Steen and Angela
07/09/2007, Coordinates: 13 37S, 144 03W

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

Comments [1]

Angela
05/13/2007, 15 40.00 N 115 20.00 W, about 200 miles SW of Soccoro Island

I love you Mom! Have a great day and we will write more as the day goes on.

Comments [0]

Angela
05/13/2007, 15 29.48N 115 46.78W, time 1700

Lots of things on my mind these days, but most importantly, today I'm thinking of my mother. Last night during my watch, I was trying to write a special Mother's Day tribute, but none of the words seemed adequate. Let's just say I will consider myself successful if I can be as patient, loving, and understanding as my mother; and hopefully when my little daughter is older, she will like and love me as much as I like and love and respect my mom.

Random notes on our crossing: At 5:30 am Saturday morning in the pre-dawn, you would have found me in the cockpit with flour and bowls, making bread dough. Normally, I wouldn't be up at 5:30 for any reason, especially not in the kitchen making bread; but this kind of domesticity is more my style. For me, it's another interesting juxtaposition of adventuring and nurturing/providing.

As Steen said in yesterday's posting, Saturday was wash day - the clothes, crew, and cockpit. It was great to get some of the salt off. Steen said that we had done a substantial amount of laundry, but I only washed about 20 pieces; he probably just thought it was a substantial amount of clothes because I asked him to hang them up. Just kidding. I wouldn't attempt to do all our laundry during a crossing; It would take ages, not to mention a huge amount of water. Also, hanging the clothes to dry poses a problem, they cannot really hang outside long because they absorb salt from the air, making them almost as unpleasantly sticky as they were before being washed.

The Southern Cross: a constellation low in the southern sky, visible only to those living below about 23 degrees N; I think we first noticed it in the sky near Cabo San Lucas. (Don't quote me on the latitude). It hangs vertically in the early evening, with four bright stars forming a near perfect cross, turning the sky into an enormous sanctuary. Seen from the cockpit, it sits directly to port, making one feel like they should be on their best behavior. Unfortunately, I never studied astronomy, but I wonder if the Jesuit or Catholic missionaries used the constellation as a tool of persuasion when converting the Polynesian and South American natives.

Propane: We received our blog comments via email from Steen's parents, (thank you), and thank you again everyone for your comments. We Loved the Clapton Propane song. I 'sang' it outloud to Steen as I read it. That's great - thank you. By the way, I think my propane information 'correction' from a couple weeks ago was also incorrect. We carry...a 20lb. main tank and, we think - a 3 or 4 lb. backup tank.

Tradewind sailing: As Steen said, at some time during the night last night, we think we hit the NE tradewinds. It felt like Radiance suddenly got on the expressway.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANALISE!!! We will write to you tomorrow.

All for now. Take care, Angela

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Angela
11/18/2006, Winchester Bay, OR 43 40.75 N 124 10.94 W

Hello Everyone,

Angela here?
You may be wondering where in the world we are right now...Well, we are still in our slip here in Winchester Bay, Oregon.

Those of you in Washington state might have some idea why we're still here. The weather has been relentless. We got our first taste of the 'Pineapple Express', (a low pressure system that moves in from Hawaii, bringing buckets of rain), just as we were leaving Tacoma for a 320 mile drive south.

Backtracking just a little? as of the early morning of Nov. 1st, we were homeless in Tacoma. It was still dark, we had cleared out of the apartment and had a van and a small U-Haul trailer full of stuff.
Unfortunately, we still had a storage unit that had to be cleared out, and some other loose ends to tie up.

Graciously, our good friends in Parkland let us stay with them until we got everything all tidied up.

Tidying up everything in your life takes some time. That is especially true when dealing with a pack rat, (me). Countless trips later, between our new and old storage units, and a few to Goodwill, we finally had our stuff paired down to a manageable pile. Our friends helped us get the last of the stuff stowed away and by the morning of Nov. 4th, all there was left to do was sell the Subaru, jump in the van and drive.

At a reduced price, our Subaru drove off with a new owner, we made a couple sandwiches and took off for the boat. On a good note, the Pineapple Express had waited to roll in until we were done moving boxes?on a not so good note, it hit just as we were getting on the interstate.

Under sheets of rain, going about 30 MPH, with our little U-Haul on the verge of hydroplaning, we puttered down I-5. We made it to Salem, OR before giving up and getting a hotel for the night.

So, here we are, 2+ weeks later, still stowing things away on the boat, drinking some good coffee, and waiting for our weather window. The Pineapple Express did pass, but behind it came one low pressure system after another, bringing gusts of wind up to 60 knots. The boat pulled and tugged on her mooring lines, but Malou didn't seem to mind. That's the beauty of being two years old. It's all fun, and time is irrelevant.

Take care,
Angela Rose Aquino

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