SV Panta Rhei Retirement Trip
| Vessel Name: | Panta Rhei |
| Vessel Make/Model: | Able Apogee 50 |
| Hailing Port: | Seattle |
| Crew: | Larry and Karen |
| Social: |
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18 September 2017 | Seattle
We are back in Seattle
It feels like home. Of course we are not in Silshole. Maybe we will be, someday, but there is a list and we are on it. In the meantime we are at Bainbridge Island Marina.
23 August 2017 | Prince Rupert
The dinghy holds air again
It wasn't very nice of the bear to tear the fabric across a seam. We were worried that we couldn't patch it but tried anyway. The glue had a job to do and it did it!
15 August 2017 | Anan Bear Observatory
A Grizzly Bear damaged our dinghy
We were visiting the Anan Bear Observatory south of Wrangell. It is one of the best places to visit in all of SE Alaska BECAUSE it has bears. But (as we learned) there is a dark side to this bear concentration. And of course, there is a story to tell.
19 July 2017 | Petersburg, AK
Moving On
"No matter where you go, there you are" (unknown reference). By now we have been there and done that. Most recently that included Cannery Cove on Admiralty Island. The photo shows the quiet grandeur of the setting with Ron and Suzie's boat SV Tango in the foreground. It has been like that for the last [...]
17 June 2017 | Hoonah, AK
We are in Hoonah, SE Alaska now
We got something resembling a high pressure ridge so we moved expeditously across the Gulf of Alaska. The crossing took three days and weather stayed as forecast. That was a very good thing. The weather changes in the far north far more rapidly and dramatically than we ever experienced in the more southern [...]
03 June 2017 | Seward AK
Crossing the Gulf of Alaska
We are still in Seward, AK. Now that spring has come, why not start south?
Passage Notes 12: Bad Night
Last night was the roughest I can remember, not the biggest waves, but the roughest. Stuff was flying everywhere in the boat. Movement was nearly impossible. Outside it was raining and windy and very dark.
We were running with just a double reefed main almost due downwind. Then the gybe preventer connection to the toe rail broke. Loud noise and what was that? I found it and fixed it but got soaked in the process.
We decided we needed to reduce sail. That was a lot tougher than it sounds. We missed the third reef and ended up with the mainsail all the way down. That left us with just the storm staysail. That is not enough to give sufficient boatspeed to keep the autopilot locked on course. The autopilot shut down.
We ended up parked, lying ahull and rolling rolling rolling. Waves are about 3 meters. We're safe but going nowhere. We don't like going nowhere at sea.
We had sailed into a wind change that was dramatic. From 30+ knots downwind to about 30+ knots upwind, directly upwind from Dutch Harbor. We tried sailing with the jib double reefed and it was just too much. So we lay ahull all night.
About 11 am the next day we decided to try it again. The wind was down a little. Sure enoiugh we got the boat moving and the wind had clocked around enough that we were only sailing about 45 degrees off course.
But the jib is starting to fray near the top. It appears to be the sun cover coming off. We are worried about it and running hard to weather double reefed is very hard on it. So we rolled that up to save it for a little easier set of conditions. Now we have a triple reefed main and storm trysail and are making almost 4 knots on cog 320 degrees. Desired course is about 20deg. Ugh. But this is way more comfortable than lying ahull.
We are still expecting the wind to clock around and give us something closer to a beam reach to Dutch Harbor (or at least part way there). We are still 1213 miles to go, not motoring range. We have to sail and for that we need a wind change. The gribs are encouraging for sometime in the next 3 days.
present position at utc 2 june 03:22 hrs is 36d15mN 178d55mW making 4 kknots wind 20-30 from the northeast (i.e. where Dutch Harbor is)
Rain has ended. condensation has begun.
Larry and Karen
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