Day Eight: 07-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 8 07-Apr-2016 Thursday

0600 Position: 08*7.9’ N 112* 53.9’ W

     Seas are 4.5 feet  Winds 5-7 knots

     Speed 3.5 knots 

     

Win link is working well. It is nice to be able to communicate with people when you are 962 nm from any telephone or wifi servers. The maritime mobile service has been great about posting our position on ShipLink so all of our family and friends can follow our progress. The people who run this service are all volunteers and their dedication to assisting us with communication is amazing. We were a little lax in signing in on a daily basis - they would prefer that we do so that they know everything is good on board. They show as much concern for our safety and well being and ensuring that our family and friends are aware of our progress as if we all knew one another. Truly amazing. Jane in Hawaii, Peter in the Bay of Islands in New Zealand and Randy in Hawaii. Thanks guys!

As I have mentioned before, I handwrite in my journal and then type the entries into the computer several days later. I guess there wasn’t too much happening on this day. 

Noon Position:

     Distance Travelled in 24 Hours: 130 nm

     Total Distanced Travelled to Date: 962

S/V Confidence and her crew are doing great. 

We have been in contact with a few of the other boats that left from Puerto Vallarta.  They are experiencing squalls and lightening. Captain Fantastic strikes again in choosing our route. We are trying to keep the boat between 8-10* N for as far West as possible order to avoid the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) till we see a narrowing. This may not happen for a week or so. 

In less than one week we have covered just under a third of our distance. We are very happy with our progress so far as well as the weather conditions.

And so ends another day at sea!

Day Seven: 06-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 7  06-Apr-2016 Wednesday

Armon is up for his watch and maintaining a steady speed throughout the night of 6 +/- knots. There was one very short uneventful squall - not enough rain to even wash off the salt water on the boat.

0600: The Admiral and Captain had a good night sleep. Armon passed out and was not even aware that David was on the radio net from 8-9. David had to act as the relayer for most of the net - kind of like a party line. He was the only one who could pick up the controller but most people could pick up David. So he would give their position to David and he would pass it on to the controller. Several boats that had left Puerto Vallarta and located NW of us were experiencing squalls and lightening. In fact one of the boats was supposed to be the controller for that day but had to disconnect his antennae due to the lightening. Good protection can be found in the stove or microwave! Another boat from Canada was coming up from the Galapagos and was experiencing gale force winds well to the south of us. 

Captain Dave scores again as we were not experiencing any of that - just consistent NE winds at around 8-12 knots. Only discomfort was a bit of rolling from the following sea.

Noon Position: 09* 30’ N 110* 21’ W

     Seas: 6 feet and a beautiful cobalt blue.

     Mainly sunny with light cloud cover. Evidence of one squall but it passed aft of us.

     Speed: 4.5 to 6 knots Winds 10-12 knots. Running with a single reef main 

     Course: 230 - 240

     Distance Travelled in 24 Hours:  116 nm

     Total Distance to Date: 832 knots

We have tried to light the stove again but no luck so I transferred the turkey shepherd’s pie into the frying pan, covered it with foil and heated it up that way. In no time the boat was smelling like Thanksgiving Day! No points for presentation - served in a stainless steel dog bowl but the flavour was there. The bowls have deep sides and a non-skid bottom so excellent for use on the boat - especially when the seas are as rolly as we have been experiencing.

All three of us had a disruptive night due to weather. A few squalls brought confused seas and wind. Armon counted 14 flashes of lightening on his watch so the GPS was disengaged and put into the oven. David always said that everything on a boat should have 2 uses. And since the oven isn’t working anyway we might as use it as our electrical storage unit!

The bimini cover tore along the zipper line and the snap shackle on the preventer broke.

Armon had to start up the motor to bring the boat back on coarse after undergoing an accidental jibe. But we needed to start the motor anyway as the batteries needed charging. With all the cloud cover we were not able to generate enough solar energy in the last two days to keep the batteries topped up. Now everyone is up so I made some tea. We got things back together and on course and sent Armon to bed.

Breakfast was a play on Huevos Rancheros and then we sent the Captain to bed.

The Admiral got out her cute sewing basket - a gift from David’s mom several years ago - and found what she needed to repair the bimini. So after two hours of hand sewing, it looks as good as new - maybe even better as this time she used a double stitch. 

Now I know why thimbles were invented. 

