cruising with dilligaf

Vessel Name: Dilligaf
Vessel Make/Model: Jeanneau 49ds
Hailing Port: Bellevue
Crew: Captain Bill Teasdale, First Mate Sue Dalton
24 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27
22 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27
11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
24 January 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
11 November 2010 | Los Muertes
07 November 2010 | Bahia Santa Maria
01 November 2010 | Bahia Santa Maria
28 October 2010 | Turtle Bay
24 October 2010 | San Diego, California
14 October 2010 | San Diego, California
14 October 2010 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
23 September 2010 | Sausalito California
04 September 2010 | Anacortes WA
Recent Blog Posts
24 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27

Diving with the Sharks at the Fakarava Atoll, May 23, 2011

We were not shark bait yesterday snorkeling with our fellow cruisers. In fact we didn't see any sharks until we ended our swim back at the Dive Center in the center of the small village. There were 10-20 sharks swimming all through the shallows. All black tipped reef sharks that are 4-8' that are well fed. This whole area is very sharky there are sharks swimming off our back step right now, not many only 4 but this is the first time we have been surrounded by this many. We drifted down the entrance channel of the reef just floating with our dingy then once in a while diving down to take a picture. There are some very cool fish here like the unicorn fish swimming mid water column where most divers are looking at the bottom stuff they miss the mid water fish. There is a Dive Center here that takes divers through the channel but we haven't used them. We have been a little lazy these days. Trying to learn to SLOW DOWN. We walked around the small Village yesterday taking hundreds of pictures as we went. There are many buildings still standing and being used that were erected back in the 1832 era. This was the original Capitol of Fakarava but these days they are on the other end of the atoll. Now there are little Hooches connected to a resort very small but a resort that lots of French and English visitors come to. I have never heard of the place but it's very cool. There is NO INTERNET anywhere. We haven't had internet service since Mexico! We are able to send this mail through our SSB HF Radio on board Dilligaf.Thank Goodness for Sailmail. We have been in very small villages and anchorages where there are only other Cruisers, one or two boats, so when we arrive in the big City of Papeete, Tahiti in a few days it will be almost culture shock! AND Internet! WE do miss good coffee from Starbucks hopefully they have one there! Fair Winds and Following Seas Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf

22 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27

A Great Luau on the North end of the Atoll

Greetings! Dilligaf is still floating and enjoying her romp around the Pacific almost as much as Her Crew! WE are having a great time meeting the friendly people of the Fakarava Atoll. The last anchorage was in "Tetamanu" village where the day we arrived seven huge sailing Canoes arrived from New Zealand intending on showing off the canoes to the world and Fakarava is the first stop. The Canoes were built in New Zealand from designs from Fakarava in the ancient times and sailed all over the Pacific. The Sailing Canoes are scheduled to arrive first to Hawaii then to the West Coast of the U.S. and to the east coast. I don't know if they intend to sail around the world but they are going to be headlines there. We were able to talk to them about the canoes and even came aboard to see them. We have been listening to their singing every night but Friday they invited us to come to Luau. We did and we were glad we ate first because there was no food there. Lots of singing, chanting, and dancing. It was a celebration of the Canoes and awards given away. It was all in Polynesian language called Maori so Sue and I say to them: Kei te pai....(meaning Thank you!) We have a South Pacific phrase book so we can mumble a few words in each language and People we meet however our French sucks! The Luau was really only for the Villagers and for the boat crews but invited the few Cruisers in the bay too. That amounted to about 20 white people which included the French vacationing here too. I believe there are only 300 people on this atoll. The atoll is very wide across almost 50 nm and can be navigated around the edges by clearly marked channel however the darned markers are almost centered on the channel. That wouldn't be bad but the markers are on top of huge coral heads so to stay in the channel you must hug the coral head so we travel through in calm days so we can see them. The water is very clear and beautiful. We swam quite a bit on the North end but after we anchored here yesterday and Bill decided time for a swim, I had company. Sharks everywhere! Granted they are small black tipped but when they come up to greet you, a little thinking takes place. This morning we awoke to about 5-7 sharks swimming all around Dilligaf for hours. They had a great time cruising all around us. We will be talking to the other boaters before going for another dip in the pool. Dilligaf will be staying in the Tuamotus for a couple more days before heading for Papeete, Tahiti. We are going to cut our schedule back so we can have some work done to the generator. It seems it will only put out half the power we need but we are getting by. We can still make water (must use the genset) and can recharge. Our fuel is in great shape we are only down about 50 gal and we will be sailing to Tahiti. The Solar Panels are working nicely however it is very overcast so we are only getting 4 amps of power today. It feels great wind blowing about 15 kts air temp 82 the water temp is a cool 80 so no need for wetsuits! We have met lots of little kids playing in the water where ever we dock out dingy so we also go for a swim. Two days ago we swam from Dilligaf to the sandy beach there we made friends with two little boys playing in the water just in front of their home. We let them use out Masks and snorkels while they entertained us by swimming at mock 12 ! We just enjoyed watching their little feet pounding away at the water and really showing some white water! We are having lots of good fun here and hope your spring is as good. Fair winds and following seas Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf 22 May 2011

