Adventures of Orcinius

11 September 2015 | HOME - Vancouver WA
24 August 2015 | 46 11.4'N:123 51.4'W, Port of Astoria Marina
22 August 2015 | 46 42.0'N:132 09,4'W, 330 West of CR Bouy, Astoria
21 August 2015 | 46 41.8'N:136 13.8'W, 500 West of Astoria
20 August 2015 | 46 22.82'N:140 28.00'W, East end of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.80'N:140 28.32'W, Middle of High Same as Fish
20 August 2015 | 46 22.79'N:140 28.57'W, Middle of High
20 August 2015 | 46 22.7'N:140 30.2'W, 675 Miles West of CR
20 August 2015 | 45 57.6'N:144 54.0'W, East End of the High
18 August 2015 | 44 38.2'N:147 57.0'W, 1000 NM to Astoria
18 August 2015 | 43 31.0'N:150 28.0'W, 1126 NM to Astoria
17 August 2015 | 41 40.1'N:153 00.1'W, 1200 miles West of Astoria
16 August 2015 | 39 30.1'N:154 53.1'W, West end of the North Pacific High
15 August 2015 | 37 34.5'N:156 00.0'W, 1011 North of Oahu
15 August 2015 | 37 04.5'N:156 23.0'W, 983 North of Oahu
14 August 2015 | 34 12.3'N:157 26.1'W, 800 North of Oahu
13 August 2015 | 31 50.0'N:158 06.5'W, 650 North of Oahu
12 August 2015 | 29 02.0'N:158 51.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
11 August 2015 | 26 32.0'N:158 59.0'W, 330 North of Oahu
09 August 2015 | 23 44.1'N:158 49.4'W, 140 N of Oahu

Love Aitutaki

10 August 2012 | 19 29.5'S:159 50.7'W, Aitutaki
Lisa
As you all know we arrived at Aitutaki, Cook Islands last Friday while our friends from Charisma arrived on Monday. They waited outside the reef for a couple of hours holding off entry until high tide. They got a little close to one of the markers and ran aground about 2/3rds of the way in. Lisa and I motored out in our dinghy and gave them a hand tilting them over on their side to get free. After about 20 minutes they slipped loose and headed in to side tie to us in the very small harbor. The tide that day was a 2.1 foot high and today it was a 1.9 foot. So we planned to head out at the afternoon high and head for Rarotonga some 140 miles South. What started out as a reasonable plan turned to crap in a heart beat. Our plan was to motor ahead of Charisma on the way out and if they ran aground we would throw them a line and connect it to a bridle we had set up on the stern. Before we even left the harbor they were aground. Took nearly 1/2 hour to get them free. We w ere about to hook the bridle to them when they popped loose. Off we went, lead trail formation. We were following the reversal of our track back out when just behind us they went aground. This is where the plan blew apart. Before we could get turned around to help them or put Orcinius in reverse we were aground. Pretty solid too. After telling Charisma we were also aground, Lisa started zig zagging her way over the coral by using forward and reverse on both engines alternately. It took a bit to get loose and when we did we had to just head out the channel to the open ocean.

We knew we couldn't let Charisma just sit there so we had to devise a new plan. Jim and Karen from Sockdollager, a little 24 foot craft were out in their dinghy to help if there was any trouble. I called Bob on Charisma and told him to send Jim out to get me and I would come back in and help. As it turned out there was another couple from Wadda coming by in their dinghy. Once I arrived I had Bob hand me a line tied to the end of one of his halyards so I could take it out a ways and pull him over on his side to free his keel from the sand and coral. Jim and I took the line in his dinghy out to Bobs Port side. Once at the full length of his line I went into the water to try and pull his mast over to one side. The water was almost too deep because I floated more then dug my feet into the sand to pull. Another addition was to use Bob's dinghy anchor that I had sold to him a while back and kedge it into the sand and loop the halyard line back towards the boat. Now I coul d stand on the anchor so it wouldn't move and Jim pulled the halyard as tight as he could and tied it off with a half hitch (or two). Then Jim started heading up the line to really use his weight as leverage. Moe and his wife from Wadda were on the boom trying to leverage their weight to heal Charisma off her keel. Once we all had Charismas boom almost in the water she started to break free. Karen was at the helm and once loose of the coral grip Charisma started to head for the open ocean. Of course that movement knocked Jim off the line and started dragging me, the anchor and Jim's dinghy through the water at about 6 knots. Jim tried to catch up to his dinghy but fell behind and I was being pulled through the water like a fishing luer. After hollering to Bob about three times he finally saw me being drug through the water. I was attempting to untie the halyared from the anchor and dinghy painter but Jim had put in two half hitches so it ended up being twice as much work as I planned. After finally putting my snorkel and mask on and staying under the water I was able to untie the lines. Now free, I rolled into the dinghy and headed back to pick up Jim who was drifting away.