I sat back to relax and noted that there was a lot of movement in the body of the wind vane. Armon had noticed it also. After closer examination we noticed that one of the bolt heads had broken off and the nut was only holding it on by a thread (no exaggeration). We searched the supply cupboards and came up with the exact replacement required. How lucky was that. So Armon hung off the back end of the boat along with the required wrenches secured to the boat with a piece of rope and proceeded to replace the nut and bolt. 

Well, he is already upside down so he might as well check the other 3 bolts. Good thing as two of them were also loose. Everything is tightened up and a major disaster is avoided. We were very proud of ourselves - all done without waking the Captain. The look of gratification  on his face said it all - instead of having to tell him about another issue to deal with!

But now Armon and I are pretty sweaty and the Captain is a bit grungy after his nap in a hot boat so the three of us went up to the bow, turned on the salt water pump and played. A final rinse with fresh water and we all felt like new! This was too much fun and I am sure will become a daily event. Maybe more than once.

Chili in the pressure cooker for dinner as the hamburger was starting to thaw. Things in Bag Number Two are still frozen and it looks like my system is working. But one hour in the galley and I am all sweaty again. Good excuse for another spray with the salt water!

And so ends another day at sea

,

Day Six: 05-Apr-2016

Day 6: 05-Apr-2016 Barra, Mexico to Marquesas Tuesday

Today presented itself with another challenge and a change up to the meal plan. The Admiral went down to prepare a special breakfast - Susan and Betty-Ann’s famous baked apple pancake with breakfast sausage and St. Joe’s Maple Syrup. The pancake was ready to go into the oven but I could not get the oven to stay lit. David tried with no luck. We think it might be the thermal couple. Let’s hope not as we do not have a spare and lots of my special treats involve a working oven.

But back to the issue at hand. What to I do with this pancake concoction? I remembered that Susan used to make a pineapple upside down cake at her B&B in Belize. She cooked it in her frying pan on the stove top. Could this work for my pancake? So I poured the batter into the deep sided frying pan, covered it with tin foil and put it on a medium low flame. Voila - in 25 minutes it had transformed into a puffy apple pancake and breakfast was saved. 

1130:

 12 plus dolphins were sighted on our port side and came over to play in our bow wake.

1200 Noon Position  11* 20’ N 108* 57’W

     Weather: mainly sunny with low scattered clouds

     Seas are 6 feet and Winds are 15 knots ENE

     Speed is 6.5 knots Course 200-210

     Distance Travelled in past 24 hours: 142 nm

     Total Distance Travelled to Date: 716 nm

     Average Speed Since Leaving Barra: Just under 5 knots!!!

Another issue arose in the afternoon. The head started spitting back at you when you tried to pump it dry. Then it stopped pumping altogether. We had this issue before - just prior to arriving in Santa Barbara, California. The culprit was a plug of toilet paper in the head. Since that time we have not been putting any toilet paper in the head. We had forgot to tell Armon or simply made the assumption that he knew this seeings as no one in Mexico puts toilet paper in the head. Plus Armon has a boat. Now the last seven years of my career was practicing the “No Blame” quality management philosophy - so no need to jump to conclusions and no need to lay any blame. Good thing as this did not end up being the problem. It ended up being the Joker valve - no pun intended. So that would be tomorrows project.

But things tend to happen in threes. Why is that? We were running with the Auto Pilot and quite often hitting 7 knots. I guess this is about the outer limits for our CSI _ too much torque and it gave way. We heard the system grind a couple of times and the belt start to slip. David decided to disengage it and switch to the Wind Vane Monitor. No damage as we caught it in time.

Just a day of sailing - I do not remember ever being able to sail for days on end! And another sunset to end our day.

Not all were spectacular but signified another day less to go!

Day Five: 04-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 5: 04-Apr-2016 Barra, Mexico to Marquesas Monday

0000 Position: 14* 26’ N 108* 21’ W

     Speed: 5 knots.  Winds from the East

     Course 180*  Seas 4 feet

As we head into our 5th day at sea all three of us are thanking our good fortune to date. The sailing has been excellent. Though the seas are quite rolly the winds have been favourable. Top speed to date is 8 knots. Average speed is around 4.5 - 5 knots. We are covering over 100 nm a day with our best day being 143 nam.

All systems on the boat are running well. The small amounts of water that was accumulating in the bilge has abated a little. This seems to be directly related to the sea conditions which makes us think that the stuffing box is leaking. 