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala

Dilligaf heading for the Tuamotu Atolls and have been underway for 24hrs.

Good Morning! Dilligaf is basking in the Sun this morning on our way to Kauehi in the Tuamotu Atolls and is only a mere 330 nm away. We have done 170 nm in 24 hrs which is doing just fine we are not pushing the limits at all and enjoying our time at sea. We split the night shift and I get the first 6 hr shift from 8pm to 2am then Sue does the 2 am on. We both nap during the day and both are on watch during the day. It has been working well. We have had a good breeze of 15-20 kts all night and this morning is not disappointing us. Of course there are those few hours of very light winds but that is mirrored in our distance covered in 24 hrs. Our average speed is 7 kts with swell 6' and wind waves 2-4' our COG is 227 degrees but that will change when I get done with e-mails. we will head about 235 degrees. I forgot to add: Dilligaf is at 10*45'--141*51' if you are plotting it out. Our Solar Panels are keeping up with light loads of reffer, navigation, auto pilot but we do turn off the inverter when we are not using it. That has saved us quite a bit of energy. We are getting 320 watt's out of the panels when the clouds don't cover them. Right now we are about 30 percent cloud cover so I don't think we will suffer because of the cloud cover.. Yesterday we caught two Skipjack Tuna and threw them back because we heard from other cruisers that Skipjack is not that good tasting. Please give us a shout if you know how to cook them where they taste good. I hate to throw them back. Besides water and more water, sky, a few clouds and warm temps. nothing more to report. Air temp 82, Sea temp. 83 and RH 67 percent and barometer reading 1020 (30.12) and no squalls around us. When we first set out from Oa-Pou a huge Squall was 30-40 miles away to the west and we kept our eyes on it. The wind was and is from an easterly direction so all is good! Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf WDF3436@sailmail.com

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala

Dilligaf heading for Ua Pou, Iles Marquises (Fenua Enata) May 7,2011

We got underway this morning about 9am but had to use a bucket to wash down the anchor rode. I have to get back into the Sail locker to find out what the problems are.... We left Daniels bay with S/V Songline and S/V Lardo followed by S/V Sudden Stops Necessary . The three boats are heading to the Tuamoto Archipelago in which in years past was the sites of Nuclear testing areas. The Archipelago is Very big so we will never get within 500 nm from the test areas. We plan to get to Ua-Pou in about 3 more hours because we are trying to get a battery charge out of the crossing. The weather here is very nice but overcast. The Islands make their own weather which brings mostly rain the last 48hrs and BUGS! Alaska is only a distant cousin to the Marquises with the "No-No;s" in Alaska they call them "No-see-ums" They have JAWS here! The air temp is a mild 82 (11am) and water temp 10 nm from the island is 84.6 degrees. The water in the bays here are very muddy so the diving is out but we did swim last night before dinner. You can't see 10' in front of yourself but.........we saw lots of Manta Rays swimming all around Dilligaf the entire time we were anchored there. Dilligaf is working great with little in the way of work to be done to her. Now that I replaced the impeller in the Genset it is working great too. The Solar Panels are not putting out much in the way of power and at best under the clouds we might get 5 amps at 20v so we have to recharge often. Finally the boats that came in with us from Mexico are getting their boats fixed up, the Cat "S/V What ya gonna do" has now resewn their head board to the Mainsail and the other cat with the rudder problem is having a replacement shipped to Nuka Hiva by the end of next week. S/V Piko (from Seattle) and S/V Britanna will be taking in the whole island of Nuka Hiva and will then meet us in the Tuamotu's in a week or so. We will spend about two nights at Ua-Pou Then to the Tuamotu's by Monday or Tuesday, IF the weather is good enough to sail. Mostly like winds here 10-16 kt from the NNE. Typical Trade Winds here. More later Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala

