04/07/2009, 01 25.71'S:127 08.33'W, 858 Miles to Hiva Hoa
Now that we have passed the equator, it's all about getting to the Marquesas. We find ourselves wanting to optimize our points of sail and time our motoring just to maximize our VMG. Today we had decent winds, even if they came from the Northeast, rather than the expected East or Southeast, allowing a 6-7 hour spinnaker run at 5 knots. As the sun set, the winds died, and we motored once again.
We passed the time reading, cleaning, and since I woke up to the sound of a squealing winch, rebuilt all four of our winches. I cleaned and lubricated them last in winter 2007, so it was time. Ahh, the smell of grease, carb cleaner and the feel of cleaning gears. reminds me of rebuilding engines in my youth. There is nothing quite like methodically tearing down and rebuilding a precision geared instrument. And the sound after rebuilding the winches was exquisite, click, click click, like hearing the sound of an engine first firing up after a rebuild (sans muffler, of course) -allan
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04/06/2009, 00 10.90'S:125 39.66'W, 1950 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
The day dawned as the last 4, with the drone of the engine pervasive in our dreams, the smell of diesel exhaust present at each watch. As the sun rose, we started the countdown to the equator. We expected to cross the equator at noon, perfect symmetry to this special event. As the equator neared, we prepared a special noon-edition spread of appetizers and nicely chilled bottle of Champagne. As it turns out, Jan and friends share a house not more then 50 kilometers from Reims, where our nice bottle of Vueve Clicquot hails from.
Still, the engine droned on.
Nautical custom requires that we pay homage to King Neptune by pouring over the side "a wee dram of the most expensive beverage in the liquor locker". Jan humored us by dressing up as the great king, pointing to the equator as we passed directly over. We toasted our good fortune, and acknowledged that we were no longer pollywogs, but now fully credentialed Shellbacks, the nautical term for those who have sailed over the equator.
Having completed our homage, we proceeded with our other chores, swimming in the deep blue, cleaning the pesky goose neck barnacles off the hull, showering, and transferring fuel to the main tank. To steady the boat as we were doing our fuel transfer, we raised the spinnaker. After 20 minutes of fuel transfer, we headed back to the cockpit to find that the winds had freshened to 12-14 and we were now regularly hitting 5.5-6 knots SOG, better than we had done for days with the iron genny. At last the boat is quiet, with only the wonderful sound of water glancing off our bow. Less than 1000 miles to go...
It must have been that toast to Neptune. -allan
From now on it is Suivre toi Suivre moi the French version of yes indeed Follow you Follow me. There it was 00.00 latitude de evenaar very special to cross it by boat. We have been looking for it for days and with the champagne it gave us a boost. Suddenly Neptunes granted us wind so we are sailing again. Just another 9 days before we reach the Marquesas sadly I have to leave the suivre toi suivre moi by then. But we will stay together while I sail on with the Carinthia a 440 lagoon catamaran. We are almost out of fresh food so it's time for beans, lentels etc. I started with a chili which I made in the high pressure cooker. I also received some blog comments send on by Gene thanks Gene! Great to here from Inanna and Joke en Wil. That is it for today I am on watch and it is much better out there. Lots of love - Jan
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Phil
Phillip J. Faillers is going to sleep to Genesis "And Then There Were Three" in honor and envy of the crew of S/V 'Follow You Follow Me' whom today have crossed the Equator in the middle of the great Pacific Ocean.
Best wishes; you guys are great!!!
04/05/2009, 00 43.68'N:124 30.98'W, 1800 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
While we can rarely remember what day of the week it is, Sunday's hold a special charm for us, as we relive some of our land-based routines. a breakfast of eggs/potatoes, a good book, and a nap, specifically.
Our rendezvous with the equator has been deferred by winds from the South-Southeast of 9-10 knots, which, while not quite enough to propel us under sail alone, is enough to slow our progress along our intended southern route. We have adjusted our float plan to take us further west as we approach the equator, currently heading 229, which will bring us to the equator around noon tomorrow. We will celebrate with Neptune and a bottle of Vueve, and then continue South-Southwest to find the Southern trades.
