Day 4. En Route: Nuku Hiva, Marquesas to Manihi, Tuamotu
09 July 2007 | Coordinates: 13 37S, 144 03W
Steen and Angela
Conditions: Wind/weather - 3-5 knots NNE, a few white clouds. 85 dgr F.(90 inside) Sea state - Very long SE swell. 6 ft at 20 sec Boat speed/course - 2.5 knots under drifter, staysail and full main. Course 255
Well, yesterday afternoon, (Friday), the wind died. We knew it would at some point, but it happened about 24 hours earlier then we had hoped for. So, with very light wind and 195 miles to go, we decided to alter destination. The Manihi atoll is farther north than Kauehi and lets us keep the wind close to our beam instead of directly aft. (We don't sail very well directly downwind and probably need a bigger drifter sail, [like a spinnaker but easier to handle], and a whisker pole which holds the foot of the sail out like an arm.) We now think is was a mistake to leave home without a whisker pole and would highly recommend having one.
Angela: Last night, when the wind died completely, we drifted under bare pole until about 0200 am, on my watch, when a very light north wind picked up. I went down to wake Steen and tell him I was going on deck to raise the headsail. (No one is allowed on deck at night without telling someone.) It took me awhile to find the right halyard for the jib, (actually, I wanted to raise the drifter, but the jib was hanked on and ready, so I tried to raise that instead). When one person, (Steen), is usually doing the sail work, they alone know their system, and I sometimes find it difficult to 'see' how he has rigged things. Anyway, the jib fouled and wouldn't raise so I crawled out onto the bow pulpit, while hooked into my safety harness of course, to see what was tangled, but couldn't find the cause. At this point, I went below, a little embarrassed that I had to wake Steen again and ask his help, but also a little miffed because in my opinion the deck was a mess, with what looked to me like sheets and halyards everywhere. (It wasn't really that messy). I got even more upset when Steen came up on deck, looked at the situation and asked why I wasn't raising the drifter. Well, maybe because it's still in it's bag and I hadn't intended to make a major production out of this 2:00 am procedure...
So, Steen set up and raised the drifter while I sat in the cockpit regretting the loss of our LED headlamp that I had lost overboard while ducking underneath 'his' preventer system of lines strung across the side deck. It's funny what takes place on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean at two in the morning.
Steen: The pacific today is different from anything we have seen yet. The swell is very gentle and very far apart. With no real wind to whip things up, the ocean looks like a large turquoise blanket being gently shaken in the wind.
TINGS WE LIKE: by Angela
Wide mouth canning jars, both large and small. We use them for all sorts of dry goods and liquids; they prevent contamination from bugs and are more spill-proof than tupperware in the ice box. Our favorite use for them at this moment is...very exciting for Steen...yogurt made from a Norwegian yogurt culture, courtesy of s/v Tuscany who received some from friends on a Norwegian boat. Two tablespoons mixed with 1/2 a liter of milk, then heated to 50 C., set for 5 hours in a jar, then put in refrigerator. Ready in 2 to 3 days. It is delicious - thank you Tuscany! Steen grew up eating a creamy yogurt for breakfast with toasted sweetened bread crumbs and sugar. We are now doing the same on Radiance.
This type of sharing of home-made foods and recipes is one of our favorite parts of this cruising lifestyle. Just the other day, as we were preparing to leave Nuku Hiva, a cruiser dighy'd over to ask to borrow some glass jars...and he needed them quickly. His homemade marmalade was melting his plastic jars... I gave him one large jar one small jam jar. He was very grateful and 20 minutes later he returned my small jam jar filled with fresh marmalade.
Steen: The Manihi atoll is at 14 25S, 146 00W. It is one of the smaller atolls, and is not the most visited by cruising boats.
We have 125 miles to go. There is nothing in the forecast that promises more wind in the next 3-days. So we will continue to do 2-3 knots for awhile. Hopefully we will make landfall on July 9th.
Take care Steen