Dilligaf in Nuka Hiva, Marquesas Islands

Hello to all and hope everybody is having a great Spring. Sue and I have been in Nuka Hiva for almost a week and are looking forward to setting off again tomorrow. We arrived here in the Marquesas with 19 other "Puddle-Jumpers" that left La Cruz about the same day. We were quite spread out passing the ITCZ and equator as much as 300nm way. We only motored for 6hrs during the crossing because we only had three knots of wind and that was in the ITCZ and after 6 hrs we gained some wind and sailed the rest of the way to Nuka Hiva some 2800 nm. I was the Network Controller for a week of the crossing which was fun but very time consuming and quite an effort trying to hear faint reports of other boats heading across. I was able to chart out the progression of each boat and where they were almost the entire crossing. I'll be saving that chart and bring it home in November to show everyone. After the full crossing and a week at anchor running the generator everyday here in port we have only used 20 gal of fuel. We still have fuel on deck in Jerry cans so we will not fuel again until Tahiti. We have not yet swam in this 82 degree water because of the sharks! The water isn't very clear and two weeks ago one Cruiser was bitten so we will wait to clean and inspect the hull until we get to some clearer water. There have been some goose barnacles growing on our hull but they will only be a memory if "Daniel's bay" only 4 nm away and we will leave tomorrow. Daniels Bay is the place were "Survivor" was filmed at so we will go and see where the series was shot at. We have met other cruisers who said it was beautiful so we will go and see for ourselves. The temp. here ranges from the high 70's at night to 95 degrees with 68-80 percent humidity. We bought a stalk of Bananas when we got here they were very green, now they are about falling off and we eat them all the time. We have had only a few minor things to repair such as the raw water impellor for the genset and one halyard is at the top of the mast. The halyard broke after only 2 hrs up so there is something amiss with the rigging. I will venture up when we get to a bay that is not so darned rolly. Ocean swell keeps rolling into the bay so we set a stern anchor down to control it a bit but the winds come from 90 degrees and keeps turning Dilligaf about. There have been lots of breakdowns with many of boats during the crossing. One boat without a running engine another with the Main sail head board at the top of his mast with the sail rolled up on the boom. Some with other minor rigging problems and a couple with torn sails. One Catamaran lost one of his rudders! Drat! Dilligaf all in all had the best crossing with wind the entire time, sometimes too little, but for the most part very nice. We also had some chafe issues but nothing I can't take care of. The prices of EVERYTHING is HIGH! The natives are very friendly and helpful. I wish now I would have listened a little more during French Class though. Not many speak English so sign language works. Internet is nonexistant here at least that is what we have found. Someplace has to have it so we keep looking. I'll add more once we get to "Daniels Bay" Bill and Sue in Paradise