Understand we may have posted the wrong picture for day 14. Here is the intended picture, which is also apropos for today. -allan
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04/04/2009, 02 00.'N:123 13.94'W, 1650 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
4pm. It was a refreshingly cool and wet afternoon. we caught a whole quart of water!!! Amazing. Lol. I just finished another movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button; I have to say it was a little disappointing for how long it was, too slow and uneventful. Hopefully tonight's margaritas and fresh baked focaccia bread (courtesy of mommy dearest) with tonight's dinner will prove more exciting. Love always. 4:30pm (Newsflash. a rainbow just appeared after finishing this rather uneventful blog entry, so I think much "happier" blogs are soon to follow?) 7pm Wow, so Mother Nature proves that anything can happen in 2 hours. Rainstorms appeared out of nowhere. Dad and I manned both port and starboard water fill valves while sitting on rubber cushions to block water drainage off our now-clean deck. It rained hard for a little while adding 2 bars to our tank indicators, but I think it was just the fun of it all that was more gratifying. We got a clean shower in the downpour, just enjoying the moment. I'm constantly in awe that I'm sailing with nothing around me. Today there was absolutely no wind, hence the name doldrums, or should I say dull drums. The water seemed like a perfect mirror to the sky, so glassy. I think I enjoy the excitement of sailing in "foul weather" because of the excitement you get out of it. The faster the wind and more the rain, the more you have to do. Of course, I love the perfect sunny days, but as young as I am, I want to act, to explore, swim, feel the adrenaline when something exciting or a little out of the ordinary happens. That's how it should be at this age, right? So today was thoroughly exciting. Bring on the rain, as I know Megan is dancing for as she confirmed, it makes it much more enticing for me to finish learning how to sail, and I'm sure the rest of the crew would love the fresh water for their shower as well. -Alyssa
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What new stars and constellations have you viewed in the Southern sky? Soon you won't be able to see Polaris, the North star. How would you navigate then?
Enjoy!
04/03/2009, 03 55.01'N:122 36.25'W, 1576 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
A lazy day on Follow You, as evidenced by Alyssa's pose, was interrupted by good news via email late in the day. Given night watches, our days tend to start slow anyway, as everyone catches up on sleep, but today was even slow by that standard, as there is still little wind, and we are all sonically insulated by the sound of the Yanmar purring away at 1700 RPMs. After our late morning swim, dish cleaning and hygiene wipe-down of all handhold surfaces on the boat, it's mostly reading and in Alyssa's case, more sleeping.
We then got the news that our friends on Carinthia, a Lagoon 440 Catamaran, and Kaomoana, a Hunter 49 have arrived in Hiva Oa, and you could sense their excitement of being back on land again. They report well stocked grocery stores, which have been a concern, friendly people and great restaurants. The other good news is word that my Brother Phil and his wife Josie, who crewed on the Baja Haha with us, will be joining us in August in Tonga and Vava'u for two weeks. We could not be more thrilled, or more surprised, by being visited by family out here. Aunt Stephanie and John are joining us in the Marquesas and making the passage to the Tuamoto's with us, daughter Megan joins in Tahiti, Cousin Jeffrey comes aboard for passage to the Cooks and Tonga. leaving only Fiji without guests.. Of course, by that time, Rina and I might be looking for some 1-1 time, but we would much rather be visited by parents.. Hear that Mom? Hear that Mama Fives? FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIJJJJJJJJJIIIII IIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!
Our afternoon included a buzz of activity discussing our plans upon arrival, hitting the Frommers and Lonely Planet guide books, as well as our cruising guides. Jan will be departing Follow You in the Marquesas, perhaps jumping to Carinthia until the Tuamoto's, where he either rejoins us for the passage to Tahiti or falls prey to the seduction of the large, air conditioned catamaran.
We expect to hit the equator in about 2.5 days, and then it's about 7 to the Marquesas.
