Sailing into the South Pacific - Blogs

More cruising blogs from the World ARC around the world sailing rally yachts. Sailing to the Marquesas in the south pacific.

Yacht: Asolare

Leg 4, Day 16 to the Marquesas.

Mr Amel, your perfect yacht has developed TWO faults – the wind speed indicator reads zero and the wind direction shows that we must be sailing backwards! Could it be something to do with the fact that we are closer to land as the attached photo shows!

At 1355 UTC today we have just 389miles to go to Hiva Oa and expect to arrive there on Wednesday afternoon. The winds are still very light but have now increased to around 12 knots so we have put up our Parasailor again. With this wind there is little chance of getting the wing cords caught in the rigging – hopefully. I well remember when, during the ARC 2004, Sallyanne went up the mast in mid-Atlantic to free the wing cords from the rigging. I know I was more relieved to see her safely back on the deck than Sallyanne was. Apparently, a piece of cake, compared with the tough physical exercises and challenges that an Officer in the RAF has to put herself through to keep fit!

We have been looking out very hard, but we have not had a visit from the Easter Bunny despite putting out the last of our precious lettuce. We also did not have Chocolate Easter eggs for Easter, nor Guinness for St Patrick's Day, so our provisioning needs some improvement – you did not cover these items Sallyanne in your provisioning lectures!

Last night I cooked four of our conch I collected in Anegarda in the British Virgin Islands. I cooked them in a mild curry sauce with lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger and Olive Oil. They were absolutely delicious on a bed of fluffy white rice!

There is a lot more wind further east where most of the fleet are so the whole fleet are closing up. This is great as it will mean that there won’t be too much of an interval between first and last yacht arriving in Hiva Oa especially after a 2950 mile leg

UPDATE: Asolare - Leg 4, Day 17 to Marquesas.

After yesterday’s roll call on SSB radio at 1200hrs local time, it was amazing to work out that there were five yachts within 20 miles of each other after 2700 miles of Pacific Ocean! We clearly like each other’s company! More interesting to note is that we have not seen any of them since we left The Galapagos Islands. At that time we had 356 miles only to go and now at 1230Hrs GMT we have just 210 miles. We should therefore be in Hiva Oa early tomorrow morning, local time, as expected. No “yacht” photo today but a tranquil evening shot of Pink Flamingos roosting for the night on one foot on the Isabella Island in the Galapagos. I certainly would like to return to the Galapagos Islands as they are truly an amazing and beautiful place to visit.

Capt. Peter

Yacht: Graptolite

08:59.58S 124:19.02W

We had a 5lb dorado for lunch today. It's a much nicer fish than those bloody tuna. The fillets were lightly fried in butter with a little lime juice and smoked paprika and served over rice. Rick Stein, if you are reading this, you can include this recipe in your next book if you want.

Guessing from the position reports, I think we got within about 17 miles of 'Northern Sky' today but no sighting and no VHF radio contact. Even so, people, and even people we know, that are just over the horizon counts as a party out here.

As we are being rolled around quite a bit, sleeping is not usually the deeply refreshing experience it might be but it does mean that napping at other off-watch times is very easy. This slightly sleepy state seems to make time pass very quickly. Too little sleep can also make you psychotic but I'm keeping my eye on the other six crew for signs.

M

Yacht: Cleone

Leg 4 Day 16 - SYSTEMS

You could describe a yacht as a system of systems.