0600 Position: 13* 59’ N 108* 20’ W

     Speed has dropped to 3.5 knots

     Winds ENE at 8 knots

     Seas are 3 feet

     Barometric Pressure 1013 and rising.

Armon is down for the count as BA takes over the helm and Captain tries to make contact with win link and the SSB (single side band). Another email from my sister - seems that everything I wrote in my first attempt at win link did not transcribe. Maybe there is a limit on the number of characters you can send. So I guess I will make all emails in the future just a little bit shorter. Followers will just have to wait for this blog to get the detail.

How Winlink Works: We connect the SSB radio to our computer and type out our email just like you normally do. This message then gets coded into a digital radio signal. This signal is sent through the airwaves to a land base station where it is subsequently decoded back into normal internet language. Then voila! You get the email!

0800: David received a position report from several other boats. One boat had to return to Mexico due to engine problems.All other boats seem to be progressing with no real issues.

1200 Noon Position: 13* 33’ N 108* 23’W

     Seas: 2 foot chop with Winds 8-10 knots ENE

     Mostly sunny with cabin temperature of 30*C

     Course 200 - 210  Speed 4.5 - 5 knots

     Distance Travelled in 24 Hours: 135 nm

     Total Distance Travelled to Date:  574 nm

Admiral is at the helm - it is a sunny day with the sun reflecting off the water like a crystal bowl. Every once in a while I get an image of prisms on the horizon where the sun is shining directly on the water - almost like a chandelier. I wish the camera could capture this optical illusion. You will have to settle for my inadequate description.

We are maintaining better speed and course direction from the wind vane Monitor rather than the Auto Pilot . Now that is a switch. David is very happy with his alterations to the system. Right now we are topping off at 6.9 knots.

And David figured out why he was not getting the position reports to update from the GPS. There are two different ports - one for win link and one for the GPS. Of course no manual tells you that! Way to go Captain Fantastic for figuring that out!

Seas have settled a little so I decided to get dinner underway after making ham, cheese, tomato and pickle sandwiches for lunch. It is time to pull out the pressure cooker. Indian Butter Chicken with rice is ready in 8 minutes when you use the pressure cooker. Remember this is where I put the raw rice right into the mixture so it can absorb all those flavours as it cooks. The cauliflower was showing its age so I trimmed it up and put it in with the other ingredients.

Our friend, Paul N. from Airdrie bought us the pressure cooker many years ago - when we were just starting to talk about going offshore. Nice - I said. Like when your husband buys you an appliance for an anniversary present. Thinking to myself - when am I ever going to use one of these? I always believed in the slow cooking method for soups, stews and sauces. And to tell you the truth, pressure cookers always kind of made me nervous.   Well, lets just say I have changed my tune as this is now the #1 MUST have item for anyone going offshore. It is a deep pot that seals so there is less chance of spillage. You tend to use a lot more liquid as all meat must be covered completely but you can be creative by using wine, soup stock or juice instead of your precious water. Most things cook in about 8 minutes after the appropriate pressure is attained so you are also using a lot less (oxymoron?) propane. So Thank You Paul!

Dinner is served at 1930. Galley is cleaned up, David gets on the radio net, Armon goes to bed and the Admiral takes over the helm.

A Note on Watches: 

Conditions and crew will determine how you choose to divide up your watches. Some people like to keep to a very strict schedule - with three people that might mean 4 on, 8 off. This will work as long as all the crew are  sharing the same duties.

We have decided to be a bit more fluid a I have volunteered to take on the main task of cooking. So the boys cover the main watch and I act as a float, covering the helm as needed. Once in a while I will do a 4 hour watch but mostly 2 hours here or there.

David likes to ensure that each crew member gets at lease 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep a day. Not always possible but it is a goal. Armon has chosen the midnight to 0600 watch and that seems to be working for him. Armon usually hits the bunk around 1900-1930 - just after dinner. Going to bed on a full stomach helps him to sleep - I guess.  David covers 2100 - 2400 and then 0600 till 1200. Though I have not seen a day yet where Armon makes it till noon. The enticement of a good cup of coffee from my friend Lawrence courtesy of El Cafe in Malaque is just too much for him - so he is often up by 1100.

David does the radio net at 0730 and 2000 hours everyday - unless there is lightening in the air - and tries to send and receive any emails. So this involves about 4 hours a day where I cover the helm. I also fill in the gap during the day so the boys can grab a couple of hours any time they feel inclined.