Are we there yet? -allan
EMBARRASSING! Could Dad pick a better time to take a picture? Ugh. My excuse for the gorgeous sleeping pose. it's hot and my bed's too short. And for the embarrassing picture of me bathing on yesterday's blog?... Saltwater does not rest well in my eyes and mouth. So there. I've explained my unfeminine instances revealed on camera. Lol. Since waking up (at umm, 3pm was it?), I made a delicious orzo pasta salad with peanuts, sun-dried tomatoes, asparagus, and parmesan cheese with a light Italian dressing. Hungry anyone? Seeing that they're having ribs as their main course, I thought I would contribute a lighter, healthy, vegetarian side dish. Ribs on water do not sound particularly appetizing especially in this hot weather. Mom was right; my appetite has been going down while sailing. I think it will help the little weight I've gained since eating the surprisingly unhealthy dining hall food at UC Santa Cruz. Call me a princess, but I've been blessed to have grown up in such a health conscious family, eating very exotic and creative food. not your normal fare. Love and miss you! -Alyssa
Bonjour mes amies. French polonesia is at the horizon. So I started updating my French with sail terms like ligne de mouillage (anchor line) We have this wonderful French for cruisers book, which is fun to read. French polonesia on the horizon? It is still a long way. These are boring days, engine on, noise and diesel fumes in the middle of paradise. Time to read my Robinson Crusoe, time for endless talks with Rina, time for taking care of my blisters and time to be hot, hot, hot. I have been stung again by a jelly fish so no more swimming for me. But a salt water wash is still nice, water temp 26 C (81.5F) Lots of time to think about everything I have done so far and making plans for the coming months. So boring days doesn't mean a boring mind! Veel liefs en groeten voor allemaal -Jan
How many askings can I have to ask how long is it going to be? Are we there yet? How many more miles? Just to clarify.when the girls were young, in car seats, during the commutes in Silicon Valley, they used to ask soooo many questions regarding are arrival and departures and travel times in the car..so we limited the amount of "askings" to 3 a day. Megan became quite good at asking with out actually asking..Alyssa would learn this later from her sister. I feel that at least 3 per day would work for me on this journey. Here it is, I'm the Mom, and limiting myself to ask the same dumb questions my children asked while growing up??? Who wudda thunk? The islands are looking closer on my charts, I'm getting excited with Carinthia's report on the friendliness of the people, restaurants, groceries, and just the beauty of the islands...Cant' Wait!!! love to all, - Rina
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04/02/2009, 06 00.24'N:121 57.91'W, 1400 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
All the past days of exciting water travel.wind, rain, and even swells has gone adrift.Now having little wind 4-5 knots, unable to run with the spinnaker or any sails, we've come to the conclusion that we must run our friend "miss Iron Genny". Many of us sailors know this is painful and noisy (everyone that has traveled on Follow you know this!!). We are taking advantage of charging our batteries, stopped for a swim, (which I slept through.I was very tired!), and had delicious tuna sandwiches for lunch (thanks Alyssa!). I've come to find myself thinking of home a lot these last couple of days, missing walks with the dogs, coffee stops (Hi Josie!), you know, "Normal Daily Routines". I miss the days when the girls were still in elementary and was able to drop them off at school, go to coffee with my girlfriends(Hi Donnica, Sonja, and ZuZu!) and play 9 holes of golf.those were the days. Now the kids are grown and gone I just miss my own "home" routines. I think it's called "cab in fever" when you start to think outside of the boat now. I know that I've got a little of it, although, I still can't believe that I'm out crossing this amazing ocean. Still so clean, clear and soooooo BLUE! Still, there is not much for sea life except flying fish. Food management has been going well. We will eat and drink well even if the water becomes and issue (which it won't, I have an emergency water maker in my ditch bag if all fails to keep the water up).so Everyone, miss you, Love to you all, not to worry. -Rina
As Rina mentioned, the winds have died, and except for a couple of periods where we might see 10 knots for a few hours, we expect to be motoring for the next 5-700 miles. How can we do that? Here is how we figured out our budgets for fuel.
