! Our adventure was not over!
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