Now that Charisma was free, Moe and his wife head back into the harbor. Jim gets some extra gasoline for his dinghy from me, dumps me off on Orcinius then heads over to Charisma to pick up Karen. They need to be heading back in through the pass before the tide really starts going out and their 2 hp outboard can't fight the current. Now that we are outside both Bob and I dive our keels to check for any damage. All superficial so now we are heading towards Rarotonga. It is about a 18 hour sail for us and 24 hours for them. Expecting winds out of the East but they show a southerly component and a little more on the nose than either of us like but for less than 24 hours we can deal with it. Will be in Rarotonga by mid day on Friday.

Now for the real good news. Aitutaki was an absolute dream of an island. You could not ask for a more friendly group of people. There are a mear 3000 inhabitants, 4-5 grocery stores, a couple of hardware and other assundries and small motorcycles to rent. We did the whole island in style. Bob the customs and immigration man took Lisa and I golfing on Tuesday. I think this is the only golf course in the world you can lose your ball on the green. They have about 60 members and they have an annual membership fee of $50 with a $10 green fee. The members take care of the course themselves and several of their members have won the annual Cook Island Golf Classic held in Rarotonga. If you know of any one who has more golf balls than they know what to do with or can find a bunch of used golf clubs, I'll pay for the shipping. Let me know and I will arrange to have it taken care of.

This little island also has a marine reserve and research center. We visited the research center today and it was amazing. A lady from New England started the reserve and research center and it is now being sponsored by someone in California. The locals are in the process of re-populating the beutiful colored clams. These things grow to be quite large and most of them have been lost due to typhoons and other damages. They are nurturing and growing new clams and also some coral sprouts and have designated an area inside the lagoon as a reserve. Yesterday we took our dinghys for a 2.75 mile one way run to the reserve down by Honeymoon Island for a little snorkeling. We anchored our dinghys in the sand and slid over the edge to a gentle slope down to 10-12 meters of water around a bunch of coral heads. The sights were amazing and what we learned about the clams today we saw yesterday.

So as far as I know there have only been about 6 puddle jump boats to stop here. Also most have bypassed Roratonga because they are dredging and doing work in their harbor to improve tha facilities. We are going there because Roratonga is the capital of the Cook Islands.

There is always some maintenance to be done. Today it is the dodger front eisenglass zipper. It is missing about 3 teeth 1/3rd the way around the whole. Zipper head broke free so had to remove the stitching at both ends a re-insert the head. Took a total of three hours to accomplish but now we can sit up in the flybridge cockpit in comfort. Will have to repalce the zipper down the road.

All for now and will send update from Rora.

John
Comments
Vessel Name: ORCINIUS
Vessel Make/Model: Lagoon 440
Hailing Port: Vancouver, Washington
Crew: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
About:
Sailing since the mid 90's. Prior to this trip, 4 sailing adventures from Vancouver WA to the San Juan and Gulf Islands in the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Bought ORCINIUS in West Palm Beach Fl in April 2010. Sailed her South through the Panama Canal and back up the West coast to home port. [...]
Extra: Lisa is the real captain. I have never been at the helm when docking or anchoring, she has a great touch to docking.
Home Page: www.orcinius.com

Who: John LeDoux & Lisa Danger
Port: Vancouver, Washington