217 - Total gallons aboard - 100 main tank, 67 Aux Tank, 50 in Jerry Jugs on deck 44 - 20% for getting off the coast and to the doldrums 108 - 50% for getting through the doldrums 32.5 - 15% for getting to Hiva Oa 32.5 - 15% for reserve
At 1700 RPM's we burn .61 gallons an hour, and do about 5.5 knots. Right now we are seeing closer to 6 due to a favorable current.
108 gallons gets us 178 hours or 7.4 days of motoring, for a range of 978 miles.
Based on the daily YOTREPS reports we get, the 8 boats southwest of us have been motoring mostly, but seeing some periods of winds above 10 knots. The winds stopped for them at about 6-North Latitude, and a day or two later, it did for us. We see two boats that have picked up the southern trades at about 2-South Latitude, so for us, worst case, we motor for 800 miles till we hit the trades again, leaving a buffer of 178 miles for this leg of the trip.
With the wind dying, so has the crews motivation, as it is hot and sticky. If the wind were coming from any direction other than northeast, we might still feel some of the 5-6 knot breeze. Because it comes from directly behind us, we feel NO wind.. The only time that changes is when the boat rocks back and forth in the swell, which brings it's own form of aggravation.
We were planning a 12-25 day journey and it now looks like we will be closer to 25 than 21, which makes this the halfway point. Funny thing, there is not much celebrating going on, as the hot and sweaty realization has occurred that we have *another* 12-13 days to go LOL. We try to break up the day by swimming and cooling off with stern saltwater showers. Don't worry, we continue to follow the 10 minute rule to keep the sharks away.Our next gala event will be crossing over the equator and toasting Neptune, which has a whole ritual associated with it.. But hey, we will take any excuse for a party, as long as it doesn't make those night watches harder. -allan
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04/01/2009, 07 31.08'N:121 05.07'W, 1300 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
After asking daughter Megan to do one of her special rain dances, we finally rode out several squalls overnight and into the early morning. Megan once again delivered, reminding us of her awesome powers, last put on display in the Caribbean 8 years ago, where we had 8 straight days of rain while chartering Duduza, a Fontaine Pagot Catamaran.
The evening squalls proved a disappointment, bringing winds up from to 12 to 16 and light rain. It gave Alyssa and me an opportunity to perfect Version 2.0 of our rain catchment system. V1 was an utter failure, sending Alyssa to bed a frustrated little girl ;-} We shoulda called it beta! (software geek joke, sorry) While both V1 and V2 used a spare shower curtain to catch rain, V1 tried to funnel into a bucket, where the wind had its own idea of what to do with the curtain. In V2, we tied the curtain down to the sheets (ropes) on top of the coach roof, and led it directly to the deck filler. Our thinking was that until the deck has been thoroughly cleaned of salt, flying fish and squid guts, we probably don't want to run it directly into our tank.
Early this morning we caught a nice squall, with moderate winds but lots of rain. While Alyssa slept off her frustration, I hung on my hands and knees for 35 minutes coaxing rain from the curtain into deck fill, while diverting the water that was cleaning the decks out the gunnels. After 15 minutes the deck was clean and I used a towel to build a dam that caught the remainder of the rain hitting the decks and funneled into the tank, getting between 5-10 gallons. We expect more powerful squalls as we approach the equator in a couple of days, expecting to fill our tanks completely and resume normal water routines.