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala

Dilligaf nearing the ITCZ

It has been an interesting couple of days with nights of frights and nights of Beautiful full moon and clear skies. We have sailed 1508 nm and just this afternoon started the engine up. This is the first time we have had 0 wind on the entire crossing. Two nights ago, Sunday, the afternoon sailing was great with a good 11-15kt wind from our Port Quarter and following seas, Perfect until late afternoon the Clouds amassed in front of us clear across the horizon so we pressed on. Our Rhumb line is set for 08*-125* and we were not far from that line but as the line of clouds came nearer the winds almost died and I didn't want to start the engine just yet. As the clouds closed overhead the Lightning started up. We were trying to figure out what we should be doing knowing that we should steer around Squalls but they were everywhere! We got winds from every direction but nothing over 10 kts so the sails remained up but the torrents of rain came three or four times for almost 1/2 hour washing Dilligaf from Stem to stern! At the same time the lightning was flashing everywhere but not overhead! We just sailed our course the best we could and managed with Very light winds to pass under the squall. The next morning we called each other on our Network (SSB radio) and found most of the other boats did the same as we did, bite down on the leather pad and hope for the best. Some still couldn't sleep that night even after the clouds passed. We had no problems sleeping our shifts after the Squall. We could see them the rest of the night but they stayed distant. All is well after the fact, it was very scary during the lightning strikes and heavy rains. The rain POUNDED on Dilligaf like a drum Very loud and seemed like it would never stop. I can see how boats in years passed could fill their water tanks with downpours like that, however now we start the watermaker which is much easier to do. Today we set the 1/2 oz spinnaker to catch the morning breath of air but by 1300 the wind stopped and now the "Iron-Genny" is moving us along at 5-6kts. Our Position: 05*56'/124*55' COG (course over ground) 242*t, SOG (speed over ground) 5.9 Kts The true winds are picking up now it's getting later in the afternoon so True winds 8.5kts ( we will be shutting down our engine any minute) the Air temp is 82* RH (relitive Humidity) 68 percent Baro is 1018 AND THE WATER TEMP IS 82 DEGREES! We will be swimming soon! We caught only one fish at the start of the cruise but nothing lately, After the 'mail showers all. We are enjoying our time out here at sea reading books SAILING and talking to other cruisers on the SSB radio. Only a couple of boats are having some difficulty "Zepher" has oil in the water, "Britanna" shut down her refer because the solar panels are not keeping up with the total load. Dilligaf broke one of our Spinnaker Halyards, and had quite a severe chaffing issue on the spinnaker pole topping lift. The wind is very light and the seas sometimes are up to 6' so lots of rocking about causing the chafe on the topping lift. It didn't break and we have enough reserve line to replace the chaffed area. Sue and I hope everyone are enjoying Spring as we are, Bill and Sue

Diving with the Sharks at the Fakarava Atoll, May 23, 2011

24 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27
-Bill on Dilligaf
We were not shark bait yesterday snorkeling with our fellow cruisers. In fact we didn't see any sharks until we ended our swim back at the Dive Center in the center of the small village. There were 10-20 sharks swimming all through the shallows. All black tipped reef sharks that are 4-8' that are well fed. This whole area is very sharky there are sharks swimming off our back step right now, not many only 4 but this is the first time we have been surrounded by this many. We drifted down the entrance channel of the reef just floating with our dingy then once in a while diving down to take a picture. There are some very cool fish here like the unicorn fish swimming mid water column where most divers are looking at the bottom stuff they miss the mid water fish. There is a Dive Center here that takes divers through the channel but we haven't used them. We have been a little lazy these days. Trying to learn to SLOW DOWN. We walked around the small Village yesterday taking hundreds of pictures as we went. There are many buildings still standing and being used that were erected back in the 1832 era. This was the original Capitol of Fakarava but these days they are on the other end of the atoll. Now there are little Hooches connected to a resort very small but a resort that lots of French and English visitors come to. I have never heard of the place but it's very cool. There is NO INTERNET anywhere. We haven't had internet service since Mexico! We are able to send this mail through our SSB HF Radio on board Dilligaf.Thank Goodness for Sailmail. We have been in very small villages and anchorages where there are only other Cruisers, one or two boats, so when we arrive in the big City of Papeete, Tahiti in a few days it will be almost culture shock! AND Internet! WE do miss good coffee from Starbucks hopefully they have one there! Fair Winds and Following Seas Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf

A Great Luau on the North end of the Atoll

22 May 2011 | Tetamanu, Fakarava Atoll, 16*30 S145*27
-Bill on Dilligaf
Greetings! Dilligaf is still floating and enjoying her romp around the Pacific almost as much as Her Crew! WE are having a great time meeting the friendly people of the Fakarava Atoll. The last anchorage was in "Tetamanu" village where the day we arrived seven huge sailing Canoes arrived from New Zealand intending on showing off the canoes to the world and Fakarava is the first stop. The Canoes were built in New Zealand from designs from Fakarava in the ancient times and sailed all over the Pacific. The Sailing Canoes are scheduled to arrive first to Hawaii then to the West Coast of the U.S. and to the east coast. I don't know if they intend to sail around the world but they are going to be headlines there. We were able to talk to them about the canoes and even came aboard to see them. We have been listening to their singing every night but Friday they invited us to come to Luau. We did and we were glad we ate first because there was no food there. Lots of singing, chanting, and dancing. It was a celebration of the Canoes and awards given away. It was all in Polynesian language called Maori so Sue and I say to them: Kei te pai....(meaning Thank you!) We have a South Pacific phrase book so we can mumble a few words in each language and People we meet however our French sucks! The Luau was really only for the Villagers and for the boat crews but invited the few Cruisers in the bay too. That amounted to about 20 white people which included the French vacationing here too. I believe there are only 300 people on this atoll. The atoll is very wide across almost 50 nm and can be navigated around the edges by clearly marked channel however the darned markers are almost centered on the channel. That wouldn't be bad but the markers are on top of huge coral heads so to stay in the channel you must hug the coral head so we travel through in calm days so we can see them. The water is very clear and beautiful. We swam quite a bit on the North end but after we anchored here yesterday and Bill decided time for a swim, I had company. Sharks everywhere! Granted they are small black tipped but when they come up to greet you, a little thinking takes place. This morning we awoke to about 5-7 sharks swimming all around Dilligaf for hours. They had a great time cruising all around us. We will be talking to the other boaters before going for another dip in the pool. Dilligaf will be staying in the Tuamotus for a couple more days before heading for Papeete, Tahiti. We are going to cut our schedule back so we can have some work done to the generator. It seems it will only put out half the power we need but we are getting by. We can still make water (must use the genset) and can recharge. Our fuel is in great shape we are only down about 50 gal and we will be sailing to Tahiti. The Solar Panels are working nicely however it is very overcast so we are only getting 4 amps of power today. It feels great wind blowing about 15 kts air temp 82 the water temp is a cool 80 so no need for wetsuits! We have met lots of little kids playing in the water where ever we dock out dingy so we also go for a swim. Two days ago we swam from Dilligaf to the sandy beach there we made friends with two little boys playing in the water just in front of their home. We let them use out Masks and snorkels while they entertained us by swimming at mock 12 ! We just enjoyed watching their little feet pounding away at the water and really showing some white water! We are having lots of good fun here and hope your spring is as good. Fair winds and following seas Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf 22 May 2011

Dilligaf heading for the Tuamotu Atolls and have been underway for 24hrs.

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
-Bill on Dilligaf
Good Morning! Dilligaf is basking in the Sun this morning on our way to Kauehi in the Tuamotu Atolls and is only a mere 330 nm away. We have done 170 nm in 24 hrs which is doing just fine we are not pushing the limits at all and enjoying our time at sea. We split the night shift and I get the first 6 hr shift from 8pm to 2am then Sue does the 2 am on. We both nap during the day and both are on watch during the day. It has been working well. We have had a good breeze of 15-20 kts all night and this morning is not disappointing us. Of course there are those few hours of very light winds but that is mirrored in our distance covered in 24 hrs. Our average speed is 7 kts with swell 6' and wind waves 2-4' our COG is 227 degrees but that will change when I get done with e-mails. we will head about 235 degrees. I forgot to add: Dilligaf is at 10*45'--141*51' if you are plotting it out. Our Solar Panels are keeping up with light loads of reffer, navigation, auto pilot but we do turn off the inverter when we are not using it. That has saved us quite a bit of energy. We are getting 320 watt's out of the panels when the clouds don't cover them. Right now we are about 30 percent cloud cover so I don't think we will suffer because of the cloud cover.. Yesterday we caught two Skipjack Tuna and threw them back because we heard from other cruisers that Skipjack is not that good tasting. Please give us a shout if you know how to cook them where they taste good. I hate to throw them back. Besides water and more water, sky, a few clouds and warm temps. nothing more to report. Air temp 82, Sea temp. 83 and RH 67 percent and barometer reading 1020 (30.12) and no squalls around us. When we first set out from Oa-Pou a huge Squall was 30-40 miles away to the west and we kept our eyes on it. The wind was and is from an easterly direction so all is good! Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf WDF3436@sailmail.com