Big Technical Interlude

I have described Cleone's sails as her heart, lungs and muscles. The bones for these vital organs are her spars - the main and mizzen masts with their spreaders (cross-trees), their two booms and the spinnaker boom. Holding these spars in place upright on the deck are the stays - nine for the Main-mast and eight for the Mizzen (for the Main: fore and aft lowers x 2, capshrouds x 2, forestay, inner-forestay and backstay, for the Mizzen: forestays x 2, capshrouds x 2, aft lowers x 2 and running backstays x 2). You could describe these and the running rigging as Cleone's sinews. The running rigging are the 26 different pieces of cordage (rope) used to control the sails on the Main-mast, and the 14 needed for the Mizzen. I won't bore you with the names and functions of all of these, but they are divided into 3 categories: halyards for pulling the sails up the mast, sheets for pulling the clews (outer corners of triangular sails) towards or letting them away from the wind, and other lines, eg furling lines, up-hauls and down-hauls. Other ropes on the boat (only one piece of rope is actually called a rope) include the warps for tying her alongside, the anchor warps, the fender lines and all sorts of spares. And for the anchors themselves there is chain and warps, too. For this trip we have 4 anchors on board: the main anchor (a CQR) with 100 metres of chain; a spare (CQR lookalike) and 50 metres of chain; a smaller kedge (a Danforth) and 20 metres of chain; and the daddy of them all, a 90 lb Fisherman's anchor. Oh, and there is a drogue (sea anchor) and 120 metres of warp to go with that. To help handle all of these are the crew, an electric anchor windlass, four large winches in the cockpit for the sheets, two largish ones on the Main Mast for the halyards and a small one for the reefing pennants, and finally two small winches on the Mizzen Mast, one for the halyards and one for the reefing pennants. This all sounds quite complicated, and in a sense it is, but only because there are a lot of them. However, ropes and winches work very simply, and you can see as soon as anything is amiss with one (eg it's broken) and you can fix it easily (you tie a knot in it or replace it!).

Below decks it is the other way round. Everything is simple to use, but difficult to repair or install. Take the engine; it has three controls: a starter key, just like a car, a stop button and a single control for forward, neutral and reverse which also acts as the throttle. But it is a highly complex piece of machinery, which is why it is so economical, and is connected to a very sophisticated folding propeller and a very large (225 litre) fuel tank; we also carry a further 232 litres in plastic jerrycans; this gives us about 1000 sea-miles of range at 6 knots. There is a galley (kitchenette, I suppose) with a gas stove (3 rings and an oven, and there is no thermostat so it's guesswork as to what temperature it is and how long to cook things for) and twin sinks and a fridge. The gas itself (propane or butane - we ain't fussy) is stored in a special locker on deck, which vents directly into the sea. There is (yes) running hot and cold water - the hot water is heated by the engine at sea and by an immersion heater (just like home) when we are connected to mains power, eg in a marina (we don't have a generator, unlike most of the other boats on this Rally). The Heads (Bathroom) has a salt-water loo, hand-pumped, which either empties into the sea or into a holding tank (nasty - you've read about this thing before). It also has a hand-basin and a shower which, you've guessed it, has hot and cold water too! (And it has a perfectly good mirror, for those who like make-up or shaving). Behind and above the twin bunks in the main saloon are a dozen lockers, three of which are given over to storing spare parts (too many to list, but details happily supplied for those who want them) or personal kit, and the others of which are (or were) stuffed to bursting with various different sorts of food and drink. Below the cabin sole (floor) are further lockers, these filled with tool-kits, diving gear, fishing kit, chain, bottled water, more spares, and, best of all, one given over to nothing but Beer (but sadly it's empty now). Beneath the bunks (which also double as seats) are two large water-tanks; these, together with the third tank in the aft cabin and the bottled water, give a total of about 1000 litres (a tonne) of fresh water. After over a fortnight at sea, we still have well over half our water left. In the fore- and aft-cabins all the lockers are similarly stuffed - more diving gear, more food, ship's linen, and two hanging lockers full of waterproof gear. And in amongst all of this you will find 3 or 4 lockers full of the crew's own personal gear. But the Skipper has worn nothing but shorts (and underpants, in case Rosie was wondering) for the last 10 days so I suppose they don't need much of that!

I have already described the electronics and communications gear. But there is also a large locker and two cases full of charts, three cases full of technical books on a wide range of subjects: Pilots, which guide us on navigation and give descriptions of the facilities in the various countries and islands we are visiting; Almanacs, which give tidal and astronomical data for navigation; a Medical Guide; Star Atlases; books on anchoring, electrics and sail trim; and a whole box of technical pamphlets and operating instructions for most or all of the bits of gear on board.

Finally we have a plethora of other gear, large and small, stored above and below decks, of which I will only mention the Inflatable Dinghy (an Avon) and its 4 hp Mariner Outboard, the Liferaft (8 man ocean-going) and its grab-bags of food, water and documents, the huge first aid kit (4 large boxes) and other small but useful items such as binoculars, hand compasses and torches.