As an added bonus, after the rains passed, the humidity lifted, the breeze filled in, and we have been on a comfy spinnaker run all day on our shiny clean boat. -allan
Restless Nights and Useless Squalls Yes, I did go to bed frustrated, but far from a little girl (but thanks for the compliment Dad). Waking up every hour with a drizzle of water not even giving us a quart of water can be a little annoying, which is understandable. Kudos to Dad for catching the final squalls' rain that was finally worth our time; I thankfully slept through it. And a big thanks to Megan for her confirmed rain dance :-). In the meantime, it's been a little tough adjusting to the relaxed pace of sailing. I miss the stressful lifestyle of college. no matter what people may say about the city of Santa Cruz, UCSC has a whole different mantra. I'm young and enjoy a fast pace, so just waiting to reach Marquesas has been a little tough. I want to explore the islands, the towns, the culture that is the French Polynesia. In the meantime, I get fidgety on the boat, reading, watching movies, and sleeping in the sun in the middle of the amazing Pacific Ocean is wonderful, but definitely a different lifestyle. -Alyssa
While I was sailing, the rain monsters were up and obsessed with catching some fresh water for their showers, spoiled Americans! I had a perfect shower, pedicure and a shave with salt water! Day twelve quit something I still love it!!! bleu bleu bleu am I becoming bleu myself? Just did some meditation up front. had a little snooze and kept staring across the bleu ocean It is rather strange to realize that this will be it for another ten days at least certainly considering the few miles we are making now. Luckily I get the chance to cook and spoil them with minestrone and fried rices. We have done well with our fresh food supplies especially the tomatoes did rather well as our Mexican peppers. But slowly we have to change to canned food and spaghetti with spam perhaps. The sauerkraut is waiting for the right moment. But while I am typing this Rina is preparing manicotti.wonderful. She gets a bit flushed though and not because of age, but because of slaving over the hot stove! Anyway, still having a great time in good company. Lots of love for now. -Jan
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03/31/2009, 08 52.6'N:120 05.72'W, 1200 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
After 10 days at sea, we have begun to recognize our trends as a crew. how we each handle the boat, deal with each other, and respond to the unique challenges of a long passage. Books have been written about the dynamics aboard small vessels at sea, from the 19th century schooners to modern day racers and cruisers. It's certainly a hot topic in the marinas among boats picking up crew for the long passages to the South Pacific. For all of us aboard Follow You, this is by far our longest passage.
After that setup I can hear your thoughts.. Are they going mad after being at sea for such a long time? No water to drink, no land in sight? Not even half way there? OMG! We are happy to report that, while still having each our own unique issues come up, we are responding well to the challenges in front of us. How? Let us explain.
The Boat: While you have read about some of the challenges of sailing the boat in various conditions, equipment malfunctions, etc, an almost more important issue is one of general boat cleanliness and day-to-day management. We set up a chores list and generally have adhered, but after 10 days, found that we were not being as diligent as we could, which was having an affect on others. One person's conveniently located pile of clothes is another person's eyesore. The lack of unlimited water has also impacted our ability to clean the boat as we would normally. We have had to adjust how we clean the galley and cockpit especially to maintain hygiene.
The Body: After 10 days it becomes obvious how small the boat is. Upper body gets plenty of work, but cardio and lower body is lacking. We have all adapted some form of stretching and exercising on our evening shifts to address general fitness. Alyssa and I spent 2.5 hours doing nothing but stretching from 2-5am last night, working each muscle group for minimum 15-20 minutes. The payoff is better sleep and less creaking, especially for us old guys. We each have had our challenges with small injuries as well. I got a pinky finger caught in a winch wrap and was 2 seconds from breaking it, alone, at 3am. Do I scream or try to undue the wrap? Hmm. pinky is fine, less a layer or two of skin. Jan had a bad streak over the past two days, which you can read about below, which leads to the last topic:
The Mind: The most important system to monitor and adjust on such a long journey... We each came to this passage with our own expectations, biases, and we are now seeing them confirmed, adjusted or blown away. There is no place to hide, and if care is not taken, the boat, body and mind all suffer, not to mention your fellow crew members. It's a good thing we all like to talk, as we have discussed this dynamic as a crew often, bringing up behavioral observations, suggestions for improvement and have worked together to improve our overall wellbeing. For those contemplating similar journeys as a family (Dennis) it is an important discussion point. Where does being a husband or father end and being a skipper start? When you interact, in what role are you? Does your wife or daughter know the context of your request?. What family dynamics support or undermine the roles we all must play at sea.. It is also easy to think of your daily boat handling tasks as routine, which is a recipe f or disaster, or at least a damaged pinky finger. Each time one of us has been injured, we discuss how we could have avoided it, and made adjustments where possible to our routine to minimize risk. All major sail changes are prepared before dark, for example. Could we change how we handle lines or equipment to stop a problem in the future.