Dilligaf heading for Ua Pou, Iles Marquises (Fenua Enata) May 7,2011

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
-Bill on Dilligaf
We got underway this morning about 9am but had to use a bucket to wash down the anchor rode. I have to get back into the Sail locker to find out what the problems are.... We left Daniels bay with S/V Songline and S/V Lardo followed by S/V Sudden Stops Necessary . The three boats are heading to the Tuamoto Archipelago in which in years past was the sites of Nuclear testing areas. The Archipelago is Very big so we will never get within 500 nm from the test areas. We plan to get to Ua-Pou in about 3 more hours because we are trying to get a battery charge out of the crossing. The weather here is very nice but overcast. The Islands make their own weather which brings mostly rain the last 48hrs and BUGS! Alaska is only a distant cousin to the Marquises with the "No-No;s" in Alaska they call them "No-see-ums" They have JAWS here! The air temp is a mild 82 (11am) and water temp 10 nm from the island is 84.6 degrees. The water in the bays here are very muddy so the diving is out but we did swim last night before dinner. You can't see 10' in front of yourself but.........we saw lots of Manta Rays swimming all around Dilligaf the entire time we were anchored there. Dilligaf is working great with little in the way of work to be done to her. Now that I replaced the impeller in the Genset it is working great too. The Solar Panels are not putting out much in the way of power and at best under the clouds we might get 5 amps at 20v so we have to recharge often. Finally the boats that came in with us from Mexico are getting their boats fixed up, the Cat "S/V What ya gonna do" has now resewn their head board to the Mainsail and the other cat with the rudder problem is having a replacement shipped to Nuka Hiva by the end of next week. S/V Piko (from Seattle) and S/V Britanna will be taking in the whole island of Nuka Hiva and will then meet us in the Tuamotu's in a week or so. We will spend about two nights at Ua-Pou Then to the Tuamotu's by Monday or Tuesday, IF the weather is good enough to sail. Mostly like winds here 10-16 kt from the NNE. Typical Trade Winds here. More later Bill and Sue S/V Dilligaf

Dilligaf in Nuka Hiva, Marquesas Islands

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
-Bill on Dilligaf
Hello to all and hope everybody is having a great Spring. Sue and I have been in Nuka Hiva for almost a week and are looking forward to setting off again tomorrow. We arrived here in the Marquesas with 19 other "Puddle-Jumpers" that left La Cruz about the same day. We were quite spread out passing the ITCZ and equator as much as 300nm way. We only motored for 6hrs during the crossing because we only had three knots of wind and that was in the ITCZ and after 6 hrs we gained some wind and sailed the rest of the way to Nuka Hiva some 2800 nm. I was the Network Controller for a week of the crossing which was fun but very time consuming and quite an effort trying to hear faint reports of other boats heading across. I was able to chart out the progression of each boat and where they were almost the entire crossing. I'll be saving that chart and bring it home in November to show everyone. After the full crossing and a week at anchor running the generator everyday here in port we have only used 20 gal of fuel. We still have fuel on deck in Jerry cans so we will not fuel again until Tahiti. We have not yet swam in this 82 degree water because of the sharks! The water isn't very clear and two weeks ago one Cruiser was bitten so we will wait to clean and inspect the hull until we get to some clearer water. There have been some goose barnacles growing on our hull but they will only be a memory if "Daniel's bay" only 4 nm away and we will leave tomorrow. Daniels Bay is the place were "Survivor" was filmed at so we will go and see where the series was shot at. We have met other cruisers who said it was beautiful so we will go and see for ourselves. The temp. here ranges from the high 70's at night to 95 degrees with 68-80 percent humidity. We bought a stalk of Bananas when we got here they were very green, now they are about falling off and we eat them all the time. We have had only a few minor things to repair such as the raw water impellor for the genset and one halyard is at the top of the mast. The halyard broke after only 2 hrs up so there is something amiss with the rigging. I will venture up when we get to a bay that is not so darned rolly. Ocean swell keeps rolling into the bay so we set a stern anchor down to control it a bit but the winds come from 90 degrees and keeps turning Dilligaf about. There have been lots of breakdowns with many of boats during the crossing. One boat without a running engine another with the Main sail head board at the top of his mast with the sail rolled up on the boom. Some with other minor rigging problems and a couple with torn sails. One Catamaran lost one of his rudders! Drat! Dilligaf all in all had the best crossing with wind the entire time, sometimes too little, but for the most part very nice. We also had some chafe issues but nothing I can't take care of. The prices of EVERYTHING is HIGH! The natives are very friendly and helpful. I wish now I would have listened a little more during French Class though. Not many speak English so sign language works. Internet is nonexistant here at least that is what we have found. Someplace has to have it so we keep looking. I'll add more once we get to "Daniels Bay" Bill and Sue in Paradise

