We are so close and it still feels like so far. After three and
a half day of motoring (and a total of 105 hrs under engine
power since Hilo) we finally got some north wind and Notre Reve
was once again merrily sailing along shrouded in all her sails.
Then the fun was thwarted by the military 80nm west of San
Nicholas Island. A Navy Aircraft flew over us and told us on the
VHF to drastically change our course south. It slowed us down
quite a bit since we were not able to sail in the direction they
requested but had to tack to get far enough away not to
interrupt their exercise. Now the wind has totally died down
again and we are once again motoring. Hopefully they will not
have a military exercise by San Clemente Island also. On the
bright side we were visited by white-sided dolphins during
breakfast. A beautiful welcoming sight.

Starting our third week of ocean passage. We are motoring again.
At first our journey was complicated by a double high and now
the high is doubling back to hit us again. So technically we
will cross three high pressure systems. So far we have run the engine
for 32 hours. The water temp is 62 F and it is cold,
we are digging out long underwear and blankets. However it did
not stop us from jumping in this morning when it was dead calm
and the water was the most fantastic blue.

We have started motoring through the mid section of the North
Pacific High, and will probably be motoring for 36 hours or more
before we reach sail-able winds. We have now identified the
large brown bird that has been following us to be a Black footed
Albatross. A beautiful bird with a wingspan of 6-7ft (190-
220cm). We don't know if it is more than one bird but one keeps
showing up to circle the boat.
I spent yesterday cleaning out a hold after 2 orange juice
containers exploded down there. We have spent 4 years in Mexico
and French Polynesia where the milk and the juice is available
in long life form. Even if it is stored in the refrigerator when
you purchase it it is all long life and can be shelf stored for
6 months or more. I learned my lesson. These half gallon orange
juice containers fermented and exploded �- let me tell you it was
gross.
I tried making yoghurt with the American yoghurt but it failed �-
it has been working beautifully in Mexico and FP for 4 years.
Life in the US is going to be different. Today I am trying my
hand at making bread underway. Wish me luck.

After a racy start the wind died down on the 10th and we had a
couple of days of alternating flat calm and gusty wind with
rain. We got in a swim and a shower on one occasion of flat calm
and logged 5 hours of motoring. Now we have reached the first of
two high pressure systems that will be passing above us during
our passage which caused the wind to pick up suddenly and turn north. We
are heading due east along the latitude 30 degrees North and
have 1445 nm to go to San Diego (as the crow flies). We have been
sailing hard on the weather and will be sailing hard on the
weather for the entire trip which means a lot of heeling and
bouncy sailing. As the wind turned North we changed tack and now
we have to get used to maneuvering on the opposite heel.
As Guy likes to say, chirality matters.
A beautiful large brown bird has been soaring around us now and
then and yesterday we saw a pod of small dolphins. We see the
occasional trash floating by �- mostly fishing buoys and nets,
sometimes a cargo ship or fishing vessel will pass by but it is
mostly blue, blue ocean.

We raised our barnacled anchor at 0930 this morning and set sail
while our fellow cruisers tooted their horns to see us off. The
weather has been sunny and a nice 15-20 knots from the east, so
we are making good progress about 30 degrees North with a double
reefed main a reefed genoa and the staysail. We have a long ways
to go and it will take some time before we gain our sea legs
again.

We have been anchored here in Reeds Bay, Hilo, Hawaii for 2 weeks. We have been very lucky with the weather. This is the rainy side of the island and we have had mostly sunny days with occasional drizzle. It is nice to have all the conveniences of the US. Laundromats, well stocked grocery stores, Walmart, Uber etc. But we miss the pristine paradise of the Tuamotos and the quietude. Here we are anchored in the main container harbor where container ships are guided in and out by pilot- and tug-boats day and night. Airplanes are taking off and landing in the nearby airport and lights are on all night. We like Hilo as a city, it is quaint with a lot of older wooden architecture. It is a working town more than a tourist town and it gives it a more genuine Hawaiian feel. The water is much colder we are anchored in a river mouth so it has a layer of colder fresh water on the surface. The visibility is awful but we have seen a couple of turtles peeking out their heads. There is about 20 sailboats anchored in Reeds Bay all having changed their destination because of Covid-19. It is a difficult time to be cruising and hard to find a harbor that will welcome you and your boat. Hilo has been very welcoming so far and the cruisers here are all helping each other. Guy is running the Reeds Bay cruisers net in the morning and we have a system of giving each other rides to shore and helping each other out when needed.
Every Tuesday and Friday we make a dinghy raft-up and have “sundowners”.
Our plan is to continue to California and San Diego on Wednesday, June 3rd.