Bottom line is that this is a long difficult journey, especially for the uninitiated, (ALL of us) and besides the logistics of getting from point A to point B safely, it's just as important to be prepared for the human challenges of 2800 miles and 24 days on a small piece of moving real estate surrounded by nothing but water and people you *better* like. -allan
Taking the spinnaker in after dinner in the dark wasn't very successful for me. A combination of things made the sheet slip and burn my fingers. Painful at first, it looks much better this morning just waiting for the blisters to explode. Sadly I have hurt my little toe again on those bloody speakers Allan!! This time the whole skin came of so I am covered in bandages. Luckily you Americans are great with lawsuits so this all may come in handy. Also considering the fact that I signed up on this boat with the agreement to have a hot fresh water shower every day and now I find myself doing dishes with salt water. Brushing my teeth with a spoon full of water, while sharks are looking for a bite. I almost forget, yes I had a very lucky day, during our swim a jelly fish marked my arm with her stinging. -Jan
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03/30/2009, 09 28.5'N:117 49.9'W, 1100 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
After a wonderful dinner in the cockpit at sunset running the spinnaker in 12 knots of wind, things picked up quite a bit. Winds and seas increased and as we were changing over to our nighttime configuration of poled out jib and shortened main, hitting 20-22 knots with short choppy following seas on the port quarter... quite the sleigh ride, even if our 6-8 knots through the water was countered by 1.1 knots of counter current. Finally, some serious wind, but the associated seas and current meant a somewhat restless night. The good news is that by now we have gotten used to sleeping on a rollercoaster.
Winds have remained brisk today, with cloud formations becoming progressively more menacing. We saw sprinkles a couple of times last night, and some bigger drops earlier today, but still not enough to capture water or clean the decks.
Using a neat little program called "Yotreps Reporter", available at www.pangolin.co.nz, we are able to get weather reports and graphical position reports from all the boats around us. We notice that several boats ahead of us are motoring at 5 knots in 4 knots of wind at about 6-North Latitude. This is the start of the doldrums and is about 3-4 days away for us. During the 6-700 mile ITCZ, we will motor when there is no wind to try to expedite our way through this area of unsettled weather, frequent squalls and lightning. We can see that other boats are picking up wind from the southern trades around 2-South Latitude.
Watermaker jury-rig has resulted in improved pressure, at or near the 75 PSI required to make water, but still no water. Now considering a freshwater flush to see if that gets things going. -allan
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03/30/2009, 09 28.5'N:117 49.9'W, 1100 Miles Southwest of Banderas Bay
After a wonderful dinner in the cockpit at sunset running the spinnaker in 12 knots of wind, things picked up quite a bit. Winds and seas increased and as we were changing over to our nighttime configuration of poled out jib and shortened main, hitting 20-22 knots with short choppy following seas on the port quarter... quite the sleigh ride, even if our 6-8 knots through the water was countered by 1.1 knots of counter current. Finally, some serious wind, but the associated seas and current meant a somewhat restless night. The good news is that by now we have gotten used to sleeping on a rollercoaster.
Winds have remained brisk today, with cloud formations becoming progressively more menacing. We saw sprinkles a couple of times last night, and some bigger drops earlier today, but still not enough to capture water or clean the decks.
Using a neat little program called "Yotreps Reporter", available at www.pangolin.co.nz, we are able to get weather reports and graphical position reports from all the boats around us. We notice that several boats ahead of us are motoring at 5 knots in 4 knots of wind at about 6-North Latitude. This is the start of the doldrums and is about 3-4 days away for us. During the 6-700 mile ITCZ, we will motor when there is no wind to try to expedite our way through this area of unsettled weather, frequent squalls and lightning. We can see that other boats are picking up wind from the southern trades around 2-South Latitude.
Watermaker jury-rig has resulted in improved pressure, at or near the 75 PSI required to make water, but still no water. Now considering a freshwater flush to see if that gets things going. -allan
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