THE PACIFIC PUDDLE JUMP TO THE MARQUESES

It seems that all major bodies of water are given a nick name so that the sailors about to embark on a major challenging ocean passage are not intimidated by the nautical miles they must sail. The "Brits" have nicknamed the Atlantic..."The Pond". The Americans have nicknamed the Pacific... "The Puddle".

Sea Whisper is about to sail the "Puddle Jump"- 3000 miles of open ocean to French Polynesia. No stops, no stores, no anchorages and no where to get repairs. Just a highway of salt water. There would just be the two of us on Sea Whisper. Yes, we had our concerns. We were confident in Sea Whisper's ability to handle heavy winds and weather. She had safely crossed other oceans and all of her gear and systems had been checked and doubled checked and there were spares for the spares! There was enough food and supplies in our lockers and stores onboard for 2-3 months. Sea Whisper was ready for the south east trades and the tropics. But were we mentally prepared? The prospect of considerably less sleep with a 3 hour watch routine for three weeks, living together 24/7 and being confined to fifty feet was somewhat disconcerting to any Skipper and First Mate.

OTHER CRUISERS
While in the Galapagos we met other cruisers who were embarking on the same passage. In the offshore cruising community friendships are quickly formed as we all have something in common...we are all foolish enough to own a boat, have the urge to travel to far off destinations, and at times, at a speed barely above a brisk walk. The majority of cruising boats have SSB (single side band) radios which transmit world wide radio telephone coverage, enable us to download weather information, allow us to talk to each other at times, tie into the "ham" networks and maybe conduct a telephone patch to talk to loved ones at home.

APRIL 6, 2013 LOG ENTRY: Enroute Hiva Oa, Marquises
0830, 1430 utc depart Puerto Villamil Isla Isabela, Galapagos
057.86 S 90.57.8 W
Prior to leaving we contacted our families and offered a prize to the one who came closest to guessing our actual passage time..."The Sea Whisper Puddle Jump Contest". Everybody got 'onboard' with their guesses. We had 16 entries.

HEADING OUT
The first few days we had light winds as we were working our way South and West to get away from the Doldrums, The ITCZ (Intertropical Convergeance Zone) where the NE and SE trade winds meet at the equator. We did some motoring (19 hours). Finally the SE trades started filling in and we were off. "We've got the trades!" we shouted. At no time did we feel we were all alone on the big ocean. The cruisers themselves had set up radio nets en route to check in twice a day to track each others' position and progress, compare weather in our specific area and brag about and bemoan how many fish were caught and lost and who had the 'catch of the day'(or lost the most gear)! Our net was known as the 'Galloper' net. It was enlightening to know that the 'Gallopers' and our other fellow cruisers were spread out over the 3000 miles even though we felt all alone with the tempestuous sea, the infinite sky and the host of stars sprinkled throughout the heavens each night. At times another boat would be close and then depending on our wind speed we would be gaining on the boats in front of us. The competitive edge! Of course.

DAY BY DAY
The miles were flowing under Sea Whisper's keel. She was sailing the 'Great Circle Route' recommended by 'Pacific Passage Planner'.... which, over the past hundreds of years, has proven to be a safe and fast route. We sailed a more northerly course with less counter current. The days started blending together. On our slowest day we sailed 108 miles in 24 hours. Our fastest day we traveled 192 miles.
Our watch system was working well for us. We and the boat functioned rhythmically with 3 hours on, 3 hours off through the night 9pm to 9am. During the day we were more relaxed and usually took turns having a nap in the afternoon. "All is well on board," we reported to net control on our daily check-ins. We experienced a few heavy rain squalls and wind shifts. We caught some fish. We read books and ate good food. And then one early morning our main sail collapsed on the deck...the halyard had broken at the top of the mast. Anxious moments indeed.... when Lionel had to scale to the top of the mast to replace the broken halyard. The seas at the time were 5-7 feet swells. You can imagine how far the top of the mast was swinging, can't you! I think there are still finger prints on the mast where he was holding on while replacing the halyard. His body escaped with sore leg muscles and a few red welts on his chest.

SQUID ATTACK
One strange moment on our journey was when we were attacked by a herd of squid. I was below and heard Lionel shout "I've been hit in the chest by a squid, we're under attack!' The attack lasted just seconds. When the assault was over there were 40-50 squid on deck. Most of them had sprayed their ink...what a mess. It took us over an hour to remove the bodies and the smeared blue liquid. What we assume had happened is that some fish were chasing them and the startled squid leapt out of water and splatter splatter.... all over Sea Whisper. That night on the net we warned the other cruisers behind us about the danger zone. We gave then the latitude and longitude so they could avoid a similar situation.

THE SEA
The magic of the ocean is difficult to put into words. The ocean waves and swells are mesmerizing, similar to watching a fire burn, always moving never the same. The stars are so clear you feel you can reach out and touch them. The Southern Cross is the new constellation, not the Big Dipper. Watching the sea birds, the flying fish, the petrels, the albatross, the frigates swooping and soaring helps wile away the hours. Days blend together. And then one night in a full moon we look out and there is land. After 19 days, 19 hours and 45 minutes the anchor is down. Sea Whisper has safely taken us 2968 nm. We are here in Hiva Oa, Marquises. At 0100, April 26, 2013 we cracked open a bottle of champagne and, proud of our accomplishment, toasted our landfall and our successful journey across the Pacific. We still love each other and we're still talking... life is good. And sister Charlotte won the family Puddle Jump contest with her guess of 19 days and 12 hours.

p.s. soon after landing we heard of several boats and their adversities in their journey: broken mast, a few broken auto pilots, malfunctioned steering gear, and a broken rudder.
We felt lucky that Sea Whisper remained unscathed for the most part....other than a broken halyard.

Love to all our family and friends at home from,
Barbara and Lionel, Captain and First Mate
SV Sea Whisper
cfn4129@sailmail.com www.sailblogs.com/member/svseawhisper