06/03/2012, 7 45.057'S:128 38.927'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
time 2100z. Sog 7.7kts. Cog 248d mag.
Wind and seas have been consistently over 20kts and above 3meters. We've been flying along averaging just shy of 200 miles per day for the last few days. We are now a shade over 600 miles from the Marquesas. We are ready to get there. All onboard are a bit tired. But all is well.
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Comments [2]
06/02/2012, 06 45.394'S:122 21.395'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
position is as of 16:11zulu. SOG 8.1kts. COG 260mag. All is well. Doing this post a bit earlier in the day, as it has been hot hot hot, in the cabin at noon time. A bit of a long tiring night last nigt. Seas are good size, and the wind is blowing in the low 20's. Actually pretty nice sailing conditions, but the ride is a bit wild. Surfed up to 13.9kts last night. Not bad since this thing is loaded like a container ship.
The Mahi we caught yesterday was delicious as usual. Nothing beats fish right out of the water and straight into the frying pan. And of course we caught it on the home made lure that I made out of the plastic tube packaging from one of my expensive lures. (its not completely ironic. The expensive ones have caught a lot of fish, just not as many as my home-made thing made from the packaging :)).
I think we are a little under 850 miles from our destination.
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06/01/2012, 06 45.394'S:122 21.395'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
Position is as of 2020z. SOG 7.5. COG 253mag.
Winds have picked back up again, and the angle has improved as well. So our speed is up where we'd like it.
Not much new. Last time I looked around we were still on a boat in the middle of the South Pacific.
All is well
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05/31/2012, Galapagos to Marquesas
I forgot to mention the swell... Yes, we are in the 'big' swell that was forecast. It is about 10-12ft. But it is very long period so it is very gentle. Sailing into a 6foot wind chop, as we often did while working our way SE through the Bahamas, would be ten times the nuisance.
Also, I thought I'd share another of Stephen's great fishing photos. A nice Mahi Mahi that we've been devouring.
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05/31/2012, 06 44.52'S:119 44.738'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
Position is as of 2000z. SOG 6.6kts. COG 258mag. We are about a 1200 miles from landfall, maybe a bit less. I thought I would give you a shot of life on board. We are surrounded by ocean, of course, but the truly interesting things are these things called DVD's that you can view on your computer. As you can see, 3/4 of the crew is mesmerized. Its so bright out, however, you must be underneath a towel to see. As a bonus, however, it hides the identity of the crew from the spy satellites that are tracking our progress towards our planned assault on the unsuspecting french polynesians.
Hmmmm....what to do today?
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05/30/2012, 06 51.235'S:117 31.847'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
Another day another dollar...uh departing that is... Hmmm two days in a row with money quips...And oddly, while in a place where I can't even spend money....
We just got a very short little rain shower. Surprisingly we've had very very little rain this trip. I'm sure that will change...
Wind is a bit light today. 10kts, so we are plodding along very slowly. SOG Roughly 5kts, COG 256mag. The position was as of 2015zulu today the 30th. We are over halfway there in terms of miles, actually probably as of yesterday or the day before....but who knows in terms of number of days.
It was a really busy day. We had to jibe--Our first of the trip. I was hoping we could go the whole trip without tacking or jibing. Despite the 4 minutes of light exertion, the day is not a total loss--now that we are on port tack, we get more sun on the solar panels. 34 amps flowing into the batteries a minute ago. Making water today as well. Busy Busy Busy. Had to press a button. Not sure my fingertips can take much more of that. I need lunch and a nap.
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05/29/2012, 06 51.084'S:115 19.354'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
its 2120zulu. SOG 6kts. COG 259mag. Wind is dead astern. We are sailing wing and wing. Which works pretty well. Though I wish we had a whisker pole. Thought it wouldn't be needed on a cat. But it would be helpful.
The weather is nice, though sailing downwind is HOT.
Sorry there haven't been any pictures in a while. I'm waiting until we get in to port with internet access somewhere. Our satellite service is outstanding, but it costs a fortune to post pictures through it on a regular basis. And now and then, when I get the bills, I remember that I'm not employed :).
I just put the fishing lines out again. It has been a while, since the last fish we caught was good sized, and our freezer was pretty full. So we'll see what we get this time. Mahi Mahi is always nice, but I'd love to catch a good tuna. Lots of tuna varieties, though, and some are not that great. But the good ones--outstanding!
We haven't seen any sign of civilazation in days. No ships or other boats at all. Though now and then we see a plane or a satellite at night. And we have been in SSB Radio contact with some friends. We speak to a boat named Barefoot every afternoon. The are about 500 miles south of us, heading to the Austral Islands. We also spoke to our friends on the Clementie yesterday--they are still in the Galapagos. And every evening I check in on the Pacific Seafarer's net, which is a ham radio net that keeps track of any boats sailing the pacific that want to check in. They also log the positions of the various boats, and can provide a way to get in contact with boats at sea. Boat positions can be see on the "yotreps" website. google "yotreps" which is a phonetic verson of Yacht Reps (or reports...). Some boats need to be looked up via their ham radio call sign. Mine is KK4FWI.
All is well here, and I hope it is there as well....wherever there is....
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05/28/2012, 06 02.473'S:112 43.578'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
I hate mondays. Getting up for work after a nice weekend really sucks. Oh, wait.....
Position is as of 1900z. SOG 6.7k. COG 258mag. All is well. We are now about 1300 miles from the closest piece of land. It is hard to find any part of the ocean that gets you farther from land than this. You can do it further south in the south pacific, really in the southern ocean, between New Zealand Cape Horn. Maybe a couple other places...but not many. Our Closest port would now be Easter Island. Which hardly qualifies, as there is no port.
Very much looking forward to getting to the Marquesas. Sometime next week....
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05/27/2012, 05 45.49'S:109 56.06'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
Position is as of 1825zulu. SOG 7.8kts. COG 258mag.
8 days done, starting our 9th. Officially our longest time at sea. All is well. Lots of books being read :). And a fair number of movies and tv shows being watched.
Boat is sailing really well right now. Seas are easy and from the right direction. We expect this to change on either the 30th or the 31st. The grib files are showing that a potentially uncomfortable swell will come in from the S to maybe even SW. 3 to 5 meters. Not looking forward to it. Must be a system somewhere south that is sending up remnant swell. The grib files disagree on the period. I hope the one showing the longest period is right!! It looks like the big swell ought to last a couple of days.
Fried mahi has been delicious!!
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Alan Walton.
05/26/2012, 05 22.798'S:107 22.332'W, Galapagos to Marquesas
Location is as of 18:46zulu today. SOG is 7 kts. COG is 260mag.
All is well. don't feel like writing much today. Last 24hrs has been a good sail averaging about 8kts, often well into the 9's. Winds have died a bit again now.
Lovely fried mahi for lunch...
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