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Fiji->NZ: Day 3

by KC2RIY, on October 27th, 2011 (At Sea, Nymph)

477nm to go to Marsden Cove. All is well aboard.

Imagine a dinner plate 4 miles across and you sitting in the middle. That’s our world. From the deck of a sail boat the horizon is on 2 miles away and hence your universe is a 4 mile diameter dinner plate full of sea. If another boat shows over the horizon then we see further but that has yet to happen to us.

We asked ourselves how did things look different on day 3 compared to day 2 (remembering I started counting at 0). We came up with few things.

Lissa pointed out the excitement of crossing the line on the chart plotter over to where we had detailed charts. I switched over to the NZ map set a couple of days ago so we’ve been progressing towards this line of detail for some time. Lissa had the fun of crossing the line on her watch. Probably sounds quite trivial but on our dinner plate, these things become quite a thrill.

Helen and Lissa said they’d seen a contrail over us. Could well be a flight from Fiji to NZ. On Likuri Island (Robinson Crusoe) we met a Kiwi couple who said they’d be flying back on Wednesday and they’d look out for us. Perhaps it was them.

We had the fishing line out for the first time. Count for the day was zero. Now we’re truly back to normal passage making.

I’m sure we came up with a few more things but right now I forget.

For most of the day we had a clear blue sky which kept our spirits high. Coincident with a glorious sunset we crossed the half way mark. The night was just as clear. Without a moon in the sky the heavens were out in their full glory. Lissa got an extra lie in on her 2am shift as I stayed out star gazing a little too long.

Although we’ve seen no other traffic visually or on radar we did here one side of a couple of boats chatting on the VHF. They had their conversation on the emergency channel, presumably thinking no one else was around to hear. We didn’t recognize the voice or boat names so we didn’t break in.

I have been checking in to the Rag of the Air radio net (run out of Fiji) each morning to log our position and get their take on the weather. Because the net controller uses the same source of weather as I do I don’t really get anything new. We do get to hear the position of Nymph who left a day before we did from Fiji. We’re gradually catching them up so that creates a little excitement each morning.

If you’re interested in our path, we do post our position a couple of times each day. The positions can be found at http://www.winlink.org/dotnet/maps/PositionReportsDetail.aspx?callsign=KC2RIY

Category: At Sea, Nymph | Here is my comment

Fiji->NZ: Day 2

by KC2RIY, on October 26th, 2011 (At Sea)

Day 2 is usually the day the crew fall into the groove of ocean sailing and true to form, that began to happen aboard Dignity. Until now we were all on a watch/eat/sleep cycle. On day 2, we all managed to stay awake during our off-watch periods. This also meant we were able to chat and enjoy each others company for the first time of the passage.

After dodging through the small line of squalls the previous morning the weather has remained good to us. The wind has shifted and we’ve begun claw back the distance we lost against the rhumb line. By making our way to the east we will reduce the effect of some swell coming up the west of New Zealand which we’ll encounter on Friday probably. It does mean that when the winds move more to the north around the same time we’ll have a less favourable sailing angle. At this point I’m choosing comfort over speed. That being said, it looks like we may be able to sail all the way in and arrive some time on Sunday.

It is becoming noticably colder but that’s a relative thing. The minimum overnight temperature is still over 20C but we do have to put a few layers on at night. During the day, so far, it’s remained tee-shirt weather which has surprised me as I thought it would get colder sooner than this. The sea temperature is down about 8C so we can expect colder weather soon.

Out in the ocean the days rapidly blend and are only distinguished by a few details. Yesterday we were visited by a sea gull that circled us for some time and was later joined by a second. Later in the day, when the sea was fairly calm, the smashed microwave was consigned to the deep. After sunset Mercury accompanied Venus setting in the western sky while Jupiter rose in the west. It is a new moon right now so the only light at night is us and the stars. With just a few clouds in the sky the sea and horizon are visible in the faint starlight.

As I type the sun has just poked over the horizon. A new day begins.

Category: At Sea | Here is my comment

Fiji->NZ: Day 1

by KC2RIY, on October 25th, 2011 (At Sea)

Day 1 the wind and seas both calmed down allowing us to point a little closer to the wind and stay moving well and comfortable. We’re still gradually drifting west of the rhumb line but the forecast is in our favour and we should make a better angle over the next 24 hours.