Dilligaf nearing the ITCZ

11 April 2011 | Punta Los Chivos OR Chacala
-Bill on Dilligaf
It has been an interesting couple of days with nights of frights and nights of Beautiful full moon and clear skies. We have sailed 1508 nm and just this afternoon started the engine up. This is the first time we have had 0 wind on the entire crossing. Two nights ago, Sunday, the afternoon sailing was great with a good 11-15kt wind from our Port Quarter and following seas, Perfect until late afternoon the Clouds amassed in front of us clear across the horizon so we pressed on. Our Rhumb line is set for 08*-125* and we were not far from that line but as the line of clouds came nearer the winds almost died and I didn't want to start the engine just yet. As the clouds closed overhead the Lightning started up. We were trying to figure out what we should be doing knowing that we should steer around Squalls but they were everywhere! We got winds from every direction but nothing over 10 kts so the sails remained up but the torrents of rain came three or four times for almost 1/2 hour washing Dilligaf from Stem to stern! At the same time the lightning was flashing everywhere but not overhead! We just sailed our course the best we could and managed with Very light winds to pass under the squall. The next morning we called each other on our Network (SSB radio) and found most of the other boats did the same as we did, bite down on the leather pad and hope for the best. Some still couldn't sleep that night even after the clouds passed. We had no problems sleeping our shifts after the Squall. We could see them the rest of the night but they stayed distant. All is well after the fact, it was very scary during the lightning strikes and heavy rains. The rain POUNDED on Dilligaf like a drum Very loud and seemed like it would never stop. I can see how boats in years passed could fill their water tanks with downpours like that, however now we start the watermaker which is much easier to do. Today we set the 1/2 oz spinnaker to catch the morning breath of air but by 1300 the wind stopped and now the "Iron-Genny" is moving us along at 5-6kts. Our Position: 05*56'/124*55' COG (course over ground) 242*t, SOG (speed over ground) 5.9 Kts The true winds are picking up now it's getting later in the afternoon so True winds 8.5kts ( we will be shutting down our engine any minute) the Air temp is 82* RH (relitive Humidity) 68 percent Baro is 1018 AND THE WATER TEMP IS 82 DEGREES! We will be swimming soon! We caught only one fish at the start of the cruise but nothing lately, After the 'mail showers all. We are enjoying our time out here at sea reading books SAILING and talking to other cruisers on the SSB radio. Only a couple of boats are having some difficulty "Zepher" has oil in the water, "Britanna" shut down her refer because the solar panels are not keeping up with the total load. Dilligaf broke one of our Spinnaker Halyards, and had quite a severe chaffing issue on the spinnaker pole topping lift. The wind is very light and the seas sometimes are up to 6' so lots of rocking about causing the chafe on the topping lift. It didn't break and we have enough reserve line to replace the chaffed area. Sue and I hope everyone are enjoying Spring as we are, Bill and Sue

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