So far it is working out. If someone is not getting enough sleep it usually means that no one is getting enough sleep and is usually directly related to sea and storm conditions. When things get a little rough then we all drop down to two hour watches.

A Note on Sleeping Arrangements; Unfortunately we do not have a separate private quarter berth for Armon. The port settee has been pulled out and turned into Armon’s bed. 

The V-berth is completely empty - Armon built extra shelves in our shower (as we mostly shower on deck) so we were able to find a home for everything. So the V-berth was intended to be our bed. During rolling seas it can be a little uncomfortable up there and we found that David was not getting enough sleep. I had made sleeping bag sheets out of flat double sheets so now David and Armon share the central port settee. That does not sound good! What I mean is David lays his sleeping bag on the settee when Armon wakes up and vice versa. I get the V-berth to myself (most of the time) using the comforter as a rolling preventer. It sometimes means that my sleep is the most interrupted but then I am not doing the major watches so you will not hear me complaining.

And so ends Day 5.

Day Four: 03-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 4: 03-Apr-2016 Barra , Mexico to the Marquesas Sunday

0400 and The CosJade Lake bulk carrier shows up on the horizon about 6 nm away. No threat to us as we are able to pick him up on our AIS.

0550: dolphins show up at dawn to which us a good day

0600 Position: 15* 19’ N 17* 60’W

     Winds are NNW ast 10 knots

     Seas are 4 feet from the north

     Low broken cloud

     Speed is 4.5 knots at a Course of 230

     Distance Travelled in 24 Hours: 107

     DistanceTravelled to Date:439

0605: Bobby the booby bird (David named him) woke up and finally flew away. He was sound joined by a dozen of his friends and then the dolphins and tuna and a feeding frenzy began. 

0830: The crew was treated to one of the Admirals famous scrambles - potatoes, bacon, onion, peppers, cheese and eggs. Dinner preparations were carried out while the seas were calm. Just have to turn on the oven.

Week One for provisioning actually started two days before we left the dock due to that final delay. But with leftovers I am finding that we are right on schedule. Most of the contents in the top bag are just starting to thaw so I did have to re-arrange some of the planned meals.

So what to do with 18 thawed prawns and ripening avocados? Sounds like the makings of a prawn/avocado salad to me - served on tostadas I threw in some fresh tomatoes, celery, lettuce, lime juice, mayo, salsa and hot sauce. Excellente!

1800: Admiral sighted a bulk carrier on the horizon. The AIS identified her as the “Dream Canary” CPA 2.5 nm at at speed of 14.6 knots. She passed us on our starboard side heading north.

Sunset on Day 4: 

Day Two: 01-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 2: 01-Apr-2016 Barra, Mexico to Marquesas.

The Admiral and Captain were still having trouble acquiring their sea legs. Armon was first to feel normal. We are all blaming that one lonely beer from yesterday. Winds were very rolly which did not help the situation any. The admiral had it the worse - whether to sit or kneel in the head - that is the question! But only one episode and then I was also getting back to normal.  This is not a good thing when the Admiral is also the chief cook! Boys had to settle for homemade granola, yoghurt and fresh fruit for breakfast and left over lasagna for dinner. But there were no complaints. 

Noon Position: 18* 11.6’ N and 105* 41’ W Winds are 15-17 knots and seas are roll. 

     Weather: 75% cloud cover Temperature: 28* C

     Average speed: 6.2 knots

     Distance covered in 24 hours 114nm

     Distance travelled to Date:  216 nm

A good sailing day for Confidence and her Crew.

Note: if distance travelled does not always add up to distance to go - distance to go is dependent on the path that the crow flies. However Confidence does not always travel in a straight-line, due to winds, avoidance of squalls, currents and swells.

One idea that has proven itself in a very short time - especially on days when the cook is under the weather or the seas are too rough for gourmet cooking - is the goody bag! The Admiral tries to keep this stocked with all kinds of goodies - especially for those people on the night watch. This way there is no need to wake up the other crew in the middle of the night as they forage throughout the galley and refrigerator looking for something to eat. What goes in the goody bag you ask? Whatever surprises the Admiral can come up with from nuts, crackers and cheese, fruit, M&M’s, mini chocolate bars, granola bars, cookies - I think you get the picture. 