So with all this to look after and learn how to use, and equally importantly how to mend, we have plenty to do, and that's another reason why we don't get bored!

End of Big Technical Interlude

It has been another cracking day of down-wind sailing, one reef in the main on the Port Tack, a few rolls of poled-out Genoa, and a largish following sea. We made another 170 miles yesterday. So we've just over 600 miles to go - maybe 4 days worth if we are lucky. Apart from a couple of minor burns, and a shower (I won't say who took it), it was a busy but un-eventful day.

All well and happy, Bernard still not back!

Best wishes,
James, Chris & Elizabeth
Yacht Cleone
At sea
09.03S 128.343W

Yacht: Jus'Do It 3

a catch!

We continue to goosewing in 15-20 knots of wind, constant East direction all day. Decided not to gibe, and continue on parallel to the rum line . We pass miles and miles of long line fishing lines, see a large fishing boat on the horizon and hear what sounds like Japanese chat on the VHF. No other yachts to be seen. Mid-afternoon – A CATCH! We manage to hook and land a Long-bill Spearfish. The whole crew plays a part in getting in the long awaited catch of the voyage: Annie winches the line in, Ronnie pulls and guides the line, Ian is once again head gaffer, and Stewy videos the whole process! The fish is 5’ long and takes a good few halfs of vodka to knock it out! (following initial shot of Soft & Gentle Shampoo!) In no time at all, Stewy has it skinned and filleted and the decks are scrubbed clean. We thoroughly enjoy our superb dinner with tatties and mushy peas.

It’s another beautiful night ; the moon is now on the wane but still good light.We manage to come up more on our course and now heading straight for Hiva Oa on 260’.We’ve 140 miles to go and if we keep up this speed (8-9 knots) we’ll be in by dawn!

Miles in last 24hrs – 185.

Yacht: Storyteller

Day 16

We had been hoping that we might be able to do this 2900 mile leg in the same number of days as it took to cross the Atlantic...and at this stage it looks as though we will. We have less than 200 miles to go and we are all looking forward to the landfall.

Yesterday's yellow-fin tuna provided us with a stunning sashimi lunch washed down with a very nice Agentinian white wine. Tony and Mike have orders for at least 2 more tuna and a mahimahi before we arrive.

The French authorities have very strict quarantine regulations so we must consume or dispose of all fruit and vegetables and eggs before we arrive. Tomorrow's breakfast will be a memorable feast.

Yacht: Lady Kay

Running on the spot

In a bid to get to Hiva Oa more quickly, Kerry can be seen running on the spot. the work of callisthenics goes on (she claims that its keep fit!). We still have 550 miles to go and hope to be in Hiva Oa on the 29th
(just a mere 4 more nights to go!). We have almost run out of fresh fruit and veg, with a single tomato and a lot of bananas left, time to dig out the vit C.

Yacht: Kasuje

Pigs might fly, no I think you mean fish!

Hi everyone,

Angela, Bruce and the Skipper put their heads together today to try and work out the itinerary for the rest of our trip . We have roughly 7 days to get from the Marquesas to Tahiti which is about 800 miles away. The distance between the two islands is not that far, but there are many islands in-between that we would like to visit. Also, and most importantly which island would be the correct place to open the celebratory champagne, this big decision is still undecided. I thought i would go against the grain and suggest now!

We are all getting rather excited at the prospect of seeing land. We will get to the Marquesas on either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Although you may think after 3 weeks at sea, what difference does it make which of the days we get there. However, it is of utmost importance. As Wednesday night would mean we could go straight to the bar, as opposed to Thursday morning meaning it would be another 12 hours wait. This presuming there is a bar on the island.

The skipper had a busy watch last night, he spotted a rain cloud in the distance, so he decided it would be nice to clean the boat, for a change! He got all prepared with his brushes, sponges and swimming shorts, just for the rain cloud to pass to starboard. When i got up from sleep there was obvious disappointment in his face. Bruce informed me i was lucky as often the cleaning ceremony when raining, is conducted nude!

Bruce also had a busy night and decided to pick a fight. Unfortunately none of us were there to bear witness to this, but Bruce managed to provoke a flying fish which jumped out of the water and struck him across his neck. Fortunately the problem has now been resolved.

Kind Regards,

Ruby, Skipper and crew.