SV Delos

Vessel Name: delos
08 July 2008 | Shileshole Marina
07 July 2008 | Straits of Juan de Fuca
06 July 2008 | North Pacific, 47 N Latitude
05 July 2008 | North Pacific, 45 N Latitude
04 July 2008 | North Pacific, 44 N Latitude
03 July 2008 | North Pacific, 42 N Latitude
03 July 2008 | North Pacific, 42 N Latitude
02 July 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 41 N Latitude
01 July 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 38 N Latitude
30 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 38 N Latitude
29 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 37 N Latitude
28 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 35 N Latitude
27 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 34 N Latitude
27 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 34 N Latitude
26 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 32 N Latitude
25 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific, approaching 30 N Latitude
24 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific
23 June 2008 | Middle of the Pacific!
22 June 2008 | Somewhere North of the Hawaiin Islands
22 June 2008 | North of the Hawaiin Islands
Recent Blog Posts
08 July 2008 | Shileshole Marina

Day 20- Home sweet home!

The rest of the night through the straits was uneventful. There was a lot of shipping traffic but it clearly showed up on the AIS and radar. We pulled into Port Townsend just before 6:00AM to a beautiful, sunny, clear morning. There wasn't a breath of wind and the water was like a mirror.

07 July 2008 | Straits of Juan de Fuca

Day 19- Land Ho!

At 1:40PM we spotted the mountains of Vancouver Island off our port bow! Initially they were hard to tell apart from the clouds on the horizon, but slowly they began to take shape. It was a very emotional experience for everyone to see land after so many days and miles at sea. About the same time [...]

06 July 2008 | North Pacific, 47 N Latitude

Day 18- 110 miles and counting.

110 miles to go until land fall! We're estimating 3PM tomorrow to reach the straits. The winds were light and their direction unfavorable so we started motoring at about 6AM and continued through most of the day until about 5:30 when the wind finally shifted and came up. Motoring wasn't unwelcome [...]

05 July 2008 | North Pacific, 45 N Latitude

Day 17- Happy 4th of July!

Wow! Only 290 more miles until we get to the straits! From there it's another 80 or so to Pt. Townsend, then another 30 or so to Shileshole Marina. We're getting closer and you can sense the anticipation of seeing family and friends on everyone's mind.

04 July 2008 | North Pacific, 44 N Latitude

Day 16- 1900 miles under the keel.

The winds were moderate and the seas relatively flat today. We ran under the asymmetrical chute for most of the day making good speed of over 7 knots. Great sailing! This morning while Kurt and I were in the cockpit we saw a pod of porpoises. They stayed with us playing in the bow wave just long [...]

03 July 2008 | North Pacific, 42 N Latitude

svcapaz.com

I meant to link to this a few days ago but it slipped my mind. The other guys have been posting to svcapaz.com. I think they have been uploading pictures. Be sure to check it out to get a different perspective on the trip!

Day 15- House Cleaning

03 July 2008 | North Pacific, 42 N Latitude
Brian Trautman
When I came on watch this morning at 3:30AM Kurt already had the reefs out of the sails. The seas were very small and the wind was less than 10 knots. By 4:00AM there was less than 4 knots and we had slowed to a crawl. It seems there are two types of wind. Too much or not enough. To keep us moving along I cranked on the engine.

After making myself a pot of coffee I decided to enjoy the sunrise from the deck. Mug in hand and clipped in with the harness I moved to the bow. The sky was overcast and grey with the sun starting to peek from behind the clouds. After a few minutes of listening to music I had the privilege of gaining an albatross for company. According to Brad and Eric the albatross is a good luck omen. Over the entire trip we've seen a number of these birds so they must be watching out for us.

These are big birds- I would estimate the wingspan to be about 6 feet on this one. With a few effortless flaps of their wings they circle around the boat about 50 yards out. After a few laps the bird went into hunting mode and dropped to within a few inches of the water. The bird effortlessly skimmed the waves searching for food. I didn't see this particular one catch anything but a few days ago we saw a successful dive bomb in action. We think that they go after the flying fish just before they leap out of the water. After about 10 minutes of unsuccessful hunting the bird moved on out of sight. These are the only types of birds we've seen since being within a few hundred miles of Hawaii. It's amazing they can survive thousands of miles out to sea.

After a full breakfast of hash browns, eggs, and bacon we took advantage of calm conditions to do some much needed house work. All cushions, pillows, blankets, and sails were moved onto deck to dry. All the hatches were opened to let the boat air out. As you might imagine, it was getting a little stale below after being wet and closed up for so long. We even washed clothes for the first time on the trip and hung them out to dry. Now for the kicker- everyone took a sponge bath! When you can smell yourself you know it's time .. This is the first real cleaning we've had since we went swimming so it was long overdue. After our chores were done we watched Empire Strikes Back on the computer. With a clean boat and crew Eric cooked up a pot of beef stew and we chowed down.

The days are winding down. At this point we have about 625NM to the entrance of the straits and our course is set for a straight route. Under power we cruise at 6 knots, while under sail we're usually 7-7.5 knots. Over 625 NM this is a difference of almost 20 hours. Hopefully we'll get enough wind to sail tomorrow.
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