I had to smile last night as it was the first time that I put it out. I was awoken by the crinkle crinkle of the plastic bag as the boys picked away at the contents. They were like little boys going through their Halloween bag! By day three I got smart and transferred the contents into the cloth bag Susan had given me - with Canada and Maple leafs all over it. 

 So at least I do not get woken up in the middle of the night . But I do find that I have to replenish it quite regularly.

Last night I was sitting with David in the cockpit while Armon was catching some sleep. I was sure that I could smell something fishy. I mentioned this to David - he teased me and said it was probably whale breath! Armon got up a little while later and had his flashlight on as he entered the cockpit. And there was the culprit - a flying fish sitting on the teak grating. See - I was not going crazy!

By morning we had accumulated 4 more flying fish and a squid. 

Sunset for Day Two

Day Three: 02-Apr-2016 The Crossing

Day 3: 02-Apr-2016 Day Barra Mexico to Marquesas Saturday

The Admiral is feeling much better along with the captain though we are still finding it necessary to minimize our time down below. Lunch today was some home made Mexican Aztec soup with turkey, avocado and tortillas. But any major meal preparation must be done in 3 to 4 stages. So tonight the menu included Orange Seschwan Chicken stir fry for dinner. Stage one was getting the chicken marinated and the sauce made. Then up on deck to stare at the horizon. Stage two was cutting up the vegetables. Then back on deck for some more horizon gazing. Stage three - lets make the rice. And Stage four - actually frying the ingredients and putting everything together. Now you are probably wondering why I would bother going through all of this trouble for dinner - why not open up a can of stew? I can hear the boys outside saying the same thing - they would not have the patience to cook like that under these conditions. Well - my only comment to that is - what would be the fun in that? Part of my challenge is trying to provide a gourmet dining experience for the guys - and the compliments and the groans and the smiles once they sit down to eat makes it all worth it. 

David often tells the story about him and three guys sailing down to Mexico. The canned goods were in the bilge and all of the labels had come off. Dinner was called “Gorp” - four cans were opened up and emptied into the pot. They were never sure what they would end up with. Now according to David some of it actually tasted pretty good. I am sure the sodium content was out of this world and if David had his choice he would rather be eating my gourmet meals any day.

Noon Position:  16* 02’ N 107* 02’ W

     Weather: 75% Cloud Cover

     Average Speed: 6.2 knots

     Distane Travelled in 24 Hours: 116 nm

     Distance Travelled to Date: 332 nm

     Barometric Pressure: 1012 and falling 

     Winds NW at 12 knots

A Note on Water: Our water maker stopped working just before we returned to Barra. After several attempts to fix it along with conversations with the manufacturer it was decided that the unit would have to be replaced. It was a mutual decision to not spend the $3000 to $6000 to replace it. We could always catch rain water. 

So water has become a precious commodity on Confidence. Our tanks hold approximately 100 gallons of water in two tanks. We also have 3 five gallon jugs and several smaller bottles of mineral water and such. We have a set of regular taps in the galley and in the head that get their water via a water pump. We also have two foot pumps in the galley, one of which pumps salt water. We use this water to wash dishes and laundry and then use a small quantity of fresh water to rinse. FYI: Dawn dishwashing liquid is the best in the salt water. We have also been having salt water showers on deck.

**  - again with a short fresh water rinse - often from the bucket suspended from the outboard. This is actual rain water.

 But such limitations are still allowing us ample drinking water and we are easily consuming a couple of litres each a day and staying well hydrated.

1800: Position is 15* 50’N 107* 26.5’W

Winds have decreased to 5K WNW, The seas are 2-4 with the Barometric Pressure at 1011 and falling slowly

2000: Received emails from Winlink. Position reports were not updating with the computer. David figured it out later - there are two ports into the computer. One for the GPS has to be in a particular port for a particular program. Our Nav program needs it to be in one port and our communication needs it to be in another port. Of course this is not written anywhere. Good on the Captain to figure it out. 

2120: Ran the engine for the first time. Solar panels are doing a fabulous job at keeping our batteries charged to over 13 amps. But the winds have dropped off so we furled in the Genoa and stay sail and tightened up the main.

2335: Engine off and our wind is back from the NW at 5-8 knots and we are maintaining a speed of 5-6 knot. A booby bird has taken up residence on our bowsprit looking for a free ride. David went right up to him and could actually such him. The bird did not budge - just looked up to him as if to see - would you leave me alone. I am trying to sleep.

And so ends another day and another sunset!