Overnight it had calmed down enough for me to shake out the reef in the mainsail though during my morning shift we ran through a squall line. I headed off rather than reef ending up another 5nm off the rhumb line and once behind the squall line the winds had picked up so I had to put the reef back into the main.

On Helen’s suggestion we’re running a 2 hour on, 4 hour off shift. I picked my slot to coincide with radio work so I’m on at 12 and 6 each hour. Lissa is next at 2 & 8 and Helen follows at 4 & 10. Easy to remember. Yesterday I moved the clocks to daylight savings time so we all got 20 minutes off one of our shifts. A real treat !!

Last night I managed to make radio contact with Passages who have now managed to leave Fiji having had some transmission problems on their first attempt last Saturday.

All is well aboard.

Category: At Sea | Here is my comment

Fiji->NZ: Day 0

by KC2RIY, on October 24th, 2011 (At Sea, Fiji)

In the morning we went ashore one final time to have breakfast and say our goodbyes to everyone. Knowing how much I liked them Latu, the female lead of the dance group, promised to make Helen one so we absolutely have to go back to Likuri Island next time we’re in Fiji to collect.

By 10am we were off into a brisk 20+ knot wind. The swell was a little higher than forecast and as we had to sail on a close reach life began to get quite bumpy. We ran into a couple of problems fairly early on. The port side bilge is getting water from the bow and gradually collecting water. Ok in of itself but once the pump goes on, it doesn’t switch off. This is the second of the new pumps to exhibit this behaviour. What crap. So now we have to put our head in the bilge every 2 hours and run it manually. Not fun. The second problem came when the microwave went airborne. It landed on our sliding door, smashing it off it’s slider, gouging it’s way down the cabin facing side before smashing to pieces on the steps. Lots of woodwork damage and a dead microwave.

Apart from that, all is well. We’re all sleeping when not on watch as the ride is bumpy and we feel drained. Lissa is doing very well. She has confidently settled into her watches and seems fit and well – when she’s awake that is.

The really good news is we’re blazing our way south more or less down the rhumb line at 7-8 knots. We expect to slow down later in the trip but this could possibly put us on a Saturday arrival. Only time will tell.

Nail biter for NZ but well done for the win.

Category: At Sea, Fiji | Here is my comment

NZ->Fiji Day 9

by KC2RIY, on May 22nd, 2011 (At Sea)

We began the day as we ended the night with just the jib out riding the rough swell and continued in this manner all morning. Paul got the first sighting of land and we all rushed out to peer into the distance and see the island of -Matuku through the mist. The sight of land switched us all into a feeling of arrival, out of our passage mode. Excitement was rising.

After lunch we raised the main keeping in the 2 reefs from our previous days surfing experience. As the afternoon progressed and into the evening the seas showed signs of calming. This set the stage for a fantastic night passage.

The sea temperature is now 92F and the air temperature over 70 all night long. For my 8-11 watch I just sat outside with nowt on but my undies (all but one of my shorts are soaked with salt water) listening (and often singing) to music. The moon lit the ocean. I was sprayed a couple of times but nothing major. A shower, at the end of my watch, cleaned me off.

I understand from Paul that Helen had a great watch too. I’m pleased as she’s not overly enjoyed this passage. Night watch can be miserable but sometimes it can be a thrill.

Paul was pooped a couple of times. I think he has a different relationship with Neptune.

Our ETA for Savusavu is currently sometime after 1pm. This may change when we make our turn around the island of Koro as the wind will be more behind us and the main is likely to start shading the jib.

All in all the passage hasn’t been too bad but certainly this tropics down and back to NZ has been our toughest two legs. We had expected to take eight days and it’s taking us nine. But then we did slow down to under half speed for a couple of days to try and avoid some bad weather – putting us into some other bad weather later.

A full and good nights sleep will be an excellent reward. A beer on arrival will be an excellenter reward. They’re in the fridge. Ready.

When we stop I will have to pull up our bunk and attend to our port shaft seal. It has leaked all the way over at varying rates. It’s never really got any worse but the alarm tends to go off once or twice an hour. Because of the noise of passage we don’t hear it downstairs. It’ll drive us mad once we’ve stopped. So some more grease will be squeezed in. I know this stops it until we move on. One of the things we’ll do ashore today/tomorrow is research our options to beach the boat and replace the seal.

Category: At Sea | Here is my comment
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