01/09/2010
The high that has been camped out causing us to struggle towards its northern frontier in order to sail east, decided to head out of town just as we scented victory. Chased out by a mean old low and associated front, that had us doing some interesting middle of the night gybes to cope with its associated wind shifts. We are now headed east, but will gain some more northing as soon as winds permit. Getting cool - have cracked out the winter woolies and sleeping bags. Cheers, Team Mulan
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29/08/2010
We are still looking for the elusive top end of the high. Winds have gone very soft, so we must be close to the centre bit. Winds have eased to 8-10 kts, so we have spent a beautiful sunny afternoon on a spinnaker run in almost flat seas. Boat speed is close to 6 knots, which is great given the wind velocity. Certainly faster than motoring! Cheers, Team Mulan.
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27/08/2010, still in the pacific
Keith said he would make fish & chips. Yeah, right. But there at dinner last night, we were chowing down on battered mahi mahi, deep fried chips & onion rings. Put together in a 25 knot squall (not Worksafe BC approved conditions). Keith is a star. He even brought along his own apron!
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26/08/2010, The pacific
Well, if the wind doesn't cooperate, go fishing. So far, we have caught 4 dorado/mahi mahi/dolpin fish, but only landed 2. Oh, for the want of a swim platform. Our arms are not long enough to reach the net or gaff down to secure the beasts. But there is only so much fresh fish one can eat. Keith is at this moment scanning the recipe books for a new angle on mahi mahi. The other cool fish story was the presence yesterday of several very large dolphins, who swam along side rather than the usual playing in the bow wave. Even better, upon going below (downstairs for the non-nautical), you could hear them talking to each other. Awesome! Cheers, Team Mulan
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24/08/2010, heading NW!
Once again the GRIBs and forecasts are doing their level best to thwart us. All forecasts and GRIBs viewed prior to departure showed solid E winds for several days, as far north as 30 deg. We've yet to find them - instead we are struggling to go north in consistent NE winds, so we are being pushed further west than we'd like. Sound familiar? Otherwise all is well. Paul has had the lines out, and we had strikes on both lines at the same time. Fortunately we only landed one, as there is a limit to how much Mahi Mahi three blokes can eat while it is fresh. Keith did a fine job manning the filet knife and the stove. More soon. Keep whistling. Team Mulan
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Barring any unforseen unforseens, Mulan will be heading northwards on Saturday. The non-functioning engine woes have seemingly been solved - not sure if this will solve the periodic engine surges, as I suspect these are related to dirty tanks and or fuel and not a mechanical issue. So, we have a day to reprovision again (avoiding Costco this time) and chill out before hitting the route north.
Mulan's new crew is two very enthusiastic mainlanders - Paul from Colorado Springs, who has a Ranger 26 here in Honolulu, but wants to do a major passage, and Keith from Chicago (??), who has a resume straight from a novel - counsels disadvantaged kids, played drums in backing bands for the likes of Joe Cocker and Tin Turner and has a Gold Record to his name (fire up the Playstation Rockband!), and has instructor level certification with American Sailing Association. He makes my life look comparatively dull.
Cheers,
Tam Mulan
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